Sic Pixie's Carrion Crown Adventure Path

Feaster in Watery Shadows

By morning they feel very tired and finally make it out of the mountains riding the last few miles on horseback as the better light allows them to see the road ahead enough to ride. After some discussion and map reading they decide to carry onto the next town which can’t be more than an hour or so away and spend the day there recovering from the night’s ordeal. In a little over an hour they arrive at the gate where a bored guard lets them through; they enquire where a decent inn could be found and the guard informs them that the Squeaky Wheel is a good carter’s inn with fair prices and good service. They swiftly find the inn and book rooms which gains some surprised looks as it’s only just finished breakfast; they order late breakfasts for all and then baths in copper tubs before hitting the beds for the day as they are all fatigued from the lack of sleep and then traveling through most of the night.

Later that day they rouse themselves for an early supper; sit around chatting for a while as they listen in on the talk of the tavern. They discover that a beast has been captured in the city of Lepidstadt and there is to be a huge trial. Apparently this is a big thing and many people are heading into the city to watch the very fair trial and then watch the first class execution which is planned as a wicker man type execution; so burnt in a huge wooden effigy. The atmosphere seems almost carnival like in its excitement; guess entertainment round here is slim pickings they all think. They all head to bed soon after as they intend to set out again at first light.


Arising early feeling refreshed and ready for the day ahead; breaking their fast on hot porridge, bacon, eggs and fruit with a side of hot sweet coffee with cream they set out following the road to Lepidstadt. They travel through the morning before noticing off the road to the left several colourfully decorated caravans pulled over with several people running around in some sort of distress. Well to be honest two of them notice it Grembor seems to find something in the stitching of his gloves that is so much more interesting than the real world around him. The exclamations of the other two soon make him look up and be aware of the situation.

They ride closer to see if they can lend some assistance and are introduced to a colourfull character Kaleb Hesse, the Ringmaster; an albino man with red eyes and long, white hair that hangs below his knees, Kaleb wears a tall red top hat, a long red coat with gold buckles, and striped trousers. He is currently looking very concerned as his hands wave extravagantly his eyes close to burning red and he animatedly expresses his worries that one of their members is missing. He is the de facto leader of the troupe of misfits and performers called The Crooked Kin. An amalgamation of deformed entertainers who performs acts for whatever people can pay; they advise the party that they are on their way to Lepidstadt as the crowds gathering for the trail of the beast should let them make some good money. However one of their number disappeared in the night; Aleece a young girl who with her two other sisters all have similar deformities went missing in the middle of the night and has not been seen since. They were considering going looking for her but none of them are skilled in tracking or combat. Kaleb offers them a magical dagger if they go find Aleece and bring her back regardless of her state; the party agrees and set off in pursuit

They soon find the trail and follow it, Kat’s wolf soon finds the trail as it disappears into swampland; they struggle through the swamp and high reeds finally finding a small marshy island in the swamp; they hear screams coming from the other side of the island which they all believe is faked so don’t split up which is what was the desired effect of the screams.

When they don’t move to investigate the screams the culprit notices and appears next to Grembor; the aggressor in this instance is a very large spider that styles itself as The Feaster in Watery Shadows; it materialises out of the ether and bites Grembor causing some substantial damage and poisoning the poor half elf. Grembor turns a shade greyer as the poison takes effect and stumbles some; The Feaster in Watery Shadows de-materialises back into the ethereal plane and watches its handiwork expecting it to die in no short order. Sayuri and Kat prepare attacks in case the large spider tries this again. The Feaster in Watery Shadows phases into the material plane and is rewarded by meeting a sword in it’s eye by Kat; Sayuri casts some spheres of force that batter it while Grembor shoots an arrow in it’s general direction; The Feaster in Watery Shadows bites Kat and phases from this plane and sits for a while watching as they heal each other up and restore from the venom. Our aggressor is getting a little annoyed with this as all the previous victims needed no more than one bite and they fell over very soon afterwards. The next time The Feaster in Watery Shadows appears Kat throws a flask of oil over her; Sayuri casts more orbs of force while Grembor strikes a spark and lights the oil covering the spider. With an anguished squeal The Feaster in Watery Shadows Phases back to the Ethereal plane and unable to extinguish the fires burning her body expires screaming in agony.

The party however know none of this and stay in their state of awareness for several more rounds; summoning assistance and wasting spells to help resist its attacks. After a while they realise it’s not returning and scout out the site for loot which they find along with Aleece’s body.

They gather the loot and body; trudging back to the Crooked Kin’s caravan they are met by Kaleb Hesse the Ringmaster. He looks at the body wrapped mercifully in a blanket and nods his head; Grembor explains what happened and that there were the remains of several bodies where they found her. The threat has been killed but they were not in time to save Aleece; her two sisters come forward and take the body away crying all the while.

Kaleb true to his word hands over a sharp serrated edged dagger; he informs the party that it holds a special enchantment against shape changers and they should use it well. He also invites the party to travel with them for the rest of the way to Lepidstadt which they find agreeable; Grembor and Kat happily scout ahead while Sayuri stays with the Kin talking to the various members about mundane things.

Enter Lepidstadt

The journey is uneventful as Lepidstadt is only a few more miles and they make it there just as it is getting dark; bidding the kin a prosperous visit they part ways at the gate. They find an inn close to the University called the scholars rest which looks to be cheap so Sayuri finds a room there while Grembor and Kat take the book onto Judge Embreth Daramid to receive their reward.

Judge Daramid lives in a fine townhouse surrounded by art in the centre of Lepidstadt; Judge Daramid invites the PCs into her home when they arrive. She is in her sixties, with gray hair pulled back tightly into a bun and icy blue eyes. She is a stern, no-nonsense woman who appears to be all business. She indicates that extra glasses should be brought in and gestures to the chairs opposite her for them to sit in. Taking the proffered book and unlocks it with a key around her neck and then leaves through the expensive looking tome; heaving a sigh of relief as she removes several folded pieces of paper from the tome and slips them into her pocket; scanning the rest of the book for missing pages and damage she smiles at the pair. You have both done well as always; were there any problems with this trip? Grembor details the journey with meeting Hursk and Sayuri and the voyage back with the book; Embreth nods throughout taking all the details in and asking pointed questions. Finally she reaches into a small box on a table beside her removing two small pouches which she passes to the pair. “Thank you for your assistance in this matter; there is the books that are required to be delivered to Dr Crowl at the University prior to payment pending to Sayuri. They have had some trouble there recently and the poor man is missing an artefact; tis a very sad affair. However I am thinking you two can assist in this matter and Sayuri too if your willing admit her to our circle?” Both Grembor and Kat nod as they have found her an amicable companion.

Judge Embreth looks piercingly at the pair before continuing; there is a delicate matter that has come about while you were absent. “The Beast of Lepidstadt has been captured in the performance of a crime; this beast will be tried by law and probably executed for its crimes.” Judge Daramid explains that she believes there is a cancer in Lepidstadt, a darkness lurking behind the shadow of a scapegoat. “For many years the people of Lepidstadt have laid all their ills at the door of a creature known as the
Beast of Lepidstadt—murders, thefts, and terror have all been attributed to the Beast,” but Judge Daramid knows that many stories are exaggerations or simply untrue. She also knows that some people have different stories to tell about the creature—about its kindness and humanity, of how it has rescued loved ones or helped those in distress. Now that the time has arrived for such kindness to be repaid, however, no one dares to step forward and challenge the Beast’s reputation.

As a judge, Daramid has a keen sense of justice, and she fears the Beast will not receive a fair trial. The people of Lepidstadt have blamed the Beast for too much and for too long, and they want it to pay for its crimes, whether those crimes are real or imagined. In addition, the judge has some concerns about the crime for which the Beast was finally apprehended—the break-in and theft at Lepidstadt University. She is also convinced that the Beast’s capture at the university was not all it appeared to be, for why would a creature that is intelligent knowingly enter the university, where it was certain to be trapped? However, to publicly announce her suspicions could put her at great risk, both professionally and politically. As one of the three justices presiding over the Beast’s trial, she is unable to openly intervene, other than insisting that the Beast be properly defended in court.

What Judge Daramid really needs is a group of people without local bias to uncover the real truth about the Beast and its alleged crimes. The Beast’s legally appointed
Advocate, a barrister named Gustav Kaple, is hopelessly over his head and needs help—ideally someone to gather evidence about the Beast’s alleged crimes and stand up in court to be questioned by the prosecution. Such speakers must have bravery in spades and silver tongues to match, to ensure that if there is more to the Beast’s story, justice will be done. If the Beast is indeed guilty, then Daramid can rest easier at night knowing that she gave it a fair trial.

Daramid offers 100 platinum pieces each if they investigate the Beast of Lepidstadt on her behalf while expressly keeping her out of the equation, as any hint of collaboration in their investigations would put her legal objectivity into question. She tells the PCs that she will deny any involvement in the matter if pressed, but that if they do get to the bottom of the matter, she will be very grateful indeed.

Both Grembor and Kat agree and wish to speak to Sayuri who they left in the inn as they are sure she would be interested in the offer. They make their excuses and leave walking the sort distance back towards the university and the Scholars Rest; upon entering they notice Sayuri sitting alone eating some kind of pie while many of the students admire her from a distance. It seems Sayuri is staying in an inn that caters to the somewhat rowdy student population of the city; several of them are looking on jealously as the two newcomers slide into seats at the table without being scathed by her tongue as they were. Grembor and Kat put forward the Judges proposition in hushed tones and Sayuri agrees to assist in the investigations.

They sit for a while listening in on the various conversations around the inn; the students are all very vocal about the most current of events which is the upcoming trial of the Beast of Lepidstadt. They do find out several opinions while they listen in ranging from “Burn the Beast” to “Yes, I’ve heard stories that the Beast has done some kind things too, but it’s plagued Lepidstadt for far too long. Even if it did do those things, that’s just proof that the creature is mad and deserves to be burned!” So all in all the public are all for killing the Beast without even the benefit of a Trial. This does not bode well if the Beast is found innocent. …

They head to bed soon after to be up nice and early the next day as Grembor and Kat both took rooms at the cheap but rowdy Scholars Rest.

Investigation begins.

The next day dawns faintly overcast but still warm and sunlight breaking through the clouds on a regular basis. They head out early with a take out breakfast of a bacon roll and some juice, promising to return the glasses later on; they are next to the University so it is only a short walk there. They arrive and after several questions find their way to the Antiquities department which seems to be in uproar due to a recent burglary. Dr. Montagnie Crowl is Professor of Antiquities at the university. An eccentric but likeable man, he is prone to waving his arms about enthusiastically. He meets the party in the department’s combination library and workshop. The workshop is slowly being cleaned up, but it is still a mess. Dr. Crowl is saddened to learn of his old friend and colleague Lorrimor’s death and accepts the bequeathed objects with sad gratitude. If asked about the damage to his department, Crowl relates the tale of the Beast’s break-in and the curious fact that only one item was taken—a strange statuette called the Seasage Effigy. Crowl is frankly baffled by events—he admits that the statuette was very singular, but it was hardly valuable. Although the stolen statue has not been recovered, he is pleased that the Beast was caught, though he understands the poor creature cannot explain its actions and is clearly mad.

Dr. Crowl is happy to discuss the theft and allows the group to explore the scene of the crime, although he warns them that a good deal of cleaning up has already taken place. The trail of the thief is easy to follow—the thief broke in through the back door, and then passed through the auditorium on his way to the workshop where the Seasage Effigy was kept. The back door to the Antiquities Department was originally locked with a superior lock, but it is clear that the door was recently damaged. The 1-inch-thick iron door is currently locked with a makeshift padlock and only crude repairs have been made. The simple wooden door leading from the back door foyer into the auditorium has been broken off its hinges, as has the far door leading to the workshop. Panelled in oak, the auditorium contains a sunken, 5-foot-deep central area lined with books, tribal fetishes, and curiosities. A small stage and lectern stand in the centre of this area, which is edged with a low oak rail, worn smooth from the touch of years of students gazing into the Master’s lecture room below. The high–ceiling of the workshop/library is lined with mostly empty shelves, and a trio of great leaded windows looks out over the university lawn. A staggering array of books, scrolls, maps, and curios, including shrunken heads, tribal masks, and bits of pottery, lie scattered all over the floor, apparently pulled from the shelves. The room is otherwise crowded with overturned tables, desks, and cabinets.

Sayuri investigates the entrance and fines that the back door was clearly forced open from the outside, discovering the remains of fine silver wire and a tiny bell attached to the door, which she identified as the material components of an alarm spell. While several people have walked through the area since the break-in she finds the tracks of a large, heavy creature in iron-nailed boots.

Grembor Checks out the location the statue was stolen from; despite the mess in the workshop he notices that one area in the room appears to be untouched, in stark contrast to the damage seen elsewhere in the department. Indeed, the pedestal that once held the Seasage Effigy is crowded with small fetishes and delicate mother-of-pearl fish carvings that are undamaged. The workshop’s windows have clearly not been opened for many years, as evidenced by the build-up of grime around them. However, his sharp eyes reveal that the centre window, though now shut, has no such grime and opens easily with a gentle push. This prompts Grembor to take a walk outside and finds several places which an accomplished climber could easily scale the walls and gain the roof as this is an old building. However there is no evidence this was done due to the absence of any scuffs or marks on the walls which might have been left by such a climb; though not conclusive as the proper soft shoes would reduce this to practically nothing.

Upon returning to the Auditorium Grembor notices the smells of beeswax which he queries with Dr Crowl who informs them that this is from the beeswax polish the cleaners use on all the woodwork. Some scratches on the woodwork and damage to the floor is evidence of someone heavy vaulting over the banister and landing on the floor All in all pretty damming evidence that the Beast did the crime.

The guards, when interviewed, remember finding the Beast rampaging through the workshop, but they did not see any accomplices. The university’s guards managed to overpower the Beast with the help of the city watch, who threw the Beast into jail.

Leaving the University they walk to the courtroom where the Beast is being held; Designed primarily as a fortification, the Lepidstadt Courthouse is built of dark stone, with walls of reinforced masonry. The building is three stories high, with narrow, open windows only a foot wide.

In the square immediately outside the courthouse stands the Punishing Man, Lepidstadt’s traditional method of executing murderers and other criminals guilty of capital crimes. The Punishing Man is a gigantic, man-shaped conglomeration of cut timber standing over 30 feet tall. Convicted criminals are placed within the figure’s hollow chest cavity and the entire structure is then set on fire in a public ceremony. As the days progresses, eager workers pile more timber against the figure’s legs and oil its wooden limbs, while children play games at its side and throw grass, f lowers, and rubbish onto it. The atmosphere is carnival like in it’s intensity with people laughing and playing around; there is a very positive mood around the whole city.

Approaching the courthouse they are stopped by the guards who suspiciously as what their business is at the courthouse as many have tried to gain entrance to see the Beast. They state they are here as volunteers for the defense and amid laughter they are admitted and shown to one Gustav Kaple who is the Barrister for the Defence for the Beast. When wearing his huge court wig, Gustav cuts an impressive figure. Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving— Gustav has had several recent failures in the justice system and seen his last six clients hanged. In truth, the down at- the-heels barrister was chosen to represent the Beast precisely because of his inability to defend anyone and for his stutter, which manifests itself when he is stressed. Although Gustav has no doubt that the Beast is guilty, he plans to defend the creature to the best of his ability, but he is struggling to find any kind of evidence in support of the Beast’s innocence. Gustav is happy to tell the party the circumstances leading to the Beast’s capture at the University, and outline the legal process involved in the. He informs the PCs that the prosecution is using three recent crimes attributed to the Beast to convict the creature of murder; these crimes are: the murder of 10 citizens of the village of Morast a year ago; the slaying of six children in the farming community of Hergstag 7 months ago; and the arson attack 4 months ago at the Sanctuary on Karb Isle, which resulted in the deaths of Doctor Brada and his patients and the blinding of the doctor’s assistant, Karl.

Gustav has interviewed the main witnesses from each of the three cases to be discussed at the trial and has found that their stories are very plausible. He wishes to see justice done, however, and he is certain that without evidence in its favour, the Beast will be convicted. To that end, he is willing to assist the party with their investigations (unless he is at court). His role in court is to present evidence, cross-examine witnesses, and clear the Beast of any wrongdoing. Because of his stutter, however, he suggests that if the party find any evidence that can help the Beast, it might be better for one of them to present it.

Gustav then produces some documents and sets them before the party instructing them to read through them and sign them; these are official documents registering them as agents of the court working for the defence; he hands them a pouch of gold for expenses and advises them to keep any receipts if possible as the state will pay for reasonable expenses incurred in their roles as agents of the court.

When this is all done he leads the group down to the basement where the dungeons are located to see the “Beast”. A towering abomination sits in an iron chair, bound with no less than a dozen sets of manacles. Stitching holds together this grotesque patchwork of flesh and bone, beast and man; though the wires are so taut they look as though they may fly apart at any moment. Its mouth is twisted in a permanent sneer, and a shock of lank, dark hair clings to its scalp. The creature slumps in its chair, a despondent expression upon its monstrous face. Sayuri takes one look and identifies the poor creature as a Flesh Golem; a creature stitched together from various dead parts and re-animated; they tend to be pretty mindless though this one seems to have a glimmer of intelligence in those mismatched eyes. It is dirty and miserable, covered in flies, and more prone to roar and strain at its bonds than to speak. Sayuri tries speaking to the Beast but the Beast doesn’t seem to fully comprehend its predicament, and struggles to understand why the humans have imprisoned and tortured it. If questioned about its alleged crimes, the Beast only repeats, “I didn’t do it,” over and over again. They finally give up and head back to the upper floors to talk some more about the proposed solution to their current predicament.

They had a discussion about the three cases they will be investigating and possible leads; they decided that they should head to Morast and investigate the case that would be brought before the Judges consideration tomorrow. As it’s less than an hours ride away and it was no later than lunchtime they head out after collecting their horses.

The First Case

Morast

The first crime the Beast is charged with is the killing of 10 people in Morast, a small hamlet in the Dippelmere Swamp about 8 miles east of Lepidstadt. A narrow trail leads from Lepidstadt to the village. Morast is a miserable collection of 20 or so wattle-and-daub hovels built on stilts above the swamp and connected by soggy wooden boardwalks. The villagers make their livings fishing and occasionally bringing in a blood caiman (a variety of crocodilian with a red-scaled head that is native to the north) to eat or sell.

The ride to Morast is short, only a little less than an hour; arriving in the swamp village of Morast. The swampers of Morast are a curious group. Local rumour claims that somewhere in their somewhat inbred ancestry, they mingled with strange swamp creatures, tainting their blood and marking them with queer countenances. No one knows how or why, but the people of Morast have legendary constitutions—sickness is rare among the swampers, and the villagers live long, healthy lives. While admired for this fact, they are also shunned for their strange appearance.

The villagers had problems with the Beast a year ago; with lone travellers going missing and it terrorizing their homes. When it got too much they organised a defence for the next time it arrived and they drove it off into the swamp with flaming torches and pitchforks. The one responsible for organizing this resistance is one Lazne the village elder.

The villagers only realized that the “Beast” had escaped when the village elder, Lazne, was called as a star witness by the prosecution for the Beast’s trial, since he led the mob that drove the Beast away. Lazne is a grizzled, middle-aged man with dirty gray hair and skin the colour of swamp mud. He chews on a foul-smelling swamp weed and punctuates most of his sentences by spitting weed-juice onto the ground. Lazne doesn’t much like “cityfolk and furriners” (by which he means anyone not from Morast, or, to a lesser extent, from Lepidstadt) He greets the party as they arrive squelching along the path to the hamlet; tying up the horses they approach and introduce themselves; Lazne greets them in a decidedly surly manner spitting his swamp weed in their general direction obviously not overly impressed to see them. They try convincing Lazne of their good intentions but he is not impressed until they produce cold hard currency of the gold type and then he becomes decidedly loquacious.

Lazne claims that at first the Beast only took lone villagers who were outside at night, but soon became bolder and began to attack houses. These attacks only ended when Lazne organized the villagers and set a trap for the Beast. He recalls that night well. The villagers were lying in wait for the Beast, who attacked just after nightfall. Armed with torches, the locals attacked and wounded the creature—a huge, hulking brute about 7 feet tall. The Beast took to the water, but the swampers gave chase in their boats, pursuing it to the village boneyard, where it was attacked by a blood caiman. Lazne grins as he recalls how the Beast yelled oaths and curses that even the worst whore in Lepidstadt would blush to say as the gator attacked it, and describes the deep bite wound the gator made on the Beast’s shoulder as it dragged the Beast under the water. Although the Beast’s blood tainted the villagers’ burial ground, forcing them to abandon it and build another, the swampers thought it a small price to pay for the thing’s death. Hearing that the Beast actually survived was all that Lazne needed to tell his story to the authorities, and he’s looking forward to seeing it burn.

The abandoned boneyard where the Beast was attacked can only be reached by boat. The swampers use small coracles to navigate the swamp, and will rent the tiny boats to the party for 5 gp per boat per day. Each boat will only take one boater and one passenger so they leave Kat to sit with the horses while they rent two boats and head to the Boneyard; The Boneyard is where the locals used to bury their dead up to a year ago; after the events they decided it was cursed and no longer fit to bury their dead so they found another swampy wet island on which to interne their dead. Arriving; a tiny, miserable island rises from the swamp, a tangle of trees covering its dour, reed-choked surface. Hundreds of fetishes hang from the trees—simple, roughly humanoid figures made of sticks and bound with twine. Larger fetishes are planted in the ground on various parts of the island, leaning drunkenly in the soft mud. A large nest built of sodden swamp wood sits high in the boughs of a trio of tangled trees on the northwest side of the isle. They beach the boats on the northwest side of the island and investigate the sodden heap; some 40 odd graves are here each with a simple wooden fetish to mark its location. They walk round to the south of the island keeping their eyes open to see what they can find; they soon find an old abandoned campfire which they identify as not having been used for roughly a year. Around a small firepit are a water skin (still half full of wine), the aged remnants of some trail rations, and a curious glass vial. The bottom of the vial contains the dried remains of a green substance that smells vaguely of carrots. Neither of them have any idea what this cold be so they pocket it for later investigation.

Walking to the east Sayuri discovers a Coracle hidden in the trees and brush along the southwest shore of the island. Dried blood can be noticed in the bottom of the boat. The coracle contains an oar, a mouldy leather travel bag with a damp artisan’s outfit (a shirt, breeches, shoes, and a cloth apron) inside, and a vile object—what appears to be a detached human face. In addition, a length of rope stretches from the boat into the waters below. Grembor grips the rope and hauls with all his strength pulling it up onto the land. The rope is attached to a heavy sack; the sack is very large and has dried blood soaked into its fabric. The sack holds some rope, a gag, a rusted lantern, a trio of heavy knives, and a rusted shovel. Scouting round the rest of the area Sayuri notices a suspicious lump in the reeds that when brushed aside reveals a leather-bound case filled with fine tools, made of silver with amethyst handles, lost in the undergrowth nearby. They deduce that this is a surgical tool set used by physicians and chirurgeons and is very expensive and probably quite unique; Sayuri finds also upon inspection that they all have a small symbol on the handle depicting a raven. Should make tracking down the owner easier ….

Searching the rest of the island they find a large nest like structure spread between three of the trees; Grembor climbs up to investigate and discovers a dead body of a dwarf in there. Searching the body finds several interesting items but nothing that is tied to the Beast; after searching Grembor scans around and notices a large creature winging towards them with murder in its eyes. Banking as sharply as a clumsy large flying thing can it flicks it’s tail forward unleashing a hail of iron like barbs at the pair; thankfully they have cover and they strike only the protective trees under which they are cowering. Grembor shimmies down the tree landing next to Sayuri while she casts some balls of force at the creature which unerringly flit though the branches and batter the poor defenceless Manticore. The creature sweeps in a low slow circle round the pair; lobbing tail spikes at them both; most of them hit the cover while one slips through striking Grembor in the leg; Grembor responds by shooting an arrow up at the creature missing it by several feet. Sayuri starts summoning a critter to assist while the Manticore fires another volley; two strike Grembor in the chest and blood bubbles up through his lips from a pierced lung as he drops to his knees. Sayuri looks on as she completes her summoning and rips a rent to the plane of air and brings forth an air elemental which starts pummelling the creature. Looking down on Grembor’s predicament she launches into another summoning; Grembor looks down at the spikes piercing his chest and plucks at them feebly. Digging a potion out of his pouch he swallows the contents and the two spines work their way out dropping to the floor at his feet. He scrambles weakly to his feet and scoops up his bow from the ground just in time to meet another volley of spikes one of which impales itself deep in his neck amid a spurt of blood. Sayuri looks on and completes her summoning even though she takes a substantial hit; practically screaming out the last syllables and almost dropping the spell but thankfully another rent in the plane is forms dragging through another air elemental which leaps on the Manticore ripping into its wings. Sayuri digs out a healing potion and manages to get most of it down the throat of Grembor and the healing energies ripple through his body repairing the worst of the injuries to his neck and forcing the expulsion of the iron hard spine. Leaping to his feet he heroically scoops up his bow once again stringing an arrow and letting it fly directly towards the low flying creature; it hits at the wing joint causing the creature to loose some altitude before swooping low over the swamp. The second arrow is nocked and sighting along the arrow letting it fly low across the water; is streaks out with a low whine from the fletching which pulls the arrow to one side only narrowly missing one of the air elementals and completely missing the Manticore. Landing the creature figures to try mauling these impudent humans with it’s claws and bite but some serious damage from the pair of elementals soon stops thoughts of vengeance and starts the thoughts for survival; the creature turns and with a lumbering run gains the air and ponderously flaps away followed by some hasty arrows from Grembor.

They dig out some more potions and heal themselves up a bit more before finishing off exploring the island. The only other thing they find of significant note is that six of the graves look different to the others and they seem to have had the bodies removed as the surface of the plot has sunk.

They return to the coracles and discuss the turn of events with Lazne who exclaims when he sees the dried up face they found in the coracle; little more than a ragged mask, it is tricky to identify, but Lazne identifies it as the face of Nan Klebem, a poacher who used to visit Morast about once a month, but who has not been seen in the village for about a year, since the time of the Beast’s attacks in fact.

It seems there is more to the attacks than realised, it was difficult to tell but they did not recall seeing the scars on the Beast from the bite of a blood caiman. Though if there was one then it was covered by the ragged strips of clothing and dirt.

Kat gets a tattoo ....

Returning back to the relative safety of the hamlet the party regroup; mount up and take the short ride back into Lepidstadt. Arriving in the late afternoon as the clock on the courthouse strikes 6pm they travel quickly to show Gustav who; still sitting in his office is making preparations for the next days trail. Showing him what they found he seems excited; they request that the Beast is cleaned up for tomorrow trial so they can present the evidence better. Gustav details two guards to hose down the Beast and get him cleaned up.

Leaving the majority of the evidence at the courthouse they take the surgical kit to see if they can get it identified so they can track down what they believe is the creator of the golem and the true culprit of these crimes. The current theory of the party is that the creator made two golems and one is responsible for the murders and the other is not.

They set out Kat still grumbling about a strange looking tattoo that she has on her face; from a distance it looks like a dragon but closer up it looks more like something a young lady should not have on her face in polite society. (Apparently when your controlling player is not present your character has nasty things happen to them.) They decide that the best place to gain some information upon the surgical set is to ask at the University. Of all the places this is the only one which is likely to be open as the local shops tend to close up at 6pm not opening again till the following morning at 6am. Grembor confidently strolls into the university and makes a few heightest jokes to the students just leaving. This however does not go down so well on the young female Halfling at the reception; she tells Grembor in no uncertain terms that if he does not leave the premises immediately she will call security to escort him away. (Failed Diplomacy roles can be bad) Kat stepping up as he see’s Grembor walking out looking despondent walks in and charms the Halfling receptionist and gets a series of directions to the medical area where she suspects one of the professors is still working late. Following the labyrinthine passageways is no problem to seasoned adventurers and they find themselves outside the entrance to the Medical department; walking in they discover a wizened prune of a man with gold spectacles perched on the tip of his nose with tufts of grey hair seem to sprout from his ears. Looking up myopically as they approach he realises that they are not his usual students; for example his usual students are better armed and they tend to knock. Also they tend to not ask stupid questions unlike this bunch. Anyway the one with the phallic symbol on her face seems pleasant enough so he takes a look at their find.

Professor Hiezer takes the box and opening it finds a beautiful set of surgical tools; each with amethyst handles and a raven emblazoned upon them. Ooohing and Ahhing over the set he asks if they would like to sell them. Declining they ask if he could point them in the direction of the maker of the implements of torture; the Professor advises a street where he bought his from. There are several shops there that specialize in the manufacture of this sort of equipment. Providing the address of the shop where he gained his tools in the area of the city called Surgeons Flats; advising the party that these respectable businesses are only open from 6 till 6 they will have to wait till tomorrow morning. They head back to the Scholars Rest to spend the night with cheap filling food and even cheaper wine; they head to bed early to get up to investigate the box in the morning.

Looking for tools. ...

Woken up early in the morning by the innkeeper; they take a bacon sandwich with them as they head out to investigate Surgeons Flats. Getting there by 6am they find the shop described to them by the professor so they wander inside to ask some questions. Walking inside they find a bell on the counter but no-one viable; the sound of faint tapping comes from the back room of the shop. Grembor taps the bell sending a ringing through the building; the tapping pauses for a moment then resumes for several more minutes before stopping. Walking through from the back wiping his hands on a rag is a portly gentleman wearing a headset with various lenses attached to it; smiling at the party he asks what he can do for them today. They explain the situation they find themselves in and show him the surgical set; opening it up he whistles slowly and takes out several items to examine. He tells them that the raven symbol on the tools as a maker’s mark used by Zbraslav Hora and Sons, who have a workshop on the tiny Anatomists’ Alley. This is just a short distance away just of the Surgeons Flats so they head round and find the establishment without any problems.

Zbraslav Hora is a bookish, taciturn man who wears thick spectacles. He keeps them waiting a good 20 minutes after entering the shop while he finishes up on the current piece he is working on. Afterwards he walks through with a smile asking what they are looking for; and expressing interest in the item after they advise him they have one of his pieces. Showing him the item he goes through it examining each piece meticulously and tutting over any slight damage or blunt instrument he looks at the party quizzically. “Your not here to sell these or to congratulate me on my craftsmanship I take it?” he asks with one eyebrow raised. They concede and state the reasons they are there; shaking his head he states that his clients are confidential and it would not be professional of him to release this information to just any vagabond who takes a fancy to it. Predictably they offer him some money to assist in soothing his conscience which works wonders once they upped the price a little. Zbraslav noted down the purchaser as Vladka Kostel, a red-haired Varisian woman who wears a green silk scarf depicting a swan. Zbraslav knows she works for an auction house, but he doesn’t remember which one. The party thank him and leave wondering how they could track down this woman in the very short time they have left to them. It’s currently roughly 7:30am and they have to be at the trail at 10am.

Tracking down a single woman in even a small city like this would take a while. They return to the courthouse somewhat despondently and go over their problems with Gustav. Gustav advises them that there is an auction house not far from here and suggests that they head there to ask questions. The party perks up and heads out immediately to investigate the lead. They find the Auction house easily but it looks to be closed; heading around back they find a cart being unloaded by a surly looking gentleman of large build; asking him about this he looks at the somewhat confused then does what any good employee does when presented a problem above his rather limited pay grade and calls for his manager. The manager comes out of his office and asks what the party is doing interrupting his employee from unloading the wagon; they explain who they are looking for and are advised that she does not work here. However for a modest finder’s fee he does know where she used to work a while ago. Sighing Grembor hands over a sum of money which makes the foreman’s eyes light up; he advises them that he used to work for another Auction house for a little while called Ledov’s Chirurgery Merchants. The lady they are looking for worked there when he did; she was difficult to miss. …. Grembor thanks the foreman and they rush off to follow up on this new lead.

Finding Ledov’s is easy enough and like the previous establishment it’s closed. Checking round back they find a similar situation but this time the work is being overseen by a club wielding supervisor who promptly advises them to piss off. They flash a couple of gold coins and his mood improved dramatically; they ask about Vladka Kostel and are informed that she will not be in work till later on as they don’t arrive on the scene till closer to the auction time. It’s now 9am and they have only an hour till the trial begins; after producing some more incentive the club wielding foreman lets them know whereabouts in the city she lives and that it’s a red brick building. They sprint off to investigate and hopefully track down the house prior to the hearing.

Finding the area is easy enough they have walked through it a few times previously; some nice houses and several red brick houses in the area. They split up and take a couple of houses each; unfortunately they don’t find any indication of her living in any of them. Either the information they were given was incorrect; the house that did not answer is the one or someone they spoke to lied. Each is a viable answer; Sayuri in a panic notices that the time is very close to 10am and starts running off to the courtroom; Grembor stays were he is and lurks around the graveyard on a likely route to the auction house hoping to spy the lady on her way to work while Kat walked the streets looking for her.

A significant crowd gathers around the Punishing Man at dawn, and a carnival atmosphere engulfs the courthouse. This crown and the general business of the streets make crossing the city a timelier affair than it usually would. The area outside the court is filled with the usual type that you find at any gathering of people whether it’s a hanging a party or a performance. They get asked if they would like a rat on a stick …. Kids love them !!! by a greasy aproned individual holding a tray of suspicious looking ‘edibles’.

Synopsis of the 1st day of trial.

09:50 a.m. The three justices arrive in black coaches with several guards in attendance; Sayuri leaps up the stairs several at a time and makes it into the courthouse just in time for the proceedings to start much to Gustav’s relief.
10:00 a.m.: The Trial of the Beast begins. A trio of guards leads the Beast into the court and shackles it to the large iron chair in the centre of the courtroom to the jeers of the crowd.
10:10 a.m.: Opening of the Trial. Chief Justice Ambrose Khard commences proceedings by laying out the rules of the court in a lengthy speech, interspersed with gong strikes by the Herald. Khard concludes his speech by announcing that the good people of Lepidstadt have suffered many acts of terror and barbarity at the hands of
the Beast of Lepidstadt for many years, and that while the Beast is doubtless responsible for numerous murders, the prosecution will focus on three recent cases to prove the Beast’s guilt during this trial. Kat manages to find the courthouse and slides into the seat next to Sayuri.
10:30 a.m.: Opening Statements. Prosecutor Otto Heiger outlines his case. He alleges that the Beast is responsible for the murder of 10 people in the village of Morast a year ago, in addition to two other horrendous crimes that will be described as the trial continues. Barrister Gustav Kaple then makes his case for the Beast’s innocence, a halfhearted attempt full of stutters and awkward pauses, all the while being jeered and booed by the baying mob in the gallery.
11:00 a.m.: Witnesses for the Prosecution. Otto first brings three locals from Morast, two young women and a man, to the stand. The trio describes events as they saw them happen; that over a series of nights, the Beast came to the village and took people away; that a trap was finally laid for the Beast; that the Beast was driven into the swamp, and, they assumed, killed. Otto then calls the village elder, Lazne, who led the mob that drove the Beast off. He confirms the events related by the other three villagers.
12:30 p.m.: Witnesses for the Defense. Gustav calls the party to present any evidence they found in Morast. Sayuri takes the stand and brings up the information they have so far found; Six of the graves in Morast’s boneyard have been robbed; The Beast can see in the dark, so it does not require an extract of darkvision; Although the Beast was clearly seen to be bitten by a blood caiman, it has no scars from such an attack and Displaying the removed face of the poacher Nan Klebem. The three Judges take each item of evidence with many boo’s heard from the gallery above. Grembor makes it to the courthouse close to the end of Sayuri’s presentation of the Defense.
2:00 p.m.: Court Recess. Chief Justice Khard brings the first day of the trial to a conclusion. As the Beast is led away the baying crowd in the Gallery show their displeasure and hatred on the Beast and the Defence. At present, such abuse is merely vocal. After the trial, Gustav Kaple is available and wishes to meet with the party in the Defence Chamber. He congratulates the party in their investigations so far and he suggests the Party investigate the scene of the crime in Hergstag before tomorrow’s trial.

The Party splits ... silly party ...

Grembor during the trial gets bored of watching the road and takes a walk to Ledov’s Chirurgery Merchants auction house. Finding it open he walks in and almost immediately notices a pretty Red headed Varisian woman; this has to be Vladka Kostel who they have been looking for. Approaching her he makes an impassioned speech for assistance which pulls at her heart strings and she agrees to help. Tracking down the Auction master Ollo Klud; a stuffy, pretentious man with a bald head and tufts of hair above his ears. He looks up at Vladka and Grembor suspiciously at first but Vladka makes her case and he agrees to release the information for a price. As Grembor does not have a precise time or date for the item the clerks will have to go through the records; Ollo suggests that Grembor as a functionary of the court receives expenses and writes out a bill for the work and tells Grembor to return at 4pm as his clerks will have to look into the archives for the information. Vladka escorts Grembor out of the office and Grembor requests her presence for dinner which she politely declines.

Grembor makes his way back to the courthouse entering while the defence is being presented by Sayuri.

After the first day of the trial the party does the one thing any party should never do; they split up. Grembor is stopping in Lepidstadt and tracking down the owner of the surgical tools while Sayuri and Kat are heading to Hergstag to investigate the six murdered children.

The Hergstag incident

The Hergstag incident

The evening is warm and the sun is out, it’s roughly 3pm and two figures ride down a trail together; they are foreshadowed by the lithe figure of a wolf carefully sniffing the air. These two pause as they top a rise and view the abandoned hamlet below; it is spread out following the course of a river; parts of it are being reclaimed by the swamp and the ramshackle wooden building are slowly being overgrown by the various flora and fauna around it. The hamlet lies about 10 miles Northwest of Lepidstadt and was once called Hergstag; a series of murders took place here as six children were foully murdered and the remaining population left in despair. The hamlet is rumoured to be haunted by the ghosts of the six children; something you scoffed at while sitting in the nice warm inn however it’s more difficult to shake of the thoughts of small evil ghosts hungering for your life force when presented with the grim reality of these abandoned farmsteads. The pair looks at each other in the afternoon sun and heels their horses forward, closing on the first of the structures they dismount and tie up their horses and continue onwards on foot.

Both of the riders are female, they both move with grace and poise; one is clad in thin leathers which wrap her lithe form like a second skin, the other is clothed in cotton and silk. Neither are people you could mistake as being a defenceless woman as evidenced by the various weapons they both carry and the 150lb’s of snarling wolf crouched beside one of them. They are both of definite Elven stock; and they both glide across the ground with practiced ease; the leather clad women finding the undergrowth less of a hindrance than her finely dressed partner. They ghost across a shaky wooded bridge and enter into the hamlet proper; there is a sharp snap and the foremost leather clad woman screams and drops to the floor grabbing at her ankle; her wolf leaps forward looking to attack the fool audacious enough to attack it’s mistress while the woman behind scrambles sideways to make space for a sweeping high kick should it be needed. There is a second snap and she also screams and falls to the floor grasping at her leg; the wolf prances around trying to discern this hidden foe growling fiercely.

The Hergstag incident continued

After several minutes of trying to remove the bear traps which were hidden in the undergrowth and are now firmly attached to their legs they lay back. Both in obvious pain and suffering from the steel teeth digging into their flesh as it grates upon their leg bones; they scout around looking for something to help leaver open these hellish devices of torture. Neither have the upper body strength sufficient to pry open without the aid of a lever, neither of them have the know how to disable the mechanism, and neither of them have the skills to escape this trap through any other means. Searching through their packs again looking for the possibility of some grease they find some oil; while not perfect this could possibly help in their escape. Kat sends her wolf to look for a stick which produces a stick about as long as her forearm; this will not do so the wolf will be sent out again. Narrowly missing the other bear traps in the area it returns a few minutes later with a better stick, more solid and much longer. Sayuri tries vainly to escape on her own and makes it worse; she nearly passes out from the blood loss and digs in here backpack for some healing potions. These bring her back from the brink of unconsciousness but try healing the flesh around the grasping teeth of the bear trap. Kat manages after several attempts to prise open her trap and extract her mangled foot; and crawls over to assist Sayuri. Through the liberal application of a flask of oil and the work of Kat and her leaver they manage to force the trap open sufficiently to drag her mangled leg from the trap. They have been in these traps for more than an hour; they apply what healing they can and swear not to speak of this to anyone else. They hobble onwards the light failing as dusk swiftly approaches. They see in the centre of town what looks to be a small chapel which they head towards carefully probing the ground ahead of them with the stick to discover any more of the heinous traps.

They approach the chapel with care; this small timber whitewashed chapel surrounded by gravestones is empty and devoid of life. Scouting inside they find it is a sorry state of disrepair. The village’s chapel was dedicated to Desna, but it already shows the signs of its abandonment. Within, the simple chapel is falling victim to rot, its pews are already overgrown, and some of its windows are smashed. Mice nest in the altar, the holy water in the font is turning green, and the once-beautiful frescoes depicting Desna and the heavens have begun to flake. Sayuri whispers a brief prayer to Desna and they depart the sorry sight. Exiting the structure they notice the sun just disappearing below the horizon and a deeper chill enters the air than the abandonment by the sun would suggest. Kat the last to leave feels the chill of the grave sear down her spine as the claws of a diminutive creature score along her flesh rending it with small wounds but draining so much more. Spinning around they spy a wraithlike creature; wispy and the size of a small child. It whimpers softly in a childlike voice and screams at them in a tantrum alternatively as it tries to sink its claw like fingers into their skin and again feel the warmth of life running through it. Sayuri sheaths her body in armour made of pure force knowing it would make the creature’s attacks easier to avoid. Kat drawing her sword swings a low cut that connects and slices some of the darkness away prompting more screams of anguish and hate from the childlike wraith. The child wraith strikes out missing its prey while Sayuri starts summoning a creature from hell; Kat slices again at the figure missing through the creature’s natural wispy nature. Cursing at the creature as it tries vainly to suck out the life of Kat Sayuri completes her summons and rents a hole in space and drags through a Lemure which promptly starts clawing at the diminutive wraith. Kat casts a cure spell and tries touching the wraith but it deftly avoids the touch of positive energy. The Lemure rends the wraith some more as Kat takes advantage of the distraction plunges her hand into the core of the wraith; wreathed in positive energy it discharges into the creature causing it to explode into a fine mist with a final fading scream.

The pair looks at each other and decides sod this we are heading back to town for backup.