Hewligan's Rise of the Runelords: The Skinsaw Murders
- Thread starter hewligan
- Start date
Rhun
First Post
Danth nods to Jovik. "I agree that we should investigate the scene of the last murder as soon as possible. We also need to determine if the slain are random victims, or if they are being specifically targeted. At first glance it would seem few if any of them have anything in common...but we should make an effort to find out."
hewligan
First Post
"Not many know about the letter. Three or four guards, myself, the mayor, perhaps one or two others? It isn't something that has leaked out. As for people who have seen the contents ... well that would be myself, Mayor Deverin, and now you four. But people talk. I remember the Chopper witch hunts all too well. I have probably muddied Kael's name a little, but in truth I think you will find that most people welcome back their heroes. You carry the badges, you carry a lot of cachet, you are the Wolves!
And I agree with Jovik. The lumber mill is your best port of call."
And I agree with Jovik. The lumber mill is your best port of call."
hewligan
First Post
The Lumber Mill
The Sandpoint Lumber Mill lies on the shore of the Turandarok River. A sizeable crowd has gathered outside by the time you arrive, and groups of nervous-looking town guards stand at the mill’s entrances. You hear a few muffled exchanges between the gathered people as you walk past. "The Wolves have returned. Things must be bad!", "Trouble's brewing", and "Thank Desna they are back" are amongst the stolen snatches you hear.
The guards appear to have already been informed by Sheriff Hemlock of his intent to deputize you, and even in his absence the guards nod silently and step aside to allow your entry. At the door, Valdor Theran, a young guard that you have all worked (and drank) with on several occasions, takes you aside.
"The mill was working last night—Harker and Thorn, the two millers, often worked late into the night. To be honest, that has become a bit of a bone of contention around town as the noisy mill and its infernally creaky log splitter kept neighbors awake. At first, when we heard that they had been murdered, we half expected to find some drunken, sobbing villager nearby who had been driven to silence their infernal racket. Trust me, these guys were not overly popular of late. Heck, you could hear their noise from the far end of town. The only saving grace was that they didn't work late that often."
"Oh, and it stinks in there. Be prepared!"
He stands aside, pulling the door open to let you enter, but shielding the scene from the gathered villagers. As you walk past to enter he offers up one last wisdom.
"Good to have you back. A few of us will be grabbing a few cold ones at the Hagfish at sundown, if you are interested."
The mill is a well-built wooden structure with very thick walls. The roof is of wooden shingles, and doors are simple timber and unlocked. The mill machinery has been disengaged, and the place is shrouded in silence and the eery half light of the dull day.
Timber is delivered to the mill via a small timber pier that extends out into the Turandarok River. The pier is visible through the windows, and beside it sits a low shed used for storing wood.
The mill interior is coated with sawdust strewn with footprints and splashes of blood.Harker’s body, Katrine’s body, a suspicious axe, and a lingering stench of rotten flesh comprise the primary clues here. (OOC and can be investigated with spot checks!)
The lingering scent of decay in the air is curious—it smells almost as if a small animal had died somewhere in the room and its remains were allowed to ripen.
Katrine's body is a mess. Poor Katrine appears to have been killed instantly by being pushed or loaded into the log splitter. Her mangled, ruined remains lie on the mill’s lower floor amid heaps of bloodstained firewood. A pale-faced, obviously upset guard stands at attention nearby. The log splitter itself is powered by a waterwheel and consists of a chute in the floor with rotating saw blades that cut logs as they are fed in. The log cutter is a frightening piece of machinery, large and powerful enough to split giant wooden beams and entire trunks. The horrific efficiency of it on the young lady's body is all too obvious.
Harker’s body has been horribly desecrated. The poor man has been affixed to the wall by several hooks normally used to hang machinery. The body is mutilated, the face carved away and lower jaw missing entirely. His bare chest is defaced as well, bearing a strange rune in the shape of a seven-pointed star.
A handaxe is embedded in the floor near the log splitter, as if it had been dropped there. The handle is covered with bloody finger-marks.
OOC: Let me know what you want to do, and please be proactive and make suitable rolls.
The Sandpoint Lumber Mill lies on the shore of the Turandarok River. A sizeable crowd has gathered outside by the time you arrive, and groups of nervous-looking town guards stand at the mill’s entrances. You hear a few muffled exchanges between the gathered people as you walk past. "The Wolves have returned. Things must be bad!", "Trouble's brewing", and "Thank Desna they are back" are amongst the stolen snatches you hear.
The guards appear to have already been informed by Sheriff Hemlock of his intent to deputize you, and even in his absence the guards nod silently and step aside to allow your entry. At the door, Valdor Theran, a young guard that you have all worked (and drank) with on several occasions, takes you aside.
"The mill was working last night—Harker and Thorn, the two millers, often worked late into the night. To be honest, that has become a bit of a bone of contention around town as the noisy mill and its infernally creaky log splitter kept neighbors awake. At first, when we heard that they had been murdered, we half expected to find some drunken, sobbing villager nearby who had been driven to silence their infernal racket. Trust me, these guys were not overly popular of late. Heck, you could hear their noise from the far end of town. The only saving grace was that they didn't work late that often."
"Oh, and it stinks in there. Be prepared!"
He stands aside, pulling the door open to let you enter, but shielding the scene from the gathered villagers. As you walk past to enter he offers up one last wisdom.
"Good to have you back. A few of us will be grabbing a few cold ones at the Hagfish at sundown, if you are interested."
The mill is a well-built wooden structure with very thick walls. The roof is of wooden shingles, and doors are simple timber and unlocked. The mill machinery has been disengaged, and the place is shrouded in silence and the eery half light of the dull day.
Timber is delivered to the mill via a small timber pier that extends out into the Turandarok River. The pier is visible through the windows, and beside it sits a low shed used for storing wood.
The mill interior is coated with sawdust strewn with footprints and splashes of blood.Harker’s body, Katrine’s body, a suspicious axe, and a lingering stench of rotten flesh comprise the primary clues here. (OOC and can be investigated with spot checks!)
The lingering scent of decay in the air is curious—it smells almost as if a small animal had died somewhere in the room and its remains were allowed to ripen.
Katrine's body is a mess. Poor Katrine appears to have been killed instantly by being pushed or loaded into the log splitter. Her mangled, ruined remains lie on the mill’s lower floor amid heaps of bloodstained firewood. A pale-faced, obviously upset guard stands at attention nearby. The log splitter itself is powered by a waterwheel and consists of a chute in the floor with rotating saw blades that cut logs as they are fed in. The log cutter is a frightening piece of machinery, large and powerful enough to split giant wooden beams and entire trunks. The horrific efficiency of it on the young lady's body is all too obvious.
Harker’s body has been horribly desecrated. The poor man has been affixed to the wall by several hooks normally used to hang machinery. The body is mutilated, the face carved away and lower jaw missing entirely. His bare chest is defaced as well, bearing a strange rune in the shape of a seven-pointed star.
A handaxe is embedded in the floor near the log splitter, as if it had been dropped there. The handle is covered with bloody finger-marks.
OOC: Let me know what you want to do, and please be proactive and make suitable rolls.
"Smells like a barow mound in here..", Jokad remarks offhandedly. "It smells like old death, not coppery smell of fresh blood." He sniffs the air like an animal. "Do you think there might be a 3rd corpse hidden away?"
He says this without really expecting an answer. He knows they will thoroughly search the place at some point.
"Have a care where you step. I'm hoping to find a clue among the bloody gore, perhaps how the killer entered and left. Unless they can fly, muddy boots may tell a tale... or leave trail." He immediately begins circling the scene in a wide circuit.
OOC: Jokad is looking for tracks entering or leaving the scene. He is hoping the guards haven't fouled things too badly to perhaps get a bead on the killer (how he entered or left? what direction? large or small? humanoid? etc.)
Roll Lookup
Survival check = 24, not too bad.
He says this without really expecting an answer. He knows they will thoroughly search the place at some point.
"Have a care where you step. I'm hoping to find a clue among the bloody gore, perhaps how the killer entered and left. Unless they can fly, muddy boots may tell a tale... or leave trail." He immediately begins circling the scene in a wide circuit.
OOC: Jokad is looking for tracks entering or leaving the scene. He is hoping the guards haven't fouled things too badly to perhaps get a bead on the killer (how he entered or left? what direction? large or small? humanoid? etc.)
Roll Lookup
Survival check = 24, not too bad.
hewligan
First Post
Jokad stalks slowly around the room, as if seeking out some print amongst the blood and gore. Suddenly he stops, stoops, and recoils a little. His searching reveals what appears to be part of a footprint from a barefoot human male. Jokad follows the trail, a mix of blood and ichor, and ... some stench that clings to it. The footsteps, faint in places, little more than smears of mud in others, track back towards a window, crossing muddier prints on the way in. Something entered and exited from this window. Jokad looks out. The heavy shutters are pinned back in open position. The window looks out onto the pier.
Without any ceremony, the barbarian swings himself up and over, following depressed marks in the mud leading from the mill to the pier ... and under the pier. There there are marks, as if someone lay there for some time, with viewing distance of the mill. A watch point, from which they sprang.
Without any ceremony, the barbarian swings himself up and over, following depressed marks in the mud leading from the mill to the pier ... and under the pier. There there are marks, as if someone lay there for some time, with viewing distance of the mill. A watch point, from which they sprang.
Friadoc
Explorer
Walking with the other Wolves, Kael keeps to them and himself while Mal walks at his side. His experience still stings in his mind, especially with how quickly some of the village suspected the worse, however he understands it, thus trying not to hold a grudge. But, for now, it is fresh, too fresh, so Kael holds his tongue around most, save for the Wolves themselves, with whom he tries to keep a readied smile and chuckle.
On the way to the Mill, Kael hands each of the Wolves a simple umber colored bottle with a dark cork stopper.
"For half an hour after you consume the drought," says Kael. "You will be able to speak to someone you can see, up to a few hundred yards away and they will be able to briefly reply, yet your voice will not go beyond a whisper.."
"I've others," says Kael. "Of different spells, but I'll have to get them later."
Once at the Mill, Kael nods toward the guards, listening to their words and giving a half smile to them. "If all goes well, I'm sure we will see you then, unless our attention is elsewhere and immediate."
Once inside the Mill, Kael and Mal make their way toward the bodies, but not so close as to trample anything. Once they are within a dozen feet or so, Kael will slowly search the area around the bodies, before making a spiral in toward them. He is looking for anything similar to what has been found before, clues, evidence, or messages.
OOC
Message Potions, created by a 3rd level caster with said level's effect.
Post #18 - Search Roll (1d20 2=12)
On the way to the Mill, Kael hands each of the Wolves a simple umber colored bottle with a dark cork stopper.
"For half an hour after you consume the drought," says Kael. "You will be able to speak to someone you can see, up to a few hundred yards away and they will be able to briefly reply, yet your voice will not go beyond a whisper.."
"I've others," says Kael. "Of different spells, but I'll have to get them later."
Once at the Mill, Kael nods toward the guards, listening to their words and giving a half smile to them. "If all goes well, I'm sure we will see you then, unless our attention is elsewhere and immediate."
Once inside the Mill, Kael and Mal make their way toward the bodies, but not so close as to trample anything. Once they are within a dozen feet or so, Kael will slowly search the area around the bodies, before making a spiral in toward them. He is looking for anything similar to what has been found before, clues, evidence, or messages.
OOC
Message Potions, created by a 3rd level caster with said level's effect.
Post #18 - Search Roll (1d20 2=12)
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OOC: It sounds as if this is how the killer entered. Do I find any sign of how he left?
IC: Jokad looks up from his crouch near the pier and tries to imagine why the killer approached from here. He looks along the banks of the river. "I guess he thought he would be unobserved. Obviously he was right," Jokad thinks to himself.
Fenris
Adventurer
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