IG's Legend of The Ripper [IC]

[industrygothica]

The orcish woman giggles sheepishly behind you all.

It is no surprise to Xao when his pleas to Mari Kell go unanswered.

Fen notices something strange about the scene, other than the grisly manner in which the victim was slain--there appears to be no footprints or other tracks through the copious amount of blood pooling around the body, or what's left of it.

The strike of a match grabs your attention, and you turn to see the deranged whore light another cigar. With a hand on her protruding hip, she produces a large cloud of putrid smoke. "Maybe next time he'll be comin' for you. Careful now." She turns on her heels and begins to prance out of the courtyard.

 

[PhoenixAsh]

Dacen smiles at the orcish woman's outrage, and he considers something smart to say on Fen's 'scouting' activities as they round the corner. The sight of the murder scene drains the humor from him, along with most of the color in his face.

"Cuthbert's cudgel," he swears quietly.

Xao's words stir him and he forces his eyes on the robed man, nodding firmly and setting his shoulders. As the orcish woman turns to leave he shakes his head and quickly turns. "Wait," his voice is too small, almost a whisper. Clearing his throat he tries again, "Wait!"

"Did.. did you see him? What did he look like? Where did he go? Miss! Please." He turns to follow her at least to the corner again if she keeps moving away. She may be addled, but he'd rather focus on her than the gruesome scene in the courtyard.

 

[Autumn]

Fen shows little reaction to the grisly spectacle. His jaded eyes move quickly past the shock and horror, and on to more productive scrutiny. Seeing Dacen following after the possible witness, he leaves that side of things in his hands. He crouches down next to the pool of blood, peering at it with slitted eyes.

"No tracks," he mutters. "The killer musta been standin' round in this puddle all the time he was playing with his trophies..." he points to the carefully arranged row of organs. "But he left no footprints to show fer it. Now how d'ya s'pose that works?"


OOC: I assume that the blood is dry? Cos otherwise the lack of footprints wouldn't be all that remarkable, what with the rain and all. I'll edit if I'm wrong.

 

[industrygothica]

"Haha!" The woman's eyes go wild with laughter. "Dats right, they always come running back to Kilna begging for something." She keeps walking, and doesn't look back. "Kilna see nothing! Best you don't, too!"

She quickly disappears around the corner. Does Dacen follow her?

At the mention of her name, Fen (Knowledge (local): 11+4=pass) recognizes it immediately. She is Crazy Kilna; a prostitute for certain, but more often a thief. She has a reputation for being handy with a sap, and catching her targets with their pants down--quite literally, as it seems.

[sblock=Autumn]The blood is mostly clotted, but still damp from the moisture in the air. It's on'y a very light rain--certainly enough to do damage forensically, but not enough to wash away any trailing footprints that would almost certainly have been dry, had they been there at all.[/sblock]

 

[PhoenixAsh]

Dacen grinds his teeth with frustration. He doesn't spare a backwards glance, however and plunges after Kilna. "Hold on! I can make it worth your while. And we can help get rid of the Ripper, isn't that worth something to you? He'll never know you said anything, come on the smallest detail can help!"

Dacen will talk at the woman's back, but if she appears to be going so far as to leave the alleyway completely without giving him some sort of answer, he'll go so far as to initiate a grapple to attempt to restrain her from doing so.

 

[industrygothica]

Dacen follows the woman to toward the alley's exit onto the main road. She ignores his questions, quickening her pace. Dacen finally charges the woman in an attempt to get answers. What he gets could prove to be far worse.

"Help me!" Her screams ring out through the streets, echoing off of every decaying brick and cobble. She She falls to the ground, taking Dacen with her. "It's him! It's the Ripper! He's gonna kill me!"

Her last last words are annunciated with fury of sobs at an incredible volume.

Doors slam, and the muffled sounds of angry voices and heavy footfalls grow louder.

[sblock=Details]Kilna's AoO: 3+2=miss
Dacen's melee touch attack: 11+2=hit
Grapple check: 16+6=22 vs. 2+2=4, Dacen holds
Unarmed damage: 2+2=4 non-lethal damage to Kilna

You big bully. [/sblock]

 

[PhoenixAsh]

Dacen grabs a hold of Kilna's arm, twisting it back sharply. He is mildly surprised she drops to the ground, but he follows her down easily enough and maintains his position, grinding the arm up and back into a painful position.

Her screams and the reaction they bring are certainly enough to give him, pause, however.

"Miss Kilna," he says loudly and as assertively as he can manage, trying to make certain he is overheard by the crowd. "It is by the authority charged in me by St. Cuthbert that you are detained. As the only witness of the recent murder and in your refusal to assist our investigation, I now suspect you are complicit in his actions."

He rises and releases Kilna, attempting to remove himself from the grapple. He makes certain his holy symbol is free from underneath his shirt and prominently displayed before the crowd comes within sight. "I will ask you again to cooperate and tell us with you know, to prove your innocence, so we can bring the foul murderer to justice."

industrygothica:[sblock] FYI, Dacen's Improved Grapple feat denies an opponent the typical AOO when initiating a grapple. I should have mentioned it when I posted that possible action, sorry!

Attempting to escape from grapple at +6 if Kilna choose to resist Dacen. If she bolts off Dacen will restrain her again with a grapple check, though he'll elect to do no damage if he succeeds.[/sblock]

 

[Rayex]

Seeing the grisly display in the courtyard, the young woman steadies herself on a wall while trying to steady her stomach. Still dizzy, she only vaguely notice the conversation with the orc.

When she screams out, however, she turns around and takes a few steps after the cleric, while unsheating her blade.

She slows down at Dacen's words reach her ears, and she suddenly see people starting to stir.

"Better not to make more of a scene." she mumbles half to herself, with a weak grin at the others. "Seems like he got it under control. For now."

Staying back, she'll watch the crowd, but she won't put away her weapon yet.

 

[Schmoe]

While Dacen struggles with the prostitute and the streets begin to stir, Xao stands calmly in the courtyard. Whoever or whatever did this was monstrous, to be sure. No wonder the crimes have gripped the city in a panic. Ignoring the commotion around him, he focuses on the murder scene.

Xao's mind begins working. The scene was obviously contrived and carefully arranged. Is there anything significant in the arrangement? What would possess someone to do this to another person? Perhaps there is some sort of possession involved.

He walks slowly around the courtyard studying it, careful not to touch anything. Are there any lingering spell effects? Any clues the murderer may have left behind?

[sblock]
In the following order, Xao is trying to see if there is anything significant about the crime scene:

Knowledge Religion +6
Knowledge Planes +7
Knowledge Arcana +7
Knowledge Spellcraft +7
Search (untrained) +3[/sblock]

 

[industrygothica]

Xao cannot find anything that will help him find the killer.

Four large, beefy--and more than a little drunk--men approach Dacen and Kilna. Kilna rushes into one of the men's arms and he quickly pushes her away. "Git off me ya crazy broad!" he screams. "That ain't no Ripper."

Kilna keeps her footing even as she is shoved backwards. She looks to Dacen and grins, and then back to the other men. "Maybe not," she says. "But I'll treat ya for free if you take care of him."

The man's eyes open wide, and a sick yellow-toothed grin appears on his face. "Free?" he confirms.
"Free."

The man shakes his head and starts to roll up his sleeves. His buddies follow suit.

[sblock=Initiative]22 Fen (50 ft. away)
20 Dacen
17 Rexy (50 ft. away)
10 Thugs (4)
6 Kilna
Xao is blissfully unaware situation at hand, instead concentrating on the murder scene before him.[/sblock]