Jasper Conrad
Jasper quietly listens to Oculus and Solomon's discussion for a few minutes as he gathers his thoughts. It's just a big puzzle. The clues are all here, we just have to fit them together properly.
"Ok, I'm going to try to draw some conclusions from all this. Tell me if I miss anything. First, the history. About 400 years ago, A force of witches, leading goblinoids and animals, appeared in the northern edge of Mergovia, near Prumen. They were defeated, and many of the witches were burned around Prumen. In addition, we have this tapestry and book, which appear to be from the same time period or older. The tapestry depicts worshippers of an ancient, or 'lost' earth goddess, whose name escapes me at the moment. But her portfolio prominently featured things such as revenge and cannibalism. All her priests were female. Witches, if you will. I believe her symbol was a fiery snake, as can be seen here, here, here." As he says this Jasper points to the symbol on the book, the tapestry, and the dagger. While he talks, jasper grows grows more and more animated and keeps speaking faster, as if his mouth can't keep up with the ideas appearing in his mind.
"Now factor in the events of the present. We know that Mr. Almet was studying this rock, and this goddess. The councilor wanted the rock and is clearly friends with Mr. Almet. The councilor and the captain of the of the guard were together when he received and mysterious package from Dai, and proceeded to work together to try and empty the town. I think it's safe to assume that the three of them are all in cahoots, and orchestrated the massacre of the Prumen. The person who gave Dai the package must also be involved, and should be investigated if we get the chance.
Now consider the mayor's brother who was murdered in an unusual location outside of town. This odd stone was found near his body. Mr. Almet was obviously already studying this goddess before the events of the last few days. I think a reasonable hypothesis is that the mayor's brother found the stone or some other incriminating evidence, and tried to abscond with it. He was caught and murdered, but the stone wasn't recovered until later when Solomon found it.
"The sniper which was killed had paraphernelia of this goddess. When the murdered man's body was found, it was guarded by animals who acted strangely. A large goblinoid force is invading from the north. All the evidence indicates that the events of 400 years ago are being repeated. Furthermore, it seems that Mr. Almet, the councilor, and the captain are followers of the same goddess as these witches. The only logical reason for them to destroy Prumen, where they already essentially had control of the village, is to aid the invasion.
"Now they are probably in Mornomas, and probably orchestrating the slaughter of more people. I also know a professor in Mornomas who has studied this goddess extensively, and could probably give us more helpful information. I think we should head there immediately."
When he finishes Jasper takes a deep breath and looks at the faces of the rest of the party, gauging their reactions to his theories.
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