Maelicent looks up from rinsing clean the heavy chain of golden links he recovered from the crocodile's stomach and notices that, indeed, the water is still flowing from under the eastern doors. Two inches of water now cover the entire hexagonal chamber, the hallway in which the crocodile has been gutted, and look also to have spilled out into the mushroom cavern beyond.
Voadam, Chev, Brakkus, and Gamad lean in for a good look at the tattooed remnant of the human arm.
[sblock=Voadam]Those are clearly religious tattoos and are not the tattoos sometimes born by slaves. The tattoos are done in colored ink, for starters, and include both script in a language unrecognized by Voadam, and a series of heiroglyphs. These likely are the tattoos of a nobleman of Arrund, the rival nation to good-aligned Errund. Arrund, simply by its proximity to Errund and the reputation of its noble houses as bearers of traditional tattoowork, makes the likely choice of this dead man's nationality, though other potential candidates might also include one or two of the barbarous nations across the southern sea at the edge of The Continent.
Likely the man was a priest and possibly also familiar with the arcane arts. These sorts of tattoos aren't purely decorative, they're inked with the intent to amplify spellcasting or even sometimes to hold spells themselves. What is left of the arm is pitted by stomach acid but it doesn't seem as if there are missing spots in the series of tattoos, indicating that probably these inked drawings are meant to make the bearer's spellcasting more powerful. The torso and legs, however, seem to be devoid of tattoos, which would indicate that this was a lesser priest. Voadam knows that tattoos are expensive and tattoo artisans are rare. Only the more elite noble houses of Arrund can normally afford such luxury: Houses Kiril, Kroum, Assen, Boril, and Lilov.[/sblock]
[sblock=Gamad]The tattoos have some obvious religious significance but are also clearly arcane in nature. Gamad distinctly recalls seeing an ink sketch of Grand Dame Ilyana Ivanovich of House Kroum of Arrund in which the House matron bore the exact same marking at the wrist as this arm--a wreath around the wrist of seven-pointed stars with a rose at the center. More than likely, this is the lesser son of the Kroum family.[/sblock]
[sblock=Brakkus]The tattooing is the noble marking more than likely done by a slave artist from a good-quality Arrundian family. Arrundians are nearly never to be trusted. House Artest currently holds the Arrudian throne but, being themselves natives of Bourdesmyd, they hold it uneasily and only by marriage. Last time he was home, Brakkus heard tell of a plot by House Assen--probably at the bidding of either House Lilov or Kroum--to politically undermine the credibility of Francis of Bourdesmyd enough to have the King declared unfit for office of state and put Francis's 6-year-old nephew Viktor on the throne.[/sblock]
Chev eyes the tattoed arm but the thing and its "artwork" are totally unfamiliar to him. Turning his attention to the brass scrollcase, Chev opens the case and to discovers a series of three intact parchments. A quick glance tells the battlepriest that the original bearer of the scroll case was surely a priest like himself, though of slightly different ilk. The scrolls seem to contain two spells each, four of which are most assuredly divine while the other two are not.
[sblock=Die Rolls]Voadam, Knowledge (arcana) 11.
Voadam, Knowledge (arcana) 23
Voadam, Knowledge (nobility) 22
Voadam, Knowledge (religion) 21
Brakkus, Knowledge (nobility) 21
Chev, Knowledge (religion) 8
Gamad, Knowledge (arcana) 27[/sblock]
