Knightfall
World of Kulan DM
Quinn senses are not wrong about Sir Ghal. While he had always appeared so stoic, Quinn now sees that the man is indeed still just a lad at heart. He's probably only 25 summers old (or maybe a bit younger), which would make him a novice in the arena in Quinn's home city, Sulinon. Of course, the City of Coliseums makes its sons and daughters grow up fast.Quinn walks over to the sobbing lad and places his hand on his shoulder, a strange gesture for the heart-of-stone gladiator. He starts to say something , but his eyes fail to see what needs to be said so he closes his mouth and sighs.
Being near the ground as the weeping boy is, it is a dangerous thing at this time, so Quinn is in a guard position over Sir Ghal more then anything.
Raius stands next to Quinn and looks at his friend and mentor. Quinn see that he too is likely quite young. The soldier kneels down next to his friend and tries to encourage the man to get to his feet.
Whatever did this was intelligent but feral. The 'metal spike' embedded in the old man's heart turns out of be a worn fire poker. No animal did that.Caerth ignores the dead boy - not that he doesn't care, but nature is about living creatures and the dead are just food - and walks up to the privy. The half-orc sniffs, trying to discern the smell while his eyes move over the ravaged body. At first glance, it seems a ferocious animal is responsible, but what sort of animal attacks a man just outside a castle guarded by countless dangerous soldiers?
No, the druid is sure something is amiss. Either the culprit is not an animal at all, or it was staged to look like it was. Looking around, he seeks tiny creatures that may have witnessed the attack; animals like mice, birds or, if no other option presents itself, bugs. Insects are notoriously unreliable, but it's better than nothing.
OOC: We'll say it is a Survival check. 12+16=28JustinCase said:
OOC: Not sure if I can roll something for smelling the air? I'll roll a d20 just in case, and you can add the relevant numbers: [roll0]
Also, making a Knowledge (nature) check to see if Caerth recognizes the injuries as being made by an animal of sorts: [roll1]
Caerth gets a clear smell of something mammalian in the air. It smells very familiar. He last smelled that stink in the tower on Gurnard's Head. The air smells of wet rat mixed with spittle and blood. The deadly injuries match what would be typical of an attack from a massive ratlike creature. More than likely a wererat did this to Lord Ebal. The question is did Hornauer follow them from the island and kill this man for some unknown reason? Looking at the bite and claw marks, Caerth can tell that the wererat that did this was quite large, maybe larger than Hornauer.
Caerth finds a very frightened family of mice in a hollowed out hole under some tree roots, but they won't talk to him if Screech is nearby. One hoot from the owl and they disappear deeper underground. There is an old snake slumbering under a log. She isn't very useful for information, however. She just hisses at him. Caerth finally finds help with a pudgy raccoon that is eating some leftovers that were tossed into a ditch.JustinCase said:
OOC: If I find an animal nearby, cast Speak with Animals to find out what they have witnessed.
"Saw a scary rat," it shudders. "Very big. Walked tall on its back paws. It came in the night and hunted the smelly hole. Killed the old animal but it didn't eat it all. A lot leftover but too smelly in there." It chews on an old apple. "Was very scared. Stayed hidden until light returned. Eating now. You have better food?"
Sir Ghal remains sitting quietly for several moments while Raius tries to comfort the man. Finally Raius looks at Quinn and then at Phar. "He begs your forgiveness. He did not mean to act so unseemly."Phar shakes his head at the carnage. He stares at the young man, but has no words to comfort such grief. Instead he appeals to the young man's sense of duty. "Your father would want you to be strong. Help us discover the villain behind this act and render justice."
Sir Ghal breathes in deeply and lets Quinn help him to his feet. The young man's face is grief-stricken. But there is a determined stare in his eyes. "I-it has been hard on father and I since my mother passed two winters ago. She caught a deadly sickness and not even Aeron could save her." He looks at Caerth. "I was angry at him for a long time, but I know he did his best. And now this... I a-am an o-orphan now." He moves towards the privy but Raius blocks his path.
"I don't think you should," the soldier pleads. "There's stoicness and then there is being foolhardy. You don't want to see him like that."
"I must." Sir Ghal steps past his friend and moves slowly down towards the privy. He pauses to watch Caerth talk to the raccoon. Then he steps up next to Phar and Aureus (who is trying not to retch due to the smell). He grief quickly becomes despondent rage. "This, this is unholy! What could have done such a thing. Wait, what is that?" He points at the long piece of metal piercing his father's heart.
The spike is a fire poker. It has been shoved right through the man's chest. It was likely what killed him. Phar can't tell if the bites came before or after it was used to kill Lord Ebal.Scotley said:This said he moves to examine the remains of the Lord. He pauses to study the spike. Perhaps I can learn something of the killer from his tools?
"That's my father's fire poker," Sir Ghal fumes. "It's from his room. I hadn't noticed it missing when we went through the room." He sighs suddenly. "Father often used it as protection when out here in the night. His gut noises often made him seek out this privy to have more privacy. It was prideful but understandable."
The man's legs buckle and he covers his face. "Gods, the smell!" He staggers away back up the hill. "It's too much!"
"Calm yourself, Ghal," Raius says. "You need to go back inside and tell Lady Pendour what has happened. We will find out more here and report to you once we have a clear lead. You are only making yourself sick here."
"Per-perhaps your right," Sir Ghal replies. "I must tell Her Ladyship. Raius, please take charge of my f-father's body. Once you have learned all you can from it, take it to Aeron for a more detailed examination. And..." He looks back at the privy. "Clean him up and wrap the body as best as you can."
"I will. I promise.
The only son of Ebal family stands stoically, unable to move towards the manor. A fine mist rises up from the ground to turn the morning sun hazy. A distant crow caws.
OOC: I had forgotten that Raius was with the PCs. (My bad.) He arrived on the scene last.
BTW, think of this scene as something out of a dark Shakespearean play like Macbeth or Hamlet. There is an eeriness to it all and the sense of old ghosts looking at them from somewhere hidden.
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