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Message: <blockquote data-quote="InVinoVeritas" data-source="post: 3863622" data-attributes="member: 41485">Thanks, Rhun. And Happy Halloween."Damn," swears Torhan, slamming his gauntleted hand into the wall in frusteration. "We are too late."Color rises in Ru's face as he approaches the grotesque scene. His discipline falters, his hands clench into shaking fists. A glint of light seems to slide down his cheek, then it's flung into the air as the man lashes out, splintering the arm of one of the pews with his fist, a raw primal scream accompanying the act of random violence. Even as he seems about to fall into a beserker rage, Ru's eyes clear. His expression flattens as he breathes deeply, his back to the slaughtered young couple. His hands relax, though there is still the slightest bit of shaking in his fingertips."We were supposed to protect them," Ru says, his voice soft and even and cold. "Now all we can do is avenge them." There is a brief glint of something in his face (surely not ... pleasure?), then he is once again emotionless as he adds, "And that's what I intend to do."Torhan too takes a deep breath to calm himself. He remembers the lessons of his training, and closes his eyes for a moment to center himself. At Ru's words, the paladin nods. "You cannot protect those that will not accept your aid," he says, his voice quiet. "But we can certainly bring the killer to justice."Fr. Berman draws his dragon pistol and hurries on to see what the others have discovered. He finds the chapel with Ru and the splintered pew."It is true," Darian says in response to Torhan. "Since our friend Alek arranged for the jailbreak, and for this little gathering, I think we should let him know what his actions have cost."Darian takes a step away, then adds, "If he's still there..."Ru's vengeful reverie breaks as he's reminded of Alek."I'd be surprised if he doesn't already know," he says, "The man seems to have his own ethereal network for information. Wish I could tap into it.An ethereal network for information? Now that would be useful, don't you think?"If he needs us, we'll know it. Until then, I say we look for any other clues about what happened here.""Headless," Fr. Berman notes, and helps Ru examine the body.With an obvious look of distaste, Ru approaches the hanging body. Carefully, he tries to remove the young male's shirt, looking to see if this contains the same markings as the other body, praying the beast they've been following isn't making itself a family...Ru breathes a sigh of relief as Temp's body remains unmarked. Unmarked, except for the surgical incision in the torso... Fr. Berman examines the slice and nods sadly. "The heart is removed here, as well.""Strange though it may seem, I might put this past Alek. He seems the hedonistic sort, exploiting others for personal gain, and this doesn't fit that pattern. Of course, he knows something, and he might be more devious than I think.""Gah!" Darian screams, kicking at a bit of debris; his anger is getting the better of him again. "Of course he knows something. The damned rat always knows something!"Temp's skin, aside from the cuts, is unblemished and clean. Even his hands are soft; there is little evidence of a hard life on him anywhere. No tattoos, no markings, nothing.While Ru inspects the body, Torhan turns his attention to investigating the rest of the chapel, looking for any clues that may have escaped the ravages of the fire. The stone head of a gnome cherub that Darian kicked rolls across the room and knocks over a prayer book. Underneath it, a few drops of blood lie. Darian and Torhan carefully reconstruct the paths of the blood drops, from the altar, down the center aisle, and out the main doors. Calahan notes a smell... he bends down for a closer look. "This blood is fresh," he muses. "Very fresh."</blockquote>

Verification