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[2 Neth 4707
continued]
Everyone
gathers around to hear Shalelu’s tale of how she saw strands of silver hair on
some tree branches and followed them straight into an ambush! Nualia knew she was being hunted, and, having
captured Shalelu, sent a goblin to the Sandpoint authorities to set up a trap. Nualia used an alchemical mixture to dye
Shalelu’s hair and hoped to enjoy the exquisite revenge of seeing the elf
killed by her own over-zealous allies.
Shalelu says she’s been held in the complete darkness of that hut for
days now, and that Nualia is probably long gone. Bey, who has come out of her trance, helps
tend to her wounds.
Ome decides
to investigate a large, artificial cavern at the eastern end of the
clearing. The structure was made by
covering several fallen trees with dead leaves and furs, and, as the largest
area in the clearing, was probably the home of Big Chief Wortus. Ome searches the place carefully and finds a
hollow log stuffed with Wortus’ personal treasure trove! Gold, jewelry, a mithral buckler, and a
forked crystal rod that proves to be a magic wand are discovered. Ome decides to repeat Arnald’s search of the
other huts, and in one finds a polished human skull full of gold and jewellery.
The group
escort the badly-beaten Shalelu out of the clearing and back the way they came
through Mosswood. A couple of hours’
journey sees them reach the Lost Coast Road, and from there they turn
west. Soon they spot a caravan of about
twenty wagons headed towards them, with several guards mounted on
horseback. Arnald waves two of the
guards over and asks them where they’re headed: they explain that they’re
taking food to Galduria. Arnald asks them
some unusual questions about Galduria, leaving the suspicious guards to return
quickly to the caravan. About an hour
later, the group see a wagon sitting in the middle of the road. It clearly has a broken axle, and a
terrified-looking farmer is standing in the wagon bed scanning the area with a
nocked longbow. Beside him is an
adolescent girl who appears far less panicked.
Ome approaches slowly and tries to calm the man down enough to offer
some assistance, but the farmer is so frightened he threatens to shoot if Ome
takes one more step! Artemis tries to
offer help as well, but is equally rebuffed.
The group circle around the wagon and continue on their way, promising
to contact Billivar Wheen in Sandpoint to render aid.
The
travellers reach Sandpoint in the early afternoon. Noticing that the guards at the northern
gates seem agitated, Artemis asks what’s going on. They reply that there were two murders last
night! Banny Harker, co-operator of the
Sandpoint Lumber Mill, and Katrine Vinder, daughter of General Store owner Ven
Vinder, were found dead. After Bey tells
the guards about the stranded wagon on the road and Shalelu departs to rest and
resupply (determined to strike out on Nualia’s trail again as soon as
possible), the group head straight for the mill. When they arrive, they see several members of
the Town Watch outside, some searching for clues while others make sure the
small crowd of townspeople that has assembled stay back. A breathless Jodar Provolost waves the four
travellers in, saying that Sheriff Hemlock mentioned wanting to talk to them.
Sheriff Hemlock is just outside the entrance to
the mill, speaking with his deputy, Bosk Hartigan. Hemlock finishes giving Hartigan instructions
and then turns to address the group.
Hemlock starts by saying that he’s speaking with them because, other
than himself, they’re the only people in Sandpoint he’s absolutely sure aren’t
responsible for the murders, since they were out of town last night. Hemlock says that early this morning, the
bodies of Banny Harker and Katrine Vinder were found by the mill’s other
operator, a man named Ibor Thorne.
Hemlock says he and his officers are trying to keep the mill locked down
to prevent a panic, because if people saw what was inside they’d be horrified
and think the Chopper was somehow back.
Even more disturbing, Hemlock adds, is that the two bodies inside the
mill are the second set of murders in
the past few days: three known con men were found murdered in an abandoned barn
on the old Bradley farm near Cougar Creek, just a half-mile or so from the old
fisherman’s shack that Ome claims as home.
Finally, Hemlock says another personal link exists between the murders
and the adventurers: a bloodstained scrap of parchment was found pinned to the
sleeve of Katrine Vinder by a splinter of wood, and Bey’s name was on it! Hemlock has his lead investigator on the
case, Bosk Hartigan, show the group what the parchment says: “You will learn to love me, desire me in time
as she did. Give yourself to the
Pack and it shall end. Your
Lordship.” Hemlock says he has more to
share but will have to meet with them at the garrison later as he’s pressed for
time. He asks them to take a careful
look around the mill to see if they can uncover any clues that his officers
have missed, with Artemis to report directly to Hartigan if they do.
Inside the
mill is a ghastly scene: the body of
Banny Harker has been affixed to the wall with lumber hooks, while mangled
lumps of flesh and a decapitated head testify to the grisly fact that Katrine Vinder’s
corpse has been through the logsplitter.
A handaxe is embedded in the floor nearby, and the whole area carries
the lingering scent of decay, a curious fact since the bodies were found just
this morning. Artemis begins his
investigation with the axe, and sees there are bloody handprints on the handle
and bits of rotten flesh on the blade; the experienced guardsman is overcome by
the nauseating scent and has to run to the pier outside for fresh air. Bey is able to discern from the amount of
blood-spray on the wall near the logsplitter that, distressingly, Katrine
Vinder was alive when she passed through it.
The seer speculates that the attacker must have felt great rage or great
disdain to do such a terrible thing to a young woman. Next, Bey turns her attention to Harker’s
body. She sees it’s been mutilated, with
the face and lower jaw missing entirely.
The body’s bare chest has been defaced as well, carved with the distinctive
seven-pointed star that Bey instantly recognizes as a Sihedron rune, a glyph
from ancient Thassilon that symbolizes power, magic, and mortal sin. She’s also able to discern that Harker was
killed by deep gouges to the abdomen made by claws, and notices that the rotten
smell that permeates the room seems even stronger near these wounds.
Meanwhile,
while lurking in the corner to allow his more experienced allies to conduct the
investigation, Arnald notices an important clue! Bloody footprints in the sawdust head towards
the small pier outside the lumber mill.
Ome follows Arnald, and together the two discern that the attacker must
have clambered onto the pier from the muddy area directly underneath it, scaled
the outer wall, and entered the building through a second-floor window. Arnald notices a spot on the opposite bank of
the river that would make a perfect vantage point for anyone watching the
mill. He and Ome set out to investigate
it more closely and find a relatively dry spot that carries the lingering smell
of rotten flesh. Curiously, the barefoot
human-like footprints reveal tracks leading from and into the river, but never
further inland.
The members
of the make-shift investigative team assemble to discuss their findings. Bey surmises that Harker was the first
victim, and that Katrine was the second, as she interrupted something and
caught her attacker by surprise. The
hand axe was probably used by Katrine to defend herself, which is why it shows
petite handprints on the axe and rotten flesh on the blade. Ome agrees, suggesting that Harker had
probably been waiting for Katrine when he was attacked by the murderer. To confirm Ome’s theory, the group scour the
lumber mill for further clues and uncover a blanket and a bottle of wine hidden
in a toolbox in Harker’s office: further proof of a planned romantic liaison.
After reporting their findings to Bosk Hartigan and learning that Katrine had
been seen coming to the mill late at night on previous evenings, their theory
seems confirmed. Bosk says that Ven
Vinder and Ibor Thorne are in custody at the garrison for questioning, and that
he can arrange it if anyone in the group wishes to speak with them.
Additional
lines of enquiry are made that prove fruitful.
A sample of the rotten flesh is taken to Father Zantus and to Sabyl Sorn
to see if either can identify its source.
Father Zantus is nauseated by a mere whiff and isn’t helpful, but Sabyl
Sorn says she’s seen the like before on the bodies of the walking dead! Bey takes a sketch of the Sihedron rune found
on Harker’s body and shows it to Brodert Quink, asking whether it can be tied
to a specific sin. Quink’s knowledge of
ancient Thassilon is unparalleled, and he says that the rotation and placement
of the rune indicates it is related to the sin of greed.
The group take their findings to Sheriff Hemlock at the garrison and
offer their conclusions that the attacker must have been a “corporeal undead”
and that Harker’s death had something to do with greed. Sheriff Hemlock is impressed, and adds that
Harker was well-known in town as a penny-pincher. Hemlock carries out his promise to tell the
group more information about the first set of murders, which were discovered
just two days prior. He explains that a
patrol of the Town Watch was making may their way south along the Lost Coast
Road when they were assaulted by a deranged man near the old Bradley
homestead. The man, whose clothes were
caked with blood, was obviously sick and insane: flesh fevered, eyes wild, and
moth frothing. Bey gives a gasp because
she’s recognized something crucially important, but Hemlock keeps talking. The guards subdued the deranged man, who was
later identified as a Varisian thug named Grayst Sevilla, but when they
followed his tracks back to the Bradley barn, they discovered the mutilated
bodies of three men inside! The bodies
of the men bore the same seven-pointed star marking, and from a piece of
parchment found in one’s pocket, Sheriff Hemlock concludes that the bodies
belong to con men well-known to him: Tarch Mortwell, Lener Hask, and Gedwin
Tabe. He adds that the three bodies are
in the garrison’s basement if the group think they could learn anything from an
examination of them.
Once
Hemlock’s explanation is over, Bey adds her surprising insight: Grayst Sevilla is suffering from ghoul
fever! A mere description of his
symptoms was enough for the oracle to identify the cause, and the fact ties in
perfectly with the strong stench of rotten flesh (a well-known attribute of
ghouls) found at the crime scene in the mill.
Bey says that Sevilla must be treated immediately lest he spread the
disease elsewhere. Hemlock says that the
man is in the care of Dr. Erin Habe at a sanatorium south of Sandpoint. Hemlock says he’ll write a letter of
introduction for the group, and, when asked, says he’ll arrange for the town to
pay for the magical scrolls that Bey said could be used to cure the man. Before they leave, Artemis relates the
details of the failed mission to capture Nualia and of Shalelu’s rescue.
The
investigators walk to the basement of the garrison, where Vachedi shows them
the three slabs holding the bodies of the con men. Bey confirms that each has the same
Sihedron-marking and claw wounds as Banny Harker. Bey is careful to note that, because the
bodies’ faces have been mutilated, there is no absolute confirmation of each
victim’s identity. Next, the group
manage to get the attention of Vorvashali Voon in his shop (even though it’s
now after dusk and closed), and are fortunate to find that he has two magical
scrolls containing spells to cure diseases.
Sandpoint is
again the target of a serial killer, but this time the clues are being
assembled quickly. What will the
investigators discover when they question someone who could be the only
surviving witness to the murders?
-------------------------------------------------
Director's Commentary (26/06/2017)
I put a couple of non-combat encounters on the road back from Mosswood. I do this every so often as a role-playing opportunity for the players, to add some verisimilitude to the world, and to keep the players from thinking that every time they see something it must be monsters or an ambush. It can be fun as a GM to see some PCs attach great significance to completely innocuous things, like Arnald being incredibly suspicious about the caravan heading to Galduria.
The return to Sandpoint sees the start of the murder mystery that officially kicks off Chapter 2 in the AP. I thought this was a great part of the adventure path, as it gives the players a chance to do something different than pure combat (CSI!). It definitely ups the stakes when it comes to death and horror (that lumber mill scene is nightmarishly grisly), and I really liked the direct tie to one of the PCs built into it. Mysteries are really hard to do in role-playing games because the GM (or scenario writer, in this case) has to try to plan for all sorts of spells and special abilities the PCs may have, as well as provide contingencies in case important clues are misunderstood or simply overlooked. If anything, there were probably too many clues at the crime scene as it wasn't hard at all for the players to deduce that the murderer was a ghoul, but I didn't mind because they were diligent in collecting information and intelligently talked over its implications. It's always fun to see the players think up stuff that I (and the scenario writers) never would have expected, like taking the bits of rotten flesh to other learned people in town to see if they could identify it.
I loved how naturally the tie-in to the sanatorium worked. I know from past experience running mystery plots that it's very easy for the players to think an important connection to the next stage of the adventure (like the crazed survivor has been put into care) is simply a throwaway line for flavour. I originally thought there was a fair chance they wouldn't make it to the sanatorium at all. They did skip interrogating Ibor Thorne or Ven Vinder, but didn't miss much.
My only disappointment was that the players (and their characters), having just reached the conclusion that the murderer was a ghoul and that ghoul fever was a thing, were expecting a battle in the morgue when they went to look at the bodies of the con men. It was a bit of a let-down when the corpses really were just corpses! I perhaps such have exercised some GM discretion and had one of the bodies suddenly lurch into motion . . .
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