The Eye of Anubis: Book Two

[NeoTiamat]

Karl's Folly
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As for this girl" - Lia levels a basilisk glare at Ekaterina. "She seems to cling to you rather strongly, bard. I find that suspicious. The bardic talent for charming people into doing as they like is well-known throughout the Core and, I should hope, beyond it! You are not convincing, bard. You are preposterous."

"Shush, dearest Katya..." Dimitry cooed towards the sobbing girl. He turned his full talent against Lia. "Have you no heart, madam? No sense of pity? Can't you see poor Ekaterina is in shock?"

[OOC: +1 Outcast Rating for bothering a damsel in distress. Current Outcast Rating: 6]

"My Lord Burgomeister," Dimitry said quietly to Sandeluscu. "I am willing to stand as their accuser, by ancient law. I demand the blood penalty. At the very least, I demand they be arrested pending trial."

At this point, Samael had apparently formed a plan. The small Borcan stepped forward before the Burgomeister. Organizer was Maleagant termed, but among his duties was facilitating passage through foreign lands, and this he was about to do.

"My Lord Burgomeister," The dapper Borcan spoke smoothly. "This Expedition has the full backing of the University of Dementlieu and the Dementlieuse government. Any unfounded accusations may be taken... poorly by our government."

"Of course, should anyone be proved guilty beyond a doubt, than we will certainly submit ourselves to local, official authority." Samael hedged slightly, casting a slight barb at Dimitry.

[OOC: -1 Outcast Rating for invoking diplomatic protection to a politician. Current Outcast Rating: 5]

Burgomeister Konstantin Sandeluscu tugged at his beard. He did not like this situation, not one bit. For a long moment, he moved his gaze from Samael, clad in dark grey as always, dapper, official, imbued with the power of foreign authority, and Dimitry, with a sobbing women in his arms, righteously angry and posessed of the power of the mob.

"Very well." Sandeluscu made his decision. "We have murder accusation and counter-accusation. We can't have foreigners murdering our citizens at will, but we can't have mob rule either."

"I accept your accusation, Bard Koroviev." The Burgomeister Sandeluscu sighed. "I will not be arresting the Expedition, but if any of you quit the village, then I shall be dispatching messengers to all of Barovia, and to Castle Ravenloft."

"Now, I would like all of you to accompany me to the murder scene. Let's see if we can get to the bottom of this, eh?"

[yalenusveler]

Andre heard the burgomeister's words, and breathed an inward sigh of relief. Finally, someone who can see reason ,he thought. "Well, we're going to the crime scene to do some proper investigation, for what good it will do to sway the mob." he said to Tomas, sticking to Lamordian. It was a good language for this sort of thing. Rational thinking, the rule of law, not being strung up by angry mobs. Everything that one would want in life, really.

[yalenusveler]

Oh entities I doubt truly exist...I'm stupider than my undergrads! Andre thought to himself in the moments before the merry band of possible criminals set off to the scene of the crime. It made such perfect sense...and utterly no sense at the same time. Like Ezran theology, really. But that was neither here, nor there. As they set off tromping towards where the grisly deed had supposedly been committed, he grabbed hold of Tomas, muttering in Lamordian "Come with me, this...is important."

Andre dragged the poor young man over towards Lia, his voice hushed, switching back into High Mordentish. "We need to talk...Now."

[DocBeard]

Tomas lets himself be dragged, the draining effects of prolonged use of the Sight combined with the fact that he doesn't speak the language leave the man all too eager to be able to follow someone and do something instead of stand around uselessly.

"Hi again." Tomas says, visibly less perky than usual even as he waves languidly at the woman.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"What is it?" Lia whispers back to Andre, acknowledging Tomas with a nod. "What do we need to talk about?" Even while talking to her two fellow expedition members, Lia's gaze flicks to the Barovians time and again to check their current whereabouts and actions.
'And do I even want to talk to you?' she thinks angrily to herself. '"Shush, lest you prove to be a liability", indeed. Oh, how we are laughing ... And what's wrong with the Lamordian? He looks like death warmed over.'

[Kaitou Kage]

"I'll be back in a second, then," Kuzan said to the Burgomeister, "If we're going somewhere, I'll need my scrolls and pens."

With that, he hurried into the inn and upstairs to his room. When he came back down, he had his scroll satchel over one shoulder and medicine kit over the other. The priest looked quite ready to go on a short foray.

Too bad this foray stank.

[Nathan of the FoS]

"My Lord Burgomeister," The dapper Borcan spoke smoothly. "This Expedition has the full backing of the University of Dementlieu and the Dementlieuse government. Any unfounded accusations may be taken... poorly by our government."

"Of course, should anyone be proved guilty beyond a doubt, than we will certainly submit ourselves to local, official authority." Samael hedged slightly, casting a slight barb at Dimitry.

Representing the Dementlieuse government...why didn't I think of that? Mentally slapping his forehead, Charles allows himself to fade into the background of Expedition members now surrounding the burgomeister. They've seen enough of me at this point...I seem to have become a lightning rod for this Bard of Barovia, drat the luck. So much for my diplomatic heritage.

"Of course," he says in quiet assent to the Burgomeister's proposal that they examine the crime scene. "But, Burgomeister, I am slightly confused by this man's accusation. He wishes to hold all the Expedition members, as a group and individually, responsible for the murder of this unfortunate Stefan?"

[NeoTiamat]

On the Way

"That is his right." Sandeluscu nodded. "We shall see. If the rest of you are innocent, and only one or two are judged guilty, than you shall be released and the guilty punished."

"If you have helped him however..." The Burgomeister shrugged. "Under the old laws of Ravnika, he who aids a murderer is liable to the same penalty as he who commits the murder."

"That will be determined at the trial."

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Stefan's Farm

Stefan's farm was south of the village, a small, prosperous farm in a forest clearing. From the looks of it, Stefan grew barley primarily, and also kept a number of sheep in an enclosed barn. What would happen to these animals now you weren't sure, but you suspected they would go to his heirs, assuming there were any. It was, if not a rich inheritance, then a satisfactory one.

Except, of course, for the ruined bulk of the Fane of Andral looming just over the back of the farm. What was once a large, beautiful building was now just a moss-covered ruin. A graveyard spread around the building, and a much-weathered statue of Andral stood just within the lichgate of the abandoned churchyard.

Stefan's farmhouse itself was a handsome, well up-kept building, more than the mild surroundings would suggest. A steep, thatched roof, plastered walls set with glittering pieces of quartz and mica, and a well-carved door all bespoke of prosperity and wealth, albeit a humble, Barovian wealth.

The door was ajar, and standing by it was the fourth man who had escorted Stefan and Dimitry home the previous night. He was pale, and even a little green around the gills, though he bowed well to Burgomeister Sandeluscu. "My Lord Burgomeister... it is a horror within... Never have I seen such deviltry."

"A horror that demands blood to cleanse it." Dimitry's voice was knife-like in its soft, silky danger. Beside him, Ekaterina broke into fresh sobs and clung to the bard. "A horror that demands justice."

"Well, we'll try and oblige." Sandeluscu smiled grimly. "Let us see what we can learn. Sergeant, take the names of all present."

And with that, the bravest of you entered the small farmhouse.

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Alexei had been telling nothing but the pure and honest truth when he had said it was a horror.

The interior of the quiet, sedate farmhouse was a bloody canvas for a grisly murder. Once, the entry room had been a nice living quarters, with a bedroom adjoining. A few carved chairs, a table, some cupboards, even a wall-display with various trinkets and knick-knacks. A simple oil lamp had been placed on the table, and several shovels with mud-crusted blades stood in a corner.

Now... in the center of the room, a mutilated carcass sprawled across a woven rug, a chair knocked down beside it. The corpse was flung forward, arms outstretched on the floor. The shirt had been ripped off the body, and in its back was carved a strange symbol, at once both eerily familiar and yet different. A simple cartouche, in modern Akiri.

[Edit, sorry]Just below the cartouche, still stuck in Stefan's body, was a curved dagger, resembling the ones Khalil posesses in every final detail.

Worse, the body was decapitated, and Stefan's head hung from the center of the room. The killer, whoever it was, had braided the Barovian's long hair together, and then hung it from a small hook in the center of the room, probably where the lamp had been before. You didn't know it was possible for a dead face to convey such pain and agony.

Likewise, the farmer's hands had been removed, and now were laid atop each other in his trinket cabinet. The headless, handless corpse, with the bloody sigil upon its back, was a grim witness to horror, and to madness.

"This..." Burgomeister Sandeluscu said quietly. "Is evil unleashed."

[OOC: Unless you decide to take Alexei's advice and wait/investigate outside, I'd like a Horror Check from everyone who enters the farmhouse.]

[Kaitou Kage]

Even as a ship medic, Kuzan rarely saw sights so grisly. On rare occasions, he'd seen things that compared in small ways. Decapitation, limbs torn off by sharks or ropes. He was no stranger to blood and gore. But deliberate, hand-crafted torture and murder was something he couldn't remember having seen. He bit back bile and steeled himself against the sight and stench of the carnage.

"I'm a medic," he explained to the Burgomeister, "I'll take a look."

He stepped inside and began walking gingerly around. He tried to disturb as little as possible, gagging multiple times. The priest considered thanking his seaworthy stomach for its strength against the gruesome display, but he wasn't entirely sure that was what kept his breakfast down.

With any luck, he might find some kind of clue through his knowledge of healing and causes of death to prove the bard actually did frame them. Even though he didn't read Akiri, he knew the symbol looked familiar. He knew Dimitry was involved in this cult. He just had to figure out how

Horror save: 20

Heal check: 16

"I will need some time to examine this more thoroughly," he said, uncertain of how much he'd pick up just from glancing about.

[Nathan of the FoS]

"This..." Burgomeister Sandeluscu said quietly. "Is evil unleashed."

Horror check 8. Boy howdy. This is not going to be Charles' day.

Stepping inside the room and seeing the body so grotesquely mutilated, Charles stands, swaying, for a moment, then turns and pushes his way outside, vomiting in dry heaves by the side of the house. An unbidden memory rises to his mind...

The terrible heat, the sound of the flies...it was the sound that drew him in, stronger that the sweet sick smell that warned him away. When he parted the tall grass he saw it. The scavengers had been at it, and flies danced in the empty eye sockets and wandered back and forth across the tongue, which had been forced out between the teeth. The mare had been pregnant, and some small scavenger had been at the grossly swollen belly, where the unborn foal's head could also be seen...

[Rock of the Fraternity]

(Horror save: 27. Natural twenty.)

(Provided she's managed to talk to Andre and Tomas,) Lia proceeds to enter the farmhouse. She stops briefly, observing the mangled remains of Stefan.
For just a moment, Lia sways on her feet ... and then she hisses, a sound full of loathing and anger. "Evil unleashed, you say?" she snaps. "This evil was beyond unleashed. This is evil demented. To make a, a showpiece of a dead body like this ...! I am disgusted!"
Lia visibly trembles with rage ... and then very abruptly relaxes.
"Is there anyone who objects if I close this poor man's eyes?" she asks softly. "And speak a prayer for his soul, should it still linger near this sadly desecrated dwelling? I doubt it would disturb any evidence if I do so."

'The same callous disregard for the dead,' she thinks meanwhile, 'and the same hackkneed attempt at theatrics that the Anubite showed with Pierre LeGuerre's body. Poor bastards, both. This is not the work of any true worshipper of Anubis, surely, when he is himself so clear that the dead should be respected. Someone will have Hell to pay for this, should I ever lay my eyes upon him, her or it.'

If no one objects, Lia quietly crosses to Stefan's head to close his eyes, then teases a holy symbol of Andral from her collar and whispers the same prayer she spoke for Pierre LeGuerre, back in Guignol Hall.

[DocBeard]

(Horror Save: 17.)

As Charles pushes past him, Tomas makes a split second decision; stand around mute and useless while people prod a dead body, or try to do something to actually help?

...okay, getting away from the stink, and that dull, fish-like look in the man's eyes has something to do with it, Tomas admits to himself, as he shakily slips back out of the room, taking a second to breathe and regain himself.

Charles will feel a warm, if loose, grip on his shoulder in another moment, as Tomas burns through his hesitance to attempt a comforting squeeze of the shoulder. His other hand is filled with a canteen; Tomas flicks the lid off, while he smiles understandingly at his fellow student. "When you're ready, a little lemon water will be helping wash out the taste." Tomas pauses, shrugging his bony shoulders in embarrasment, "I used to get seasick as a child, so I had to learn the recepie pretty quick..."

[lostboy]

Khalil walked the few miles to the isolated farm deep in thought. Foremost amongst his thoughts was why he of all people should be targeted as the patsy, I mean what would an obvious foreigner do with Barovian land? He almost snorts as the absurdity of the situation, besides my line of work is dependant on trust and maintianing good relations where I travel, why would I jeopardise it for something as trifling as a wretched Barovian peasant? The stupidity of the Bards claims threaten to break his control over his emotions, he can feel anger boiling to the surface at the injustice..

He pushes his way forward to the door and looks into the house, intending to put to rest the ridiculous notion that he would be stupid enough to do this deed.

[OOC: Horror Check: 21 phew! could have made the situation so much worse!]

Khalil is rocked to his core by the sight before him. "By the hand of Apophis" he breathes staring at the mutilated corpse in shock. Then his eyes alight on the dagger protruding from the back of the corpse. Stumbling forward he examines it carefully, not touching it or having any contact with the body. Its his knife there is no doubt about it, but how could that be?

Reaching behind his back he checks the five sheathes concealed there, one knife should be missing, but now there are only one-two-three - oh no! He draws a quick breath as he realises this is indeed his knife which has ended up in the mans back, and he also has a sinking feeling he knows how it got there as everything falls into place in his mind.

"Anubis forgive me" he says in wide-eyed horror as he stares at the corpse.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Lia flashes Khalil a look when she hears his words. The look speaks eloquently, though Lia remains silent for a moment. The look says: "Shut up!"
"You seem to be overtaken by your emotions, my desert-born friend," Lia says smoothly, taking Khalil by the arm and escorting him to the door if he'll allow it. "Some fresh air may do you good. The smell in here is ... inclement."

If she gets him outside, Lia tries to drag Khalil out of the Barovians' hearing distance and, if she succeeds, hisses in his ear: "Fool! Why not just say you admit to murdering the man and offer to help hang the rest of us?! What did you say that for?!"

[Kaitou Kage]

Kuzan glanced at the dagger, then looked at the body and frowned. There was no doubt about it. That dagger, or one just like it had carved the symbol.

He crouched down by the dead body and examined the stumps where a head and hands once were. The way they were cut, how the remaining tissue hung, it looked like it was cut by a curved blade...a blade not unlike the swords Khalil wielded.

The priest frowned and stood.

"I'd like to take some more time to look the scene over, sir," he said to the Burgomeister. He glanced at Khalil for just a moment with a meaningful, "We should chat" kind of look.

Definitely taking 10 for a total of 21 to see if anything else comes up. That'll take 10 minutes. If Kuzan's not satisfied, he may spend a few hours at the scene to take 20.