Café de Nuit

I had an idea. Thought I'd run it by you guys and gals, see what you think.

Basically, I take a real world mystery. Not something mundane or boring. Something weird, strange or complex. Then transplant it into Ravenloft and see what solutions we come up with.

For the first experiment, the Lead Masks case. I first noticed this on Cracked (a source of inspiration but always research what you find there). You can read up on it using the Wikipedia entry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_Masks_Case

To highlight the best points...

1. Two men were found dead on a hill.
2. They were wearing formal suits, waterproof coat and lead eye masks.
3. There were no signs of struggle.
4. Instructions found with them indicated this was the meeting spot, they were to ingest capsules, put on the masks and await a signal.
5. No reliable autopsy was done, due to extenuating circumstances.

There's more information in the article bit that's a lot of the most interesting stuff.

So the challenge here is to come up with an explanation for what happened, using Ravenloft and changing as few of the conditions above as possible.

What do you think? Good idea?

It is a good idea, but I'm certain these people were poisoned and moved there for the bodies to be disposed.
So, why would Ivan want to kill those two? Were they waiting for Ivana's messengers and he got to them first, changing the capsules?

Could go Hazlan with a similar twist to the story from Tales of Ravenloft. Have the whole set up with a minor conjunction and two hapless bastards coerced into being at a spot with a specific item and a potion (something). Local enforcement will brush it to the side as Hazlik doesn't want any interlopers nor any form of documentation for the subjects beyond his personal interests. Azalin could also work in a similar fashion.

Okay, let's see the replies thus far. Hmmm. I think it's fun to try and come up with an explanation that uses ALL of the facts. Also it should be an intriguing story and offer hooks.

"It is a good idea, but I'm certain these people were poisoned and moved there for the bodies to be disposed.
So, why would Ivan want to kill those two? Were they waiting for Ivana's messengers and he got to them first, changing the capsules?"

I assume you mean Ivan Dilisnya? I didn't specify it be him or anyone else. As for why, I'd love to hear your theories. Disposing of the bodies in that way doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I guess you could say it was a plot to make the crime untraceable.

"Could go Hazlan with a similar twist to the story from Tales of Ravenloft. Have the whole set up with a minor conjunction and two hapless bastards coerced into being at a spot with a specific item and a potion (something). Local enforcement will brush it to the side as Hazlik doesn't want any interlopers nor any form of documentation for the subjects beyond his personal interests. Azalin could also work in a similar fashion."

Fits all the facts. However, I am not a big fan of "because magic" explanations. That can be a bit of a easy way out.