To Catch a Killer - Part 1

January 16, 2007

The group gets back to Arabel. As Tabra needs time to rest and recover, the group has some time. After talking with Eric on the way back, they decide to find out more about what happened. Over the next tenday, the group researches the trial and finds a lot of strange things with it. The trial was quite fast for something like this. Not only in time it took but also in how quickly it came up. They find out one of the witnesses, who was also a suitor, named Siglim received a lot of land several months after the trial as well as logging rights. It was more than he could have afforded. There was no record as to who paid it, just that his debts were paid.

They decide to go check him out. After several days of cold travel, they arrived in Waymoot, which is where he is supposed to have land. He isn't there and no one there knows him. They hadn't realized the land rights had been optioned. Further, the area is known for horses, not its timber. They decide to try and backtrack him.

In Dhedluk, a place known for its timber, they find Inn where Siglim stayed. The innkeep remembers him and when they ask to see the room, he agrees to show them. When they get to the room, Eric explodes in anger, beating the Innkeep, asking him what he knows. He says he did get paid to make a signal when Siglim arrived. They found some blood in the room but no body. Duece uses his Shadow reveal to see Siglim being grabbed from the room and asked if he really thought it was worth the money he was promised. Duece also sees a symbol on these people.

They leave Dhedluk that night and head back to Arabel. When there, they do some more research and find out the rights were bought from a Malcolm Olimthryn and decide to talk to him. Duece also asks a scribe to look into the symbol he saw in his vision. Eric stays behind while Reece and Duece go to check it out. Duece stays outside watching while Reece talks to them.

Inside, Malcolm talks freely but he is doing an experiment at the same time and enlists Reece's help. As they talk, Reece asks a bit too much and obviously puts Malcolm on edge. Malcolm asks if the "throne" sent him and from the tone, it didn't seem to Reece that Malcolm meant the king or regent. Further, a friend of Malcolm comes in and Reece gets the feeling things are getting serious. Reece answers the questions honestly and sees them relax.

Meanwhile, Duece finds a good space to watch the place. The voice that asks him what he is doing is quite surprising as he thought he was well hidden. It turns out friends of Malcolm, adventuring friends, all live in the house and a halfling spotted Duece. When asked questions, he refuses to answer so the halfling and a dwarf, both women, drag Duece inside to ask him questions. When it is obvious he doesn't know anything, they let him go but not before he insults the dwarf, who handles him a bit roughly as she shows him out.

Malcolm and Reece finish talking and Reece leaves. Reece and Duece head back to Eric to think about what they have learned. Duece checks on the clerk who was hired to find the symbol and finds out he was killed.

Notes

• Missing a player and I am sure things would have been different had he been there. I don't think his character would have liked how they treated the Innkeep.
• Malcolm was a character of mine in a PBP game that didn't go far. I took the characters and put them here because it worked.
• I find that the NPCs I do best with are the ones that I have thought a lot about. I know that's obvious but it still surprises me.
• The session was strange in that we didn't get too much done. However, it was a lot of fun! Just hanging out with the guys!
• I didn't like not having a good conclusion to the session itself, but we at least ended in a place where it would be easy to bring in the other player.