[Eikan Empire]Sheila - IC

[Sen isSaqqara]

Night has fallen as you approach the small town ahead. Innesh is an old town, much reduced over the years since the foundation of the Eikan empire. The outskirts are scattered with small hills and valleys that look suspiciously like the ruins of ancient buildings. The town proper is based around a central crossroads, which you are approaching from the north. A few small shops and an Inn dominate the intersection.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Deciding to continue on her path for now, the young woman continues on her path to the town proper. Her clothes simple, a snug white robe that has been dirtied from travel but is obviously been kept fairly clean. Although tired from her day of travel, she keeps a smile on her face and a spring in her stride.

Her keen eyes and ears scan the area for life. For trouble. The true of heart assume goodness in all but are prepared for evil in all places A saying her master made her take to heart. One she did not forget.

[Sen isSaqqara]

The inn seems to be buzzing with life. It consists of a main building separated from a stable by a small yard. There is a front door, the sign over which reads 'the Shining Pendant'. There is also a gate in the stableyard fence. otherwise, the night is calm and quiet.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Following the only logical choice, she enters the Inn as quickly and quietly as possible, trying not to draw attention to herself. She looks for a quiet place near the fire where she may rest for a short time.

[Sen isSaqqara]

Inside the Inn is a small corridor, with a reception desk on one side and a wall on the other. A few feet further on, the main common room opens up. There are chairs arranged in a circle, all occupied by serious-looking men and women. One, a kith with brown hair, sees you come in and excuses himself from the meeting and takes a seat on a stool behind the counter.
"Hello there! My name is Kavin. Welcome to the Shining Pendant. How can I help you?"

[CowMasterTrojan]

"Greetings and good evening. I have been traveling long and was hoping if I might simply warm myself by your fire for a short while"

[Sen isSaqqara]

"Good!" replies the kith innkeeper. "There's just been a bit of an incident, so the town council is meeting here. They're almost done, I think." He notices your clothes. "Say, you aren't by any chance a healer, are you? Something's been attacking people, and I just used my last vial of potion. If someone else gets hurt..."

[CowMasterTrojan]

"As a matter of fact, the Protector has indeed blessed me with the power of healing. It is at the dispossal of any who need it" she says with a warm smile. "What kind of incident took place? If there is any more danger, please lead the way so that i might help."

[Sen isSaqqara]

The kith grimaces. "Our town watch was killed tonight. A few others have volunteered to take his place. I'm sure they'd appreciate your help if you want to offer it. But that's not all." He raises a hand to point towards the stableyard door behind him. "The man who was our town watch. His body got up and attacked the council."

[CowMasterTrojan]

A look of serious concern fills her face. She turns towards the stable. "Is that where his remains are being kept? Would anyone mind if I took a closer look? Regardless, would you please let the council know of my offer to help? Thank you. "

[Sen isSaqqara]

Kavin nods. "I'll go tell them. My friend's son is watching over it. Oh, I don't suppose you'll be needing a room while you're here?"

[CowMasterTrojan]

"Nay. I'm afraid i have no money. I will be fine sleeping outdoors. Now if you will excuse me..." she says, bowing before heading out to the stable to exam the remains.

[Sen isSaqqara]

As you leave, Kavin steps out the door behind you and tosses you a key bound to a wooden plaque with the number 14 carved on it. "As long as you're helping here, we'd be happy to give you a place to stay, free of charge."

Around the side of the building, you see two men, one young and one about 30, standing int eh middle of the stableyard. At their feet is the body.

[CowMasterTrojan]

As you leave, Kavin steps out the door behind you and tosses you a key bound to a wooden plaque with the number 14 carved on it. "As long as you're helping here, we'd be happy to give you a place to stay, free of charge."

Around the side of the building, you see two men, one young and one about 30, standing int eh middle of the stableyard. At their feet is the body.
to kavin
"Thank you, that is very kind. But know that if you need me to leave for some reason, I will still remain to help. It is not a requirement of my talents."

walking to both men, she gracefully leans down to look at the body.
Knowledge (religion} [roll0]

"Hello, I am Sheila, follower of the Protector. I am here to more closely exam the body to determine what might have happened."

[Sen isSaqqara]

The two step away. The younger, who looks about fifteen, nods his approval, while the elder, about thirty, looks on suspiciously.

The body itself is an enigma. While it is clearly warped by magic, it is no magic that you have encountered before. One arm is morphed into what appears to be the front leg of a bear, and there is a gaping hole in the chest. A second wound punctures the neck.

You find only one thing of religious significance: the left eye has been subtly changed. Three lines of dark run through the iris to the pupil at equidistant points around the eye. This is a bad sign: it is the sign of the Lord of the Citadel, the god of evil who opposes your deity. You are not surprised that the others have not noticed it, as it is something only ecclesiastic acolytes are taught to look for.

[CowMasterTrojan]

A serious look of concern crosses her face. "This is... troubling . What can you tell me about this man's last few hours? Did anyone strange or unknown approach him?"

[Sen isSaqqara]

The younger one replies first. "A few of the others inside saw him first. He got pushed off the roof, and landed outside the front door."

[CowMasterTrojan]

"And what happened then? Is that what supposedly killed him the first time? How long did it take him to get back up? Does anyone know why he was on the roof?"

[Sen isSaqqara]

"The gash in his neck is what we assume killed him. He got up again about fifteen minutes later." says the younger of the two. The elder adds his metaphorical two cents too: "He left his home in the middle of the night. I followed his tracks here and saw pinches of bear fur and drops of blood."

[CowMasterTrojan]

Pointing to the bear leg she says "If you followed bear tracks here,we can conclude that whatever strange magic affected him, it likely was done to him at his home".

Pointing to his left eye, she indicates his Iris. "Do you see the strange sign in his eye? it is the sign of the Lord of the Citadel, the god of evil, who opposes all that is righteous and decent. Whatever is going on here, dark times lay ahead....
Do either of you know if anything strange was found on him? A unusual weapon or trinket perhaps..."

Standing up, she scans the area almost suspiciously before turning to the elder. "Would you accompany me to his home? Perhaps we can find some trace of the magic that was used on him. With any luck, we may find some clue to lead us to the fiend who did this. "

[Sen isSaqqara]

Before he can respond, someone grabs your arm. It is a kith man, who seems to have come from the Inn. "Healer, you need to come with me. A situation has occurred that requires your immediate attention!"

[CowMasterTrojan]

Gently freeing her arm from his grasp, she nods "Lead the way" and follows him.

[Sen isSaqqara]

The older man follows you, leaving the younger to watch over the body.

[Sen isSaqqara]

The kith explains as well as he can as you walk over to the inn. "The hole in Javin's body was made by a small crystal which was extracted in the fight. We think that it's what caused his body to animate and attack. When it was brought before the council, I attempted to examine the hand-print that appeared on it. This caused it to spring to life and merge with the person who pulled it out."

When you get inside, he points out the girl the crystal merged with and moves to her side.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Sheila rushes over, trying to examine where this crystal entered/merged with her.
"Other than the obvious, are you alright? Feel light headed or strange?"

[Sen isSaqqara]

The young woman tilts her head toward you and says "You're the healer, I presume? And by 'obvious' do you mean the bone that began growing out of my shoulder blade and the crystal dangling off it, or do you not see it too?" She points to a spot on the back of her shoulder. You see nothing there.

[CowMasterTrojan]

"Yes, I am a healer. My name is Sheila, priestess of the Protector. I was told a strange crystal merged with your body, so yes I was referring to that as the obvious. But I confess, I do not see it..."
She feels the area very carefully trying to examine it, not really being shy about where she touches.

Trying to see if she knows anything that would be helpful in this situation
Knowledge (religion) [roll0]
Spellcraft [roll1]
Lore [roll2]
Lore (Ex)
Thanks to long hours of study, a cloistered cleric has a wide range of stray knowledge. This ability is identical to the bard's bardic knowledge class feature, using the cloistered cleric's class level in place of the bard level.

[Sen isSaqqara]

You feel nothing there, just her clothes and her shoulder beneath. You remember nothing solid about crystals like this. A vague recollection makes its way forward in memory: a rumor or whisper you heard fairly recently. Nothing more.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Murmuring divine words quietly, she makes some simple motions and casts detect magic. She then concentrates on the woman for three rounds, trying to identify if this is a curse or a illusion. She hoped it was a illusion.

[Sen isSaqqara]

There is an illusion of some sort attached to her at the shoulder. She tries to stay still a while and wait. But after a brief moment, she can't help but say, "What is it?? Do you sense anything?"

[CowMasterTrojan]

"Well the good news is that my magic is indicating that what you are seeing is a illusion. However I do not possess the ability to end it, so it is up to you. You must simply force yourself to accept that what you see is not real."

[Sen isSaqqara]

"Alright, I'll try..." she says, addressing you.

She turns to speak to everyone. "Sorry about all the fuss. So... this crystal was real, right? But where did it go? Did it really go into me, or do you think it used some illusion to... escape?"

[CowMasterTrojan]

"My suspicion and hopes are that whatever it's original purpose, it expended the remainder of it's energy as it placed the illusion on you. The purpose of the illusion; to cause fear and chaos while removing evidence of the original crime. It seems sound in theory, but having not been here when it happened I can only speculate."

"Regardless, this gentleman and I were going to go investigate... Javin's? house. I believe that it is where he was located when the dark magic was originally placed on him. Is anyone hurt and needs healing while I am still here?"

[CowMasterTrojan]

"My suspicion and hopes are that whatever it's original purpose, it expended the remainder of it's energy as it placed the illusion on you. The purpose of the illusion; to cause fear and chaos while removing evidence of the original crime. It seems sound in theory, but having not been here when it happened I can only speculate."

"Regardless, this gentleman and I were going to go investigate... Javin's? house. I believe that it is where he was located when the dark magic was originally placed on him. Is anyone hurt and needs healing while I am still here?"

[Sen isSaqqara]

The kith who led you shakes his head, mumbling to himself "No. No, she needs to know as well," Taking a breath he looks to the two of you. "Could it be possible that this effect is meant more to mark and monitor the victim? I don't think that illusions would simply vanish when you learn about it's true nature. And if you can sense it as an illusion, couldn't the crystal's creator do so as well? I mean if illusions are meant to make one question reality, why should you make it easy for someone to guess it's true intent?"

Turning his gaze to the girl he addresses her specifically, "I wanted to tell only the healer, but I felt that we should focus on more than one theory. I'm sorry if I alarmed you, and I trust Sheila's judgement. If she says it's an illusion, than it's an illusion and can't harm you unless you let it. I just feel that it's best if you kept an eye on it for a bit. To see if there's only an illusion on you, and maybe to see if it could be hidden should it persist."

[CowMasterTrojan]

She looks thoughtful for a moment and then shrugs. "When it comes to magic, anything is possible. Although the only trace of magic I'm detecting right now is illusion, so I don't think so. Resisting detection should register as an abjuration. Monitoring her would likely be divination. In the morning I will ask the protector for the power to aid in removing it, but until then all we can do is wait. But there certainly would be no harm in making sure by having someone stay with her. Let me know if there is anything else I can do."

She begins to walk out the door to go to Javin's.

[Sen isSaqqara]

"Would you like to inspect Javin's house now?" says the older man, following you out the door.

[CowMasterTrojan]

"Yes, unless you feel you're not up to it. With some villain about, time is of the essence."

Unless he objects, she lets him lead her to the Javin's house via the route of the tracks he mentioned earlier.

[Sen isSaqqara]

Arriving at the small farmhouse, you find it empty. A single everburning light illuminates the rustic interior. The only thing out of place is the lack of resident.

[CowMasterTrojan]

To better illuminate the situation, she picks up a small rock or stick and begins chanting a small prayer. Immediately the rock begins glowing brightly. Then she walks around the outside of the house, looking for signs of forced entry. Perhaps a jimmied door or window.
"Where do the tracks of the bearclaw start?"