Rise of the Runelords [The Skinsaw Murders] (IC)

[DrK]

Martin Bevuk

Martin nods emphatically with Alvor, "Sheriff, we found signs that the undead were watching the mill. Sooner we find out what happening more we can stop it. Who knows who else may be killed if we don't solve this problem."

He glances at Draegra, "If you'd mentioned the letter from Hemlock we could have pushed Habe harder."

After the bodies have been xamined he shrugs, "Aye, well, eaten a little and clawded with the same rune. Not a lot new. Alvor, Steingott, how you feeling about a bit of patrolling the other side of the river tonight. Keep an eye out for any more undead watch posts?.

[rypt]

Alvor considers Martin's suggestion for a moment. "Well, I don't think its a coincidence that we've got one set of bodies found by a river, and another set of bodies found by a creek. Especially with the tracks you found at the mill, seems pretty clear that this creature is using the water to access its victims. And with the number of brooks and streams I've seen around here, I have a hard time imagining it'll need to strike the same area twice. Still, I guess it couldn't hurt to take a look around."

For a few moments, he is quiet in thought, save for the soft thud of him repeatedly tapping the back of his head against the wall. "Tell me, sheriff, does Cougar creek connect with the river behind the mill?"

[lostsole31]

Martin...glances at Draegra, "If you'd mentioned the letter from Hemlock we could have pushed Habe harder."

Draegra looks at Martin. "I did give him the letter."

Alvor ..."Tell me, sheriff, does Cougar creek connect with the river behind the mill?"

Sheriff Hemlock shakes his head. "Cougar Creek comes from a spring source on the Ashen Rise, down .... past Habe's Sanatorium, in fact ... northwest across the ashen moor ... before dumping the Varisian Gulf nearly a mile south of town."

[meemaas]

Norton sighs a little. "Pushing him harder because of the letter was never an option. If one of you had been in with Draegra, you'd have seen how little he cared about it. So lets not make such a big deal about this. Draegra did the best he could, and I believe if any of you had tried, he'd have banned us from ever coming back."

[rypt]

Alvor shakes his head. "If that creek runs by the sanitorium, then Habe and his patients are in just as danger as anyone else here in town. Maybe more so if whoever's behind this is looking to tie up any loose ends."

[lostsole31]

"That's there," says Draegra, "and we're here. Shall we have a chat with Ibor?"

[rypt]

Alvor's expression suggests he doesn't share Draegra's views on proximity and relevancy, but he says nothing, and instead only gestures to the sheriff, inviting him to lead them wherever it is Ibor is being held.

[lostsole31]

Is everyone else done here?

[DrK]

Martin Bevuk

At Draegra's question Martin nods. "Aye, I guess as we are here can see how poor Ibor is doing. Maybe I can look in on my lovely lady before head back out to watch the stream and check some of the local farms?" He looks at Alvor and nods, We could just follow the stream back to Habe's and search around." He grins, and taps his bow. "Maybe we'll get lucky"

[TooterfishPopkn]

Steingott nods.

I'm ready to chat with Ibor, then run that patrol at night."

He punches his left palm with his right fist a few times while thinking of bashing in some undead heads.

[lostsole31]

Harker’s partner Ibor is a young man, handsome if a bit narrow-faced. He is still in shock after having discovered the bodies when he arrived at work yesterday morning. Though the sheriff already interrogated Ibor, Hemlock admits that the PCs might be able to get something out of the miller that he could not. He cautions them to be gentle in their interrogation, though—Thorn’s been through a lot in the last few hours.

Here's the thing. It would probably be overwhelming if ALL of the party goes in there. So, you need to figure out amongst yourself who is going to go in and who isn't. And before that, you need to figure out the way you want to get information out of him .... do you want to try to be compassionate, or try to terrify him into telling you something?

Draegra elects the former, and Midori recommends the latter.

[meemaas]

Norton recommends compassion too.

[lostsole31]

When Norton seconds his, Draegra offers, "I can go in and talk with Ibor. But it would be nice to have someone with me that might have a golden tongue to my silver."

[DrK]

Martin Bevuk

Martin nods in agreement with the "good cop" approach. "Aye, not point being hostile to the man. He's had a hard enough time with discovering his partner and Ven's lass dead in the mill. I doubt he's involved, apart from a bad roll of the die." Shrugging he nods to one of the others, "I barely know the man, seen him in the shop a few times when he comes down for some chops or a rabbit, but he don't drink in the Hagfish so not said much more to 'im than that."

[rypt]

Frustrated at how things transpired at Habe's, Alvor wants to be in the room this time. "I'll join you," he says to Draegra.

He turns to the sheriff. "There anything Ibor told you that you think we ought to know beforehand?"

[lostsole31]

The Sheriff says, "I think you know what I know."

With that, Alvor and Draegra are let in to speak with Iborn. The sheriff won't let anyone else in, as that is likely to look more like a gang trying to coerce him rather than just two guys trying to see if there's anything he's willing to add.

Okay, Alvor, what do you do?

[rypt]

Alvor leaves his shield, spear, bow and short sword with the others before following the sheriff down the hall. When Ibor's cell comes into view, he pauses or perhaps hesitates for a moment before stepping closer. The former watchman has some experience questioning witnesses and suspects, but those memories feel as though they are from another lifetime, and they are not the first to come to mind at the sight of iron bars.

If Ibor doesn't look up as he and Draegra approach, Alvor gently taps a knuckle on one of the bars. "Hello, Ibor." He pauses a moment to allow the man to reply, though he does not expect one. "My name's Al. This is Draegra. We're trying to help the sheriff figure out what happened down at the mill. If you don't mind, we'd like to ask you some questions. Is it alright if we come inside, or would you rather we stay out here?"

[lostsole31]

He blinks vaguely as if to allow.

[rypt]

Alvor glances at the contents of the pail when he steps inside. If it's empty, he turns it over and uses it as a seat. Otherwise, he slides it to the far end and sits down on the floor, giving Ibor as much space as he can within the confines of the cell.

Once he's seated, he makes a point to observe Ibor's hands. If they are covered in blood, and if Ibor seems distressed by this fact -- for example, if he makes any effort to rub them clean -- then Al calls to the sheriff and asks if he can bring some water and a rag.

Al begins with questions that are adjacent to the murders themselves -- things like the timing of events and the ordinary operation of the mill. His hope is bring Ibor back from the edge a bit -- perhaps even build a rapport -- before gradually steering his inquiry towards topics that are likely to be more upsetting. As that transition approaches, he says as much to Ibor, and offers him a flask of admittedly mediocre whiskey from his hip. He takes a sip before passing it on, and even if Ibor does not take it, Al leaves it on the floor in case he changes his mind later.

Al may be a bit of a grump, but he is legitimately sympathetic to Ibor's situation, and there is something of a paternal quality to how he addresses the traumatized young man. Presenting his questions in a non-accusatory manner, he makes it clear that he's not here looking for evidence of Ibor's guilt, but for help in delivering justice for Ibor's friends. Though he is not the type to offer direct words of comfort, Al nevertheless expresses his compassion in his own quiet way, speaking calmly, slowly, and in the same informal fashion he uses with most everyone else. He is not uncomfortable with silence, and if Ibor needs time to form his answers, Al is willing to give it. As much as he is able, he catches any sighs before they start, and avoids any muttering except as empathetic utterances.

[lostsole31]

The pail has contents in it. Ibor doesn't really look at his hands.

Draegra allows Ivor to take control of the whole interaction, but seems to have a good sense of when to speak up to note something of emphasis, or to add a secondary calming voice.

When the whiskey is brought out, Ibor can't help himself and takes it, and takes a swig. Finally, he gives a long sigh.

"Harker," begins Ibor, "he had frequent midnight trysts with Katrine. Ven's a protective father, but no way he did that to them."

He has some trouble with something, and Draegra quietly prods him.

"Harker had been 'cooking the books' ... for some time." Ibor then adds quickly, "I never took part in the scams, but ... Harker? He might have stashed quite a lot of money away by skimming from the top of sales and business over the past several years. The Scarnettis, the noble family that owns the lumber mill ... they have a reputation for being ruthless—there are rumors that they’re responsible for burning several competing grain mills in the region, after all, and I wouldn't put it above the Scarnettis to hire someone to kill Harker if they found out he’d been embezzling money."

Ibor won't have anything more to say that can be useful, but at least socially Al and Draegra were a big help in breaking the cloud he was under.

[rypt]

Al thanks Ibor for his help and leaves him with the flask of whiskey.

Once he and Draegra are far enough down the hall to be out of earshot of Ibor, Al clears throat and then quickly, quietly and somewhat uncomfortably, says, "Thanks, uh, for your help in there." His tone suggests that he would prefer a silent nod to any reciprocal words.

Rejoining the others, he relays what Ibor had shared. "Apparently Harker had been cooking the books to hide money he'd been pocketing for himself. Ibor thinks that if the mill's owners, the Scarnettis, caught wind of the scheme, they might have hired someone to take Harker out. Seems they have a history of playing dirty with their competitors."

[lostsole31]

Draegra appreciably just nods to Alvor.

Once in with the rest of the group and the sheriff, Draegra adds. "So, that may or may not be a separate issue. But it turns out that Harker and Ven's daughter Katrine were engaging in midnight trysts at the mill, which is why she was there in the first place."

[meemaas]

Spoiler

Show

Norton would like a knowledge check on the Scarnettis

After the new information, Norton continues to mull over what he knows, both of the family in question, and the case in general.

[lostsole31]

Here is what the party knows about the Scarnettis ....

Scarnetti Manor is the home of one of Sandpoint's founding families. The Scarnetti family, led by Titus Scarnetti, controls most part of Sandpoint's lumber industry, as well as Sandpoint's mills, the Sandpoint Lumber Mill and the Scarnetti Mill.

In addition to the Sandpoint Lumber Mill, the Scarnetti family also owns the Scarnetti Mill. Owned by the wealthy Scarnetti family, who also has a monopoly on the lumber industry, it is the sole surviving mill after a string of fires destroyed the Soggy River Mill, the Biston Pond Mill, and the Cougar Creek Mill. Public outcry and accusations of arson against the Scarnetti family was so great, that the mill's operator Courrin Whesterwill lowered the price for milling grain dramatically, at least until the other mills could be rebuilt. Still, in time, the Scarnettis purchased the Sandpoint Lumber Mill, but learned their lesson about trying to put a stranglehold on production by price gouging.

Here is what the party knows about House Scarnetti (Noble House of Magnimar) ...
House Scarnetti is one of the newer families of note in the Varisian city of Magnimar. They have a long-standing, simmering feud with the city's Shoanti population. Prominent members of the family also live in the nearby town of Sandpoint.[

[rypt]

Alvor rubs his forehead, seemingly unsure of what to make of Ibor's theory. "Well, I can't say I've ever heard of a hired killer using undead before, but if that's on the table here, we ought to at least consider the possibility that our first set of victims also found themselves on the wrong side of the Scarnettis. Not to say the killer couldn't have sold their services to another buyer..."

He sighs and then looks over at the sheriff. "You know if that family has any other financial interests in the area? Something that crooked lot might have targeted with one of their cons?"

[TooterfishPopkn]

Steingott sits in the background, pumping his fists and shadow boxing. He finishes his little workout and addresses the regrouped party:

"I don't wanna step on anyone's toes when it comes to drawing conclusions...but I think we all know as much as we're going to know today. Maybe watching the river and keeping our eyes open is our best bet until tomorrow."

Steingott looks down at his feet and starts digging his toes in the dirt.

"I get we have to keep things under wraps for the sake of the general population, but if the undead is a possible culprit, I think we need to go with that suggestion as a real possibility. We may need to just keep watch on certain areas and see if anything else happens. If we have nothing from our other leads for at least a week, all we can do at this point is protect. Tomorrow we can look into the Scarnettis. I just don't think it's the right time to barge in and start running the Scarnetti's down. for information. There's likely a better way to go about looking into them. Especially if they're a powerful family."

[lostsole31]

"Scarnetttis are no-doubt the face of the Sczarni gangs in this area," says Sheriff Hemlock. "And embezzling doesn't surprise me. But murder does. The Sczarni have a saying: you can't make money off the dead. I mean, way more goes on in Magnimar, but even there its racketeering, extortion, bribes, gambling (under the table to cheat the tax-man). At most, someone might get roughed up. But this goes way outside of anything the Sczarni are known to do. And it happened to a Scarnetti-owned business, which only invites the 'wrong kind' of vigilance, they might say. No, I am pretty sure that the Scarnettis would want no part of this.

"As far as number of Scarnetti interests you're going to find, well as one of the founding families of Sandpoint with a, ahem, 'aggressive business expansion model,' that's just to be expected."

[digiman619]

"Hmm." Zada said. They'd been lost in thought for a while. "Yeah, that tracks. As far these 'outstanding citizens' are concerned," the disdain practically dripped off that phrase, "I think that it's more likely that whoever this Lordship fellow is has a beef with them rather than anything untoward on their part. On this occasion, at least."

[lostsole31]

"I'm with Steingott. I say we call it for the night," says Draegra. "What we saw wasn't random violence, however chaotic it was. So I doubt we are looking for lightning to strike twice."

[rypt]

Alvor very nearly recites the Sczarni words along with Hemlock, but he catches himself first and manages to keep his mouth shut. "It does seem unlikely," he says with a sigh. "The nature of the killings make them tough enough to square with a hired hit. You pay someone for that kind of work, the last thing you want them doing is marking the bodies with matching symbols."

"Could be," he says to Zada. "Seems they may made more than their share of enemies. If he's able to recognize that rune, Brodert may be able to give us some direction, but we'll have to wait and see."

He nods to Draegra then looks to Martin and Steingott. "Still want to walk the river tonight? I'm willing if you are."