Perth (IC)

[Cardea]

Sulet walked to the left of the group. Not so much to keep his distance; if he wanted that, he'd have lagged behind them a good pace, but just because it was the closest he could get to feeling like he was on the rooftops. Just slightly off the main path. And... okay yeah he just wanted some distance from the group without being too much of a jerk. Part of the same guild, yeah. Part of the same mindset? No. That guy has a sword, after all.

When they approached the graveyard, Sulet hopped the fence, possibly the last time he'd be able to get any sort of physical activity aside from running. Which, if they were dealing with Ghouls, he would be doing a lot of. He listened to the conversation start, before an alarm rang off in his head. "Hey, wait, what one from Goodbarrell plot? What makes it so special?"

[Ajadea]

"Goodbarrel is the family name of the dead halfling noble, I believe." After all, who names specific plots for the commoners? she added mentally. "Macseris, when did the people in these graves die?"

[Arillius]

Nicholas believes the man before him with an air of dignity to be telling the truth, and to be tired. Nicholas turns his eyes from the man to the graves with Alexander, looking for any signs of what dug the holes up.

"I see an iron fence around the Goodbarrel plot. What condition was the gate in when the body was discovered missing?"

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(1d20+10)[26]
Taking 10 on perception roll. Sorry penguin.
How high is the fence around their plot?

[Cardea]

"Well, yes," Sulet says, turning to the Vanalya. "I knew that. But six-whoever-these-ares, and one Goodbarrel? That... does that not make anyone else question the importance in it? I mean, why not just seven-whoever-these-ares?"

[Arillius]

"If it is ghouls it might be attracted to new.....attracted to the recently departed." Nicholas look a little sick at the thought, taking a moment to shake it out of his head.

[SanguinePenguin]

Max looks a little uncomfortable for the first time. He responds to Alexander, "look, it could be nothing, so don't tell the boss. I'm worried about Basel... the guy goes on short trips sometimes without telling me. But he's been missing for about three days. I rarely see him anyway, but the tools haven't been touched at night. He... he's the night digger. Just, if it's nothing, don't tell the boss."

"All seven were buried within the last week. The next most recent was..." He seems to be thinking pretty hard, "maybe ten days ago. Those three right there," he says pointing to three graves, also nearby. "We had to hire some bum for the day. Not that often that three bodies come in one day."

"There is no gate. The fence is just there to kind of section it off. It's much cheaper than one of those," he grabs a rock and chucks it which strikes a mausoleum wall.

He listens to Sulet without comment, but at Nicholas's statement the man suddenly gets very... angry. He jumps to his feet and start shouting at Nihcolas. "Hey! Look here, just because I dig graves for a living, it doesn't mean I'm some pervert! Yeah, dead people gross me out too. I have a wife... a son and daughter, who I love very much. I do this for money - not some sick fix. It's a stable job, people are always dying. So don't act all high and mighty making accusations of the lowly gravedigger!" He spits at Nicholas's feet and glares at him in disgust.

@Alexander

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The digging is rough, although the dirt does not appear to have been thrown far, so it doesn't seem hurried. All of the graves and piles indicate that the digging happened from one side of the grave. They look like they were dug up with claws, but they seem far too big to be roughly human sized. The gouges in the earth at some places make Alexander believe there are three or four parallel shovel-like claw marks that span about ten inches and each claw must be longer than six inches, but you are unsure just how long. The crude wooden coffins remain, but their contents do not. The lids on the other hand appear to have been cleanly pried open, possibly with a crowbar.

Also, Max seems mad at Nicholas.

And he's never heard of the Second Sons before. But a lot of gangs come and go with a lot of different names.

[Arillius]

Nicholas jumps back as the man starts yelling at him, obviously surprised. In attempt to calm the man down he speaks to clarify what he said."I I think you misunderstood what I said. I was talking about ghouls. They are some kind of beasts that eat corpses, or at least that's what we've been told. The guild leader said if he were to hazard a guess that would be the cause of the missing bodies."

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(1d20+6)[15] Diplomacy for Nicholas trying to clarify what he said.

[SanguinePenguin]

Max seems surprised for a few seconds, looks to your companions who also look a bit startled by his response and then realizes his fault. "I'm sorry... you did say ghouls, didn't you. Over the years a lot of people have accused me of horrible things just because of my profession. It just... gets to me. Please forgive my outburst," he apologizes sitting back down.

Now a bit flustered and ashamed, he says, "yeah... uh, I've heard ghouls like the recently deceased, but I don't really know. I've never seen one," he glances up at the sun for an instant before turning back to you, "and I sure don't intend to."

[Ajadea]

Vanalya flinches and reflexively covers her face with her hands, hyperventilating slightly. The raw anger in Max's words hurt physically as well as visually, flashing words and thick heavy strokes cutting through her sight. When he ceases speaking, she slowly lowers her hands, wringing them nervously. It takes nearly half a minute before she begins to process what Max had said before. "Then...the ghouls are likely to target those three corpses next, as they seem to prefer fresh meat to rotten," she says, her voice shaking slightly.

[Arillius]

"Simply a misunderstanding, nothing to forgive." Nicholas smiles in a attempt to demonstrate that. With that settled Nicholas turned his thoughts back to the matter at hand.

Looking to Vanalya, Nicholas nods his head in agreement. "Indeed. A smart tactic." Thinking for a moment Nicholas down at the grave and then back up to the group. "I might also be able to find the creatures tracks. I wouldn't know what they look like but maybe they'll be unusual enough to stand out. Perhaps we can find where these things are hiding and set a trap of sorts."

Nicholas looks around the six graves nearby, searching for any sign of tracks that might belong to the ghouls.

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(1d20+10)[13]

[Strawberries]

"Quite understandable" Evin smoothly steps in. He found the gravedigger's sudden anger a bit suspicious, to tell the truth, but the explanation seems to make sense. Still, he looks at the man a bit more intently, trying to discern some tell-tale sign that he may be lying. He turns at Vanalya as she speaks, recognizing something's wrong from her voice and frowning slightly. He then nods at Nicholas' suggestion. "It looks like a good plan, and should it fail, we just have to stay after dark and see what happens " he smiles at the gravedigger."We'll find out what happened to Basel, and if it's nothing we won't rat him out."

sense motive - (1d20+6)[17]

[SanguinePenguin]

Max seems a little more at ease after Nicholas's reassurance. He nods acknowledging Vanalya's comment.

@Nicholas

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Nicholas finds fresh, interesting footprints which he follows... to Alexander.

@Evin

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He seems a little ashamed, but he doesn't to be lying about anything.

[Arillius]

Nicholas backs away from Alexander, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

Looking to the rest of the group Nicholas says, "It seems I'm a bit rusty, I wasn't able to find anything. Perhaps I'll have better luck at the noble's grave. I'll head over now and see what I can find. Despite the circumstances it was nice to meet you Macseris."

Nicholas gives a wave to the group, a bow of his head to Max, and walks over to the Goodbarrel plot. When he arrives there he try's again, hoping for a bit more success this time.

[Strawberries]

Evin chuckles "Well well, I'd keep an eye on him all the same. You may never know" he says. Then he becames more serious again "I'm curious about the Goodbarrel's grave as well." he replies.

[Cardea]

Sulet had to turn around. His back to the grave keeper, he cupped his mouth, and suppressed his laughter. He stands back up, and follows Evin to Nicholas to the Goodbarrel plot. He walks alongside him, bumping him with his elbow with a smile. "Hey, you could know, but that'd require some fancy magic type deal, wouldn't it?"

[Ajadea]

Vanalya follows the others to the halfling's grave, more out of a need to avoid getting lost than a belief that she could do anything useful. Then she realized something, and her expression changed into one of worry. "If the ghouls possess some level of intelligence, wouldn't it make more sense in their mind for them to murder others? Logically, if they prefer fresh humanoid meat, actively hunting citizens might make more sense than hanging around a graveyard waiting for someone to bury corpses of old, sick, or otherwise infirm people."

[Werewhale]

Alexander

"I don't think we're dealing with ghouls," growls Alexander without elaborating, walking past them fast towards the Goodbarrel grave and examining it carefully, stooping down and placing his hand over the digging marks for reference.

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Checking to see if the abnormalities are the same with the halfling's grave.
If anything is different, Perception Check: (1d20+7)[9]

[Arillius]

"Perhaps. That is an idea to, considering Perth isn't exactly the safest place. Such murders could go unnoticed, especially if the bodies just disappear." Nicholas stops looking for a moment to think. A gruesome thought indeed.

"However, if they have enough intelligence to think that, perhaps they also have enough to consider the risks that might entail. It would mean going to a populated area. That would mean a higher chance of discovery and of course the risk of being harmed during such an attempt."

Nicholas looks at Alexander curiously. "Did you see anything at the other graves that suggests something else?"

[Strawberries]

Evin laughs with Sulet. "Magic I don't possess, unfortunately." he says, winking at him. He lowers his tone conspiratorially "But don't worry, I won't let him out of my sight.". He becomes serious again when Vanalya speaks "That's why we're here, isn't it?" he answers to her. Then to Alexander "And why exactly do you think that?" he asks, approaching him to examine the grave togheter with him.

perception - (1d20+6)[12]

[SanguinePenguin]

@Alexander

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The hole is smaller. The coffin is smaller and nicer, but otherwise it looks the same.

@Nicholas

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This time you find a single enormous print in the unearthed dirt.

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Everyone who looks at the marks Alexander is pointing to are forced to the same conclusion - if this is a ghoul, then it has HUGE claws.

[Werewhale]

Alexander

His hand hovering over a particularly obvious set of clawmarks, Alexander looks up at the others, "Ghouls are human-sized, from what Grosh told us. Whatever did this was not human-sized. I'd say claws of at least six inches, probably larger. Also, all of the digging seems to have been made from one side, which makes a group less likely. But look at the coffin," he points. "Neatly pried open, as if with a crowbar. I think this looks a lot like someone tried to make this look like the work of a beast. Are any of you familiar with the Second Sons?"

[Arillius]

Nicholas pauses for a moment as Alexander speaks, trying to think if he ever heard anything about the Seconds Sons during his days in the slums. When Alexander finishes speaking Nicholas waves the group over to where he found the print. "I've found something else as well. A rather large print for a ghoul. I'm not familiar with it. Can anyone else hazard a guess as to what this print might belong to?"

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(1d20+2)[22] Knowledge: Local with the second sons

[SanguinePenguin]

@Nicholas

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Nicholas had never heard of the Second Sons... before he left that is. Upon his return, his brief examination into Vince's current whereabouts revealed the name, about his exact affiliation with the group he is uncertain.

@Evin

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Evin's heard Pinch mention the gang recently. He knows they are bad news - extremely violent. They were formed recently, but they've committed multiple violent muggings and armed robberies in the slums. A couple of their victims have died. He's heard that they've even killed a member of the guard.

[Arillius]

"I've only heard their name once or twice, and only since I've returned to Perth. I was looking into a rather unseemly person when I heard the name."

[Strawberries]

"Yeah, I heard of them. They're new." Evin answers Alexander. "A friend told me they're bad news. Thugs, muggers, the usual. Except those ones don't balk at killing people. Apparently, not even guards."

[Werewhale]

Alexander

"Or nobles. I have been informed they were responsible for the Goodbarrel kid here. Stabbed in the slums. Which begs the question: What the hell was the kid doing in the worst part of town and why did he draw the ire of the worst gang in town?" Alexander muses, then glances at the footprint Nicholas found, "Not to mention what the hell is that."

[Jallorn]

Elun speaks up for the first time since they reached the graveyard, That makes sense actually, the first few graves would be random people to set a pattern, then they dig up the grave they're actually after, though what they want, I have no idea. He looks around for a moment before realizing he made Mia stay at the shop.

[SanguinePenguin]

@Elun

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Elun knows nothing about the Second Sons. He's never heard any substantial historical reference to them.

@Nicholas

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The iron fence is only about two feet high - which is a little obstacle for a halfling, but nothing at all to a human. The entrance is simply a long split in the fence.

[Arillius]

Having nothing to contribute further to the discussion, anything that he would have said was already spoken by another member, Nicholas decides to have a look around to see if he can find anything else

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(1d20+10)[18]

[Ajadea]

Vanalya listens without speaking. Murder. Gods damn it. Murder was far from a new concept to her, but even so, it brought the same anger to her mind as it had the first time she had seen a bloody, rotting, corpse thrown into the back of an alley. Almost out of instinct, she begins to speak, fingers and hands signing something too quickly to see clearly.