[Group 1] Shadows Grow in the Alleyways IC

[AngryCyc]

Spoiler: Kalux

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"Yes hello I am Kalux. I'm an investigator for the Sherriff's office. I'm looking for some more information about the events a week ago. I'd also like to know a bit more about this, err, affair of yours... As it might be relevant or it might not. Furthermore do you recall anyone who was around your daughter in the days leading up to the murder?" Kalux says, considerably less gentle than with the wife.

[Eonas]

Spoiler: Charles

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There are, as stated, patches blood, skin, and hair splattered around the dirt ground and walls up to hip height.

Spoiler: Kalux

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The man bites his lip and glances over at his wife. "A month ago Alyona came to buy linen. We talked and soon, well, I visited her house, and..." He doesn't finish the sentence, but it's clear by his and his wife's expressions what happened next. After a pause, he continues talking, a little touchily. "We recently had a dinner party with Alyona, met up with a tax registrar, and found our daughter dead in an alley. And Kramusa has spent all her time around me and Nurra. Nobody murderous, unless you're implying we killed our own daughter."

Spoiler: Alyx

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Spoiler: OOC

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Okay, we'll just wait a little for the others to catch up with you. Presumably they'll both be in the warehouse in under 15 ingame minutes.

[AngryCyc]

Spoiler

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"No I do not believe that either of you had anything to do with this. There have been other murders since that are identical, and unless you were behind all of them... No no, I don't think it makes any sense to have either of you as a suspect. But I do think it's important that I learn as much about what drove Kramusa out that night as possible.

And... On a personal note, I strongly suggest you two both seek counseling. Either to repair a broken marriage or just a grief counseling so that you might get through this time in your life without adding more tragedy. I actually am a private soothe sayer and fortune teller as my side business if either of you wouldn't be too fussed. I think it would do you some good to arrange a meeting sometime." Kalux says, a bit stronger and forceful than before as if it were more of a command than a suggestion. He continues "But for now, business is what I must attend to. I am going to solve the murder of your daughter. Please, if any new information pops up or there's anything you forgot, contact the sheriff's office immediately. More lives may be lost until we solve this." He concludes ominously, answering any lingering questions and saying the proper goodbyes, he heads out to the alley to meet with Charles again.

Spoiler: Diplomacy

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(1d20+12)[22]

[Eonas]

Spoiler: Kalux

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Neither of the two seem that disappointed when you leave. The man goes back to whatever he was doing in the back of the building, and the wife goes to help the old crone looking through the linens.

The alley where Kramusa was killed, and where Charles now is searching, is narrow and goes for about fifteen feet before ending in a brick wall. Scattered about midway into the alley are bits of blood, skin, and hair, on the floor and up to hip height on the walls.

(You may conjoin spoilers with Charles now instead of only addressing them to me.)

Spoiler: Charles

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Kalux rejoins you.

(You may conjoin spoilers with him now instead of only addressing them to me.)

[Farmerbink]

Spoiler: Kalux/Charles

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As Kalux joins him in the alleyway, Charles spits in a corner. As always, the woman was right. There's nothing to see here but dried blood and trash. I sure wouldn't want to go the way the girl did. Shall we catch up with Alyx, then?

As an afterthought, he adds: At least we know someone involved has red hair....

[Eonas]

Kalux and Charles, when they go to rejoin Alyx, find that the warehouse in question is located at the more decrepit parts of the merchant's district: the area is beginning to take on the desolation characteristic of the slums. The warehouse itself is reasonably large, cobwebbed everywhere but at the main entrances, stacked high and irregularly with boxes and crates. Alyx is hunched over a puddle of vomit, beside a door located at the back, still retching the thin liquid that comes when there is nothing less to throw up. The door she's beside is ajar, and through the crack you see a slice of a small room - in that slice is the tip of a bloodied foot.

[AngryCyc]

"Great. So you've found a lot more than we have I take it." Kalux says, avoiding looking in the door. "Is there a quick summary that won't leave me in similar condition..?"

[Farmerbink]

Charles walks in, jabbering incessantly to Kalux. If only there was something more concrete to build from, then we could really start- As he notices Alyx, his expression shifts from excited frustration to reserved observation.

Huh. Seems you found a... fresher scene than we did, to be sure. You were partly right, by the way. We certainly didn't learn much there. There is, however, a small bit of information. We have a red-haired person-of-interest. Questionably useful in a city this size, but at least it's red. Brown or black would have been useless, indeed...

He surveys the general area, with as much detachment as he can summon, never doing more than peeking though the cracked doorway. Well this is a lovely... warehouse. Why in the world would a young woman have come here by herself? I mean, the obvious answer is that she wouldn't, so we can somewhat safely assume that the perpetrator is doing more than kidnapping or murdering. He must be, in fact, gaining the trust of the individuals before guiding them to a remote location. I think I will.... wait for you to describe the next room. I have no overwhelming desire to expunge my stomach of its breakfast. He then patiently waits for Alyx to recover, allowing sips from his canteen to rinse her mouth as desired.

[Ionbound]

Alyx takes a deep breath and frowns, saying, "I'm afraid that I was caught slightly off-guard...We have a fourth victim. I think..." She takes another deep breath, "That our killer kidnaps young women and confines them here for some time before killing them. There's an 11-year old girl in there, cut to ribbons...And she was in there long enough to leave scat and food behind."

[Farmerbink]

"And she was in there long enough to leave scat and food behind."

At this last part, Charles' nose wrinkles in distaste. That... Somewhat explains your situation. I will, for now, happily trust in your senses, and not inspect the scene too closely, myself.

[AngryCyc]

"And she left no clue..? If I were trapped and believed I'd die, I would leave a clue to my killer's identity. Charles, I think you do need to get in there and look around. We all know I'm not the most perceptive of the group by a longshot but there could be vital information. Was, is... Can the girl be identified?"

[Farmerbink]

Charles places a finger on his nose, lost in thought. I suppose there's nothing to be done for it. Let's hope I'm not reduced to the same state Alyx was.... He gathers his wits and willpower and opens the door, peeking in to the mess beyond.

[Ionbound]

Alyx swallows and says, "I'll...Keep watch. Or something. That doesn't involve going in there again."

[AngryCyc]

"Here.." Kalux says, placing his hand on Charles. He casts Guidance on the investigator. "That should help you keep it together."

[Eonas]

Spoiler: Charles

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The room, is small, almost empty. The only large object within the room is the corpse of a girl maybe ten or twelve years old. She's lying on her stomach naked, open-eyed, arms outstretched above her head, rigid hands still frozen in a clawing pose as if she were trying to drag herself somewhere. All over her body she's lacerated with deep cuts, crisscrossed and too many to count. The joint between her right shoulder and arm is so damaged that the shoulder is dislocated, only a thin piece of skin and muscle keeping it from being severed entirely. In some places her flesh has been cut so deep that you can see the glistening bone shining through. There's a pool of dried blood centering around her open mouth, but there's also blood smeared through the entire room and even parts of the walls. Blood, yes, and bits of hair and skin stuck to the blood around the room. There's dried urine and feces in a corner, too, enough of it to suggest that the girl and her aggressor had probably been in the room for some time. The presence of a bloodied, half-eaten loaf of bread in another corner of the room leds credence to this theory.

Spoiler: OOC

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Make a DC 13 Will Save. Normally the DC would be 14, but you've already been warned about the horror inside the room, so at least there's no shock.

[Farmerbink]

Spoiler: OOC

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Will save: I'm going to use the benefit of Kalux' guidance spell. This seems like a big deal. If (1d20+7)[13] is less than 13, I will pray and use 2 points of inspiration to add (1d6)[5] to the check, for a total of:

edit: damn, thanks for the guidance, Kalux!

I would, assuming I pass (please, dice Gods, smile upon me!) like to inspect the room and the body to determine what might have caused this. Obviously, something capable of lacerating or slicing through flesh, but finer details. Do the injuries show evidence of jagged teeth on the blade? Does it more resemble knife/sword strikes or parallel swipes of an animal's or magical beast's claws? Was there bludgeoning damage (evidenced by bruising, broken bones, etc...)? I don't know whether perception: (1d20+12)[17] (+(1d6)[3]?) or knowledge, nature: (1d20+8)[14] (+(1d6)[1]?) is more applicable.

Heal used to be used to determine cause of death, though I don't see rules for it anymore. All the same, if applicable, (1d20+6)[11] (+(1d6)[4]?)

Let me know which rolls mattered, so I can adjust inspiration for the day, accordingly.

Charles almost loses it, but is able to stay composed, and takes a few moments to thoroughly inspect the scene, before returning to the hallway. Gods, that is.... messy.

[Eonas]

Spoiler: Charles

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If the cuts were of a blade, it clearly wasn't serrated. The cuts are clean, thick, almost smooth. They clearly weren't clearly wasn't a beast - none of them are parallel to any others, except by accident. And there doesn't seem to be any significant brusing or bludgeoning damage... just long cuts.

Spoiler: OOC

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Only Heal and Perception are necessary here.

[Farmerbink]

Charles breathes deeply for a few moments before relaying the results of his inspection to his companions. Whoever or whatever did this, they used fast motions and a sharp blade. I couldn't fathom why they cut her as many times as they did, but the cuts are clean and deep. No animal could have done this, and the blade lacked teeth. Whoever did this has some strength to his arm, as well; he damn-near cut through flesh and bone alike. Shaking his head, he finishes: that's all I know, for sure.

[AngryCyc]

Kalux speaks kindly to the investigator. "Thank you Charles, BOTH of you, for putting yourselves through that. It has provided us a lot more information. The question is, what to do now? Do you believe this is all the information we can gather from this place, or do we need to look more at the immediate area? For instance, should we look into who owns this warehouse? If the girl was here for quite some time, someone should've known about it..."

[Farmerbink]

"Should we look into who owns this warehouse? If the girl was here for quite some time, someone should've known about it..."

Charles expressions brightens at the suggestion. Almost immediately, it fades into a scowl, and he spits to the side. Some inspector I am. That's a great idea, and I'm a damned fool for not coming up with it myself. Where would those records be kept? One way or another, we suddenly have a very significant person-of-interest.

[Ionbound]

Alyx nods and says, "That sounds reasonable enough. Where do you think we could find him?"

[Eonas]

It's mid-afternoon when you arrive at the registrar. The woman behind the counter smiles at you and gives you the information about the warehouse as soon as she learns you're working for the sheriff. The warehouse used to be owned by a certain very wealthy noble and businessman named Hamatul Queev, but when he died the property was transferred to his daughter, Golantha, who's abandoned the merchant business to set up a nightclub called 'Medusa's'. The address: 345 Xill street.

[Farmerbink]

Charles taps a finger to his nose, as they leave the building. Well, well, well... this should be interesting, at least.

He leads the group to the nightclub, hoping to arrive and talk to Golantha before they get too busy.

[Ionbound]

Alyx follows and mutters, "Let's hope the name doesn't mean what I think it means...Does anyone have a mirror on them?"

[Farmerbink]

Charles chuckles at the joke. Heh, nice one.

...errr. That was a joke, right? You don't really think we're going to run into the medusa, do you? I'm definitely not prepared for that....

[Eonas]

Medusa's is a lurid crimson building, windowless and pulsing with sound. When you open the door, you find that the inside is almost entirely dark except for the illumination provided by dim red lights. A band loudly plays the sound of raucous, dissonant music. Sunset is still about another hour off, and as such the club is still fairly empty: two people gyrate together on the dancefloor, and you see several figures standing near the walls. A scantily-clad waitress walks up to you with a platter of glasses balanced on one hand and offers you a drink.

[Farmerbink]

Charles looks up to the building. Ah, this... this should be.... pleasant. Anyone have experience here? I'm totally out of my element on this one. Nonetheless, he steps inside and sees the scene described.

As the scantily clad waitress approaches, he allows his eyes to wander a bit more than perhaps he should. Thank you, but no. Sadly, miss, we are not here for pleasure. We come as representatives of the sheriff's investigation agency, and need to speak with the owner of this establishment. At current, she is not wanted- or a suspect, but we believe she may have information that would be valuable in our search for the perpetrators of a... gruesome crime. Do you know how we might be able to find Mistress Golantha?

[Ionbound]

Alyx snorts at Charles' question and says, "As a professional 'crazy old lady living on the edge of town', I'm even more out of my depth than you are here."

When she follows him inside, she waves off the waitress and looks around, taking in her surroundings as Charles chats.

Spoiler: OOC

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Perception check: (1d20+6)[8]

[Eonas]

Even in this relative darkness, you see the waitress' teeth glint. "Oh, yes, Mistress Queev is in the office at the back. Are you sure you don't want a drink?" she says.

Spoiler: Alyx

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You see nothing unusual except what I've already described.

[AngryCyc]

"I'll take a drink. ...what, that las scene was a bit more than I had expected. " Kalux says to the waitress. It might help to pad their pockets a bit to gain some info, and this seems a legitimate method to do so.