Act 3 Scene 1: Arrivals and Leavetakings

[Chris1234]

"Of course you may, Brother Hedram. And, yes, in a very specific manner of speaking," answers Jerry. "They are to assist and enable us to apprehend and stop a serial murderer; an immortal one who will otherwise kill most nights."

[Revenant]

"Sorry about my mug Iscind, but alas it is the only one I have," he says with a grin. Accompanying her to the scene of the murder he begins to look for any clues.

Tracking skill check: [1d20]=4

[tarlyn]

[ooc] Is this a Sun God Temple?[/ooc]

[TristenC]

[ooc] Is this a Sun God Temple?[/ooc]

No, Not exclusively.

There are several shrines in the temple giving honor to various symbologies. A sun god seems to be revered among them but there are 7 symbols displayed.

The seven symbols are (clockwise from the back): Sun, Rose in bloom, Scroll, Moon, Raven, Mirror, Balance scales.

[Jenara]

Karl gives him a small sad smile. "I understand far more than you know. I doubt very much many weapons will have a chance against it. I understand the need to help. You know this Town well, I am assuming? Would you have any clue of buildings this creature may reside? Something old, untouched? There are little of the 'Undead' where I come from but a Friend told me of a Crypt.. From what Jerry a creature would reside in something old, where no one goes. Helping us find such a place would help with this creatures demise."

[TristenC]

The Old Kartakan Inn: (Gregor, Pyros, Mira)
The trio of rogues decide to seek some curative aid for the injured Kender before digging further. Following the main road they draw no few eyes with the badly bloodied Pyros in tow. Turning West at the five-point intersection they soon descend the hill and return to The Broken Wheel.


The Broken Wheel: (Cross, Esker, Iscind, Karl)
Inside Airand ponders the question. Maybe in Lower Skald... There are probably some storage areas in upper Skald as well, but nothing stands out in my mind...

Outside Mira, Gregor and Pyros return; the latter looking much the worse for wear.

Across the street the two newly-arrived rangers and Cross seem to be inspecting the site of Laisa's attack... Goodness! Cross remarks as the three rogues return. Pyros, what happened to you?

Iscind stares at the wide bloody smear on the wall of the corner shop, attempting to determine the direction of the attack but the recent scrubbing has left it largely indecipherable. Esker focuses on the ground. Dried blood mixed with now-crusting red mud make a mess of the area, but the ground must have still been soft and damp in the wee hours before daylight; providing two sets of solid tracks leading to their position from Eastward. The first trail is smaller but toe-heavy, irregularly spaced and uneven that spoke of someone running and searching desperately. The second set are heavier with an even, relaxed pace and seem to appear from nowhere a dozen paces away before leading to the site of the killing. It is as if the attacker dropped from the sky and was in no great hurry in stalking its victim.

The victim's tracks continue from Eastward where the terrain makes a natural red-earthen hill leading down from the back yards of the buildings above. Obvious scraped earth, cracked brush, snagged cloth and overturned stones tell the tale of the girl tumbling uncontrollably down. Cross follows curiously, his large raven circling overhead and keeping pace with the trio.


The Temple: (Del, Elsa, Jerry, Merrick)
Brother Hedram pales visibly at the revelation, and lowers his voice. The recent killer... you suspect it is one of the unliving? And the wafers... you must mean those that drink the blood of their victims. He lets out a slow breath, still stunned from the revelation. Of course, yes we can make the holy water available. Sadly we only have 6 vials currently. And the wafers, I think you may be in luck. We typically only order them four times a year for various ceremonies, but Sithican New Year's fell just shy of two weeks ago on March 1st and we have some left over. I was planning to offer them sacrificially in the next day or two. I... hope there are enough remaining for your purposes.

Brother Hedram waves one of the acolytes over and whispers to them quietly. The youth looks perplexed but he motions for them to proceed. I had heard there was a... pattern of sorts, in the victims. The elder man regards her with a grim but sympathetic expression. The acolyte soon returns with a small wooden case and a small linen sack of holy wafers.

[ 6 vials of Holy water. 1 will be provided or free. The others are available for the standard 25 gp 'donation' each. Elsa will buy 2.

The wafers are free, it is difficult to say exactly if there are enough for what Jerry intends; it may be close. Most accounts from her training don't give a number, size or weight of wafers necessary. When given enough time to properly prepare for hunting vampires, everyone brings far more than necessary]

[Jenara]

"I'd rather not discuss it here." Mira answers with a sigh, "Is Elsa inside? Or Jerry?" She asks hopefully.

[Nocturno]

"Someone tried to insult our Red Lady, I had to set them straight."

[Chris1234]

"I do, Brother, and thank you for your aid," responds Jerry with a curtsy, accepting the wafers gladly. She turns to the others and says, "The Holy Water you may wish to distribute amongst yourselves as you see fit. I do not need any for myself but I am unable to assist you with the corresponding donations."

She nods slightly when 'a pattern' is mentioned but doesn't elaborate.

[Revenant]

Esker Manyblades

Esker will point out to his companions what he reads in the tracks. "A murderer who attacks from above, is what we face," he looks to Iscind and his other companions, a concerned look on his face.

[Jenara]

Assuming Mira can hear..

"Gregor, get Pyros inside." She pats the Kenders hand in thanks and walks over to the others. "Whatever it is, its killing people that look like Jerry, that I know. We ended up meeting something totally different."

[Jenara]

Karl

"Interesting. Jerry appears to be the source of knowledge on this. I do understand you need to do something, and I think you will. Please, promise me you won't do anything rash?"

[Nocturno]

Pyros will not object to heading inside.

[TristenC]

The Broken Wheel: (Cross, Esker, Iscind, Karl)
Inside
Airand's hands tighten, nodding in agreement to Karl's remark about 'needing to do something'. The stakes... those work, right? How long do they have to be...? Or how long can they be? Like a chair leg? A spear?


Outside
Elsa and Jerry went to the Temple, I'm not sure where it is though. They should be back soon. Cross answers.
Ah yes, we also realized there was some relationship between the victims and Jerry... unfortunately it is much worse than that... She arrived, after working at the papermaker's for a while, and explained the situation to us. Apparently she has deduced the killer is her late father... one who has... returned from his expiration as a creature of the night... A vampire, in plain terms. Cross gives her a knowing look.

At the comment about a creature that attacks from above, Cross nods. It would seem we have farther evidence of Jerry's Hypothesis... If the victim tumbled from above, could we further track where she came from? Maybe we can hone-in on the origin further?
[If Iscind and/or Esker would like to climb the hill to track farther, let me get a Tracking check for that as well]


The Temple: (Del, Elsa, Jerry, Merrick)
[For holy water Elsa is buying 2, 1 is free. 3 are available. Is Del buying any? Otherwise Merrick may buy 1 but that's about it.]

[Jenara]

"Vampire? I've heard the name, not exactly something you write songs about. Unless of course you wrote about a broody Vampire who wanted to be a good guy. Like some sort of guardian Angel." Mira ponders as she considers the newest news.

"So. Jerry's Father? Great. Just great." She sighs and heads inside with the others, seeing Airand she steps towards him, then sees his face.

"Airand. I'm so sorry .. I. I don't know how to stop this thing, but.. I'll do what I can. I... I really liked her, I don't know how you must feel but." She offers her arms to hug