"It's enough that people suffer this damned cold, and I don't want to be looking over my shoulder because of some killer," Unburdened says. "You can count me in."
"I'll help too," says Silvie, still breathing a bit hard from running to the sheriff's office. Her hair is out of her usual braid and she has her arms wrapped around herself. "It's... our responsability as... citizens to help, anyway." She takes one final deep breath before managing to speak normally. "What was that about a caravan? If it's a lead, maybe we could split up. I have no problem with traversing the Dale."
Ciaran arrives at the Sheriff's office after a restless night, same as the one's he's had since arriving at the Dale. He mutters a "good morning" to everyone and stays silent as the rest throw their interest on investigating the murders, or their questions about them, and then adds his own:
- And what of those daggers you mentioned? Are ice daggers commonly used here? I mean, I'm pretty new here, but I don't recall seeing weapons made of ice, just common metals. Regarding the investigation, well, why not. Sounds as good a job as any other.
Orixian looks between the sheriff and the dwarven woman. He nods in agreement with his comrades. Then he cocks his head slightly and raises a single finger like an unsure pupil. "So what exactly will we be doing? Searching around Bryn Shander or looking for this caravan?"
"A caravan is still going about in this darkness? How do they get around Ten Towns without being mauled like that..."Solvail eyes the dwarf in the room and stops mid-sentence, clearing her throat "-ahem- Yes, Sheriff. Seems you've got your few extra set of eyes here. We'll get to bringing that ice-dagger-killer to justice."
Sheriff Southwell and the dwarf woman, who introduces herself as Hlin Trollbane, lead you all to Ice Crystal Glass, a glassblowing shop on the west side of town. A curious and shivering crowd has gathered around the area, but the few town guards holding the perimeter are able to keep them at bay. Sheriff Southwell clears a path for all of you and leads you into the shop.
It’s a simple workshop made of stone and wood. Tools and hardware for glassblowing are strewn about in a somewhat-orderly fashion. A furnace and kiln are located in the corner. Glassware ranging from simple pitchers and cups to fine vases and champagne flutes are lined on shelves for sale. Ciaran and Orixian recognize some Waterdhavian and Mirabaran paintings and art objects decorating the space. A set of stairs leads up to a small living quarters, but splayed out at the bottom is the corpse of a dwarf man in a fur robe, his eyes wide with terror. He is impaled with a sharp spike of ice in the shape of a dagger.
”Well, here’s the poor sod. Darrekk Bronzegrip, been in town well over a decade. He’s from Luskan, I think. No family in the Dale. He does have an apprentice, though. Val Moro, they’re the one reported the incident,” Southwell says, pointing over to the corner. Near the furnace is a human in their late teens with a grim look on their face as they load it up with wood and get it lit. “We’ve done some initial investigation, but frankly we’ve spent most of our time just making sure that mob outside doesn’t get in and start trying to conduct an investigation of their own. I’m sure we have those Children of Auril maniacs to thank for all those ‘Frostmaiden’s Assassin’ rumors spreading so damn quick. Anyways. Let me know if you find anything. I’m going to back up my deputies outside.”
Baldur’s Gate 3 narrator voice: You’re all familiar with the Children of Auril, a cult of the Frostmaiden that has grown quite popular in the Ten-Towns since the Rime occurred. They preach that only through sacrifice to the Frostmaiden can the Ten-Towns find salvation from the bitter cold. The Ten-Towners didn’t believe them… until it became clear that this winter would not end. Desperate for relief, they have accepted the Children’s beliefs and make sacrifices to appease the goddess of winter. Every night of the new moon, each of the Ten-Towns sacrifice food, warmth, or a person to the Frostmaiden. In communities where people are sacrificed, lotteries are held by the Children to decide who will be stripped of their winter clothes and forced out into the frigid Dale for the good of the community.
The leaders of Ten-Towns and their agents are outnumbered by the Children and their growing number of followers, and as such are forced to comply lest they become the next sacrifices to Auril.
(The crime scene is yours. Feel free to investigate the space, check the victim’s body, take a statement from the apprentice, maybe talk to the crowd outside, ask Hlin for more information on her hunch, or anything else that you feel could help you learn more about this situation.)
Calid approaches Val Moro "Can you tell me when and how did you discover your master dead on the floor and did you move his body. Is the door normally locked?"
As she waits for a response, she also looks around the room for signs of a break in
Since she walked in, Silvie's eyes were drawn to the unfortunate dwarf. Even as the sherrif speaks and then leaves, she stares at the corpse, arms wrapped around herself again. After swallowing, she turns towards Hlin and asks, "You think... a caravan owner did this? Why? Are they connected to all the victims or did they interact with them last before the murders?"
- Anyone care to check the body and the murder weapon with me? - Ciaran asks - I'm not much of an investigator, but surely four eyes will see more than two.
(OOC: I'd like to give someone advantage for an investigation roll. Don't expect to investigate much with my 8 INT :P)
"I'll take a whack at looking over the body," Unburdened says as he joins Ciaran. He squats over the body and takes out a detailing lens to try to find some overlooked details.
Investigation: NATURAL 20 + 3 INT mod + 4 from guidance for a total of 27!
After looking over the body with his natural senses. He runs a minor magical charge through the murder weapon to try and determine if it is a magical weapon or just regular ice fashioned into a blade.
As the others go forward towards the murder scene, Solvail approaches Sheriff Southwell instead and speaks in a hushed tone close to his ear, "Master Sheriff, you've been around here a while, right? You know the locals, too. I'm sure someone popped in your mind as you heard of what happened here." she looks around at the gathered crowd for a moment, eyeing a few of them in turn to make sure no one is shifting or more nervous than usual as they observe us and the body, "It won't poison our investigation, I assure you, but it would be useful for us to know who that someone is."
((Nat 1 on Insight for a total of 6 checking out the crowd 😑))
(Putting things in spoilers so I'm not taking up a bunch of space on the forum. Feel free to access them all, even if it's not your interaction. I imagine you'd all share information or that conversations would be happening in a place where you can all hear them.)
Calid:
Calid, you actually know Val - not super well, but on an acquaintance-level. "Oh, hey, Calid... Sheriff brought you in on this? Well, I came to work for the morning and found him like this. Was too shocked to try and check on him, or move him, or anything. Didn't even scream. Just stood there for a minute, then once I came out of my stupor, found the nearest deputy and told him to grab the Sheriff," They say, looking off toward the body and shaking their head as they speak. "Darrekk always keeps the place locked up tight. The... the window over there was open when I came in. Closed it on account of the chill..."
Val points over to a window flanked by heavy curtains set into the back wall of the building. You look for signs of forced entry in the window and do see that the latch that kept the window locked is completely shattered. You pick up some of the pieces and feel that the iron latch was quite brittle - almost like the metal was frozen and then broken in order to gain entry.
Sylvie:
Hlin shakes her head. "The leader of the caravan's a right scoundrel if there ever was one, but no, Torrga Icevein ain't my concern. It's her bodyguard, man by the name of Kaltro, I think. Way I see it, so far, the victims are only from towns where people are sacrificed to the Frostmaiden. First Targos, then Easthaven, now Bryn Shander. All with the same ice-knife to the heart. Killer's got a penchant for the cold and is more than capable of traveling between Ten-Towns. Torg's caravan's one of the few still running. They were in town for the last few days, and while we're all bundled up and freezing at the extremities, that Kaltro fellow is walking around with no coat, no scarf, no gloves. Looks like he's dressed for bloody summer in Waterdeep, not the Dale. Completely comfortable. Something fishier than knucklehead trout stew about that one. Call it an old bounty hunter's intuition."
Ciaran and Unburdened - Ciaran would have given advantage on your check, but you can't do much better than a natural 20:
Working together, you're able to learn/intuit the following:
The victim was indeed killed by the ice-knife to the chest, piercing his heart. No other wounds were inflicted. The killer faced the victim head on. Judging by the angle of the blade, the perpetrator was around two feet taller than the dwarf Darrekk.
The victim has been dead for about eight hours. It's cold enough in here that the body hasn't decomposed as rapidly as it would in a more temperate climate. But given how recent the time of death was, there wouldn't be much decomposition anyways.
You notice a small coin purse sticking out slightly underneath the victim. It's possible the victim was trying to pay off the killer in an attempt to save their own life.
The victim appears to live a rather decadent lifestyle for his location. He wears a fine silk robe over his pajamas and has quite a few bejeweled rings and necklaces on his person. In fact, several valuable items are in here, ranging from coin to art objects on the wall to jewelry on the victim. Darrekk may not be rich by Sword Coast standards, but he was much wealthier than your average Ten-Towner. But everything is still here. This was not robbery, but cold-blooded murder. Pun somewhat intended.
Running arcana-analysis on the knife, Unburdened finds that it is indeed magical in nature. This is no naturally formed weapon.
Solvail:
The crowd is too bundled up to get a good look at any of their faces, and the wide array of emotions and expressions throw off your intuition. Any of these people could be the murderer, or perhaps none of them.
Sheriff Southwell looks at you and nods. "Frankly, Father Lake and his Children of Auril cult came to mind. Cold bastards they are, pun very much intended. They've stirred up the people over the last few years and gotten them to force the Speakers of Ten-Towns into making sacrifices to placate their precious Frostmaiden. Riled up Bryn Shander, Easthaven, and Targos enough that folks are now willing to sacrifice their neighbors and friends if it means mercy from her wrath. Send some poor soul by lottery out into the Dale to freeze to death or end up some yeti's dinner every new moon. Speaker Shane and I have our hands tied - we resist the Children, we're next on the chopping block. People are desperate. And I can't help but feel the Children are playing on that desperation for power or amusement. I can't tell which one's worse. Why they would kill Darrekk... I can't say. But I wouldn't put it past them."
Silvie hugs herself tighter as she listens to Hlin's response. "So... what? You think this Kaltro fellow is blessed by the Frostmaiden and going around the Dale murdering people in her name? Unless you've another reason for suspecting him that you're not sharing, I'm with the sheriff. You can't blame a man of murder 'cuz of the clothes he wears or not!" Her voice goes from confused to accusatory toward the end of her response. Then she closes her eyes and sighs in irritation with herself as she moves her hands behind her neck.
As she calms herself, she tries to remember if there are any more towns that sacrifice people to the Frostmaiden. (History: 14)
"This is the second dead dwarf I've - well, we've - seen in the last two days. I'm... not in my element, to but it bluntly," she gives an apology for her tone without actually saying the words. Lowering her arms to her sides, Silvie keeps her eyes on Hlin - currently not trusting her as far as she could throw her - as she calls to Ciaran and Unburdened. "Found anything?"
Silvie is looking for any kind of minuscule change in Hlin's expression or body language that would indicate guilt, anger or unease. (Perception: 10)
Orixian watches everyone else move about the scene and listens to the conversations. As he sees Calid move to the window, he makes a small noise indicating an idea and heads outside and around the building to where the window leads. He stays wide to avoid adding to anything already there, but looks for tracks or another sign of passage to and from the window.
((Perception 9 (8+1) or Survival 20 (17+3), wasn't sure which would be more appropriate here so I rolled both.))
"He may have tried to bribe his assailant to let him live. Who was, more than likely, taller than him by the looks of it," Unburdened strokes his chin. "The murder weapon has some magic flowing through it."
"Other than that, nothing we've haven't been told that would make much of a difference."
- Yes, looks like it. It is curious that the killer hasn't taken anything with them. They were definitely not after money or goods.
He pauses for a moment and adds:
- Those ritual kills to appease Auril, do they usually look like this? I would have imagined something more ... how to put it ... showy? And which was the moon phase yesterday? Was it new moon? - the fighter asks, trying to determine if this could be one of those ritual kills, or if the reason behind the murder could be other.
"Yep, Val I am an investigator this time and who knows what I will be next time" Calid moves over to the window and examines it for tool markings or crowbar usage. She also checks to see if the lock is broken.
Investigation
3 in game log
I am not good at this, though perhaps one of my companions will notice something. Calid relays what Val said about the open window and how it should be locked.
Solvail narrows her eyes at the mention of the cult, "It really baffled me that the presence of such individuals was even tolerated in the Dale... But then again, given the conditions..." she waves generally around and up to the sky, "Understandable, I guess. Any idea where they convene?" she asks the Sheriff before approaching the others once again.
"It's enough that people suffer this damned cold, and I don't want to be looking over my shoulder because of some killer," Unburdened says. "You can count me in."
Extended Signature
"I'll help too," says Silvie, still breathing a bit hard from running to the sheriff's office. Her hair is out of her usual braid and she has her arms wrapped around herself. "It's... our responsability as... citizens to help, anyway." She takes one final deep breath before managing to speak normally. "What was that about a caravan? If it's a lead, maybe we could split up. I have no problem with traversing the Dale."
Ciaran arrives at the Sheriff's office after a restless night, same as the one's he's had since arriving at the Dale. He mutters a "good morning" to everyone and stays silent as the rest throw their interest on investigating the murders, or their questions about them, and then adds his own:
- And what of those daggers you mentioned? Are ice daggers commonly used here? I mean, I'm pretty new here, but I don't recall seeing weapons made of ice, just common metals. Regarding the investigation, well, why not. Sounds as good a job as any other.
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
Calid thinks of her father and a killer on the loose. She shudders at the thought and says "I am in and will find the killer"
Orixian looks between the sheriff and the dwarven woman. He nods in agreement with his comrades. Then he cocks his head slightly and raises a single finger like an unsure pupil. "So what exactly will we be doing? Searching around Bryn Shander or looking for this caravan?"
"A caravan is still going about in this darkness? How do they get around Ten Towns without being mauled like that..." Solvail eyes the dwarf in the room and stops mid-sentence, clearing her throat "-ahem- Yes, Sheriff. Seems you've got your few extra set of eyes here. We'll get to bringing that ice-dagger-killer to justice."
Art Portfolio
Sheriff Southwell and the dwarf woman, who introduces herself as Hlin Trollbane, lead you all to Ice Crystal Glass, a glassblowing shop on the west side of town. A curious and shivering crowd has gathered around the area, but the few town guards holding the perimeter are able to keep them at bay. Sheriff Southwell clears a path for all of you and leads you into the shop.
It’s a simple workshop made of stone and wood. Tools and hardware for glassblowing are strewn about in a somewhat-orderly fashion. A furnace and kiln are located in the corner. Glassware ranging from simple pitchers and cups to fine vases and champagne flutes are lined on shelves for sale. Ciaran and Orixian recognize some Waterdhavian and Mirabaran paintings and art objects decorating the space. A set of stairs leads up to a small living quarters, but splayed out at the bottom is the corpse of a dwarf man in a fur robe, his eyes wide with terror. He is impaled with a sharp spike of ice in the shape of a dagger.
”Well, here’s the poor sod. Darrekk Bronzegrip, been in town well over a decade. He’s from Luskan, I think. No family in the Dale. He does have an apprentice, though. Val Moro, they’re the one reported the incident,” Southwell says, pointing over to the corner. Near the furnace is a human in their late teens with a grim look on their face as they load it up with wood and get it lit. “We’ve done some initial investigation, but frankly we’ve spent most of our time just making sure that mob outside doesn’t get in and start trying to conduct an investigation of their own. I’m sure we have those Children of Auril maniacs to thank for all those ‘Frostmaiden’s Assassin’ rumors spreading so damn quick. Anyways. Let me know if you find anything. I’m going to back up my deputies outside.”
Baldur’s Gate 3 narrator voice: You’re all familiar with the Children of Auril, a cult of the Frostmaiden that has grown quite popular in the Ten-Towns since the Rime occurred. They preach that only through sacrifice to the Frostmaiden can the Ten-Towns find salvation from the bitter cold. The Ten-Towners didn’t believe them… until it became clear that this winter would not end. Desperate for relief, they have accepted the Children’s beliefs and make sacrifices to appease the goddess of winter. Every night of the new moon, each of the Ten-Towns sacrifice food, warmth, or a person to the Frostmaiden. In communities where people are sacrificed, lotteries are held by the Children to decide who will be stripped of their winter clothes and forced out into the frigid Dale for the good of the community.
The leaders of Ten-Towns and their agents are outnumbered by the Children and their growing number of followers, and as such are forced to comply lest they become the next sacrifices to Auril.
(The crime scene is yours. Feel free to investigate the space, check the victim’s body, take a statement from the apprentice, maybe talk to the crowd outside, ask Hlin for more information on her hunch, or anything else that you feel could help you learn more about this situation.)
Calid approaches Val Moro "Can you tell me when and how did you discover your master dead on the floor and did you move his body. Is the door normally locked?"
As she waits for a response, she also looks around the room for signs of a break in
Perception
Dirty 20 in game log.
Since she walked in, Silvie's eyes were drawn to the unfortunate dwarf. Even as the sherrif speaks and then leaves, she stares at the corpse, arms wrapped around herself again. After swallowing, she turns towards Hlin and asks, "You think... a caravan owner did this? Why? Are they connected to all the victims or did they interact with them last before the murders?"
- Anyone care to check the body and the murder weapon with me? - Ciaran asks - I'm not much of an investigator, but surely four eyes will see more than two.
(OOC: I'd like to give someone advantage for an investigation roll. Don't expect to investigate much with my 8 INT :P)
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
"I'll take a whack at looking over the body," Unburdened says as he joins Ciaran. He squats over the body and takes out a detailing lens to try to find some overlooked details.
Investigation: NATURAL 20 + 3 INT mod + 4 from guidance for a total of 27!
After looking over the body with his natural senses. He runs a minor magical charge through the murder weapon to try and determine if it is a magical weapon or just regular ice fashioned into a blade.
Arcana: 15
Extended Signature
As the others go forward towards the murder scene, Solvail approaches Sheriff Southwell instead and speaks in a hushed tone close to his ear, "Master Sheriff, you've been around here a while, right? You know the locals, too. I'm sure someone popped in your mind as you heard of what happened here." she looks around at the gathered crowd for a moment, eyeing a few of them in turn to make sure no one is shifting or more nervous than usual as they observe us and the body, "It won't poison our investigation, I assure you, but it would be useful for us to know who that someone is."
((Nat 1 on Insight for a total of 6 checking out the crowd 😑))
Art Portfolio
(Putting things in spoilers so I'm not taking up a bunch of space on the forum. Feel free to access them all, even if it's not your interaction. I imagine you'd all share information or that conversations would be happening in a place where you can all hear them.)
Calid:
Calid, you actually know Val - not super well, but on an acquaintance-level. "Oh, hey, Calid... Sheriff brought you in on this? Well, I came to work for the morning and found him like this. Was too shocked to try and check on him, or move him, or anything. Didn't even scream. Just stood there for a minute, then once I came out of my stupor, found the nearest deputy and told him to grab the Sheriff," They say, looking off toward the body and shaking their head as they speak. "Darrekk always keeps the place locked up tight. The... the window over there was open when I came in. Closed it on account of the chill..."
Val points over to a window flanked by heavy curtains set into the back wall of the building. You look for signs of forced entry in the window and do see that the latch that kept the window locked is completely shattered. You pick up some of the pieces and feel that the iron latch was quite brittle - almost like the metal was frozen and then broken in order to gain entry.
Sylvie:
Hlin shakes her head. "The leader of the caravan's a right scoundrel if there ever was one, but no, Torrga Icevein ain't my concern. It's her bodyguard, man by the name of Kaltro, I think. Way I see it, so far, the victims are only from towns where people are sacrificed to the Frostmaiden. First Targos, then Easthaven, now Bryn Shander. All with the same ice-knife to the heart. Killer's got a penchant for the cold and is more than capable of traveling between Ten-Towns. Torg's caravan's one of the few still running. They were in town for the last few days, and while we're all bundled up and freezing at the extremities, that Kaltro fellow is walking around with no coat, no scarf, no gloves. Looks like he's dressed for bloody summer in Waterdeep, not the Dale. Completely comfortable. Something fishier than knucklehead trout stew about that one. Call it an old bounty hunter's intuition."
Ciaran and Unburdened - Ciaran would have given advantage on your check, but you can't do much better than a natural 20:
Working together, you're able to learn/intuit the following:
Pun somewhat intended.Solvail:
The crowd is too bundled up to get a good look at any of their faces, and the wide array of emotions and expressions throw off your intuition. Any of these people could be the murderer, or perhaps none of them.
Sheriff Southwell looks at you and nods. "Frankly, Father Lake and his Children of Auril cult came to mind. Cold bastards they are, pun very much intended. They've stirred up the people over the last few years and gotten them to force the Speakers of Ten-Towns into making sacrifices to placate their precious Frostmaiden. Riled up Bryn Shander, Easthaven, and Targos enough that folks are now willing to sacrifice their neighbors and friends if it means mercy from her wrath. Send some poor soul by lottery out into the Dale to freeze to death or end up some yeti's dinner every new moon. Speaker Shane and I have our hands tied - we resist the Children, we're next on the chopping block. People are desperate. And I can't help but feel the Children are playing on that desperation for power or amusement. I can't tell which one's worse. Why they would kill Darrekk... I can't say. But I wouldn't put it past them."
Silvie hugs herself tighter as she listens to Hlin's response. "So... what? You think this Kaltro fellow is blessed by the Frostmaiden and going around the Dale murdering people in her name? Unless you've another reason for suspecting him that you're not sharing, I'm with the sheriff. You can't blame a man of murder 'cuz of the clothes he wears or not!" Her voice goes from confused to accusatory toward the end of her response. Then she closes her eyes and sighs in irritation with herself as she moves her hands behind her neck.
As she calms herself, she tries to remember if there are any more towns that sacrifice people to the Frostmaiden. (History: 14)
"This is the second dead dwarf I've - well, we've - seen in the last two days. I'm... not in my element, to but it bluntly," she gives an apology for her tone without actually saying the words. Lowering her arms to her sides, Silvie keeps her eyes on Hlin - currently not trusting her as far as she could throw her - as she calls to Ciaran and Unburdened. "Found anything?"
Silvie is looking for any kind of minuscule change in Hlin's expression or body language that would indicate guilt, anger or unease. (Perception: 10)
Orixian watches everyone else move about the scene and listens to the conversations. As he sees Calid move to the window, he makes a small noise indicating an idea and heads outside and around the building to where the window leads. He stays wide to avoid adding to anything already there, but looks for tracks or another sign of passage to and from the window.
((Perception 9 (8+1) or Survival 20 (17+3), wasn't sure which would be more appropriate here so I rolled both.))
"He may have tried to bribe his assailant to let him live. Who was, more than likely, taller than him by the looks of it," Unburdened strokes his chin. "The murder weapon has some magic flowing through it."
"Other than that, nothing we've haven't been told that would make much of a difference."
Extended Signature
Ciaran nods at Unburdened.
- Yes, looks like it. It is curious that the killer hasn't taken anything with them. They were definitely not after money or goods.
He pauses for a moment and adds:
- Those ritual kills to appease Auril, do they usually look like this? I would have imagined something more ... how to put it ... showy? And which was the moon phase yesterday? Was it new moon? - the fighter asks, trying to determine if this could be one of those ritual kills, or if the reason behind the murder could be other.
Peindre l'amour, peindre la vie, pleurer en couleur ♫
Auriel | Shenua | Arren | Lyra
"Yep, Val I am an investigator this time and who knows what I will be next time" Calid moves over to the window and examines it for tool markings or crowbar usage. She also checks to see if the lock is broken.
Investigation
3 in game log
I am not good at this, though perhaps one of my companions will notice something. Calid relays what Val said about the open window and how it should be locked.
With the search of the body completed, Unburdened assists Calid with searching for a point of entry. Forced or otherwise.
Investigation: 20
Extended Signature
Solvail narrows her eyes at the mention of the cult, "It really baffled me that the presence of such individuals was even tolerated in the Dale... But then again, given the conditions..." she waves generally around and up to the sky, "Understandable, I guess. Any idea where they convene?" she asks the Sheriff before approaching the others once again.
Art Portfolio