Father Mirko leads the party out of the temple and down the road to the old city graveyard. The evening draws on toward night, the crowds have mostly dispersed, and lamplighters can be seen about their work. At the gate of the graveyard, the priest hands you off to a pair of old gravediggers, who take up torch and spade and conduct you to the spot where the luckless novice was inhumed. The gravediggers set about their work at an indifferent pace, and it is almost full dark by the time the casket is brought up. A stench assails the party like a physical blow as the lid is pried off, and the grisly remains are exposed to the torchlight.
[Any attempt to examine the corpse must begin with a Constitution save.]
Wendell takes out a sling bullet. Touching a dried firefly to it, he whispers a word and the pellet begins to glow. He hands the now brilliant bullet to Elaric.
Elaric is looking over the corpse for either any obvious signs of arcane magic at play or (possibly and) anything that appears unusual or out of place. He would certainly welcome extra sets of eyes.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Balasar will attempt to assist Elaric in examining the corpse, looking for anything unusual or informative, given his past experience with various forms of combat.
Given the state of the corpse and Elaric being a scholar rather than a healer, he will observe mostly with his eyes for the moment. He does pull out his small knife to use as a kind of probe (nudge a piece of tissue out of the way, turn a hand over to examine the palm, spread a wound to better see its depth, etc.), but keeps his prodding to a minimum so as not to further damage the body. If any findings should warrant a more hands-on approach, he might stomach the task in order to satisfy his curiosity, but he would prefer not to do so.
Given the state of the corpse and Elaric being a scholar rather than a healer, he will observe mostly with his eyes for the moment. He does pull out his small knife to use as a kind of probe (nudge a piece of tissue out of the way, turn a hand over to examine the palm, spread a wound to better see its depth, etc.), but keeps his prodding to a minimum so as not to further damage the body. If any findings should warrant a more hands-on approach, he might stomach the task in order to satisfy his curiosity, but he would prefer not to do so.
Balasar is in agreement regarding the approach. He's willing to probe more deeply if there's anything that seems like it warrants further investigation, but he would prefer to avoid disturbing the remains more than necessary. With that in mind, he'll make his own observations for anything that seems like it needs closer observation (and point out anything he notices), and he'll use a small tool of his own to assist with any probing or manipulation that seems necessary.
The party is certain the death was caused by the claws and teeth of a large animal. Furthermore, what experience they have with fresh corpses tells them that the state of decay is unusually advanced for a body that has only been dead a couple of days. The flesh is black and putrid all over, sloughing off the bone in many places, dissolving into a sticky goo at the slightest touch of an exploratory instrument. Even the bones and teeth are going black and have begun to molder away. The stench is vile even for a rotting body. Strangely, there are no maggots to be found in the flesh, and no worms or any other vermin in the casket, though the body was buried in a thin wooden coffin that already has broken in a few places to let in the black earth. Elaric's Arcana check reveals no trace of magical influence.
With evident frustration tinged by curiousity, Elaric addresses the group, "I can discern no trace of arcane energies at work in this... violence. However, the rate and extent of decay is far beyond what it should be - especially considering the lack of carion-related creatures. Perhaps a poison or toxin is at work?"
Elaric looks at the dirt in the grave for signs of worms, maggots, beetles, or any other small creatures.
Elaric nods, having nothing more to contribute at this time.
"Very well. Let's find Father Mirko and request to see Acolyte Neven's remains."
Father Mirko leads the party out of the temple and down the road to the old city graveyard. The evening draws on toward night, the crowds have mostly dispersed, and lamplighters can be seen about their work. At the gate of the graveyard, the priest hands you off to a pair of old gravediggers, who take up torch and spade and conduct you to the spot where the luckless novice was inhumed. The gravediggers set about their work at an indifferent pace, and it is almost full dark by the time the casket is brought up. A stench assails the party like a physical blow as the lid is pried off, and the grisly remains are exposed to the torchlight.
[Any attempt to examine the corpse must begin with a Constitution save.]
Wendell takes out a sling bullet. Touching a dried firefly to it, he whispers a word and the pellet begins to glow. He hands the now brilliant bullet to Elaric.
"Let us know what you can discern."
Con save: 13
Elaric controls his disgust.
What exactly is he trying to discern?
Elaric is looking over the corpse for either any obvious signs of arcane magic at play or (possibly and) anything that appears unusual or out of place. He would certainly welcome extra sets of eyes.
Checks:
Arcana - 13
Investigation - [/roll]1d20+6[/roll]
Oops!
Investigation- 21
Balasar will attempt to assist Elaric in examining the corpse, looking for anything unusual or informative, given his past experience with various forms of combat.
Con save: 17
Perception check: 12
Investigation check: 17
Excellent. Your rolls will not need to be repeated. Any other party member may attempt to assist, but Elaric and Balasar's rolls stand.
Now, how far do you go in examining the corpse? Are you just looking it over? Or do you attempt to handle it?
Given the state of the corpse and Elaric being a scholar rather than a healer, he will observe mostly with his eyes for the moment. He does pull out his small knife to use as a kind of probe (nudge a piece of tissue out of the way, turn a hand over to examine the palm, spread a wound to better see its depth, etc.), but keeps his prodding to a minimum so as not to further damage the body. If any findings should warrant a more hands-on approach, he might stomach the task in order to satisfy his curiosity, but he would prefer not to do so.
Very good. Balasar, how do you assist?
Balasar is in agreement regarding the approach. He's willing to probe more deeply if there's anything that seems like it warrants further investigation, but he would prefer to avoid disturbing the remains more than necessary. With that in mind, he'll make his own observations for anything that seems like it needs closer observation (and point out anything he notices), and he'll use a small tool of his own to assist with any probing or manipulation that seems necessary.
Constitution: 11
Perception: 11
Gong:
Constitution save: 1d20+2 = 21
Medicine: 1d20+4 = 19
Gong closely examines the corpse alongside Elaric to see if the damage fits with a ghoul attack.
The party is certain the death was caused by the claws and teeth of a large animal. Furthermore, what experience they have with fresh corpses tells them that the state of decay is unusually advanced for a body that has only been dead a couple of days. The flesh is black and putrid all over, sloughing off the bone in many places, dissolving into a sticky goo at the slightest touch of an exploratory instrument. Even the bones and teeth are going black and have begun to molder away. The stench is vile even for a rotting body. Strangely, there are no maggots to be found in the flesh, and no worms or any other vermin in the casket, though the body was buried in a thin wooden coffin that already has broken in a few places to let in the black earth.
Elaric's Arcana check reveals no trace of magical influence.
Can we tell if the attacker ate part of the body, or if it was simply mauled and discarded?
With evident frustration tinged by curiousity, Elaric addresses the group, "I can discern no trace of arcane energies at work in this... violence. However, the rate and extent of decay is far beyond what it should be - especially considering the lack of carion-related creatures. Perhaps a poison or toxin is at work?"
Elaric looks at the dirt in the grave for signs of worms, maggots, beetles, or any other small creatures.
At this point, the flesh has deteriorated to such an extent that it's impossible to tell just from looking whether the body had been partially eaten.
There is no sign of any life in the grave whatsoever - not even that of the meanest vermin.