The Summit Road Campaign Thread

"Th-Thank you ma'am," Taran says and heads over to the indicated table to begin looking over the information.

"I cannot talk to the dead until tomorrow but, does the Kalashtar have any family that lives here that also posses the spirit? And I assume the rooms they were killed in are closed off, can we see those?"

Bhimaani glances at Vishal. "The rooms we found them in are closed. We were unable to determine where the second victim was actually killed, but the places we believe the first and third victims were killed have been closed. I can show you. The kalashtar does have family here with the spirit."

The door opens behind you all, and Shen steps in, giving you all a nod. "Left Khova with some psions who can at least temporarily stabilize her control."

Taran:

The medical reports are simple and neatly laid out. According to them, all three victims were killed with a stab to the heart. The first two only had the single wound, while the third had a few defensive wounds. The killing injuries are all from a fairly large blade, such as a longsword, glaive, scimitar, or yklwa. The third victim's defensive injuries are mostly slashes, from a blade or claws. According to the doctors who were at the scenes, the first victim was killed in his sleep for sure, and the third was definitely awake. The second, they're unsure on. The doctors were sure that all three victims were moved to their locations, and that the words on their forehead were carved after death.

Akuma studies the room in thought, leaning against the wall near the door way in before she turns her attention to Shen. "I can assume most rooms around here are public availability? Anyone can or would have had accesscho the rooms they were killed in?"

Taran goes up to Vishal, speaking in his slow, careful doctor's voice, "The first victim was killed in their sleep, highly unlikely to have seen their attacker. The third victim has defensive wounds, they fought back and are the best resource for learning more about the attacker. The killer made sure to kill all three in the same manner. Might be ritualistic, since bothering to do so mid-combat is strange. Could be a polearm, but my gut says more likely to have been a large blade such as a scimitar. Unless the killer is hiding in plain sight and wields their weapon in the open. The second victim might also provide information, though they do not know if she died in her sleep or awake. She did not have defensive wounds though, so it was likely sudden."

Taran gives a bow to the security leaders, "W-W-Would it b-be al-alright if I-I al-also e-examined th-the bodies, o-o-or w-w-would the d-d-doctor b-be up-upset? I-I'm n-n-not sure h-how much m-m-more use I w-w-will be b-beyond this..."

Shen nods at Akuma. "Yeah, before this, the rooms people slept in were pretty easy to get into. We don't know where the priest was killed, and the third victim was killed in the hallway during patrol. As for where they were found, we usually close up the dining hall and temples, but not lock them, so anyone could've gotten there. My room, on the other hand, is locked at night. All the rooms that people are sleeping in are, right now."

Bhimaani nods. "You can certainly examine them as you wish," she tells Taran. "We won't be able to have any funerals until this is solved, anyway."

Taran nods and scurries back to the morgue.

He starts with the guard's body, not looking for clues as much as trying to catalogue as much information as possible, hoping that clues will present themselves naturally and not be dismissed because he was looking for something specific. Why the potential thought of claw wounds, instead of staying with the blade that slew them? Did some of the wounds seem different to the doctor, hinting at multiple weapons?

With the first victim, we know they were killed in their sleep, likely while laying down on their back. Did the blade slide in smooth, or was there a weight behind it? Can we get an idea of the attacker's general size from the angle of the blade depending on the different potential weapons?

The wounds on the forehead, were they created by a smaller blade? Could this be where the idea of claws came into play?

Taran loses himself in the study of the bodies and the endless questions that pour forth.

Rolls if needed:

Kaori continues to follow along beside Vishal, though she doesn't speak any more. She fidgets a bit with her shield at the mention of a large blade, stepping even closer to Vishal for comfort.

Vishal nods saying, "I might need Khova's help for this but I would like to talk to the Quori spirit if at all possible."  

Caelius looks to the absence of Taran and turns to Shen and Bhimaani, pulling out his wordbook.

"Have The... S-C-E-N-E-s Been... D-I-S-T-U-R-B-ed? Can We Look At Them?"

Shen nods. "I'll show you where you can find Bhihareth - that's the first victim's cousin. He may be able to help you speak to Hareth, their spirit."

Bhimaani reads Caelius's question. "We cleaned the temple, but not the dining hall. We were going to clean Shen's room, but haven't gotten to that yet. I expect you can look at the two remaining scenes, yes?" She glances at Shen, who nods.

Taran:

General: All forehead wounds were carved with a smaller blade or weapon, one with a very sharp point. All heart stabs were from the same blade, delivered by something with a lot of strength.

Victim 1: The killing blow was delivered in a stab straight downwards and the attacker was standing over the sleeping monk, making it difficult to judge the size of the attacker.

Victim 2: The victim was upright, but relaxed, when she was killed. The blow was delivered by someone about the same height as her, quickly and cleanly.

Victim 3: This victim clearly fought back. She has defensive wounds, some from the weapon that killed her, some from a smaller weapon, on her arms. She also has a long gash along her side, where her attacker must have tried to stab her heart and missed. The death blow was delivered by someone much taller than her.

Strangely enough, Victim 3 is a few inches taller than Victim 2.

Akuma is quiet for a moment before glancing between the two, eyes landing on Shen. "Perhaps~ We should take a look at your room before it is cleaned?" She pauses for a minute before glancing to Bhimaani. "I can assume... you need the dining hall cleaned as well?"

"We aren't cleaning the dining room until we figure out the culprit," Bhimaani explains. "We're using other dining halls for now. The temple, we didn't want to leave that in our primary place of faith, and the room is private quarters. Shen, I can show them where to find Bhihareth if you want to show her your room."

Shen nods. "Sure."

Akuma nods, putting her hands into the pockets of her jacket, giving a nod to Shen. "I am ready when you are." 

Caelius raises a finger,

"I Would Also Like To See It."

Shen and Bhimaani both nod. "Vishal, Kaori, this way," Bhimaani says, heading out of the security station and towards the rest of the meditation rooms.

"Akuma and Caelius, my room's this way," Shen says, leading the pair in the other direction.

" The pilgrims. Who did their screening ? Wanna talk to them. " Druhdaar says.

"Soravai," Shen tells Druhdaar before leaving, pointing at a kalashtar with black hair talking to two other monks at one of the tables.

" Got it. " the burly druid nods, before making his way towards the kalashtar. " You Soravai ? Third-Grade Adept Khar-Errendi. Need a word. " he says in his usual gruff tones, his green eyes calmly zeroing in on the black-haired monk

** (continuing in discord, I would guess...) **

As Akuma, Shen, and Caelius come back towards the security station, they run into Druhdaar and Taran coming out. Shen raises an eyebrow. "Got another lead? Nice work on the shapechanger connection, by the way," he adds to Taran.