Interviewing Nodaughter’s Daughter
The girl was found in the marketplace riding an ostrich. At their request, she stabled the bird and went with the team to answer questions. The daughter said her adopted mother had been watching the falling star with the Ophidian. A Grave Talon with scarlet markings leapt out of the shadows above her and attacked her.
Bazyl asked if she had seen the Grave Talon’s rune. She drew it, and it was the same as the one that the team had fought with when they rescued the noble woman in the forest. Cham determined that the girl was fey of the kind she had likely been replaced with when she was taken by them.
The daughter said that she intended to sell the nursery per her mother’s wishes. She was waiting for Jerrick to reply to her letter.
On the Trail
Oobleck attempted to track the raptor that had killed the merchant, but was unable to pick up the trail in the hard packed dirt. It was known to hunt orcs from a young age. While protecting the last clutch of eggs, she became a rune animal. They are known to boost the powers of their own kind and command them. They also gain supernatural abilities granted by the rune. The hunt rune was stamped on its forehead, providing expert stealth and tracking abilities.
They sought out Gavel and found him with two other Catchpoles on patrol. At their request, he joined them and the other two moved on. Ezzerkash asked him to tell them about the dead merchant. He said that he had been seeing her for a few months. The daughter, Briandra Neverhold, was not pleased about it as he had been dating her previously. The broach was found on her when she was found at the orphanage. She had attempted to have it appraised, but learned nothing other than its value was only 1 sp. It resembled a lump of silver. Gavel mentioned that she had had some arguments with the trolls in the swamp for collecting seedlings there. When asked about the nobles, Gavel said he could understand Solange hunting the nobles as they were hunting her kind.
Another Victim
Suddenly one of the other Catchpoles ran up announcing that his five year old daughter was missing from her bed. The window, which had been locked, was open. The team investigated. Oobleck expertly identified a trail and found the child on the north side of town, away from the floating forest. There was a green feather, as well as the bloody impression of a rune on the inside of the child’s green cloak.
Brynjar identified the impression of the rune as three runes: ice, night and blood, and Cham realized that Briandra had those same runes on her staff. Oobleck hypothesized that she had killed her mother out of jealousy, and perhaps killed the Catchpole’s daughter for seeing something.
The guard said that she had been sent to bed early for acting up and not obeying her mother. She was not an adventurous girl, so she would not have left her room unless lured by something.
While searching the courtyard outside, Ezzerkash found a slovenly drunk passed out in a corner, who Brynjar thought might be a witness and stopped Ezzerkash from eating him. Instead he interrogated the witness. He said that the creature had half again as tall as a man, covered with black and white feathers. It had strong legs with two toes. He saw it running, but could not remember if it was carrying anything.
Cham noted that all the other victims had been killed where they were found. None of the others had been moved. Also, there were no two-toed prints in the courtyard. grave talon’s did not have black and white feathers, but Briandra rode an ostrich. They hypothesized that she had taken the girl and fed her to a grave talon or made it appear to be a Grave Talon attack.
Seeking Justice
They sought out the third Catchpole, but discovered that the three had set out to find the grave talon and kill it. Instead they reported to the magistrate and accused Briandra of killing Nodaughter and the little girl. They requested taking Briandra into custody and searching her place, as well as finding the Catchpoles before they got themselves killed. The magistrate ordered them to arrest her.
Searching for Briandra, they learned that she had fled into the Floating Forest on her ostrich. The elected to pursue the Catchpoles.
Ezzerkash ran ahead tracking the Catchpoles and found a large blood red hound named Rosie bearing a note. He approached the hound and politely asked for the note. The note said that Rosie could lead them to the responsible beast because the Nameless Baroness did not want her people associated with the murder.
When they caught up with him, Cham realized that the Nameless Baroness was probably the local leader of a collection of monsters known as the Fold of Our Mothers Pride, who opposed the Questors Guild as wanton monster killers and did not want to be accused of killing the girl.
The followed Rosie, who led them into the Floating Forest and an area where water had pooled into a vast dark lake where whirlpools formed at random. A fallen tree created a natural bridge across it, and Rosie ambled across.
The Troll Bridge
About 150 feet across the bridge, when out of the mist, Ezzerkash noted small humanoids with large rats and giant hornets ahead of them blocking their path. They looked very threatening. Rosie stopped.
Cham attempted to greet them. The goblins started chatting among themselves. Then a three toed creature with clawed hands and spikes climbed up out of the mist behind them: a blade troll. It asked who they were. Brynjar showed it the note, and it was apologetic. Having thought that they were Questors, had intended to eat them, but since they were working for the Fold of Our Mothers Pride, he let them pass and ordered the goblins to as well.
Beyond the tree bridge was an island that was warm and inviting. Ahead there was a cave carved in the form of a grave talon head. A huge boar stood perfectly motionless: a paralyed dire boar. Above the entrance was the hunt rune Briandra had drawn.
Oobleck inspected the dire boar and found two little fang marks as from a snake. He detected a parasite in the boar’s belly. Oobleck knew it was a magical beast and recommended destroying, but not before the Dread Heomophore emerged, and then burrowed back into the corpse. Ezzerkash breathed lightning on the corpse and killed the parasite.
The Cave
Rosie pointed into the cave, but would go no further. Oobleck looked for ostrich tracks, but instead found one set of humanoid tracks and six sets of grave talon tracks. They followed Ezzerkash in to the cave.
Suddenly, two bone vipers appeared. One struck at Oobleck and missed, and one bit Ezzerkash with no effect. He could tell it would have been a paralyzing effect. Then the serpents started writhing back and forth and Cham was mesmerized.
One serpent slithered up Cham and into her mouth. The other attacked Brynjar, but he was not paralyzed. Ezzerkash attacked the one on Cham and clawed it. Oobleck and Slimy attacked the one on Brynjar but missed. He attacked and missed it.
The serpent burrowed down into Cham’s stomach.
The Party
- Ezzerkash the Distracted – Cloud Dragon Wyrmling
- Cham – Aasimar Taskshaper
- Oobleck – Halfling Ooze Druid with Ochre Jelly companion, Slimy.
- Bazyl – Human Oracle
- Brynjar – Human Magus