Rise of The Runelords - David Drake's Saga

by Raulfur

This is the Rise of the Runelords series as told by of David Drake, an American pagan who got tricked into the adventure. This series shows how he comes to understand the world and his journeys through it. The first three posts detail his companions, Faunra: a time displaced elven Magus, Dame Rebekah: a child of crusaders, and Jonathan: a skinwalker monk/kineticist. Still ongoing.

38. Day 34 or Murder most foul (smelling)

Day 34: Moonday the 22nd, Lamashan, 4707

Savah and I both woke up with a start to the booming sound of knocking on our bedroom door. I looked at her and asked the person on the other side of the door what the issue was. The voice on the other side of the door sounded like Quera, and said that Sheriff Belor wanted me to go to the Garrison. Savah asked her if she was required to go as well. Quera noted that she was not, and that I was allowed to get dressed and make ready, but I had to do so quickly. I looked to Savah and remorsefully whispered to her that I guess that this meant no fooling around this morning, and Quera yelled in that it definitely meant no fooling around.

We both got out of bed and got dressed. We helped each other with our armor and I did my daily morning prestidigitation cleaning trick on the both of us. It didn't add too much time to getting ready, but I could feel the waves of frustration emanating from the other side of the door. We opened up the door and Quera let out an exasperated sigh and asked if we really needed to French braid Savah's hair. We both smiled and Savah noted that it kept her hair out of her work. I asked Quera if I needed to bring anything specific. She told me that I didn't and I gave Savah a kiss and told her that I would be back as soon as possible, and that if I couldn't I would get word to her through the aether. She understood what I meant by that and would wait until after Quera left to turn on her radio.

As we walked to the Garrison, I asked if I would be allowed to pick up two dozen doughnuts at Alma's. Quera looked at me suspiciously, but relented. We stopped into Alma's and I went to the counter. Alma was in the back baking and Aneka, her other daughter, was at the counter. I asked Aneka if there were two dozen doughnuts ready and she looked confused. Alma rushed out and went to give me a hug. I didn't stop her and she told me that she had to apologize, as there had been a run on them and she was making some now. I looked to Quera and asked her if we had time to wait. She shook her head and I shrugged, and pressed five silver pieces into her hand. I asked her to get one of Jasper's boys to deliver two dozen to the Garrison once she got them made. She told me that she would and I wished her good day.

Quera finished escorting me to the Garrison and took me to the witness waiting room. Jonathan, Dame Rebekah, and Faunra were already there. I asked if they knew what all this was about, and one by one, they all shook their heads no. We waited with Silver and Merin were there, in their new B4C shirts watching over us. I asked Merin if we were being held for punishment or anything. She shook her head, and said that she didn't know why we were asked to be here, but that the Sheriff had said that they had to be quiet about it. I thanked her and asked if their escort was as polite as Quera about it, and the rest of the group all seemed surprised. Silver let loose a snicker at that before stopping.

I decided to take the opportunity to start up my file for my journal for today. I pulled out my tablet and Silver almost went to stop me before Merin shook her head and said that it was okay. Oh, I think I hear Sheriff Hemlock and someone else coming down the hall,

I don't know that I had ever seen anything as gruesome in real life. I'll get back to this later, but I felt that I needed to put that out there. The Sheriff had come up to us and asked us to follow us to his office. The person he had been talking to was Jubal, who nodded to us when he saw us. Jubal left without saying a word to us, taking Silver and Merin with him. We followed Sheriff Hemlock and he shut the door behind us. He took a minute to compose himself before telling us why he summoned us.

Sheriff Hemlock told us that the town was thankful for what we had done for the town. He added that he was glad that we were very capable, because he had to ask something of them. He told us that there was an issue that had just happened that he didn't feel his town guard was up to the task. He told us that we might not be aware of it, but that the town suffered from a string of murders a few years ago, in a time called the Late Unpleasantness. There was a serial killer that had been known as "The Chopper", who had killed many citizens during his reign of terror. I noted that it was terrible that this happened to them. Sheriff Hemlock noted with regret that it was the Chopper's reign that had killed the previous Sheriff.

The Sheriff continued with his description of the events that we were to go check out later. The Sheriff told us that the murderer had struck last night at the Sawmill. He must have seen my eyes searching for the alibi that we could have had, and he noted that he expected it to have occurred shortly after the show, and we were already known as being publically at Cracktooth's with several known and trusted citizens of the town. I sighed with a bit of selfish relief. The Sheriff went on to tell us that the bodies were discovered by one of the mill workers, a man by the name of Ibor Thorn. I thought to myself that I remembered that this man worked with Banny, so we might not have good day coming up ahead.

The Sheriff continued with his report. He told us that, unfortunately, a group of gawkers had gathered around and his men were currently stationed there to keep the mill locked down. He told us that Titus was getting annoyed with the Lumber mill being closed down. I interjected with asking if Titus was considered a subject. The Sheriff said that they had one suspect in custody, but that it would be best if we saw the scene first. I nodded and the Sheriff continued. He told us that the reason why he wasn't certain that the person that he had in custody wasn't the actual criminal was because this was actually the second murder that was followed the same pattern.

He noted that the reason why he wanted them to investigate the crimes wasn't just because his men were green. The sheriff pulled out a bloodstained piece of parchment that had Dame Rebekah's name on it, of course written in blood. Not that easy to write with, to be honest. I asked to take a picture of the note, for our records, and Dame Rebekah consented as long as her name wasn't added to the picture. I agreed to that immediately, and used my tablet to take the picture, and crop out what wasn't needed. I figured that I should probably just add it here.

I noted to Dame Rebekah that this was very bizarre, and jested that Chelger shouldn't have cut himself shaving when writing a note like that. She hit my breastplate so hard that I nearly fell from it. I apologized and told her that I was only kidding. She gave me a look of daggers but seemed to be soften after a minute. I think that she finally understood that I really didn't think that Chelger could do this.

I asked the Sheriff where he would like us to focus on first. Sheriff Hemlock told us that he'd prefer for us to get everything we could find from the Lumber Mill so that the scene could be cleaned. Dame Rebekah and Jonathan agreed with the Sheriff, and Faunra was neutral to it, so we all decided to head to the Lumber Mill. The Sheriff escorted us the long way to get to the Mill, taking Tower Street to High Street, cutting across Festival Street to Crab Street. While we were heading to High Street from Tower Street, I noted that Pillbug's doesn't seem that reputable to Sheriff Hemlock. He nodded and said that his resources were stretched too thin to keep a good eye on him. When we left Crab Street we saw the crowd around the Lumber Mill.

Sheriff Hemlock bellowed out that the people needed to let us pass, and the crowd obeyed his directive. Titus was at the front of the crowd and demanded access to HIS property. Sheriff Hemlock was about to say something when I stopped him and told Titus that it wouldn't be wise to contaminate the crime scene. If he got evidence of him being there, it might occlude our investigations and accidentally make him a suspect, and I didn't want that to happen at all. Titus seethed but quieted down and backed away. I swear that I saw Sheriff Hemlock smiling a little as we passed the guard members.

I noted to Sheriff Hemlock that he could use a couple of posts and some yellow barricade rope. He asked why, and I told him that it would help to keep the people back at a distance that the guard members could feel is proper and being able to keep an eye on people trying to get through easier. Sheriff Hemlock said that he would think about it, but hoped that he wouldn't need to have something like this that frequently. I told him that it would be useful for any kind of crime scene that he needed to investigate, not just cases like this. He seemed a bit less morose about it then.

Well, this place looks like a set piece from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Before anyone could enter the scene to contaminate it, I stopped everyone. I guess my inner Sherlock kicked in. I pointed out to the group and the Sheriff that there was a footprint coming from outside that was bare and looking like it had been wet. There was a little mud that had flaked off and I added that the direction would point to it coming from the river. Sheriff Hemlock looked at me in amazement, and I told him that I used to watch crime shows during my lunch break back where I was from. I asked my comrades if they had had the chance to prepare any of their spells this morning.

Both Faunra and Dame Rebekah noted that they had not. I asked them if they both could, and they nodded. I followed that one up with asking if they were willing to pray or memorize, whichever the case may be, any spells that might help us investigate. Dame Rebekah asked what kinds of spells might be useful. I asked if there was any chance they had a way to speak with the dead. Dame Rebekah noted that we wouldn't be able to even if she could cast it, as the victim's jaw was torn away. I nodded, and asked if she could prepare any divination spells that she had access to, and anything that could possibly be used to help track.

Both Faunra and Dame Rebekah set off to the side to study and Jonathan came over to me. There wasn't much that either of us could do in that regard, but we still had out tricks. Under my request, he used his telekinesis to pick up a sheet and set an area that we could put the bodies to the side. I asked him if he could lift me up and he told me that he could lift something up and I could get on it and he could try to move me over to where I needed to go. I nodded to a chair and he lifted it up slightly. I sat down on it and he worked to keep it stable while he moved me over to the body.

As I examined the body, I found that the jaw was removed purposefully, likely to remove the chance of anyone using the spell to contact the soul of the departed. I looked over the body and saw that it was mutilated into the form of a sihedron rune scar before death, but the jaw and face had been removed post mortem. I made these observations known as I kept looking. I saw a pattern of cuts on his chest that resembled four fingernails sharpened to points. They smelled of the same stench that had been outside my bedroom that night. I was pissed. I told the Sheriff what I noticed and asked Jonathan to bring me back,

After he brought me back and set me down, He lifted the body up and gently moved it to sheet. I asked the Sheriff if he knew who this was. He confirmed my earlier suspicions when he said it was Banny Harker. I asked if the other body was Katrine. He nodded and said that she was on the lower level that she had been killed by the log splitter. I shuddered and asked if Ven was the person in custody. The Sheriff nodded remorsefully. We both knew that he wouldn't kill his own daughter, no matter how pissed he was.

Jonathan and I went downstairs and he used another tarp to gather the remains of his fiancée's sister. I apologized to him and said that if he or Shayliss needed anything, to not worry about asking me or Savah. He said that he might need my help if Ven blames him. I shrugged and said that he would likely blame me more than him. I was the one who had told Ven that if Katrine and Banny were going to be together, that he shouldn't fight it. Jonathan looked at me and actually said ouch. I nodded sadly. We used his telekinesis powers to get her body next to Banny Harker's as we headed back upstairs.

I politely paused our two spell-casters to see if they could try to do anything for Katrine's remains. Faunra noted that I could use mending on it slowly, and Dame Rebekah told me that she would reserve a spell for making the body stay fresh. I looked back over the scene and noticed a hand axe that had a body pattern on it that looked like it was from fingerprints. I had Jonathan lift the axe and bring it over. I swear that his powers would be a boon to any investigative agency. The smell of the axe was overpowering. I am not ashamed to say that I threw up. Not on the axe, but in the corner. A lot.

I told everyone that this smell was way beyond the smell that a dead body would produce, even in the worst of conditions. It smelled distinctly like the smell that I had smelled coming from outside my bedroom door. I told the Sheriff this after I cleaned out my mouth and the vomit from the area where I threw up. By this time, Dame Rebekah had been done praying for spells and she came over. She smelled it and kept her breakfast down, lucky her. She noted that the smell, being that strong, had to come from a ghast, she explained to me that a ghast was a stronger form of a ghoul. I asked Sheriff Hemlock if ghasts were especially common in Sandpoint. He noted that they were not.

Faunra joined us and I asked everyone if we could track the footprints. Dame Rebekah nodded and cast a spell to summon a trio of what I guessed were celestial foxes. Dame Rebekah pointed to the hand axe, and they all smelled it. None of them threw up, so I guess I know where I fall on the chart of internal fortitude. They all attempted to track down the source of the smell, with us following. I had taken video and pictures of the crime scene throughout the event, but I'm not linking them here. The dead should have some dignity.

By helping each other out, they all rushed down to the pier. Jonathan noted that there were claw marks where the ghast clawed its way up the timber of the pier and then walked across to the Lumber Mill. I looked across the stream and noted that there were a few places where something could have bedded down to hide and wait. I asked Jonathan if he could get the foxes across quickly, and he used Dame Rebekah's shield to ferry them all across. They sniffed around a few seconds before they all made a bee-line for a particular section of bushes. It looked like a perfect vantage point to observe the mill while being well hidden. I asked Dame Rebekah how much longer those foxes would last and she said that this was their last few seconds before heading back. I told her that they had helped greatly.

Dame Rebekah nodded and noted that she was very glad to have used that spell. I asked if everyone wanted to hear what I thought had happened. Sheriff Hemlock said that he would, but that he would like us to interview Ibor Thorn, the co-worker of Banny Harker to see if he had anything that he could add. I asked him where Ibor was, and the said that he locked him up in the Garrison for his own good, due to his fragile state of mind and the state of the crowd. I asked the Sheriff if it would be better if the Lumber Mill was cleared of any blood or remains before we left. He said that it might keep people from poking around in areas. I nodded to Jonathan and he moved the hand axe to the sheet where Katrine and Banny were.

With all of the required evidence either videotaped, taken pictures of, or on that sheet with the two bodies, Faunra and I set to work cleaning the Lumber Mill of all traces of blood or biological matter. We then used a bit of prestidigitation to put together a box of the worst stained wood to have the bodies brought back to the Garrison. While Faunra and I were putting this together, Dame Rebekah used her divinely granted abilities to put the body of Katrine back together, as we still had all of the pieces for her. She then used one of her remaining powers to preserve Katrine's body from decay, in case we could find a way to get her raised, or at least provide her with a decent burial.

We all started out to travel back to the Garrison with the impromptu dual coffin ahead of us, being lifted telekinetically by Jonathan. Titus stopped us before we could get to Crab Street. The Sheriff told Titus that he could reopen the Lumber Mill, but noted that he was two workers down currently. Titus asked the Sheriff when his other worker would be released, and the Sheriff told him that he was currently a suspect for this vicious dual murder, and until he was cleared, he would not be released. I was privately glad that the Sheriff was developing a bit of backbone.

We all made our way to the Garrison without too much trouble. All of guards that had been at the Lumber mill performing crowd control were escorting the lot of us, so there's a good reason why no one bothered us. As we made our way to one of the lower levels to store the bodies, the rest of the guards peeled off to do their own duties. We placed the bodies in what passed for a morgue and went to go talk to Ibor. He was standing there with blood splattered on him. I offered to clean him up, and he didn't say anything. Faunra and I worked together to get all of the blood off of him, and he perked right up.

I asked Ibor if he would be willing to talk with us a little. Ibor said that he would, for the moment. I asked the Sheriff for a cup of tea for him, and he sent Silver to go get it. I asked Ibor to sit down and relax, that we were just looking to talk. Ibor seemed to take it to heart and looked visibly less shaken. I asked him how the blood got on him. Ibor told us that he had been asked by Banny to take a hike for a few minutes, so that Katrine and Banny could share some quality time. Ibor noted that he didn't like to pry into his coworker's personal life, so he took the hint and took a short walk. Ibor noted that when he came back, he was splashed by blood from the log slicer that had killed Katrine.

Dame Rebekah asked him if he knew of any reasons why someone would kill Banny and Katrine in such a horrendous way. Ibor talked about how Ven wouldn't have killed his daughter, and that he didn't think that Ven would even take the steps that the killer did. He also added that he was certain that Ven could not have done whatever it was had done. Dame Rebekah was listening intently to the man and noted that he was holding something back. Ibor sighed and told us that Banny was "cooking the books", and that Banny was hiding the money. I asked Ibor if he knew how long Banny had been doing so, and apparently Banny had been doing so for years.

I silently sighed to myself in relief, glad that he had not started doing it while I was here. Ibor noted that he never participated in the skimming. I asked Ibor if anyone else might have known that Banny was taking money off the top. While Sheriff Hemlock was listening, Ibor said that Titus was rather ruthless, and that if he knew, he wouldn't put it past Titus for hiring out someone to do the job. I looked to Sheriff Hemlock, and looked back to Ibor before asking him if he thought that would actually go the route of hiring an undead. Ibor shook his head and said that he didn't think that Titus would.

I looked to Sheriff and motioned for us to head outside. He nodded and thanked Ibor for his help in our investigation into this heinous crime. Ibor nodded and sat off by himself in the corner of his cell. The group all went around the corner and discussed it. Dame Rebekah gave us her opinion, in that Ibor wasn't guilty. I agreed, in that he wasn't an undead, and that was what had attacked Banny. Sheriff Hemlock agreed and said that he would have some of his guard escort him back home.

I asked Sheriff Hemlock if there was anyone else that could be connected to the crime that we should interrogate. He hemmed and hawed and finally mentioned that he had to imprison Ven because of his reaction. I told the Sheriff that I was certain that Ven didn't do it, as he did not have the time or the resources to accomplish something like this. He agreed but told me that Ven lashed out at him when he went to inform him. I nodded and told the Sheriff that Jonathan should probably be the one to talk to Ven about this, as he was his future son-in-law. Jonathan nodded in agreement and went to go see Ven.

It was a minute or two before Jonathan came back out and told us that Ven wanted to see me. I gulped and told the others that they might hear some shouting, but that unless they hear a gunshot, that they should not worry too much. They all nodded and I went to Ven's cell alone. I resolved to stay a decent distance away from the cell door, but that I would try to be respectful of his loss. I also turned my cellphone camera on and set it to record. As I entered into the cell block, Ven called out asking if it was me. I answered in the affirmative. He told me that he had asked Jonathan to send me in because he had to ask me a question. I told him that I was sorry for his loss and that I was personally looking into his daughter's killer.

Ven looked me in the eyes and said that he knew who was responsible for his daughter's death. He told me that if I had not convinced him to let Katrine spend more time with Banny she would not have been there. He continued by saying that if I had not pushed for reclaiming Thistletop, that the Sawmill would not be running as much as it was. He added that if I had not pushed Banny into getting engaged to Katrine, he would not have had to work extra to make the money he needed to get themselves set up. He finished with asking me the question that he had for me. He asked me if I was happy with him losing both of his daughters or if I needed to take more from him.

I didn't feel like I should correct him on any of his errors. I reiterated to him that I would be trying to find her actual killer and bring it to justice. I quickly walked away from Ven's cell while Ven was ranting after me. He told me that I would never see a moment's peace in this town, and that as long as he was alive and that he would pursue me until the end of my days. That last bit just happened to be overheard by Sheriff Hemlock as I had made it to the door to the cells and opened it up just in time. Jonathan and the others looked at me as Ven was heard making his threat. Jonathan asked me what the hell I had told him. I told them all that I would play the recording of it later, that it didn't need to be played at the moment.

Honestly, I needed some time to process the truth behind what he had said. I mean, Katrine might have been home if I had not pressed Ven to be more welcoming with her budding relationship with Banny. Sheriff Hemlock pulled me to the side and asked me if I wanted Ven held for the threat. I shook my head and told him that he needed some time to cool off, but that I wasn't concerned with his threat at the moment. Sheriff Hemlock nodded and said that he would release him a little later on. I thanked him for the head start and asked if there were any other leads that he felt that we needed to pursue. He told us that there was a murder a few days ago, outside of town.

We all followed him down to a storage room that had been converted to hold the bodies. Sheriff Hemlock told us that about two days ago, a local thug by the name of Grayst Sevilla had been subdued by a passing group of guards just south of town, by a barn near Cougar Creek to the south of town. Grayst had attacked the guards and was obviously deranged. After the guards got him contained, they took a look inside the barn and found the bodies. The guards took the bodies down and brought them back here for storage until they could determine what to do with them.

I started looking over the mutilated remains and quickly determined that the wounds were similar to those visited upon Banny, in that he looked to be a sacrifice, for some reason, and that it had been done by a ghast or ghoul. I noted as much to Sheriff Hemlock and then, remembering back to our own experiences on the road to Sandpoint about a month ago, asked the Sheriff if his guard had noticed any bite marks on the victim that was still alive. Sheriff Hemlock said that he did not know, as he had not seen the person, but he didn't think that his guards actually checked for wounds before dropping Grayst off at Habe's Sanatorium. Sheriff Hemlock did note that one of the victims had a note on them. I took a picture of the note.

I did a quick look at both of the notes and pointed out to Sheriff Hemlock that the notes used the same penmanship, thus probably exonerating Ibor and Ven. He asked how I had seen that, and I pointed out that penmanship studying was a practice of crime-fighting where I was from, and that by comparing how certain letters and numbers are written between pieces of paper, one can sometimes determine if an individual person had written both letters. I pointed out how the lowercase "w's" all have a shorter starting stave, how the "e's" are always capitalized, no matter where they are in the word, and "o's" have a drag mark through the center.

Sheriff Hemlock asked where I picked that up from, and I told him that for a period of time, all I could watch were crime scene investigation dramas. I didn't tell him that it was because the place I worked only had Tru-TV. He didn't need to know about Nancy Grace or how my country was transfixed by the court case of O.J. Simpson. I asked if he could provide some kind of note for the proprietors of that Sanitarium and he said that he would write something up, but it would be an hour before he would have it done, as he had to get some other things dealt with first. Faunra told us that she had someone that she would like to talk to about the case to, to try to get some information related to the mark.

I said that it was good with me, and that if it didn't take too long, we could all make ready for the trip to the Sanitarium afterwards. Sheriff Hemlock thanked us again for looking into this, and said that he would try to get that note worked up as quick as possible. We all headed out of the basement, and up to the street outside of the Garrison. I asked where Faunra wanted to head to, and she said that Brodert Quink was back in town, and that we could probably drop by him to ask his thoughts on the symbol. I nodded, since she had previously identified it as Thassilonian.

We made our way to Brodert's house and knocked to announce our presence. He asked us what we needed, and Faunra asked him if he could provide us some information about the Sihedron symbol, as she showed him her ring. He looked at the ring and noted that the Sihedron was a symbol of Ancient Thassilon, where it was ruled by ancient Wizard kings and queens. He told us that the seven pointed star is representative of the seven schools of magic that the Thassilonian wizards focused on, and also the seven virtues, those of Wealth, Fertility, Honest Pride, Abundance, Eager Striving, Righteous Anger, and Rest. Brodert noted that his impression from everything he saw was that the leaders were far from virtuous and most people associated the virtues with the vices of Greed, Lust, Pride, Gluttony, Envy, Wrath, and Sloth.

He noted that the person who did this is likely a scholar of some sort, and blanched that he obviously didn't do it. I looked at the party and raised my eyebrows in disbelief. Faunra noted that he was not currently a suspect, and told Brodert a bit of her history. He blanched again at some of the things that she had told him, and saw how a lot of it had been similar to what he had hypothesized. He asked her if she could confirm the amount of time that had past, but she noted that she could not. He shrugged and noted that it was good to have some kinds of confirmation.

When there was a lull in the conversation, Jonathan asked if he could tell him about any kind of light related to the "Old Light". Brodert noted that many people thought that the Old Light was an old light house, but he was of the opinion that it was an ancient siege weapon, that could rain down hellfire upon long distant targets. Jonathan relayed his story, and asked if there was anyway a person could be transported by it. Brodert answered that he did not believe so. He noted that the weapon had not been functional for thousands of years anyway, so there was no way that it could have been what had happened to Windsong Abbey.

We didn't have much to ask after that, and so we left. Jonathan went to go talk to Shayliss, as he wasn't sure that anyone had told her what had happened to her sister. I told him that I was sorry again for their loss, and that I wished that we could find a way to bring her back. Dame Rebekah noted that the only way for that to happen was to bring her body to Magnimar and try to find a High Priest that could cast the spell to raise her from the dead. I perked up and asked how much it would cost. Dame Rebekah noted that it would cost upwards of fifty-five hundred gold. I asked how much we had in the pool, and she shook her head that we did not have anywhere near that amount.

I asked Dame Rebekah how long we had before we could not get her raised. Dame Rebekah noted that we had at least two weeks before she could not be brought back by that spell, and it would take a more difficult spell that would cost much more. I asked everyone if they were comfortable with trying to find the money to get Katrine raised. They all noted that it would be the right thing to do. I told them that I would be trying to find my own way to get the money to get her raised, but that I didn't know how to get six thousand gold in two weeks. They all shrugged and said that we should probably get ready to look into the murders more than focus on Katrine right now.

I agreed with everyone and told them that I would come back to pick up the note if everyone else wanted to head to go get whatever else they might need, and that we could all meet up at The Goblin Squash Stables an hour from now. Everyone agreed and we all separated. I made my way back to The Armory to talk to Savah and let her know what was happening. I made sure to take back routes, because I didn't feel the need to get in a confrontation with Ven or Solsta this soon. I managed to make it there without too much issue, and noted that the guard members all seemed to be watching out for me.

I entered into The Armory through the Glassworks office side, and locked up behind me. I made my way to the Armory to peek in and see that Savah was alone. I made my way in and she noticed I was there. She came over and told me that Solsta had come by and had some harsh words about me but wouldn't explain why. I told Savah that Katrine and Banny Harker had been killed at the Lumber Mill last night. I told her that the thing that had killed her was a ghast, and it was likely what was outside our bedroom door those nights ago. I finished with telling her that I would have to go find this thing to stop it from killing again.

Savah took all of this information in and asked me why I was going to do it. I told her that I don't know that I would feel safe with that thing around, and that it was targeting one of the group with notes and threats, and that we needed to put it down because of that. I told her that it had already killed five people, and would not stop unless we did something to stop it. I added that this thing was outside our bedroom door, and I didn't want that thing anywhere near her anymore. She nodded and asked me if I knew where it was.

I told her that we didn't know yet, but that we were investigating it, and we had a lead south of the town. I told her that I would try to keep in touch by the radio, and that if she hears a crackle from it, to try to safely head outside to see if she can pick up what I am saying. Savah said that she would and went to hug me. I kind of shied away and asked her if I was messing this town up with what I was doing. Savah looked at me oddly and asked why I said that. I pulled out my phone and showed her the video of Ven yelling at me. After it finished, I told her that I can see his points and that he really might be right.

Savah looked at me and told me that Katrine had been sneaking out to be with Banny at the Lumber Mill for a long time before I got here. She told me that Titus was the one who was working them at all hours, not me, and that this wasn't new, that he was just trying to maximize his profit. She added that I had not pushed Banny into proposing, that he had done that on his own, after seeing Jonathan get engaged to Shayliss. She told me that she didn't seek to speak ill of the dead, but that Banny wasn't the most honest person working at that mill. I told her that I had been told as much, but that I still felt guilty for Katrine's death. Savah told me that I had told Ven to let them have a relationship, not a tryst at a dangerous job site, while Banny was supposed to be working. I nodded and thanked her for telling me all of this.

Savah hugged me again and told me that I better be careful in destroying this thing, because if I didn't, I'd have to deal with her. I laughed a little and then told her that I would. I added that I didn't know too much about undead, but that I would be trying to find out everything that I could before dealing with it. Savah said that I could try and draw on the credit that she had built up with Father Zantus and the Cathedral. I shook my head and told her that I wanted to make sure that she would have the best of care if ever it was needed. She told me that she just wanted me to be safe. I told her that as long as I had her wished behind me, I felt as safe as I could be.

Savah helped me get my armor and gear ready. I got the solar panel down and got it in my Vanquest Ibex bag and got all of the other stuff loaded in as well. I left my fancy clothes, as I figured that I wouldn't need them. I also left most of the emergency suits, as I hoped to not need more than four (one for me and every other person in the group. I put my tablet in my side pocket, and my phone with the wide angle lens pointing out in my chest pocket. I slung my air rifle and holstered my pistol. I got my machete, my survival axe, and one of my knives holstered in the usual places. I finally put my super fancy cloak on and gave Savah a kiss. We held each other for a while and said our goodbyes. I hoped that it wasn't forever, because I didn't want her to be unprotected ever.

I made my way to the Garrison via the back alleys and Sheriff Hemlock was already there. He held up the sheet of paper for me and I grabbed it. I told him that Solsta had been by to bother Savah, and that a guard member should probably drop by to just check in on her after Ven is released. He said that he would redeploy Oren and Arika to be on patrol around that area when that happens. I thanked him and asked if he could get word spread around to make it to Ven that I was leaving town to go on this search, that it might make him leave Savah alone. He told me that he would find a way to work it in. I thanked him and headed off.

I made my way to The Goblin Squash Stables, via the River Road way. I passed the Lumber mill, and it had already started back up. I guess Titus wasn't one to let money go by needlessly. I made my way to the Two Knights Brewery and circled back to The Goblin Squash Stables. Everyone was there and waiting for me. My steed was already saddled and ready to go. I got up on the horse and apologized to everyone for making them wait. The shrugged and noted that we could make it there in half an hour if we hustled. As we made our way south, we encountered Rip, Silver, Jubal, and Ileana, walking back towards town. They greeted us and asked us where we were heading in such a hurry.

Dame Rebekah told them that we had been tasked by Sheriff Hemlock to head to Habe's Sanatorium to talk to a person who was admitted earlier this week. Jubal noted that he had been one of the people who had taken Grayst in. Jonathan asked him if he had seen any wounds on the person, and Jubal thought back and noted that he might have had a wounded shoulder, but he didn't make much out of it. We thanked them all and told them that we had to be on our way. We hustled for the last fifteen minutes to get to the Sanatorium and tied up our horses to a hitching post.

As we approached the Sanatorium, we saw a rickety veranda that led to the front office door. I decided to turn on my camera quick so that I could have the cop bodycam in case we needed it. We all filed in and looked around, we saw a cord and a sign that told us to "Ring for Service". I did a quick check to see if there were any traps associated with it, but didn't find any. I shrugged and asked if anyone else wanted to do the honors, and no one volunteered, so I pulled the cord. It was about a minute before Professor Quirrell came out and gruffly asked if we needed anything. I have to admit that I was a little short with him when I demanded that we talk to Grayst, probably because he reminded me of that character. Dame Rebekah saved the day by pulling out the letter that we got from Sheriff Hemlock.

The Quirrell look-alike introduced himself as Erin Habe, and described himself as a person who studied mental illnesses. He proudly proclaimed himself an alienist, which I guess is a former term for a psychiatrist. He told us that he had this place built so that his patients could have a place away from the rigor and bluster of Magnimar. I snickered silently to myself and thought back to how busy Blacksburg was, let alone Roanoke or even NYC, and compared that to Magnimar. I think that Erin caught that I was kind of dismissive in behavior and soured even more towards me. Erin noted, that we could speak to the patient, but only for a few minutes.

The alienist escorted us into the next room, a large area that looked like a combination sweat shop and kitchen. He told us that he would have his two orderlies go get the patient, and called out the names Gortus and Gurnak. Two hulking horned, tailed, and red-skinned humanoids who were wearing studded leather armor and had short swords on their hips came from two separate doors on the west side of the oddly shaped room. They looked us over suspiciously and the alienist sent them to go get the newest patient. They shrugged and headed to the south to a section of the room that was obscured from my view. This place was beginning to really irk me. I mean, I had heard of how bad the sanatoriums were even fifty years ago where I was from, but having bladed weapons in a supposed house of healing doesn't seem to conducive to that stated goal.

I heard them go upstairs after they opened the door in that section of the building. I asked the alienist what his methods of treatment were, and he told me that he was still trying to find the causes of these ailments. I told him that where I was from had made great strides in discovering the causes of non-magical mental issues and that I could provide some examples from what my people found if he liked. He scoffed at my offer and noted that I couldn't possibly know that much about the inner workings of the brain. This guy was really starting to annoy me. I think that Dame Rebekah noted that I was feeling irate, because she rested a gauntleted hand on my shoulder. I looked to her and she just shook her head. I nodded and shut up.

It took a few minutes for the devilish duo to make their way down to the workshop, as this room was apparently called. The individual that they wrestled down looked positively unhealthy. If I had to guess, he was seconds away from death. He looked like an extra from a Romero flick, or maybe one of the Evil Dead franchises. He seriously looked like he would change and rush us at any minute. I was glad that he was in a straightjacket currently.

I tried to get this diseased individual to speak but he just ignored me. Dame Rebekah again for the win. Maybe I'm just pissed off after Ven went in on me. But the guy really lit up when he saw Dame Rebekah. That's when he broke out with a litany of insanity. Grayst told us that the thing that had done this to him had told him that Dame Rebekah would visit him, and referred to his attacker as "His Lordship", calling him the one who had unmade him. He added that this "Lordship" had a precious place for Dame Rebekah. Grayst stretched and squirmed as he continued. He told Dame Rebekah that "His Lordship" had a message for her. The message was that, "He said that if you came to his Misgivings, that if you joined his Pack, he would end his harvest in your honor."

Just as Grayst said the word honor, he burst free from the straightjacket and leapt at Dame Rebekah screaming that he would kill her for his lordship. Faunra took that as an attack, and immediately whipped out her bow and fired two arrows at the assailant, one from her bow and another from the quiver. I leapt in front of Dame Rebekah and brought my machete to bear. I don't know how it happened, but when I was bringing my machete to bear, the blade went right over Grayst's arms, and sliced his head right off. It gracefully flew and landed in Erin Habe's hands.

Erin dropped the head horrified and backed away quickly. He looked at me, and yelled at Gurnak and Gortus to get us, as he ran to a door in the south of the room that no one had approached. He was banging on the door and yelling to someone named Caizarlu that he needed help. We didn't have much time to focus on him as both Gurnak and Gortus drew their shortswords and started stalking towards us. I started studying the one I guessed was Gurnak, and waited for him to get close enough for me to strike. He got within five feet of me and I leapt forward slashing him along his side, aiming for a weak spot in his armor. He dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Gortus saw this and made like he was going to head towards me. Jonathan had other ideas. I've never seen such a complete decimation as seeing that happen. The Magic Bullet theory is more plausible than what happened with that ball bearing. I'm wondering if Jonathan isn't keeping some deep-seated issues inside. I really didn't intend to be marauding and killing like this when we came in to this place. Maybe I'm just getting used to the situation that we are in?

Dame Rebekah, bless her heart, looked at the one that I had hacked and invoked the name of her goddess to keep the individual from dying. The bleeding stanched and I felt that he was likely in a better situation. Faunra really didn't have much to do. So she went over to Erin and grabbed him from the door, pulling him back from the basement door and over to a bench, telling him to sit. The good doctor did as he was ordered.

I walked over to Erin Habe without sheathing my machete or even wiping it off and asked him slowly if he knew that Grayst was afflicted with ghoul fever. He lied. Straight up to our faces. Both Jonathan and Dame Rebekah confirmed as much. I asked him if he had taken any steps to try to stop the fever from taking over. He lied again. Jonathan confirmed it this time, as he tried to use medical jargon to obfuscate the truth. I asked him what he wanted with Grayst. I tried intimidating him and he just laughed. He told us that we would be sorry soon. Just then, the door that he was pounding on flew open. Zombified former patients shambled out and started lurching towards us.

Faunra wasted no time shooting down the first zombie through the door and putting arrows into that first zombie. It took all three arrows to finally drop the thing. I looked them over and figured that the second one would be coming my way first so I tried to get a good look at it before it made it to me. They all seemed to have been the victims of what at its' most charitable would be called medical malpractice. They all seemed to have been victims of some truly barbaric experimentation. They all bore wounds from trepanning, ice pick lobotomies, and other assorted non-required invasive surgeries. I would definitely be looking back at Professor Quirrell after we ended this battle.

As I made ready to attack the first zombie that got within my striking distance, an aged man filed out after the last zombie, then another, and another, and another. Four of them in total, and they all looked the same. The necromancer cast some kind of spell and he was instantly shifting location erratically. I started to worry, a lot. Jonathan took aim at the caster and hit one. It disappeared instantly, leaving three enemies all flitting around erratically. The second Zombie made its way to me and I slashed at it viciously when I noticed it drop its head to lunge at me, I swung and took its head clean off. Maybe this machete is blessed or just really good against the undead or something? I'm definitely giving it a five-star review on Amazon if I ever end up back on my old world.

The last two Zombies came up close to me but did not get close enough to attack me before Dame Rebekah stepped up and cleaved through the both of them, completely dropping one and severely damaging the last one. All in one swing. Dame Rebekah could certainly be impressive when she is slashing to and fro with her Iomedaean blade. I was focused on the zombie in front of me when I noticed two more of the versions of the necromancer disappear and an arrow seemed to imbed itself in the collarbone of the evil mage. I slashed at the zombie, dropping it before making my way to move up to be next to the Necromancer before he had a chance to cast anything else. I was wrong. The spellcaster chanted some fell incantations and my vision went black. I yelled out that he blinded me somehow. I actually heard Dame Rebekah curse.

I heard something move up beside me and heard what I thought was Jonathan's telekinetic punch. It sounded like it actually hit, and did some damage. I heard what I thought was Dame Rebekah lumber up and swing at him, but it sounded like she missed unfortunately. Then I heard three arrows fly past me, and I heard three meaty thuds. I'm guessing that Faunra finished him off, because I heard a fourth, much louder thud, which sounded like the body of the man fell onto the ground. I asked if the combat was done, and Jonathan said that he would check downstairs to make sure.

Dame Rebekah said that she was going to take Erin Habe upstairs to look into the other patients to see if they are similarly afflicted. I told her to be careful. Faunra told me that she was going to help me sit down and did so, escorting me to a table. I sat down on it and I heard Faunra rummaging through the wizard's belongings. To each their own. I asked her how much longer this should last and I heard her sigh. She told me that the effect was permanent. That took a minute to process. I asked her if there was a way to reverse it, and she told me that there was, but that it might be expensive. I connected the dots and said that if we focus on making me be able to see again, that it will might take us too long to be able to bring back Katrine.

Faunra sighed and agreed that she was beginning to wonder if we really should be trying to get her back. I listened to her as she noted that she doubted that we could bring back her love at the same time, as his murder had the tell-tale signs of a ritual sacrifice, which would mean that his soul was trapped. I sighed and told her that I had not given that any thought. Faunra said that we should discuss it as a group when everyone comes back while she continued (presumably) rummaging through the wizard's things.

I heard a set of footsteps and a door opening and closing. I heard those same footsteps head towards where I heard Faunra had been. I heard some whispering and the voice behind the footsteps seemed to be coming from Jonathan, unless there was a voice mimic or something. I couldn't catch what they were saying, so I didn't get the whole Matt Murdock. I heard a pair of footsteps coming from upstairs and I hoped that it was Dame Rebekah and Quirrell. I heard something fall onto the floor and I heard Quirrell grunt. Dame Rebekah spoke to me as I felt a hand touch mine. She apologized for what happened to me, and that we would work to make it better. I told her that Faunra had already told me that it could be corrected but that it would be expensive.

Dame Rebekah noted that it might be a little bit more difficult than that, as she didn't think that anyone in Sandpoint had the ability to remove this condition. I asked her if she thought that anyone in Magnimar might have the ability. She said that there would definitely be someone in Magnimar that could cast the spell, but that she didn't think that we had the time to head there and get back before dealing with what was happening now. I told her that I understood, that saving other people's lives was more important than my own discomfort. She also coughed and noted that we needed to head back to Sandpoint. I nodded and asked if someone could act as a lead for my horse. She said that she would help with that, as she was the only other member of the party that had sufficient experience with riding and animals.

I asked if we were done here or if we had more things to deal with before we left. I tried to look in the general direction of where I had heard the Quirrell clone fall and stared with what I guessed were empty eyes. I guess I succeeded in intimidating Erin Habe, because I heard whimpering from that corner. I told the alienist that if he ever wanted to know how to actually treat mental issues, I could probably find a book that I had on the matter and get it to him, for an appropriate fee, that is if he wasn't too busy performing unwarranted ice pick lobotomies or needless trepanning.

Dame Rebekah and Jonathan helped me stand up and I asked what we were going to do with everyone here. Faunra noted that we would be leaving the surviving orderly and the good doctor here to take better care of the patients here, that we had to head back to Sandpoint. I looked back where I thought that Habe was still on the floor, and told him that I would be keeping my eyes on this place and him, as soon as I got them functioning again. I guess I can't be intimidating all the time.

We made our way back to the horses and I asked if we were leaving the bodies there. Jonathan noted that he had used his powers to get all of the bodies outside, but that he was leaving Erin and the orderly to dispose of the remains. I shrugged and said that it might take a good while for them to dig enough graves. Jonathan shrugged and said that this was on them, not us. I shrugged and said okay to that. Dame Rebekah tried to help me up on the horse, but it wasn't working out too well. Jonathan noted that he had an idea, and I heard him walk away. And a door open and close.

Faunra noticed that I still had my bloody machete out, and helped me by prestidigitating it clean for me and helping to sheath it. I thanked her, and she told me that I would do as much for her. I agreed that I would and we waited for Jonathan to get back. While we were waiting, I remembered that my phone was likely still recording, so I fumbled my way to my pocket, pulled the phone out and tried to hit the side button to stop it from recording. Hopefully it would retain the video. It was a few minutes before I heard someone exit from the building again. I heard some laughing, and asked what everyone was laughing about. No one said anything, but Faunra said that she would have to clean it before we could use it. I waited while she apparently used prestidigitation to clean it and I was set down on it and told to just lie down. I did so, and Jonathan lifted it off the ground.

I have to say it was the smoothest ride I think I ever had. We were limited to just the walking pace of the horses, which was still substantially faster than our normal walking pace, but it took about two hours to get back, where it had taken minutes of hard riding to get there before. I felt like I was riding in style and I used my phone to play the only song that I could that would make any sense for this kind of scenario. Yes, I played Steppenwolf. I feel no guilt about it. At least I didn't have it on repeat.

I heard us approach what I expected was Sandpoint, and I remembered that I still had my radio on me. I called Savah and asked her if she could meet me at the south bridge. She responded quickly and noted that the radio came in very clear. I told her that it was because I was already on my way to the south bridge, but that I would need to talk to her. I heard her say that she would be right there and her radio cut off. We were stopped by the guards because, I'm guessing they had never seen a floating bed. They noted that they would have to talk to Sheriff Hemlock before we were allowed in.

Dame Rebekah replied for us saying that this was okay. I felt the bed get sat down and told Jonathan thank you. Well I said, "Thank you Jonathan" to the aether. I think he heard me anyway. I went to get up and was told that I should just stay still by the guard. I shrugged and waited. After a minute, I asked the guard members what method they used to get in touch with Sheriff Hemlock. They told me that they had sent a runner. I nodded blindly and told them that I would try to figure out something that would be quicker. They asked me what I might mean, and I told them that it might be easier to use light to signal another location, and then use that location to signal the Garrison.

They didn't say anything for a while after that until I heard a bit of a scuffle. I picked up that the other voice was Savah. The guards told her that no one was allowed entry or exit until Sheriff Hemlock got there. I yelled out to Savah that I would talk to her later if she wanted, or I could talk to her over the radio. She told the guards that she was backing off and I heard the radio key up. It was Savah. She asked me what was wrong. I told her that we had battled a necromancer, and that I had been blinded by a spell he had cast. She asked if the dead body on my horse was the Necromancer. I told her that I didn't know, that I had been on this bed the whole trip back. She told me that she was going to go get help.

I tried talking to her over the radio, but it was no good. Either she had turned it off or was not listening. We waited at the south end of what I believed was the bridge. I had no way of really guessing how long had passed, as I couldn't really see the time on my phone, and I didn't have a watch. I didn't want to waste my battery life getting updates on an infrequent, whenever I felt like it, basis, so I spent my time thinking. I realized that I needed to get a lot better at fighting if I was going to survive this world and not inadvertently kill people that I didn't intend to, or not know who I shouldn't approach. Maybe I could get Dame Rebekah to teach me some fighting techniques. I don't know if I will ever get as much benefit from her in the realm of riding horses, but maybe I could modify it to work with the motorcycle I was planning on building.

After some self-indulgent thinking of myself as some kind of fantasy Lorenzo Lamas, I realized that I had a lot of work to do to get that pipe-dream off the ground. First and foremost, I needed a motorcycle. Not that it would be better if I was blinded while riding a motorcycle, but making myself some kind of motorcycle helmet equivalent would probably help out as well, as long as I can get it enchanted to prevent me from getting blinded. I mean just about everything that I can do requires me to see to do it. I'll have to ask Faunra and Dame Rebekah if they know of any kind of helmet that can prevents blindness. I'll have to see what I can do.

After a while of me ruminating, I heard a call go over the radio again from Savah. She said that she had brought Father Zantus and he was going to help when we were allowed into the town. The guards yelled out that no one was allowed to cross the bridge until Sheriff Hemlock came over here. I guessed that Savah tried to cross with Father Zantus and the guard rebuked her. We waited a few more minutes and Sheriff Hemlock showed up.

Sheriff Hemlock asked what the issue was, and the guards said that we had tried to enter the town after murdering the person on the last horse, and that I was a known murderer from what Ven had told everyone. Sheriff Hemlock told them that I had not murdered Katrine or Banny, and that Ven was just being absurd. The guards then brought up the dead person on the horse and asked why I was being suspended by a magical bed ahead of everyone. Sheriff Hemlock asked us why this was the situation. Dame Rebekah told him that I was blinded in a conflict, and as such was having problems with riding a horse.

Sheriff Hemlock asked if there was any evidence of all of this. I told him that I had a video of the events on my phone, but that I couldn't see to show him it. He asked if there was proof of that. I told him that I'd put myself under the effects of the touch of truth-telling spell if he wanted. He was silent for a minute and then I heard some people crossing the bridge. I heard Savah come up to the bed and told me that she was here with Father Zantus, with a potion. I felt a glass vial press against my lips, and I went to swallow the liquid.

After a few seconds, the darkness receded and I could see again. The first thing I saw was Savah, and I reached out and hugged her for a long time. I told her that I was glad that she was the first thing that I had seen. Sheriff Hemlock cleared his throat, and I apologized to Savah and turned to face Sheriff Hemlock. I pulled out my phone and opened up the video. I started it playing again, and he watched the whole conflict. He asked me why I had jumped out in front of Dame Rebekah when the necromancer came up, and I told him that I didn't know what the spellcaster was capable of at that point, that getting up close seemed like a good idea to try to keep him from casting spells.

Sheriff Hemlock asked what we intended to do with the bed, and I kind of shrugged, standing up to get off of it. I noted that it was the property of the Sanatorium, and that if we needed to head back that way, I wouldn't mind dropping it back off to check back in on Erin Habe. Sheriff shrugged and said that he had no issues with that. I asked him what he would want to do with the Necromancer. He said that he'd leave it up to Father Zantus and the cathedral. Father Zantus said that he would think on it, but the fact that this former evil necromancer was dealing with the undead, it might not be good to bury him in either the pauper's graves or the boneyard.

I asked if we would be allowed in town, and Sheriff Hemlock noted that we were. He also went to talk to the guards who had been preventing us from entering the town, I guess to chew them out for believing something that Ven had said unchallenged. I got up and went over to the rest of the group. They all noted that they were going to have to work on different things today. Dame Rebekah said that she was going to look into the "Misgivings", while Faunra was saying that she was going to look into getting an artificer lab set up. I looked to Savah and asked her if she was okay with a lab being set up in the basement. She thought for a second and nodded. I offered the space up to Faunra and she said that she would think about it.

I looked to Jonathan, and he said that he needed to get back to The Bolting Barghest to get the evening meals ready. I stopped everyone to thank them for keeping me safe while I was incapacitated. They all looked to each other and said that we were a group, and they knew that I would do the same for them. I smiled and said that I would always be on the lookout for them. We all split up and Savah escorted me back to the Armory, making sure to give Ven's store a wide berth. She asked if I had gotten anything to eat, and I noted that I had not, so she went out to the Hagfish and picked us up some chowder and biscuits.

I spent the time waiting for her to get back putting some thoughts into setting up a sound powered phone rig here in town. With a growler set up, I could have a few stations that could run without any power, and we were certainly within the one-mile range. I would just need to find a way to get the copper wiring, and some insulating material. I could probably work out a really weak rubber substitute, and set up two stations on some poles. If I set up two dial set up, I could have up to one hundred options with just ten channels on each. If I need to expand beyond one hundred channels, I will probably be at the point where I can retrofit to add a third. That would be a thousand, and I doubt that there are even that many buildings in this town.

This would be a really cheap way to make sure that communication was very quick. With a receiving station on the Old Light, we could even have people pass messages from outside of the town to individual people in town. I would just need to rig the copped wiring up on telephone poles. Imagine this place getting drug into the 19th century. First and foremost, I needed to find a way to make myself some better equipment. I got some ideas together for what all I would need for that as Savah came back.

We ate lunch, and I helped her out around the shop. It was nice having a day with her, and I asked her to tell me everything she could about herself growing up in this area, what she knew about local legends, and everything else she thought a new resident should know if they were intending on staying here a long time. She asked me with a wink, what I meant by "a long time", and I told her that I never said that "a long time" didn't prevent "a REALLY long time". She enjoyed the ribbing a little and we had a semi-productive day. After a few hours, Faunra had come back with a bunch of gear and kicked at the Glassworks door. Her arms were full of the stuff and Dame Rebekah was there behind her with even more stuff. I opened the doors for them and escorted them down to the basement. I helped them set everything up and Faunra started to get to work immediately, making… something. I decided that I should leave and Dame Rebekah left with me.

We walked back to the Glassworks and I made sure that the door was locked before we went to the Armory to go talk to Savah. They both had some good conversations, while I just left myself to the side of the conversation. Dame Rebekah told me that she had something for me, and held out a bag with over a pound of platinum in it. I asked Dame Rebekah what this was for, and she told me that it was my split or something. I asked if she was sure, and she nodded that the group had sold off some things that they had acquired from the Necromancer and I thanked her. She told me that everyone was going to be having dinner at Jonathan's tonight, and that we should both come too. I looked to Savah and she looked happy to go, so I immediately agreed.

Dame Rebekah told us that she would see us then, and headed out from the Armory's door. I asked Savah for her advice. I told her that I needed to get some items from either Ven's or somewhere else, but that I didn't think that it would be good for me to see Ven right now. She hit upon the brilliant idea of asking Cyrdak to try to get it for you, since it is an open secret that you two are on the outs. I nodded and said that it was a brilliant idea, but that I didn't think that I should be seen with him. She noted that she could take the list to him, and then Jaspar could drop it off, as he needed to get fitted as well. I thanked her and she said that it was nothing.

I wrote Savah a list of the things that I would need to have gotten from Ven's. Savah took a look at it and told me that most of this stuff would more likely be at either the Sandpoint Boutique or at the Feathered Serpent, and that I could try Bottled Solutions for the alchemical stuff. I perked up and asked her if she would be willing to go with me to collect such things. She said that she had made enough for the week, and that if someone wanted to buy something else, they could drop by tomorrow. We went downstairs to check in on Faunra, and she was steadfastly working on a few specialty arrows. I told her that we were heading out and she just shushed us on and said that she would be ready to catch up at Jonathan's later.

We took the back way down along the waterfront to the Sandpoint Boutique. We had made it to the Sandpoint Merchantile when Jasper motioned us in. He looked me dead in the eye and asked if I had killed anyone. I told him that I had. I told him that I had killed an unknown person that was now a Zombie, and before that I had killed Grayst Sevilla, and before that I had attacked and possibly killed quite a few goblins. He asked me directly if I had killed Katrine or Banny Harker. I told him that I felt in some way responsible but that I did not kill them. Savah spoke up and told him that I had felt responsible because I had tried to get Ven to be more accepting of Banny and Katrine's budding relationship.

Jasper looked a little relieved. He asked if the Sheriff was aware of all of this, and I told him that he was, and more. He told me that he would send a message to all of his runners that they were not to accept town crier pay for yelling out that I was a murderer of Katrine or Banny. Apparently Ven had paid them to all shout it from the streets for the whole day. Jasper said that he couldn't be connected with spreading slander. I thanked him for that and asked if things were going well for the upcoming events. He told me that he was a bit miffed at me for being so open about the Proctor blessing his relationship. I apologized to him for doing that without his forewarning, but I noted that I felt it had to be done to show the bigots that they were erroneous for abusing their faith to denigrate him.

Jasper said that Cyrdak had told him that this was my goal. He continued with saying that he can't understand why someone who isn't gay would care about what people thought of those who were gay. I told him that I had family and friends back where I was from that were gay, and that I didn't feel that this was a good reason to denigrate someone. I added that I was looked down upon for my faith by members of a faith that explicitly prohibits that kind of behavior, so I've seen a lot of religious hypocrisy and it rankles me. Jasper said that he would think on that, and get back to me.

Savah noted that we needed to head to his sister's place, and Jasper said that he needed too as well, and that he would walk with us. We headed out and he was alongside us, talking about minor things and details from town. It seemed rather banal for a minute until I realized what Jasper was actually doing. He is a paladin. He's walking around with someone who is supposedly a murderous bastard. Not much might be known about paladins, but most know that he can't associate with someone who is evil, so I guess that it might pass off some non-evil hints towards me.

We got to the Sandpoint Boutique where Hayliss was standing behind the counter. She welcomed us all including Jasper and asked us what we all needed. Savah pulled out the list that I had made before and took it over to Hayliss with a smile. I shook my head and looked over to Jasper. He looked back at me and smiled. Hayliss looked over the list and managed to actually find some of the items, or variants from what I needed that would work. Instead of a bronze coated boiler, there was actually a giant sun-silver boiler & percolator. Also, a bronze tank that could hold the water. The water tank was six gallons, and the boiler was a two-gallon boiler that was already fitted to use something known as a "heatstone". Apparently it is an alchemical item that accomplishes the same thing that my continual heat rock did.

They were both more considered "Art Objects" instead of any kind of regular equipment, so there was a bit of bargaining that went down. Between Savah and Hayliss of course. I can't bargain to save my life and Savah knows that. They finally agreed on a price that I only barely managed to catch before just passing the bag of platinum over to Savah for her to count out. I looked around didn't see anything else that I could use, and Savah agreed after giving Hayliss ten of the platinum coins. Hayliss recommended the Feathered Serpent for all the copper piping and the pump/turbine that I needed.

All three of use, Jasper, Savah, and myself, bid good day to Hayliss and she told us all to come back soon. We made our way, three armed and armored people walked towards The Feathered Serpent. There were some people who had apparently heard the town criers and had not been inform of the inaccuracy of them who took second and third looks at us, as Jasper greeted each one in turn and noted some pleasantries to them about one thing or another. Just before we got into The Feathered Serpent, I stopped Jasper and said that he should not feel responsible for what his messengers were hired to say, as it was taken on good faith of what Ven truly believes. Jasper shook his head and said that he had a duty to prevent the dissemination of "fake news". I told him that I could only agree with his duty whole-heartedly.

We entered into the esoteric shop and were immediately approached by the equally exotic looking proprietor. I mean to me he just looked a bit like a person from Northern India, maybe of the Brahmin class? But for the people who haven't moved beyond this town, I could see that he would be a bit more different than usual. But the fact that they dealt with orcs, elves, dwarves, and other species of sentient creatures, kind of throws sand on that, but I digress. He seemed to be a world class bargainer, and had all sorts of odds and ends, including several minor or greater magical items. He gave us a tour of his shop, something he apparently loved to do, as the contents frequently changed. I even saw some things that I had recognized from Thistletop there. Finally, at the end of the tour, he asked us what we might need.

Savah, with the seasoned skill of a grand Magnimarian Market bargainer told the man what we were looking for. Jasper and I watched as they went back and forth, this isn't right, that isn't right, and so on. Occasionally Savah would look to me to get a second opinion, and invariably, it would be something that wasn't right, and I said so. Vorvashali Voon seemed to be getting a little annoyed until he found what I needed. Savah passed a glance to me and I tried to give an indication that I could work with it. What commenced was a vicious bartering war that outstripped anything I had seen before, even in the Gold Souks in the Middle East. Eventually, she got the copper piping and a pump that I could convert to a steam turbine with extremely minimal effort. She even managed to get everything for a measly one hundred and ten gold. Savah took out eleven platinum pieces and handed them to the proprietor.

He agreed to the sum, but only if he could ask us three questions. Savah looked to me, and I told him that I would agree to answer as long as it wasn't something I was bound by oath to not talk about. Vorvashali Voon said that he could accept that and asked the first question. Where had we gotten the armor that both Savah and myself were wearing. I laughed and told him that we got it here in Sandpoint. He looked perturbed for a second, and then must have realized that I was just trying to play into his game a little. Vorvashali Voon then asked me to tell him what I could tell him about the origins of this armor.

I looked to Savah and she kind of shrugged. I told him that I had brought the procedure for making this armor from a land far away from here, and that I had refined some techniques to make things work easier due to the lack of the remaining components. I added that I had manufactured the core material of the armor here in town, and had made the new suits of armor that the guard and the cathedral people were using, and that Savah was the point of contact for ordering a suit for himself if he so desired.

Vorvashali Voon seemed a bit more content with that answer and asked me the final question. He asked me what I was intending to do with the copper piping and the turbine. I told him that I was looking into repeating an experiment that was conducted by a person from where I was from two hundred years ago. If it succeeded, I would be making something that could replace horses for a mode of travel over distances. He asked me how likely I thought that I was to succeed. I told him that I gave myself at least even chances.

Vorvashali Voon thanked us for our time, and for being such good customers. We took our leave and Jaspar asked us if we had to head to anywhere else. I told him that he could head back to his business if he needed to, that we were going to head to Bottled Solutions before heading back to the Armory. Savah added that we were all eating at The Bolting Barghest later, and the him and Cyrdak were invited. I was a bit confused, but Jasper agreed immediately. He also said that he would be setting the town criers straight. I thanked him for that and we parted ways.

We headed up past the Two Knight Brewery and Gaven was out there already. He motioned for us to come over, and he told us that he had seen everything that had gone down with the town guard. He wanted to tell us that he was sorry for ever thinking that I could have killed someone. I stopped him and told him that I had indeed killed someone today, a person that was dying of Ghoul Fever that was just about to turn that had attacked us. He nodded and said that he had heard that when I was talking with the Sheriff. He noted that he had never seen that I was one to leap to attack someone before they presented a threat, and this didn't change his opinion of that.

I thanked him and he offered us two bottles of Flaggin Dragon cider, since it was autumn now and this was his newest brew. I offered to pay him for it, but he shook his head, saying that it was good business having people seen drinking his newest brew. I said that did make a little bit of sense, and winked to Savah. Savah caught my hint and slipped two silver pieces for the drinks into one of his pockets as we said our goodbyes. As we made our way up River Street, I noticed Wheen's Wagons. I noted to Savah that they could have the wheels that I needed for the project. She shrugged and we both headed into the store.

Bilivar Wheen, the proprietor and main wheelwright heard the door open and said that he would be there momentarily. As we waited, we saw that he had some paintings of wagons up on his shop walls. Some of them looked quite impressive. Bilivar eventually got to a stopping point and noticed who we were. He asked if I didn't have more important things to deal with, and Savah said that I had just helped to slay a Necromancer that had been plaguing Habe's Sanatorium, and root out a zombie infestation that the Necromancer was planning on inflicting on innocent travelers. Bilivar kind of scoffed at that, and I spoke up. I told him that no matter anything else, I was kind of a kindred spirit to him in that I had worked to rebuilt my own vehicles back where I was from.

Bilivar said that he didn't believe me and I pulled out my phone. I looked through my photos until I found the recumbent Trike I had made. I showed him and Savah the build photos and told them of the process. I told them how discovering to proper Ackerman angle was the hardest part, and I explained what the Ackerman angle was and what it did. He was fascinated at that concept. I told him that before that, I had worked on a larger vehicle, and showed them a picture of my '73 Mustang. Bilivar asked how the horses were attached, and I showed him the next picture that was the engine. I explained how it works and he seemed enthralled.

After I was done explaining how a modern internal combustion engine worked, Bilivar asked me why I was here, if I had something like that. I told him that the fuel to use something like my car wasn't available, so I was going to make something new that was. He asked me what I needed from him, and I explained what I needed in the way of wheels. He was very intrigued by the concept and asked if he could see what I had made when I was done. I told him that if everything was a success, I would be riding it around town and showing everyone. I also added that if he wanted to build the frames after I had made this, that I would definitely consider having him make them.

Bilivar seemed very much approving of the deal and I sketched out what he needed. He had some things that could work, but would take a little bit to get fully functional. I told him that it would take some time for me to get the vehicle fully put together, so I would get back to him. I paid him the full twenty platinum pieces in advance so that he could get the materials and get everything functional. I specified that the metal needed to be strong and he said that he would use steel for it. I thanked him and he said this modification to wheels might decrease the need to have as much suspension on wagons as a whole. I said that it could, or he could continue to put the suspensions on the carriages and the ride would be even smoother. Bilivar liked that, and said that he would consider it.

We left by wishing him well and saying goodbye. We were heading to Nisk's now and nothing should stop us. We took Cog Street to Bishop Street without anyone even so much as seeing us. We tried to cut across Festival Street quickly to get to Raven Street but a couple of street criers saw us. They ran up to me and half of them were yelling at me for killing Katrine and Banny and the other half were saying that this was wrong, that someone else killed them. I told them all that if they wanted, they could go talk to Jasper to get the news straight, but that I wasn't going to participate in the back and forth. I told them that Jaspar was looking for all of them anyway.

They looked to Savah and she nodded her head and said that Jaspar was looking for them all. The kids all ran off and we quickly headed down to Bottled Solutions. Nisk was there and he said that he had almost finished the Aspirin copy and had already finished the caffeine copy. I thanked him and Savah asked what he was talking about. I told her that I had taken some of the pills that had helped her and gotten them to Nisk to make copies from. She nodded and I told her that even if it wasn't for her, I would still want the stuff to refill my own kits. Nisk asked us what we were there for today, and I told him that I was looking for Ice Crystals. Nisk told us that he had worked up quite a few, and they were over in the box over there. I saw that there were twenty of them, and told him that I would take the lot of them. I asked him if he had and alchemical clay. He thought for a minute and said that he had black-fire clay, but other than that, I would be looking at alchemical cement.

I told him that I would just take the alchemical cement and loaded up another two pounds of that. I picked up fifty of the caffeine pills as well, and forked over the eleven platinum pieces and thanked Nisk for his efforts. He told me to check back in a week for the Aspirin, that it was a bit more difficult to get the active ingredients isolated. I smiled and thanked him for his work. We headed out and after we left the store and were a good distance away, I noted to Savah that she was absolutely right about Nisk. She looked at me and I told her that Aspirin was just a distillation of the willow-wood bark, while caffeine is a much more difficult thing to extract.

She sighed and said that she hoped that the stuff I ordered worked. I told her that if it didn't I'd find some other way to do it. We took Drunkard's Walk to Bent Alley and then crossed to Rat Alley. We passed the House of Blue Stones and made our way to the Glassworks office. We got in and locked up behind us. She helped me get everything into the workshop and asked if she could watch me put everything together. I told her that of course she could.

I started to put the things together, and got my torch and solder out of my backpack. I soldered all of the copper piping when it was in the correct location, cut some of the copper piping here needed and got the reservoir tank in line. I used the remainder of the copper piping to make the cooling chamber. I asked Savah if she could get me some of the water that I had gotten from Ven's shop. She went into the other room, and I got the ice crystals out of the box that I had gotten. Savah came back in with a jug of the water and I got a mug out. I poured some water from the jug and put a crystal in.

It cooled off so I put it in a place where I was putting the good ones. I tried the next one and it worked as well. The next three also worked, so I had five that worked. The sixth one that I tried didn't work at all, so I put that in the section where they didn't work. I went through another six that all worked fine, putting me up to eleven good ones. I was almost at the number that I had calculated for the cooling system when I found one that was super effective. That made me happy, because it could help supercool the steam back into water. The next five were good ones, so that put me at well over what I had calculated as needing. The final one I tried didn't do anything at first. I went to pick it up and spilt the water over the table, where the water that the ice crystal got into got dirty, and the water kind of bubbled and got clean. This would REALLY help as a return line cleaner.

I used some of the remaining Alchemical glue on the appropriate crystals into the appropriate places, and soldered up the joints. So, I had a boiler, a turbine, a pump, a tank, and a condenser. I opened up the boiler and got one of the continual heat rocks and put it into the boiler. Savah watched as I filled up the reservoir tank with the as much of the clean water as I could. I cracked the valve allowing water to go into the boiler and Savah and I both watched as the turbine started spinning. I would never expect this to work as a perpetual motion device, except for the addition magic.

This boiler seemed to be extremely powerful and I told Savah that if this is sufficient, I could get the motorcycle running as soon as I get the wheels and the frame completed, and the engine installed. I shut the valve to the boiler and opened the valve to allow the boiler to release to atmosphere. Savah acted like she was impressed, and noted that we had to go to the dinner. I slapped my forehead and apologized for forgetting. Savah noted that she was remembering about it and we were not going to be late. I helped her get dressed, and she helped me get dressed.

We headed out along the back roads and alleys and got to the Bolting Barghest. Savah managed to spot Ven and Solsta angrily waiting outside for us, so I keyed up the radio and turned it to Jonathan's channel. I tried a quick page, and Shayliss actually responded. She told me that the back door to the kitchen was open, if we wanted to head in through that way. I thanked her and we made our way into the kitchen. Shayliss was there and she welcomed us in. I told Shayliss that I was very sorry for her loss, and she noted that she did love her sister, but that Banny wasn't a good influence on her. She told me that she had known that Katrine would visit the Lumber Mill late at night frequently, and that it didn't stop with the family's acceptance of her "budding relationship".

Shayliss said that there were some things that she didn't trust about Banny, and if what she had been told is true, then she didn't doubt that he might have been targeted by someone. I shrugged, and noted that it really was looking like he was targeted by a ghast for some kind of sacrifice. I asked Shayliss if she thought that Katrine would agree to come back if we could not bring Banny back. Shayliss asked me why I was asking that, and I told her that we were going to try to keep her body preserved until we could get the money together to have her raised from the dead in Magnimar, as long as it was okay with her and her family.

Shayliss noted that Katrine was enjoying her times with Banny, but if there was a good reason why he could not be brought back, she would probably accept it. I told her that it was just a guess, but that if he was a sacrifice, his soul might not be free to come back, even if summoned by a powerful spell. I thought to myself that at least that's what Dame Rebekah had told me. Shayliss said that she's just guessing that she would end up okay with it. I thanked her for letting me know that and she cautioned me that her parents had been invited to this night, as it was for all the wedding parties. I shrugged and said that I wouldn't do anything to start a conflict. Shayliss nodded and said that the meal was for us too.

Savah and I went in and we found the table that had our names on it. I pulled Savah's chair out for her and she sat down. I went to my chair and sat down. I have to say that whoever planned the arrangement of the tables must have rearranged things at the last minute. Dame Rebekah and Chelger were seated with us, Jonathan and Shayliss were seated with Solsta and Ven, Faunra and Shalelu were seated with Cyrdak and Jasper. There was a masked couple that were seated with Father Zantus, and Oren and Arika were seated with Mayor Deverin. Ven and Solsta came in and saw that Savah and I were already there. Ven got red in the face and started rushing toward us. Oren and Arika both got up to intercept the two.

Ven yelled about me murdering his daughter and Oren shook his head. Oren said that he was here to make sure that the peace was held, and that I had killed no person in this town. Arika made her way to Solsta and suggested that they both sit down with their remaining daughter and future son in law. Ven started to yell that he was not going to authorize this wedding. Mayor Deverin stood up and said that the bride price has already been paid, and that she didn't think that Ven was thinking clearly right now. Ven huffed and him and Solsta went to their table.

Oren and Arika went back to their table, which coincidentally was between the Vinders and our table, and sat down. They stayed on high alert. Father Zantus left the masked couple's table and asked everyone for silence. He started with asking everyone to prayer for the departed couple. I was silently bowing my head, to give them respect. Ven managed to be silent to be respectful. Father Zantus then started talking to us all about what the ceremony meant and how certain we should be about our commitment. I grabbed Savah's hands and looked into her eyes. She smiled with me, and we both knew we were in for it. Dame Rebekah and Chelger both commented the same.

Even though I knew what they were here for, I asked Father Zantus if he could explain what the deal was with the masked couple, as I wasn't from here. Father Zantus said that this was an infrequent part of the custom that allows those who can't be a part of the ceremony, for whatever reason, to put themselves in the position in the minds. I told him that this was a great aspect of a ceremony, and asked if the ceremony was binding for the masked individuals as well. Father Zantus looked at the masked couple, and they both nodded. Father Zantus added that yes, it would be.

Father Zantus continued with a brief description of how the ceremony would go, and what we could expect from the next few months. He added that he would be offering counselling for any couple that wanted to talk to him to ensure that the couple was truly aligned with each other. He told us that he would also be available for counselling for the most recent losses that this town has suffered. Ven asked him why he would counsel the man who killed his daughter. Father Zantus looked to Ven and said that Ven's daughter was killed by an undead monstrosity, not by mortal hands, and certainly not mine, indicating me.

Ven blustered that I convinced him to let Katrine be in a relationship with Banny, and that was the reason why she was dead. Shayliss broke her silence and told Ven that Katrine had been sneaking out to see Banny in the middle of the night for months now, long before I was even in this town. Ven huffed and asked why Shayliss would lie to protect me, and Shayliss said that her mother even knew this. Ven looked to Solsta, and she had her head down. Ven asked her if this was true, and Solsta stayed silent.

I stood up, and talked directly to Ven. I told him that if he needed someone to be angry at, that he should be angry at me, not at his family. I told him that I can be okay with Ven hating me, but that he shouldn't have anger in his household. Ven lashed out that I shouldn't tell him what to do. Dame Rebekah stood up and told Ven that I was the one pushing for us to get enough money to be able to get Katrine raised. Ven looked at me and asked what right I had to make that decision. I said that he was leaving this farce. Solsta got up and they both left.

I apologized to everyone, and said that I didn't want this to happen. Father Zantus told everyone that this was Ven's own decision to leave and not be a participant in this aspect of his daughter's life. Father Zantus asked Shayliss if she wanted to stay with Jonathan, and she said that she did without pause. Father Zantus said that he'd like for the priests in the room to provide a prayer before the meal. He started and gave a prayer to Desna, the Goddess of Travel for everyone to have safe journeys. Chelger stood and gave a prayer to Shelyn, the Goddess of Love for everyone to stay in beautiful love for their lives. Dame Rebekah stood and gave a prayer to Iomedae, her Goddess of Honor and Valor, for everyone to be just and honorable in their relationships.

Father Zantus looked to me and I stood. Savah looked a bit confused and I told everyone that my god was not one that people were familiar with. He didn't seem to grant divine magic, but has gifted me with some abilities that I have tried to use to help others. I told everyone that he was a god of Wisdom and Magic, and that I hoped that he could see fit to fill our relationships with the Wisdom to keep our relationships strong, and bless us all with the magic to make us always see our beloveds as we see them in their best moments.

Father Zantus and Cyrdak both clapped. I nodded and sat back down. Jonathan stood up and went into the kitchen, and came out with burgers, fries, and drinks, all on platters. I laughed a little to myself and Savah whispered to me, asking me why I was laughing. I told her that this was the first reception that I had ever been to where they served burgers and fries, and I found it refreshing. She looked a little confused, but seemed more at ease after I smiled to her, and told her that I will explain later.

The rest of the dinner went off without any further issues, and everyone had some quiet conversation. I asked Dame Rebekah if she would be willing to train me a bit to be a better fighter. I told her that I had a feeling that I would need to know how to fight better if I was going to survive in this world. Dame Rebekah said that she would try to work some time in for the future. I told her to get in touch me when she was available.

After we all had our food and the communal meal was brought to an end, Father Zantus, came over and told me that he was available to listen if I wanted to talk about the events. I told him that I knew I would need to eventually, but that I needed to process it a little myself at the start. He nodded and told me to come by when I needed to. He added that he could tell that I was a bit unhinged by the events of the day. I thanked him for his empathy and observation skills, but that the blindness affected me more than the slaying someone to keep my friend safe. Father Zantus nodded and said that we could talk about that too, if I needed. I thanked him and four of us, Oren, Arika, Savah, and myself, all headed out to go back to the Armory.

While we were walking home, I thanked both Arika and Oren for being there for Savah and myself. Arika giggled and Oren told us that it was no problem at all. We made our way back down main street, and dropped Arika off at Alma's Bakery. Arika and Oren kissed a goodbye kiss and the three of us headed the rest of the way back to Armory. When we got to the Armory, we could tell immediately tell where Ven had went after being ejected from the dinner.

The Armory was stained in paint and several windows were broken. I sighed and told everyone that I had figured that something like this would happen. Oren and Savah asked how they could help. I told them that if they could collect the glass, I'd mend the glass windows and clean up as much as I could. They both helped how they could, and we spent the next half an hour mending and cleaning.

When we got inside and did a quick check and found a little bit of damage on the inside from where the rocks had hit. I apologized to Savah and told her that I didn't think that any of us would be able to deal with Ven anymore. Savah shrugged and noted that we could go to Hayliss' or Vorvashali's stores. She added that if they didn't have it, we could go to Magnimar. Savah finished that if my vehicle worked the way I figured it would, it wouldn't even be that much of a hassle. I told her that I could only hope that it would work.

All three of us retired to our bedrooms and finished up our daily routines. I got my tablet out and started writing out everything that had happened today. Savah took some time to hang out with me while I wrote everything down. Savah just offered me a back rub and more when I was done.