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Journal Entries - Murder in University Town Journal of Aravin de Tylmarade We’ve been commissioned to investigate a murder by Veslii the leader of the City Vigil here in Mullis Town. The going was initially slow. My newfound compatriots are apparently somewhat new to detective work and investigative techniques. I found their methods questionable. Outright lying to suspects, searching quarters without permission – all unacceptable behaviour – especially for that of a representative of the law. Surely they understand the responsibility that comes with such a commission. I have spoken to both Ruegoth, and Fatso (Fatso more so), and they’ve agreed to conduct themselves in a more lawful manner, and use less leading questions when interviewing witnesses. So far we have found few leads in the case. In fact the only lead left is the ramblings of a mad man. I noticed him in the streets and he motion for me to approach. I could scarcely understand a word he said. Despite my best efforts, I was unable to persuade him to let me help him. He did not appear to hold much sanity, although he did say one thing that stuck out “Stay away from University Town, crazy people crazy people. Goblins in the mines. Stay away.” Then he began raving, and spoke of trying to get home, and wanting to be left alone. He did finally refer to himself in the third person and I gleaned his name: “Sarrej.” It would appear that he is well known in the area. In any case, our only lead so far is these mines he spoke of, to the north. Shortly after entering, we were attacked by a mysterious assailant. Squat, with a long hooked nose and a pointed chin, he wore robes and a cloak. He attacked from the rear – not a particularly honourable approach. Regardless, I engaged him in sword play, and found I’d met my match. He checked most every stroke I swung, and slowly but surely wore me down. I landed only one glancing blow before I was beaten. As consciousness left me, my last thought was that I’d left Durrover too soon – my training incomplete. The next I remember I awoke in the Church of Tanil, healed by a generous cleric - Andalas. Grateful to both Corean and Tanil, I gave all the gold I had to the healer, and again began to question Corean’s faith in me. We returned to the mines, with Viktor in tow. This youth concerns me, with his strange magic, and odd ways. However, he proved useful in the mines, as we faced yet more of these mysterious foes. This time however we prevailed, and suddenly it seemed clear that this, as all in life, is a test of strength, will and conviction, set down by the gods. Recovering a missing artefact that belonged to the murder victim, the coal goblins were implicated and we were able to successfully solve the case. Praise be to Corean, justice is served. Journal of Fatso Fjalar Mullis Town was meant to be merely another place to rest before the next day, it would seem that this modest township has become quite more than that. I was not five minutes in the Roasted Ox tavern before I was approached by two adventurers, a stout and friendly dwarf and a self righteous, yet curiously elegant elven paladin. To my own surprise I was instantly eased and less subvertive in conversation with this newly found company. It would seem that both of them have despite their age, experienced terrible things in their past; murders rapes and beatings... how different their turmoil and motivation is from my own. Surely they will never understand, for then I thought I would just humour them. A strange looking fellow soon enetered the tavern just as I had and was greeted similarly to me by the dwarf and elf, they are indeed friendly folk! This gentlemen was quite intriguing, he too claimed to be able to control the arcane, what can I say? This strange man knows how to grab my attention! After a brief introduction to Viktor, the elf, Aravin asked if he would like to join our party, not only this but in turn for all arcane treasure we are sure to come across. I was ready to leave that instant! The elf sorly wanted company that now I am sure. I stated my claim to my fair share and put up a short, but none the less galant fight but yielded when my temper tapered off and I once again regained control of my actions. We shall cross that bridge when we come to it. Not once have they brought up the obscurity of my appearance and my abilities, this was enough to maintain my loyalty for now. Surely the next few days will be quite interesting... After spending the night in the Roasted Ox, my companions and I made the decision to pursue an adventue that was presented to us the night before by a gentlman by the nam of veslii whitehand. There had been a murder of sorts at an archaelogical dig just outside town, and it was now our duty to uncover motive and perpetrator before accusation turned into something much worse. The dig itself I found quite peculiar, it initially appeared that the motivation was some uncanny need of academic recognition. These naieve students study for self gratification and recognition. Improvement of self is secondary to them, is my disparity ever going to recede? I am a chimera of a being, part one thing part another. Instead of following the party, I instead snuck into the tent of one of the accused. This Illeas proved to hold no possesions which would confirm the suspicions of the other diggers and I realised that this murder was indeed much more suspicious than we first believed. Our investigation led us to an abandoned mine, and it was not long until the self righteous elven paladin fell to the crude blades of foul goblins, whom we later found were acting on behalf of someone much more sinister. Predictably, the paladin was raised at the temple of Tanil and headed courageously back into the mines. Without my bladethirst spell and the winged assistance of faithful Turtle, this elf would have visited the temple quite a few more times I think... After vanquishing all life from the mines, the artefact which was thought to have created motive for the murder was found and quickly I attempted to light it, for curiosity never killed the dwarf! Once again the painful Paladin objected to my doing so for it be "unjust". I put it to him that being paid such a pittance for a task which twice nearly claimed his life is unjust! An elf and a paladin, was this marriage not destined to produce an insurmountable ego? So the maiden adventure of our party has yielded next to nothing, perhaps the next will be more rewarding.... Journal of Ruegoth Ulgon I met up with a group of adventures at an inn called the Roasted Ox. My new companions were Aravin, a half-elven Paladin who is seeking to find the killer of his family. Aravin seemed like a very noble and honest man. The next person I met was a young Dwarf named Fatso, who has a talent for the arcane arts and was keen to learn more. The last of my new companions was a mysterious human named Viktor, who seemed extremely interested in learning more about the arcane arts. We all agreed to assist each other with our personal goals. My new companions and I were approached by a man named Veslii Whitehand, the leader of the local vigils. He had an interesting proposition for us, help find the murderer of a local scholar named Aruleas Morin up at the archeological dig known as university town. Great, just what I needed. I come all this way to get away from stuffy old historians and what do I end up doing? Trapsing around after stuffy old historians. Still work is work and I have never turned a job down. We next headed to University town, where we found some leads about the murder from Ara Koska Tabir, the leader of the archelogical dig. She told us that she did not know the man that had been murdered well but told us that we could talk to Aruleas's brother Illeas. Ara seemed like a trustworthy kind of person and she gave me no reason to think that she had anything to do with this whole affair. Illeas was a little more helpful, pointing the finger at a women named Anneneal Dae who supposedly had some form of argument over a small lantern that Aruleas had found. After some intense questioning, Anneneal told us that Aruleas had found the lantern on her plot of the dig site, and therefore even though she had not found the lantern, it was rightfully hers. Aravin and I questioned her at length and she did not seem as though she knew anything about the murder. The investigation was going nowhere fast. While Aravin and I were questioning Illeas, Fatso had very cleverly snuck into her tent and searched it. He also told us that earlier he had tried to trick her into revealing that she had the lantern by telling her that he was a scholar and he found the other lanterns and that they all must be re-united for their powers to function correctly. Unfortunately this ploy failed. When Fatso told Aravin of this however, Aravin told him that lying was not acceptable in his opinion and that upholders of the law, he should tell the truth. I began to worry about my new companion Aravin, as I knew that if he did not approve of this small falsehood, that he would definitely not approve of some of my methods. Even though he and I are both after the same thing, which is seeing that wrongs get righted, our methods are very different. I don't think that he would understand that the reason I keep to the shadows, is that often that is where those that do wrong are hidden also. I will have to try and keep my trickery secret from him in the future. After getting nothing from Anneneal, we managed to find out that there was an old abandoned tin mine to the north of the encampment. This proved to be trecherous as the mines were inhabbited by a group of small creatures that proved to be very dangerous. While fighting one of these small creatures in the confines of the small corridors, Aravin was knocked unconcious. Fortunately a healer named Andalas at the temple of Tanil was able to heal his wounds. Aravin was extremely gratious and donated all of his money to the priest. The mines were proving more and more dangerous, as I found out. While travelling down one corridor, I was attacked by a slimy creature that wrapped itself around my head, cutting off my breathing. Aravin managed to cut the thing off me but unfortunately I his dagger cut into me and I nearly passed out. Shortly after this I had another mishap. I remember walking down a corridor and then falling. The next thing I remember, I was back at the Vigil barracks. Supposedly I had fallen in a pit trap. We waited for a few days before heading back in. The rest of the mines were filled with more of the goblin type creatures. We managed to clear the mines of these creatures and found the missing lantern in the process. We also found a note from a high priest of the church of Belsemath that pointed this finger at them as the cause of all this trouble. Unfortunately for us, during the fighting Aravin fell in battle and if it was not for a few healing potions we found along the way we may have lost him. All in all though it was a successful mission and both Ara and Veslii were happy with out results. I am a little concerned about Vitkor's magic. During the mission he often spoke of animating corpses, including our own! Initially I assumed that this was said in jest but during the fight he pulled the corpse of a rat from his robes and brought it back to life! Having not encountered this type of magic before, I am both suspicious and a little concerned about the motives of my new companion. At this stage, I will give him the benefit of the doubt, as he has not done anything to harm the party but I will definitely be keeping a keep eye on him. All in all, this was a very interesting way to start my adventuring career and Iook forward to finding out where it will take my new friends and I. Journal of Viktor von Haelsburg Shortly after entering an Inn they call The Roasted Ox I have met with a group of fellow adventurers, each with his own story of woe, but none I believe with the same feeling of vengeance coursing through their veins as my own. I believe these may be the very allies I have been searching for. A noble but vain Elven Paladin. I am unsure of this ones feelings towards my arts, and so, one to watch, but a mighty warrior all the same. A strange Dwarven Mage. Although not an expert on the Dwarven race, I do believe that he is an oddity. An interesting one he surely is. And lastly a hardened Dwarven Rogue. Once again a profession that I would have thought ill suited the short stocky race of under dwellers, but I believe that this one surely has led the life of the street. Not the worst one could do for companions. Although my thirst is for revenge, my new companions crave adventure, and I know this is the way for me to gain power. The elf Aravin even promised me all of the items of arcane that we come across, although I believe Fatso the Dwarven mage may argue the point when we encounter some. The chance for adventure soon presented itself and we quickly set off in search of a murderer. Our chase soon led us to an abandoned mine where we encountered many enemies but I was saddened by my companions lack of understanding of the dead. They would leave the bodies to rot! What a waste. I think however, that Ruegoth may understand a little as he did lend me a tool that he described as a finger cutting instrument, which came in very handy for securing parts of the dead for later use. One never knows when one may need a spare finger. |