(continued from part 1)
Episode 21, part 2:To catch a killer
stump
not Fargoth's stump
some septims and a silver cup in there. There's also a magic axe nearby
around the lighthouse
Oh,
those tree stumps. Those aren't anywhere near Arille's shop like some of you were saying earlier. You head back to the lighthouse, cautiously look around to make sure Thavere isn't outside, then search for goodies. Sure enough, you find both the cup and 25 gold:
And the axe, which takes some careful work to get to.
Acrobatics skill is now 17The axe is covered in a light shimmering glow of what you assume is magic. It's also
stupidly heavy and there's no way you could use this in combat. Or...is there? You try holding it in both hands. It's not difficult to lift, but it's way too top-heavy to hold by the handle as a weapon. It's basically a 20-30 pound weight at the end of a 3 foot long stick. The leverage is completely working against you. But, it's a magic axe, right?
You find a nearby mudcrab and hold the axe in front of you with the axe-end down. Swinging it sort of like a golf club, you manage to whack the crab with the blade of the axe. The mudcrab lunges, and you jump back, dropped the axe in the process. Taking your time to lead him away, you go back and pick up the axe to try again. Once again, you can tap the mudcrab with the axe, but there's no visible magical discharge and you're obviously not doing any damage like this.
Well, that's unfortunate, but good to know: apparently there's some skill involved in using magic weapons. You can't just hit something with a magic axe and expect the magic to work for you. Oh well. You weren't planning on keeping the axe anywy. It's too heavy to be useful to you right now. You take a few minutes to pick a rather large bunch of assorted mushrooms and flowers near the lighthouse, then head to Arille's tradeshop.
:
"Hi, Arille. I've got some more stuff for you."Disappointingly, you only manage to haggle him to up 4 septims for the cup, and 28 for the axe, bringing your total to...57. Enough for strider travel, but not enough to buy back Thavere's book.
Mercantile skill is now 3Well, honestly you weren't planning to anyway. You were going to give her the ring. Is there any way you still can?
The perp is Foryn Gilnith
get a guard for the murderer, talk to them alone with the door ajar
report to the effective police officer of this town
You know who the murderer is. But before you do get a guard and confront him, you go to the Census office and talk to Socucius.
:
"Hello. I understand that Processus has gone missing?":
"Missing? No, not exactly. We know right where he is. He was cremated two days ago, and the bonemeal was given to his fiancee, Thavere Vedrano at the lighthouse."Fiancee? You don't remember that particular twist. But wait...if Thavere has the ashes, what happened to the ring?
:
"Did he have anything on his body? Or had he been looted?"Socucius' eyebrow raises at the question, but he answers.
:
"When he was found he had nothing but his clothes and tax record on him. But the man was not known for carrying weapons."Hmm. That doesn't really tell you what you wanted to know.
:
"Who found the body? Also, how did he die?":
"An Imperial guard passing through on road patrol brought in his body. It was battered and bruised, but no bite or claw marks and it was mostly intact. Murdered, is everyone's guess. As a tax collector, he wasn't exactly the most popular man in town.":
"Are there any leads on the murderer?":
"No, but there's a reward if he can be found. 500 septims."Excellent.
:
"Thank you for your time."You leave the census office and track down the guard you spoke with earlier.
:
"Greetings, citizen. I see you are alone this time.":
"What?":
"No rats.":
"Oh...hehe, yeah. Anyway, you know about the Processus murder, right?":
"Of course.":
"I think I know who the murderer is. Foryn Gilnith here in town. I'm going to confront him and try to get a confession out of him. Would you come with me? Maybe...stand quietly outside the door, I'll leave it partially open and if he confesses, or if he attacks me, you can arrest him.":
"Hmm. Alright. Lead on."Speechcraft is now 15-~=Michael has gained a level=~-Health is now 35/41Luck is now 51The two of you proceed to Foryn's shack. Uncomfortable simply barging into someone's house, you knock. A gravelly voice from within says to come in. You do.
:
"Yes, outlander. What it is?":
"Hi. I'm here to talk to you about Processus.":
"That fetcher? What of him?":
"I think you killed him.":
"You're damn right I killed him. Good thing too. He was skimming a load of money from all us honest people. He overcharged on taxes and kept the difference for himself. I killed him and left him to rot where he fell.":
"Did you...by chance find a ring? His fiancee is heartbroken. She deserves something to remember him by. He might have been skimming money, but she's not to blame for that.":
"No, I know nothing of a ring. I killed him, yes. But I am no thief, outlander."There's a lull in the conversation, and Vibius chooses that moment to step inside.
:
"Foryn Gilnith, you have committed the crime of murder. Either pay the fine of 4000 gold, or come with me and serve your sentence of hard labor."Foryn looks back and forth between the two of you, then shakes his head.
:
"No, I cannot pay. And I will not go to jail. If my death is the price that must be paid so the people of this town can live free of that extortionist, so be it. My ancestors will welcome me."He lunges at Vibius and punches him in the face. Vibius is knocked back by the force of the blow but appears unharmed. Vibius draws his sword and you watch as the two fight. Foryn endures 3 sword blows before he goes down: one to his left arm, one to the side of his face, and the final swing tearing through his chest. And through it all he never once cried out or slowed down. He simply kept punching, landing several blows...some striking Vibius directly in the breastplate, but he just fought on as if it meant nothing.
You're
very glad you didn't fight him yourself.
Vibius says nothing. Instead he opens the door, picks up the body with one arm, places it over his shoulder and walks outside. A few commoners see this and begin whispering among themselves. With little else to do, you follow him.
:
"So...what happens now?":
"Now I deliver a report to my senior officer. Thank you for your assistance, citizen. You are free to leave if you wish, but I request that you accompany me."It's a quiet walk. Vibius deposits the body in the middle of town and the two of you walk back to the Census office to speak, not to Socucius, but to Sellus Gravius in the first room.
:
"Yes?"It takes no more than two minutes for Vibius to explain what happened. Sellus listens, occasionally asking you questions which you answer truthfully. After they're done, they both thank you for your service to the Empire, and go back to their business as if nothing happened. If it weren't for Vibius' friendly pat on the shoulder and the casual "see you around" before he stepped out the door you might have guessed they were both mindless automatons simply executing a script.
With the friendly gesture the overall effect is that this sort of thing is just so ordinary that it deserves no further comment. You? You feel a little sick to your stomach.
But you're not going to let that stop you from collecting your reward.
:
"So, umm...I understand there was a reward?":
"There was, yes. 500 septims for execution of justice on the murderer of Processus Vitellius. I posted it myself.":
"Great. I'd like to collect please. You heard the report.":
"Yes, but it was one of my guards who carried out justice. Guards are ineligible for rewards. It creates a conflict of interest, since they serve as judge, jury and occasionally as executioner. Wouldn't want them to be tempted to collect on just anyone.":
"But how did you expect anyone to collect on it then? I brought Vibius in on this specifically because he's a dependable witness. You trust the guard. Would you trust the word of just anyone who marched in here with a body and claimed that they confessed?":
"Hmm. I suppose you're right. You did the right thing."He hands you 500 gold. It's so much money that it's uncomfortable putting it all in your interior coin purse in your pants, so you split it up between your purse and your backpack.
Speechcraft is now 16
Known stats
Level: 2
Health 35/41
Armor rating: 1
Attributes (Values in parenthesis are starting values)
21.7 Strength (20)
30.6 Speed (30)
31.9 Agility (30)
30.4 Endurance (30)
41.0 Intelligence (40)
42.2 Personality (40)
51.0 Luck (50)
Skills
17 Acrobatics (0)
9 Athletics (5)
2 Unarmored (0)
16 Speechcraft (10)
5 Mercantile (0)
5 Alchemy (0)
Worn:
* Steel tanto, with scabbard and carrying straps
* Colovian fur "helm"
* Commoner's shirt
* Commoner's belt
* 'Expensive' pants
* Tennis shoes
* Interior coinpurse, containing 57 gold
Backpack
Main compartment:
* Yellow notepad with 57 pages left
* 1 pen
* 1 Standard Restore Health potions
* 1 Greef
* 2 soulgems of uncertain size
* "20% cooler" Rainbow Dash t-shirt,
* Denim pants
* a cellphone and wallet with picture ID and $30 in cash
Small compartment
* 500 gold
* 2 ampoule Pod
* 1 bread
* 8 bunger's bane
* 1 coda flower
* 4 hypha facia
* 1 kwama cuttle
* 11 luminous russula
* 2 rat meat
* 3 saltrice
* 6 spore pod
* 7 violet coprinus
Alchemy Knowledge
Bread - [1] Restore Fatigue
Small Kwama Egg - [1] Restore Fatigue
saltrice [1]Restore endurance
kwama cuttle [1]Restore health
luminous russula [1]Paralysis
What now?