Session 65: Blood on your hands Report

General Summary

Toward the end of their day exploring the market in Sudafell, Jeeves spotted something. Reacting instantly, Jeeves loosed two arrows, said "follow me, there's an impostor", and ran off. The rest of the party tried to follow, arriving a moment or two behind Jeeves . Jeeves was standing in an alley, his long neck bent down and examining an horribly mutilated corpse. A stranger came up, and questioned them calmly about what happened. Jeeves claimed to have seen an old colleague, but that he was not responsible for the death. The group of them also noticed that the voice was not audible. Roy immediately became somewhat reluctant and upset about what he deemed an intrusion. This stranger, who wore a guardsman's coat with an investigator's insignia. Roisin Marshfield initially could not be reached, but she quickly allowed the communication. Roy escalated from upset to outright defiant and combative, and very nearly initiated combat, despite his friends counseling peace. Finally persuaded to remain calm, Roy moved aside while this investigator, who introduced themselves as Ulfred, examined the scene. Ulfred spent a couple minutes examining things, and found ample evidence that this had taken some time and been done with considerable skill and precision. Ulfred asked what Jeeves had seen that led him to fire an arrow, and Jeeves described, precisely, Ulfred's colleague Carver, a well known healer and teacher in the city, and a sometimes assistant to the local authorities. As Ulfred chose to pursue this colleague to find the truth of the matter, the party chose to follow along, as Jeeves wanted to try to get to the bottom of what was afflicting his old friend. Following Ulfred through the maze-like narrow and confusing streets, some of the party individually held conversations with Ulfred thanks to that person's unique mode of communication. Arriving at the tenement where Carver had a large suite of rooms, Ulfred pause and asked the party what they intended. Jeeves talked about how he knew Carver, and while he didn't quite recall this city, the shop appeared familiar. Roy and Jeeves got into a highly confused conversation about the past, preventing the past, the dangers of meddling with time, and eventually realized that they were talking across each other. Ulfred asked if they were a danger or sought by legal forces, and Roy responded with typical belligerence; which Ulfred found a bit off-putting. Jeeves tried to moderate between the two, but in typically scattered and confusing fashion was almost completely unable to communicate this clearly, and the rest of the party added further confusing side thoughts, creating an entire complex of thoughts that Ulfred found impossible to follow properly. Ulfred also noticed, with this whirlwind of random thoughts, that Boris is a Justicar, a priest in service to The Source of Justice.

Deciding to let all this wait, Ulfred banged on the door. Carver, from inside, did not wish to open the door, but Ulfred insisted. The door slammed open suddenly, and the group saw Carver in the doorway, but almost a caricature of himself emaciated to the point of horrifying. Carver uttered a phrase both horrific and disturbing in the extreme. This left Ulfred shocked, confused, and incapacitated on the ground, but the rest of the group managed to resist the horror. Roy magically immolated the creature, and a fierce combat ensued. Trading blows and magical assaults, the creature at one point magically traded places with Ulfred, causing Roy and Boris to pummel their own ally almost to death. They appeared to kill the creature, which disintegrated with the last strike. Jeeves tried to heal Ulfred, and nearly finished the job of killing him, as the transformed Carver reformed, and mystically made mockery of Jeeves healing magic as to ridicule hope. The fight rejoined, Jeeves used a potion and his Mystic Union to grant Ulfred a respite. More fierce combat followed, and eventually the beast was slain again, and this time a fiendish face arose from the ash with a mocking laugh, but the beast remained slain.

The group discovered that there were a great many unsettled spirits in the area, and thanks to Ulfred's connections, the local authorities cleared the nearby homes for a few days. With city support, the group repaired some of the damage nearby. Roy consumed the tenement where Carver had been, and the structure adjacent, to rebuild the adjacent structure at much higher quality, allowing the group to rest there in modest comfort for the several days it would take to complete their tasks. Boris, meanwhile, Hallowed the area where Carver had setup, with use of other divine magic to discover that the Carver horror had murdered roughly 3000 souls in the month since it was formed by the foul transformation of the once noble healer. A memorial was left behind with places for contemplation, a large statue dedicated to The Source and Justice, and a plaque listing the names of the victims. Boris also Hallowed the local cemetery at city request and expense. Ulfred, meanwhile, asked Roisin Marshfield for permission to join her cause, and when given that permission, set about settling affairs and preparing to travel with these people.