The Case of the Deadly (or perhaps Innocuous) Domino

And so, having quashed the nefarious designs of the Wererats, Team Riddlefist left Riverbend in its rear view, taking a large portion of the town with it (including a Master Tailor from whom Squoan had commissioned a woolen coat with multiple secret pockets for an exorbitant and ill-considered price), and travelled North towards the city of Orham, where royal nuptials were scheduled to take place and the promised dance between our hero and the Fair Lady Alwena was destined to occur. Excitement was high. Even Steingrimur the Werebear was convinced to join the expedition, that he might expand his horizons and see the wider world. Tel Umett asked Squoan to serve as Bodyguard to the Fair and Quite Becoming Ladies Alwena and Valethanna, a request to which he gladly assented as it was already in his Nature to act as such. Lamentably, there was a severe drought of Dangers from which to shield them during the first few days of travel. But it is also in Squoan's Nature to make sugar-infused drinks out of lemons, if lemons are the only squeezable fruit near at hand, so he used the downtime as on opportunity to bond with Sarett “the Sullen” Umett, former Pyre Knight and current Edgelord.
 
Alas, their rapprochement proved to be short-lived. Foul smoke darkened the sky to the north and at Squoan's urging the male members of Team Riddlefist scouted ahead to investigate its source. They came upon an inn denominated, somewhat bizarrely, the Shaggy Onion. After a brief misunderstanding during which some members of Team Riddlefist (it is not important who) accused the innkeeper of Cannibalism, Squoan & Co. were given to know that a young Farmer by the name of Renfry had of late been slaughtering his own and his neighbours' cattle in manners most Gruesome for Reasons Unknown, and the pall so enshrouding the Shaggy-Onion-adjacent environs arose from their burning corpses. Squoan, progressive that he is, immediately drew his companions' attention to the Sexism inherent in their current team composition and suggested the inclusion of the Quite Becoming Lady Valethanna Althaliel Umett, as her expertise would no doubt prove useful when confronting the Demon no doubt in possession of the Tragic Farmer Renfry's benighted Soul.
 
An investigation of the Farmer's cottage granted little insight into his current whereabouts, but much edification on matters of Gore. He had been a Busy, Crazy Boy. Eventually he was found in a nearby clearing, blood-soaked and engaged in his favourite hobby. Val used her Druidic Magicks to ensnare Renfry with vines, allowing Squoan to search the Farmer's person, thus uncovering both a small silver domino and strange lettering carved into his forearm. Our hero smashed the domino to no avail, leading him to muse (too late) upon its nature and origin and to regret his occasional inclination to Leap Without Looking. But, in his defense, his nerves had been fraying for quite some time, exposed as they were to the incessant braying of Sarett “the Tiresome” Umett, who continued to preach the merits of simply slashing the Farmer's throat and being done with it, as no salvation from such Ensorcellment was even conceivable, an attitude which Squoan found unduly negative and unproductive in the extreme.
 
Val hit upon the idea of skinning the portion of flesh upon which the Fell Runes had been carved from Renfry's forearm, an idea Squoan endorsed whole-heartedly as long as he didn't have to watch. So it was done, and with miraculous results, for the Teen Farmer returned to his right mind, somewhat disoriented and appalled at his recent activities but otherwise unharmed. His last memory, as he recounted to Team Riddlefist, was of finding something silver in his field…. “The domino, no doubt,” Squoan thought, mentally patting himself on the back for having the foresight to smash it before it had the opportunity to cause further mischief. He invited Renfry to accompany their caravan to Orham, reasoning that there was little reason for the Farmer to stay, as it might be a Steep if not Precipitous Climb back into the good graces of his neighbours after slaughtering their animals so horrifically, but Renfry would not hear of it, since he knew what was best for himself better than anyone else, as all Teens do. And so, reluctantly, Squoan & Co. left him to his own devices in his Cottage of Gore.
 
At this point it should not be surprising that Sarett refused to acknowledge that he had been wrong, that Renfry had been saved from Demonic Forces after all, despite all his naysaying and Debbie Downering, and instead argued that the Farmer's neighbours would inflict gruesome retribution upon him ere long. Maddening obstinacy! But to protect against this eventuality, Squoan made it known to the innkeeper that he would be holding him personally responsible for Renfry's safety, and that if he did not find the Farmer unharmed when he next visited the Shaggy Onion, there would be Words between the two of them (Words in this case being a thinly-veiled euphemism for punching and/or flute-bashing).
 
On his way out of the inn he bought a wineskin and used it to get very drunk.