Laguna Gaultier
Profile
Name - Laguna Gaultier
Age - 19
Height - 5"9
Dominant Hand - Right
Fencing Style - Nocturne
Weapons - Griffe de Chen (Cat's Claw), Rapier, Musket
Notable Companions - Cadwallon ap Heilyn (Musketeer), Jacques le Fontaine (Musketeer), Louis de Berck (Musketeer), Unknown (Informant), Unknown (Informant), Unknown (Informant)
History
- Enlisted with the King's Musketeers on recommendation of his Fencing Tutor.
- Bears a striking resemblance to a lesser known actor among Paris' theatres.
Assignments
- The Vanishing Nobles
The Captain briefed them of a recent phenomenon involving murder among the nobility, and informed them of the murder of Baron de Rochefort that very morning. He tasked the new recruits with investigating the murder, and restoring the King's peace. The Captain also explained that the Baron had last been seen alive at his regular drinking haunt, Le Cordon Bleu.
Deciding to head to the Baron's home first, to assess the crime scene and gather information, the group set off the the de Rochefort home. The arrived at an extremely well appointed and lavish property. As they entered the courtyard in front, they were greeted by an assembly of housekeeping staff who were led by the Baron's head housekeeper, Lucien Dupont.
The remainder of the housekeeping staff appeared a little in awe of the fabled Musketeers, allowing Louis and Jacques to use their charms to glean nuggets of information about the events that took place there that night and morning. Laguna, along with Cadwallon, was led up to the Baron's office on the 2nd floor of the building. The hallways and stairwell were immaculately kept. There was no trace of a struggle, or any destruction taking place. The hairs on Laguna's neck stood suddenly upright, as Lucien opened the door to the scene of the murder.
It was all he could do to resist the urge to vomit. Crimson spattered every part of the office in a scene of animalistic savagery. The bloodied body of the count lay face down, surrounded by chunks of flesh and pools of blood. Lucien explained that the coroner had stated that the wounds were deep lacerations which bled heavily and appeared to have been inflicted by a long, straight, possibly bladed article. Among the flesh and blood, Laguna spotted strands of straw strewn haphazardly across the office. He pointed them out to Cadwallon, who took a sudden interest. His well-honed hunting skills taking over and he soon discovered what appeared to be footprints. Though these footprints were unfamiliar to anything either of the two men had seen before.
These 'footprints' didn't appear to have a "sole" as such, but they led to a nearby window which appeared to have been smashed from the inside. It must have been the route this assailant had taken to escape once the murder was carried out. Laguna, keen to take a look at the landing site for further clues, brought Lucien and Cadwallon with him as he went back downstairs to the atrium. To reach the rear courtyard, they needed to pass through the kitchen. As they walked through, Laguna took note that the kitchen appeared immaculate, with not a single spoon out of place. He stopped abruptly as he realised the sorry state of the large wooden door that led to the courtyard. Cadwallon sent him barrelling forward as he bumped into him, unaware his companion had stopped. The affable Welshman muttered a jolly apology, and the two men shrugged it off.
The kitchen door has been smashed to smithereens. The door appeared to open outwards into the courtyard, but had been broken open inwards with great force. This must have been the entry point, thought Laguna. Closer inspection of the door showed claw marks and wisps of straw. Taking a look outside, he saw shards of broken glass from the window above, but no visible footprints or additional evidence. He tried to remember any French folk tales containing a beast, or jabberwocky of some kind that left strands of straw in it's wake - but nothing came to mind. He asked Cadwallon if any such creature appeared in Welsh folklore, but the Welshman also couldn't recall anything similar. Cadwallon suggested that they check the stables, the most likely nearby place to contain straw. Laguna agreed, it was worth checking for further evidence.
Back upstairs, Louis and Jacques had split up. Louis attempted to gain access to the Baroness' chamber, to question her on the incident. Jacques meanwhile, went to the servant's quarters to ask questions of the staff.
After the investigation at the stable turned up no clues, Laguna also thought to question some of the servants. If the beast had burst through the kitchen doors to murder the Baron, surely one of the servants would have been alerted and may have further information. He signalled Cadwallon to follow him back inside. The two arrived back in the atrium to find Lucien, Jacques and Louis all discussing a book which Jacques has found in an upstairs hallway. The Book was adorned with the same Celtic circle design that was seen in the Baron's office, and Cadwallon saw that it appeared to be of Brythonic origin. Cadwallon quickly scanned the book for further clues, and was able to decipher that it was a journal of 'Le Clerc'. Lucien explains that the book was won by the Baron at an auction for 15 to 20 Livre. He often boasted about the purchase at 'Le Cordon Bleu'.
Laguna had many further questions for Lucien, which he proceeded to ask and made note of Lucien's answers.
- Does the Baron have a child? Who inherits?
- Are there are staff of foreign/Brythonic origin, or who may have a grudge against the Baron?
- Why did the servants not alert the Baron when the beast broke through the kitchen door, where was the Cook?
He also mentioned that the household did employ several Welsh servants, but that none appeared to hold any particular ill-will towards the Baron.
The Cook's room is adjacent to the kitchens, and down a short hallway. The Cook was disturbed by the crash, but by the time he had reached the kitchen, the assailant had already passed through and murdered the Baron.
Lucien also mentioned that the Baron had a penchant for the finer things in life. He would often furnish Madame Fournier, a fabled seamstress in Paris who makes the finest of clothes for the city's elite. Her designs are often adorned with rich blue fabrics, as was the cape the Baron was wearing when he was murdered.
Still wishing to question the servants, Laguna and the Musketeers returned upstairs to the servant's quarters. One of the servants eventually mentioned that he had caught a glimpse of the assailant. The creature appeared to be human shaped, and wore a straw hat. However, there was also a glowing symbol visible on the creature, though the servant was not specific as to the location of the symbol, nor it's design. The servant states that he heard it let out an ear-rending scream, before running away into the night.
Cadwallon then remembers the story of 'the Wickerman', a living scarecrow that protected farms around Wales from wild animals, and ill-intentioned people. Laguna returned to Lucien to enquire as to the Baron's business interests. Lucien advised that the Baron was involved in the clearance of some farmland to the East of Paris. Armed with this information, and keen to find a potential grudge with a customer at 'Le Cordon Bleu', Laguna and the others set out for the tavern.
As the arrived at Le Cordon Bleu, Louis and Jacques, as noble born Musketeers strode in confidently announcing themselves to the other customers. Cadwallon, rather out of place, followed them in. Laguna, quickly turned his surcoat inside-out to hide his Musketeer insignia and wore his jacket on the outside as a suitable disguise. He followed the others in and immediately disppeared among the crowds. Darting from table to table, he listened for intelligence, while also helping himself to several carelessly-attended purses. After pocketing his second purse of the evening, Laguna was disturbed by a frantic customer arriving from the streets outside.
"LOUIS IS DEAD!" The man exclaimed loudly as the pub quietened. Laguna, with his stolen 3 Livre, followed the crowds outside, remaining incognito - he scanned the area for any figures in straw hats or further danger. He saw Louis and Jacques head straight for the alleyway and kneel to investigate the body. The body was holding a blue ribbon. They also found a note from a gentleman names Jacques addressed to Marie. The note read;
Marie, I don’t have much time, but you need to know what I’ve seen. I went back to the old farm, L'Clerc’s place. It’s not as abandoned as we thought. The lab—it’s been disturbed. There were signs of something… unnatural. I don’t want to say more, but you can feel it in the air, the wrongness. It’s as if the past has come back, twisted. I’m not sure how much longer I can stay in Paris. If something happens to me, give Sophie the blue ribbon I bought. It’s her favorite. But please, Marie, keep this to yourself and stay away from that place. Something dark is stirring. Jacques
Regrouping, Louis told the others that he had overheard men in the bar discussing a strange light from the East at the old Le Clerc farm. The group heads over to check it out and look for further leads.
Stalking their way across the fields, they stopped around 100 yards from the farmhouse, lanterns lit. They saw a number of scarecrows, a few of whom still wore blue ribbons, similar to the one found on the dead Louis in the alleyway behind Le Cordon Bleu. They were discussing their objectives when a piercing shriek rang out through the calm night air. They turned as one to see a scarecrow in a straw hat standing next to Cadwallon. It let out a second shriek and the group sensed movement all around them. More scarecrows were closing in.
The nearest scarecrow attacked Cadwallon, but the wild slashes missed the Welshman by centimetres. Jacques then stepped forward and attempted to draw their attention to him with a confident taunt. Louis began waddling his enormous frame over to the farmhouse for cover, using the time Jacques had bought. Cadwallon froze in the face of the scarecrow, the Wickerman from his legends. Laguna, seeing his comrade stood in place, leapt forward, slashing at the scarecrow and putting himself between Cadwallon and the enemy. In one smooth movement, he rolled back to his feet and shoved Cadwallon off in the direction of the farmhouse. A blue light emits from the eye holes and mouth of the felled scarecrow as Laguna turned back, the body remaining lifeless on the floor. Inactive.
He turns to follow Cadwallon towards the farmhouse. As they close in, Laguna breaks away from Cadwallon and runs to hide behind the nearby pig shed for cover. Cadwallon continues to the farmhouse and using his agility, he boosts himself onto the rooftop and lies flat to hide from view. Jacques, with the attention of a number of scarecrows, attempts to intimidate them with gunpowder, but he fumbles his powder holder and drops it to the floor. He recovers by threatening to throw his torch on the spilled mix and start a fire.
Louis, arriving at the farmhouse pulls out his musket and fires it at a scarecrow coming around the side of the building. He sends it hurtling backwards from the shot. Cadwallon having recovered from the shock, began providing covering fire from the roof to Laguna and Jacques in the field. Louis barges his way through the front door of the farmhouse and finds himself in a living room. Meanwhile, Laguna runs up to a nearby scarecrow he had spotted which was still in possession of a ribbon and pounces. He tackles the scarecrow to the floor and steals the ribbon. Springing back to his feet, he runs back towards the farmhouse and his friends. He hears a loud shriek behind him and feels the gaze of all scarecrows turn to him. Jacques runs over and alongside him as he made his way to the farmhouse and whispers for him to hand over the ribbon. With surprising sleight of hand, Laguna noticed, Jacques took the ribbon and ran off in the opposite direction across the fields. Cadwallon continued to fire down from the roof, covering his comrades' retreat, felling several pursuing scarecrows.
Louis, inside the farmhouse, drags the body of the scarecrow he felled inside the building and hacks off its legs and arms to inspect it. Laguna, still being pursued, stops and turns as after leaping the farmhouse's outer wall to throw his trusty dagger Griffe de Chen expertly through the facial sack of the scarecrow, bringing it down as Cadwallon felled yet more scarecrows from above. Jacques speeds around the farmhouse with the ribbon in hand and leaps through a glass window, sending shards scattering across the living room. Inside, he finds himself confronted by another scarecrow that pins him to the ground, unable to move. He struggles to draw his rapier when Louis steps over and slashes at the scarecrow's arm, severing it and allowing Jacques the opportunity to wrestle the scarecrow aside and return to his feet. Cadwallon's covering fire allows Laguna to return to the farmhouse unscathed, after retrieving his dagger from the incapacitated scarecrow outside. He sees Louis and Jacques tousling with the scarecrow inside. Louis, enraged steps in and with several, animalistic blows, hacks the scarecrow into several pieces and ending the immediate threat.
Relieved, the group began to look for further clues. Laguna went outside to find another ribbon from a scarecrow and attempted to destroy it with the fire from his lantern. Nothing happened. Jacques, after flipping through the book he found at the Baron's home, looked around for an inscription of the celtic circles. He spots one on a 'trapdoor' leading to a cellar, and informs his colleagues. Opening the trapdoor, Louis begins by kicking the carcass of one of the scarecrows he killed down the dark, stone steps. He hears the bounce echo for 10-15 seconds as it descends. Unperturbed, Jacques strides down the steps, closely followed by Louis - with Laguna trailing behind. Cadwallon remained above ground the look-out for further threats and sound the alarm.
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