A little witch in a red and cream dress visits the Undertaker of Vehl, very curious about what she's heard and very interested, from a medical perspective, in seeing it for herself. //PM incoming
*Ceviran hears word of the rumors from Fort Vehl. A possible strang disease that can literally melt someone face off. He has a need to find out if this is true. If a plague is starting to begin in Vehl, than Ceviran will do anything he can to aid in keeping it contained. He will use is heaaling skills to find a cure. He walks around Vehl asking the citizens if they are feeling sick, or noticed anyone who is. He than heads to the mortician and asks if he can see the body and see if he can learn anything from the corpse.*
Quill, a middle aged undertaker in Fort Vehl was used to seeing strange cases come through the doors of his workroom… but this had to take the cake. He brushed back a few stray strands of his grey hair and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Captain Andrew of the Vehl Guard sat on a nearby stool and looked equally perplexed. “Well, what do you think Quill?” The odd little man in a smock reached over and ran his gloved fingers over the smooth head and replied “To be honest, I’m not sure. I will run some more tests, but this looks like something more arcane in nature… I see no cuts or incisions, and the skin all appears to be a natural and continuous growth with the rest of the body.” The Captain shakes his head, stands, and as he heads for the exit says, “Keep me posted.”
Lola and Ceviran arrive as the Captain is departing the front doors. One of Quill’s Assistants, a young dark skinned human girl asks them, “Good morning, how may I assist you?”
Greetings miss,
I am Ceviran Thanghat'azllah, I am a healer of Aeridin and hospital administrator at Krandor, news has traveled that a strange death has occurred here. may I offer my assistance in trying to figure out what has caused this?
A cloaked but well dressed figure catches the group at the doorway. One might consider his sudden appearance a little fortuitous, however he appears to present no physical threat, and has a demeanour to suit the premises in question. "Vincent Coste, specialist - I have arrived at the right time it seems? Perhaps I can be of some ..assistance...I have some knowledge....I have seen such terrible things...*he shudders, apparently involunarily, perhaps not.He offers a fixed smile. "Shall we." he adds, pointing towards the door.
The young dark skinned girl smiles at the three of you and says, “I'll inform Mr. Quill that he has visitors.” She heads into a back room, her well-proportioned and curvy posterior swaying back and forth. Ceviran is a little uncomfortable with the display… Vincent is just slack-jawed.
After a few minutes she pokes her head back through the doorway and motions you in. As you enter the well-lit room you see shelves lined with bottles, flasks, beakers, and a plethora of medical gadgets and gizmos. Quill is bent over a low wooden table with a scalpel in one hand and a bone saw in the other. A nude female body is laid out on the table and a “Y incision” is already cut. You’re somewhat intrigued to see that there is no face… only smooth skin where the face should be.
He looks up and smiles when he sees Lola. “Ahh.. My dear... welcome. It has been awhile… and who are your friends?” He motions with the scalpel to the two men.
Vincent acknowledges the exchange between the others taking the moment to peruse the shelves and make an assesment of the knowledge and interests of the occupant. "As I was explaining I had hoped to help in my own little way. This poor creature, such terrible times, a depth of depravity that brings a fearful chill even to this grim Town and it's woeful collective past experiences." He looks to the others. "I hope I can help you with my specialist skills in Necromancy, by your leave I would see what of the Al'Noth is at play here. Has this forsaken individual lost a face or been trying to find one? I doubt this is the end of the tragedy - do you? There may be such terrible times ahead of us too.""
*Ceviran looks towards Vincent as he speaks, he instantly get nervous when he mentions necromancy. Ceviran has never ment a "good" necromancer. An expression of uneasyness comes across his face. He tries to shake off the feeling, and thinks to remind himself that he can not judge a person by other's actions only thier own. His focus goes away from Vincent and back down to the body. Ceviran has become accustomed to seeing the dead, he no longer gets squeamish. He start to examine the body very closely.
"Mister Quill! Hello!" The petite woman smiles, walking to the body but not touching, respectful of the undertaker's work. "I've been fine, but I've missed your teaching! I heard about this incident and hoped I could be of help?" Lola extends her magical sense to the body, teasing apart any threads of the Al'Noth sensed as a tailor would a knot.
Turns at the woman's voice, her arms opening even before she sees the woman moving toward her. "Neema!" For a moment, the little witch is oblivious to all but the newcomer and her smile is wide and unbidden.
Vincent frowns as he watches the newcomer and Lola. His eyes flicker to the remains laid out on the table. The tableau revealed giggles, laughter, and desperate death, such contrasting emotions may appeal to a Druid perhaps but..
"The spirits are moving today. Restless..hungry."
To the newcomer "May I introduce myself? I'm Vincent Coste. In a moment I'll show you the only real specialist in necromancy. Since I began my work what seems like a century a go so many strange and macabre things have occurred! Since then I have found dead things are not so dead as they first seem. And the living, myself, much nearer death, too close to ever present danger than we might hope for. To the matter in hand then, lest we forget?"
Quill smiles as he watches the interactions among everyone taking place in his autopsy room, apparently delighted at Lola's appearance and the eagerness of so many people to look into this strange occurrence. "Very nice.. very nice! It looks like we have a knowledgeable group assembled with a wide variety of professions and experience. A group willing to seek knowledge..." He pauses as he obviously catches himself in the beginning stages of a long-winded speech and clears his throat. “Ahemm.. ok. So, this is what we have. Young Darla Winters here was found in alley off of Brockminster Way. She was a peddler of fruit. Human. Approximately 23 years old. After examining her internal organs it is apparent to me that she suffocated… dreadful way to go by the way. The time of death was probably within an hour or so of her discovery. The smooth skin that is now her face extends over the entire head and terminates in a nice tidy ring around the neck. It appears to be new and unblemished skin. It meshes perfectly with the preexisting dermal layers. How this happened.. I do not know. It is entirely unprecedented.”
//As Lola begins her arcane probings she gets a sense of some type of transmutation magic
Vincent listens as Lola discovers signs of tramsmutation..."This is what it used on this girl, sucked her to pieces. A fruit seller eh,We might look for signs of plant traces around the neck? eliminate some kind of strange plant. There have been sightings you know!
Found parts of her body all over the alley, a place you wouldn't think. A funny thing is the face has never been found, hands and feet and things like that, but no face. What do you think, something wanted a face? or just did not like hers?
Transmutation eh, this is going to be more like retracing her steps, see who, what she encountered - her past becomes our future...work for an investigator really?"
He also checks over the remains for signs of the Al'noth - extending the search to the room, just in case.
Katelyn walks in in time to hear Vincent's remarks and shakes her head. "What a horrible way to go, and bad for business, too. If this gets out, vendors will be leaving in droves or hiding in their locked homes. I wonder what the poor girl's face might be needed for? Perhaps a mask for a spy?"
She approaches the table and tries to sense what strands of the Al'Noth might have been woven into the damage, particularly whether there was a divine or necromantic influence.
A figure in dunnish colored leathers slips in soon after Katelyn and stands near the back of the room, clearly trying to avoid notice at first. His curiosity seems to be getting the best of him as he edges closer listening. He gives an easy grin as the others take notice of him, but remains close to Katelyn, hands at his sides, close to the hilts of his shortswords.
Are we sure someone stole her face, or was it just simply covered by the new skin? Can you use the scapel and cut to see if her face is just underneath?
The little witch is mostly quiet. Her examinations don't stop at magical tasting; catching Neema's and Ceviran's eyes, she runs gentle fingers over the smooth skin of the face, feeling the for dips and edges that mark bone. Her touch glides over flesh-covered eye sockets, pressing lightly to feel for orbs underneath, and over the lower mandible, pressing harder to check lower jaw impressions and for the resistance of a tongue. She also checks for herself Quill's observation of the smooth junctions of the suffocating facial skin to the rest of the woman's body. "Mister Quill, would you allow us to assist in the removal of this flesh so we can better understand what happened? Transmutation may only be part of it."
Vincent continues his work with the Al'Noth as neema and Lola investigate and speculate. He too tries to hold his counsel for now. But as a grim silence prevails he finds the atmosphere toxic and needs defining "It's almost time to lock up this part of the enquiry and explore the scene - and then your party will really begin. I wonder how it will end...." He trails off apparently lost in some frightening thought of his own. He composes himself, wrapping his cloak about him, he returns his focus to the safer work to hand.
Quill nods at Vincent’s suggestions. “Yes, I initially had that thought too, but there are no signs of plant residue or pollens.” He frowns a little with a thoughtful look on his face. Vincent’s probing for indications of Al’Noth reveal the same slight traces of transmutation magic on the body. The room itself does not have any other discernable auras, but various pieces of gear belonging to the other people in the room radiate differing levels of Al’Noth.
Katelyn’s probings narrow down the type of magic a little further. It has an arcane taste or feel to it… nothing divine can be discerned.
Lola’s physical touching and feeling of the surfaces of her face seems to indicate the bone structure remained unchanged. She does not feel any cartilage where a nose should be though. She can also feel the eyeballs underneath the smooth skin surface, and what appears to be a tongue.
Quill glances at the leather clad man standing next to Katelyn, but says nothing yet. He picks up a small and razor sharp scalpel and bends over the body and begins making some deft incisions around the dead girl's head. He grabs a pair of forceps and begins peeling the skin back to reveal flesh, muscles, bones, and veins. “No face underneath it appears. Alteration is out of the question. It appears that all of the cartilage and muscle structure underneath has disappeared...as well as the original skin and has been replaced by this new skin covering. Her face was “taken” and the smooth skin replacing it covered all of her breathing orifices and she suffocated.”
Quill glances at Vincent and says….”It looks like some field investigation work needs to be done. I would have to concur with the gentleman.
//Another week or so this will be going to calendar for in-game quest...