Coming out of the Angels guild hall in Hempstead a few days ago, I heard a piercing scream. I ran into the craft hall to find Delia pointing to a severed head on the gemcraft table. Polished garnets glittered in the poor fellow's face in place of eyes, and a note was jammed into his open mouth. The neck separation was ragged, looking like the head had been hacked off with a gem chisel. Shaking, Delia declared that the head had belonged to Ash Ludwig, a relatively unskilled student of gemcraft. Asked about other persons seen in the hall, she said that a dark-haired halfling man wearing lots of jewelry had exited as she entered. She thought that he had been gemcrafting, too. Upon further questioning, she remembered that he had winked with a garnet-colored glittering eye as he left whistling the tune to the gnomish song, "Her Many Facets." Although she couldn't be certain whether he was gnomish or halfling, she was able to give a good description, stating that the suspect had teeth that glittered in many colors, a fancy pinkish-purple shirt (like a bard's or noble's), and a hat with a red feather. Delia noted that the feather was missing when the fellow left. Celador then read the note, which appeared to have been written in blood: "So many flawed gems.. This one's clumsy meat hands do gemcraft a great heresy. Well no, would-be crafter.. it is the gems that wear you. ~ G" Looking about, Cel found the rest of the body in a nearby furnace, and I noted footprints in the gemdust, roughly size seven. The rest of the craft hall was unremarkable. Jako went to inform Captain Trent and check the guild store, while Olmae followed a trail of garnet dust to the public part of the Angels guild hall. We found blood all over statues in the guild hall, wall decorations slashed, sixteen eyeballs floating in the fountain, and what looked like lich poison in the refreshments chest. Worst of all, Daniel Poetr's statue had been defaced with a chisel and on the wall behind it was written "I'm coming for you, Danny Boy!" (The current Daniel Benjamin Poetr is the grandson of old Daniel.) Strangely, Mercas's statue was unharmed, and on the wall behind it was written in blood: "Now there was an artist!" Upon hearing noises behind the stage curtain, Ferrit demanded that the intruder show himself. A small gem on the ground shook and grew into a huge diamond golem, which was dispatched by the party, leaving only a diamond heart and a bit of dust. The remains and the bottle of suspected lich ichor were left in a labeled chest for our guild wizards' inspection. The eyeballs were sealed into a container and put out behind the building. Jako said that Captain Trent thought the man might be assassin Garnet of the Silver Fist (a band of mercenaries broken up by the Angels), and Oly remembered that the guard said that Mortissar Bael, who employed the Fist, has a skeletal arm. As this was the second murder and defacing of our property, we all agreed that it was time to post that reward and gather to end this outrage. All Angels and all other interested parties are called to help end this scourge. We will meet in Center one day hence (8pm-11pm EST 03/10/15). ~~Ferrit
