Bounty Board: What's Real?

Location: Land of the South Winds

Setup: A guard working for the local duke is offering a reward for assistance in an investigation.

Details: Those who speak with the guard for more information will learn that three nights ago an assassin snuck onto the duke's land and assassinated the duke's wife (the duchess) with an arrow. Eye witnesses reported seeing a cloaked, human sized figure fleeing. Sir Ghalbi, knight of the duke, gave pursuit to the east. His body was found with a large hole in his chest, as if skewered with a giant-sized spear. This suggests a human sized assassin with a giant-sized accomplice. The only thing of note to the east is a small traveling circus, so the culprits are suspected to have been headed there. Due to the time of night, it stands to reason it's either one of the performers or a member of the stage crew. However, the duke has forbidden further investigation into the matter. Despite the tragic loss of his wife, he knows the circus owner has good standing relations with other local ducals. To investigate further could mean ruin for the duchy. Since they're not officially allowed to investigate, the guards are looking for help from outsiders. The circus will only be in the area for two more days, requiring expedience if the truth is to be uncovered.

Motivation: If asked why the duchess was assassinated, the answer is no one knows for sure. The most popular theory is that the duke was the intended target, but the assassin made a mistake at the distance and hit the wrong target. Another theory is that one of the other local ducals put the assassins up to it so that the duke will investigate the circus and, by doing so, cause conflict with the other duchies.

Reward: The guard is desperate to catch these killers, and will offer "a month's salary." Since the South-Winds is a poor nation, that's only 60 gold. Alternately, he'll provide his short sword, which was his father's and his father's before that, going back generations (he really bought it from a pirate last year). The blade looks strong and there are spots where gems once ordained the hilt, but those have long since been stripped off. Those with Recognize Weapon Quality can identify the short sword as Kobold quality with a +2 to damage (all other stats are the same as a typical short sword).

The Circus

Yuri the Master of Ceremonies: Yuri is a human standing at just under 6 foot (1.8 m). He's both owner and master of ceremonies for the show. The thought that someone from his show could be behind this is unfathomable to him and he's confident that there must be some mistake. Still, he's willing to cooperate within reason if it means clearing his performers.

Larry the Strongman: A tanned, hairy, muscular, and tall "human" standing at just over 7 feet (2.1 m). Some patrons claim he's an Ogre, but the Master of Ceremonies swears he's human. After all, Ogres are 12 foot (3.6 m) giants with grey skin! While this might convince some, those who make a successful Lore: Demons & Monsters skill check can identify that Larry is an Ogre born from a human mother. Larry doesn't like talking with the audience, and only tolerates them during his performances. Beyond that he likes to be alone and will be stand-offish to any questions.

Sirius the Knife Thrower: A black furred Coyle standing at only 6 feet (1.8 m) in height. He serves as both juggler and knife thrower. Audiences tend to fear him, and he snarls at them in return then delivers with deadly accuracy in his performance. He's a slave owned by Yuri, and at no point does he attempt to hide his contempt for humans.

M'Egis the Prestidigitator: A dark haired Elf standing at 6 feet, 6 inches (1.9 m). With an Elf it's easy to believe in magic, but what will be found here is little more than sleight of hand. Still, he's friendly for an Elf and willing to engage in conversation with anyone who'll listen. Of course, this comes at the risk of him talking for hours and by the time he's done there's been so many tangents it's hard to remember what the original topic was. "Me? Good with a bow? Ha, hardly. Why does everyone think all Elves are good with bows? You want to know who's good with a bow? That would be Sirius. Knives aren't that boy's only talent. I'm so glad Yuri bought him from that awful arena. Of course, who can blame him for wanting to come? You know how it is with arenas, and not like anyone's going to cry if some Coyle dies in there. But that really comes to the type of crowd that goes to arenas. They're really just looking for a cheap thrill. That shouldn't be surprising though since the arenas are really just designed to keep the masses from thinking about the real troubles like the economy. Now if you want to talk about the economy, let me tell you ..." and so on.

Gromlin the Stagehand: Dwarf doing most of the setup, stage design, and anything else that needs building for the show. He's good with his hands, but tends to work in the background most of the time with few crowds really realizing he's there.

Aashi the Cook: A plump human female about 5 foot, 6 inches (1.7 m) in height. She enjoys cooking, though she seems to over salt everything. She eats plates of her own food though and swears everyone else must be crazy!

G.M. Info

Sirius the Knife Thrower: He's been a slave in an arena, and now a sideshow attraction. He hates both, though this one admittedly is better than risking his life in an arena. Still, he rightfully blames humans for his situation. When he snarls at crowds it's to show his genuine contempt, while also playing along for the entertainment factor. People seem to enjoy being scared, though he doesn't get why. There's little mystery about him as he's rather direct. Though he hates humans, he hasn't killed any since his says in the arena. Whether anyone else believes that or not is another matter. In addition to his knife throwing gear, he does have a bow and arrow as well as some other ranged weapons in his gear (if searched). He also has the skills and racial prejudice working against him.

Larry the Strongman: Larry's mother was rescued from an Ogre camp. She did not yet show the signs of pregnancy. When she discovered she was with child, she moved to a community where no one knew her or her story, then told everyone the father was a dead soldier. She died during childbirth. He grew up in a human community that tolerated him, but never truly accepted him. When things go wrong, he's used to being the first one blamed. This has led to his stand-offish attitude towards other races. However, he continues to think of himself as human and only wishes to be accepted by them. His size and strength makes him a good possibility for the giant-sized accomplice.

Aashi the Cook: A Changeling in disguise! She adds so much salt to everything to help throw everyone off. When eating, she always prepares a separate plate for herself. She uses sleight of hand to avoid anyone noticing she never actually eats the salty meals she prepares for everyone else. Her plump figure also causes most to figure she's out of shape and don't question her low endurance. As a Changeling, she can easily change between a human sized assassin for sneaking in, and a giant-sized opponent for stabbing a knight. This lets her potentially serve as her own accomplice. If the truth is discovered, millennia of fear and paranoia will make her a prime suspect that's likely executed for the crime without question or proof.

M'Egis the Prestidigitator: Despite the cheap parlor tricks used in his show, he's really a Conjurer and the assassin. He'll willingly let people search his gear to prove he doesn't have any bow and arrows, since he can conjure them on a whim. Though he doesn't know the Size of the Behemoth spell, he knows a companion spell. Size of the Behemoth changes a person into a 20 foot (6 m) tall and 1200 pound (540 kg) giant, but doesn't affect gear. M'Egis learned an otherwise lost spell designed to work on gear to compliment Size of the Behemoth. When fighting against a tough opponent such as a knight, he uses this spell on one of his conjured arrows at the moment he fires it. This causes the arrow to grow considerably size in mid-air and impact the target with extraordinary force.

Gromlin the Stagehand: Even though M'Egis killed both targets, Gromlin is an accomplice. The Dwarf is an Illusionist. He uses his psychic illusions to distract targets and keep them off balance. With his illusions and the ability for M'Egis to conjure items at will, opponents are left guessing what is real and what isn't making these two a deadly combination.

Yuri the Master of Ceremonies: During any investigation, he'll do his best to direct suspicions towards Sirius and Larry. After all, that's the real reason he has them in his show in the first place. Racial prejudices surrounding the two make them easy targets to thrust blame upon in a pinch. He doesn't know about Aashi though, and thinks she's actually human. He keeps her around because he actually has a crush on her. The truth is he serves as the point of contact for those wishing to hire the skills of M'Egis, who rarely knows (nor cares) why they're killing someone. Then he can move his traveling circus to the territory so they can carry out their orders. In the case of the duchess, the contractor was her husband the duke. He only possessed any notable finances because of their marriage. By killing her, those finances now become his while also freeing him up to make another possible political marriage to further improve his position. Finding evidence to link them to the murder will be difficult, but even if proof can be obtained the fact the duke is behind everything will make things complicated.

Scene

M'Egis looks over his shoulder. "We're not losing him."

Gromlin sighs. "All right then, we don't have a choice. Rurga and Cirga formation."

The Elf smiles. "That always was your favorite." He darts off into some nearby trees.

Gromlin turns to see a knight charing on horseback. Suddenly a wall of flames erupts between them.

The horse rears back and throws the rider. With a clank of his armor the knight hits the floor as his horse runs off. Picking himself up, shield in one hand and sword in the other, the knight extends a hand towards the fire. "No heat. Cheap illusion." He swipes his sword through the imaginary flames and then steps through.

Gromlin grunts. He lifts up his arm and a sword appears in what was once an empty hand.

Sir Ghalbi snorts. "Your tricks won't work on me!" He ignores the sword and prepares to run the Dwarf through. However, when the sword comes down it is all too real. The knight stumbles back and grimaces. Then with a roar he charges coming down with a sword attack on the Dwarf.

Gromlin parries, but while he's distracted with the sword attack the knight follows through with a shield bash to the face. The Dwarf is knocked off his feet and to the ground, holding his head. With a twirl of his blade Sir Ghalbi takes his sword in both hands and prepares to drive it down into the dazed Dwarf. Before he does he hears a whistle. He looks up to see an Elf with a bow and arrow just as he fires.

In the blink of an eye the arrow grows to an enormous size and pierces into the chest of the knight, the force taking the knight off his feet and pinning him to a tree. All tension in the knight's body slips away as he goes limp. With a snap of his fingers, M'Egis dispels the arrow. As the conjuration vanishes the knight's body slumps down to the ground, a massive bleeding hole in his chest.

M"Egis offers a hand to his Dwarven companion. Gromlin takes the hand and gets back to his feet. The Elf looks over to the fallen knight. "Should we dispose of the body?"

Gromlin groans as he still holds his head. "No, let's just get going before more show up. We don't want to get into a prolonged fight."