Quest There's Strange (Sayren)

[Balderdash]

It was a very strange corpse indeed. Sayren had found Anya easily enough; the woman was among a small number that seemed to treat Nyka like a living thing- and got a response. She was now alone, standing over an ice box, with a very dead goat inside. The fur along its neck was torn in places, and there were scrapes on its skin there. A jagged cut ran down its belly, and its heart and liver had, in fact, been haphazardly hacked out. Along its spine were strange symbols akin to elaborate, decorative circles that had been perforated, with a mess of curved lines inside each. On its forehead was carved a symbol like a starburst, and between the dotted runes were parallel lines that seemed to form a bridge, with a triangle made entirely out of small curved lines at the base of its tail. Near the center of the starburst, some of the goat's flesh seemed charred, and the ice was slightly thicker there. Each symbol was spaced apart perfectly, and there were sixteen total, not counting the starburst. Its eyes were frozen wide, and its mouth was open in what was no doubt a scream in the last moments of its life. "I don't know what to make of it." said Anya, who was leaning against the door frame separating her kitchen and living room. She was an aging woman in her fifties, with graying black hair and a round face with laugh lines. Well, and a permanently creased brow. She was a farmer, after all. "It can't be very important, but still... Why on earth go through so much trouble to do all this to one goat?" The woman snorted and shrugged. "Youth these days, I guess."

[Sayren WindDancer]

Sayren gazed at the goat puzzlingly. The markings were definitely odd indeed. These couldn't have been just some youths just randomly doing away with a goat. The cuts and markings were very precise. As if the goat were prepared for a ritual sacrifice. This could be all nonsense just plastered onto a farm animal, but why do this to any creature for that matter? The marking that earned her intrigue the most was the starburst burned into the animal's skull. Then all the runes following it in bridge like arcs across the animal. Why this creature in particular?

She glanced over in a kind smile, "It is rather strange. I haven't seen any like this. But...it seems the goat was much bigger than I had imagine. I will come back with help from a friend of mine." And with that, she offered a hand to the woman and shook it before walking out of the woman's house in search of Jankovich. After her incident in the Aperture, Jankovich had kept an eye on her more often. Especially when he found out she worked at the Bubbling Pot in the Southern Quarter.

With that thought in mind, she strolled over to the Bubbling Pot, Jankovich had walked out, seeming to have enjoyed a good meal prepared by Rose. Sayren smiled and bowed as she approached Jankovich, "Hello Janko, how are you this day?" After their greetings, Sayren would eventually bring up that she had a problem and was hoping Jankovich would help her. She explained to the monk about the goat and how the carvings on it seemed so odd. Possibly from a ritual? But whatever the case, Anya wanted to dispose of the goat. Sayren was just curious to know why the goat had been pretty much gutted and marked with such strange designs. Hopefully they were on their way to Anya's house as Jankovich explained possibilities.

[Balderdash]

As usual, the monk was few with his words, and wasn't the most helpful on the way to Anya's house. "Perhaps a farmer thinks he can help his crop if he buries goat parts. I have seen stranger." he remarked when they entered. He and Anya greeted each other with a smile and a short bow. Sayren saw Anya rub Jankovich's robes as he passed through the hallway, but her attention was quickly diverted when the man exclaimed "These are glyphs!" Kneeling beside the corpse, he explained that glyphs were arcane symbols that channeled magic- "You see them on your door frames. My brothers and I use them to keep the negative energy of the Heart out. Though only Xannos' monks know how to use them for their original purpose." Frowning and pointing at the inside of one of the circles, he added "This isn't a glyph, though. Not one I've seen before, at any rate. They call the circle around it a 'barrier' and this thing," he pointed to the starburst, "A 'focus', but I'm not sure what the mess inside these barriers is." Jankovich's gaze turned to Sayren then. "Do you have any ideas?"

[Sayren WindDancer]

Before Sayren and Jankovich enter the house, he suggested that the farmer probably thought it would help his crop if they buried goat parts into the soil. He had obviously seen odder things in his time. Sayren wasn't so sure about that with this case though. When Jankovich entered the house, he and Anya bowed to one another and Anya rubbed his robe. Was that some sign of respect towards them? Before she could put more thought towards it, Jankovich spoke up, "These are glyphs!"

Sayren approached form behind, he was kneeling beside the goat's corpse. Explaining that the symbols were channeling magic. Many of these are placed upon door frames. He and his brothers use them to keep the energy from the 'Heart' out. However, only the monks of Xannos know to use them for their main purpose. His eyes narrowed when he pointed towards inside a circle. He continued on, telling her how that circle is a barrier, and then the next marking, the one she had paid most attention to. The starburst. It was a 'focus'. A focus for what exactly? And the monk wasn't sure what exactly the rest of it had meant. With that, he faced Sayren, inquiring her for ideas.

Sayren thought about it for a few moments before telling him her ideas, "Could be possible that a monk has gone rogue? You said it was only the monks of Xannos that specialize in these glyphs." She chewed on her lip a little as she rubbed her chin. "Could it be at all possible for you to bring a monk of Xannos here? I really want to get down to what exactly caused this."

While the monk was away, Sayren could ask Anya a few more questions if she would be willing. Questions like how long has the goat been dead? Where did she find it? And was there anything else near the goat like utensils or weapons? Did she notice anything odd when she found the goat aside from it being mutilated?

[Balderdash]

Jankovich's nose wrinkled at that. "Unlikely." he said sharply. "We are not just thugs in robes like the foreigners say. We work hard" the monk thumped a fist against his insignia, "for our robes! We go through trial after trial so that only the very best can have the privilege of serving the Celestials!" He quickly rose to his full height and said "I'll be right back." before Sayren could finish what she was saying. For a moment, the hum that the ground and walls seemed to give off around Anya were audible. Then, of course, the two of them got to talking about the goat. "Almost thirty days." she replied to the first question. "Found him out in his pen where I left him; nothing where it shouldn't be. Shook what flies had gathered off, and brought him here. Although," the woman said, her eyes misting slightly, "There was a shoe near the gate. A tiny sandal- had to be a child's. But children come and go all the time." she said as she shook her head, "It's part of farm life." A few ticks later, Anya jumped and let out a small exclamation. "Oh! How rude of me; I haven't asked if you were thirsty! Is there anything I can get you? Water? Tea? You live in the Northern Quarter too, don't you?" she let out a little tut before rifling through the cabinets, "You must be exhausted!" Sayren would have time to respond and maybe ask one more question before the sound of a man straining became audible, followed by a loud tumble outside the walls as a bloodied monk of Skerr bounced along the street leading in. They could see him get up through the window, before Jankovich flew into view- he had thrown himself feet-first at the other monk. The poor soul caught both in the chest and went sliding across the cobble. "Aye, that's right! You run!" Jankovich shouted as his fellow picked himself off the street and fled. Behind him, a robed figure with dark skin and an anvil emblazoned across his robes became visible. They were soon walking into the kitchen. "Sorry I took so long," said a slightly bruised Zarko, "A brother didn't like our friend here." The monk of Xannos bowed his head at the two before asking "So where's the goat?" After he was pointed in its direction, he bent over the dead animal before frowning and muttering, "These are encrypted." Tapping one of the blobs of lines, he said "This is gibberish. Around it is a barrier. A focus and a trigger are on opposite sides of the sigil, and bridges connect it." the wizard nodded slowly, "If I were to guess, you'd enter some sort of input, and then whatever is written inside these barriers would be decoded. Problem is," The monk stood and turned to look at the others, "Whoever's set this thing up was clever- they encrypted the trigger too. So we're going to have to figure out what it is the hard way. Is there anything odd about this animal, other than it being disemboweled?"

[Sayren WindDancer]

Sayren listened closely when Anya answered her questions. She thought the child's sandal was odd, but it was as the woman had said, children come and go just like normal. However...could it be possible this child was related to whatever was happening? The woman had paused their conversation momentarily for some drink. Sayren smiled as she asked for a simple glass of water and thanked the woman for her hospitality and patience on the matter. She figured if she was going to dispose of the animal, she'd at least try to find out what happened to it for the woman. Least give her some answers, no matter the importance to her they may be.

It wasn't much longer before Jankovich returned, pummeling another monk across the street and swearing him off before entering the house. Stating his apologies and welcoming the monk of Xannos into the house. Sayren gave the monk a respectful bow. She had heard these were more sagely than the other monks were. Something about them had mystical properties. She wasn't sure if they dabbled in magic or if it's just the rumors about them.

After the introductions, the monk approached the goat's corpse, examining it the best he could, pointing out the glyphs. Muttering something about encryptions, barriers, a focus and a trigger. Things that Sayren didn't quite understand, but nonetheless, she observed the wizard. The man turned to face the others, explaining that whoever had done this was rather smart. Encrypting the trigger. Possibly to cover their tracks. Then he asked if there was anything odd about the animal, other than it being disemboweled?

Sayren walked over and took another glimpse at the corpse, wondering if what she had seen before was still there. She pointed towards the Starburst, where the flesh was seared, but the ice seemed thicker in mass and texture. "What about this? The ice seems thicker around here. Why is that? The flesh around here seems seared. Why would ice be thicker around a certain area like that?"

[Balderdash]

The scion of Xannos bent over the spot Sayren pointed out, his brow furrowing. "Hrm... I wonder if..." Without any other warning, he hovered his hand over the Focus, and let off two small bursts of flame, and a small globule of water. All three seemed to vanish into the focus. And then... The mess of lines in the circles rearranged themselves. Sayren could now see that they were numbers. Read from left to right, they were: 4337598990422614 He and Zarko looked at each other for a moment. "The Thumb?" "Definitely." And with that, the man hauled the goat carcass onto his shoulder, nodded to Anya, and walked out the door. Zarko muttered something nasty about Summoners, then bid his goodbyes too. "Sorry this had to end on this note, Sayren." he said. "It's best you let us handle this, though. It isn't your place to get involved further."

[Sayren WindDancer]

Sayren blinked as she watched the monk casted his spell. It still amazed her how these mages can produce such conjurations. She hoped to at least one day be able to do something similar, once she was confident in her fighting abilities of course. The monk worked his enchantments, bringing about two small balls of flame and a drop of water. Which quickly vanished within this..."focus".

Her eyes widen as the markings began to rearrange themselves. Dismantling and reassembling from shapes into what seemed like a random assortment of numbers. While the monks glanced about each other, speaking about a "thumb?" Sayren took the moment to scribe down the numbers onto a small piece of parchment.

4337598990422614

It was only a moment after she finished the inscription, that the monks told her that it was no longer her place to handle this and they apologized as they pulled the goat away. Why was that so? Sure she was no sorcerer, but that didn't mean she couldn't try to help more though. After all, the monks wouldn't have known of this if she hadn't approached the job to begin with. She placed the small parchment in her pocket as she glanced up at Zarko, "Least explain what the importance of these numerations are. I believe this woman would like to know what exactly caused this, and it would be nice for me to know as well, considering this was my side job that I took on the Wall in the Employment Office."

[Balderdash]

Sayren got a apologetic shrug in response. "I don't know these magic things very well, Sayren. I just know that you've done your part. No doubt the monks of Xannos will figure it out." Anya didn't seem overly concerned, evidently satisfied with the monks' methods. "No good poking too much. Remember the time the city went dark?" Zarko chuckled darkly at that. "Too well." Looking back at Sayren, he simply said. "Look, just collect your earnings and get a good night's sleep. Messing around with magic never, ever ends well. Besides, I get the bad feeling that whoever hacked up that goat wanted us to find those coordinates..." With that said, the other monk took his leave.

[Balderdash]

Delicious rewards! Happy days and jubilation!

Skill	XP Awarded
Observation	2
Investigation	2
Persuasion	2

Lores: Sacrifices Involve Carved Up Goats Right?, Farmers Are Weird, What Glyphs Are, Xannos Monks Are Magic!, Astral Coordinates: 4337598990422614, Summoning Is Bad News, What Is And Isn't One's Business

Items and Consequences: +1 Parchment with written coordinates, +17 GM



Oooooh! Spooky! Had a fair amount of fun with this.

If you have any questions or concerns about this grade, please PM me. A happy you is a happy Balderdash!