Mists Over the Musarde, Chapter Three

[Lord Skybolt]

Alain has no interest in examining the bodies and goes to get some breakfast for himself .

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio stands with Benn, examining the bodies with a furrowed brow. "I had been hoping we were done with such foulness." He swallows hard, then continues. "Yes, it is seeming like the same work. But what is the significance? Why was the man not slain in the same fashion? He turns, and looks at the wound in the man's throat. Is there some ritual significance for only killing women like this?" He asks Benn. "Or are we dealing with more than one killer?"

He then returns his attention to the female corpse. One of his hands begins shaking violently, and he grips the side of his tunic to steady it. "Miklos," he says, "we are not yet knowing why this man would do this, but we have seen his work before. When the men found him, had her hair been fanned out?"


As he examines the body, he is searching for any evidence of removed organs, digits, teeth, anything that would indicate that the killer had taken a piece of his victim with him. The girl they had found murdered at the Lorelei had nothing taken from her, and the priest wanted to make sure the two deaths were as similar as it seemed. The search fills his gut with a greasy feeling, and he bites down on his lip to keep from muttering curses of anger and dread over the body. He takes a closer look at the nature of the wounds themselves, to see whether they have the same mix of nearly surgical incisions and wild stab wounds, as was the case with the prostitute.


He blinks hard when Norzak brings him that news. "When we are done here, we must all speak, privately."

[ewancummins]

Dorgio is no anatomist, but he has seen the corpses of the slain before, and the wound to the dead youth's throat looks like it very well could have come from the same weapon that was used to kill the girl.

''Grigori was on last watch. He went missing sometime before dawn. He was stone cold when we found him in the woods a little distance from the camp. There are no clear tracks, but it seems that Van Diecks took him from behind, by surprise. He must have crept up on him, grabbed him, and then cut his throat. Bastard! ''

The gypsy slams makes a fist and punches the side of the wagon. His knuckles are bleeding a little now, but he doesn't seem to notice.


When Dorgio asks about the hair, Miklos nods grimly and replies-


''Yes. Her hair, it had been fanned out, just as you say. ''

Looking at the dead girl's wounds, Dorgio sees that the wounds are the very same mix of almost surgical incisions and wild stab wounds that Rosalind's body had shown, and also that nothing has been removed from the body.

[ewancummins]

Alain has no interest in examining the bodies and goes to get some breakfast for himself .

Alain, finding no breakfast in the Vistani camp, goes in search of food. He finds Wat sitting outside the Moothouse, his back propped up by the solid wall. The woodsman has a leather sack laid open before him, containing some runty green apples, strips of dried meat, and a fat cluster of wild berries. For drink, he's got a bucket of clear water. He motions or Alain to join him.

''Sit ye down, Alain. You are hungry? Eat, I will always be happy to share with my friends. What was the cause of the wailing among the tinker-folk? No one here knows, but they have not come to trade with us this morning...Is aught wrong?''

[Adam]

Bennedict is almost releived by the questions, as they let his mind retreat to an analytical point, a place where he can look on things with the practiced eye of an investigator and set his humanity aside momentarily.

"Serial murderers are creatures of habit and ritual," he says, kneeling down next to the dead girl. "She was his target, the one he was after. The man," He gestures at Grigori, "was simply an obstacle in the way of his true prey. Look here," he gestures to the mouth, showing the markings to Dorgio. "He had her gagged, that kept her silent. And the cutting..." He pauses, looking back at the wounds. "This is not about death, it is about control, about showing his superiority to us. That is the thrill."

He turns back to Miklos. "You asked how any man could do this? The answer is that this is not a man. This is a monster, a fiend that deserves to be hunted down." He turns towards Cirdan. "If the bastard does return, the only death he will find is his own."

Bennedict jumps down out of the Vardo, indicating that he has seen enough.

[ewancummins]

Miklos replies-


''Do you intend to wait for Van Diecks to return? Is there a reason you believe that he will risk it? Surely he'd have fled?''

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio nods and frowns as Benn points out the marks where the gag would have been. "When we track him down, the Morninglord stay my hand from killing him on the spot; I do not know if I could be trusting myself alone to hold back."

He then turns, and looks at the dog. He extends his palm towards it in a gesture of friendship. "This dog," he asks Miklos, "did it belong to Grigori or Esmerelda? Would it have been with one of them when they were attacked?"

[ewancummins]

Miklos answers-


''The dog didn't belong to anyone in particular, but just traveled with us. It was found under a wagon near Esmeralda's vardo. I don't think it would have been with either of them, no. ''

[Lord Skybolt]

Alain explains the situation to Wat then opens his pouch of food to share with him for variety . Then takes out his mug for some thing different to drink though and mutters over it out of sight of Wat for some watery wine .

[ewancummins]

Wat thanks Alain as he swaps some of his own rations for what Alain has offered to share.

''Hmmm....killing tinkers...that's bad. They might not come back if they think it is no longer safe here. Are you and your friends going to go after Van Diecks? ''

[Lord Skybolt]

"I'm for going after him . When I'm done with breakfast I'll go and check for some sign of him in the woods for a direction in which to search for him ." (1)






1-Search check at 20 .

[ewancummins]

"I'm for going after him . When I'm done with breakfast I'll go and check for some sign of him in the woods for a direction in which to search for him ." (1)






1-Search check at 20 .

Wat munches on an apple as he looks out towards the treeline.

'' The trees hide many things, Alain. Be careful. These woods are not safe, even for those who know them. This evil man VanDiecks, he is not the only monster in the forest.''

[Le Noir Faineant]

"If the bastard does return, the only death he will find is his own."

Cirdan nods, slowly and thoughtfully.

"We should make preparations, then. - Miklos?"

[ewancummins]

''Preparations? I intend to pull the wagons close together, double the watch, and have a rover check all posts every hour or so. That should make it harder to sneak into the camp. Some of my men are searching the woods for signs, now that the sun is fully risen and the light is better. If they find a trail, perhaps Van Diecks can be caught. ''

[Le Noir Faineant]

Cirdan raises an eyebrow. "Traps?"