Characters: Julian, Tulgar, Balin, Cael.
NPCs: Purple Dragon Guards (Waymoot).
L 7 Mirtul 1374 - E 8 Mirtul 1374
8500 XP
The party now stood before the closed wooden door of Woodbrand's joyful moothouse where they had stayed just two nights prior. Luckily for Waymoot, there were no signs of attack on the town as in the recent attack on its sister town Dhedluk. Finding no signs of forced entry upon the door or frame the party moved inside. The long room with wood furnishings was torn to pieces as if like in Thiombur's home, the assassin had come for something more than murder. The party spoke with the local Purple Dragons whom were also investigating the scene and were shown the locations where Woodbrand and his wife had been found. Julian searched the room precariously while Balin tracked and Cael looked for magical signatures. After their investigation the party concluded the following. First, that the assailant was more similar to the thief whom tore Thiombur's home apart than the style of senseless destruction created by the Eye Rippers. Second, the assailant probably entered through magical means and attacked Woodbrand's wife first in the kitchen. Third, the assailant moved quickly down the moothouse and encountered Woodbrand. None of the Trollkiller's former magical items were found, however a sword gash was found in a joist indicating Woodbrand may have made a brief attempt to fight back and raise alarm. Fourth, no townsfolk reported any unusual noises, or lights from the moothouse so magical silence and darkness spells may have additionally been employed. The party was shown the rope that Woodbrand's body was found hanging by in the rafters of his moothouse ceiling. Julian found that the majority of the searching done by the thief occurred in his large poetry and literature collection. Like his good friend Thiombur, Woodbrand was often considered one of Cormyr's greatest Warrior-Poets and patriots. What information the thief could have found or been looking for was unknown.Julian did however, manage to find that there were faint markings and indentations that glinted in the firelight off the surface of a large book. The book had most likely been thrown to the floor from his desk and upon a charcoal rub, Julian discovered that these were the old pressure points of Woodbrand's original message to Thiombur. The missing sections Woodbrand had "trouble remembering" were now clear. The most suprising thing however was that the message was already complete. The missing segments eluded to an alternate word arrangement, and the charcoal marks further revealed the encoded first draft! Woodbrand's original intended message. It was coded in opposite word meaning and the words linked both Woodbrand and Thiombur to the involvements in the Knights Draconis organization. The message warned that the upcoming meeting must be canceled for security reasons. If this hidden script was genuine, it would give legitimacy to hundreds of years of un-believed draconic folklore.
The party also was allowed to examine the bodies of Woodbrand and his wife. Cael's close examination of the wife revealed that a powerful evocation spell had destroyed her head, she was obviously of no informative use for the assailant. Woodbrand's body however, was wrought with torturous wounds. Unlike the evidence found in his moothouse, this would indicate a long torture and much time being spent inside the house. Balin found a black porous rock lodged deep in Woodbrand's throat, the final cause of death. This piece upon further analysis however, was in fact charred dragon bone. Woodbrand's eyes remained within his skull, further evidence that the Eye Rippers were not involved. Julian stared at the body in sadness, however after a number of minutes he noticed the faint glow of magic within the body. Cael immediately casted a Greater Dispel Magic upon Woodbrand's corpse and before their eyes, the Transmutation ended revealing the corpse of a dried up Troll! The reason Woodbrand's soul was not present for resurrection was now even clearer... he was still alive.
Balin immediately went to work further analyzing the dragon bone, unfortunately it served as the only possible link to the killer they had. After some very difficult scrying Balin thought he had found the location of a cave in the Storm Horn Mountains that seemed to posses the remainder of the very same skeleton. Night had fallen fast and with little starlight shining through the thick cloud cover the party Teleported to the western Storm Horn Mountains.
