Within Countess Thorn's Estate

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mythic

Baron
Walking up to the gates of the minor estate of Countess Thorn, Lord Az'Caine ponders the dire situation he was attending. Death of a commoner is one thing, death of nobility is another. The consequences are more severe, and limited if the verdict was guilty. He thinks about what is to come. The people he must face as their judge and possibly, their executioner.

He shakes his head once more in the solemn disbelief of the task ahead. The Thorn guards see his approach, bow slightly and open the gates without a word of challenge. Az'Caine steps through them, and walks up the short approach, past the well tended garden of flowers, their aroma calming, as if they are giving the ArchMage a final reprieve before the coming events.

The guard at the door follows the others in greeting and opening the silver adorned portal, blazoned with the Countess' rose family crest. A servant approaches the ArchMage quickly, giving the customary bow. "My Lord, they await you in the Countess Thorn's reception hall. She believed it large enough to accommodate the proceedings. The Lady Fatespinner and Sir Colson have already arrived and are with the accused."

"With the accused." the ArchMage thinks to himself. "That is never a great way to be introduced" his thoughts continue. "Thank You. That will be all. Please ensure that we are not disturbed." the ArchMage states, rather stiffly to the servant. "Post two guards at those doors, another two inside the front doors and two at any other exit from the building. No one is to leave, or enter, without challenge. Magi Kurak and Magi Farr'Shen will be arriving later for sentencing. Magi Evo will also be arriving, if he is not here already. He is to be shown in with all haste. Should you require more guards, send word to the three guilds to send two representatives each, the casters should have prepared disabling spells, while the Guards should be adept in ways of subduing an assailant, not just lethal force."

The servant nods. "Right away Lord ArchMage." and sets out to do his bidding.

Speaking under his breathe the Lord ArchMage steadies himself and opens the door. "Let us begin."

He steps inside...
 
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Walking into the reception hall, the ArchMage sees that it has been arranged as comfortably as possible given the amount of people seated within. All stand to greet the ArchMage and he motions them to be seated. "Colonel Colson, Lady Fatespinner" Az'Caine states as he nods in their direction. They are seated off to the side, with a full view of the upcoming proceedings. Countess Thorn sits to the side of the seat that has been chosen for the ArchMage. Flanked on either side are the accused. Az'Caine moves to his seat and makes himself as comfortable as can be in the situation.

The room has been sparsely furnished and the ArchMage assumes that more lavish decorations would normally adorn the reception hall, but this is more appropriate to what is to come.

"Lady Morrigan, Marshal Caran, Keeper Thisle, Sgt Radke, Cpl. McDonald, and lastly Initiate Darya" the ArchMage states as he locks eyes with each one in passing "You have been accused of the Death of Baron Othello, assault upon his staff, break and enter, destruction of property, conspiracy to commit murder and other minor crimes related to the events approximately two weeks hence." Az'Caine turns to face the Countess directly. "First of all, I would ask that Countess Thorn would please elaborate on what exactly you asked of the accused. What did you command them to do? Did you explain in detail what they were getting into at the Baron's home? And did you authorize them to use deadly force upon the Baron?"

The ArchMage sits patiently and awaits the Countess' reply.
 
Dressed in well-tailored, unadorned clothing style, in her colours, the dark haired lady nods to Lord Az'Caine.
“Allow me to provide you with some background as it may help flesh out the proceedings.

“Baron Othello was married once before, many years ago, but he said his wife ran away with lover. It appeared to break his heart, & supposedly, he grieved for many years. Many thought he would never marry again. Said in a snide refrain,"& perhaps he shouldn’t have."

“Lady Emilia is seventeen. The Lord is significantly older, in his fifties. Myself and others raised eyebrows at the marriage, but Emilia seemed happy to have married into wealth and security, and both families gave their blessing. It's common enough in noble families to have such marriages, and since everyone seemed happy with their lot, I didn't see fit to meddle, unfortunately. And I should have meddled a decade sooner.

“Lady Emilia Lancaster married him last year. They announced that she was pregnant with his heir just last month.

“Which lends to our current scenario. Out of desperation, Lady Lancaster wrote a letter to myself, begging for my intervention. As the wife of my vassal, I felt her request the equal of her husbands & my authority to deal with it within my purview.

“Lord Othello Lancaster had apparently been haunted by the spirit of a wailing woman for quite some time but I was not made aware of this until recently when his wife contacted me, clearly terrified & afraid for her wellbeing & that of her, soon to be born, first child.

“Apparently, the spirit was only a mild annoyance until a few months ago, & had suddenly become increasingly wilder.

“Lady Emilia had divulged to me in her letter, that Lord Othello had become increasingly paranoid, firing all but a few members of the staff, locking himself in his study for hours on end, refusing visitors, refusing to let her leave or talk to her family.

“Lady Emilia was terrified for her unborn baby. Her husband had dismissed her concerns and refused to have anyone in to deal with the spirit.

“I felt more than a simple haunting is going on. I gathered the Silver Rose to assist me in an investigation. I knew the Lord would not welcome us and would most likely try to hinder us as much as he could, but he could not outright refuse me entry. The Silver Rose were presented as my retainers, with myself requesting that he host us for the night during our journey.

“I could only get them access for this one night, in his keep, as his guests. They were to appear to follow his rules and respect him as the host, and he would not likely let them investigate much at all.

“I had informed them this is a mission of subterfuge. They were going to have to find a way to investigate without the Lord finding out- not to mention, potentially, having to navigate around an angry ghost. They needed to be prepared for a certain amount of sneaking around. There may be some locked doors they have to get through- not that I advised breaking and entering of course! Nothing of the sort. They DEFINITELY should not bring lockpicks or anything like that with them.

“I warned them to be careful, that if they got caught doing anything illegal I would have a great deal of explaining to do, hence our current setting”, she said with a flourish of her hand at the scene before them & a slight roll of her eyes, “and depending on what they did, I might not be able to extricate them out of their situation. He IS a noble. I will do all I can to protect them, but they had to be CAREFUL. I warned them against doing unwise & thoughtless things, there's a process one must follow with Nobility, they must respect that.”

“I am disturbed by the turning of events, though I feel with all the evidence that the Silver Rose collected, justice has already been served by those wronged.”
 
"Justice?" the ArchMage asks. "Murdering the noble is justice? I guess we shall see." Az'Caine shakes his head in disbelief. "All right then. As most, if not all of you know, I hate repeating myself. To expedite this matter, and to ensure that all testifying give clear and truthful testimony" the ArchMage pauses VOICE RADIUS CHARM he commands. Az'Caine looks around the room, this words still slightly reverberating. He looks towards the accused to see if any resist or have any protectives active. He turns to Colonel Colson, who impishly smiles. "Resist. My Lord" echoed quickly by the Fatespinner "Resist". The ArchMage smiles slightly, as was expected. They are not on trial, and should their input be required, he had no cause to believe their words would be untruthful.

"Now, for those who stand accused. You will answer my questions truthfully and to the best of your recollection. Remember, that ommision of fact is tantamount to a lie. Do not leave any detail out. Even if you believe it may incriminate you." The ArchMage settles into his chair. He collects his thoughts and then begins.

"First. Is your recollection of the conversation with the Countess accurate to her words on record?"
"Second. Explain to me in your own words, what exactly transpired once you were in Baron Othello's estate."
"Third. Who damaged the estate? Who assaulted the staff?"
"Fourth. What evidence did you uncover in your investigation?"
"Fifth. Did you know that the amulet the Baron wore would cause him harm should it be removed?"
"Sixth. Who took the amulet?"
"Lastly. Why did you not take this information that you had gathered and bring it to the authorities."

"If I have any further questions or require clarification on your testimony, I will ask once everyone has answered. You may begin." the ArchMage waits patiently.
 
Having waited some to see who would begin, Morrigan looks at her friends briefly. Then taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, Morrigan steps forward to be the first to speak.

She ponders the first question, quickly going over in her mind the initial meeting with the Countess and her statement today, it was just as she had expected the Countess to do....state only her words not her true intent in order to save herself.....taking a breath and looking Az'Caine in the eyes she answers.
"For your first question, Aye my lord, the meetin went similar ta what tha Countess said. Only her words said did no match her gestures and body language. She would say "don't" with her words but shake her head yes while she said it. I left tha meetin with a very clear understandin that she actually wanted us ta do exactly what she said we shouldn't be. We knew she wanted us ta do whatever was necessary to uncover tha truth through investigatin, even if it meant pickin some locks and going inta locked rooms."

Standing solidily in spot, Morrigan takes another big breath before answering the second question put forth. It'll be a long one, and she hopes that her words can do justice to her recollections of the events. Continuing to hold Az'Caines gaze, she begins to answer the second questions.
"I'll try ta be as thorough but as quick as possible My Lord for the second of your questions. Having arrived at tha estate, we met briefly with tha Lord and Lady Othello, during which tha Lord was agitated by our presence. He also treated his wife very roughly while in our presence, enough tha it prompted the Countess ta mention ta his Lordship that he should be more careful with his wife in order ta not harm the child she was carrying. The Lord did not like that. Eventually though he agreed ta put us up for tha night, having tha Countess put in one room and tha rest of us in another, where we were provided only a single chamber pot, no food or water. Once in our room, he had us locked in. Havin been ordered by the Countess to investigate this ghost, we knew we had ta leave the room ta do so. There was much debate about if we should all go or some should stay behind. You know that I would not be anyone's first choice for sneaking....I am loud and big and not subtle. So I offered ta stay behind so as not ta get in the way or jeopardize tha mission. But after much talk it was decided it would be best if we all went. So reluctantly I agreed ta go as protection to ma friends. While in our room, loud crying could be heard through tha walls. Johm picked tha lock on our door so we could leave. We made a couple of short recon missions ta see if there were guards, and once we knew there were ta determine their routine. We tried once ta just get around tha guards without being seen, but tha did no go well and we retreated ta our room ta replan. It was decided tha the guards would need ta be incapacitated in order for us ta continue. Once the guards were out we proceeded down tha halls towards other rooms in tha house. We soon found the ghost. Mal was able ta approach tha ghost, who didn't speak but continued to cry, she did however lead us further into tha estate as if she knew what we were tryin ta do and was helpin in a way. So we followed her and when she stopped we knew we were in an area ta investigate. I positioned myself in tha hallway so that I could keep watch for any other guards or servants. I left tha investigatin to my other team members who are better suited to tha than I. When they would say ta move on, we did, with tha ghosts guidance. We found his Lordship in his study and tha he was passed out drunk on tha floor. That room and a couple others were searched during our investigatin. I stayed quiet and on watch, and being on watch slightly removed from the group I did not see or hear much of what we found. I did hear someone say at one point that tha Lordship had an amulet tha we should take, an I did say then tha it was a bad idea ta be removin somethin from his person as he was likely ta notice that tha moment he awoke. But it was decided to take it. The amulet turned out ta be made from a finger bone, tongue and eyeball. His Lordship was left sleeping, alive, in his study. Eventually we found ourselves following tha ghost ta tha estate garden, where we found a skeleton of a woman and unborn child buried. There was sign of blunt force trauma ta the woman's head. Figurin tha finger bone belonged ta tha woman's whose body we just found, and who was likely tha ghost standing next ta us, tha amulet was laid with tha rest of tha bones. At that point tha ghost disappeared. I assumed she had been laid ta rest finally with tha restoration of her finger to tha rest of her skeleton. It seemed ta us that tha Lord Othello had possibly murdered his first wife and their unborn child. Tha decision was made ta take all tha evidence we collected and tha bones we discovered, back ta our room ta present ta tha Countess in tha mornin so tha she could help see tha Lordship investigated further. I led tha way back to our room. Only once we were inside did hear a little more about tha evidence we found containin information tha his Lordship seemed to be practicin necromancy. We then waited for morning ta come so tha we could speak with tha Countess."

Morrigan pauses for a moment after that long speech, she doesn't normally talk for so long. The next few questions however she knew would have shorter answers. So she continued to the next one.
"For your third question, Though I didna physically witness it meself, I understand tha it was Johm who disabled tha staff and shatter some locks."

She hoped John wouldn't be mad at her, but being under charm she has no choice but to tell the truth. Morrigan quickly moves onto answer the next question.
"As I didna do any searchin or evidence collectin meself, and also bein a vera poor reader, I can only say what I was told later once we got back ta our room. It seems we found a letter written by tha first wife that spoke of her fear and treatment by her husband, this letter trailed off as if interrupted suddenly while being written. We found a book of necromancy. The amulet from his Lordship was also collected. And we found tha bones of his wife and unborn child, showing signs of much abuse over many years and wounds tha had ta have been made at tha time of her death."

Morrigan pauses again to take a breath before continuing on, this was way more talkin then she is used to. She wonders to where Magi Evo was as he still hadn't arrived yet. But she shelves that worry and continues onto the next question.
"No, I did not know tha it was protectin him. "

Again she gives a brief pause to separate the answers so Lord Az'Caine knows when she is moving from one question to the next.
"Once the decision was made ta take it, I believe it was Johm tha took it from around tha Lords neck while he was sleepin."

His last question worries Morrigan slightly, they had heard nothing about what had happened with all the evidence collected and she doesn't see it in the room yet, so where is it?
"That is what I thought we were doing Ma Lord. We gathered all tha evidence collected and took it back with us ta our room ta be presented ta tha Countess in tha morning. It seemed tha ghost had been put ta rest since she had quietly disappeared from our presence and we didna hear her again. We had done what the Countess had indicated ta us she wanted done. I trusted and assumed tha tha Countess, who is liege to Lord Othello, would be able ta take the evidence we had found ta tha Authorities in tha morning and that his Lordship would be confronted then, as we had left his Lordship very much alive. Our intent was tha he would be questioned properly by tha proper authorities for what strongly appeared to be necromancy and murder, and we trusted tha Countess to do so. When we were arrested instead, we left tha evidence with tha Countess who said she would see it was kept safe and presented. But I do not see it here and can only hope tha she has kept her word and turned the evidence over ta you My Lord as it is key points in our trial here."

Through out her answers she had kept to holding Az'Caine's gaze, he is the one asking the questions and the one that most needs to see the truth in her eyes. It had been tempting to look at the Countess at the end though to see if she gave any indication of what was done with the evidence, but Morrigan refrained. If the evidence hadn't been physically turned into Lord Az'Caine or the authorities then the Countess may have more to answer to and it was best to let Az'Caine deal with that. Having finished speaking she nods to the ArchMage and steps back to her original position.
 
Evo arrives at the estate, hurried but calm.

"Magus Evo Escariot to see Countess Thorn."
 
Becky clears her addled, little mind and steps forward to answer the ArchMage.

As for his first question, the Countess did tell us not to bring a lockpick and not to be snooping around the mansion but she was nodding yes as she said not to. Being a family friend of Lady Emilia she was concerned for her well being. That the young Lady had written to her that she was terrified for herself and for her unborn child and has since been cut off from seeing or communicating with her friends and family by her husband. She wanted us to find out what was going on.

When we arrived at the estate, Lord Othello was very angry at us being there, but did receive the Countess out of noble courtesy. We were posing as her vassels. That we had been travelling and required a room for the night. He handled Lady Emilia very roughly whenever she tried to speak. The Countess did scold him that he ought to be more gentle with his wife, especially as she is carrying his heir. He responded that he would do as he pleased in his own house and that his wife was none of our concern. In the end, he did give us accomodation for the night. The Countess was given a room suitable to her station and the rest of us were locked in quarters.

We knew we would need to pick the lock and leave the room in order to complete the mission for the Countess and find out what was going on. We could hear wailing and crying out in the corridors. We did a couple reconnaissance missions with our sneakier members checking out the situation but not going far from the room and coming back to report to the rest of the group. We learned the wailing was coming from a ghost. She did scream when she saw Johm but seemed more comfortable with the women of our group. We thought she might be scared of Johm, him being a man and the women interacted with her from then on. We tried to determine a pattern to the guards movements, but knew we would need to incapacitate them.

There was debate whether we should all go or if some of us should stay behind in the room. My cloak and style choices, while very pretty, does stand out and catches the eye. We were worried that I would be spotted. I said I would be willing to stay behind or to go, which ever the group thought would be best. It was decided that we should all go, we did not want to split up the party and if the group were attacked or there was a scuffle I would be needed. We all went, myself included, our friends more suited to sneaky business took the point with myself and Lady Morigan in the rear of the group. I tried to hide in the shadows as best I could moving up as my friends motioned to me and staying close in case of any danger to them.

As for who damaged the estate and assulted the staff, I did not see.

The ghost lead us to a room and was crying, pointing. She wanted to show us what was in the room. I did go in the room with my friends. It appeared to be the chambers of the Lord's first wife. We found a bag packed with some of her belongings. There was a letter written by the first lady. It described how Lord Othello would more and more often become drunk and angry. That he was beating her. She had discovered that she was with child. She was planning to run away and leave him because she could not bear the thought of him beating the child she was carrying. The letter ends abruptly and had blood on it.

We did also find a book of necromancy, describing the amulet that the Lord was wearing. This was a book on how to protect you from spirits. And the amulet was described as being made out of the first lady's finger, tongue and eyeballs.

The ghost lead us into the garden and showed us her remains. Our members skilled at the healing arts inspected the body and found evidence of continued brutality towards her. Bones that had been broken and not healed well, done at different times over years. In the end, it appeared she had been beaten to death, her skull smashed in and the remains of the child she was carrying when she was killed. We concluded that the Lord had discovered her trying to leave him and killed her.

We returned the amulet with her finger, tongue and eyeballs to the body and the ghost dissapated. We were going to leave her body where we found it. From what we had learned of the lady, she did love the garden and felt that should be her resting place. In the end, we decided to take the body along with all evidence back to our quarters to turn over to the Countess when she comes for us in the morning. We did not want the Lord hiding the remains and we felt she would be okay with us taking it. She did clearly want people to know what had happened to her.

I did not know for certain what would happen or that she would kill him if we took the amulet. I was aware that it was the amulet that was protecting him from her ghost and knew it was a possibilty that she would go after him. I was unconcerened for his safety and did have the thought that I hope she does.

I was in favour of taking the amulet. Johm crept into the Lord's bedchamber where he was passed out drunk and retrieved the amulet while the rest of us waited in the hall and kept lookout.

We brought all that we had found back to our quarters with us for the night and wizard locked the door allowing noone to enter, save the Countess. When she came for us in the morning, we did report back to her all that had happened and turned all evidence over to her safe keeping so that it may not be tampered with.
 
His eyes flicked up as the arch mage acknowledged him upon entering the room, but he made no other sign of discomfort. In fact he seemed at ease, relatively relaxed if still solemn. He was aware, after all, of the gravity of the situation. While Becky and Morrigan gave their testimonies he remained still. Even had he the ill will to care that the others would point his actions out, they were all under charm. He would tip his own hand if they did not. He rose as his turn came, offering his bow to the assembled figureheads as he did, before speaking in a voice only slightly colored by his usual accent.

"Almost to the word my lords and ladies, though as stated she shook and nodded her head in the contrary to our instructions to remain in our chambers."

"I was approached to assist The Silver Rose as an outsider, as their only available lock smith had retired for the evening. The prior three testimonies accurately encompassed our initial arrival so unless anyone objects I will begin after we were locked in our quarters, a sparse barracks devoid of facilities save for a chamber pot. We deliberated for some time, until we heard the ghost out back. We could see her from the wimdow of the room as well as the route the guards were taking. After I bypassed the lock, a short scouting mission by the group confirmed my suspicion that the guards could see her and we wouldn't be able to pass them as a group without being discovered. I made a second scouting mission to approach the ghost and try to lure her back to our quarters for questioning but she was... Verbally adverse to my presence. Finally I posed the idea that we disable the guards and continue our investigation. I struck one in the head, bound and gagged him and removed him from the path of the other guards patrol route, and after he passed by I administered a sleep gas by globe and repeated the process.

We then advanced to Baron Othello's study, where I found he had drank himself to sleep. I applied another globe of sleep gas and we proceeded to investigate his study. After finding some minorly incriminating evidence I approached a locked drawer on his desk. As time was of the essence, he seemed a light sleeper, and a broken object in a drunk mans house is easier to explain than someone pick deep in said lock, I decided to shatter the lock and examine the contents, disarming a trap wire in the process. The contents were significantly damning, as were other clues foumd about his study. I suggested we leave someone with him to apply sleep spells while we investigated further and moved on to what turned out to be his late wife's old quarters. Citing the previously mentioned reasoning I damaged the lock beyond repair and we proceeded to rifle the contents of the room. At one point a letter was discovered to the tune that his wife was leaving him, and information discovered that implicated his involvement with necromancy. I returned to his study, applied another sleep gas, and retrieved the amulet from around his neck, confirming it was a real finger bone.

The ghost lead us to the garden where we discovered an unburied skeleton. I personally examined the body, and determined that the person had been exposed to significant violence over the course of some years beyond what training would cause. I also found that the body had been mutilated after death, with parts removed. It was my determination that the killing blow had been blunt impact to the back of the head, likely with an object, and that the direction of impact was concurrent with the ink spray on the aforementioned letter. Finally, and most troubling, I discovered the remains of an unborn child, and based on where it laid I am confident that it passed away within its mother rather than being lain there.

At this point I had to supress the urge to strangle the baron myself. I pointed out that as we had senior representation from the arcane sanctum and two members of the homeguard we could affect an arrest but was ultimately convinced to present the evidence to the countess instead. We reunited the finger bone with the skeleton and the ghost dissipated at that time. Thistle and some of the others said some words over the body a.d we retrieved it, as well as our gathered evidence, and returned to our quarters. On the way I administered a sleep gas by globe to one guard, removed his fetterings and administered an amnesia elixer to him. The other guard I threatened with extreme violence if he did not quietly drink a potion and removed his gag before giving him a sleep potion. I then administered another amnesia elixer and untied him. Once I returned inside I sealed the lock again, and we placed a wizard lock on the room before retiring.

We were informed that Baron Othello had been quite brutally murdered in the night and surrendered our evidence to the countess and ourselves to the homeguard without incident."

He cleared his throat, seemingly troubled by the recollections but he continued unabated.

"I damaged the estate and assaulted the staff at my own direction. By my own I may have managed otherwise but this was a group mission."

"We discovered that the late lady Othello had meant to leave due to constant drunken abuse, that her letter had been interrupted, and by lord Othello's written admission he had laid the final blow. By his own admission he had also strove to learn earth magic without registration, for the purpose of necromancy, then hired an earth caster before disposing of him. Based on what we gathered, I would have laid charges of Uxoricide, Infanticide, Assault over a long period of time against his wife, Conspiracy to commit Necromancy, and the murder of said Necromancer, as well as just being a generally ungracious host and poor husband."

He thought for a moment regarding the amulet, though it had an air of organization of thought more than anything.

"When I removed the amulet, I suspected it did have some magical function. It was my belief that it was protecting him from the ghost, but I couldn't have imagined the ghost would be capable of such devastation. I believed at worst he wouldn't be getting a moments peace for the remainder of his days."

A smirk crossed his mouth at the last quedtion.

"We meant to. They just happened to come to us first. I can only assume it remains in Lady Thorn's possession."

He shrugged, before standig expectantly as if anticipating further questioning.
 
"First. Is your recollection of the conversation with the Countess accurate to her words on record?"

There was a lot of to remember for Arlyne; even though the events happened recently, it felt like a lifetime ago….

“For the most part, yes, the conversation was accurate; although her gestures and body language said otherwise. When she said the word “don’t”, she would nod.”


"Second. Explain to me in your own words, what exactly transpired once you were in Baron Othello's estate."

Arlyne clears her throat as this will take some time to say…she wanted to make sure her recollection is to the best of her ability.

“It was staged so that we were traveling and we needed a place to stay for the night. Baron Othello did not seem pleased with our sudden visit; it was observed that Othello was short in speaking to is wife and she was handled quite roughly. He sent his helpers to fix a room for us and Countess Thorn had a room of her own. Room was minimal with only a few mattresses and a bed pan for us; once all of us were in, we heard a lock turn; we tried to open the door, only to find out it was locked.

A few moments later, we heard someone crying outside our room; we needed to check it out as per Countess’ instructions; Johm picked the lock to get out of the room. After some discussion, I made the decision to have the guards taken out. Johm then took out the guards by gas and they were bound and gagged.

We followed the ghost to a couple of rooms. She led us to the first room where we found Baron Othello’s study. He was passed out on the floor from drinking as there was a bottle that was almost emptied right beside him. After some rummaging around, a book was found containing necromancy; specifically on how to ward off spirits. We found an amulet around his neck which was made with a finger, an eye and a tongue. After some careful deliberation, I made the decision to take the amulet and the book as evidence.

We then moved to the second room; looked like it maybe the ghost’s quarters. We found out that the ghost was his first wife. There were jewelry and items that belonged to her. A letter was found stated that she was going to leave him as he has grown more abusive towards her., She was going to leave him and stay with her sister until the letter abruptly ended.

The ghost then led us to the courtyard; it was noted that the ghost favored the place. We found a body, decomposed for quite some time where the ghost then pointed to it and then we placed the amulet on the corpse and the ghost then dissipated. Upon closer inspection, we find that it was missing an eye, tongue and finger. We also found trauma to the head, some fractured bones, some of which was healed over time and smaller bones, which resembles that of an unborn child.

The fact that necromancy was performed, the decision was made to take the amulet, body and books back to our room. Johm slept, amnesia and unbound the guards on the way back.

We then wizard locked our room until morning and were greeted by Countess Thorn…and the Home Guard.”

"Third. Who damaged the estate? Who assaulted the staff?"

“Under my instructions, Johm picked the locks and incapacitated the staff.”

"Fourth. What evidence did you uncover in your investigation?"

“We found a book on necromancy, to ward off spirits. There was evidence within the book leading us to believe that the amulet was createdusing it. There was the amulet that was found around the Barons neck. The first wife’s letter of his abuse towards her and plans of leaving and the remains of her body with unborn child. “

"Fifth. Did you know that the amulet the Baron wore would cause him harm should it be removed?"

“No, not for certain; it was implied in the book that the amulet was meant to protect. But we needed the evidence to prove that he was studying and practicing necromancy.”

"Sixth. Who took the amulet?"

“Johm took the amulet after the decision was made to do so. ”

"Lastly. Why did you not take this information that you had gathered and bring it to the authorities."

“It was under my impression that this was, for lack of better words….a family affair; the Countess wanted to keep it quiet. Hence all the sneaking around.”

Arlyne then takes a breathe, relieved that she is able to say her piece. This trial has weighed heavily on her emotionally and mentally.
 
Evo arrives at the estate, hurried but calm.

"Magus Evo Escariot to see Countess Thorn."
Evo is escorted into the reception hall right after Lady Morrigan has spoken. The ArchMage nods to the new arrival and motions him to sit with the accused.
 
In hushed whispers, Evo brings himself up to date with the accused. He waits with the group for all the testimonies to be entered, and looks inquisitively at the Countess as the subject of evidence is raised.
 
The ArchMage puts up his hand before either Thistle or Darya can stand.

"Sgt. Radke, can you please elaborate on a few of your statements please?" The ArchMage leans forward in his chair after shooting a very perturbed look at that Countess, "You stated that the ghost led you to her unburied remains? Are you telling me there was a skeleton just lying in the garden for all to see? That would mean the servants would have seen her body and watched it decompose over several months. I truly find that hard to believe!" The ArchMage raises an eyebrow at that thought. "Also, you stated that the Baron admitted to the killing of his first wife and unborn child in his writings? Again, I would find it very hard to believe that he would write something so damning down. I will review that evidence with Magi Evo at a later time."

"Once Sgt Radke responds, Keeper Thistle and Initiate Darva, you may add your testimony." The ArchMage sits back in his chair. His expression changes back to as neutral as he can manage.
 
OOG: The skeleton was fairly exposed and no indication that it was buried was evident, although it was partially covered by a camo net.

IG:

He pondered for a moment, thinking again.

"I was not the first of us to reach the body so another of our group may have exhumed it. However the garden was extremely grown over and showed signs of severe neglect, to the extent we would have never found the body without assistance."

He shurgged in a conciliatory manner.

"To quote: 'What have I done? My love I'm so sorry. My child, I'm so sorry.' Granted his writings did tend to ramble at some occasions but only towards their end. If you held a sword to my neck and told me to find some other interpretation but an admission of guilt in his diaries I wouldn't be able to. We also did find it within a locked drawer in the study he spent most of his time, I'm certain it was an admission never meant to see the light of day."
 
The ArchMage listens to the words and thinks about it. "But you are not sure. Those words could have been written anytime. Perhaps he was sorry for something else? My Child could refer to someone he thought of as his child, a favoured nephew or niece? The point being, that with his death, we are unlikely to find out those answers. It is evidence, yes, but without full context, it is hard to determine the intent behind them." the ArchMage sits back for a moment. "Thank you Sergeant for the clarification."

The ArchMage turns his gaze to Arlyne. "Marshal, it is your testimony that you ordered the amulet removed from the Baron? Was there discussion at any point as to the consequences of the removal of the amulet? Was it discussed that any of you thought it could lead to his death?" Az'Caine asks.
 
Evo interjects politely, "My lord Archmage, I must object to considering a small excerpt of the journal, recited from memory, as wholly representative of these journals or diaries. Certainly these writings must still exist? Are the entries dated? Perhaps there is greater context."
 
“My Lord Az’Caine, my Lady Zanthia,” Thistle bows at each of them.

“My recollection of the conversation of what the Countess said is the same as her’s.”

“When we arrived at the estate of Baron Othello, the Baron received the Countess and us. He gave us a room for the night and then had us locked in, with the Countess to room in another. After a time we heard a wailing and thru a window, saw a ghostly apperation. We then proceeded to unlock the door and investigate the wailing and what might have caused it. When Jhom asked the ghost a question, it just wailed louder but when Mal asked it tried to be helpful. At no time did the ghost speak. “

“Through following the ghost’s directions did we investigate its circumstances. Through our investigations we found out that the ghost was once the Baron’s first wife. We found a letter she was writing to inform her husband on why she was planning to leave. I beleive that Mal asked the ghost if she wrote it and the spirit indicated that she did. The way the letter ended, it looked like it was torn away from her before she finished it. We also found a book with pages torn out of it, and then later the pages themselves. These pages gave instruction on how to make an amulet to protect the wearer from ghosts. The three main ingredients listed were the tongue, eye and finger bone of the spirit the ritual targeting. It is my professional opinion that the creation of this amulet would be an act of necromancy. We also found what we believe to be the skeletal remains of the Baron’s first wife and unborn child.”

“We collected the evidence and returned to the room assigned to us, Wizard Locking the door in order to secure the evidence. At that time, the Baron was alive and no one left our room until the Countess came for us in the morning.”

“When we were investigating, the group split up on a few occasions. I did not witness it, but I do know that the Guards were subdued. Since we as a group decided to investigate, then I believe it was best said that we as a group assaulted the Guards.”

“We uncovered an incomplete letter in (what we believe to be) the Baron’s first wife’s handwriting. Instructions on how to create a necromantic amulet, the necromantic amulet that the instructions directed on how to make as well as the remains of the first wife, missing the parts needed to create the amulet. We also discovered the remains of her unborn child as well.”

“We did not know that taking the amulet would cause harm to the Baron.”

“We as a group discussed and decided to take the amulet. I do not recall which of us removed it from him.”

“Lastly, we gathered what evidence we collected, secured it, and then I gave it to the Countess in the morning before our arrest.”
 
Arlyne's gaze matches that of the Arch'Mage and nodded in acknowledgement of his question.

"After some deliberation with the rest of the group, I agreed to have the amulet taken. There was no discussion of any kind of repercussion that may happen should the the amulet be taken. Death was never considered; only the possibility of the spirit keeping him rather uncomfortable. "
 
Mal waited patiently for the others to speak. They watched as Arlyne finished speaking before stepping forward to speak.

Under the charm spell Mal paused to think of an answer. They rubbed their tusks against their upper teeth, a nervous habit. "Th' Countesses words seem ac'urate. She wanted us 'ta look into the ghost hauntin' her friend. She wanted 'ta make sure 'eryone was safe."

"Second. Explain to me in your own words, what exactly transpired once you were in Baron Othello's estate."
"As' ta the second question, it's been mostly covered by th' others... Let's see if I can put it in parts 'ta make this quicker.
We got to the house, the master 'o which was none too kind and rough with his wife. He grabbed her and had her shoved 'ta her room. We were then locked in a room. We all talked about what 'ta do 'bout the ghost. Johm picked the lock and went out 'ta try and get the ghost back 'ta our room. It didn't work. We all snuck out 'ta investigate. That didn't work. So Johm went out and put th' guards 'tsleep. Then we went back out. The others headed down th' hall. I went 'ta see th' ghost. She seemed more receptive 'ta me. I asked her where she died and if she could show me and she lead me down the hall and started pointing. Johm went in that room and Marchial Arlyne followed a bit after. They picked locks and make sure th' Lord was kept asleep. Then we went 'ta the next room. I searched through boxes and th' like so see what was what. We found evidence in both rooms which th' others have already stated. We found the necromantic necklace, made of finger, eye and tongue, we found a book on necromancy, several letters from both the dead wife and his own hand. Then th' ghost walked us through the garden. One of us, I don't remember who accidentally tripped on the body of the dead wife. It was buried very loosely, and th' gardan was so unkept we wouldn't have seen it if not for th' ghost guiding us. I put the amulet back with th' body, in hopes the spirit would be put 'ta rest. We then took all th' evidence to our room 'ta present to th' authorities come mornin'. We even wizard locked th' door 'cause we figured th' Lord would be upset come mornin' and would try and destroy evi'dence."

Mal took a breath, and looked across at their compatriots. They seemed resigned. Back home the tribes would have dealt with things very differently. What was there to be so resigned to? The trial wasn't over yet.

" For the third question, to my knowledge Johm dealt with th' guards, and he and Thistle kept th' Lord asleep. Johm alone broke locks that I know of.... And I think I covered th' bit about ev'idence already."

"As for th' bit about the amulet hurting th' Lord... I knew it was for protection. But not 'ta what ex'tent. I didn't think th' ghost would kill him though."

"And it was Johm who took th' amulet, but I held onto it and followed th' ghost 'ta her body. I returned it 'ta the body when we found it."

"We had every intention of taking this 'ta the guards come first morning. As said before that's why we put up a wizard lock and secured the ev'idence."
 
Evo interjects politely, "My lord Archmage, I must object to considering a small excerpt of the journal, recited from memory, as wholly representative of these journals or diaries. Certainly these writings must still exist? Are the entries dated? Perhaps there is greater context."

"True Magi, but there is only the one book. It has some scribbles within it on some loose pages. It was not like this Baron had an extensive journal or diaries. For all we know, this is not even his notations. As far as I am aware, there are not dates on any of the papers although the book itself is quite old." The ArchMage replies.

He nods to Arlyne that she was heard and his expression changes to a softer one. "My thanks Keeper Thistle and Initiate Darya for your added statements. We will adjourn for a time. I may have some more clarifications that I will require. Should that be the case, I will let you know and we will assemble once again. Magi Evo, should you wish it, all evidence gathered will be in my chambers and is yours to review whenever you so wish. Until I return all of you are still to remain within these walls. The guards will remain in place until I return, either to ask further questions, or to render verdict with Magi Kurak and Marshal Farr'Shen." The ArchMage stands, stretches slightly and makes his way to the door. He turns briefly to regard the audience within the hall. "Are there any further questions or statements before I retire to the Sanctum?" he asks.
 
Morrigan rises and bows before saying "I only wish to say Thank you for takin tha time ta handle this personally My Lord. I know you are a busy man. If possible, could I , or we if anyone else wishes ta join me," she gives a quick look to the others with her "have a few moments ta meet with Magus Evo privately before he leaves? With the full understandin' of course that we expect him ta report anythin we say ta him that he feels should be reported ta ya if it be relevant. As I am tha one that requested Magus Evo's assistance I wish to have a little time ta meet with him." She waits patiently for the ArchMage to reply.

(OOG: this would be done via Facebook messenger probably as the easiest method and naturally someone from plot will be included, whom ever you wish that to be)
 
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