Lorenzel and Ramanzel

[Drannin]

Argus waited as Miguel and Rose went down the ladder. Harker just leapt on, making a rather loud 'thud' sound as he hit bottom. Argus was about to follow when a massive blast of thunder echoed around the house, actually shaking the frame. The place was briefly illuminated by a brilliant falsh of lightning, and an immediate whipcrack of thunder. Close, Argus realized starting to climb down the ladder. The last thing he heard before willing the cellar door closed was the sound of intense rainfall, sounding like an army was marching on the house.

It was deathly quiet in the cellar. Quite jarring from what had been seen upstairs. Argus got off the ladder to realize that the others were just standing there, staring at something. With a frown, he moved to get a better look himself... and stopped short, suddenly numb all over.

"Oh, by the all-powerful weave," he said quietly, not that anyone heard him.

[Graybeard]

"Oh, god, not more death," Sister Rose breathed -- although the smell that had been coming from the cellar really had left little doubt as to what was down there.

A skeleton lay in the corner, dressed in decomposing rags that Rose and Brother Miguel recognized as a uniform of the Veracian military. The bones were still articulated, except for the skull, most of which lay beside the body -- but the lower jaw was missing, and so were all of the teeth in the upper jaw. A dagger was jammed through the rib cage; Rose and Miguel recognized this too as of military origin. Had it been the dead man's own weapon? Possibly.

They knelt to administer last rites; although the soul inhabiting this body had been gone for quite a while, under the circumstances, a little ritual couldn't hurt.

[Porcelain Fish]

Maduin regarded the corpse with narrowed eyes from behind his handkerchief as Rose and Miguel knelt and began their prayers. He was no expert, but he was fairly certain it would take a while for the flesh to decompose off of someone's bones. Years at the least.

The fact that the skull was missing pieces was even more creepy than the corpse in itself, because that meant whoever had killed him was not only a murderer, but a sick murderer as well. Normal, sane people didn't make off with pieces of cadavers.

He looked up towards the darkness at the top of the ladder and hoped the storm would pass soon. Perhaps due to his own agitation, the light globe had begun drifting slowly in a circle, making the shadows weave. With an effort of will he made it stabilize.

[Drannin]

Argus stared at the skeleton, long and hard. He had no idea what it meant. But he could sense that the cellar was large, and there were many shadows still enshrouding it. Silently, Argus looked into them. Slowly, he raised his hand and formed a small globe of light of his own. Wordlessly, he walked forward, dreading what else he might find.

He noticed peripherally that Harker was right beside him, and was grateful.

How big is this thing, anyway?

[Graybeard]

"I've seen something like this before," Sister Rose said grimly as she finished last rites. "In a non-magical culture, the best way of identifying a skeletal body is through dental records. Remove the jaw and the teeth, and you remove the means of identification. Whoever killed this guy didn't want him identified; that's why the lower jaw and upper teeth are missing."

"Can we do anything with him magically?" Brother Miguel asked, but Rose shook her head. "I doubt it. He's been dead for long enough that no spell that I know could learn much about him. But why are you asking me? You're the divination whiz."

Miguel nodded sourly. "I can't think of anything either. I was hoping you'd know a trick that I don't. We may have to write this one off as -- Argus, where are you going? Wait!"

[Drannin]

Argus paused midstride. "I'm not going far. Just seeing if our friend had any company." There was a grim tone to Argus' voice. He didn't know what was going on down here, and he sure as hell didn't like it. He glanced around him. "Not to mention seeing if there's... anything... else down here. Books? Markings? A complete guide to the secrets of the Kankaniels?"

"Another skull," said Harker.

"I think I mentioned that, Harker."

"No, Boss. There's another skull over there."

Argus looked up sharply. The light was dim, but... "...Is it human?"

[Graybeard]

"...Is it human?"

That was a very good question, Brother Miguel thought, his attention diverted for the moment. "Let me see it," he said.

It did look at least generally human, he thought, and one thing for sure: this skull had been down here for much longer than the body. There wasn't a trace of connective tissue on it, let alone flesh or blood. A bit of mud was caked on one side, which was unexpected; the storm cellar appeared to be reasonably watertight. (Speaking of which, the howling of the wind above, audible around the trap door, might have abated somewhat. Had the storm moved on? Miguel hoped so.)

Lillith came over, joined the group looking at the skull. She was still fighting the ill-ease (if not downright panic) that she'd had ever since entering the weird forest, but perhaps surprisingly, this was something she could deal with. "I learned a little anatomy from my mother," she explained. "She tried to help our -- people with medical conditions sometimes. When I go back home, I'll be expected to do the same -- if I ever make it back." Miguel and Sister Rose looked at each other; was there something her voice that implied reluctance to render that kind of "help"? Well, that was a subject for a different time and place.

Lillith drew a finger along the jaw. "No problem with removal of the teeth on this one," she pointed out. "They're all there, and in fact, they're all perfect. Dental records won't help with identifying this person. She never had to go to a dentist in her life."

That resonated with something Rose had been thinking. "Let me see that thing." The skull struck her as long and thin, unusually long in fact. The bones were light, almost delicate, yet not a scratch or a healed fracture was to be seen, except at its very base, which showed very clear signs of a slashing cut; from a heavy sword, probably. The person whose head this had been in had most likely died a swift, sudden death from decapitation. And as for the other features...

"You know," Rose said, "I'd almost bet that this was an elf's skull."

[Porcelain Fish]

Maduin. mouth twisted. "I can understand not wanting to be identified as a killer, but why would you care about the identity of your victim after he's dead?"

He gestured at the skull Rose held in her hands, revulsion clear on his features. "And an elf skull now? What was this place, a mass grave? A Stab-and-Stash repository? No wonder this other Kankaniel left and eventually committed suicide. He was apparently living on top of a cave full of dead bodies. That'd be enough to unbalance anyone."

[Graybeard]

"I can understand not wanting to be identified as a killer, but why would you care about the identity of your victim after he's dead?"

Sister Rose had been thinking about that from the moment the remains were discovered. "Lots of reasons. To throw off pursuit. To hide the 'why' of the murder. Maybe even so that the murder could assume the identity of the victim." A chilling thought hit her. A murderer with shapeshifting skills like her own could be incredibly proficient at assuming the identity of a victim ... and her encounter with her cousin Brad had reminded her that she wasn't the only descendant of Bishop Nuria with green eyes. Brad himself wasn't a suspect; this body had been around here a lot longer than he had. But it was still a sobering thought.

Brother Miguel, for his part, was thinking about the other part of Maduin's complaint. "What was this place, a mass grave?" A quick inspection of the visible part of the cellar didn't show any other remains. It also didn't reveal the rest of the elf. What was going on here? Might the ancient elf skull and the more recent human remains be connected somehow?

One thing sure: they weren't going to make much progress on that question cooped up here in this dank, evil-smelling basement. From the sound of it, the meteorological bombardment up above had moved on. Maybe they could move back to more comfortable quarters ... if the house had survived.

Preliminary signs were good as Miguel opened the trap door; at least the part of the house above the door looked intact and dry. He clambered up the ladder to have a look around. The house was indeed intact ...

... But the town beyond it was gone. Not destroyed by the storm, simply gone. "Woody" had taken back her own.

[Porcelain Fish]

Maduin drew in a deep breath of fresh, clean air, already feeling much better now that he was out of that disgusting cellar. The wagon was, blessedly, right where they'd left it, one of the horses tossing his head to dislodge a fly. Maduin tucked away his handkerchief and invoked a Hygiene spell to cleanse any remnants of the stench that might still be clinging stubbornly to his clothing, glancing around.

"Well, it's a lovely day, even in spite of the freak weather." He glanced up at the blue skies overhead. "And we've still a good portion of it left."

His gaze went back to the wagon and the horses. Granted, with the brake set it'd be nearly impossible for the animals to have taken off with the conveyance, but he wouldn't have been surprised if they had broken free of their traces during all the excitement of the storm. In fact the creatures looked remarkably placid, returning his quizzical gaze with horsey brown eyes full of animal curiosity, as though the storm hadn't troubled them at all. They were either remarkably steady creatures, or something else altogether was going on.

Maduin shook his head. All this talk of murders and death gods and cults was making him paranoid. Next he'd be expecting dragons to drop out of the sky.

He smiled at his companions. "So, shall we go for a ride and see if maybe we can turn up Ramanzel again?"