2010-11-02
*The Burning Memory of Reibar*
[After seeing Harpher Knap and accusing him, Reibar is tracked down and his tale told.]
“I saw him and i will never forget him. That old man, the one stading in the retinue of Sir Carlin, he was Jon Kaplan – whatever he calls himself now i don’t know, but that is him. Did you see his left hand? No? Thats because it was burned in a fire. The townsfolk tried to kill him by burning his villa – a body was found but it was not recognizable. I watched my own parents executed – ridden down in the streets. He was there – right there when it happened. He ordered his men in the city square to make an example of the protesters outside his friends house. After that the riots started and the town became a living hell for three days. I always thought he was dead – everyone did, but he must have gotten away… and now he is still causing death and mayhem, under a different name, in a different place, but still him.”
Jiles Swone’s knowledge: The Darrow Brothers – Harpher Knap has been a constant thorne. He’s always trying to move in on their business. He has connections in Tadeus – he’s a farrier is all they really know.
Reibar is slightly mad…. the party should know he has not been the most stable. Prone to making strange sounds, and he’s become more nocturnal than diurnal… he is constantly hearing sounds that are not there. In short, he would be a terrible witness for any formal accusation – though there is nothing to say he is not right any he should not be believed.
Though there is no proof, the party asks to see Harpher. Reluctantly, and with a retinue, he comes to the group’s camp. There is a general apology for the way Reibar behaved and a sideways question about Harpher’s origins… He will deny everything and claims to be from East River Run
and have a verifiable history with witnesses to prove it. His reply has tension in it, and you can tell he just borders on asking for a formal apology… but a scene is avoided and he leaves – no love lost between the two camps.
The next morning, Reibar is found dead! Nothing seems disturbed, and the doctor/vet which is summoned says that it seems he died of a bad heart. The look on his face was shear terror. The doctor surmises that whatever he saw yesterday haunted his dreams and caused his heart to stop.
The group is just in time. There is 4 (well armed) men on horseback that are setting fire to the house. These men are dressed as ‘bandits’, but once they are taken care of and examined, all their stuff is new – just like Steele Eyed Pete’s crew…
These men are posing as bandits – but they have horses. The PC’s find out they were local ruffians and go to their usual haunts to track down more info. They were also hired by a stranger whose face was masked, though a connection they know only as “The Fiddler”. The brand on the horses is from Cerran’s Grant – the only one doing business there directly is Wes.
9142, Month 7, Day 27
The group does some research before confronting him. Wes keeps 2 horses at the Goats Blood Inn. He poses as a mail and parcel deliveryman. He operates between Cerran’s Grant and Belmain. Wes seems very ordinary and has never caused any trouble. His job gives him leave to be seen coming and going at all hours. Locales know him as a quiet man and practical – they know he goes to Cerran’s Grant but Wes makes sure to never be political and to appear to just stick to the job.
The party is delayed long enough for whoever controls Wes to tie up the loose ends. They find Wes dead – his short sword and dagger still in their sheaths (whoever it was did it by surprise or he trusted them). The party investigates and one person stands out, a man who called himself Mr. Glassman was asking about Wes and the party that night in the Goats Blood Inn. The group takes the few remaining items from Wes’s room but there is little in the way of clues – he must have been poisoned, but its technically ruled as a weak heart… it all seems suspiciously like Reibar’s circumstances.