Re: Chapter 1 - Ashes to Ashes
"I'm sure things will be more than safe here with Sir Godalming keeping an eye on the books. Although if you would like to accompany us I very much doubt that they would be in any danger. They sat in that chest perfectly safely until last night." Kendra said. There was no question of her remaining at home, she was headstrong and inquisitive enough to brook no argument on that account.
She bustled about briefly, clearing away breakfast and putting on her hat and shawl, before joining our heroes in the entryway. She motioned for Sheriff Caeler to lead the way, linked arms with Murkau and Darcon, and marched off towards the town square.
The small town square was an unusual hubbub of activity. The sleepy little town of Ravengro saw very little crime, and none of such a public and visible nature, and in the way of small towns the crowd was gathering the fuel that would churn its rumor mill for months to come. Whispers and hushed gossip flew as villagers vied for a better look. More than one shot suspicious, unfriendly glances at the strangers as the sheriff led them through the crowd.
At the center stood the Hearthstone memorial, a statue of Warden Hawkran on a tapered square stone pedestal. A pair of deputies were near the memorial, one shooing the crowd back while the other worked with a bucket and rag. While the vandal had indeed painted a large letter V on the base, Sheriff Caeler's description of the crime had perhaps been a bit pedestrian.
The painted V was a rusty, flaky red. Even a cursory inspection showed that the glyph was formed, not of ink or paint, but of splashed blood. Smears and splatters of blood had been thrown around the base and up onto the statue, creating a macabre tableau.
On the outskirts of Ravengro a lone figure approached, trudging up the long and dusty road that wound past small farms and over rolling hills.
Keanala Stonesmarque, delayed on the road, had arrived a day too late to attend the funeral that had brought her to town. She had made up what time she could, but as she drew nearer to the town her attention was drawn to a crowd of people clustered in the town square.