Zilo and the others got some rest the day before they were to meet with their client. The city didn't stop, as the hustle and bustle of the people, continued to strike deals, count coins, and beg for food. Zilo felt for the folks and only got a few winks as he slept.
The next morning it seemed that his friends had managed a bit better to sleep, with Jin and Alaroc getting drunk to force sleep, and Sparky being accustom to the scramblings of critters while he rested from his time in the Stormstate caverns.
As morning came and the sky showed a blue color the group descended the stairs to hear the drumming of some stirring tunes. A minstrel of the drum had taken the clearing in the Stumbly Giant for himself to play for the folk around and earn some meager silver.
The group ordered breakfast and as they began to finish their meals the minstrel walked over to the barkeep who pointed to the heroes' table. The boy walked to them and smiled. He had a head of dirty blonde hair and an outfit that looked to be hiding a more colorful costume beneath a leather tunic.
He looked around his early twenties with a handsome face and a complexion of grime and dirt from one who had become a resident of this city, but not so much grime that he was a permanent fixture of the city. The young man took a seat and spoke with an eager voice, "You the folk from Deneval?"
Alaroc looks to the contract and says, "That'd be us, you Mathew Coleron?"
"Aye, glad to see yall. I'm in a bit over my head here."
Sparky pulls himself up to rest his elbows on the table and suspend his legs over the edge. The little goblin asks, "But you below head though? How you overhead?"
Zilo looks to double-check his little book of material plane expressions and says, "No Sparks. It means he's in trouble."
Mathew points to Zilo and says, "Right, I'm here trying to catch a serial killer, he shoots folk in the gut with an arrow and leaves the arrow so imbedded in there that they cannot remove it, and they bleed out. Most just say that the streets claimed him, but this guy is skilled, no way arrows can puncture that deep unless the arrow comes from a ways away."
Jin crosses his arms and says, "You've done your homework."
Mathew balls his fist and says," I guess you could say this is personal. Bad stuff happens around here all the time, but this is what I think got my master killed, so I guess I'm taking it personal-like." Zilo clasps the minstrel's shoulder and says, "You have my sympathy, do you have notes on the guy doing this?"
The minstrel wipes a few tears from his face and takes out a small notebook. Zilo takes the book and Jin gives the man a thumbs up before he says, "We'll take care of it, don't worry about it."
The minstrel nods and walks back up to the stage to resume his performing as the other heroes begin to pour over the journal. The notes are fairly well documented detailing the areas of murders that are all linked by Bleeding Arrows to the gut. There are other details like the scene of the crimes' set up and such, but other than that, the people look to have been shot then they bleed out over time.
The group decides it would be a good idea to split up and each head off to speak to the people who had family members killed by these arrows. Zilo was to seek a small kenku family that Mathew had spoken too when they lost a daughter. The journal seemed to lack much detailed information on the death, with the only detail being a line reading.
"Difficulty to communicate."
Zilo said, "I'll get them to talk, after all, I'm Sword and Sorcery's face."
Sparky snapped at Zilo, "Hey. That me though!"
Zilo looked to the little goblin incredulously and spoke, "You? Not for nothing Sparks, but your progress with Common doesn't lend to your speaking ability."
"Maldrek say so He tells me that me is first one folk see in bar, so me should" Sparky clears his throat and speaks with a snobbish air, " Be good and cute to make them like us." Sparky resumes his original speech pattern and says, "Just like in Stormy Staty, people like me jokes... before me burn doggie."
Alaroc raises a finger and speaks, "Sparky my lad, that's a mascot, not a face." The goblin looks at the knight, with a look of obliviousness. Jin looks to Zilo and says, "You should bring him anyway. I think a goblin waltzing around alone might garner the wrong attention and gods forgive if anything should upset our little firestarter."
Sparky smiles and both he and Zilo make their way to the northern port areas of Shadeville and begin to ask around if there are any kenku families who live there. Not knowing exactly what a kenku is, and being rather gullible, it took the fetching and goblin duo some time and gold to eventually find the small hovel.
They knocked on the door and when the door opened there is a raven humanoid to greet them. Its head and skin held the beak, feathers, and features of a raven, but they had no wings and walked on two legs with two arms.
The raven spoke in a perfect common tongue response, "Hello."
Zilo and Sparky lept back a step and Zilo gripped his sword. Sparky similarly readied a ray of fire from his index finger. The raven lifted up its arms and its glassy black eye twitched as his body shook. Sparky lowered his finger and grabbed at Zilo's sword arm.
"He not a bad thing, Zilo! It just a birdman." Zilo looked down at his little friend and back to the terrified bird. Zilo lowered his aim and greeted, "Sorry, My name is Zilo Realms, and this is Sparky." The bird responded back with the sound of a rat pittering along the ground.
Zilo was taken aback and looked confused, the creature motioned to itself and spoke this time with a new tone of voice and said, "Name." Followed by the sound of a scurrying rat again. Zilo raised an eyebrow and said back.
"A rat's run?" The Kenku nodded raising one finger, then rose a second finger and shook its head and repeated the sound.
"Rat's movement, Rat's dash, Rat's bolt." Zilo kept guessing, each with a shake of the kenku's beak. Finally, the bard nailed it and said, "Rat's Scurry." and the Kenku pointed at him and nodded Zilo smirked and said,
"That was my first guess, regardless we are here investigating a death from about 3 months ago, may we come in?" The raven gave a melancholy look and motioned for the two to come in.
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