Mystery solved. Backstory.

It was love.
It's always love.

The Murder eliminated the fair Michelle's Husband hoping to  woo her based on their close childhood friendship. Once Michelle was a childless widow, who stood to inherit a fair sum of money, other young aristocrats came calling. So they had to die, there was no path.

Gregorio Harmit wasn't always a priest. Once he was a young aristocrat himself.  His fondest memories are of his youth boating with his friends. Especially Michell.  She was from another wealthy family, and was in his eyes his other half.  They spent many days together in their youth, as they got older they spent a few evenings conducting secret rendezvous.

However, it couldn't last. Gregorio was from a wealthy family no doubt but Michelle was from the  upper levels of aristocracy. As is the tradition her marriage was to be arranged by her family. None of it seemed to bother Michelle, she knew the  workings of society, she had enjoyed her youth and now she had to take on the mantel of society wife. It was expected, tradition,  her duty to her family, unavoidable. Gregorio on the other had was crushed. He withdrew from society, told his family he was going to join the clergy, a calling that would force him to forget. He never forgot.
Instead he obsessed.
Born into society, even as a simple acolyte he was still a man of means.
He rose quickly through the church of Boreas's ranks. He was smart, compassionate, and  his family was well connected. Through his  connections he procured hefty donations and funding, helped build a temple on top of trade winds hill overlooking the city. A spot he and Michelle used to meet.
He had statuary built, studied herbalism, learned the rituals of divination, prayed for Boreas to help him with his enchantments. The wind could see all he learned, and the  wind could animate a stone statue if the right rituals were known. Boreas was the god of  north winds and coming winter, Boreas wanted Gregorios heart cold and it become so.

He hatched a plan:
Remove the husband, and comfort the girl, rekindle the past friendship, and regain her love.

So he used his blessings to animate the largest of his  statuary, an eagle headed man, a fierce Kengu statue. He sent it to  kill the husband, leave no trace. Kill and return to you place.

Once that act was done he asked for  forgiveness from Boreas, and  received only cold wind blowing across his sanctuary. He sent condolences, attended the funeral, blessed the grounds of Michelle's manor.

Now the suitors came out of the  woodwork. Looking for a wife or good standing, a good family and due a fine inheritance. Gregorio knew none of them cared for her like he did, they had to die as well.
Again he sent his tengu statue to do dirty work, one man dropped form a height, Another stabbed.

The others killings he had to take a more personal hand in. Clairvoyance on an a manor gate. A carriage driver affected by a blindness curse at just the right moment. A horse given bull's strength to increase it's speed almost guaranteed a young aristocrat would be run down when crossing  the avenue. Gregoria was the first to rush to the scene, a priest, helping to mend the man's injuries, but of course it was too late.

Lastly there was the poison. Not Gregorio's cup of tea. He gathered the ingredients form the fields and  tucked away spaces on Tradewinds hitt top. Rare mushrooms , and  berries form vines. He spent a great deal for poisons recipe. Bought it from a sailor who said, "We use it to kill rats on the ship." Innocent enough, and Unlikely.
Making the  food  at dinner taste  "proper" was a simple act of Thaumaturgy. Watching a man die painfully over the  next few hours was  not nearly as simple.

Each time gregorio went to the funerals, each time he would stand by Michelle's side. Deliver a eulogy, give the blessings of Boreas. Offer the comforts of an old friend. Each time he would ask Boreas to forgive his deeds, pray, and open his heart letting his god know his motivation was love. Each time the  cold winds would  blow through his sanctuary telling him his god was with him.

The deaths caused a maelstrom of rumors and intrigues, some so vastly beyond the scope of Gregorios plan that he could not help but laugh to himself. The rich families of the city lashed ot at any  group with which they might have had an old grudge. Accusations flew. Then the  leaders of those families hired a rag tag group of sailors who said they could help  find the  killer.

Gregorio watched through his clairvoyance enchantment, discretely cast on Michelle's own cameo.
When that man Kip accused his Michelle of being the killer based solely on his own sexist leanings Gregorio's blood boiled! Why were none of the other men drawing dueling pistols and teaching the whelp a lesson? Were they men at all? Gregorio would not let the insult stand.

So he sent the Tengu to deal with Kip.
The Tengu failed. In the scrying bowl, he saw the Tengu fall, he saw kipps eyes fill his vision, Gregorio was seen, they would find him.
So he prayed and prepared, using the scrying pool to deduce where the investigators were searching. He knew the wretched sun priest knew nothing, he knew those of Geb could not help them, but he knew he would be found.

When they came he was prepared to battle to the death, but in the end the priest of Thodin dispelled his wards easily , and there would be no fight. Boreas' had deserted him , no breeze blew in his sanctuary. The  air was still as he proclaimed his guilt and revealed his motives. Now it's jail, stagnant air, and a trial.

Gregorio left to wonder if this was his plan all along, or the will of Boreus and the  winter winds.

Adventures in Dairhouse.

This will be a (very) brief summary covering the last few games:

The  largest most cosmopolitan city in the lands, the oldest human habitation in the known world, Dairhouse.
Wisely the  party puts the sloop down long before entering the waters controlled by the  Alerian Empires ships and sails into Dairhouse quietly.
The party disembarked on Tradewinds isle, which is located adjacent to and connected to the city proper by a long  bridge, The group agreed that Rea Should seek out a foundry or other means to procure cannon for the sloop. THe party game her the gold to go do so, eh ventured into town accompanied by Mateo, who was to continue recruiting sailors for  the crew.
Guthar and The Master commenced researching the  ley lines that lead them to this city. Limura, Kip, and Breylin went off to find some small jobs in an effort to recoup some of the gold they just spent on cannon.

THE Master and Guthar visited the church built predominantly into the side of the  the islands only  large hill. This church it was said was the very first building built and the island and was the oldest Church of Geb in the  land. The Head brother of the church seemed stunned by the  appearance of the two men and  insisted that they seem him straight away.
The brother took The Master and Guthar to a chamber  above the dome of the  main church, where a circle of statues stand. It was obvious that the chamber was not for public viewing and had been sealed for some time.  The statues were each of heroic figures cut from simple stone but by a very skilled hand. As Guthar and the master looked around at each statue they  saw many they did not recognize, but some were of their current traveling companions and  even statues of themselves.
When asked, "how long had the statutes existed?" the old priest answered that they were put in place when the church was constructed some 300 years prior. When questioned about the sculptor the Priest shrugged and said, "legend has it it was a man named Gramastus, who was a bit of an, eccentric and obsessive, but a master of his craft."

In the meantime the other members of the  group had managed to get hired as delivery personnel taking a  wagon load of furs into the elven quarter. A price was negotiated and the wagon loaded.
It was at this time that Kip recognized his old nemesis and rival Melvin on a poster advertising "Elect Meylvin for Merchant Council." Saying that thsi pissed Kip off would be an understatement. He and Meylvin have a VERY long history , and Meylvin is why he left Dairhouse originally. To see such a Bad actor trying to go straight and get into governance infuriated Kip.

The group reconvened and  began their delivery run.
The party soon realized that the warehouse they were delivering to was in a rather  run down and  sketchy part of town. Gas lights sputtered, fizzed and became less and less common as they proceed towards their goal. They arrived at the warehouse, a disheveled looking elf was their only welcome.
The elf had their payment, but the warehouse looked closed, and Kip started to think there was something up. A quick search of the area found the real warehouse keeper, beat up and stuffed in an alley nearby. The  party  decided o negotiate with the elf, knowing now that he ha robbed the  warehouse worker and  was trying to profit of the shipment of  furs. Things soon turned heated and the elf called on his back up olan, archers stationed on the nearby roof tops.
A fight ensues with  the  party overpowering the  robbers who were clear not expecting a full fledged adventuring party. The Original bandit flees, and  his elve's quickness proves too much for Kip who flounders in his pursuit. In the meantime the warden of the warehouse who had been sleeping inside wakes up and throws open the  door of the  place only to see a full fledged battle raging in the street. He calls for the guard and begins looking for his warehouse keeper who he quickly learns was killed by the elf bandits.
The part argues with the warehouse keeper over the agreed delivery fee. Having now been shot up by poisoned arrows and generally  in a salty mood, they naturally want more gold than the original agreement. An agreement is reached however the  master uses his abilities to start fires to  set the  damp  pelts smoldering as the  warehouse keeper rolls them into the warehouse, Causing at the very least destruction of the  goods, and probably a whole lot more headache for the  warehouse keeper.
I guess that will teach him to try and run a business, and lose a friend to street violence, and you know deal with  PC's.

The party now turns it's attention to  the  old grove of Dairhouse.
The Master learned it's location back at the church and  has decided to take the whole party there.
Kip was the first to think they might be being followed and  soon they were set upon by a mighty unseen assailant. The force (Invisible stalker) seemed focused on The master whom it attacked with a single minded focus. The party fought as a group, but still the master was almost felled and had to retreat in the form of a bird just before the monster dissipated.
In the fight Kip threw a burning dagger towards the unseen beast and missed terrible sending the ball of oil and flame into a nearby refuse heap and setting the  trash and the nearby wooden slum building aflame.
The party fled the scene as the town guard and bucket brigade began to arrive, they headed for the  grove.
The party  had a few question to answer.
Such as, what was that creature that just attacked?
Why did it focus on The Master so keenly?
Why do the elves live in a slum in the  largest city of  Aleria?

Once at the grove the Master found the  remains of the one great tree of Dairhouse, and asked its permission to speak. The old tree conversed with the druid and allowed the master access to a vault and  ritual space under it's great root system. There the master used the  glowing "earth Stone" he had bought  From the Lord and lady of  Glaston Fields, Rejuvenating the Grove and allowing the ley line to flow freely again.
The master receives a vision from spirit of the earth
The vision of  two lakes with a ruined city  between them, a warlord raising armies of dead, a great Ley line nexus, and a spiraling rift of some sort.
The  Grove quickly rejuvenates itself and the Master takes a few moments to gather herbs and meditate over the meaning of new beginnings, and the grove.

Latter, back on tradewinds island the party as a whole decides that it would be a good idea to make some money. It seems paying the crew, maintaining the sloop and generally living life has started to deplete their coffers.
Kip Takes a few minutes to move about the bar eavesdropping on conversations and trying to find potential employment.
They finally settle on the plight of an aristocratic type who was in the bar meeting with a town guard captain. Apparently there has been a series of murders (most foul) targeting the young upper class. Five Dead one from each of the leading Dairhouse families. Kip made arrangements to meet with the  families. As well as to involve the the rest of the party.

Hey I guess you're in the investigation business now.

The aristocrats hold a salon to greet the group who claim to be able to help them.
Kip Negotiated some terms. (1000 Gold and  expenses.) And the party was engaged to the endeavour.

The  facts start to come out that in fact each of the families had lost one of their most promising young adults to a strange murder. One thrown from a window, one run down, one poisoned, and so on.
The Master used his abilities as a druid to speak to an old barn dog from the estate and found out that 1. The dog hats cheese and apples, 2. the dog saw a "bird man" land on the roof the night of the  murder. Limura investigated the roof and found some cracked Slate shingles that confirmed the dogs observations.

Kip insulted one of the  aristocrats from the same Family as Meylvin (the Wheldon family) by asking if their family still had dealings with the thieves guild. The man, naturally very upset at this demanded apology. Kip opened his shirt to show the scars from the time Meylvin had captured and tortured him. The insulted and honestly a bit confused aristocrat stormed out of the manor. Kip narrowly avoided having a duel on his fresh new patrons manicured front lawn.

After the salon the  party decided to return to their rooms at the inn to digest the information they had gathered and plot their next move.


(More details of who died and how will be in the next post)