Sourn Monastery Murder Mystery

A solitary monastery of gray stone, known for its fine library. Once supported by a thriving village it now stands alone, for the nearby houses are abandoned and left to the wilderness to reclaim. A grisly murder has occured only days before the PCs arrive. The monks speak of monsters or wildpeople, for who else could it be? Yet, the thick oak door was locked and barred for monsters, and wildmen should be loathe to approach the church even at night. In desperation, their abbot turn to the PCs for aid to find the culprit and permanently rid the region of this malice.

A guess-who scenario.

** VICTIM **
PHILIMUS, the Young - Librarian. Found dead two nights ago by JON in the scriptorium, shortly before vigils. Currently, the body is in the hospice.

If the corpse is examined, its intestines are missing. Further, Philimus holds a lock of black hair from the assailant in his clenched fist.

The library key is missing.

** LOCATIONS **
SCRIPTORIUM - Philimus' body was found in the scriptorium, blocking the only door out. It took JON great effort to push the door open. The door to the library is locked, the key is missing.

The glassless windows in the scriptorium are too narrow for a full-grown man to climb through.

In the garden by these windows, there are footprints among the sage and thyme.

LIBRARY - locked, no other way in or out except through the scriptorium. Contains a wealth of books, among them Methodius compiled list

** Persons at the Monastery **
ORFWAL - Abbot. Massive frame, gray hair, voice and manners that speak of a temper that is not always peaceful. Taking his religious tasks seriously, he has not been outside the monastery for several years but he has a secret ambition of leaving. Was alone in his room at the time of murder.

BERTHAL - Butterer. Tall, stern, with black hair. His chores occupies most of his day, and with the exceptions for occasional trips to the neighbouring village to collect produce he has spent all his time at the monastery since he arrived sixteen years ago. Though none of the other monks know, he is the father of MERGITH, currently staying in the guest dormitory; he was there with extra provisions at the time of murder.

HERVORIUS - Garden master & Pharmacist. Rotund, jovial and sympathetic. Far from a zealot, he dabbles in Alchemy for his own amusement. At the time of the murder, he and GIDDEN were in the hospice together to experiment with a philtre. Can tell of brother LITHFARN who died 3 months ago seemingly from a beast attack, with wounds resembling those of PHILIMUS.

GIDDENS - Choir leader. Excellent voice, contrasting with his a small and almost brittle build. Black hair, green eyes. Recently returned to the monastery from a pilgrimage to the monaster of St Aventine. Was with HERVORIUS in the hospice at the time of the murder.

VINNICK - First copyist. Blond, slender and beautiful. His handwriting is exquisite, as are his illuminations, but he is lazy and self-absorbed. Knows that MERGITH is a blood relative of one of the senior monks. Claims to have been sleeping at the time of the murder; was in fact by the guest dormitory to blackmail MERGITH into intercourse but hid as he heard that she was not alone.

MALDER - Novice, arrived just over three months ago from Whytesun monastery for a period of training. Young, small build, raven hair. Claims to have been sleeping by the time of the murder. Has library key (but will get rid of it as soon as he can, perhaps by framing someone else) in his robes, and a book of demon lore hidden in his mattress. He took it in hope of learning more about the demon that possesses him, if confronted he will lie and try to flee when he can.
Is possessed by a demon of Hunger; has to feed on human intestines each month to retain its human shape:
HUNGERER: 3HD, fights/acts as 6HD, piercing bone-fingers 1d8+piercing: 1/2 armour, TR 4 regenerates 1HD per round, demonic: +1 action, MV 8.

JON - Carpenter/Layman. Broad-shouldered, black hair. Came to the monastery with his son Jon-Jon after the death of LITHFARN to reinforce the gate and do maintenance work to fortify the ageing monastery, has been here since. Lives in the West dormitory/Workshop. Found the body of PHILIMUS and raised the alarm; had to apply all his strength to push the  door open since the body was immediately behind it.

JON-JON - Errand-boy. Brown-haired and brown-eyed child, showing a knack for wood-working. Was sleeping at the time of the murder. Friends with MERGITH, knows that she is afraid of someone in the monastery.

MERGITH - Seamstress. Young, yet hair turning white. Was taken in by the monks after her her mother and younger sister was killed a month ago, and has lived in the guest dormitory since. Her memories of the attack are vague, and she is beset by nightmares. She can tell that the attacker was alone and resembled a man, but with long fingers that pierced flesh like a spear. She can also tell that she believes the same creature attacked a group of hunters about two months ago; all of them were found dead and with their intestines removed. Is afraid of VINNICK, who knows one of the monks is her father and use this knowledge to try blackmail her into sexual favours. For this reason, she is planning to escape the monastery. Was in the guest dormitory with BERTHAL at the time of the murder.

** CLUE STRUCTURE **