The Skinsaw Murders

Sasha pulls her blade free and wipes off Ironbriar's blood as the others look on in shock.

Yola, of all people, finally breaks the silence.   "In my tribe, mad dogs are put down quickly.  That elf," she nudges Ironbriar's corpse with her boot, "deserved no better."   With that she moves off, walking amongst the cultists to ensure all of her foes are dead.

"Right," Xer sighs, " lets see if we can make some good of the situation.  Maybe there are some clues to be found.  Malvick, let's go check out his office."  She walks towards the small room at the back.  "Old man," she calls back over her shoulder to Li Kao.  "Scan the place for magic, or auras, or spirits or whatever."

Xer and Malvick enter Ironbriar's office.  The walls of the room bear macabre decorations - human faces stretched flat over wooden frames by strips of leather or black twine.  Each face grimaces in a slightly different expression of pain, looking down over a cramped room that contains a desk, a high backed rocking chair and a cot heaped with scratchy looking blankets.  A ladder in the southeast corner of the room leads up to a trapdooor in the ceiling.

The ladder leads to the mill's roof - its only feature is a wooden and wire mesh coop, containing three quiet carrier pigeons.

A thorough search of the office turns up several books of interest.  The first is a wizards spell containing over a dozen spells.  The second is a finely filigreed book of children's fairy tales.  The third is a slim leather journal.  The script inside is written in a cypher which none of the party can read but Li Kao is sure he can decipher give a couple of days.

Back in the main room, Li Kao's detect magic spell reveal enchantments on all of the masks worn by the cultists and the one worn by Ironbriar, as well as his war razor.  He also wears a mithril chain shirt.