Sainte-Lumiere

*The Investigators are introduced to Madeline Beaudreaux
**Late 40’s, greying hair pulled up into a bun
**Acts very demurely, like Martha
**She wears a locket around her neck, an ivory fleur de lis
**Would describe herself as a concerned citizen.
*Martha introduces herself to Beaudreaux as Martha LeBlarf.
*We quickly find out during our questioning of Beaudreaux that there have been murders committed in two very different ways:
**Knife (5)
**Animal, claw/bite (6)
*Police say things are under control, but Beaudreaux does not believe this. 
**Commissioner Henry Duval
***A “duck in the pond”, looks calm but frantic down below
*Details we learn from Beaudreaux:
**Two styles of murders.
**They don’t appear to be connected, no pattern that she’s noticed.
***Regular folk, men & women, in secluded areas.
**The Crescent Observer is blaming witches/the supernatural.
***Fanning the flames, calling Duval useless/contributors.
***Catastrophizing 
**“Under a dozen” animal murders, “a handful”/five bladed murders.
**They happen within days of each other.
**A single person killed with a knife was the first death.
**Duval has posted bulletins/held conferences asking for information but no one has come forward (as he said).
**The last murder was a week ago. 
**No one she knows has been murdered
**People are scared, believes there’s a real danger
**She thinks we’re on a precipice of escalating tensions
*William wants to go see the coroner.
*Cyrus inquires about all the wards and protections around Beaudreaux’s home
**She says the city has become more open-minded on various religious beliefs
***If there’s something that could provide protection, why not give it a try
**They can be found all over the French Quarter. 
***Apothecaries, charm shops, Haitian immigrants, etc.
*Martha asks Beaudreaux why she would hire people such as us
**She confesses she wouldn’t have, but she was speaking of her concerns with Mister Angelle and he mentioned Cyrus by name as someone who could help.
**She wasn’t expecting all of us to show up. 
**She says we’re on the list of “things to try” if protection is possible.
**Wouldn’t call herself a defender
*Martha thinks on what else she knows about Beaudreaux
**Recalls her being in the presence of a man who was a friend of her father when she was a little girl
***This husband was a religious figure in the church, was upper-middle class, but below the LeBlancs. 
**She deduces she’s now a widow, whom her father checks up on once in a while. . . she confirms this.
***He died 10 years ago
*Signe asks her to elaborate on the strange symbols she saw around the city
**There are lots that are local folklore/legends, but she was told by an apothecarian Lillian Gauthier that there were new strange ones showing up. 
**She hasn’t asked many questions about them.
**They began appearing before the murders started.
**She was told one of the victims may have had the symbols on them.
*Alec surveys the room and spots an “evil eye” protection charm hanging in the doorway. 
*They ask to use the bathroom, and the butler escorts them and lingers. . . 
**Alec is sus to them.
**They spot the death photo of Mr. Beaudreaux
**The house hasn’t been on the decline for the 10 years since his passing, Alec is unable to determine how long it’s been unkempt for.
*Alec learns from the butler that Mr. Beaudreaux was a pillar of the community, a pastor. 
**Her hiring outside help is a reflection on the kind of man her husband was.
**The symbols and protections came after his passing.
*William gladly accepts an offer of something “stronger than tea”, as it’s late morning.
*Signe subtly brings up how we’re unconventional investigators, and asks Beaudreaux if she’s sensitive to supernatural things.
**She doesn’t think she is, not more than anyone growing up in the bayou. 
**She doesn’t think she’s personally in danger, but the city is as a whole. 
**She’s been using the wards/charms for the past few years.
*She gives us a charcoal drawing of the symbols she’s seen
**Cyrus can tell she’s conflating multiple symbols, mixing some together, etc. 
**We aren’t going to get much from them
*Beaudreaux offers us a building to use as a base of operations, we accept.
*On our walk to this place, Signe compliments her fleur de lis pendant and asks about its significance. 
**It’s a locket with her and her husband’s face.
**His name was Gerard, he passed in his sleep of “natural causes”
**He was 35
**Signe commiserates with her, saying she’s lost someone too in a similar way.
*It’s a 19th century church, The Church of Holy Light, Sainte-Lumiere
**Mr. Beaudreaux’s old parish. Disused but still in good condition.
**Everything inside is intact, just covered in dust.
**The key is given to Cyrus
*Signe asks for the locations of the strange symbols so we can go look for ourselves	
**The one she saw is at the St. Louis Cemetery #1
***The same one from Signe’s drawings.
*After Beaudreau leaves we discuss our thoughts on the matters at hand (the murders, not the dustiness of the church)
*Individuals we want to talk with:
**Commissioner Duval
**Apothecarian Lillian Gauthier
**The Coroner
*Cyrus is very curious about the symbols and the fact they started appearing before the murders started
*Martha is suspicious of Beaudreaux and her use of “witchcraft” with her symbols.
*William brings up there’s still a chance the body of the last victim is still with the coroner.
**Investigate the matter of the deaths, and maybe the symbols found on one of the bodies. 
*Prior to us arriving in New Orleans, Alec did research into the local Men of Letters of the area. This is what they found:
**Founded in 17th century by French scholars, drawn by the unique spiritual/cultural landscape
**A convergence of Native American/Voodoo/European occult practices made it focal point for their studies
**Their chapter house was a hub of research in the French Quarter
**A landmark event was in 1702 when they brokered a delicate truce between the local werewolf population and a coven of witches
**The Chapter met a mysterious end in the late 1700s
***There was reports of a dark convergence in the area and it’s implied the members were lost in a cataclysmic event tied to said convergence
**We don’t know the location of this chapter house
**Three prominent members:
***Etien Bussard, scholar, mediator, known for diplomacy
***Claudine Mercier, knowledge in Necromancy, spirit communication
***Rene Duvalier, charismatic leader, fate is unknown
*Cyrus brings up we may have come into the middle of a war, given the nature of the murders: Witches VS werewolves
*Alec wonders if we’re here to broker another peace. 
*Signe wonders if the wards were added by a third party who knew what was going on.
*Conversations with Commissioner Duval need to be handled carefully.
**Outsiders are typically not welcomed in official police investigations
**We need an angle, possibly hired by family of the victims
***Signe and William might be good for this role.