Chapter Five

## Solvin' Crime

* **Kaw's Song Of Success starts playing, an omen that today shall be an eventful day for the six adventurers.**
* **After yet another long night of joyous debauchery at the grimy tavern, the Bois receive a mission yet again from Daddy Terrick.**
* **According to Terrick, there has been a string of mysterious, brutal murders in the quiet township of Meridian Dawn. Due to the very limited resources of the Zorendal Empire (and the fact that Terrick is too afraid to go investigate Meridian Dawn himself) Terrick has bestowed this task upon Bongo and the Bois. Fearless, the Bois embark upon this honorable task, Bongo leading the way as Daddy of the pack.**
* **The adventurers travel to Meridian Dawn, a journey that takes a few days to complete. When they finally arrive, it is early morning.**
* **The Bois roll up to the first citizen they see at Meridian Dawn, which just so happens to be a traveling merchant gnome named Bert.**
* **At first, the Bois DEMAND to see what the merchant’s got for sale. However, the gnome has very little merchandise inside his puny bindle. The party then accuses the merchant of being the murderer, which he hastily denies in a squeaky little voice. Bert mentions that the elder of the town might be able to give them more information about the murders if they’re interested.**
* **The Bois (who have seemingly completely forgotten all about the task that Terrick gave them) begin closing in around the gnome merchant, preparing to molest the poor creature. Aigee grins creepily and licks his lips. Skimp starts rubbing his rat-hands together menacingly. Kaw unhinges his beak and begins unzipping and zipping his pants like a maniac. The merchant screams and flees before the Bois can trap him inside their bindles, much to their disappointment.**
* **He may have escaped this time, but little does he know, Bert has not seen the last of Bongo and the Bois….**
* **With their quarry escaping them, our heroes resolve to find and capture Bert some other time and slink over to the town hall of Meridian Dawn, where they come across a bunch of sweaty, filthy men arguing and shouting orders at each other while wiggling their arms like spaghett noodles. Quickly spotting the man in charge, the party approach him and demand to know every bit of information.**
* **The elderly head honcho of Meridian Dawn is an old man named Tamdrin Eckhardt. At first he seems calm and wise. However, the ferociousness and aggressiveness that the Bois display instantly crack the facade the elderly man puts on. Despite this, he still has no information to give up. But he does mention that there is a band of strapping young lads that have taken up arms to try and defend the town from the unseen enemy. The leader of these young lads and gents is Maximillion, whose wife was recently violently murdered by the mysterious killer. Consumed with sorrow by the loss of his beloved wife Laura, Max has vowed to avenge her. Dark bags hang below his grim, bloodshot eyes. He won’t rest until this killer has finally been vanquished.**
* **Maximillion gladly accepts the Bois’ help and gives them their first lead: the first murder was a young woman, defiled, and thrown into a nearby river. The desecrated body, which was wrapped tightly in plastic before being thrown into the rushing river, was then taken to the local healer to be examined.**
* **Oakback (a shifty name if I’ve ever heard one) was the name of this recently appointed coroner of Meridian Dawn. He was thoroughly questioned by the bois using only the latest and greatest methods of interrogation; namely shouting, blatant accusations that have no factual backing, and repeated derogatory name calling. Oakback was a hard nut to crack though, and revealed nothing (even though he was obviously the culprit). The bois investigate the corpse of the recently killed girl named Teresa. “We found her in the river, wrapped in plastic.” Oakback said regarding the the girl, “Poor thing. Only seventeen years old.” James shoved the disgruntled coroner out of the room and inspected the corpse. James took a close look at the girl’s ring finger on her right hand. “Look here.” she showed the bois, “An indentation around this finger. As if a she had been wearing a ring.” The bois look to Oakback for an explanation.**
* **After hundreds of hours of vigorous interrogation, the party trudges on back into town and finds a tavern, ready for an unforgettable luncheon and some shut-eye so that they may be prepared for another day of investigating tomorrow.**
* **Before settling in for the night they decide to do some quick investigative work in the tavern. The bois take their seats at the bar and question the bartender, a middle-aged, tired-looking woman named Irene. The Meridian Dawn Tavern Theme plays.**
* **“Did you know Teresa, Irene?” James asked. The bartender took a slow hit of her cigarette, then replied, “She used to work here. Nice girl. But she never seemed to get to work on time. If you ask me, I think she had a problem with…” she deliberately sniffed thrice, signifying that Teresa did cocaine. James asks, “Did you ever see Teresa take cocaine?” Irene denied the question and took another long draw of her cig. James tightened her focus slightly, and asked, “Did you ever take cocaine, Irene?” Irene stared into James eyes and uttered, “No I do not. I never took cocaine or any other drug. I don’t take drugs.” Kaw noticed her cup of coffee and her cigarette and muttered awkwardly, “Nicotine’s a drug. Caffeine’s a drug.”**
* **Irene looked disgruntled at James, “Who’s the toehead?” she asked before turning to Kaw, “Those drugs are legal!” she croaked. James sighed, “He’s with me.” he nodded, “Is there anything you’d like to tell us about Teresa that might help us out?” Irene leaned in a little closer and dropped her voice slightly, “I’ve been thinking about that… If you ask me, her death is what you call ‘A Freak Accident.’” she mumbled. James pondered this for a moment, then muttered, “Thanks.”**
* **The Bois go for a good ol’ sweep of the surrounding areas and find a pair of locked doors leading into the cellar of the tavern. Skimp is able to pick the lock handily and inside the are met with a horrible sight.**
* **Blood and innards are flung carelessly all over the place, the body is one of the previous victims, a female, with her chest flayed open and strung up on meat hooks, suspended above the ground. She was obviously tortured ruthlessly for hours until her life was finally, mercifully ended. Embedded within her chest cavity was a note containing a certain inscription bearing the next clue. The killer signs his note with the single letter N.**
* **“IT WAS THE BARTENDER!!!” the heroes scream then march back into the tavern, walking in a single file line in a Robbie Rotten-like fashion. Irene pleads for mercy, but of course, she shall receive none on this day. Administering a fierce pummeling upon the defenseless barkeep, the Bois decide to cut loose and go wild, trashing the tavern. The patrons inside the bar flee in terror as the crazed ratfolk, tengu, and goo-man flip over the tables, shatter the windows, smash the bottles of ale and mead, and beat down anybody they can get their grimey hands on, all the while screaming with laughter as Tomfoolery blares.**
* **Bongo and James, the more level-headed members of the party, leave their rampaging comrades in the tavern while they step outside for some peace and quiet.**
* **Bongo calls upon the wisdom and knowledge of the local birds using his spell Commune with Birds. He learns that the birds know absolutely nothing regarding the murders and that he is wasting everyone’s precious time by communicating with the ignorant avian creatures. Bongo, disappointed, shoos the birds away.**
* **The Bois (minus Bongo and Aigee as they have a combined intelligence of 8 at this time) interpret the clue and divine that the note is leading them to a statue, but decide to turn in for the night and start fresh tomorrow morning. They sleep peacefully within the demolished tavern, except for Kaw who slinks down into the cellar in the middle of the night to consume the bountiful feast left behind by the killer.**
* **The Bois are up and at em bright and early the next day to catch a serial killer. It takes them a while to get a good breakfast to keep up their strength but then they head off for another day of detective work. Following their hunch that the next clue will be at the great fifty foot tall statue that stands in the center of Meridian Dawn, the adventurers head there.**
* **Aigee-Gorg slaps his gooey body onto the statue like a starfish and squirms up onto the pedestal. At first glance, he finds nothing out of the ordinary. But after rolling and succeeding a second perception check, Little Gorg discovers another small note tucked underneath a stone.**
* **Discovering the note excites Aigee, causing his goo to jiggle wildly. However, after the shebacle with the brain jacker the retarded goo lacks the intelligence to read, so he passes the note over to the rest of the Bois. Once again, the note is signed with the letter N. After thoroughly reading the note, the Bois believe the next clue will be found in an old, nasty barn out in the middle of the woods.**
* **Being strangers to this land, the heroes have no idea where this barn is and have to head back to the Elder Eckhardt for directions.  Not only does the elder offer them directions to the barn, but also sends a couple soldiers to accompany the Big Bois. One of the soldiers, a man named Drast, seems to be a fine gentleman. But the other soldier is very young, and so naturally the heroes berate the young man with insults and refer to him only as The BOY. “B-but my name is-” The BOY whines before being interrupted by a commanding smack from James Hurley, which nearly snaps the young man’s neck.**
* **The soldiers lead the way through the woods until they come upon a large abandoned barn. Most of the walls had caved in or disintegrated at this point and many of the rafters had fallen down giving the whole building quite an ominous look. Night settles over the land as Drast, Bongo, the Bois, and The BOY approach the dilapidated building. Not sure of what horrors they might find inside, the Bois creep stealthily into the barn with their weapons drawn and spells ready to cast.**
* **Inside, the ol’ barn is completely dark save for a single room near the back which is lit with flickering candles. The Bois slither over to the room and peek through the doorway. What they see inside the room is quite baffling.**
* **Maximillion is bound to a medieval limb-stretcher. His shirtless body is covered with deep bleeding cuts and burns, signs that he’s been through agonizing torture. As if all that wasn’t bad enough, Maximillion’s lips have also been sewn tightly shut. It seems ol’ Max just can’t catch a break. “Looks like this ‘N’ fellow murdered Maximillion’s wife,” Drast grunts, “then he went after Max to finish the job.”**
* **Despite his grievous wounds, Max is clinging desperately to life. At the moment he is unconscious, most likely he passed out during the torture to escape the pain. Freeing Maximillion of his binds, Bongo ORDERS The BOY to lug Max’s limp body back to Oakback’s OakShack in Meridian Dawn so that his wounds can be healed. Utterly mortified by the enraged goliath screaming down at him, The BOY does as he’s ordered like a good little child. Drast and the Bois stay behind to investigate the barn, keeping their eyes open for more clues left behind by N.**
* **As they search around the ol’ barn, Kaw gets a strange feeling as though he’s being watched. He peers out an empty windowpane and suddenly points at a dark figure looming silently in the woods. “Hark! What, ho!” he croaks, alerting his comrades that the jig is up.**
* **From the shadows of the ominous woods emerges a tall, hooded stranger. Chuckling coldly, the figure crawls through the window like an animal into the barn. He wears a ragged cloak over a twisted suit of black armor intertwined with barbed wire. His decayed skin hangs in tatters, like that of an undead corpse. A bone-chilling smile twists across his rotten face. His movements jerky, he lifts a gnarly scythe not unlike the one that Kaw wields.**
* **The villain chants, “Heads up, tails up. Running to your scallywag. Night falls, morning calls. Catch you with my Death Bag!”**
* **“IT’S THE KILLER!” the Bois bellow together, before resorting to their classic battle technique: swarming the enemy and pummeling them mercilessly.**
* **As the killer is surrounded by the heroes, he chuckles to himself. Like a true anime villain, he shouts the name of his attack, “GREAT CLEAVE!”**
* **The killer then spins in a circle like a ballerina, slashing his twisted scythe, dealin’ out a deadly serving of damage. The Bois are devastated from this unexpected attack which slashes each of them in turn, but keep up the swarm as it is the only method of attack that they know, and they dare not break up their formation.**
* **Eventually, after pummeling the killer ruthlessly despite his numerous cleaves, the Bois managed to wear down the villain.**
* **Huffing and puffing, covered with bruises, the killer reveals to the heroes in an icy voice that his proper name is Necro, and he promises that he WILL kill again.**
* **The Bois make fun of how stupid and childishly edgy his name is. He tries to escape, but our heroes are not having it. “NO!” the Bois (with the assistance of Drast) roar, and the mere force of their thu’um drives Necro face-down straight into the ground, beaten within an inch of his life. Not only does the shout render Necro defeated, but it also strips him of his clothes, leaving him completely naked and dead… Or so they think. Skimp isn’t so sure though and gets in closer to make sure to make sure to make sure. He finds no heartbeat or pulse but still is not satisfied so he draws his dagger and attempts to slice off his head for good measure. However, Skimp is not very strong and daggers are no good for beheading so he gives up on his task and everyone else ignores his suspicion telling him he is just a crazy ol’ ratman (even though he is only sixteen years old).**
* **Beheading may be beyond his dagger’s power, but stabbing Necro’s filthy face numerous times is a perfect task for Skimp’s small blade. With the killer’s face shredded, the Bois lug Necro’s floppy body all the way back to the Oakshack, while Drast returns to Meridian Dawn to tell everyone the good news. It’s quite late at night, so it takes a while for Oakback to finally answer the door, dressed in his midnight jammies.**
* **Extremely grumpy and with a grizzled five o'clock shadow, Oakback gruffly beckons them inside his house. The Bois, who are still suspicious of Oakback’s oakback, enter the Oakshack (a.k.a THE DREAD SHED) cautiously. He asks the Bois to follow him into his oakbasement/oakdungeon where he keeps the newly dead bodies, most of which he probably killed because he is very likely the killer.**
* **In the oakbasement there is only a single raised stone platform perfect for placing a body and examining. It makes one wonder what Oakback used it for before he was drafted as the coroner for these murdered bodies. The five big ol’ bois and one big ol’ wolf lay down the totally “dead” body on the dias, then Bongo, Aigee-Gorg, James Hurley, and Thgil decided to travel back to the destroyed tavern to rest for the night. Kaw and Skimp remained behind in the oakbasement, determined to stay awake the whole night to keep watch over the body of Necro, just to make sure the killer was truly dead. In order to keep awake, the crow and rat consume vast quantities of Mountain Dew Voltage they find in the oakbasement, but alas, after such an eventful day not even the coveted Voltage can keep the two of them awake.**
* **Dreadfully tired, they decided to take shifts watching Necro’s body. Kaw took the first shift, and Skimp took the second.**
* **After his shift was over, Kaw shook Skimp awake then the oracle instantly collapsed into the oakcorner to get some shut eye.**
* **Kaw’s sweet dreams were shattered the next morning by a horrendous rat-screech. The tengu looked around groggily and saw Skimp standing in front of the stone platform, frantically wiggling his arms. The rat uttered another piercing screech. “Wuss poppin’, Jimbo?” asked Kaw still half asleep, rising to his feet and strolling over to the platform. Kaw looked down at the platform, and \*gasp!\* the body was gone!**
* **“OAKBACK!!!!!!!” Kaw and Skimp bellowed in unison, marching upstairs with their belts ready, preparing for the smackdown.**
* **But before the smackdown can be administered upon Oakback’s oakback, the greasy coroner squeals, “I had nothing to do with this! One of you must have fallen asleep, and let the killer slip away!”**
* **“The body was still there when my shift was over,” says Kaw before turning upon Skimp. “You must have dozed off, lazy rat!”**
* **“Uh, actually dude,” Skimp says in a calm but FORCEFUL voice, “When I got up for my shift, there was no body. I only waited till you were asleep so I could wake you from your sweet, disgusting dreams.”**
* **The bickering continues. Oakback, attempting to be the oakvoice of reason, pipes up, “It doesn’t matter whose fault it was! What matters is that the killer is still on the loose! He must be stopped!” Oakback’s oakmouth is silenced by a swift slap from Kaw’s leather belt.**
* **Excited from all the smacking, the two bois begin crackin their belts against Oakback’s supple little boy back and pummel him until he is rendered oakconscious. The two bois slither out of the Oakshack, promising the half-dead oakcoroner that they shall return soon to repeat the violent act.**
* **Kaw and Skimp scurry back to the rest of the Bois and tell them that the killer is still alive, thanks to Skimp’s carelessness. Bongo is EXTREMELY DISPLEASED by this horrendous turn of events, and shakes his head at Kaw and Skimp disapprovingly.**
* **The rat and tengu were expecting Bongo to yell at them, or perhaps beat them down for their failure. However, the goliath does something even worse.**
* **“I’m very disappointed in you two bois,” says Bongo. Kaw and Skimp are crushed by these words, for there is nothing worse than Daddy’s disappointment.**
* **Aigee, trying to replicate the level of intimidation that Bongo showed, begins flailing about all over Kaw and Skimp. James simply gives the rat and bird a disapproving glare, then takes another swig of her finely-aged butterbeer.**
* **The Bois go check up on ol’ Max, to see how the fine, trustworthy gentleman is holding up during these trying times. Thanks to healing magic, Max’s grizzly wounds have been mended. However, he shall always be scarred by his encounter with Necro; his mouth has been unsewn leaving deep scars on his upper and lower lips, forming a horrible, contorted expression similar to the wrinkled grin of the Grinch. Max explains to them that the last thing he remembers is getting conked on the back of the head, passing out, then waking up in The Killer’s Lair where torture ensued.**
* **After his encounter with Necro, Max’s resolve has only grown stronger. “I’ll make that bastard pay for killing Laura,” he swears, “and for torturing me.”**
* **The Bois decide to patrol around Meridian Dawn, on the lookout for Necro, intimidating the handful of townsfolk that remain. But at the moment everything seems peaceful, so after a day of patrolling the town the Bois return to the trashed tavern for another night of intense sussery. Kaw, Aigee, and Skimp go upstairs for a fulfilling showertime during which the soap is dropped multiple times by the slippery hands of Skimp.**
* **James, Bongo, and Thgil hang out downstairs at the bar. James, thinking of home, regaled Bongo with stories of her exploits in Tibet. Sipping her finely-aged butterbeer, James recounts that time in which she and her sensei went to a casino; according to the pandafolk, her sensei’s luck was unrivaled when it came to the slots.**
* **The next morning, the Bois are awoken by a shrill scream from outside. Leaping out of bed, still dressed in their TheReportOfTheWeek pajamas, the heroes charge outside and behold a gruesome sight. A young woman has been disemboweled in the street and her entrails have been strewn all over the statue that stands in the center of town. Investigating the crime scene, the bois find another note left behind by Necro. The note implies that Maximillion shall be Necro’s next victim, for the killer has “unfinished business”. The body of the poor girl is taken by Oakback, who does god knows what with it down in the oakbasement.**
* **To keep Max safe the bois leave him under the protection of Drast, and as night falls the heroes swooce into Max’s empty house. The heroes hide inside the cabinets and closets and wait for Necro to slink in so they can ambush the foe.**
* **After a few hours of waiting, someone comes into the house and starts SLAMMING around like a lunatic. Aigee attempts to throw his voice to the stranger, trying to spook him. But he fails miserably due to the fact that he has absolutely no idea how to throw his voice, for he is not a ventriloquist, and now the stranger knows exactly where Little Gorg is hiding. “Come out and show yourself!” the stranger yells. His weedy little voice sounds eerily familiar…**
* **The bois spring out of their hiding places, ready to swarm around and pummel the enemy, but they are surprised to find none other than Oakback standing there.**
* **The bois tackle him to the ground and began screaming into the oakface of Oakback, claiming that he is the oakkiller! “You’re BUSTED Oaky Boy!” Kaw screeches, unhinging his jaws and gesturing for the coroner to climb in. “BUSTIN’ MAKES ME FEEL GOOD!”**
* **Oakback cowers on the ground, desperately trying to explain himself. The pummeling begins! Oakback screams for oakmercy, but he shall receive oaknone from Bongo and the Big Mcdaddies! After a minute of pounding, the bois let up to give Oakback a chance to confess his oakcrimes. Kaw pins him to the wall with his trusty Quarterstaff, The CrowBar, and screeches, “CONFESS, OAKBOY.”**
* **“Fellas! Please listen to me!” Oakback began, “Something real bad happened at Drast’s house. You better come hurry!”**
* **Although his plea is valid and his face showed no lie, the Bois resume the beating for another hour or so until they have had all their jollies out on ol’ Oakback. They leave him back at Max’s house, beaten and bloody mere inches from death with numerous belt marks shining red on his skin, and go over to see what all the hubbub was at Drast’s place.**
* **Drast’s place is all over the place. It looks as though a tornado demolished the entire building at some point during the night. “Jinkies! What a mess!” Aigee remarks.**
* **At the center of town, at the base of the statue is the body of Drast. He’s been ripped to pieces, a grimace of agony frozen on his face. And curled up on the pedestal of the statue like a little baby (Aigee licks his lips at the mention of babies) is good ol’ trustworthy Maximillion, who seems to have a sudden case of amnesia and can’t remember what happened last night.**
* **All Max can recall is a cloaked figure, the same figure which tortured him in the barn, crashing through the window of Drast’s house and roaring, “GREAT CLEAVE!”**
* **The Bois find yet another clue from Necro, which instructs them to meet him back at the charred barn which had once been the killer’s lair.**
* **“Let’s go teach that bastard to never mess with Bongo and the Blueberries!!!!!!!!” Skimp hollered.**
* **Together, our heroes charged back into the woods in the direction of the barn. Along the way, they come across bloody tracks. After snoopin’ around a little, they find a severed hand (which Kaw gobbles up without hesitation) and a few yards away curled up against a tree, they find the dead body of The BOY who’s been missing since the night the Bois first fought Necro.  “So this is where you’ve been all this time!” says Bongo, relieved to have finally found his precious BOY . “You had me worried sick! Good to see you again, old bloke!”**
* **After pummeling The BOY ’s body for a few hours, the Bois lose interest and return to their quest. They mosey on over to the burnt husk that had once been the barn. Aigee-Gorg, being the bravest member of the company, takes the lead and struts right into the barn… only to be shot straight in the face with a blunderbuss. “Yowch!” the goo wails, running to Daddy Bongo for help, like a child that just fell off their bike and scraped their knee. “What is it, Agg-ee?” asks Bongo, leaning down and putting a comforting hand on the little Gorg’s shoulder.**
* **Tears and mucus streaming down his face, Aigee points frantically at the barn and weeps, “There’s a bully in there!”**
* **“Bully?” Bongo asks, then repeats in a louder tone, “BULLY?” Bongo suddenly remembers the lessons Cool Cat taught him all those years ago when he was but a wee lad. The goliath flies into a blind rage, charging at the barn while roaring in a high-pitched voice, “I’M COOL CAT AND I’M GOING TO SAVE THE KIDS!”**
* **Watching from the sidelines, James Hurley remarks, “Cool Cat is so brave!”**
* **“Yeah,” Kawkrookitar agrees, “he’s a real crime fighter!”**
* **Skimp says a little over-enthusiastically, “Cool Cat loves to... BOOGIE-WOOGIE!**
* **Thgil barks in agreement, his tail wagging.**
* **Following Bongo’s lead, the heroes barge into the scorched barn. Inside, lurking atop a hay loft, is a shady figure with a hooded face. Necro!**
* **The killer takes another shot at the bois, who narrowly avoid the bullet and duck for cover. Necro laughs and continues to rain bullets down upon the party. “Welcome to the Killer’s Lair!” Necro whispers devilishly.**
* **“Oi,” Kaw shouted at the killer from his hiding spot, “how’d you escape from the Oakshack without me or Skimp noticing?”**
* **Necro answers with an icy chuckle, “The rat dozed off for a few seconds, and those few seconds were all I needed to make my escape.”**
* **“So it was your fault, lazy rat!” Kaw roars at the ratfolk. Fuming with anger, Skimp shouts at the killer, “How are you still alive? I must’ve stabbed you in the face fifty times with my dagger!” Necro, grinning deviously, responds, “I am able to endure vast amounts of pain without batting an eye, and can put myself into a sleep-like state in which I appear to be dead. If you really wanted to finish the job, you fools should’ve chopped my head off when you still had the chance.”**
* **Necro plays his favorite song on his ipod. It’s a song that one of his friends on DeviantArt showed him. “You can’t beat me while I have my epic, edgy battle theme playing!” the killer with the mind of a thirteen year old says. Necro’s Ultra-Cool Battle Theme plays.**
* **Skimp utters a mighty REEEE, an exclamation of pure frustration when he thought back to when he had the idea to cut off the head but nobody listened.**
* **All the Bois plug their fingers in their ears to escape Necro’s Theme.**
* **James and Bongo spend their turns climbing a ladder that led up to the loft in which Necro was attacking from. But, as soon as they got up there, the fiend jumped down onto ground level. So Bongo and James had to spend another turn just climbing back down, wasting their precious time. If this wasn’t bad enough, Aigee finally began to feel the full power of the Ithilids as they took control of his body and whispered to him, “The great power which you desired so desperately is the assimilation into the hive-mind where you will have no free will and your every move will be a part of the Great Plan.” Aigee is now an alien in his own mind as he cannot stop himself from using Hideous Laughter on himself.**
* **After administering a fierce pummeling upon Necro the killer collapses to the ground, unable to withstand Daddy’s Wrath. The bois notice that Necro has familiar little scars on his upper and lower lips…. Hmmm, suspicious….**
* **Bongo grabs Necro’s limp body and slams it onto the medieval limb-stretcher in the other room. The killer is just barely alive after suffering vicious slamming. Kaw secures Necro to the limb-stretcher with some rope he bought from a shop a few moons ago. Then they carry the limb-stretcher and body all the way back to Meridian Dawn, Aigee still hideously laughing the whole way there.**
* **Back in Meridian Dawn, Oakback spots the bois prowling the streets carrying Necro in the stretcher. “You did it?! You actually caught him?!” the old foolish crone asks stupidly. The bois POUND HIM then march right into the town hall, where Elder Eckhardt and several other guys are squirming around.  “Those scars…” the bruised Oakback remarks, “It couldn't be! Thats- that’s! That’s Maximill-” BOOSH! James booshes him away, for the Bois have zero patience for Oakback’s nonsense.**
* **“Alright, let’s find out who this killer is once and for all,” says Eckhardt, grasping a pot of steaming hot water and pouring it onto Necro’s rotten face. It turns out that this rotten flesh was only make-up! Stripped of his nasty disguise, the killer’s true identity is revealed! GASP! HOW CAN THIS BE? ALL THIS TIME... THE KILLER WAS... NONE OTHER THAN…**

**MAXIMILLION???!!!**

* **The horrible truth is finally revealed. “THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!” Bongo’s voice thunders. “IT WAS OAKBACK! I KNOW IT.” as Oakback hides in the corner.**
* **Aigee mumbles, “Job well done.”**
* **“I can’t believe my eyes!” Kaw screeches. “This must be some kind of terrible mistake! It must have been Oakback!!!”**
* **“Uhhh… I totally knew it was Max all along...” Aigee blatantly lies, trying to appear smarter than everyone, but the bois know better.**
* **Suddenly, the killer awakes on the stretcher. His face was contorted into a devilish grin. Maximillion spoke with the horrible, edgy voice of Necro, “I suppose you want to ask Maximillion some questions, huh?**
* **Elder Eckhardt asked him, “Did you kill your wife Laura?” Necro responded by howling like a madman then muttering, “That’s a yes.” the elder went on, “How about Drast? And the others?”**
* **“Oh gosh. Gee. Gee whiz. I guess I kinda sorta did.” Necro mocked, “I have this thing for blood.” he jolted his head towards Bongo, and hissed, “Just like what happened to your parents in Shardstone. Huh, Bongo?!” Bongo scowled down at the cretin.**
* **“Oh, Maximillion, Maximillion.” Necro began rambling, “You’ve been a good vehicle. And I’ve enjoyed the ride! But now he’s weak and full of holes It’s almost nearly time to shuffle off to Baronel!”**
* **“Does Maximillion know what you’ve done?” Eckhardt asked the creep. He replied, “Max is a babe in the woods… with a large hole where his conscience used to be. And when I go children, I will pull that rip cord! And you watch Maximillion remember! Watch him! But not for long!” he made some odd barking sounds then rested his had quietly.**
* **Necro is still barely hanging in there, he mumbled, “Through the dark of future’s past, the magician longs to see. One chants out between two worlds,”  he raised his voice to a thunderous hollar, “FIRE! WALK WITH ME!”his voice raised even more as he yells, “I’LL CATCH YOU WITH MY DEATH BAG! YOU MAY THINK I’VE GONE INSANE! BUT I PROMISE, I WILL KILL AGAIN!”**
* **Necro instantly passed out. And after a few moments, Maximillion wakes up and groggily looks around the room. “Ehh, what’s goin’ on here?” he asks in a sleepy voice.**
* **“You betrayed us, fiend!” Skimp gurgles with rapier and dagger drawn, “What do you have to say for yourself!?”**
* **Maximillion stammers, “What do you mean I betrayed you? Why am I tied up? I don’t remember anything!!! How’d I get here???!!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!” he screams.**
* **Without providing the condemned man any answers, they instantly clap him in irons and send him off to the gallows. Eckhardt the elder thanks the bois for a job well done, then sends them off on their way. But the bois were not ready to leave, they wanted to stay to see old Maxxy off (and to continue keeping and eye on Oakback).**
* **As Max was up on the stand, standing in front a noose, in front of all the five people still alive in the town, he began to regain his memories. “Oh my God…” Max began to realize the things he had done. “My wife! Drast! The BOY! All those girls! I killed them all!!!!!!” he began to break down in tears. Eckhardt pats him on the shoulder, “Oh Max…” as he slowly pushes him towards the noose.**
* **Maximillion's Theme  plays.**
* **“I was just a boy.... He said he wanted to play. He came inside me. And when he was inside, I didn’t know!” Maximillion weeps, his body racked by shivers, “And when he was gone, I couldn't remember. He made me do things! Terrible things…! He wanted my wife, Laura, but she was strong, she fought him, she wouldn’t let him in.” poor Max was completely overcome with sadness, tears poured down his innocent face, “So they made me kill her. Oh God have mercy on me! What have I done! Oh, God! I love her! I loved her with all my heart!” his voice broke.**
* **“Get on with it!” Kaw shouts, shaking his fist. “I don’t got all day!”**
* **Bongo approaches the stand and offers some calm, parting words to the killer, “Maximillion, the time has come for you to seek the path. Your soul has set you face to face with a clear light. And you are now about to experience it in its reality. Wherein all things are like the void and cloudless sky. And the naked, spotless intellect is like a transparent vacuum. Without circumference or center. Maximillion, in this moment, know yourself. And abide in that state. Look into the light, Max. Find the light…. Into the light….” as the cursed young man slinks into the noose.**
* **“I see her,” the sobbing man suddenly smiles, looking up at the brilliant pink sky as the sun sets, his eyes unfocused. “I see my wife. She’s...there...so beautiful. She’s waiting for me, at the end of the tunnel… She-she forgives me…. Laura?”**
* **“Into the light, Max. Don’t be afraid.”**
* **The trapdoors beneath Max’s feet spring open, and the young man hangs there, his limp body swaying back and forth. He dies with a smile on his scarred face.**
* **James gives the poor, departed Max a thumbs up.**
* **Aigee bows his head in respect, but in actuality he’s staring down at his own feet and wondering what they taste like.(A1 sauce)**
* **Skimp, trying to look cool and stoic, wipes the single tear that fell down the side of the face.**
* **Kaw grunts, “Ehh, rest in peace, ya freak.”**
* **Bongo scratches Thgil on the head and notices Oakback crying. Maybe Oakback is innocent after all, Bongo thinks, Maybe I was wrong…...Maybe………..**
* **“That was not an easy decision to make,” Elder Eckhardt says softly, watching Max’s body sway back and forth. “Maximillion was a good, hardworking, innocent man. He loved his wife. But killing him was the only way. You see… There's a sort of evil out there. Something very, very strange in these old woods. Call it what you want. A darkness, a presence. It takes many forms but...  its been out there for as long as anyone can remember. It was this evil that corrupted Maximillion, and forced him to commit these terrible crimes.” He sighed hoarsely.**
* **“I’ve lived in those old woods most of my life…” Oakback began, “I’ve seen some strange things. But this is way off the map. I’m having’ a hard time… believin’.”**
* **“Oakback is it easier to believe a man would murder his own wife? Any more comforting?” Bongo asked.**
* **“No.” Oakback resigned.**
* **“An evil that great in this beautiful world,” Aigee began, “Finally, does it matter what the cause?”**
* **“Yes, because it's our job to stop it.” Bongo replied.**
* **“Maybe that’s all Necro is…” Skimp piped up, “The evil that men do. Maybe it doesn’t matter what we call it.”**
* **James said, “Maybe not… but if he was real, if he was here, we had him, he’s gone now.”**
* **Eckhardt responded, “With Max dead, the evil has been banished… but not for long. I fear that we haven’t seen the last of Necro.”**
* **“Where’s Necro now?” James asked. She received no reply, for nobody knew. Off in the distance, the bois heard the faint cry of an owl, an ominous signal of bad things to come.**
* **“Welp, that’s your problem now, ol’ man,” said Kaw, slapping the elder on the shoulder.**
* **The Bois say their goodbyes to the good folk of Meridian Dawn, they even offer Oakback a farewell pummeling, then depart the poor town back to Rockwater. After a calm and peaceful journey south, the bois arrived at Rockwater and reported back to Terrick.**
* **“Ah, you’re back. So what happened?” he asked, “Did you find the killer?”**
* **“Yeah, we found him alright.” Skimp replied, “We went through a lot of trouble to find him though. I think we deserve a little extra pay this time.”**
* **But before Terrick could reward them, Aigee-Gorg pipes up, “Yeah, and I got possessed by a Brain Jacker!”**
* **“What?!” Terrick cries in shock, “You mean one of those Itholids!?”**
* **“SHUT UP AIGEE.” Kaw screeches, flapping his noodle arms violently.**
* **“Yeah! It got in my brain at the burning guard tower!” Aigee happily responds. “That’s why I’m not smart anymore!!!!!”**
* **“You’re infected!?! You’re infected!!!! You’re all under arrest!” Terrick turned on the bois.**
* **The heroes drew their weapons, roaring, “You can have the goo, but you’ll never take the rest of us alive!” With a snap of his fingers, Terrick ordered his fearsome troop of guards into the room. After a brief scuffle (in which the bois ignored the guards and tried attacking Aigee), the Bois were ultimately defeated by the guards, which greatly outnumbered them. Shouting in rage, struggling ferociously, the heroes are dragged out of the room towards the dreadful prison camp known as Ost.**
* **With Bongo and the Brahs out of sight and out of mind, Terrick got on YouTube and watched his favorite video of ALL TIME.**
* **“Wow! It’s good guys!” says Terrick in the excited voice of an old crone.**
* **SESSION END!**