The Murders of Knightstone

The murders of Knightstone refers to the homocide of five different victims in the harbour town of Knighstone, Hearseland. All of the victims were supposedly abusive and alcoholic men, and each murder getting more brutal than the one before. The supposed killer (alias The Leviathan), Maximillium Redjaw, was eventually caught, but the investigation has been under fire due to the evidence supposedly being circumstancial at best.

## Timeline

#### First victim

The first murder victim was found on the 6th of April, 1780. Gustavo Enrico was found with a slit throat on a street corner near the local pub The Drunken Donkey, located in the poor area of Gridstead. The locals and the guards shrugged this off as a case of a tavern brawl gone south, like the many other cases before that. The eyewitnesses to the murder were named James Fralier, Travis Hoder, and Brenden Kurvia. James Fralier gave his testimony to the investigators.

*“Gustavo was a great lad and a real drinking buddy! That ol’ bloke had his rough and aggressive moments, but damn it if we didn’t have fun together… Ah, right, I didn’t see the killer. Only a shadow black as night disappearing in front of my very eyes… Shame that the guards won’t do anything about this.” -James Fralier, witness*

#### Second victim

The second victim of the murderer was found just the day after, on the 7th. Laurent Freefield was found outside of the store Ragged Tools ‘n’ Armor in circumstances similar to the first victim. The cause of death was ruled to be blood loss from the slit throat. However, this body was found with what seemed to be small bites. Footprints from leather boots were found at the scene of the crime. This was later identified by the investigators to be bitemarks of the invasive piranhas that were breeding near the docks. The two witnesses, a paperboy named Tomlin and the store owner Maximillium Redjaw have different accounts of what happened.

*“I was closing down the store when I heard the scream outside. I ran out and saw Laurent Freefield dead on the ground, with what seemed to be a man standing over him. He was young, with black wavy hair, and very tall, but something was...off. Odd-coloured eyes, freakishly long claws, and an aura filled with hatred.” -Maximillium Redjaw, owner of Ragged Tools ‘n’ Armor*

*“I totally didn’t sneak out at night, but let’s say I did. I didn’t see anyone else except for Maximillium. I am totally not scared of anything, but let’s say I was at that moment. I ran away from him, just in case, ya know?” -Tomlin, paperboy*

#### Third victim

The never-ending nightmare continued on the third day, on the 8th, with the third victim. One of the witnesses to the first murder, Brenden Kurvia, was wheeled into the morgue, ready for his autopsy. This case was peculiar, as it seems that the methods of killing were getting stranger and more bizarre. Brenden Kurvia had his throat slit like the other victims and had 12 other stab wounds, appeared to be wet, and had water in his lungs. The medical examiner made a statement to the investigators.

*“None of these circumstances adds up so I can’t give you a definite answer on what happened, but I think I can make an educated guess. We have a serial killer on the loose.” -Fenro, coroner*

It is important to note at this time that the investigators pieced together that all of the victims had some characteristics in common. All of them were older men, human, drunkards, and abusive. During this time, the newspapers got word of the mysterious circumstances regarding Brenden Kurvia’s murder, thus, giving the serial killer the name of The Leviathan. After looking deeper into Brenden Kurvia’s past, the investigators uncovered that he owed Maximillium Redjaw 15000 gold pieces.

#### Fourth victim

The day after, another one of the first witnesses was found dead. James Fralier had 12 stab wounds and massive water damage done to his corpse. The medical examiner determined that the cause of death was drowning, but that the stab wounds were caused after his death. A deeper investigation led to the investigators finding out about James Fralier’s connection to Maximillium Redjaw. He would sell everything he had to Redjaw so he could buy more alcohol. On the night of this murder, the investigators found a threatening note on the coroner’s office with a water-damaged dagger. The note read:

*“Investigate further and you’ll be next - The Leviathan”.*

The investigators got a lead on who the next victim could be, which was the old dwarf Thomar Greathammer. During a search warrant at the Greathammer home, they found a flooded bedroom, a cluster of barnacles in the corner, as well as a handwritten cheque for 20 000 gold. Further investigation showed that the cheque was won at one of the underground poker tournaments that Redjaw held.

#### Final victim

During a search at the Redjaw residence on the night of the 10th of April, the investigators found a hidden room in the building. This room was discovered to be the gambler room where poker tournaments were held. When searching the room, the investigators reported that it was in shambles, with tables flipped and cards all over the ground, as well as the text “*Please God, help me*” written in blood on the wall. Beyond the gambler's room, the floor of the home was flooded. Redjaw was not found in the residence during this time. When the investigators stepped out of the residence, they were greeted with the 5th and final murder. Thomar Greathammer was found in his home, dead because of drowning.

The investigators had enough evidence to arrest Maximillium Redjaw. Gustavo was the first one to meet his fate, a motive yet unknown. Laurent was found outside of his store and was the only one there according to one of the witnesses. James & Brenden were witnesses to the first murder, as well as both owed money to Redjaw. Thomar had a connection to the poker tournaments. Redjaw was arrested on the 11th, and upon further investigation had barnacles on his boots, and also matched the imprints left at the scene of the crime during Laurent’s murder. Maximillium Redjaw, also known as The Leviathan, was to be executed in the capital of Sakvaas, Houndspire. The investigators did not want to give out a statement.

## Suspicion of a cover-up

The people of Knightstone were initially happy that the killer was finally behind bars, but upon investigating more, none of the supposed evidence against Redjaw was set in stone. Upon inspecting his background, Redjaw had no trace of magic ability in him, which would not explain the water-based damage done to the victims, or the other abilities that weren't mentioned in the papers. Such as the fact that the last victim, Thomar Greathammer, had water conduits in his home that can only be summoned by a very powerful spell, which Redjaw did not have access to.

Another suspicious incident was that the note found on the investigator's door did not correspond with Redjaw's handwriting.