Murder of the Seven Points, The

The sun hangs low over the gentle hills in the west as the road leads you into a small, open city at the convergence of two rivers. As you head into the center of town, you spy a market and a small collection of buildings. Most of them look uninviting, with the exception of one tavern, "The Boar's Head." You enter, and an enormous half-orc asks you to leave any weapons with him. Seeing that he cannot be budged on this matter, you comply. You step into the crowded main hall, and a grinning dwarf in a freshly stained apron rolls over to you. "I'm Rugar, and this is my place. What'll you have?" Soon after a round of much-needed drinks, you're served a bland but satisfying dinner by the gigantic half-orc you met at the door. "Name's Denaz," he grunts, clearly doing his best to emulate Rugar's friendliness, even though he just doesn't seem to have it in him. As you finish your meal, the door to the tavern suddenly swings open, showing a city guardsman standing in the frame. The room falls silent as he clears his throat. "Good citizens! Beginning tonight, there will be a curfew enforced within the limits of our fair town. Any citizen found on the streets after sundown will be arrested. You are encouraged to make your way home immediately." The dwarven bartender pokes his head up over the bar in the back of the room. "What's up, Callam?" he asks, a look of concern on his face. "You'd better have a good reason for sending my customers home." The young man surveys the crowd intently for a moment before turning his attention to the dwarf. "Some of you have probably already heard. There's a killer on the loose in our town. Seven dead so far this week, with the last two killed only last night." The guard allows a horrified murmur to pass through the tavern before he continues. "In a town of this size, there just aren't enough people to properly patrol the streets. I need good people, strong and able, to lend me a hand with this." With that, the guard's gaze suddenly focuses on you.