Muraco

=**Muraco**=

A female Changeling swordsage, thought to be from Aundair, who has worked as a freelance operative of the Sharn-based consulting firm NZZN. She trained in the Diamond Mind School at about the same time Colden Torbald attended.

In Zarantyr 998, Colden Torbald was captured by the Dark Hand Goblinoids in New Cyre, prior to when his companions left with a fast House Orien Caravan to Starilaskur. In the Goblins' secret lair (Frostsilver Hold), Colden was confronted by Muraco, who studied him and then assumed his identity, taking his House Orien signet ring and clothing to complete the ruse.

The Changeling joined the caravan, even fought Gnoll and Orc bandits along the way, and used Colden's House Orien connections to ride the Lightning Rail to Wroat and Sharn. Once in Sharn "Colden" dropped out of sight, until "he" started visiting Faye Dwarfhammer in the forge she was using to create the head of the ancient Dhakaani spear Guurgaal.

Apparently (this is speculation), on 1 Olarune 998 YK she was informed that the real Colden had escaped his captors and come to Sharn to expose the imposter. "Colden" paid one final visit to Faye, fooling her assigned Flesh Golem "assistant," Fedder and taking her away. She then returned and convinced the living construct (also a freelancer with NZZN) to join her as she dealt with the real Colden by reversing the trap he'd set for her at an Inn in Tavick's Landing.

In a fight around midday on 2 Olarune 998, Muraco, Fedder and the mysterious Choker assassin Quarrian fought Colden, Draco, Alfred Meldrum, Thomas, Nina Moondown and Brackenmore Willington. The Changeling, badly beaten, tricked Draco and Colden long enough to fall off a skybridge and land on a lower one (surviving thanks to a //potion of vigor// and a //token of feather falling//), fleeing into the residential space of a large tower. She sucked down healing potions, broke into an apartment, killed the two elderly residents (taking the form of one and changing clothes), fled through the back door into the interior of the mighty tower and down a rickety fire escape to a floor-level market. With the others in hot pursuit, Muraco killed a Shifter vendor of grilled meats and assumed her form to try and throw them off the trail. When Draco was not misled, she made one final break, nearly killing two members of the Sharn Watch before the party took her down. Draco took her Hobgoblin-made //byeshk// longsword, and Brak grabbed Colden's Orien Signet Ring, before the Watch took her away.

Her final words were, "You'll never find Faye. The Cult of the Three Below has her now...you best hope this isn't one of their sacrifice days!"

Once captured, Muraco was held in the Daggerwatch District (headquarters of the House Deneith Blademarks' Guild in Sharn, as well as the HQ of the Sharn Watch). The Sharn Watch held her in an unconscious state until 8 Olarune, during which she was arraigned //in absentia// for multiple murder. On that day, House Deneith took custody after a direct appeal by House Orien to the Sharn Magistrates, based on the charges of kidnapping and impersonating a Scion of a Dragonmarked House. For some reason, these charges were considered to carry more weight than the murders, and Muraco was denied clemency or bail and thrown into a Deneith holding cell.


 * Update:** On 4 Olarune, Carvalho, Ogre Mage leader of Daask, claimed Muraco was still a prisoner and confirmed House Orien's interest in her continued incarceration (as well as Daask's lack of interest in freeing her).


 * Update 2:** On 5 Therendor, a brawl broke out in Sharn tavern catering to Brelish war veterans. The Deneith Blademark, Nomad, was dining there when Golandar, Crest, Jarvis Black, Thomas and Ravik came there to speak to him. The brawl was apparently about the Brelish succession, with some fighting for **Prince Bortan**, others supporting **Regent Kor** (the //status quo//) and a third group fighting the very idea of monarchy. In the middle of all this, a Changeling disguised as a serving woman tried to assassinate Nomad -- since he had seen Muraco in the Deneith holding cell, he suspected she was his assailant, but didn't know how she'd escaped or why she attacked him.

After stabbing Nomad, Muraco fled to the bar where a waiter was cowering. Seconds later the waiter stood up and lfed through the kitchen doors...only it was Muraco (the cowering waiter had been killed, just as the serving woman's body was found in the privy after the brawl ended). In addition to a quickened minor chape change ability, she also was wearing glamered clothing that mimicked what her victims were wearing. Regardless, Jarvis picked up on a clue and followed the fleeing Changeling out the back, into a courtyard with the tavern to one side and the sheer drop on the other. She was perched on the roof, and he teleported up to confront her...and she unleashed a Setting Sun martial maneuver and tossed him off. Then she used a magic item to Swift Fly to a nearby skybridge.

Jarvis and a mysterious Valenar quickly pursued, as did Thomas (using a fly spell). Crest, Golandar and Ravik exited the tavern on foot, crossing the street to a stone tower with a third-floor walkway connecting to the skybridge. A pair of cultists -- each bearing aberrant grafts in the form of beholder-like eyestalks -- tried to cover her escape, but both were slain. In the end, the Changeling was cornered and, despite unleashing some near-devastating moves (almost killing Phi the Valenar and Golandar) and engaging in more of her guile...she was killed.

Question now is...what to do? The Watch and House Deneith both would want the body, but she also has information the party needs to answer many questions. At one point Muraco implied that she had a differnt theory about the alleged figure from Prophecy called the Beastblood. She also said she'd seen the charcoal rubbings taken from the stone in the Dwarf's office, and the Hobgoblin Bard's translation of the Prophecy fragment, for which she had unmasked contempt.

It may be time to seek clerical guidance, from someone able to cast Speak With Dead.

SPEAK WITH DEAD
You grant the semblance of life and intellect to a corpse, allowing it to answer several questions that you put to it. You may ask one question per two caster levels. Unasked questions are wasted if the duration expires. The corpse’s knowledge is limited to what the creature knew during life, including the languages it spoke (if any). Answers are usually brief, cryptic, or repetitive. If the creature’s alignment was different from yours, the corpse gets a Will save to resist the spell as if it were alive. If the corpse has been subject to //speak with dead// within the past week, the new spell fails. **You can cast this spell on a corpse that has been deceased for any amount of time, but the body must be mostly intact to be able to respond. A damaged corpse may be able to give partial answers or partially correct answers, but it must at least have a mouth in order to speak at all.** This spell does not let you actually speak to the person (whose soul has departed). It instead draws on the imprinted knowledge stored in the corpse. The partially animated body retains the imprint of the soul that once inhabited it, and thus it can speak with all the knowledge that the creature had while alive. The corpse, however, cannot learn new information. Indeed, it can’t even remember being questioned.

Good job Gollandar! 1242492657