Loosing Face
A humble horse breeder, Ephram Derrin seeks out the investigators of the Vailhinger Detective Agency in order to get help for his brother Joar. Joar who was the stable master inviscomte Venger Elsinore's household, has been charged with bestial murder of the chambermaid Bridget Driss. Ephram claims his brother would never do such a thing and is sure that something dark and supernatural is afoot. Ephram was tipped of by an unknown elf that the the Agency could help.
Account of the Murder
The Investigators head to the police precinct in East Riverbend and manage to get a meeting with the captain Hugo Rittenheim that gives them an account of what has transpired, although heavily biased against Joar. In the late evening the night before at the Elsionore house, the butler Reginald Adler heard a agonized scream from Joars quartes. When rushing in he found the naked and blood drenched Joar standing over Bridget's twisted and mangled body. Several bones in the body are broken and her face is describes as "torn off".
The Body
The investigators convinces the aged coroner Ian Rommelain to allow Morielle to examine the body herself. She finds no evidence of actual violence, but conclude the broken bones seem to be due to extrem spasms and the face appear to have slouched of rather than being torn off. These findings are at odds with Rommelain's but give the Investigator an inkling that Joar might indeed be innocent.
The Suspect
By charm and flattery, the Investigators manage to also secure and interview with the imprisoned Joar who reveals something strange. He claims to have been romantically involved with viscomte Elisinore's daughter, Mirabelle and that during their tryst last nigt Mirabelle's face just fell off and knows nothing about why they claim that Bridget is the one dead.
The Scene
After the precint, the Investigators head over to the Elsinore household and convinced Reginald to allow them to examine the servant's quarters. In Bridget's room they find night clothes stolen from Mirabelle and a couple of carfully hidden potion bottles. Back at the Agency, an analysis of the potion reveals the main active reagents are the volitile Delerium and blood from fey Changelings. The purpose of the potion is allow the user to change their appearance to resmble somone else. However the potion is very unstable and repeated use creates an increasing risk that the transformed body to collapse.
Investigations
Bridget does not seem to be the only one killed by the tainted potion, two prostitutes Red Yolanda and Close-Your-Eyes-Sally have died in similar ways. Dahlia reaches out to her contact, the brothel matron Lucinda Tamsin, the rich libertine Armand Silbermond and the changeling demimondain Visagneuve . From these sourcers the Investigators puzzle together the real story behind Bridget's death.
The pimp Haakon Vilidorn - owner of the House of Endless Delights - has a number of magically enslaved changelings working for him. He also uses their blood to create and sell the potion that killed Bridget.
The Investigators decide to break into Haakons brothel in order to find evidence. The manage to escape with Haakon's formulae book but are badly injured by the thugs guarding the establishment.
Showdown
Haakon realizes that the Investigators have the formulae book that can tie him to the deaths and assault the Agency before the evidence kan be brought to the police. The Investigators manage to fight of the the attackers and Dahlia kills Haakon in the battle.
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