Carrion Crown AP: The Haunting of Harrowstone

[Starscream]

To visitors, Ravengro appears as cheerful and inviting as an open grave. The buildings in the center square are angled slightly inward, almost as if huddling together for warmth. The farmhouses that surround them are gray and joyless, their windows shuttered against the unexpectedly chilly autumn air, and their fields empty, the farmers having already brought in the harvest in anticipation of an early winter. The river in the center of it all is banked in fog, its waters black and frigid. Just about the only signs of life within the town are the pillars of smoke that rise from the chimneys of each house, carrying promises of light, warmth, and good food within.

But these are not for you, and the hay-cart carries you past them to a far bleaker destination. The Restlands sit outside the town, and possess the same atmosphere of gloom as the rest of Ravengro, though it is at least more appropriate for a graveyard than a village. The effect is enhanced by an even more depressing sight looming on the hillside over it; a great stone building that looks like it could once have held an army at bay. But now it is a blackened shell, any grandeur it once possessed consumed in the fire that destroyed it.

The cart stops about a hundred yards from the Restlands out of respect, the farmhand accepts a copper for his trouble, and you disembark. Five strangers, meeting for the first time on this journey, connected only by their relationship to a man who is no more. Petros Lorrimor, scholar, educator, collector of obscure lore, and friend to all of you, has died and named you in his will.

As the gates of the cemetery come into view, you can't help but wonder why a man of such renown, who was friendly to all he encountered and who lived in a town small enough that he must know everybody, would rate such a tiny mourning party. The arrival of your motley crew nearly doubles the number of people present. The only one any of you recognize is Kendra, the professor's daughter, though she is known to some of you only as a picture in a locket Petros wore, which was painted when she was much younger. She is a woman now, and lovely, though her face is marred by sorrow. As you approach, she smiles, wipes away her tears, and greets you.



http://i.imgur.com/nPKgKFz.png
Kendra Lorrimor


"Norda! It's so good to see you! It's been more than a year since you were here last, hasn't it? I'm so happy the courier was able to track you down."

"The rest of you I believe I know from father's tales and correspondence. Surely you must be Umana, the brave guide with the interest in battling insects."

"And that means you are Daron, right? I thought so, I assisted father in researching your family tree. You closely resemble your ancestors."

"That makes you Dimitri. I believe you stayed with father for a time? Of course that was before I was bo-" She stops and glances behind her, in case the other mourners heard. "That was a while back."

"Thank you all so much for making this journey. I know father would be overjoyed to know he had such *sniff* - such wonderful friends."




With that she is overcome with emotion and begins crying once more.

http://i.imgur.com/KfrjK5b.png

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri bow and nods when Kendra recognizes him. "I am Dimitri and I am sorry for your loss. The loss of all Golarion." He makes a move as to hug her, but stops himself. No one wants comfort from a half undead monster.

[kinem]

The man she called Daron, a thin young human man with black hair and piercing brown eyes, responds "Hello Kendra. This was sad news indeed. But it's good to see you."

He wears no armor, but carries a longspear, holding it as if it were a walking stick.

[Kish]

Norda steps forward. "I'm glad to be here too, Kendra. And I'm sorry for your loss." She offers the human woman a hug.

[Starscream]

Kendra accepts the hug with a tearful smile.



http://i.imgur.com/nPKgKFz.png
Kendra Lorrimor

"Thank you, you're all very kind. But where are my manners, I must introduce everyone before we begin the procession."

She indicates each of your fellow mourners in turn, going clockwise around the coffin in which Petros lies, his body magically preserved so that he could be slumbering. They nod in turn as they are introduced, but no one has much to say on this somber occasion.

"This is Gharen Muricar, town historian and councilman. Next to him is Zokar Elkarid, who owns the Laughing Demon Tavern, and his young boy Pevrin. That is Jominda Fallenbridge, our apothecary, and finally we have Vashian Hearthmount, another councilman, and who will be reading the will later on."

"And now, though it pains me to do this after your long journey, I must ask a favor of you. I had thought we'd have more in attendance, but it seems that despite all the good my father has done this town, vile rumor and slander have done their work quickly."

"We find ourselves short on pallbearers. By tradition, I must lead the coffin through the Restlands to its final resting place, where Father Grimburrow waits. Zokar has kindly offered to assist, but the councilman are getting on in years, Pevrin is too small, and Jominda too frail. If at least three of you would volunteer, I'm sure it would be easy to carry. And I know father would be glad to be accompanied by friends on his journey to peace."

[Kish]

"I'll help if I can, of course. The height difference between me and the other pallbearers might be a problem though." Rumor and slander? I wonder what that means. But I can ask later, if need be.

[kinem]

"The good Professor ...? Well, sure, I'll help carry him" Daron says.

[Tacobob]

Umana glanced around at the rather depressing little buildings as she made her way through Ravengro. The good Professor had not been exaggerating when he spoke of his hometown. The place resembled the usual settings of some of her favorite horror stories. And no tour of a creepy village would be complete without a visit to the graveyard!

The cat caught sight of the professor's lovely daughter Kenda who was standing with a few others. Thankfully, the young warrior had arrived just in time to hear what she had to say.

"Yes, I am Umana Blackmoon, and I too am sorry for your loss." While being the one who was 'battling insects' did not sound terribly heroic, the girl's father did help her overcome her fear of the nasty vermin they had encountered during their little 'adventure'.

When asked to be one of the pallbearers, Umana quickly added,"Yes...Of course.", she whispered as she took up a side of the professor's coffin.


http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f11/tacobobman/Cpgx6woUsAAbEY8_zpszsfkbygs.jpg (http://s44.photobucket.com/user/tacobobman/media/Cpgx6woUsAAbEY8_zpszsfkbygs.jpg.html)

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri bows again, clearly somewhat awkward socially. "I would be honored to carry the ... your father."

[Starscream]

Kendra thanks you profusely for your help, and the four of you each take a corner of the coffin bearing the late professor's remains. Kendra walks in front, reciting a prayer, and you proceed into the Restlands. The rest of the funeral party follows at some distance.

The journey through the cemetery is a circuitous one, chosen to make those who walk it reflect on impermanence and the state of their souls. From the gateway, you proceed past the oldest graves, on a trail called Ancestor's Walk, filled with war monuments and the crypts of the towns founding families. From there the dead are carried through the Dreamwake, lined with shrines to several different deities, in the hope that passing them will give the deceased one last chance to make peace before meeting them. Then it would be on to the Eversleep, the newest section of the graveyard, to finally lay Professor Lorrimor to rest. But before you can begin this final leg of the journey, your progress is halted by several people blocking the Dreamwake.

Seven men step out from behind a large mausoleum, and none of them look happy. The tallest among them, a wiry old man, steps forward to address Kendra.



http://i.imgur.com/SwKA9Cl.png?3
Gibbs Hephenus

"That's far enough. We've been talking, and we don't want Lorrimor buried in the Restlands. You can take him up river and bury him there if you want, but he ain't goin' in the ground here."


http://i.imgur.com/nPKgKFz.png?1
Kendra Lorrimor
Kendra is swift to respond, her sadness quickly turning to anger.


"What? Gibbs Hephenus, what in blazes are you talking about? I've already arranged everything with Father Grimburrow. The grave's already been-"



http://i.imgur.com/SwKA9Cl.png?3
Gibbs Hephenus

“You don’t get it, woman. We won’t have a necromancer buried in the same place as our kin. I suggest you move out while you still can. Folks are pretty upset about this right now. And you there-”

Gibbs pauses as he takes in the professor's escort. You only just arrived from your journey, and have had no time to stow your traveling gear, or change into something more appropriate for a funeral. He wasn't expecting that he'd be trying to intimidate people with weapons and armor. Nevertheless, your hands are full and the numbers are on his side.


"You. Strangers. I don't know who you are or what you are doing here, but if you're mixed up with the professor then you've made a grave mistake and aren't welcome here. I strongly suggest you turn and walk away this instant."



The other men behind him all nod, muttering threats and brandishing fists, clearly ready for a fight.

http://i.imgur.com/GzwFsXK.png

[Kish]

"If you have something against Professor Lorrimor, I would like to know what it is," Norda says. "He was a good man. We'd better set the coffin down," she says quickly to the other pallbearers, suiting action to words if the others cooperate in setting the coffin on the ground. While she expects to find nothing, she also uses her ability to sense evil, in case the answer to this mystery is that one of these men is something much worse than he appears.

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri almost shrinks at the approach and then verbal attack of the men. He is used to avoiding ignorant villagers; used to being chased from towns; used to being the monster. He does not shift the weight of the coffin, he stands his ground. Should he speak? Being found out as a Dhampir would not help the situation at all. He wondered in anyone but Kendra knew. They where dishonoring the Professor. Sometimes he wondered why he strove so hard to protect them people. He wondered if the Professor thought the same way. He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. He would let the others speak for now.

In a low voice he spoke so Kendra could hear, but not the villagers. "Calm, my dear. They will not stop the funeral and we will not let it turn ugly." With that he shifts his weight so the casket is all on one shoulder and prepares to set the coffin down. Again in a hushed tone. "Any violence more that what is absolutely needed will only make this worse."

[Madmal]

Nadya

"You've got to be kiddin' me" Nadya mutters, striding from behind the procession. She always felt off in funerals and such somber ceremonies so she had kept quiet but Petros? a Necromancer? Granted, she had been out of the loop for what, decades now? But judging from the looks of the others, they had been riled by those words. And the way that... Man had said it...

She stands slightly behind Kendra, takes a second to calm herself and speaks up to the man while crossing her arms, dangling Desna's holy symbol "Petros has all the right to be buried here, dear sir. I'm sorry to say so, but you are wrong. Please sir, let us keep on with the ceremony to give him a proper rest."

[Starscream]

Nadya rolled Diplomacy in the OOC thread, with a result of 9.

Norda is using Detect Evil on the gathered thugs. None of them register as evil.

As two of the pallbearers have begun to set down the coffin, the other two will be assumed to cooperate unless they say otherwise. The coffin is successfully placed on the ground and the pallbearers hands are now free, though weapons remain undrawn.


If Gibbs is even paying attention to Nadya's words, he gives no indication. His eyes briefly flick to her holy symbol, but are mostly are on the coffin as it is lowered to the dirt, as if even having it touch the ground of the Dreamwake is some terrible blasphemy. Instead of responding to Nadya's request, he answers Norda.



http://i.imgur.com/SwKA9Cl.png?3
Gibbs Hephenus

"So the girl hasn't told you, eh? Where the professor was found, and what he was doing? She's suckered you all to protect her pa's reputation. And one of you a holy woman too, if that ain't proof she's as wicked as her old man I don't know what is."

The coffin finishes its journey to the ground, and Gibbs immediately reacts.


"Right, run 'em off, lads! We'll burn the body in the woods!"




Combat begins. Please roll initiative.

NPC Initiative rolls:
Gibbs: [roll0]
Thug 1: [roll1]
Thug 2: [roll2]
Thug 3: [roll3]
Thug 4: [roll4]
Thug 5: [roll5]
Thug 6: [roll6]
Kendra: [roll7]

Note that you can freely move your tokens on the Roll20 map.



http://i.imgur.com/utvxWrl.png

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

"I have known the professor a long time and not simply from folk tales and superstition." Dmitri pulls out his flail. and moves to stand between Kendra and the mob in a fluid swift move wasting no time in thought whether he should act or not.
"I do not wish to harm you, but you will not touch that coffin nor Kendra."

Dimitri will hold his standard action and attempt to trip should one of the mob try to attack Kendra or move past him.
Disguise [roll0] to act as human as possible.
Perception [roll1] to see if any other people are around or if there happen to be any rats, bats or wolves near.

[kinem]

Daron brings his spear down more horizontally, in case he needs to use it, casts mage armor on himself, and steps forward.

"We knew the Professor as a good man. What is he accused of?" Making a corpse talk, perhaps? The magic of grave words causes no end of trouble ...

[Kish]

"Two holy women, actually. If you have evidence of wrongdoing by Professor Lorrimorr, we want to hear it, but switching from words to force will not end well for you." Norda draws her axe and steps forward as she speaks.

Intimidate check, if appropriate: [roll0]

[Tacobob]

Umana will slowly lower the coffin onto the ground with the others, making sure not to drop it.

“I seriously doubt the good Professor was an necromancer.”, the cat yelped, “And do you know horrible things can only happen if you desecrate a body and not give it a proper burial? You get a village full of the undead!” While she was not sure that was true, it did make sense to her. “Let’s give him a proper burial so this doesn’t happen!” Like the others, the young archer knew these people were not evil, just scared.


Please ignore. Trying something out

1d20+5

1d20+5

[Starscream]

Combat will proceed in this order:
Nadya
Daron
Thug 4
Thug 1
Dimitri
Thug 6
Norda
Kendra
Umana
Thug 3
Thug 2
Thug 5
Gibbs

Nadya reacts quickest.

[Madmal]

Nadya Hp 10/10 AC 16

She exhales, giving a frustrated stare at the stubborn coot. "This is a mistake, but like heck i'll let you get away with it." she then picks her starknife from her belt and prays, reciting a simple benediction from one of Desna's writings.

Move action: Draw Starknife
Standard action: Cast Bless (+1 morale bonus on attack and Saving Throws against fear effects for 10 rounds)

[Starscream]

A look of fear crosses Gibbs' face, as it suddenly occurs to him he should let the others soften these interlopers up before he makes his move for the coffin. That dwarf means business, and up close the tall pale one looks somewhat...less than human.


Daron is up next.

Gibbs is demoralized by Norda, and Dimitri's disguise check left Gibbs very suspicious of what he is.

[kinem]

ooc: Daron's actions were given above in post #16. Reposting it & adding:

Daron brings his spear down more horizontally, in case he needs to use it, casts mage armor on himself, and steps forward next to Kendra.

"We knew the Professor as a good man. What is he accused of?" Making a corpse talk, perhaps? The magic of grave words causes no end of trouble ...

OOC: Though he doesn't want to start hostilities, he'll take the AOO if one of the hostiles approaches within his spear reach.

[Starscream]

Actions taken this round:

Nadya: Draws knife, casts Bless
Daron: Casts Mage Armor, step next to Kendra
Thug 4: Move up, Attack Norda with club: [roll0] for [roll1] nonlethal damage
Thug 1: Move up, Attack Dimitri with rake: [roll2] for [roll3] nonlethal damage
Dimitri: Hold Standard, disguise check, perception
Thug 6: Move up, Attack Norda with hammer: [roll4] for [roll5] nonlethal damage
Norda: Draw axe, step forward, intimidate
Kendra: Acid Splash Gibbs: [roll6] for [roll7] acid
Umana: Draw bow
Thug 3: Move up
Thug 2: Move up
Thug 5: Move up, Attack Dimitri with pitchfork: [roll8] for [roll9] nonlethal damage
Gibbs: 5ft step away, draw sling



When Gibbs gives the order, the other men spring into action, but they are nervous to be attacking strangers, uncertain of the propriety of their actions, and trying not to deal lasting harm, lest they wind up jailed. Too nervous to directly attack Kendra, who they believe to be dangerous, they instead focus on the two targets who presented themselves, Norda and Dimitri. Farm implements and handmade cudgels are of little use against real armor, however, and they succeed in little more than making noise. Seeing how little they have accomplished, you can bet they will stop holding back now.

The mourners prepare themselves for a fight, though they do not attack just yet. Nadya draws her starknife and casts a spell in preparation, Norda unsheathes her axe, Umana nocks her bow, and Daron moves to defend Kendra, while also magically protecting himself. Dimitri uses his supernatural senses to see if any allies can be found, but none of the creatures he knows how to commune with can be found, and the rest of the funeral party is holding back to avoid danger. His attempt to look normal while doing this is less than successful.

Gibbs, realizing that he is now in the center a real battle, as well as the main source of his enemies' ire, backs away nervously, fumbling in his pockets for his sling and bullets. Better to let his followers take the brunt of the punishment, while he attacks from a safe distance. Kendra, not willing to let the old coward escape, points at him while muttering an incantation and sends a small burst of acid at him, which strikes him in the leg.


2nd round begins, thugs will not be attempting non-lethal damage now.


Numbers added to thugs, in case needed to declare who you are fighting.
http://i.imgur.com/T6itChI.png

[Madmal]

Nadya Hp 10/10 AC 16

She steps foward, off the path and attempts a resolute starknife swing at the closest thug (5).

Attack:[roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Kish]

"STAND DOWN!" Norda bellows as she steps forward and slashes at Gibbs.


Attack: [roll0] Critical threat: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2] Critical damage: [roll3]

[kinem]

Still hoping to avoid bloodshed, Daron tries a possibly insane gamble, casting the spell light on his spear. This requires his concentration, but not words or gestures, so it might appear that the spear itself is magical.

He points at Gibbs. "Call them off, Gibbs! Unless you are eager to join the Professor!"

[Starscream]

Still hoping to avoid bloodshed, Daron tries a possibly insane gamble, casting the spell light on his spear. This requires his concentration, but not words or gestures, so it might appear that the spear itself is magical.

He points at Gibbs. "Call them off, Gibbs! Unless you are eager to join the Professor!"

Bluff check to see how convincing your ruse is.

[kinem]

ooc: Bluff for Daron [roll0]

Edit: The -1 isn't the real problem :smallfrown:

[Tacobob]

If Daron’s bluff does not cause the attacking thugs, Umana will do this next action. If they run off, she won’t attack!

With an arrow notched, the black panther fires an arrow into the nearest thug. She had been hoping this would not happen. She would attend the funeral. Hear some sad speeches and then be done with it. Maybe even get to enjoy some tasty 'Funeral Fudge', if that is in fact a thing.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Starscream]

Nadya: Steps forward, attacks Thug 5 with starknife, misses
Daron: Casts light on spear, bluffs Gibbs (6). Sense Motive result (reduced for Shaken):
Thug 4: Attack Norda with club: [roll]1d20+1 for [1d6+1] damage
Thug 1: Attack Dimitri with rake: 1d20+1 for [1d6+1] damage
Dimitri: No action posted
Thug 6: Five foot step, attack Daron with hammer: 1d20+1 for [1d6+1] damage
Norda: Five foot step, attacks Gibbs, misses
Kendra: Casts Mage Armor on Daron (+4 AC)
Umana: Fires arrow at Thug 5, hits for 3 damage.
Thug 3: Move and attacks Nadya with hatchet: 1d20+1 for [1d6+1] damage
Thug 2: Attack Norda with sickle: 1d20+1 for [1d6+1] damage
Thug 5: Hit with arrow, drops his pitchfork and Withdraws.
Gibbs: 5 foot back, tries to sling bullet at Kendra, penalty for firing into melee: 1d20-3 for [1d4+1] damage

[Starscream]

Thug 4: Attack Norda with club: [roll0] for [1d6+1] damage
Thug 1: Attack Dimitri with rake: [roll1] for [1d6+1] damage
Dimitri: No action posted
Thug 6: Five foot step, attack Daron with hammer: [roll2] for [1d6+1] damage
Norda: Five foot step, attacks Gibbs, misses
Kendra: Casts Mage Armor on Daron (+4 AC)
Umana: Fires arrow at Thug 5, hits for 3 damage.
Thug 3: Move and attacks Nadya with hatchet: [roll3] for [1d6+1] damage
Thug 2: Attack Norda with sickle: [roll4] for [1d6+1] damage
Thug 5: Hit with arrow, drops his pitchfork and Withdraws.
Gibbs: 5 foot back, tries to sling bullet at Kendra, penalty for firing into melee: [roll5] for [1d4+1] damage

[Starscream]

Damage to Dimitri: [roll0]
Damage to Nadya: [roll1]
Damage to Kendra: [roll2]

We'll wait a bit to let Dimitri act before starting another round



The gloves are off now, and the thugs attack in earnest, but find their opponents ready. Dimitri and Nadya receive blows from re-purposed farming implements, but Daron and Norda turn aside the attacks.

Norda and Nadya miss their targets, but Umana has more luck, sending an arrow into the arm of one man, who promptly drops his pitchfork on the ground and flees, rather than risk giving her another shot.

Kendra casts a spell of protection on herself. Daron attempts to bluff Gibbs into calling off the attack by making his spear glow in an intimidating fashion. In his spooked state, Gibbs looks briefly convinced of this trick, but steels himself and backs away, launching a leaden bullet from his sling at Kendra. Despite needing to aim carefully so as not to strike his colleagues, the projectile finds its target, striking her on the side of her face.


http://i.imgur.com/ZvTEcSI.png

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

After evading a number of attacks the mob gets serious and slashes Dimitri with the rake. Dimitri recoils with the strike as much as the change in intensity in their attacks.
Knowing that the leader Gibbs is the spine that holds them together he swings his flail at the leader as he pulls out his shield.

Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

[Tacobob]

Umana had hoped a show of force would have caused all of the thugs to run away. However, the attacking villagers showed their true colors once they were harmed. Hopefully her little merry group of pallbearers would be able to get rid of their attackers before anyone lost their life.


See will attack the thug nearest Nayda. If that thug is killed or chased away. She will then attack the next nearest thug.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Starscream]

Dimitri attacks Gibbs with Flail for 11, leaving him at -2 HP


Any satisfaction Gibbs Hephenus felt at landing his difficult shot is short-lived, as Dimitri's flail slams into him with a loud crunch and he crumples to the ground unconscious.

Round 3 begins

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Seeing Gibbs fall, Dimitri feels a mix of emotion: elation, due to defeating a man trying to attack Kendra and sadness at resorting to violence and the degree of damage dealt. He drops his flail. "Stop! Stop this before we fill this funeral in one day."

[Kish]

"Your leader is down. Do you wish to join him?" Norda slashes at Thug 2.


Attack: [roll0] Critical threat: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2] Critical damage: [roll3]

[kinem]

Daron steps back five feet so he can use his long spear and attacks the nearest thug.

ooc: South of Kendra, attack #6. If he's down then instead Daron moves to attack another thug.

attack [roll0], damage [roll1]

[Madmal]

Nadya
Hp 5/10 AC 16
Bless 2/10 turns done

"ARRGH!!" she screams. Dumb humans and their dumb hatches. She instinctly puts a hand over the wound and flinches as her attacker gets hit by an arrow. They come here, drop... dirt over Petros' name, family and corpse, and refuse to back down when their threats ring hollow. They don't even seem drunk! Many bar brawls had started this way and ended with broken ribs at best, and always trouble for those left behind. This was how conflict started, and then it escalated...

And lo and behold, a nasty, crunchy noise, and Gibbs falls to the ground, victim of a superb blow. A monstrous blow. She darts her eyes in shock at Dimitri. There had been a ringing in her head all the way to Ravengro, but she had been too obtuse to pay attention to it. Wait!

She watches him relent and even drop his flail, Relief flows through her as she firmly presses her hand, tiny pricks of light dancing inside her hair, a slight aura surrounding her. Time to try again.

"Don't force us! You have showed us no proof other than your own fears! Please explain yourselves!"

Standard action: Activate Bit of Luck.
Free action:
Diplomacy check X1: [roll0]
Diplomacy check X2: [roll1]

[Starscream]

Actions taken this round:

Nadya: Bit of Luck, Diplomacy check 24. Check succeeds, but "Make a request" takes 1 round, so it will take effect first thing next round
Daron: 5 ft step, attack Thug 6, miss
Thug 4: 5 foot away from Norda
Thug 1: Backs away from Dimitri, seeing Gibbs fall
Dimitri: Drops weapon, calls for peace
Thug 6: Lowers weapon
Norda: Attacks Thug 2, hits for 10
Kendra: Holds attacks, seeing Thugs withdraw
Umana: Attack thug nearest Nadya, misses.
Thug 3: 5 foot away
Thug 2: Disabled by Norda
Thug 5: He's done a bunk.
Gibbs: Unconscious. Stabilization Check: [roll0]



Seeing their ringleader felled by Dimitri forces the remaining bumpkins to reconsider their position; they thought they'd chase off a couple of locals by looking scary and waving farm implements, but these strangers are something else, and without Gibbs to goad them on, the fight no longer seems worth it. And now two of the interlopers are calling for peace, including the one who just flattened Gibbs, and the holy woman, whose cooperation might be necessary if Gibbs is to survive what just happened.

One by one the local yokels react. A couple lower their weapons, others back away but remain hostile looking, and one fails entirely to notice the changing tides and is knocked off his feet by a blow from Norda's axe. Kendra, her eyes still flashing with anger over people she thought she knew behaving so outrageously, briefly looks like she wants to continue throwing acid around, but calms herself down by taking a deep breath, lowering her outstretched hand.

After a few confused seconds, something resembling peace returns to the Restlands. Eventually one of the thugs works up the courage to speak.



http://i.imgur.com/0ZWSuKO.png?1
Clem

Alright, we've had our kicking. Fair's fair, we'll stop. But if you want an explanation, please, see to Gibbs. He looks like a mile of bad road, and anyway, he'll explain it best. Please?







Combat over
150 XP each

[Starscream]

A voice rings out: "What in the world is going on here?! We're well behind schedule, and-" A skinny old man, wearing a cassock and the holy symbol of Pharasma arrives from the north. "The dead may have all the time in the world but I certainly don-Is that Gibbs Hephenus? One side, let me at him."

Father Grimburrow kneels down by the unconscious Gibbs. After a few seconds he mutters a quick spell under his breath and Stabilizes him.



http://i.imgur.com/brBbwl7.png?1
Father Grimburrow

"Hmm. Another minute and I'd have lost my bet with Sheriff Benjan that Hephenus will find his death at the bottom of a bottle." He stands and looks around at the assembled group, the thugs all finding interesting bits of the ground or horizon to look at rather than meet his gaze, the other mourners nervously approaching, having avoided the battle, and in the middle of it all, Kendra and the pallbearers.

"Well? Who has an explanation for why I almost had to prepare a second grave today?"


http://i.imgur.com/nPKgKFz.png?1
Kendra Lorrimor

"Father I'm-I'm sorry. Gibbs and Clem and the others refused to let my father be buried. These people are my father's friends, they came to his defense, and I am truly grateful. But Gibbs was saying horrible things, vile slander."


http://i.imgur.com/brBbwl7.png?1
Father Grimburrow

"Well, let's hear it then, straight from the horse's...well whichever orifice on a horse Hephenus is most likely to talk out of. Everyone wounded, please gather near, no sense wasting good magic." He stands within the middle of the group and raises the silver spiral of Pharasma that hangs around his neck. A wave of light emits from it, and washes over you all, closing cuts and causing bruises to fade.




Father Grimburrow channels energy to heal everyone (with the presumed exception of Dimitri, who had enough warning to get out of the way) for [roll0] damage.


Gibbs begins to stir on the ground, and after a moment opens his eyes. None of the ones staring back at him look very friendly at the moment. He sighs. "Alright fine, ask away."

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

When Father Grimburrow asks everyone to gather to not waste healing Dimitri backs away quickly with only a moment's hesitation. After moving a safe distance away, learned from his time at the monastery, he pauses.
"Um. Thank you father, but I am cursed. ". He lowers his gaze. "I ... healing blessings burn my flesh."

[Tacobob]

The cat returned her bow to her back and made her way towards the small group. The archer arrived just in time to get a good view of the cleric's impressive healing abilities. But one person was not as impressed as she. Dimitri was actually injured by the prayer, because he was cursed! What a horrible night to have a curse! And while she was curious what sort of curse the poor fellow had and how he got it, one question needed to be answered first.

"Right. I have a question.", Umana spoke up, "Why in the world did you think the Professor was an necromancer?" The evil farmer guy obviously believed this so much that he was ready to lay down his life to chase away her group of pallbearers. Petros sure did not seem the evil type. He did not wear black robes or wield a staff with an skull on the top. Nor did he summon any evil hordes or break out into evil cackling during their trip together. She could only assume the backward residents of the creepy little village feared those who were smarter than they were.

[Starscream]

Gibbs jerks his thumb toward the burned out ruin on the hill, on the other side of the town and just visible from the Restlands.



http://i.imgur.com/SwKA9Cl.png?3
Gibbs Hephenus

"Didn't anyone tell you how he died? Up there, the old prison. It's a terrible place, full of all manner of evil, ever since it burned down over 50 years ago. No man has any business going up there, but I saw him, I did. Probably I'm the last man to see him alive. He walked by my house, greeted me like it was nothing odd, and continued up to the prison. Hours later, I hear his daughter is frantic because he hasn't come home, and she fetches the sheriff. When I see him, I tell him where the old fool went. He rounds up a few men to come with him and help him look. Normally I wouldn't go to that cursed place if my life depended on it, but times is hard, winter's coming early, and the sheriff offered me a silver piece. So we go, and we find the body, crushed by a falling gargoyle. An accident, Sheriff Benjan says, but I says different. There was...stuff there that shows he was up to no good. Magic stuff. A circle of chalk, not quite scuffed out. The smell of incense. Even, I'd swear it, a bit of dried blood. So what, says the sheriff, he was doing some research and used a bit of magic to aid him. And he's died, there's blood everywhere. But I says it was too far from the corpse to be from that."


http://i.imgur.com/nPKgKFz.png?1
Kendra Lorrimor

"Is that it? My father was a Diviner, as I am. He certainly never practiced any sort of blood magic. And you don't know anything about magic, you once swore that old lady Higgins was giving you the evil eye because she'd lost her glasses and was squinting. It seems very little to disrupt a funeral over."


http://i.imgur.com/SwKA9Cl.png?3
Gibbs Hephenus

"That ain't all, the rest is just crazier sounding. The place feels different now. It was always bad, just looking at it gives me a shiver, but it always felt safe if you stayed clear. Doesn't feel like that now, something's changed. Made it worse. And since I've been there, I've been having bad dreams. We all have. You can say he was doing something harmless all you like, but what I think is the professor was doing some terrible necromancy and it went wrong and killed him."

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri clears his throat. He should be quiet, but he found himself incapable of it. "The professor has always fought against evil for so long as I have known him, and sometimes when you go up against a hornets nest, you rile up the hornets. He died. If he was in league with the evil it would not be him that lay dead. Now you can argue he should have left the evil of that place remain and fester in your town, but he didn't. He did what he has always done. Struggled against evil and this time gave his life in that battle and now you wish to deprive him of his rest because you do not understand."

[Kish]

"I don't believe your father would have been part of anything evil, Kendra, but the changes at this prison sound ominous. If there's anything more to this than a drunk, violent man with too much influence and a reflexive distrust of magic," she adds without lowering her voice, fixing Gibbs with a look of disfavor. "What do you know about this old prison?" she asks Kendra. "Or you, Father Grimburrow?"

[Starscream]

Councilman Hearthmount steps forward and speaks for the first time.



http://i.imgur.com/3esLQWr.png
Vashian Hearthmount

"I can tell you that. Father Grimburrow only came to this town 20 years past, and it was before Kendra's time, but I remember the day it happened. But please, the professor has waited long enough for his peace. And I'd rather not recount the darker elements of our town's history in front of people who are so easily inflamed by superstition. Let us bury poor Lorrimor, and I will answer your questions at the reading of his will."

He turns to Gibbs and the other farmhands.


"And as for you lot, while I am somewhat inclined to count the beating you received as punishment enough, disrupting our sacred traditions is no laughing matter. You speak of evil, but would brawl over a corpse in the sight of the gods themselves. I want each of you to report to Benjan Caeller this afternoon, explain what you've done, and accept what he gives you. And be honest, there were witnesses."



Sullen and muttering, the farmhands disperse, and the body of Petros Lorrimor at last completes its journey. After lowering the coffin into the Eversleep, Father Grimburrow reads a brief prayer, requesting that several of the deities most revered in Ravengro, including Pharasma, Shelyn, Erastil, Desna, and Iomedae, all look after him. Kendra tearfully recounts some of the notable events of his life as well as what a good father he was, Vashian tells of how he once helped the town when there was a minor plague, and Gharen's rambling speech seems more like a history of events going on in Ravengro when the professor arrived, with little point. Zokar and Jominda's contributions are better, remembering Petros as a good friend who would never fail to help anyone in need.

At last, you visitors are invited to speak.

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri looks around at the others. "There have been very few people in my life that have accepted and helped me and the professor was one of those few. He saw through what I was to see who I was. He taught me many things, but mostly he taught me that there is good in this world."

[Madmal]

Nadya

Nadya had already been already untangling her holy symbol off her when Father Grimburrow arrived and silently accepted the healing offer. A more experienced person would surely attend to us all with less effort. And well, she had a right to be a tad petty about Gibbs, didn't she?

Eyes already misty as the ceremony progressed, She considered not speaking, but ultimately considered it a disservice. "I... knew him from quite the time ago. Always a tad nervous. He worried a lot." She stifled a chuckle. "Rest well, Petros."

[kinem]

OOC: Whoa there, DM! Back up a bit. We do need time to react.

The coffin has not been lowered yet; Daron won't that that happen just yet before asking ...

Daron says "Thank you, Father Grimburrow. Under the circumstances, perhaps it's best if you examine the body before we put him in the ground."

[Tacobob]

This will take place after the professor's body has been properly inspected.

Once the coffin had been retrieved and placed into the ground, Umana stood with the others. She listened to the short little speeches they gave while she nodded her head silently. When it was her turn, the cat cleared her throat, “For a clever fellow, Professor Lorrimor never spoke down to me once. Along with helping me conquer my fears, he also was very curious about my kind and filled one of his notebooks with information I gave him along with some rather detailed sketches of me.”, she added, “It might not seem like much to many, but in the first time in my life, I sort of felt a little special. He might not have wielded a double-sided axe against hordes of dark forces, but he used his greatest gift, his mind to combat the endless waves of ignorance and fear.", she looked down at his coffin with a sigh, "I am sad for his passing, but I am also happy to have known him in life, even if it was short, and I do pray that he may rest in peace."


Would he truly find peace? She was not sure. Someone would need to find out how he was killed, and if possible, bring his killers to justice!

[Starscream]

http://i.imgur.com/brBbwl7.png?1
Father Grimburrow

"I can understand your concerns. I examined him pretty closely myself when preparing him for burial, and saw no sign of anything odd. He'd been badly damaged by the falling gargoyle, so he needed some work. But you are welcome to look him over if it will bring you peace of mind. Might help quash the rumors that have been going around."

[kinem]

Daron says "I don't wish to make others uncomfortable, so if possible, I would like to examine him in private."

ooc: If his request for privacy is granted, Daron will cast grave words (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/g/grave-words) on the corpse.

[Starscream]

After a moment's discussion, Daron's request is granted.

After casting the spell, the body of Petros Lorrimor speaks its last words, though whether they are any more than random utterances is hard to say:



http://i.imgur.com/cz3exwd.png?1
Petros Lorrimor

"After Even His Many Noble Plies So Still The Trade Warden Years"

[kinem]

Probably just random words, but I'll keep them in mind just in case Daron thinks.

He also casts detect psychic significance (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/d/detect-psychic-significance).

ooc: If he finds a psychically significant item (perhaps the corpse itself), he attempts psychometry (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/occult-adventures/occult-rules/occult-skill-unlocks#TOC-Psychometry-Appraise-) on it. Appraise: [roll0]

After examining the body, he rejoins the others. "I could find nothing strange, but perhaps a priestess would be better suited to check."

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri looks confused at Daron. Dimitri does not know what the human did or what he means.
"Why would a preistess be better suited and to do what?"

[kinem]

Daron replies "I, uh, have my own ways of examining things. Totally non-necromantic, of course. I'm also a bit of a fortune teller, in case any of you wish to try your luck later.

But I thought perhaps Norda or Nadya, who seem to be priestesses, might want to give him a more orthodox examination."

[Kish]

"Not a priest. I'm a holy warrior. I have no skills relevant to determining the Professor's cause of death, I'm afraid, beyond that there is no taint of evil about him."

[Starscream]

Daron finds no signs of psychic power on the body of Lorrimor.

[Madmal]

"I'm afraid I have no such skills, or at least, that could take over what father Grimburrow found."

[Tacobob]

While the cat was not very keen about messing with a body long after death, she was pretty sure they knew what they were doing, but one thing was bothering her even more. "Once you’re all done with the good Professor, maybe we should take our discussion somewhere less spooky and er, grave-y? I do recall hearing that someone here owns a tavern? One that involves both laughter and possibly demons?”, she broke out into a half-hearted grin. “If you all wish to figure out how he passed, we still have some of his family and friends.’', Umana nodded at the others, “And I’m sure Petros kept some sort of journal. Smart guys like that usually do.”

[Starscream]

This takes place place after you are done examining the body; if any of you have more you want to do, no problem.

Once the body of Professor Lorrimor has been inspected and laid to rest, the funeral party begins to disperse, offering Kendra commiserations for her loss, and asking if there is anything they can do. A few of them approach you as well, before departing to get out of the cold.

Will put what they all say here, but feel free to engage any of them in further conversation if you like. This way anyone can talk to any of them if you want, and we don't need to do it all in a particular order.



http://i.imgur.com/nPKgKFz.png?1
Kendra Lorrimor

"Thank you once more for coming to see father off, for your kind eulogies, and for defending him from those ruffians. It's good to know that his courage and nobility live on in his friends. Please come to the house in one hour, there's the reading of the will, and I'll be laying out a meal for us all. And of course, you are welcome to stay, since you've traveled so far."


http://i.imgur.com/YcjhvgH.png
Zokar Elkarid
Zokar offers everyone a firm handshake.
"I can see why Petros liked all of you; he was a scrapper at heart, and would never hesitate to stand up to a bully. It does my heart good to see a craven like Gibbs sent packing. Before you leave town, come to the Laughing Demon, for a round of drinks on the house. We'll raise a glass to our lost friend. But I must hurry back, the dinner rush will start soon."


http://i.imgur.com/BQBQSOw.png
Jominda Fallenbridge
Surprisingly, it is Jominda who has the most to say to you all, despite having been practically silent throughout the proceedings.
"You were so brave to stand up to them, but I wish you hadn't. Petros was a dear friend, and I know he wouldn't want anyone endangering themselves unnecessarily."She begins fumbling for something in her bag.
"I regret that I didn't see that coming, or I might have been able to help. Not in the fight itself, goodness no, I get queasy at the sight of blood, couldn't even approach until Father Grimburrow healed everyone. But it might have gone easier for you if I had foreseen this. I knew something unpleasant was to occur, but I thought it probably meant the weather was just going to get worse. And funerals aren't known for being cheerful events in any case. Where is it...?"She looks at Daron.
"You possess The Sight as well, don't you? I can tell. It's both a gift and a responsibility. Alas, sometimes I spend so much time focused on the future that I neglect the present, and I have forgotten my crystal. By any chance do you have any fortune telling equipment on your person? Yarrow stalks, a bag of knucklebones, perhaps a Harrow deck? A glimpse at the future will help protect you the next time you find yourselves in a scrape, and it's the least I can do in memory of poor Petros."

[kinem]

When it's Daron's turn to speak at the burial, he explains that the Professor helped him find his way, and also his ancestry.

Later, when Jominda addresses him, he smiles at her and responds "I do have a touch of the Sight but nowhere near to the level that my ancestors had it, yet. I certainly didn't foresee this tragedy either."

He pulls out his deck of fancy, wooden fortune-teller’s cards. They are painted and carved to create a bit of a three dimensional effect, and inlaid with a few gold highlights.

"It's no Harrow deck, but these cards have served me well. If you will read my fortune Jominda then I will return the favor for you."

[Kish]

Norda speaks of the Professor's dedication to knowledge and to helping others.

After the funeral, she tells Kendra, "Of course I'll be there, and thank you."

[Starscream]

http://i.imgur.com/BQBQSOw.png
Jominda Fallenbridge

"The fortune-tellers cards will do nicely. The can be used as the equivalent of a Harrow deck in a pinch, though as there are only 48 cards instead of 54, a few of the major arcana are missing." She accepts the cards, and shuffles them while muttering an incantation, then fans the deck out and offers them to you.
"Take whichever card cals out to you, and let us see what fate may hold."



Anyone who wants a Harrow card, please roll 1d48. An explanation for how this works is in the Player's Guide for this AP, but the long and short of it is that they can sort of be spent like Hero Points, offering a one-time boon like a +8 to a d20 roll, or a single use of Smite Evil. The exact use depends on the card drawn, and I'll be sure to post your results in case anyone doesn't have access to the Guide. You'll get one card per book in the AP, and can save them as long as you want.

[Kish]

Norda looks at the cards. Pausing to see whether Angradd guides her to any of the cards in particular, she stretches out a hand and takes one at random.


[roll0]

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri is unsure about all of this. He had no experience with it, but these were people called by the professor. After hesitating he reaches out an takes a card.

[roll0]

[kinem]

Curious, Daron tries to figure out what Jominda's incantation was.

Closing his eyes, he tries to pick whichever card feels right to him.

ooc: Spellcraft [roll0], Harrow [roll1]

[Madmal]

Nadyacordially shakes hands with Zokar "I'll gladly take on that offer! But we might still be around, at least until we find more about Petros' death."

She takes a card on with no deliberation, and inmediately flips it over.

[roll0]

[Tacobob]

"Right, cards.", she watched as the others snatched up their Harrow cards. "If we're going to be working together to solve this mystery.", Umana was ready for her turn, and proceeded to take a card at random, "I'd like to know a little more about you guys. Know your talents and such. Not sure I'd feel right leaving here and going back home without knowing what really happened to the Professor."


[roll0]

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri


"I'd like to know a little more about you guys. Know your talents and such. Not sure I'd feel right leaving here and going back home without knowing what really happened to the Professor."

Dimitri nods and fighting against his normal reluctance to speak with much of anyone opens up.
"I am Dimitri and was a ... friend of the professor. I ... am the child of a human and a vampire and as such tend to be shunned at best. I have devoted myself to protecting people from the undead. I tend to live a solitary life and am good at survival in the wilds."

[Starscream]

http://i.imgur.com/BQBQSOw.png
Jominda Fallenbridge

"Dimitri, you have drawn The Big Sky, which displays the moment slaves aquire their freedom. This signifies a momentous change, but it can be either a good or bad one; castoff shackles can be replaced with worse ones."

"Norda, your card is The Dance, which advises one to think carefully about their place in the universe; as in a dance the participants must abide by the rules lest it fall into chaos. The loss of a crucial element can lead to disaster."

"Nadya has the Tangled Briar, which indicates that a person from the past will influence the current situation. One who has been terribly wronged in some way. Interesting, to say the least, in light of what has just happened."

"Umana has the Wanderer, who is wise to collect that which others have discarded. Be on the lookout, for aid may come from an unexpected source, and it can take a perceptive mind to see potential where others do not."

"And Daron, you have drawn The Liar, which signifies the negative consequences of infatuation, and can mean a love which doomed the participants. Passion can keep us going in the darkest of moments, but it can also cloud our thinking and cause terrible mistakes."





Here are the crunchy effects of your cards.


Keys (Dex): You can spend a keys card to take your turn immediately. Treat this as a readied action, moving your initiative to just before the currently acting creature. You may only take a move or a standard action on this turn.

Lawful Good: You may smite evil, as the paladin ability, gaining the benefits until the start of your next turn. If you have levels in paladin greater than half your total Hit Dice, use your paladin level to determine bonus damage; otherwise, your bonus damage equals half your character level, rounded down (minimum 1).



Hammers (Str): If used before a roll is made, a hammers card grants you a +8 luck bonus on any one d20 roll. If used after a roll is made, this bonus is reduced to +4. You can also use this card to grant a bonus to another character, as long as you are in the same location and your character can reasonably affect the outcome of the roll (such as by distracting a monster, shouting words of encouragement, or otherwise aiding another with the check). Cards of the suit of hammers spent to aid another character grant only half the listed bonus (+4 before the roll, +2 after the roll).

Chaotic Good: You receive a +4 circumstance bonus on one CMB check to avoid or escape a grapple or on one Escape Artist check.



Crowns (Cha): You may spend a crown card to reroll any one d20 roll you just made. You must take the results of the second roll, even if it is worse.

Chaotic Evil: You may instantly force any creature to reroll a saving throw it has just made, taking the result of the second roll, even if doing so means the check will fail.



Shields (Con): You can spend a shields card on your turn to gain an additional standard or move action this turn.

Lawful Evil: You can give another creature a command as per the spell command. This command can affect undead that are normally immune to mind-affecting effects, but not other creatures that are immune to mind affecting effects. The DC of this command is equal to 10 + your character level.



Books (Int): You can spend a books card to recall a spell you have already cast or to gain another use of a special ability that is otherwise limited. This should only be used on spells and abilities possessed by your character that recharge on a daily basis.

Neutral Good: You channel positive energy that cures a creature touched of an amount of damage equal to 1d6 × your character level. This effect damages undead creatures as spells like cure light wounds.


Oh, and 10 will not identify the spell Jominda used, although Daron can tell it's clearly some form of divination magic.


Let me know when you are all ready to leave the Restlands, and whether you are heading to the will reading or somewhere else.

[kinem]

"Very interesting, Jominda. I will keep the warning in mind. I offered to read your own fortune in return; shall I do so?

Dimitri, if the Professor was your friend, that is good enough for me. You seem to be a good man.

As for myself, I am a fortune teller, and trying to build up my magical abilities. I can shoot magical missiles, as you very nearly saw today though it didn't quite come to that" Daron says.

[Starscream]

"Very interesting, Jominda. I will keep the warning in mind. I offered to read your own fortune in return; shall I do so?



http://i.imgur.com/BQBQSOw.png
Jominda Fallenbridge

"Yes, I would be very happy to have you take a glimpse at my future."

[Madmal]

"Oh yes, names and greetings, so so sorry I didn't get to that before. My name's Nadya, follower of Desna and old friend of Petros- well, Professor Lorrimor back when he still was a student at Lepidstadt." At any show of confusion or disbelief she exhibits a cheeky smile. "What can I say? I'm older than I look." :smalltongue:

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri nods, unsure how to respond. Casting off shackles?
When he hears Nadya comment on her age he wonders how old she is.

[kinem]

"Great, Jocinda. Thing is, the way I am used to telling fortunes requires more time and a table would help. I do a nine card spread, and it helps to consult my divination manual. The whole process takes, uh, about ten minutes (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/occult-adventures/occult-rules/occult-skill-unlocks#TOC-Prognostication-Sense-Motive-). Perhaps we can do it at the late Professor's house? Or if you prefer, simply take a card now as I hold them, and I will attempt to interpret its meaning for you" Daron says.

[Tacobob]

"Oh.", Umana glanced at her card before turning her attention to Dimitri. Her brain quickly shouted not to ask any stupid vampire questions. Of course, the young archer rarely listened, "Can you...", she tried very best not to offend. "Do vampire stuff, like turn into a bat, or even a wolf? And do you need to drink blood?"

She briefly returned her attention back to her picked card as Jominda spoke of what it meant. This was supposed to help later.

A few others spoke up. There was another fortune teller who could cast magic. Nadya mentioned she met the good professor when he was younger. This struck the cat as rather odd. She did not look like an elf. Was she another vampire? She shook her head, trying her best not to think of such things. Thankfully, Daron offered a suggestion. "Yes, anywhere is better than this graveyard. We have an hour to kil..er. use up.", she corrected herself, "And then it's time for the will and dinner.", While she did not consider herself a greedy person, Umana silently wondered what the good professor willed her? And there was also the meal. After the training camp's cook passed away last summer, there had not been anyone of skill to take over his position, so the food usually was terrible. A proper, home cooked meal sounded as rewarding as a bag of gold.

"Almost forgot.", the archer added, "I'm Ummagumma Blackmoon, or just Umana. I've spent most of my life in an training base near Nirmathas." She wanted to make sure this was short, "My grandfather's old adventuring group retired there and now train young people like me into become mighty Warriors Of Gorum.", she proudly stated. "And as you probably know by now, I'm a cat-folk."

[Starscream]

"Great, Jocinda. Thing is, the way I am used to telling fortunes requires more time and a table would help. I do a nine card spread, and it helps to consult my divination manual. The whole process takes, uh, about ten minutes (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/occult-adventures/occult-rules/occult-skill-unlocks#TOC-Prognostication-Sense-Motive-). Perhaps we can do it at the late Professor's house? Or if you prefer, simply take a card now as I hold them, and I will attempt to interpret its meaning for you" Daron says.



http://i.imgur.com/BQBQSOw.png
Jominda Fallenbridge

"For now it might be simplest if I just took a card, since I don't want to make you late for the reading of the will. Maybe at a later date we can do it properly. I'll take...that one."




[roll0]

[kinem]

ooc: What card is it?

[Starscream]

ooc: What card is it?

The Courtesan - Crowns, Chaotic Neutral

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri


"Oh.", Umana glanced at her card before turning her attention to Dimitri. Her brain quickly shouted not to ask any stupid vampire questions. Of course, the young archer rarely listened, "Can you...", she tried very best not to offend. "Do vampire stuff, like turn into a bat, or even a wolf? And do you need to drink blood?"

Dimitri looked towards Umana with not a trace of offence. He was gratified that someone asked rather than just assumed.
"I do not need to drink blood nor have I ever. I can not transform myself. I can communicate with some of the creatures of the night and I can sometimes invoke a feeling of dread in some."

[Kish]

"I'm Norda Wraithhelm, holy warrior of Angradd's church. I'm surprised that vampires are able to reproduce other than by turning people into vampires, but protecting people from the undead is a worthy goal. I didn't know the professor well, but I know he was a good man," Norda says.

When she leaves, she'll go to the will reading.

[kinem]

When Jominda draws a card, Daron attempts to discern its meaning. "The Courtesan. Pleasant on the surface, but with hidden costs. A warning, I think, that some sort of temptation may be ahead. Perhaps a choice in which an alternative may not be as it appears.

Well. On to the reading of the will now I suppose. I could use a change of scenery."

[Madmal]

Nadya agrees. "It would definately be, let's move on back to...where was it?"

[Starscream]

Jominda thanks Daron for the fortune, and vows to keep an eye our for temptation.

Sounds like you guys are ready for the will, so let's move there. Let me know if there's anything else you want to do first.

An hour later, you gather at the home of the late Professor, a modest but well kept house in which every room is lined with shelves full of books. Kendra greets you at the door, says that dinner will be served shortly, and offers everyone a drink while you wait for Vashian Heathmount to arrive. The closest thing Ravengro has to a solicitor, the councilman was named as the executor of Petros' estate. He arrives shortly, declines drink as he is on official business, and addresses you all.



http://i.imgur.com/3esLQWr.png
Vashian Hearthmount

"Now, before we get down to business, you had some questions about the place in which Lorrirmor met his end. It's an unpleasant chapter in our town's history, so few are willing to discuss it, but if it will grant you some closure then I don't see why I can't recount what details I remember."

"The structure up on that hill is Harrowstone, and without it our little town would not exist. The worst criminals in Ustalav were gathered there to live out the rest of their lives, short as those may have been as most of them had a noose in their futures. Ravengro grew up in the shadow of the prison, to service and house the workers and guards."

"In 4661, 56 years ago now, the building was ravaged by a great fire. Much of the underground eastern wing was consumed, though the stone structure above is mostly intact. The exact cause of the fire is unknown, but it may have been better than the alternative; the prisoners had rioted and taken control of at least part of the building when it occurred. Whether it was an accident, or a last ditch attempt by the guards to keep their charges from escaping, I cannot say. But every prisoner in the place died in the blaze. So did almost two dozen guards, and the warden, a man called Hawkran. And so did the warden's wife, though it is not known why she was in the building at the time."

"As you can imagine following such a tragedy, the rumors of hauntings started almost immediately. People seeing lights, dim figures, ghostly flames rise from the building, that sort of thing. I'm not fool enough to discount the possibility, but I can safely say that we've never had any trouble from the old heap. It sits up there, empty and neglected, but any evil still within leaves us well alone, and I'd fear it more if it still contained criminals of flesh and blood. Still, the rumors persist, and I can see why a man like Lorrimor would want to take a look. Shame it ended badly for him, but only to be expected when an older man goes poking around a crumbling ruin."

"Does that satisfy your curiosity? If so, we can move on with the business of the day."

[Kish]

"That sounds like quite a mystery. I wonder what happened that day. Hm. Perhaps..." But she doesn't finish her sentence, letting the others speak instead.

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri nods a few times as the tale of Harrowstone is told. He would not be surprised if there were undead there. Especially as the professor went there. He had difficulty accepting that the professor died simply to an accident as described, but anything was possible.

[kinem]

"Does it satisfy my curiosity? Yes, if by 'satisfy' you mean 'pique'. But I take it that you've told us what you know, Vashian, so let's move on now" Daron says.

[Madmal]

"Big prision in the middle of a riot gets burned by the inside? Definately a troubling sight. But do go on luv." Nadya ponders, as she nurses her drink.

[Tacobob]

Umana declined the offer for a drink and spent her time checking out all of the books. She dared not to touch them but was pretty content just to read the book ends and wonder what sort of books they were. "I could spends months here.", she gasped to herself. Once the executor of Petros' estate came into the picture, the cat broke away from the books to hear what he had to say.

And what he had to say would have made a really good campfire tale. An horrible old prison filled to the brim with the nastiest of nasty boys. Ones that had very short lives, even before the fire. And then they all died. Angry, nasty people all dying at once. The old ruins had to be filled with tormented spirits. She could almost picture the horrible spooks, still in their prison clothes. Angry. Evil and forever stuck in their ghostly prison. This was pure nightmare fuel.

"Y-yeah.", the cat stuttered, "Please continue."

[Starscream]

Hearthmount nods, and produces a scroll case from his satchel, sealed with wax.



http://i.imgur.com/3esLQWr.png
Vashian Hearthmount

"As it was the wish of Petros Lorrimor that the will not be read until all of you were present, note that the professor's seal on the case remains unbroken. Without further ado..."
Hearthmount breaks the seal and opens the case; as he does so a small iron key falls out, landing on the table in front of him. Briefly glancing at it, the councilman unrolls the will and begins to read.


“I, Petros Lorrimor, being of sound mind, do hereby commit to this parchment my last will and testament. Let it be known that, with the exception of the specific details below, I leave my home and personal belongings entire to my daughter Kendra. Use them or sell them as you see fit, my child."

“Yet beyond the bequeathing of my personal effects, this document must serve other needs. I have arranged for the reading of this document to be delayed until all principals can be in attendance, for I have more than mere inheritance to apportion. I have two final favors to ask."

“To my old friends, Nadya, Daron Moore, Norda Wraithhelm, Ummagumma Blackmoon, and Dimitri. I hate to impose upon you all, but there are few others who are capable of appreciating the true significance of what it is I have to ask. As some of you know, I have devoted many of my studies to all manner of evil, that I might know the enemy and inform those better positioned to stand against it. For knowledge of one’s enemy is the surest path to victory over its plans."

“And so, over the course of my lifetime, I have seen fit to acquire a significant collection of valuable but dangerous tomes, any one of which in the wrong circumstances could have led to an awkward legal situation. While the majority of these tomes remain safe under lock and key at the Lepidstadt University, I fear that a few I have borrowed remain in a trunk in my Ravengro home. While invaluable for my work in life, in death, I would prefer not to burden my daughter with the darker side of my profession, or worse still, the danger of possessing these tomes herself. As such, I am entrusting my chest of tomes to you, posthumously. I ask that you please deliver the collection to my colleagues at the University of Lepidstadt, who will put them to good use for the betterment of the cause."

“Yet before you leave for Lepidstadt, there is the matter of another favor—please delay your journey one month and spend that period of time here in Ravengro to ensure that my daughter is safe and sound. She has no one to count on now that I am gone, and if you would aid her in setting things in order for whatever she desires over the course of this month, you would have my eternal gratitude. From my savings, I have also willed to each of you a sum of one hundred platinum coins. For safekeeping, I have left these funds with Embreth Daramid, one of my most trusted friends in Lepidstadt—she has been instructed to issue this payment upon the safe delivery of the borrowed tomes no sooner than one month after the date of the reading of this will."

“I, Petros Lorrimor, hereby sign this will in Ravengro on this first day of Calistril, in the year 4716.”
The councilman lowers the document, and slides the key across the table toward your group.

"It seems Ravengro will be playing host to you a little longer than expected."



http://i.imgur.com/nPKgKFz.png?1
Kendra Lorrimor

"But of course, you simply must stay here, there's plenty of room in this house, and I can't allow someone doing my father such a great favor to stay in an inn. Your presence will make the place feel far less empty."

[Kish]

"Of course, Kendra, I'll stay. Thank you for the invitation. This is the key to the trunk, I take it." She picks up the iron key.

[kinem]

Daron says "Thank you, Kendra. I'll certainly stay as well. I say we should look in the chest tonight and get that out of the way. Hopefully the rest of our stay here may then be free of unpleasant matters."

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri nods. "I will of course remain to protect Kendra and would be honored to stay here. In fact if wished I can return after the delivery is made as well if you are not yet settled."

[Tacobob]

Umana listened patiently as the will was read. She was going to drop off some books at the University? And then there was the other thing. The good Professor wanted her and the other to stick around and help his beloved daughter for one whole month? Her already large green eyes seemed to grow even bigger when it was mentioned that she would be getting ONE HUNDRED PLATINUM COINS! That was....She tried to come up with the math. ONE MILLION GOLD COINS. No. Not that much. She would have to ask the others how much that would be in gold. She knew it was far more than she had ever had in her entire lifetime.

"I'll have to send a letter to my camp over near Nirmathas so they don't worry, but yeah, I'll stick around." They needed to protect Miss Lorrimor? If Petros had been murdered, would the same person come for her?

[Starscream]

http://i.imgur.com/nPKgKFz.png?1
Kendra Lorrimor

"Wonderful! I'm happy to have you all. Mr. Hearthmount, thank you for coming. Won't you stay for dinner?"


http://i.imgur.com/3esLQWr.png
Vashian Hearthmount

"Thank you for the offer, but I must be going. I must again express my condolences for your loss. Tell me, do you intend to stay in Ravengro?"


http://i.imgur.com/nPKgKFz.png?1
Kendra Lorrimor

"I'm going to need some time to figure that out, I think. I've long wanted to travel, but there are so many things to consider first."
Kendra wishes the councilman farewell, then busies herself setting the table, serving everyone pumpkin soup and roast chicken. She also fetches the trunk of books, still firmly locked, that Petros assigned to your care in his will.

"I don't like to think about what may be contained within this, if father wanted to keep it locked up. Though I am sure he would not have allowed it under his roof it it was too dangerous. Still, we had best confirm that the contents are what the will says, rather than have you wait a month and travel all the way to Lepidstadt only to find it is full of old socks. Norda, do you have the key? Would you like to do the honors?"

[Kish]

Norda speaks little at dinner, beyond to thank her host for the food. After the councilman leaves, she says, "Maybe we should investigate this prison. I hate to say it, but I wouldn't have met your father if he was always appropriately solicitous of his own hide, and it sounds like there could be something dangerous there."

She produces the key and carefully unlocks the trunk.

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri nods. "I am inclined to agree. I suspect an undead danger of some sort there."

[Starscream]

Inside the trunk, as promised, are several ornate books with sinister sounding titles and unpleasant appearances.

Ask if you want more in-depth descriptions of any/all of them.

The books are as follows:

Manual of the Order of the Palatine Eye
On Verified Madness
Serving Your Hunger
The Umbral Leaves


But most interesting is a much newer book on top of the others. The leather cover has no title on it, but instead the scratched on words "Read me now!"

[Tacobob]

Umana seemed to be rather pleased with the dinner. “Lady Kendra.", she makes out between bites, "Thank you for this meal! This is the best I've ever had." She listened to the others while she enjoyed her meal. The dwarf wanted to check out the ruins of the old prison. And the half-vamp guy thought the undead were probably evolved. "I'm all up for visiting that old place, but undead? Do you think we could handle the erm.", if she said something rude about the undead, would she also be insulting Dimitri? "Walking dead? Don't you need magic or silver weapons to hurt guys that are already dead?"

She watched as the chest opened and quickly eyeballed the books as they were pulled out. Hopefully the third one was a cook book!

[Starscream]

http://i.imgur.com/nPKgKFz.png?1
Kendra Lorrimor

"Thank you Umana, this was one of father's favorite dishes, so I thought it would be appropriate. And I'm no expert, but I believe that some forms of the living dead are as easy to destroy as anyone else, but others may indeed require special tools. As with living opponents, you must be prepared for anything."

[Madmal]

"True. Like, arrows will do little if the fiend is a skeleton or most of it is. You have a backup weapon, Umana?" Nadya speaks with concern, dropping the remains of the chicken on her plate and moving to leavethem in the kitchen. "The local church may helps us a bit too, if only with some records about the prison."

"Now, onto those books. I'ave never been keen on reading, but I usually got hit by a switch if I couldn't tell an asmodean contract from real state paperwork." She winks, patting herself in the area of the healed wound. "Let's see if some of the titles jog the memory."

Making a Knowledge (Religion) check to try to see if any of the titles is familiar. Tossing Bit of Luck in there for good measure:

Knowledge (Religion) 1:[roll0]
Knowledge (Religion) 2:[roll1]

[kinem]

Daron says "Harrowstone sounds to me more like a place a ghost might be. I'm no expert but I think that's a lot more dangerous than a walking skeleton. I'm sure we all want to avenge the professor, but let's not rush into anything.

I wonder what this book, Read Me Now, is all about." He picks that one up and opens up the first page to check it out.

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

"I have a few weapons and can loan some if need be."
Dimitri glances at the books then watches as Daron pickes up the read me first book.

Knowledge (religion)[roll0] to guess as to what books deal with undead.

[Tacobob]

The cat nodded her head as the woman spoke, “Oh yes. I heard real silver does some rather unpleasant things to the nastier of undead." Of course, silver anything was far out of the young archer's budget. "I'm just worried about ghosts. I read they can turn a person's hair pure white from fright. Which would be pretty annoying for one of you, but downright terrible for me."

"As a Warrior Of Gorum, we are taught not to rely on one weapon to be proficient in, so we tend to learn how to use several types of weapons.", Umana responded to Nadya's concerns. "I spent a month learning how to use a garden rake in battle, although they prefer to call it Kumade. For now, I keep an smaller sword at my side in case the battle gets a little too close for my bow."

[Starscream]

Nadya recognizes the titles of two of the books, both holy books of deities that Desna would want nothing to do with; Serving Your Hunger is sacred to Urgathoa, goddess of undeath, and The Umbral Leaves is an unholy text used in the worship of Zon-Kuthon, god of darkness and pain.

Daron discovers that the book he's picked up is not some evil tome at all, but the professor's own journal. It goes back for years, but most of the contents seem to be mundane; the sort of notes a man getting on in years might write himself to keep things fresh in his mind. Paging through it Daron can't help but notice that several entries have been circled in red ink that appears fresh. They are as follows:

Ten Years Ago:
The Whispering Way is more than just a cabal of necromancers. I see that now. Undeath is their fountain of youth. Uncovering their motivation does not place me at ease as I thought it might. Their desire to be eternal simply makes them more dangerous.

Two Months Ago:
It is as I had feared. The Way is interested in something here in Ravengro. But what could it be?

One Month Ago:
Whatever the Way seeks, I am now convinced their goal is connected to Harrowstone. In retrospect, I suppose it all makes sense—the stories they tell about the ruins in town are certainly chilling enough. It may be time to investigate the ruins, but with everyone in town already being so worked up about them, I’d rather not let the others know about my curiosity—there’s plenty of folks hereabouts who already think I’m a demonologist or a witch or something. Ignorant fools.

Twenty Days Ago:
It is confirmed. The Way seems quite interested in something—no, strike that—someone who was held in Harrowstone. But who, specifically, is the Way after? I need a list of everyone who died the night of the fire. Everyone. The Temple of Pharasma must have such a list.

Eighteen Days Ago:
I see now just how ill prepared I was when I last set out for the Harrowstone. I am lucky to have returned at all. The ghosts, if indeed they were ghosts (for I did not find it prudent to investigate further) prevented me from transcribing the strange symbols I found etched along the foundation—hopefully on my next visit I will be more prepared. Thankfully, the necessary tools to defend against spirits are already here in Ravengro. I know that the church of Pharasma used to store them in a false crypt in the Restlands at the intersection between Eversleep and the Black Path. I am not certain if the current clergy even know of what their predecessors have hidden down below. If my luck holds, I should be able to slip in and out with a few borrowed items.

Seventeen Days Ago:
Tomorrow evening I return to the prison. It is imperative the Way does not finish. My caution has already cost me too much time. I am not sure what will happen if I am too late, but if my theory is right, the entire town could be at risk. I don’t have time to update my will, so I’ll leave this in the chest where it’ll be sure to be found, should the worst come to pass.

That final entry, seventeen days prior, is the day Petros Lorrimor was found dead at Harrowstone.

[kinem]

Daron reads the entries carefully, then shows them to the others.

"Looks like trouble. What now? In we go?"

[Kish]

"Oh yes. Most definitely. This Way needs to be stopped. The gods are likely to have guided us here for this, but in any event, the Professor was counting on us and we mustn't disappoint him."

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri frowns. "If by go in you mean head into the Harrowstone, then I suggest we do not just go in. I think we should look into this whispering way. They are interested in something in the Harrowstone, but what and for what purpose? Without any clue as to what we are blind. What they seek may not be an entity at all. It could be an item or artifact."
"We could be just putting ourselves in harms way for no reason."
He thinks a moment.
"At least if we go there, we should search for signs of others going there rather than ghosts or undead in general. Be careful about disturbing any clues the whispering way may have left behind."

[kinem]

Daron says "He went to the Temple of Pharasma. Maybe we should talk to them first."

[Starscream]

http://i.imgur.com/nPKgKFz.png?1
Kendra Lorrimor

"I'm afraid I can be of only limited assistance to you, but I'll do what I can. I know little of my father's research, but that mention of the "Whispering Way" dates back so far that he must have been studying them for years. Surely some of his research can be found in this house, you are welcome to use any of his books to aid your studies. If this Way organization had anything to do with his death, then I would love nothing more than for you to stop them. I'm sure there are other places in town that might have relevant records, but I'm afraid you may have difficulty convincing others of your need for them. People in Ravengro are slow to trust; we've lived here for years, and you saw how quickly some of the locals were to turn on my father at first sniff of a nasty rumor. If only we could prove that something is going on, I'm sure they would come around. Let's see, there's the Pharasmins, like father mentioned in the journal, though he didn't say if he got anything out of them. There's the town hall, but I doubt they'll let private citizens just rifle through the records. There's also The Unfurling Scroll, a magic shop run by Alendru Ghoroven, he has a library as impressive as father's, but he won't allow anyone a peek at it for free. I wish I could offer you better leads. Regardless, it's getting late, and you've all journeyed far today. I'm sure tomorrow we can make plans to-"
There's a knock on the door, and Kendra politely excuses herself to get it. You hear her greet the visitor, and then say "What?...No, they've been here all evening, came right from the funeral...Yes, I suppose you'd better come in."

A moment later she enters with a man in a brown duster.


http://i.imgur.com/tfyxfVz.png
Benjan Caeller

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I don't mean to interrupt your supper, but I have a few questions for you. My name is Benjan Caeller, and I'm the sheriff of Ravengro. Is this a good time?"

[Tacobob]

Umana was torn. She wanted to find out who or what had killed the professor. But there was also the fact that they would be wandering around a spooky old prison filled with all types of nasty undead without knowing what they needed to be looking for. Thankfully Dimitri and Daron had other ideas. They needed to be smart. "The Temple of Pharasma would be a good idea not only for information, but we could also get some holy water. Beyond the temple, we probably should think about the right supplies." Before leaving, one of her trainers gave her an early birthday present. This was an backpack filled with useful adventuring items. The cat would also need to get a few things like extra clothing. She had only planned on spending a few days Ravengro, but now it was going to be at least a month.

The young archer's attention quickly shifted away from her companions, to the door. The town's Sheriff had a few questions to ask. He probably was curious why a group of strangers got into a fight with a few locals, or maybe something else was up.

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

"Then I suggest we start here with the books in your house. Being we have no idea on who is involved in the whispering way, the less people see us sniffing around the better."

~~~

Dimitri bows to the sheriff and lets the others talk to start.

[Kish]

"Of course...Sheriff. What can we do for you?" Norda asks.

[Starscream]

[/tr]

http://i.imgur.com/tfyxfVz.png
Benjan Caeller

"This is just me being thorough, you understand, none of you are accused of anything, but I have to say I looked into it. Had some locals turn themselves in on councilman Hearthmount's orders a little bit ago, after getting in a scuff with you folks. Told me what I'm sure was a very one-sided story about what happened, the less realistic details of which I'll be ignoring."He gives a wry smile.
"From the look of you lot, I think I can safely discount the claim that they had you on the ropes until you started cheating, for example. Hope their behavior didn't give you a false impression of this town."
"Still, there is one thing I'd like to ask you about if you don't mind. I'm given to understand that you all arrived in Ravengro at the same time, right? Just as the funeral was beginning? And you came right here afterward, and have been here since? Kendra says you have, and I believe her, I just need to be able to say I asked."

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri furrows his brows. This is the kind of person he spent his live avoiding. The kind of person who would tend to think he was a monster. He had to focus. Something happened after the funeral. Something bad. A good bet more than just criminal. He had a strong urges to run into the shadows, but he didn't move. These were people he could stand with. He hoped.

[Madmal]

"Yes, we have. We had to come here for the reading of the will, Sheriff." Nadya leaned over the books, recovering a bit of the color lost after identifying the titles. She also felt a tad tipsy, seems the drink has had an added effect.

[Starscream]

[/tr]

http://i.imgur.com/tfyxfVz.png
Benjan Caeller

"And there were witnesses who saw you arrive at the funeral, and Heathmount will vouch that you were here afterward, so it sounds airtight enough. In that case I just feel you should be warned, someone may be causing trouble, and they might try to pin it on you. There's a memorial a ways down river, commemorating the lives of those lost in the fire at Harrowstone. About an hour ago I got word that it had been desecrated. Blood splashed everywhere. Not human blood, I don't think, we haven't heard of anyone missing, likely animal. But someone signed their work, with a big letter "V". None of your names start with V, do they?...Didn't think so. You've got a U, but this was pretty clearly a V. Can't say exactly when it happened, but the blood had time to dry, so it was likely before you were even in Ravengro. Thought you should know about it, in case any of the men you fought try to claim one of you did it. I'll have one of them clean it up, they're all shoveling manure for a couple of days to pay for fighting in the Restlands, might as well have them do this as well. Evening, all."



If any of you has questions for the sheriff, feel free to ask, otherwise he'll depart.

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri looks at the others in the group, but not willing to speak. That could be the whispering way.

[Tacobob]

Umana nodded her head as the sheriff spoke. They would need to be extra careful when in town as there were probably more than a few people who would be watching her merry little group of oddballs. These same people would try their best to find any reason to get the cat and the others tossed out of the village. "I seriously doubt the person who did such a horrible thing to an memorial would actually use his or hers real name or even their first initial on their handiwork. They want someone to get in trouble." Was it Vashian that was being set up? She glanced at the others to see if they had any questions..

[Kish]

"V, hm? Sounds like some kind of ritual desecration...Did you notice anything else about the scene?" Norda asks.

[Starscream]

[/tr]

http://i.imgur.com/tfyxfVz.png
Benjan Caeller

"Nothing too important. Killing probably didn't take place at the scene, no signs of violence other than the presence of the blood. No visible tracks, or sign of anything being dragged. Just a big mess, and the letter V."

[kinem]

Daron tells the sheriff "Keep an eye out. We certainly didn't vandalize anything but the folks who bothered us seemed worried about something. Maybe there have been other acts of vandalism, probably not by locals, before we arrived here."

[Starscream]

Is there anything else your characters wanted to do tonight, or should we move along to the next day?

[kinem]

Once the sheriff leaves, Daron will cast detect psychic significance (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/d/detect-psychic-significance) and use it to find any items of psychic significance within the house, perhaps among the books. As an afterthought, he'll also cast detect magic and check for magic items.

ooc: If he finds an item of psychic significance he'll try the psychometry occult skill unlock (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/occult-adventures/occult-rules/occult-skill-unlocks#TOC-Psychometry-Appraise-) (appraise skill). If there's more than one I'll have to decide which to try it on today.

ooc: Appraise (if appropriate) [roll0] vs DC 15

[Madmal]

Once the Sheriff leaves, Nadya yawns and calls the party's attention back to the books, : "Well, these books are still a mistery to me but these two... Well, sorry if I offend Kendra dear, but these two explain a bit why there was some suspicion over Petros." She moves Serving your hunger and The Umbral leaves towards the center. "These are holy texts. Or well, Unholy depending on your view. How much do you know about Zon-Kuthon and... Urgathoa?" She says the last last name on a lower tone, considering Ustalav's history so far.

[Starscream]

Daron finds no items of psychic significance, but he does notice a faint aura of abjuration on the copy of Umbral Leaves. Upon examining it closer, he discovers something hidden within the spine of the tome, a small gray bag containing, oddly enough, a bar of old and flaking soap which radiates the aura.

Kendra responds to Umana's query thusly:



http://i.imgur.com/nPKgKFz.png
Kendra Lorrimor


"I know of them, but not much beyond what is common knowledge. I can understand why father might have studied them, especially if he thought the trouble he was researching might have something to do with their worship. He was a firm believer in understanding the enemy, and felt there was no danger in a virtuous person possessing evil knowledge, since ultimately evil always contains the seeds of its own destruction. Still, I would not want to read such tomes myself, nor want to share a house with them. If he hadn't requested that they be returned to the University, and made their safe delivery a condition of you receiving your bequest, then I would gladly throw them in the fire."

[kinem]

Daron attempts to identify the magical properties of the old soap.

ooc: Spellcraft [roll0] vs DC (15 + item's caster level)

Realizing that he won't mange to identity it today, he points out "This ... uh ... old soap I found in the book has some kind of magic on it, an abjuration, but I couldn't tell what. I can try to study it again tomorrow."

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

"I think we should look at the desecration of the monument the sheriff spoke of. It strikes me that it was the Whispering Way that did that and there may be clues."

[Kish]

"That's a good idea, if they'll let us." Norda frowns at the books. "If they're not magical, they're not dangerous. I wonder what's in them that the professor found valuable, though."

[kinem]

Daron says "Words - ideas and information - can be dangerous, or valuable.

Dimitri, are you saying we should go look tonight?"

[Starscream]

http://i.imgur.com/nPKgKFz.png
Kendra Lorrimor


"Mind if I take a look at the item? Magic soap, can't imagine why father would have had that. Certainly not to wash out the mouths of young girls who were only repeating words they heard the farmhands using. Hmm..."





Spellcraft: [roll0]




http://i.imgur.com/nPKgKFz.png
Kendra Lorrimor


This is Soul Soap. It's not for cleaning bodies, it's for cleaning minds, specifically of external influences. Washing someone under malevolent control can allow them to resist. Perhaps there was once a curse on the book that would have tried to lay some compulsion on the reader. The book is no longer magical, so if there was father broke it, but I can see why he might have had the soap around as a precaution.





Aura faint abjuration; CL 1st

Slot none; Price 200 gp; Weight 2 lbs.
Description

This small bar of coarse gray soap has tiny pieces of ash, coal, or hard earth embedded in it, making the use of the soap uncomfortable and leaving anyone washed with it as dirty as before. Washing a creature with the soap requires water and takes 1 minute, after which the creature can attempt a new Will saving throw against any hostile ongoing mind-affecting effect currently affecting it. Unwilling creatures must be pinned or otherwise made helpless before they can be washed. The soap is sufficient to wash one creature.
Construction Requirements

Craft Wondrous Item, resistance; Cost 100 gp

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri



"That's a good idea, if they'll let us." Norda frowns at the books. "If they're not magical, they're not dangerous. I wonder what's in them that the professor found valuable, though."


Daron says "Words - ideas and information - can be dangerous, or valuable.

Dimitri nods at Darons comments. "I have seen people killed based on only rumors, words. Look at what happened at the professor's funeral."


Dimitri, are you saying we should go look tonight?"


Dimitri looks at Norda. "If I only did what I was let do I would have not lived more than a few days and yet here I am. I waited until the sheriff was gone to suggest this, because I doubt he would understand and we do not know who is involved."

He looks back to Darron. "I would suggest as soon as possible. I am good at tracking, and the fresher the tracks the better. We have skills and knowledge the sheriff likely does not have. I ... have trusted few people in my life. It has kept me alive. I trust all of you, because the professor did and ... I tire of being alone. If you feel we can trust someone, I will trust you in that, but otherwise I tend to avoid others."

[Kish]

"Soap that washes minds? Some wizards have really weird sense of humor," Norda comments. "Let's try not to get into any more fights with the locals before we go into this ruined prison. It's worth seeing if we can look at the monument, not worth fighting the guards to do so."

[Tacobob]

While getting a good night’s rest was rather high in Umana’s list ‘o’ things to do for evening, she was also curious about the memorial. She glanced over at Dimitri, “I don’t have any issues checking this out tonight, but we need to be sure we all get a good night's rest for our little trip tomorrow."


What is the current time?

[Starscream]

What is the current time?

After sunset, around 9:30.

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri nods. "Then, if there is no disagreement, I suggest we prepare and head out."

[Starscream]

Everyone good with the plan to head toward the monument, or is there more you want to do here first?

[kinem]

Daron says "Kendra, the soap belongs to you. If a use should arise for it in the course of our investigation, would you be willing to donate it?

Well, Dimitri, let's go on an evening stroll."

[Tacobob]

“Lady Kendra.”, Umana glanced over at their hostess, “Could you please point us the way to this monument? Considering the time of night, I don't want to spend too much of it wandering around in the darkness."

Umana be ready to move on once directions are given.

[HappyMerecat]

Dimtri

Dimitri gathers his thing and prepares to leave. "Anyone else coming?"

[Starscream]

http://i.imgur.com/nPKgKFz.png
Kendra Lorrimor

Kendra responds to Daron:
"The books were entrusted to you, as far as I'm concerned they are your property until such time as you deliver them, and that includes anything hidden within. In any case, the soul soap was there to protect from any malign power that may be at work, and if you plan to seek out that power, it should absolutely remain with you. If father was indeed murdered, then you are the only people in Ravengro who suspect the truth and can protect the rest of the town. If I had a magic holy sword to give you, I would. A bar of old soap is nothing."To Umana:
"Certainly. Head south and cross the stream to the Posting Poles, then go along the road northwest to the river. Simply follow the river, and you will get there."

[Madmal]

Nadya stands up, shrugging "Let's go then, better to check it right now than tomorrow, i guess."

[Starscream]

The five of you set out.

By night, Ravengro is as quiet as a tomb; Ustalav has had so much contact with the denizens of darkness that locking the doors and closing the shutters after sunset has become an ingrained cultural quirk. Despite the fact that the town has known no supernatural assailants in living memory, you see wreathes of garlic hanging on windowsills, sprigs of wolfsbane over doors, and even spy a handful of scattered sesame seeds at someone's gate, when even the most superstitious necrologists have long discounted that particular belief.

You cross a small stream and turn at the posting poles as Kendra instructed, and are nearly to the river when a light becomes visible. It seems you are not the only ones out this night, as Zokar Elkarid now approaches you. He looks up and is in the middle of giving you a friendly nod, when he recognizes you and does a double take.

Stealing a quick glance behind him, Zokar hurries forward to join you, talking loud and fast. It takes no effort at all to realize he is trying to make himself clearly heard by anyone else who might be present.



http://i.imgur.com/YcjhvgH.png
Zokar Elkarid

"Ah, there you are, friends! I'm sorry I'm late, my business on the river took me a mite longer than expected. Got unnecessarily detained."He addresses this last word behind him, with a touch of anger.
"But I'm here now, let us hasten to the Laughing Demon, where there is music and gaiety. A warm hearth to warm our hearts, and strong spirits to strengthen our spirits, eh?"

[Kish]

"To be sure," Norda replies cheerfully. She moves up to Zokar, trying to look unobtrusively over his shoulder.

Remember she has darkvision, so anyone back there being out of the light wouldn't matter much to her.

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri does not try to smile. "I, don't think I am in the mood for gaiety quite yet, but thank you. I am more in the mood for a quiet walk with friends. Maybe tomorrow."

[kinem]

Though not sure what's going on, Daron can see that Zokar wants to move on from some encounter so he says "Let's stroll, and I think we may well end up at the Demon, yes."

Once the situation is behind them, he intends to question Zokar and resume the group's original course to the monument.

[Tacobob]

“Yeah.”, Umana let out an yawn, “I’m all for the pub, but I think it’s best we postpone our little visit to later, considering how sleepy I am.”, she yawned once more for affect,”If I get any alcohol in me, one of you guys would have to carry me back to the house.”

[Starscream]

Norda thinks she sees a man in the distance behind Zokar. After a second he turns and heads back in the direction of the monument. Zokar addresses you, now speaking normally.



http://i.imgur.com/YcjhvgH.png
Zokar Elkarid

"Sorry about that, but I didn't want you to get in any trouble. Sheriff Caeller has posted guards around the monument, in case whoever...you heard what happened? In case whoever did that comes back. They stopped me and asked a bunch of questions. I was just going to pay Gibbs a call at his shack, but they seemed half ready to arrest me on principle. Imagine! They've known me for years! See what happens next time one of them wants credit, heh. They must be pretty spooked, but if they came that close to hauling me in just for being there, imagine what they'd do to strangers like you. And you with weapons too. Not that I blame you, night like this, I wouldn't be out this late unarmed if I could help it. Woulda' brought my cudgel if I'd known I'd be out so long, but the deputies probably would have confiscated it."

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri looks thoughtful. "Then I suspect the sheriff knows more than he lets on and does not want anyone to learn more. If we are not going to the monument, Ill return the mansion and Kendra."

[Tacobob]

"Or he's just making sure the memorial is cleaned before the morning.", Umana added, "And protecting it against further damage." The young archer quickly added, "I'm up for whatever you guys want to do. Even if we don't see anything interesting, we are at least getting a chance to walk off that dinner."

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri shakes his head. "I don't see it. Can't see the sheriff or his men volunteering to clean the mess up at night nor guarding something overnight when they clearly are not going to guard it indefinitely."

[Tacobob]

“The sheriff did mention he would probably get the guys who attacked us to clean up the mess.” Umana glanced over at the others for a moment, “He could have his men watching them so they get the job done quickly.”

[Starscream]

So, do you guys plan to continue to the monument? Go with Zokar? Return to Kendra's house?

[kinem]

Daron says "I doubt they'd really arrest us. Let's take a look."

[Starscream]

Zokar departs back towards his tavern, and you continue toward the monument, passing a shack on the way that presumably belongs to Gibbs, since it appears to be where Zokar came from.

It's clear he was telling the truth about the deputies; two of them are stationed around a 25 foot tall statue depicting a man in armor, wielding a sword, with names etched around the base. The monument would be quite impressive if not for the dried blood splattered around, with a large "V" painted on the statue itself.

Sheriff Caeller is there too, having apparently been summoned by the deputies, one of whom has a lit lantern on a long pole. He's currently giving them a dressing-down, with his back to you.


[/tr]

http://i.imgur.com/tfyxfVz.png
Benjan Caeller

"-told you to light the signal if you see anything suspicious, not get me out of bed for barkeeps making evening deliveries. The last thing we need is making people jumpy and..."He notices that the deputy is staring past him, and looks around.
"Oh. We meet again. Anything I can help you with, or has this just become the town's new hot gathering spot?"

[Kish]

"Just curious about the monument, but I gather we should look at it another night," Norda says.

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri looks around and goes to speak and stops himself.

[Tacobob]

“After what you told us, we couldn’t help but want to see this for ourselves.”, Umana studied the statue for a moment. Was there anything of interest she could see?

On the statue. Where is the ‘V’ painted on?

[roll0]

[Starscream]

The "V" is painted right above the names on the base of the statue.

Dimitri spies no tracks, but he does notice the interesting nature of the names on the statue. Every one of them has initials after the name, indicating the rank of the man in question. Names like "James Carcen, Cpl" and "Borgun Thunderbranch, Sgt". Evidently only the guards at the prison were memorialized, not the rioting prisoners. There is one exception; Councilman Hearthmount mentioned that Warden Hawkran's wife was present for unknown reasons, and also perished in the blaze. Her name is next to her husband's: Vesorianna Hawkran.


[/tr]

http://i.imgur.com/tfyxfVz.png
Benjan Caeller

"Yeah, better to return after we've had it cleaned up. I plan to have guards posted for the next couple nights, just to make sure that whoever did it doesn't try anything else funny. Probably pointless, I doubt they'll come back."

[kinem]

Daron says "Actually, it might be best if we could take a good look before it's cleaned up. This could be part of some kind of occult ritual. I can sense magic and certain impressions, while others of us know about religion. Why not let us look?"

ooc: Perception [roll0]

[Starscream]

[/tr]

http://i.imgur.com/tfyxfVz.png
Benjan Caeller

"You can look if you want, but please don't touch. And I had it looked over for magic, we found nothing."

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri bows. "Thank you."

He moves forward and then in a circle around the monument, again looking for any sign of approach other than what he would expect. If the area is too full of tracks he will move further out and try again.

Sense Motive [roll0] to see if the sheriff is trying to hide something.
Perception [roll1] to spot anything unusual from a closer vantage point
Survival [roll2] to spot tracks from a closer vantage point.

[Starscream]

Dimitri gets the feeling that the sheriff wouldn't normally let the monument be examined by strangers, unless he was positive they weren't the ones who did it, which suggests he has some idea who did and isn't saying.

There are a great many footprints around the monument, and normally it would be impossible to follow just one set, but Dimitri has perhaps some ancestral instinct for blood, and thinks he sees tiny flecks of it in the prints of one trail heading back toward Ravengro.

[kinem]

Daron checks the area (and incidently the sheriff and his men) for magic and for psychic significance.

[Tacobob]

Yuck! Why would anyone want to touch that thing while it was covered in blood? “Is this the first time that this has happened? I wonder if there are any relatives of any of the dead prisoners who might have been a little upset that their kin were not memorialized by this statue..”, Umana asked the sheriff.

[Starscream]

As the sheriff claimed, there are no magical auras at work. However, he apparently has no knowledge of the far more obscure Occult Arts, as there is indeed a faint psychic aura on the bloody V that adorns the monument..

[Kish]

"Thank you." Norda peers at the monument, attempting to discern anything that stands out about it to mundane eyes.

Perception, just in case: [roll0]

[kinem]

Daron tells the sheriff "I am able to sense certain psychic impressions, and sometimes even to gain information from them. It is a sort of magical talent. And now, I can see that this bloody thing may have a bit of a story to tell me. May I attempt to read it? To do so, I must touch it, for about a minute."

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri notices the tracka with blood heading to Ravengro. He says nothing and waits for the others to complete their examination to inform them about the tracks and follow them.

[Starscream]

Norda spies nothing unexpected about the monument.


[/tr]

http://i.imgur.com/tfyxfVz.png
Benjan Caeller
Caeller responds first to Umana.
"While it's not impossible, I highly doubt it. None of the prisoners here were locals, they came from all over Ustalav, and most inhabitants of this town have roots going straight back to the founding. It's a tight-knit community, even someone who has been here for years may not feel truly welcome, as I'm sure the late professor could attest were he still with us."To Daron he wrinkles his brow.
"Psychic...? That funny mind magic Jominda goes on about?" He sighs.
"Look fellas, it's late, I've had a long day, and no offense, but I don't know a thing about any of you and I just hope my instinct to trust you is correct because the alternative is that five heavily armed strangers are in town to cause trouble and interfere with my nice bloody crime scene. This doesn't look good, do you understand? Town may look dead after dark, but I can promise that a dozen people saw you coming this way through their shutters, and they all gossip. I don't want another incident like we had at the Restlands today. If I let you examine the thing, will you please disperse? I shouldn't allow it, but what the hell..."He trails off and mutters his last sentence, so you can barely hear it.



Perception check to hear what he said.

Daron may do his check.

[Tacobob]

Umana nodded her head, “We should be out of your hair in just a moment.” Her ears perked up as she tried to hear what the sheriff muttered....






[roll0]

[kinem]

"Thank you" Daron says, and proceeds to lay a hand on the bloody V.

ooc: Perception [roll0] to hear.

Appraise [roll1] vs DC 15 for Psychometry

[Starscream]

Umana's feline ears pick up a few words of what the sheriff says: "...just a copycat phony...", but she can't make out any more.

Daron touches the bloody V and concentrates, trying to sense what mere magic cannot. After his mind has had time to settle, he catches a glimpse of the vandal's emotional state when creating the mark: powerful hatred, a grudge that has festered for decades, and will soon reach fruition.

[kinem]

Daron withdraws his hand and tries to wipe the blood off onto the nearby grass.

He says "This was no joke. Whoever did this was filled with longstanding hate, though I couldn't make out many more details."

[Madmal]

"What about the blood?" Nadya spouts with some discomfort "Is not human, isn.... Is it" She stiffled another yawn. Maybe she should've stayed with Kendra.

[Tacobob]

“I’m sorry.”, Umana was very curious about the blood and the type of a person who did such a thing, which Daron had briefly described. She doubted he or she would be fun at parties. “What do you mean by ‘just a copycat phony’?”, she asked the sheriff, “Do you mean the blood is fake? Or is this a copycat crime?”

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri's interest is sparked at the question about a copy cat. Was there another, possibly related crime? If so it would be very helpful to know details.

[Kish]

Not having seen or heard what the others are talking about, Norda watches and listens quietly.

[Starscream]

Benjan starts to answer Nadya, and then is clearly somewhat taken aback to have been overheard.


[/tr]

http://i.imgur.com/tfyxfVz.png
Benjan Caeller

"Probably animal. If someone had been killed, we'd find out quick. Small town, someone goes missing and-"He does a doubletake.
"That's...! That is none of...!"He pinches the bridge of his nose and heaves a sigh.
"Last answer I'm giving, I swear. But you must not breathe a word of it, understand? You are the only people I plan on sharing this information with, so if it gets out, I'll know who squealed. And I will be mad." Benjan takes a look around, making sure there are no snoopy townsfolk in evidence.
"The reason I know none of you strangers did this is precisely because you are strangers. The only one of you who has even visited Ravengro in the past is Ms. Norda, and she mostly associated with the Lorrimors, who are relative newcomers themselves. So none of you would know enough about the town's history to have done this, because I've lived here all my life and even I have barely heard of it."
"This act of vandalism matches the M.O. of an infamous serial killer. I don't have any records about him, his crimes and his trial took place far from here, but Harrowstone was where he lived out his last days, awaiting the noose. Don't even know his name, but everyone called him the Splatter Man, because he'd splash blood around and spell out his next victim's name before he came for them. He may have been one of the ringleaders of the riot that broke out at the prison. Ended badly for him. That was over fifty years ago, so whoever did this is committing a copycat crime, understand?"
"And I don't want this getting out, because people will get jumpy and be expecting a murder, especially since Councilman Hearthmount and Father Grimburrow's first names start with the letter V, which makes this a threat. Best thing that can happen is people think it was just an act of vandalism, which will keep things calm, and I can make some discreet inquiries to figure out who else knows about the Splatter Man, which will narrow down the suspects. The more people find out about this, the harder my job gets, so keep a lid on it. Goodnight." He nods curtly at you, and starts back into town.

[Tacobob]

Umana nodded her head and mimed having her lips closed like an zipper. The further the Sherriff went into his story, the larger the cats eyes seemed to get. Once he was finished, the archer managed to stay calm, knowing any sudden noises would alert snooping villagers. Once he was finished, she waved as he left, "Good Night.", she cheerfully added.

Once the sheriff was gone, she turned to the others. "Wow.", she managed to whisper, "This is all very fascinating. It's either the return of an famous serial killer or someone copying him for some reason. Guess we should check up on the Father Grimburrow?"

Sorry for the delay..Had to rush off for another family emergency..

[Kish]

"Fifty years doesn't sound all that long to me, but in human lands...a ghost, possibly. If we don't want to disperse, we'd better leave here, anyway," Norda says after the sheriff is out of earshot.

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

"There is a set of tracks from the site, tainted with blood and it heads towards Ravengro. Also the Whispering Way has been around a long time, they certainly could be tied up in this serial killer."

[Madmal]

Nadya ponders "And we're a group of lovely oddballs staying outside, quite late at night. In a small town were knowing some mystical things can be enough for the locals to tag you. And this we do after having roughoused some of these locals. And you" She points her finger at Dimitri "Are still hurt, right? We need more caution here."

[kinem]

Daron says "Well, we can't pass up the chance to find out who might be behind this, can we? Whoever did this has held a grudge for decades, I felt, and plans to strike soon. We could prevent a murder. Let's follow the trail, but we'll be careful."

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri looks at Nadya and nods. "I am slightly injured and we need to be careful of course, but we will never have this opportunity again. No matter what we do there is risk in this."

[Kish]

"It's worth investigating, if you can track them. Since we were planning to visit a haunted ruined prison, we're already not exactly playing it safe here."

[Tacobob]

“Guess we’re following those nasty tracks then.”, Umana said with a shrug. While she really wanted to catch a few winks tonight, she agreed that this would be a bit more on the important side. Even with this bad news floating over her head, she never lost her grin. Especially after the Aasimar’s comment. The cat-folk had been called many things during her lifetime, but lovely?

As the small group moved on, Umana glanced over at Dimitri, “So...Since regular old healing magic actually hurts you..What can actually heal you?”

[Starscream]

The tracks don't lead very far. After just a few hundred feet, they end at a woodpile behind the shack of Gibbs Hephenus.

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri


“So...Since regular old healing magic actually hurts you..What can actually heal you?”

Dimitri nods. "Regular old healing is positive energy and it hurts me like it hurts undead. What heals me is negative energy, like divine spells that harm living things. I am effectually undead when it comes to healing."

~

"What do we know of Gibbs?"

[kinem]

Daron inspects the woodpile itself, with the idea in mind that an undead miscreant might hide under there. From the way he walks around and peers at it, his intentions should not be hard for the others to guess.

ooc: Perception [roll0]

[Tacobob]

“Gibbs?”, it took a moment for Umana to register that name. “Oh yeah, that was the head farmer guy. Grumpy. Respected by the others. So much so that they followed his orders that could have resulted in their own deaths even with him being rather cowardly.”, the cat shrugged as she watched Daron pick at the woodpile, "Someone probably should have told him he reached that age where he should start wearing a shirt under his overalls. I got that talk when I was twelve.", she ponders this question a bit longer, "Suffers from rather nasty case of Dimitri's flail allergies. Makes him break out into...er. broken bones. He also mentioned he was the last to see the good Professor alive."

The archer gives Daron a hand with the woodpile..


[roll0]

[Starscream]

Neither Daron, Dimitri, or Umana finds anything out of the ordinary.

[Madmal]

Nadya keeps her voice low. "And either a very petty overgrown child or a patsy. I would prefer to think the beating he got would be enough..."

[Kish]

"The tracks just end? Whoever it was got this far and disappeared? That's very weird." Norda frowns at the woodpile.

[Tacobob]

“Would it be safe to assume Gibbs did this?”, Umana whispered as she glanced at the others, “Either that, or someone wanted it to make it look like he did this?”

[kinem]

Daron says "Those tracks were hard to find. If it was supposed to frame him, it was likely to fail. I doubt it was.

Doesn't mean he's guilty though. This might have just been a good place to hide ... or he might be the intended victim! We should probably check on him, make sure he's still alive and such.

Though the name thing doesn't fit with the V. Still, if it's a copycat, he might change that part up."

[Kish]

"I somehow doubt we'll be welcome in his house. Or want to explain to the guards why we're there," Norda says. "If you're absolutely confident of your ability to sneak, try and look in the windows, but I think we should go to the ruined prison now."

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri nods. "I agree, lets head to the prison."

[Starscream]

Everyone up for heading to the prison now? That's two in favor.

[Tacobob]

Umana was obviously not keen about the idea, "So we're going to the scary haunted prison during the night?", she whispered, "I'd prefer to do this during the day, but you guys really wanna go, I guess we better go then."

[kinem]

Daron says "Why go now? Do you think the vandal camps there? I might think so but the tracks led here. I say we check the bottom of this woodpile first. Then we can check out the prison."

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

"If you wish to wait until daylight, that is fine as well. I tend to be nocturnal, sunlight hurts my eyes."

[Kish]

"I think I'm more interested in whatever's going on at the prison than in the ritualist, though from what you said about the psychic impressions I would be very surprised if it didn't connect. I'm not particularly diurnal and have no interest in getting in trouble with the law here. I have no objection to going back to Kendra's house and setting out for the prison in the morning, though," Norda says in a low voice.

[Tacobob]

Umana glanced over at Daron, “Well, you did check the woodpile.”, she kept her voice down low, “As did Mister Dimitri and I...And the only thing we got were more wood and splinters.” she picked a stray splinter from one of her gloves as she spoke, “I do like the whole idea of us all getting a bit of rest and then continuing our little mystery in the morning..After breakfast. More people will be up to answer any questions we have, and people probably won't mind as much if we wander around during the day as opposed to right now."

[kinem]

Daron says "We may have missed some clue, I still think. I doubt the perpetrator walked to the woodpile and then teleported away.

Ah well. Let's call it a night, then. Tomorrow we can stop by the temple as we discussed earlier, then head to the prison."

[Madmal]

Nadya nods "By this time, I wouldn't mind going to the prision, but it'll be better if we have some time to rest, and maybe find out a bit more about that fire."

[Starscream]

After a night's rest at the Lorrimor home, you awaken to find a foggy and cool morning, the sun barely visible through the clouds. After breakfast with Kendra, you set out toward the Temple of Pharasma, across the river and towards the northwest end of town. The townsfolk give you the occasional suspicious stare, but most pointedly ignore you as you pass by.

Crossing the town square, you see several children skipping rope, among them Pevrin, Zokar's son. As they skip, they sing a song, switching places with each verse. Although their voices and demeanor are cheerful, you can't help but notice that the song has rather ghastly lyrics.



http://i.imgur.com/azkwD12.png
Pevrin Elkarid

"Put her body on the bed.
Take a knife and lop her head."
"Watch the blood come out the pipe.
Feeds the stirge, so nice and ripe."
"Drops of red so sparkly bright.
Splatters spell her name just right."
With a hammer killed his wife.
Now he wants to claim your life.
"Tricksy father tells a lie.
Listen close or you will die."

[kinem]

"Charming" Daron notes.

[Tacobob]

After a proper bit of rest and a good breakfast, Umana's mood had changed for the better. While the townspeople gave off suspicious stares, the cat-folk girl could only glance back with a friendly smile on her face. This was going to be a good day. Mysteries would be solved, heroics would be made. Locals would cheer. Before heading off for her morning meal with the others, the archer made sure to write a letter that would inform her fellow 'Warriors Of Gorum' that she would be away for a while and for someone to water her plants while she was gone. The young cat also made sure her armor and weapons were clean and presentable.

Once near town square, she stopped and watched the children skipping their rope. "Well isn't that....", she paused to hear their song. "Utterly ghastly..Geez.", she turned to the others," Whatever happened to cute skipping songs? Like the one about the princess in yella that went to kiss her fella but ended up kissing a snake? Oh wait that's horrible as well...Come to think about it, most of those songs tend to be a bit dark." she shrugged her shoulders and waited for the others to move on.

[Kish]

"Usually a little less...specific, and yet more comprehensible, than that, though," Norda murmurs. She approaches the children. "Excuse me, children?" she calls out. "Could you tell me where, or when, you first heard that song?"

[Starscream]

The children pause in their tune, wary of strangers, and hesitate to answer. Only Pevrin responds.



http://i.imgur.com/azkwD12.png
Pevrin Elkarid

"It's just a skipping song. People have sung it forever. Even my dad said he sang it when he was a kid."

[Kish]

"I see. Well, thank you." She continues toward the temple.

[Tacobob]

“Oooh.”, Umana had a feeling this bit of knowledge might come handy in the near future. “Thanks kids.”, that was absolutely horrible, and the cat would have preferred to have spent a few moments teaching them better skip songs, but time is of the essence! With a sigh, she followed the others to the temple.

[Madmal]

Nadya stands in front of the temple and ready to knock on the temple door, making sure her holy symbol is visible. "Hmmm. The sheriff also mentioned that Father Grimburrow came here after the incident at the prision. Maybe some of the locals would also have any information. Anyways, what whould we exactly ask of them?"

[Starscream]

A deacon answers the door and asks what you have come for. From behind him, you can hear woodwind music, slightly out of tune, and the voice of Father Grimburrow expressing his displeasure.



http://i.imgur.com/brBbwl7.png?1
Father Grimburrow

"No, no no! The sharp in on the A! It's Reaping, not Reaping. Haven't any of you ever played She Sits In Judgement of Us All (Especially You) before?"

[Tacobob]

Once the door opened, it seemed the others were deathly silent. So being the type of cat she was, Umana decided to speak up.

"Sorry to disturb you.", she said through a smile, "We just need to speak to Father Grimburrow for just a moment."

[Starscream]

The deacon pauses. "He's a little...no, I suppose he could do with a distraction. Please come in."

Grimburrow continues to berate his pipers for a few seconds before noticing you.



http://i.imgur.com/brBbwl7.png?1
Father Grimburrow

"Flatter than Cailean after a drinking contest with Besmara. I don't know if-"
"Oh, it's you lot. Come in, come in. Just trying to get our band ready in time for the Day of Silenced Whispers. But it sounds like they haven't practiced since the last one. Keep practicing, you, this is not a break. Now, what can I do for you?"

[Madmal]

Nadya bows to Father Grimburrow. "Good morning Father. We received more details about Petros Lorrimor's cause of death during the reading of the will last night, connecting it to... Harrowstone, was it?" She gives a quick glance at the other party members. "We have heard some troubling stories from Mr. Hearthmount regarding the place, and we would appreciate if the church could aid us in our investigation."

Diplomacy check: [roll0]

[Starscream]

Nadya's charming demeanor is right on the money.



http://i.imgur.com/brBbwl7.png?1
Father Grimburrow

"You're the young priestess of Desna, am I right? Always happy to help out a fellow servant of the divine."
"Harrowstone, yes. Terribly tragic what happened there. Before my time here, I only came to Ravengo twenty years ago. My predecessor kept records, however. Ravengro has always followed the teachings of Pharasma, it seemed best to the founders as they were tasked with burying the prisoners after their executions, and it would feel inappropriate for criminals to receive their rites from a cleric of a more...shall we say "idealistic" deity. But the Reaper is an impartial judge to us all."He leads you into a small office filled with dusty file cabinets.
"Files recording every birth and death within the town limits since its founding. Of course, anyone who witnessed the uprising at Harrowstone was in no state afterward to talk about it. And I know what you're thinking; death doesn't always end a person's ability to go about their business. And a horrific event like the fire seems sure to have left an unquiet spirit or two. But I myself poked around those ruins when I arrived in town, and found nothing out of the ordinary. If Harrowstone harbors ghosts, they are uncommonly well behaved."
"Now let's see here...yes, here the most recent report from the warden before the fire. I was entrusted to us because it contained a manifest of the prisoners and staff present at the time, and with no bodies recovered, we had to give everyone one large funeral. Everyone should be here, save for the warden's wife, whose presence was unexpected. I don't know how much good it will do you, but perhaps Professor Lorrimor's notes mentioned some of these names-oh, what are those idiots doing now?"Grimburrow strides out of the office in response to the pipers, who are now playing a slow, buzzing funeral dirge. A second later he cries out.
"Help! Come quickly!"

Please roll for initiative.

[Tacobob]

Umana could not help but be impressed by Nadya's charm. She hoped to learn from the cleric. But first, talking.

She followed the others into the somewhat cramped office. Once again, there was talk about spooks. But then something else happened that required their aid. And being the helpful sort, the cat quickly rushed to see what was happening.




[roll0]

[Kish]

Norda remains quiet and lets Nadya talk. At the priest's words, she strokes her chin thoughtfully. Then is it living people who want it to look like ghosts? That seems off... Then the priest calls for help and she runs back outside.

Initiative: [roll0]

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Upon hearing the cry for help Dimitri races into the next room.

[kinem]

Daron was considering how much to tell the priest, how much to trust him, when suddenly the man calls for help. Daron, surprised, goes to see what the problem is.

ooc: Initiative [roll0]

[Starscream]

You rush into the main temple room in response to the sound, and are greeted with a horrible sight. Father Grimburrow lies on the floor, looking extremely pale. The cause of his predicament is obvious; three creatures the size of housecats have set upon him, looking like a wicked cross between mosquitoes and bats. Each has stuck a proboscis into the old man, and begun to feast.

The air is still filled with dour music, as the three pipers continue to play their dirge. They stare fixedly ahead, eyes glazed, seemingly unaware of the frightful scene before them.


Initiative rolls for stirges.

Stirge 1:[roll0]
Stirge 2:[roll1]
Stirge 3:[roll2]



http://i.imgur.com/aaj5O5b.png

[Starscream]

I'm missing a roll from Dimitri, but otherwise combat will be in this order.

As before, to streamline matters since not everyone can post at any time, you can post your action before your turn, but it won't be executed until the proper time.

Norda
Stirge 2
Umana
Stirge 1
Daron
Dimitri
Stirge 3
Nadya

Link to map so you can move your tokens: https://app.roll20.net/join/1463782/3tVN6g

[Kish]

"Someone should make them stop piping. I suspect it may be causing this," Norda says, but as she speaks, she runs toward the stirges, drawing her axe.


She cannot both reach the stirges and attack this round, so she uses a run action to close with them, and done.

[Tacobob]

Umana drew her sword and followed the others, "What the heck does their music have to do...erm." They had only been in the temple for a short while, but the music was already started to annoy her. "Hey Pippers!", she yelled out as they ran. "Stop your dang pipping already!"

[kinem]

"What the ...?" Daron is shocked at the scene before him. He concentrates and unleashes two small glowing streaks from his hand which each strike a different one of the little monsters.

ooc: Magic missiles using Focused Force. Damage [roll0], [roll1]

[Madmal]

Nadya follows Umana towards the pipers, running as well. "Snatch those pipes if necessary!"

[Starscream]

Norda charges towards to stirges, axe at the ready.

But one of them turns its attention to her and flies right at her face, its razor sharp proboscis lunging toward her.
Touch attack:[roll0]

NOTE: Norda gets an AOO because it entered her square. If she kills it, it doesn't get to do the blood drinking.

Norda is struck by the needle like appendage and the monster latches on, greedily slurping her blood.

[Starscream]

Umana and Nadya run towards the entranced pipers, an an attempt to stop the song that apparently is causing this disaster.

Another Stirge, apparently content with its current meal, ignores the interruption and consumes another large dose of blood from Father Grimburrow...before being struck down by Daron's missile. It collapses twitching to the floor next to him. The other one is struck as well, but merely buzzes angrily.

AOO from Norda, and I need an action from Dimitri before the third stirge acts, ending the round.

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri pulls out his scimitar and moves forward atacking the creature attacking Norda.


Attack[roll0]
Damage[roll1]

[Kish]

As the creature approaches Norda, she slashes at it.

Attack: [roll0] Critical threat: [roll1] Damage: [roll2] Critical damage: [roll3]

[Starscream]

Norda swats at the vile beastie, but misses, and it successfully begins feeding upon her. Its meal does not last long, however, as Dimitri neatly bisects it with his scimitar a moment later.

The final stirge sees the two party members going after the pipers and furiously flies towards them, its sights set upon the nearest, Nadya.


The stirge attacking Norda dies, but not before feeding on her. Norda takes one point of Con damage, and must make a fort save if the result of this roll is 10 or under: [roll0]

The final stirge is going after Nadya. It will provoke AOOs from Nadya (for entering her square), but not from Norda since she already took an AOO this round and does not have Combat Reflexes.

If it makes it to Nadya, it will attack: [roll1] vs. Touch AC.

Round two begins with Norda if the stirge is still alive.


http://i.imgur.com/TCCDFIf.png

[Starscream]

Dice rolls did not work, so here they are again.

1d00 roll for Norda: [roll0]

Attack roll on Nadya: [roll1]

[Madmal]

"Shoot! oh, gross, gross!" Nadya swipes her staff at the oversized mosquito, trying to stopping from latching onto her.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Kish]

Norda hurries around the corner and slashes at the last stirge.

Attack: [roll0] Critical threat: [roll1] Damage: [roll2] Critical damage: [roll3]

[Tacobob]

“WILL YOU STOP WITH THE PIPING ALREADY, YOU PIPERS!” The very annoyed cat wanted to snatch up their pipes and stuff them where the sun didn’t shine, but decided to attack the nearby stirge instead.


[roll0]

[roll1]

[Starscream]

Although Nadya's attack fails to connect and she loses some of her life's blood to the stirge, it doesn't get to keep it for very long. Norda and Umana swiftly slice it to ribbons and as it hits the floor the music stops. The three pipers suddenly start as if awakened from a deep sleep, and look around in fear and confusion at the armed adventurers, dead monsters, and fallen priest, who is emitting a low groan.


Combat ends. You can now act out of initiative.

Nadya takes 1 Con damage and must make a fort save if the results of this roll are below 10 or under: [roll0].

[Kish]

Norda moves to forcibly take the pipes from the pipers, but stops when she sees that they've woken up. "What happened here?" she asks. Anticipating a reply along the lines of "that's what we were going to ask you!" she rephrases, "What's the last thing you remember?"

She moves around the corner back to the priest and touches him, channeling healing energy.

Using Lay On Hands on the priest; if it proves ineffective (i.e., all his damage is ability damage which Norda can't heal), she'll only spend one point to find that out.

[Starscream]

The piper stammers: "I...I don't know. I've never even heard that song before. I just felt like I remembered playing it long ago. Then there was this...buzzing."

Father Grimburrow doesn't respond to Norda's healing touch, as it is unable to replace several pints of blood all in one go. Nonetheless, he stirs and is able to push himself up on his elbows.



http://i.imgur.com/brBbwl7.png?1
Father Grimburrow

"At least it was in tune for once."
"I thank you for the assist, friends. They caught me by surprise, and I was out from blood loss before I knew what was happening. What a humiliating way to go, taken out by a few pests in broad daylight."He pulls himself to his feet.
"Perhaps Pharasma is sending me a sign that I was too dismissive of the tales of ghosts, because that was clearly some sort of haunting event. Something IS going on in this town, and we must discover what. The last conversation I ever had with your friend Lorrimor, he asked me some questions about a crypt in the Restlands. There's nothing in my records of anyone interred within, but it was clearly commissioned by the church. I could not give him permission to look within, disturbing the dead is a sacrilege, but I promised to investigate for him. Never got the chance to fulfill that promise, he died the next day. Since it seems he was right about there being something rotten at Harrowstone, he may have been right about something odd within that crypt as well."
"Under the circumstances, it would be the least I can do to give you permission to investigate it. I would gladly heal the injuries you received rescuing me as well, but I haven't the spell prepared to restore injuries of this type, and if you came back tomorrow you would probably be well in any case, especially if you get in a good meal and a night's sleep. You young people recover so fast. Nevertheless, a debt is owed. Here."Grimburrow takes two vials from his belt and hands them over to Norda.
"Healing potions. I wish I could spare more, but if more events like this are on the way, I had better start stockpiling for the town's safety."

You receive two potions of Cure Light Wounds.

[Tacobob]

Umana tried to figure out what just happened. Cursed pipes? Cursed Pipers? The young warrior made sure to clean her sword before she slid it back into its scabbard before she made it over to the others. She glanced at her little group with a slight frown on her face. Looks like they were going to be checking out a creepy, creaky crypt.

[kinem]

Daron says "Thank you sir. But how can we be safe that it's safe here for now? Perhaps we shouldn't leave yet."

[Starscream]

http://i.imgur.com/brBbwl7.png?1
Father Grimburrow

"You may stick around if you wish, while I examine our musicians here for any more signs of supernatural affliction. Doubt I'll find any, whatever seized them had no reason to stick around after its monsters had been slain, and if it had the ability to control them entirely they would have attacked as well. Instead they simply stood there, trance-like. Probably more akin to hypnosis than possession. If you can think of anything to assist, feel free, I know a couple of you are learned in magic. Feel free to look over those files as well."

[Kish]

"Thank you," Norda says, taking the healing potions. "Unfortunately, I doubt I have useful insight into what malign influence was here." She goes to examine the files.

[Tacobob]

"Still trying to figure out how those pipes were able to even summon those bug things.", Umana mumbled as she helped the others go through the files. "Magic bug summoning song?" She had heard about bards who could do wonders with their music, was that the same?

[kinem]

Daron tries his usual checks for magic and for psychic significance.

[Starscream]

Daron does spy a slight aura of psychic significance on the pipers, a sense of hate similar to the one that was on the monument.

Norda begins going through the documents. They are something of a mess, having been intended simply to give a monthly report to the town council that things were proceeding normally at the prison. There is indeed a list of prisoner names, over a hundred and twenty of them, but some are referred to only by initials or aliases. The report describing goings on at the prison is similarly haphazard, sometimes using prisoner names or cell numbers, or referring to events of previous months under the assumption that the reader was already familiar with them. Getting a clear picture of who on the manifest was involved in what could prove tricky.

Norda and anyone else wishing to study the documents can make an intelligence check to correctly decipher them.