"Almost like they knew something bad was coming, hm?" Erista suggests.  "I suppose it won't hurt to have a look around in case they dropped something or missed something little, anyway.  And we can talk to the neighbors, find out when he left.  Doesn't look like it's been more than a day or two, really.  Maybe he even said something like how nice the weather'll be in Such And Such, could give us an idea what road to look down, if we want to try," she suggests.

She starts walking deeper into the house, looking about for anything dropped or missed, or otherwise more interesting than a lack of dust.

Off goes the hood, Eilieen peering about her in bemusement.  Unlike Erista, she finds the lack of dust very interesting (pleasantly surprising, in fact!).  "So they were here, then," she muses.  "As Erista notes, this would indicate the entire group was party to the summoning."

She paces into the house after her diminutive (in frame, not spirit!) friend.  Erista can look for clues; Eilieen knows she would be hopeless at such things.  Instead, she considers possibilities.  "Arkan, might everything have been moved out of here with sorcery?"  The priestess taps her finger against her lip, deep in thought.  "I strongly doubt a priest of the vile demon-god would carry the divine power to empty a home, but I suppose..."

OOC - Going to try a Religion Roll, why not?  :)  Not like I have any other useful skills for this situation...Edit: 18, might as well have taken 10.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:09, Thu 02 June 2016.

"Sorc'ry'd be doin' it I's reckonin'" Colwyn gives his expert opinion, "Or a gang of 'efty lads, with a cart.  In the middle of the night maybe."

As they move through the house, a pattern emerges...  All of the rooms on the ground floor are devoid of furniture, and are clean.  The upper storey is a different story though.  There the rooms are still empty, but there are thick layers of dust coating the floors, and dirt-laden cobwebs festoon the ceilings.

Strangely though, the only spiders to be seen appear to be dead.  All of them.

Colwyn casts an expert eye over the dust.  "'alf a year.  No bugger's cleaned up 'ere fer 'alf a year.  See, there's bein' a good layer of dust, an' nuthin's been disturbin' it.  Least ways not 'til Aarnr were jus' walkin' in there."

"I'd be likin' ter know what's been killin' all them there spiders.  Don't look like as it were bein' some bugger's shoe."

Using his knife the rogue scoops up a dead, but otherwise intact arachnid.

"I...don't really know." Arkan replies to Eileen after a long moment of reflection to her question. He nods though at Colwyn's response. "Indeed, it could be either, though most likely the latter. Sorcery is far to draining and dangerous to waste on moving nonessential items, like furniture."

As they explore the upper story Arkan gazes at the dust and dead spiders with some concern, a look of regret and frustration passing over his usually impassive features.

"This is not good. It appears obvious the ground floor was indeed inhabited until recently, as Lady Kallana has told us already. That can only mean our quarry has escaped, either after being forewarned or simply as a precautionary measure before the attack." He speaks softly, gazing at the dead arachnid impaled upon Colwyn's dagger wondering what the rogue might be looking for.

Does he think the dead spiders are some type of a clue?

"'e were livin' 'ere fer a bit.  That bein' right Kallana?"

The Justicar confirms it.  "The High Justicar, and other ranking members, dealt with Feldon here for more than two months before my visit."

"See, " Colwyn continues, "I's reckonin' as 'ow 'e were livin' 'ere all quiet like.  This is lookin' like a nice bit of town.  They got gardens, an' walls.  So Feldon's livin' 'ere, but 'e keeps 'is 'ead down, see?.  An' no bugger's seein' 'im.  An' if they's seein' the 'igh Justicar comin' ter visit, well... they's like as not thinkin' that the Justicars is lookin' ter get themselfs a 'ouse."

"What makes you say that?"

"On account of 'ow Feldon was only cleanin' the rooms what yer boss would be seein'.  Downstairs is clean.  Upstairs is lookin' like the dirty end of the stick."

Accepting Arkan's explanation with a nod and a thanks, Eilieen continues into the house, following along behind their sharp-eyed rogue.  Once they arrive at the upper floor, the hood goes up post-haste and she keeps her gloved hand over her mouth and nose.  Even when talking.

Speaking of which....

"Colwyn's thoughts make sense.  The spiders died from unholy power, I suspect," she murmurs through her fingers.  "Theories.  They wanted this house.  They took it.  Either the unholy emanations of their worship slew the small things of this house, or they, themselves, summoned the power to kill whatever lay within it before taking it.  Possibly a family, even.  If they were here for two months, who lived here before?"

A terrible thought.

"Half a year."  She closes her eyes, struggling to put things into place.  "They waited.  They must have known, or hoped, that your Justicars would need work done on the crypts.  And so they came, they made a name for themselves as stoneworkers, and waited.  Kallana, WHY did your order wish for the work to be done?  And for how long has this been discussed?"

Indeed the giant shoes are impressive, though given what he knows of shopkeeps, Aarnr naturally assumes the hedgepigs stole them.  A giant's head, on the other hand would leave no doubt.

Flowers are a concern, as they are either poison or attract a variety of unpleasant and invariably stinging or biting insects ... but the priest allows it does, somehow, seem to improve Eilieen's demeanour.  Perhaps she'll let him kill a few of the churlish masons after all.

The lack of those same masons, bedecked in black robes and chanting foul imprecations to their evil god comes as somewhat as a surprise to Aarnr, and he sees little point climbing the stairs ...

"The toad-knockers will be hiding below," he states, confidently.  "Those who breathe the dust of the grave shun the light for the dark places."

Kallana looks around the filthy room.  There is no furniture up here either, apart from a few broken items, thick with dust.  "We... we were expanding the crypt because we were running out of space to inter those of us who gave their lives in service to the Order.  The High Justicar decided that we should have a larger chapel down there too.  He spoke hopefully of recruiting more members, swelling our ranks, and said that the chapel would not be sufficient for services for so many.  He has been talking of this for years, and not just to the Order - he often attempted to raise money."

"Finally, this year, we could afford to at least extend the chapel."

And then a happier thought strikes, and she smiles at Eilieen.

"I don't think anybody was living here before these vile cultists.  At least not for some time.  There is no furniture up here, and I don't believe they would go to the trouble of removing it, not covered in dust as it would have been.  They found an empty house that suited their purpose, and just furnished the lower floor, for as long as they needed to."

Colwyn snaps his fingers, "That's soundin' right ter me.  It's bein' makin' more sense 'an killin' a 'ouse full of folk an' p'rhaps attractin' 'ttention."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Ozzy backs Aarnr.  "It doesn't look like they were ever up here.  We should go back downstairs, like Aarnr said."

Sounds like doing it the hard way to Aarnr.  Easier to pick a house and kill everyone in it than go hammering on door after door, smashing your way into any that go unanswered in a long and tedious search for one that is lacking in furniture but has no shortage of dust and cobwebs.

Grinning fiercely, the priest leads the charge back downstairs and, assuming the place is lacking in obvious subterranean staircases or trapdoors, proceeds to search carefully (mainly by stamping his feet) for hidden portals.

"Froggin' puttocks," Aarnr mutters as the clouds of dust rise.

"Better news, that," Eilieen murmurs, "but it does not explain the spiders.  Perhaps old age?  I know little of such creatures."  She takes a moment to say a brief prayer beneath her breath; never one to adore arachnids, Eilieen can yet feel pity for them if they died due to Orcus' influence.

Nothing natural should suffer that fate.

"It seems you were being watched, Kallana," she continues as they treck downstairs (she watches Aarnr with a dubious eye, knowing full well his planstendencies*).  "They waited a long time, until you decided to make the changes.  They had advance warning, and were able to establish themselves.  This...indicates there is a presence in this city of Orcus' people, but not a strong one.  They could only watch, not attempt to take what they wished by force."

* Eilieen also knows full well that Aarnr doesn't 'plan', per se.

Arkan follows the others downstairs slowly, listening to the others and thinking a few things over in his mind.

"It is doubtful they would still be here, hiding out; anyone still here would likely have left before the attack. But I suppose they may have left more clues as to their next move," he says, looking at Aarnr as he stomped around trying to find a secret entrance.

Looking at Kallana he adds, "Perhaps it might be a good idea to ask about at the gates if anyone left town in a hurry recently, and which direction they went in?"

Erista giggles a little as Aarnr starts his subtle search.

Aarnr and Ozzy start their search, stirring up what little dust there is to be found on the lower floor.

Kallana, meanwhile, agrees with Arkan.  "I think you're right.  Feldon would have left as soon as he was sure this scheme was going to work.  The longer he stayed here after his people started working, the greater the likelihood that he would be visited by a group of Justicars."

Nonetheless, her right hand remains close to the hilt of her sword, just in case.

As Aarnr leads the search of the lower floor, there is an increasingly noticeable (and not altogether pleasant) smell, which grows stronger as they move nearer the back of the structure.

Finally the priest stands before a closed door which has several dozen flies crawling about on it.  While Aarnr barely notices the almost overwhelming stench, Kallana gags, and raises her left hand to pinch her nose.

"Ye think something died in there ?" Aarnr asks Kallana in a low rumble, lips stretching wide in manic grin.  It is difficult to tell whether the priest is delighted at the prospect or a bit put out that he's too late to claim the credit.

Eagerly he pushes the door open (or will give it a good kicking down should it prove to be locked) ...

Standing just behind Kallana Arkan wrinkles his nose in disgust.

"Well, it appears we have found something after all," he mutters, waiting for Aarnr to open the door and steeling himself for whatever they would see.

He moved a little to the side, in order to make room to draw his sword in case it was needed. The door likely had only a rotting corpse or two, but it never hurt to be careful.

The door opens, sending up a cloud of flies and releasing an even stronger stench from the room behind it.  Kallana groans and turns away, heaving.

Beyond the door, the room looks to be a kitchen.  At least it contains a large stove, and a sturdy table with a stone slab top.  There is a second door, closed, which appears to lead out into a garden at the back of the house, at least that's what can be seen from the window near it.  A third door stands open, giving access to a larder.

And there are more flies swarming everywhere.  Hundreds of them.

The most likely reason for the presence of the flies is, of course, the body laying on the floor close to the table.  The parts of it that aren't covered by expensive-looking clothes are infested with maggots,  The cause of death also appears to be fairly obvious - the man has a ragged gash running across his throat from ear to ear, and his green velvet tunic is stained with dried blood.

Kallana's stomach finally gives up its desperate struggle, an she vomits on the floor outside the kitchen.

Wiping at her mouth with a corner of her cloak she points at the body and says, weakly, "That's Feldon.  He often wore that tunic."

The stench...the vile flies everywhere...Eilieen hides within her cloak hood, but it's to no avail; Kallana loses her breakfast, that sound and acrid smell joins the horror of the room, and Zadastha's priestess must perforce retreat lest she fall victim to the same malady.  "Goddess," she chokes, stumbling into the 'safer' hallway and moving some distance down it.  "Feldon might have been innocent," the priestess manages to croak out, covering her face again with the edge of her hood.

It doesn't help.

"Unless there is a basement, or Feldon has a letter upon him -" this said with the obvious intent of going nowhere near the body, herself "- we would be best following Arkan's idea of seeking word at the gates.  Far from here."  Turning away, she continues.  "If there is a room below, we should search.  For why would not these followers of Orcus create another circle ahead of time, this one to transport themselves?  It seems easier than fleeing afoot."

"Ech."  Erista holds her arm up to her face, pressing up under her nose to block out most, if not nearly enough, of the smell.  She doesn't look eager to wade into the cloud of flies and maggots, but she doesn't immediately back away, either.  "This looks like a good time to turn things over to the guards, doesn't it?" she suggests.

Aarnr might also find the foetid stench a tad unpleasant, but for the moment he has more important things on his mind.  "I thought ye said we weren't allowed to kill the puttock ?" he complains crossly to Eilieen's retreating back.

The priest approaches the deceased Feldon for a closer look, hoping to determine how long he's been dead.

"When's the last time ye saw the ... him ?" Aarnr asks Kallana.

"As I said, " Kallana manages to gasp, "I was here three weeks ago.  He was quite alive and well then."

Colwyn, a scarf wrapped around his mouth and nose, skirts around the room and opens a window to let some fresh air in (or to release the stink into the wild).  While he's there, he shoves his head out and takes a deep breath of cleaner air, before turning to address the room.  "So 'e were bein' killed maybe three weeks since?"

The priest shakes his head, "A week, ten days at most."  He seems inordinately proud of himself dealing with such big numbers, though is less certain of the implications.

Safe in the hallway - more or less - Eilieen calls out "When did the work start in earnest, Kallana?  Did the workers change at any time?  Feldon might be quite innocent - it's possible these people merely lurked about, waiting to see who would be hired for the work, then took advantage of that."

Waving away a few flies, she studies the corpse.  "To poor Feldon's detriment."

Standing outside the room with the rotting corpse Arkan covers his nose with a black gloved hand, peering at the scene in distaste. The flies bother him more than the body, their buzzing and swarming over the body grotesque and vile.

And the smell...Arkan's instincts scream to burn the room and the corpse with an Old Kingdom fire spell, the runes even flaming into life in his mind's eye, but then smothers the urge ruthlessly.

"Perhaps, or perhaps he was a loose end slaughtered when his assigned task was completed. Not an uncommon way certain cults and the like deal with lower ranking members," he states in reply to Eilieen's observations, his voice sounding somewhat muted behind the gloved hand.

"Although if Aarnr is correct and this occurred around a week ago, there might have been someone here to activate the portal from this end. Such magicks are not my forte so I cannot be sure." 

"Ye are froggin' right," the look that Aarnr bestows upon Arkan is probably more congratulatory than predatory.  "We must seek the other end of the bat-fowling portal."

So saying, the priest resumes the stomping about that proved so effective at locating dead bodies, in the certain knowledge that sooner or later he'll uncover a hidden way down to the basement where sufficient evidence may be found to ... well, probably a bit late to wreak dire revenge upon Felton, but there may be others in desperate need of being chopped into little pieces to atone for their crimes.

"Or maybe 'e were bein' part of the same gang, an' the others was bein' a bunch of greedy, backstabbin' buggers what was turnin' on 'im fer a extra bit of loot."  Colwyn nods his head, clearly confident that this scenario is common enough to be the most likely one.

Kallana, meanwhile, fields questions as best she can.

"I'm not sure.  I believe that the majority of the labourer's Feldom hired, right from the start of the work, came from Derindin.  Feldon apparently told somebody that they were cheaper than local workers.  If he later changed them, I never heard about it."

"The work started a little over three months ago, and they were still working in the crypt yesterday.  If I remember correctly, Feldon kept the same workers for all of that time."