The group carefully stepped into the large hall, taking care to avoid the life-like manticore in the center.  Two large double-doors to the west clearly led back outside, and stepping around the manticore the group could see a curving staircase heading to the upper floor of the manor.

To the east was a wide corridor.  A rather gruesome antique--what appeared to be a mummified monkey head--hung on the northern wall of the corridor, a bellpull extending from its tiny gaping mouth.  A ratty throw rug partially obscured a foul stain of dark colored mold on the floor.  The stain was a swirling pattern of dark blue, sickly green, and black mold growing in a spiral.

Through the corridor was what looked to be a dining room, with a mahogany table surrounded by chairs.  Twin fireplaces loomed to the west, while to the east, stained glass windows obscured what could have been a breathtaking view of the Lost Coast.

Each window depicted a monster rising out of smoke pouring from a seven-sided box.  From north to south, they showed a gnarled tree with an enraged face, an immense, hook-beaked bird with sky-blue and gold plumage, a winged centaurlike creature with a lion's lower body and a snarling woman's upper torso, and a deep blue squidlike creature with evil red eyes.

   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z
  +--+--+--+--+-xxW-+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
1 |  |  |  |  |x | W|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--x--+--xx-+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
2 |  |  |  | D|  |  | x|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+D-+--+--+--x--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
3 |  |  |  x  |  |  |  |x |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+-x+--+--+--+--+-xx--+--+--+--xxxxWWxxxx--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
4 |  |  |x |  |  |  |  |  |W |  |  |  s  |  |  x  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--x--+--+--+--+--+--+-xxxxxxxxxxx--+--+--x--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
5 |  |  |W |  |  |  |  |  |  D  |tt|  x  |  |fpx  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+-xx--+--+--+--ppppppx--+--+--x--+--+--x--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
6 |  |  |  |W |  |  |  pppp  x  |  |  x  |  |  W  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+-xxDDxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxDDxxxx--+--+--x--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
7 |  |  |  | x|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  D  |  |  x  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--xxxxWWxxxxDDxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxDDxxxxx-+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
8 |  x  |  |  |  |  |R |  x  |  |  xfp|  |  |  |  | xxW |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--x--+--+--+--+--+--+--xxxxxxxDDx--+--+--+--+--+--+xxW--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
9 |  D  |  mmmmmmmmmm  |K |P |  s  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |xxW  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--D--+--MMMMMMMMMM--+--+--+-sss-+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+x-+--+--+--+--+--+--+
10|  D  |  mmmmmmmmmm  |C |L |  s  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |xxW  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--x--+--+--+--+--+--+--xxxxxxxDDx--+--+--+--+--+--+xxW--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
11|  x  |  |  |  |  |  |  x  |  |  xfp|  |  |  |  | xxW |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--xxxxwwxxxx--xxxxxxxDDx--+--+--xxxxxxxxxxDDxxxxx-+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
12|  |  |  |  |x | x|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+-xx--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
13|  |  |  |  |  |x |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
14|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
15|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
16|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
17|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
18|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
19|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+


W = Window   D = Door  p = piano  t = washtub fp = fireplace
M/m = Manticore  s = Stain

This message was last edited by the GM at 18:28, Tue 21 June 2016.

"That's curious," said the gnome, without specifically indicating what it was that she'd found curious.  Though, in truth, she was looking looking straight down the corridor toward the array of stained glass on the far side of the big room.  "People don't usually use stained glass to cover the sorts of views you'd see facing the sea from here.  You can't see through stained glass, and it covers the view."

"Maybe the pictures have some significance," Pisca speculated.  "Or, maybe the builder was just afraid of heights."

"And speaking of which, I think I would like to see that Monkey's head up a little closer."  She turned and held her arms up to Stomper in an unmistakeable request to be lifted.  "If you'd please?"

Pisca Neep Freemish rolled 18.  Perception to examine the monkey.

Position: I9

Active Effects: Message on all 50m

Expended
L1 - 4/5
L2 - 2/3

"If the person who built this place was afraid of heights," Liseth said, glancing back at the monster in the main lobby then forward to the frightful depictions on the windows, "then they must have been fearless regarding everything else."

The blonde acolyte peered through the dim lighting ahead to try and make out the images on the windows better.  "All those monsters and creatures look terrifying...no...wait."  She went to take a step forward but paused.  The small girl looked down at the peculiar mold pattern on the ground and quickly decided that it was best to not disturb it for the moment.  Her attention went back to the far wall with the stained-glass monsters.

"They actually look more like they are terrified..."  She pointed, "Do you see how their faces are contorted?   They aren't snarling or being scary...they all of them look like they are scared of something.  Deeply scared..."  A frown found its way onto the girl's face, "Why would they make them look so scared?  What are they supposed to be frightened of?"

"Wait, don't get near that."  Liseth indicated the strange, partially-obscured mold on the floor.  "That pattern looks strange; I don't think it's natural.  Let me have a look at it first."

With her light-casting symbol in hand, Liseth inched closer to the mold without actually touching it; leaning down to see if she could identify these strangely located plants.

OOC: Knowledge (Nature) to identify the mold?
This message was last edited by the player at 18:08, Wed 22 June 2016.

"Maybe they don't want to be put into a box, Lys," Pisca suggested.  "See, the only thing those poor creatures seem to have in common is that box.  And smoke the coming out the top.  Uncomfortable maybe.  A smoking box.  But not really what this gnome would call terrifying."

"Oh, and they're all elemental.  They share that too.  Or they could.  If you twist your eyes to look at them the right way.  The tree is wood, the bird is Phoenix fire, the sphinx is air, and the kraken is the sea."

"But ... why would the artist who made these windows want to put four elementals in a seven-sided box?"

"Monkey," the gnome insisted again, her arms reaching up to Kellan.  Each word was accompanied by its own little hop.  "Monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey."

Pisca Neep Freemish rolled 18.  Perception to examine the monkey.

Position: I9

Active Effects: Message on all 50m

Expended
L1 - 4/5
L2 - 2/3

Cato turned his attention from the stuffed manticore to the other sights in the room.  The first thing that caught his attention was the stained glass windows, and the mage stepped forward, almost stepping over the moldy stain on the floor before Liseth called his attenton to it.

"Thanks, Liseth.  Caught up in those windows.  Very strange.  If I'm not mistaken, those symbols on the boxes are actually necromantic runes.  Chalk another thing up to mystery.  Why would you want necromantic runes in your horrid depictions of monsters?  Someone in the Foxglove family had a strange sense of decorating taste...or possibly this business with the ghouls goes back further than we think."

"Actually ... that begins to make more sense, Cato," said the gnome, her arms still raised to be lifted into the air.  "I would be afraid if someone were trying to put me into a smoky necromantic box too."

"Up, up, up," she chanted.

"I guess the key to the mystery lies in figuring out just what kind of necromantic box that is."

"Monkey.  Monkey.  Monkey.  Monkey."

Pisca Neep Freemish rolled 18.  Perception to examine the monkey.

Position: I9

Active Effects: Message on all 50m

Expended
L1 - 4/5
L2 - 2/3

---

---

Kellan eyed the manticore uncomfortably.  It was strange seeing something from bedtime stories right in front of him, even in its stuffed form—as if Chask Haladan had bewitched them all into one of the adventure tales he was forever reading the children.  Kellan had to admit that whoever had done the taxidermy was an artist; the thing was incredibly life-like.  He could almost smell the burnt sulfur or whatever it was that gave the monster its legendary fiery breath.

Pisca’s query shook him from his thoughts.  “Up to that?”  He looked suspiciously at the monkey’s head.  The bell-pull seemed innocuous enough, but who knew in this house?  “All right.”  He lifted the gnome up so that she could inspect the late simian’s cranium at close range.

Meanwhile, Liseth knelt down to look at the stain on the ground as Kerr stood over her protectively.  “Who would ever want to live someplace like this?”  He asked, glancing around the entry hall.  “Even when it was new it must have been unnerving.  Take those stained glass windows.  Who does that?”

---

---

"Thank you, Stomper," said the gnome with the gratitude of a precocious human child as she was lifted to the ceiling.

"Hmmm.  Mister Monkey Head looks as though he can be easily removed," she then added after a quick examination.  But ... maybe that's the way he's supposed to look.  Lets take a closer look."  With careful finger she poked her way around the funny monkey head to ensure that removal would not cause any undue pain or ... alarm.

Pisca Neep Freemish.  Perception for Traps.

To move things on, go ahead and have Pisca take the head off the wall if she finds no traps.

Position: I9

Active Effects: Message on all 50m

Expended
L1 - 4/5
L2 - 2/3

---

---

Pisca carefully probed around the monkey head and examining it to determine if there might be some sort of trap mechanism.  Finding none, she cautiously removed it from the wall, only to find that . . .

. . . absolutely nothing happened.  The gnome was now the proud possessor of a disembodied monkey head with a long bell pull protruding from its mouth.

---

---

Kellan found the sensation of having the gnome on his shoulders reminded him of better times. When was the last time he had given young Aeren a piggy back ride? it felt like it had been forever.

As Pisca worked he tried to hold still for her and instead focused on how tiny her shoes were. What a life? to be so tiny...it was little wonder she had such a different perspective on things and he wondered in turn how it must be to wander through a world so oversize for your own dimensions, and how nice it must be to have things that were "right sized" now and then.

He made a note to maybe get her a gift, a right sized one, should they make it back.

"Monkey."  The gnome crooned softly to herself as she wound the bell pull gently around the head and stored the entirety of it in her magic haversack.  She slid from Kellan's shoulder, and landed lightly on the floor, absorbing the impact with her legs.

"Do we actually want to go into that room?" Pisca asked, pointing across the curiously regular splotch of mold to the room graced with the stained glass artwork.  "I think we should go up the stairs," she opined.  "Start at the top and work our way down.  I want to find The Crying Woman," added the gnome, and gave no more detailed explanation for her desire than, "She sounded sad."

Position: I9

Active Effects: Message on all 50m

Expended
L1 - 4/5
L2 - 2/3

"That can't be...natural."  Liseth removed the rug on the floor to fully reveal the moss on the floor.  The swirling colors of blue, green, and black mold spread ten feet across the hall, "Why is it a spiral, mold shouldn't..."

The girl stopped and leaned closer to look at the mold without touching it, holding on to Kerr to keep her balance.  "Look at this..." she said, "It isn't just a spiral.  It looks like a...a stairs?  A spiraling stairs.  Don't you think so Kerr?"  Liseth leaned back and looked at him.

"It's like someone put this mold here like a picture...or a map?  Of a stairs...that looks like it's covered in bones going down...down...down..."

"What's that Pisca?  A crying woman?"  Liseth stood up and stepped away from the spiraling mold stain.  "I didn't hear anything..."  She looked down at the gnome holding here freshly retrieved monkey head, "Do you think it might be another...ghost?  Like the one I saw in the dancing hall?"

"Could be," Pisca mused, still, apparently, somewhat distracted.  She lifted the top flap of her magic bag for a peek inside.  A grin spread across the gnome's head as the funny monkey head lay there on top, real and in gnomish possession.  (Though in truth, the thing was somewhat macabre in its shriveled, lifeless, gaping mouthed way.)

"Could be a lady ghost, Lys.  A sad lady ghost that needs saving.  She may even be a gnome," Pisca added, finding great significance in that realization.

"You know another reason for going up first?" asked the gnome as she wandered back out into the Manticore room - skirting, of course, the Manticore itself - and heading for the curving staircase heading to the upper floor of the manor.  "The ghoulies all live *down*stairs.  I'm pretty sure they do.  It makes sense when you consider that Your Lordship is using the rivers.  He has a secret entrance at the base of the cliff that lets right out into the water.  That's why we didn't find any tracks outside."  Pisca stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked up into the curved well of the staircase.

"Maybe that's what the mold is trying to tell you, Lys.  Bones going down.  Bones bones bones.  Dey going down down down."

Position: E11

Active Effects: Message on all 50m

Expended
L1 - 4/5
L2 - 2/3

Cato shivered at the morbid future hinted at in the group's discussions.  The visions and other sensorial inputs were disturbing.  A side effect of the intense aura of necromancy that infuses the house, perhaps? Cato mused to himself.  But how to test it?  You certainly wouldn't want to go around making powerful necromantic artifacts or infusing such a large amount of necromantic energy into a structure.  I wonder if different schools of magic would have different effects?  Would a similar aura of Transmutation result in something akin to synesthesia?  And what of Illusion itself?  Would the sensations generated by a strong aura include multiple sense, or just end up being literally unable to be distinguished from reality?  Cato shivered.  I hope Paravicar Winters never finds out about these effects.

Cato shook off his reverie and refocused on the current problem.  "We shouldn't dawdle here longer than we need to.  It could be this intense necromantic aura is affecting in more ways than these ghostly illusions.  Let's start up and work our way down."

---

---

The group moved slowly up the curving staircase to the second floor, the silence broken only by the occasional creaking and groaning of timbers as they settled deeper into the cliffside.  The stillness seemed unnatural; it almost made it difficult to breathe, provoking an animalistic, atavistic urge to gasp for air in huge gulping swallows even though the conscious mind knew that this air was just as good as it had been downstairs.

The narrow staircase emptied out into a hallway.  The corridor curved to the left and widened, revealing a total of eight doorways.  Two sets of double doors faced each other across the main hall, and the party had already passed two smaller ones, one to their right and one two their left.  Down the hallway stood four additional doors, two to the west, one at the end of the hallway, and one in the northeast portion of the hallway.

None of the doors gave any indication of what might lie behind them.  Again, the walls and doors were all covered with swirling, strange mold patterns that at first seemed to represent . . . something, but closer inspection revealed the growth to be seemingly random.  Still, from the corner of your eye . . .

   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
1 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
2 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
3 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
4 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
5 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
6 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
7 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
8 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
9 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
10|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
11|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
12|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
13|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
14|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
15|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
16|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+-xxxx+--+--+-xx--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
17|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |D |  x  |  |x |D |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--x--+--+xxxDDx--+-x+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
18|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  D  |  |  |  |  |x |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--xxxxxxxxxx--+--x--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
19|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  x K|P x  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--x--+--x--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
20|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  D L|C D  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--x--x--+--+--+--D--+--D--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
21|  |  |  |  |  |  x  x  |  |  |  D R|  D  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+x-+x-+--+--+-xx--+--x--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
22|  |  |  |  |  |  | W| x|  |  |D |  |  |x |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--x--xxxxxxx--+-xx--D--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
23|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |x |  |  |  |x |xx|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+-xxxxxxxxxxx--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
24|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
25|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
26|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+

---

---

"There.  Do you hear?"  The gnome grew very still and sniffed the air as though attempting to catch the scent of the sound.  "That's her.  She's sad."

"Still can't pick out where she is, though.  But she's here.  Somewhere.  I can hear it."

On cat feet, a gnome stalking her prey, Pisca moved with quiet purpose from door to door, listening at each to detect from behind which the sobbing was coming.

Listen at each door.  Take 20 if possible.

Position: Move from door at L20 and moving counter-clockwise.  Ending at I18.

Active Effects: Message on all 50m

Expended
L1 - 4/5
L2 - 2/3

*puff* "Whew."

Pisca stole a moment, standing in front of the final door, after rushing around to all seven doors, a moment for a breath, just that long to rest before reporting to the others.

"Nothing," she said, speaking through her Whisper Magic for the first time in a while.  "Couldn't hear anything behind any of the doors," she continued.  "Which makes sense if you consider that everything in this house is probably dead.  I think."

"I'm going to sneak a peek behind each door.  I'll start with this one and work my way back."

Peeking behind door at I18

Pisca Neep Freemish rolled 34.  Peeking behind door at I18.

Position: I18.

Active Effects: Message on all 50m

Expended
L1 - 4/5
L2 - 2/3

"Wait, Pisca..."  Liseth stopped dead in the middle of her cursory examination of the strange mold all over the walls.  She clutched Kerr's arm, "What did you hear?  Was it the crying woman again?"

"I heard something too..." the girl looked around as though hoping she would see something, knowing she wouldn't.  "But it sounded like a child to me...a little child who whispered right into my ear just now.  They said..."  Liseth paused and bit her lip for a second before continuing, "They said 'what's that on your face mommy?'"

"They sounded scared too.  Like whatever they were asking...their mommy about," assuming that the child hadn't meant her somehow, "was something dreadful.  Pisca, do you think that maybe the crying woman you heard might be the mother of the scared child that I heard?"

"Kerr, did you hear anything?  Are we all hearing different things?"  This was concerning to the girl.  Ghosts and spirits played with people's perceptions.  Who knew what could happen next?

The gnome stood on tip toes.  Frozen, her hand poised as it reached for the knob of the door.

"Yeah.  Yeah, Lys," she replied.  "It was the crying woman.  It was the same voice."

There was a pause then that filled itself with silence.  Silence that sloshed up as it hit the bottom, nearly spilling up over the lip.

"I think we have to look, Lysa," replied the gnome at last.  "No matter how horrible it may be.  No matter how afraid.  If we don't, we'll never be able to help anyone."  Pisca said.

"Will we?"  And she only hesitated for but a moment more before her hand continued to the doorknob for a peek of possibly unimaginable horror.

Peeking behind door at I18

Pisca Neep Freemish rolled 34.  Peeking behind door at I18.

Position: I18.

Active Effects: Message on all 50m

Expended
L1 - 4/5
L2 - 2/3

Cato froze.  "I hear it too..."  The wizard trailed off as Liseth spoke, then shook his head.  "No, I'm hearing the woman crying, like Pisca.  I think we need to be careful.  The necromantic aura, remember?  This place is probably suffused with energy, maybe multiple people died here, and these whispers and such are all effects generated by their deaths.  Sandpoint has a good reason for calling this 'The Misgivings', it seems."

Cato waited for Pisca to uncover the next dark secret that surely lay in waiting.

---

---

“I heard something too,” a slightly-pale Kellan broke into the conversation, glancing around as if unnerved.  “In . . . in my ear.”  He put a hand up about six inches from the side of his head.  “As if someone were talking to me.”  He put his hand down.  “A man’s voice.  It said ‘she can’t be trusted.’”  He looked around.  “What happened here?”

“I, uh, I heard something like that.”  Kerr nodded in response to Liseth’s question.  “A man’s voice.  Saying ‘what has she done?’  He seemed . . . panicked?”  He looked at the ceiling as if trying to find he right word.  "He sounded angry and afraid at the same time."

While Kellan and Kerr shared the news of their own disembodied voices, Pisca carefully checked behind the doors on the upper floor.   The door down the west hallway was locked, but after some work she opened in to find a staircase leading further up into the manor.

The door next to that led into a large bedroom.

The door at the north end of the hallway in which the party stood revealed a washroom with an iron tub, and the door just to the east of that a bedroom caked with a thick, spongy layer of dark green, blue, and black mold.  The double-doors to the east led to a large room featuring two padded chairs and a long couch facing a wide alcove with stained glass windows, while the double-doors to the west hid a large chamber, bereft of furniture, with paintings hanging on the north and south walls and another set of double doors to the west.

The door to the southwest let to a long, thin corridor heading off to the west before turning north, and the door to the southeast led to what looked like a child’s bedroom.

None of the rooms appeared to be occupied.

   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
1 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
2 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
3 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
4 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
5 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
6 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
7 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
8 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
9 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
10|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
11|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
12|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+-xxx-+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
13|  |  |  |  |  |  |x | xx  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--x--+--+xx+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
14|  |  |  |  |  | x|  |  |  x  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+x-+--+--+--+xx+--+--+--xxxxWWxxxx--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
15|  |  |  |  |  x  |  |  |  |  x  |  |  x  |  |  W  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+-x-+--+--+--+--+--xxxxxxxxx--+--+--x--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
16|  |  |  |  | W|  |  |  |  | x|  |  |  x  |  |  x  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+x-+--+--+-xxxx+--+--+-xx--+--+--x--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
17|  |  |  |  |  | x|  |  |D |  x  |  |x |D |  |  x  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--xxxxxxx--+--+xxxDDx--+-xxxxxxxx--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
18|  |  |  |  |  |  x  |  D  |  |  |  |  |x |  |  x  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--x--xxxxxxxxxxxxx--+--x--+--+--xxWxxx+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
19|  |  |  |  |  |  |  x  |  |  |  x K|P x  |  |  |  |  Wx |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--x--+--+--+--x--+--x--+--+--+--+--+-x+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
20|  |  |  |  |  |  |  D  |  |  |  D L|C D  |  |  |  |  |  W  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--D--+--+--+--D--+--D--+--+--+--+--+-x+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
21|  |  |  |  |  |  |  D  |  |  |  D R|  D  |  |  |  |  Wx |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+x-+x-+--xxxxxxx--+--x--+--+--xxWxxx+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
22|  |  |  |  |  |  | W| x|  |  |D |  |  |xx|  |  x  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--x--xxxxxxx--+-xx--D--xxxxxxx--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
23|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |x |  |  |  |x |xx|  |  |  W  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+-xxxxxxxxxxx--+--+--+--+--x--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
24|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  x  |  |  |  |  x  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+x-+--+--+--+--x--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
25|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | x|  |  |  |  x  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--xWWxxxxxxxWWx--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
26|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+

---

---

The gnome's gaze had lingered on the stain-glassed windows, tempted by the parallel with the ones in the room one floor down.  Then, with her peculiar brand of selected single-mindedness, she shook her head and moved on.

"Stairs up," Pisca whispered after having checked behind the last door and found nothing immediately threatening.  "Up, up," she chanted.  "We can explore these rooms on the way down."  The gnome stalked quickly back around to the stairs that had, very curiously, been sealed behind a locked door, and began her ascent to the next floor of the haunted mansion.

Position: Unknown.  Heading up the stairs.

Active Effects: Message on all 50m

Expended
L1 - 4/5
L2 - 2/3

"I think..." Liseth peeked through the door that led into what seemed to be a child's bedroom.  She turned when Pisca started up the next set of stairs.  "Alright...we can start at the top and work our way down through the manor."  She looked back at the child's room, "I just think that we'll be able to learn more about the child if we look in here..."

Mr Foxglove didn't have kids, she was sure.  But this house was in his family for generations so there was no telling how long ago it last had children in it.  Or why this particular child was so scared...of whatever had happened to their mother.

Her head shook slowly in response to Kellan asking what happened here.  "Something terrible..."

Liseth paused at the stairs with apprehension as she looked up.  In most houses, the topmost floor is used for storage...the attic.  It's full of memories and sometimes even hidden surprises.  What could they expect to find in the topmost room of this evil place?

Cato nodded, following Pisca as she ascended.  Nothing but energy, nothing but energy... the wizard repeated to himself, though it didn't help matters any that necromantic energy could be incredibly dangerous is such concentrated amounts.

---

---

The party moved carefully up the staircase to the attic, their inexplicably-driven gnome in the lead.  These stairs creaked loudly under the party's weight--alarmingly loudly in Kellan's case--but in the end they held up to the party's passage without any problems.

Rather than the musty storage room one might normally associate with an attic the companions found yet another hallway, this one full of doors.  The corridor led south before turning west.  Peeking around the corner, Pisca could see that the passage continued for around 25 feet, past no less than five doors, before turning again to the north.

The air in this part of the house seemed noticeably warmer than the coolness to which the group had become accustomed downstairs.  It was just as still, though, although every so often it almost seemed like there was something just at the edges of audible hearing, as if someone was trying to whisper in a voice far too soft to discern.

Listening at the closest door--the only one in the eastern section of the corridor--Pisca could once again not hear anything on the other side.

   A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
1 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
2 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
3 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--xxxxxxx--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
4 |  |  WL |R S  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--x--xxxx--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
5 |  |  DC x  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--x--x--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
6 |  |  xK x  |  |  |  x  x  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--x--xDDxxxxDDxxxx--x--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
7 |  |  xP |  |  |  |  |  x  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--xxxxxxxDDxxxxDDxDDx--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
8 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
9 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
10|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
11|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
  +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+

---

---

This message was lightly edited by the GM at 07:13, Wed 13 July 2016.