"I will live Kendra, thank you for your concern," Darcon said with a fit of coughing from the dust generated by the collapse of the crypt. It appeared he had been wrong, someone else had gotten in, avoided the trap and accessed one of the chests.

A pity they had not been able to fully loot that chest, the potions looked enticing. Still, at least Kendra had gotten something. "Are there any scrolls in that case, or is it empty?" he asked her curiously.

The third chest ofcourse, was with Garland and Constantine. Darcon wondered if they would try to open it now or later, at the Professor's house. "Beware of any traps on that, especially the locking mechanism," he warned them, gesturing at the chest with his staff.

As he and Constantine stand watching the huge sinkhole form Garland cant help but think he owes Father Grimburrow a big apology. He would have to make ammends in some way both to the temple and the families for all the graves that had been disturbed with the sinkhole. "I have only a few bruises remaining." he said answering Kendra's question as he set his side of the chest down.

He set a hand on Enos' shoulder and pointed at the precipice where the soil was caving in. His voice is serious though his tone is equally full of remorse and care. "Go and tell the temple about this Enos. I will remain and watch the graveyard until Father Grimburrow decides on an action. With so many burial rights disturbed I would not be surprised if someone does not stay in their grave tonight."

Once the boy begins to run off he looks back at the others, espeically at the chest. "I suggest we place that under lock and key till we can access the contents. Perhaps some acid like the previous locks would do the trick...unless one you knows how to open it. I fear the key may be buried in whatever remains of the crypt. In the meantime I will stand guard here until this crisis can be dealt with."

SCG shakes his head
“I had but taken minor bruises compared to others the main blow did not reach into my thick head it angled away.”

He considers the items taken from the cache, the care taken in placement the trove designed for set purposes made him scratch his chin and wonder.


“This was obviously placed and intended for future use, and had the chamber collapsed it would be unknown and beyond reach.  Perhaps inside the chest is a mark of ownership.”

As potentially useful as the contents might be SCG wanted to see restitution or payment made to the rightful owner.

Perhaps he was ahead of himself
“Does the chest bear a mark of ownership or of the craftsman who wrought it?”

He smiled recalling the blacksmith he had meet earlier in the day....
This message was last edited by the player at 22:41, Wed 20 Feb 2019.

"Well that was the easiest crypt raiding that I've seen."  Keanala said, putting away her morningstar and pulling out her bow.  The sinkhole had not escaped her notice, and her eyes grew serious as she glanced over at it.  "Not that I've been part of any tomb raiding before."

"Hey, Garland.  You're not going to be staying here alone.  I'll keep you company."

"Th' cache'll be taken care of, but if any of the dead would rise tonight, I want to be here to put them back down." the dwarf speaks up as the others file out of the crypt.

Enos nodded to Garland, wide eyed, and scampered off towards the temple.

Kendra spread her haul out on the grass where she and Darcon could examine the items. The scroll case was a dull, unadorned folio, the edges sealed with beeswax as such things often were to keep out moisture. She broke the seal with her kitchen knife and withdrew several sheets of parchment, which she passed to Darcon. There were four scrolls, a scroll of detect undead, a scroll of hide from undead, and two scrolls of protection from evil. The quiver held ten finely crafted arrows, which upon further appraisal proved to be +1 arrows.

Constantine's examination of the chest showed no special insignia or markings. It was old, sturdy, and well made, but otherwise un-remarkable.

"It seems so...strange." She said, musing now that they were out of danger.

"It does look like my father came here and took some of the things from the second chest. But why did the ceiling collapse on us, and not on him? It didn't look like we set off a trap, it just caved in."

She shrugged, ever practical.

"If the three of you are going to keep watch here tonight I'll drop by later with some supper. Oh, hello Father." She greeted the aging priest as Father Grimburrow puffed around the corner, followed closely by Enos.

"By Pharasma, what happened?" He asked, taking in the bloodied adventurers and collapsed gravestones behind the mausoleum.

Garland looks at the man, ashamed of his inability to stop the collapse and the damage to the graveyard. Who knew how many burial rites had been effected and how many dormant spirits might rise now that their graves had been distrubed. "I am still trying to piece that together myself father. We found the cache that Professor Lorrimor had mentioned in his journal and we found the religious artifacts also mentioned. However there was some kind of trap set, one I assume Petros did not fall for, yet I did. I felt a sense of fear and fascination as I lost control of my body, forced to walk to the center of the room before I saw huge spectral hammer come down upon me. When the vision faded the roof of the crypt collapsed. We escaped but as you can see the damage is substantial. Fearing the worst, I dared not leave in case someone did not stay in their grave"

"It's strange days in Ravengro, with the commotion in the square yesterday and again this morning, the dead animals, and now this." Father Grimburrow said, gesturing at the sagging gravestones.

"You saw a vision, you say? Felt compelled? It could have been a Haunt."

Father Grimburrow gave a brief explanation of the rare supernatural phenomenon. A haunt, as it turns out, is part way between a spirit and part way between a trap. Unquiet spirits gather malevolent energy in the haunted area and then wait, poised to attack any living creature that happens upon them. The effects of a haunt vary from minor spectral phenomena to catastrophic destruction in the haunt's area. The spells detect undead and detect evil give a chance to detect a haunt before it triggers, although they are by no means guaranteed. Once expended a haunt typically re-forms several days later, and can be cleansed permanently by putting the angry spirits to rest.

After his explanation he motioned to Enos.

"Stay here, and keep watch on the crypt with these brave adventurers. If there are no further disturbances by midnight tonight we are most likely safe from further ghostly reprisals. I will take the artifacts that you recovered to the temple, and see if we can get this chest open."

Shara nods in understanding as the priest explains to them the nature of haunts.

"I am familiar with such forms of spiritual activity. I have a few tools to help combat them, and I should have been more wary for haunts during our expedition. It was folly to assume that such a thing wouldn't be present on hallowed land." she replies, her voice tinged with regret at the harm her companions had suffered.

Darcon recieved the scrolls from Kendra with a nod of appreciation, carefully rolling them up and putting them into his own scroll case. Then taking out a vial of greenish substance from his own equipment he held it up for the others, including the just arrived Grimburrow.

"Acid, we can use it to open this chest right now to see if there is anything we might find useful in our investigation," he offered helpfully. Something the priest just said though tickled his mind and he couldn't help asking, "Dead animals? Can you tell us more about that?"

SCG had not realized the effect he had thought a gas had made his head swim and in a dreamlike state he had wandered forward.

He immediately thought of how the professor had died perhaps that too was a haunt.

He nodded grimly but kept quiet and stood watchful over the group and the graves...

"A haunt...I've read about them though I know of no one that has experienced one. Perhaps until now. I will have to adjust my blessings from the lady knowing that. I would hate to be caught so unaware yet again." he says, considering the implications and thinking back to his years of study of the undead and supernatural phenomena.

He looks back at Darcon, nodding at the idea. "If you have some acid, or if one of you knows how to pick a lock then we should get it open. If not perhaps the general store has some...in fact, we should make a stop there anyway if we intend to make a trip to the prison. I believe that is our next lead."

"Oh, I thought you had heard. It seems our vandal was not so careful as he was yesterday. One of the deputies found a dead cat in a nearby alleyway, evidently the source of the bloody graffiti this morning. People are scared, and Sheriff Caeler announced that he's having a deputy keep watch on the monument tonight." Father Grimburrow said to Darcon.

He nodded his assent to the mage's suggestion of using acid to melt open the chest, like the lock on the mausoleum and the now buried chests in the crypt. It was a relatively quick matter and then the chest was open.

Like the other two this one was divided into compartments. Two of the compartments held haunt siphons, two held potions that proved to be potions of cure light wounds, and the last several had the dividers removed to make space for an oblong darkwood case with the symbol of an eye over a crossed sword and feather worked in silver on the lid.

The case was shallow and the only thing inside it was a palm-sized token, vaguely heart shaped, and worked in brass. The interior of the lid was carved with letters, numbers, and the words 'Yes, No, and Maybe'. Darcon's extensive study gave him some clue as to its function, but Shara recognized it immediately as a spirit planchette, an item used in spiritual divination.

"Remarkable." Said Father Grimburrow, who evidently recognized it as well. "To think that these had been hidden beneath the Restlands all these years. Enos, take these back to the temple." He lifted the chest with the spirit planchette, potions, and haunt siphons.

Garland nods slowly, though its a shame he didnt get the chance to study the architecture of the crypt before its collapse. "While I dont know how Petros found out about the cache, once I knew roughly where it was it was a process of elimination to find its location. The temples records were invaluable in that search."

He see's Enos go to collect the items and puts up a hand in a halting motion. "Father Grimburrow, I agree that these items must be cataloged and studied if only from an academic perspective but what Petros wrote still remains. They are useful items that will aid the next step of the investigation. I would like to request their use when we investigate the prison. If everything Petros wrote is true, and the stories about the prison are true, I believe it is the cause of the change in mood for Ravengro's people. Thus an expedition into the prison is warranted and we should have the tools to protect ourselves against haunts, ghosts, and who knows what else."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:35, Tue 26 Feb 2019.

"Tools are good."  Keanala sided with Garlands opinion.  "Haunts and Ghosts just giggle at simple steel.  If we are going to encounter any of the sort, we need items that will help us deal with any encounters."

She turned to Father Grimburrow.  "Please, Father.  Consider Garlands words."

“Tis truth we sought the cache and information for a coming threat.  The blood upon the center of town proclaims darkness is marking this place for foul intention.”

Father Grimburrow considered for a long moment and then nodded sagely.

"If the threat that the professor mentioned is as grave as you say then you may indeed need these items to combat it. Very well. I will leave the examination and cataloging to you." He said to Garland.

"I would like a report for the temple archives, beyond that you are free to use these artifacts."

He tucked his hands into his sleeves and gathered up Enos, still dazed looking, and bowed to the group.

"Luck be with you." He said, and turned towards the temple.

Shara looks over the recovered items with interest, particularly the planchette and haunt siphons.

"These tools will be most useful for aiding our investigation, by allowing us to communicate with spirits or capture the essence of a haunt. I'm glad we all managed to survive our encounter, and with these we should have better luck on our next one." she remarks, her fingers brushing the surface of the objects.

Garland nods slowly and bows slightly to the aging priest. "I will cataloge them as we wait for night here. Thank you Father." he replied before looking at the others. In truth he was starting to feel like the leader of this little group as everyone seemed to agree with his suggestions.

Garland had dealt with restless spirits before so he know knowledge would be their greatest weapon and they needed more of it, yet he was duty bound to remain for the time being. "Since we are all gathered I believe we should discuss the next phase of our investigation. We still require a few pieces of information though my duty as a cleric means I must remain here tonight to ensure the dead remain at rest. However that does not mean we must all remain. The next step, in my opinion, should be Harrowstone itself. We still need a list of the prisoners and staff who passed in the harrowstone fire. If possible a map of the grounds would also help.  If Keanala and I remain this should free the rest of you to conduct your own research and investigations. Tommorrow morning we can regroup to share any findings. "

SCG shakes his head..
“I believe Garland and I can watch over the graveyard tonight, perhaps resting in the day tomorrow when y’all are handling more search for answers.”

He looks for a comfortable and defensible position, likely one with stone beneath his feet.

“Also if anyone is inclined to have the detect evil and magic spells handy it would benefit us all.”

"We already have a list of the staff that passed away in the fire, so that only leaves the prisoners. The archives at the town hall would be most likely to contain that sort of information. I don't know how many records of the prison survived the fire, and it was over fifty years ago, but I'm sure they'll have something." Kendra said.

She took her leave of the group stationed at the cemetery as they settled down to watchful vigilance. She returned at lunch time to drop off a large pannier filled with bread, cheese and salt pork for lunch, along with wine and a picnic basket.

The day wore on uneventfully, and when Kendra came by the Restlands with dinner the only people our heroes had seen were the occasional townfolk who came by to visit the graves of relatives or gawp at the sinkhole.

The graveyard took on a chilling air as evening settled into dusk. Lengthening shadows crept out from the grave stones, turning the orderly and well kempt markers into lurking, mismatched threats that seemed to encircle and loom over our heroes. A couple of guttering torches thrust into the earth made the shadows leap and dance, drawing the eye and distracting the mind. As the night wore on our heroes took it in shifts to keep watch, wary eyes peering out into the night.

It was a nervous, frightening experience, to spend a night of silent vigil in the graveyard. But as the pale fingers of dawn began to creep over the horizon a feeling of relief pervaded the morning air. The night had passed uneventfully.

When midnight came Garland looked up at the moon and breathed in a sigh of relief. "The witching hour is upon us. We should go before the mists themselves decide to swallow us up." he said before he lead the way back to the Lorrimor estate. He opened the door and took one step inside, knowing that action would cause Kendra's worry to disappear for no one in Ustalav would invite someone inside after the sun had fallen

"The graveyard is safe and I will adjust my blessings from the lady tonight. We can reconvene in the morning." he said softly before he walked back to the Proffessors office and stripped down, shedding his armor and weapons until he could sit in comfortable meditation and prayer. Only when that was done did he lay down and sleep till long after dawn.

The long night passed uneventfully and he had been resting when Garland warned of the witching hour.  SCG had watched and wondered how cold undead actually were and how they might appear to his dark sight.

“Indeed we should remain ever vigilant.”

When morning came he and Garland returned to the house for additional rest while the others started research for the day...

Having trusted the watching of the graveyard to the others, Shara was well-rested when they arrived wearily, the fact their hearts still seemed to beat sign enough that no further ill had befallen them.

"I will assist anyone who wishes to search the town archives. My scholarly inclinations have more to do with faith than bureaucracy, but I can still lend an extra set or two of eyes." she says to whoever may be awake.

Shara and Kendra made their way around the house quietly while the others caught up on the sleep they had missed with the previous night's vigil, trying to make as little noise as possible while gathering up notebooks, quills, and spare parchments. They left the house asleep as they made their way to the town hall.

There was once again a commotion in the town square, this time centered around Sheriff Caeler and two of his deputies. The two deputies were standing in front of the monument and the sheriff, normally so even tempered and affable, was turning the air blue as he shouted at them.

"...lazy, irresponsible, good for nothings! I ought to take both of your badges and..." The tirade continued as Kendra sidled up to one of her neighbors to ask what was going on.

It was another vandalism. The first night the bloody V had appeared on the monument. The second night VE had been scrawled there, although our heroes had been busy investigating the crypt that morning and had missed the disturbance. When it became clear that the vandalism was a continuing theme the sheriff had set two of his deputies to stand watch over the monument. Last night they had fallen asleep at their posts, hence the shouting. And it appeared that the vandal had taken full advantage of their lapse, for the letters VES were scrawled on the monument in rusty, dried blood.

Kendra shuddered and pressed on, leading Shara to the town hall.

The archives were in the loft of the building, a high ceilinged room with rows of shelves holding folios of information. Most of it was transactional information, livestock sales and the like, with a section devoted to the minutes of town council meetings. The archivist, an elderly halfling woman named Esther, gave Shara a mistrustful glare but as a citizen of Ravengro Kendra was more than entitled to search through the records.

Although not particularly historically minded, Shara fared well with Kendra's assistance and the well cataloged materials in the library. Although she wasn't able to glean much personal information about them she uncovered five infamous names, the five most dangerous prisoners who were being held at Harrowstone during the fire.

---

Meanwhile at the Lorriomor estate the morning was leisurely. Most of our heroes were sleeping off the previous night's excursion, but Keanala drifted in a fretful, restless slumber. Her dreams were nightmares of being lost in a deep, dark wood, gnarled trees looming up and misty pathways confusing the mind. In her dream she wandered, deepening panic rising in her chest as she searched futilely for some beacon to guide her.

Presently she heard the soft, keening strains of a flute drifting through the trees. Far from comforting, the eerie melody seemed to fill her slumbering mind with dread. And yet she felt compelled to follow it, pressing on through her dream towards the source of the haunting music.

In the Lorrimor's spare room she rose, sleepwalking, from her bed and marched towards the window. Her eyes were closed, trapped in her dream, and yet her fingers moved unerringly. She opened the window and raised the sash.

The music in her dream masked the noise, but the sound of buzzing wings grew louder and louder.

In the dream world the music grew closer and closer, and as she approached it fear grew in her. She was almost upon it, the discordant music coming from just around the next bend. Louder and louder, until the woodwind seemed to be tearing at her eardrums. And then, just as she rounded the last corner, she awoke.

She found herself standing in the guest room, alone, near the open window. But a very real buzzing sound filled the air as two massive insects, easily the size of her hand and resembling massive mosquitoes, were flying towards her. Stirges!

They darted into the room and, as if of its own volition, the window snapped shut behind them. Keanala found herself trapped with the dangerous little pests.

---

Keanala, you are trapped in the guest room with two stirges. Constantine and Garland are in the next room and can arrive in 1 round if called for. I'm not going to map out this combat since stirges attach to their victims and tactical positioning is less important, but normally for combats I'll put up a grid map to maneuver on. For now just assume that everyone can reach everyone else in one move action.

Keanala, it's your turn, Garland and Constantine can post about arriving or reacting but should hold off on taking a turn until next round. I've also split the combat off into its own thread since it takes place early in the day and Shara and Kendra will be researching until evening.

Enemies:
Stirge 1 - 5 HP, 16AC, Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +1
Stirge 2 - 5 HP, 16AC, Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +1

Exeunt to Chapter 1.3 - link to a message in this game
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:18, Thu 28 Feb 2019.