The winch in the guard post was rusty and damaged by both fire and moisture. It groaned and screeched ominously as our heroes wound the handle, the metal creaking and pinging. The portcullis got about halfway up before the winch handle snapped off and sent Constantine tumbling backwards.

Fortunately the portcullis itself seemed to be stuck tight in its halfway open position, high enough to duck under with little difficulty. The group ducked through and into the Reaper's Hold (B5).

This area was a warren of tiny, cramped cells with stone walls and candle niches long since burned out. To be incarcerated here was to live in darkness except for the passing light of guard's torches, locked up in a dungeon beneath the earth. All of the cell doors stood open, unlocked by the prisoners after they gained control of the lower level during the riot.

Here and there the moldering form of a body lay, fleeing towards the lift or fleeing away from the fire.

A thorough search of the cell block revealed few clues, only empty cells and long rotted skeletons.

An ominous door of iron banded wood twice as thick as any in the prison stood at the far end of the cell block. It too was unlocked, and the chamber within (B6) was a ghastly sight.

Numerous grisly tools decorated the wall, pincers and pokers and screws. There was a fire pit with brands and hot irons resting in its cold ashes. An iron maiden stood against one wall, looming large and rust pitted. There was a stretching wrack in the center of the room with a long rotted body in the tatters of a uniform laid out upon it.

An air of horror and misery still pervaded the place, almost as tangible as the smell of smoke and charred flesh that lingered still this deep in the dungeon.

And yet the horrors were not only the gruesome instruments on the walls. As our heroes stepped into the chamber the case of the iron maiden began to rattle ominously.

---

---

1 - The Oubliette - unexplored
3 - The Nevermore - unexplored
B1 - Hell's Basement
B2 - Central Chamber
B3 - Guard Post
B4 - Guard Office
B5 - Reaper's Hold
B6 - Torture Chamber - You are here

---

All three of you spot a haunt beginning to manifest in the room, centered on the iron maiden.

You have plenty of time while exploring the previous chamber to heal, prep, etc.

SCG eyes one of the MW chain shirts, but he does not pause long enough to change out his existing armor.  He instead inquires about more healing from the wand before continuing onwards.

In the new area he notes the torture chamber
“Tis as I suspected this place was one where horrors were enacted upon the prisoners.”

“Show yourself stubborn haunt and we shall help you.”

Garland kneels down where Ispin disappeared clasping his hands together. "Holy goddess watch over this lost spirit's soul. Grant him the wisdom to see the error of his ways the courage to face his final judgement." he whispered softly before standing, feeling frustrated that he could not help Ispin find redemption.

He took in a deep breath to steady himself before picking up his morningstar again. "I suggest the room across from us and then head further down the hallway. This leaves two spirits. The lopper, an individual I have not yet deducted a way of sealing and the Splatterman who might be banished by forcing him to exhaust the last of his magical power."

Seeing everyone moving ahead he shrugs and follows. The conditions within the prison were deplorable at best and Garland wondered what brought them to such lengths. Ample studies had been done, even then, that such measures could cause severe psycological damage to prisoners subjected to such horror

"Perhaps the leason of Harrowstone is that unfettered adherrance to justice without the aid of wisdom can be its own monster." he said aloud before noticing the iron maiden. "Another device of uselss pain and torment." he thought as he backs out of the room, using the wall as cover.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:12, Fri 23 Aug 2019.

Darcon viewed the implements of torture with distaste, but before he could do much else the iron maiden began to rattle.

Realizing what was about to happen the mage quickly backed out the doorway to stand behind his companions. "Perhaps we should use our last remaining haunt siphon?" he queried the others. "That will allow us to focus on the remaining two spirits."

---

Move to stand outside the doorway and behind Garland and Constantine

Garland shakes his head side to side as he waits for the spirit to manifest. "I would prefer to save it unless absolutely necessary. It will be easier to conduct a study on the devices if we have one used and one unused siphon. Besides I promised Father Grimburrow we would try to return them once this was done. I would like to keep that promise if possible"

“I agree the strongest haunt must be ahead of us and in that time I will have to smite the evil to prevail against it, but the siphon will give us a second chance should we near defeat.”

The rumbling and rattling of the burgeoning haunt began to crescendo but subsided as our heroes quickly stepped out of the room.

It looked innocuous, or rather as innocuous as it could, with its grizzly implements lining the walls and the torture devices standing in the center of the room. But without a living presence in the chamber the haunt seemed to remain dormant.

Like the fiery Old Embermaw haunt above, in the boiler room, this haunt looked as if it would be easy to ignore or bypass. Still, to explore the torture chamber itself or search it for clues our heroes would have to face the haunt, or find some other way to subdue it without entering the room.

---

Darcon, your mage armor is still active. It lasts for 3 hours for you and between fighting the two haunts so far and exploring the chambers that you've been through you've been in the prison for about an hour.

Garland, the haunt siphons are mystical tools for fighting evil but they aren't secret or rare, they're pretty similar to potions of similar cost. You'd be able to find them at most magic shops in larger cities, for instance. Father Grimburrow will be able to fabricate designs based even on expended haunt siphons.

Garland frowns slightly as the effect seems to be persistant rather then activated before going dormant. "I have three remaining chances to channel energy before my own reserves are depleted. It would likely be enough to subdue the haunt so we can continue exploring but there is no garantee. In fact there is no way to tell how much energy I will have to expend or even if I have enough right now. That said, we may also need that power to subdue our last two prisoners. I believe it might be prudent to return later and explore other areas that are not as high risk. What do you both think? "

“Aye twas luck that our mage still lives and I also would benefit from rest.  I believe we now have a rope that will help us ascend and return.  What say we camp outside the prison and return in the morning?”

"If we are going that far I suggest we just return to the Lorrimor estate. Travelers camping in the woods outside a haunted place, vulnerable to the creatures lurking in the night, and the very mists that cloud Ustalav...it almost sounds like the beginning of a Caliphas opera. One reason we remain in good shape is we havnt taken many high risks, I believe we should continue that policy of caution."

Our heroes made a cautious retreat back through the pitch black corridors of the subterranean dungeon, breathing a sigh of relief as they saw the faint light of the collapsed elevator shaft shining on the dark, shallow pool.

Kendra was still waiting anxiously above the pit and eagerly helped them climb up the rope.

"Look what happened while you were below!" She said excitedly, spreading out her pack.

Two of the cursed items had changed.

The first, the tangled, tarnished mass of holy symbols had slithered apart unbidden, the intractable tangle of chain that had held them together in a lump unloosed. They no longer seemed to radiate their curse, or a magical aura of any kind, but as the dull tarnish faded away the fine metals could be seen glittering beneath.

The second was the cursed hammer. Its corroded head and pitted shaft had seemingly been mended, leaving a well worn but perfectly serviceable tool. Darcon gave it a brief magical examination which showed that it did retain some of its magical properties. The curse was removed, but it still functioned as a mastercrafter's hammer.

With their newfound treasures and the confidence of newly defeated haunts bolstering them the group made its way back to Ravengro.

---

It's early evening as you return to town. You have plenty of time to pursue investigations or make visits but not to make an 8 hour research check. If you have no plans I'll just skip to the following morning.

---

The holy symbols are art objects and can be sold for full value as trade goods.
Iron holy symbol x6
Silver holy symbol x5
Gold holy symbol x3
Platinum holy symbol x1

Mastercrafter's Hammer
-----------------
Aura faint transumtation; CL 3rd; Price 2,500 gp; Weight 1lb
-----------------
This once cursed blacksmith's hammer has been cleansed of its taint.

It grants a +5 luck bonus on Craft: Weapon and Craft: Armor checks.
-----------------
Feats Craft Wondrous Item, Crafter's Fortune; Cost 1,250 gp

Upon his return to the Lorrimor estate Garland found himself to tired to do much. After gathering everyone he used what healing he had remaining. He then choped some firewood to heat a fresh bath and look over the items that had been previously cursed. He looked at the platinum one in particular noting the shine and thinking how in the Pharasman clergy priests with platinum symbols were often Cardinals or other leaders within its hierarchy. A position he hoped to hold himself one day.

The hammer he was less interested in though he entertained the idea of forging great weapons and suits of armor blessed with Pharasma's divine power. "Could we push back the darkness with such a massive arsenal" he thought before setting the hammer down, slightly chuckling at the absurdity as he was no smith but a scholar and a healer.

Finally he would examine their two haunt siphons in detail, sketching them both down to the finest detail and writing a short paper on their known effects and the magical theory of how they functioned. Only when all that academic work was done did he pull a small tome from his pack labeled "The bones land in a spiral", a holy text of the church, and spent an hour in meditative study before laying down to sleep for the night.

OOC: Not sure how much people need to Ill just use all remaining channel energies

20:06, Today: Garland Van Burke rolled 4 using 2d6+2.  channel energy.

20:06, Today: Garland Van Burke rolled 9 using 2d6+2.  channel energy.

20:06, Today: Garland Van Burke rolled 12 using 2d6+2.  channel energy.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:09, Thu 29 Aug 2019.

During their return to the estate, Darcon took time to regale Kendra with his entrapment by the haunt. By the time they were back inside, Darcon gratefully took the time to freshen up and rest for a bit before indulging in dinner.

He discussed with the others their strategies on how to tackle the remainder of the two haunts left, who were by all accounts the strongest and most dangerous. "Perhaps we should speak to the constable or the church and see if we can take some volunteers along? An extra hammer or sword arm cannot hurt, nor can the type of magic the clerics of the temple wield," Darcon argued.

Kendra proved a rapt audience, eyes widening as Darcon told his tale and gasping at all of the appropriate points, tiny hands clapped over her mouth.

They discussed the haunts and the prison as the evening wore on, although her brow furrowed a bit with worry as they considered their potential allies.

"I don't have any doubt that Father Grimburrow will do whatever he can to help us. I worry for him though. At his age I wonder if he would make it down that rope." She scratched at her chin idly, pausing over the basket of peas she was shelling.

"And I don't know how cooperative the new sheriff will be. From what Sir Constantine said he didn't seem too inclined to help us." She gave an angry sniff.

---

The evening wound to a close and our heroes turned in for the night, safe in their comfortable beds.

Or so they thought.

Deep in the darkest, loneliest hours of the night a dark presence stole over the sleepers. It seemed to descend over the house like a tendril of evil, reaching deeply into their minds.

Darcon stirred in his sleep, his brow furrowing as troubled dreams moved in the shadowed areas of his mind.

Garland and Constantine were not so lucky.

Their dreams began in the prison, not haunted and wrecked, but whole, before the fire. It was just as austere, just as foreboding before age and damage had turned it into a charred, burnt out maw. The hallways were empty. Each of the sleepers were alone in the prison, but they seemed to sense a dark presence lurking behind every corner.

In the way of dreams they had the unsettling feeling of being watched. It rose and rose, no matter where they ran, no matter which way they turned, until it seemed unbearable. And then with a searing, blistering wave of heat the entire prison burst into flame. The sleepers thrashed, sweat pooling on their faces, their dreams consumed with visions of burning alive all night.

---

In the morning it was a haggard group of adventurers who came downstairs to sit exhaustedly around the breakfast table. Kendra looked as bad as Garland and Constantine felt, and they felt as if they had been put in a sack and beaten. She had dark circles under her eyes and her shoulders slumped with fatigue.

"I had the most awful dream last night." She said.

---

During the night you are targeted with an effect that Garland recognizes as equivalent to the nightmare spell. Darcon passes his save but Garland and Constantine fail. Garland takes 2 damage and Constantine takes 9 damage. You are also Fatigued and do not regain any arcane spells. Interestingly enough nightmare doesn't affect divine casting.

Garland was normally impeccably dressed in his priestly robes and often wore his armor at all times besides when he slept as a form of muscle training. However as he descended the stairs he looked exhausted and far from the well dressed cleric that the others knew. The black pantaloons hugged his hips and legs but he had little else, not even having bothered to put a shirt on as he descended the stiars.

He looks up at Kendra and cant help but yawn heavily. "You are not the only one my lady." he said softly as he made his way to the kitchen to get a cup of water. He downed the drink quickly and poured himself another one as he took in a deep breath, steadying himself. "At least three of us were targeted last night by a form of magic. It is a dark spell called Nightmare, though the name is apt...I saw the fire first hand. Walked in it and felt myself burn to death like so many in the past. Pharasma have mercy on their souls for enduring that utter anguish."

His grip tightened on the edge of the counter as he recalled the terrible conditions the prisoners once lived in. "Political power has never been something Ive sought before. I am a scholar and a healer, not a politician. However after the things we saw, I swear if I ever rise high enough in the church's hierarchy I will outlaw those practices. The pain and torment of those people have psychicely scared the prison and it will take years of concentrated work to remove that taint. If it can be removed at all. I feared the county may have experimented in necromantic magic and science before...its not till now, when I have hindsight to aid me, that I realize they did in fact do so. It was just not intentional." There was clear anger in his voice, perhaps bubbling to the surface due to lack of sleep.

SCG forces himself to eat a hearty breakfast and likewise decides to lay hands upon himself to heal additional damage and to remove the fatigue through the mercy.

“It would seem that now we are linked to the haunts and the retreat found us no rest.  It is times like this when we are tempted to focus on ourselves and our comfort; though a part of me believes the holy symbol of Abadar should be mine, I suggest we send it to the temple and let them decide.”


He looks around...
“Is anyone else more tired now than when we left the prison?  I can attempt to remove the fatigue.”

Kendra's fatigue haunted features took on a more somber tone as she set about preparing breakfast and strong black tea.

"The more time we spend in the prison the more I shudder at what it must have been like. I know that the five spirits were murderers and maniacs. And I know that Harrowstone was where the worst criminals in all of Ustalav were sent. But it just seems..." She shook her head sadly.

"I know criminals must be dealt with in some way, and if their crimes are great prison might be the best answer. It's just a horrible place to die."

She put a comforting hand on Garland's shoulder but blushed when she realized that he was shirtless and busied herself with the tea.

"Ahem! All we can do for now is prevent the spirits of the place from hurting those who are still alive. With only two of the haunts left hopefully we can quell their influence over the town."

Garland sighed as he helped Kendra with the tea. "There is no justification for what took place in that prison. The physical and phsycological torment they went through was enough to raise seven different ghosts and those are just the one's we know about. After breakfast prepare yourselves. If at all possible, we must end this tonight. "

“Agreed! I say all that we’re haunted through the night be tended by my lay on hands and that we get the rest we need today.  As that will better serve us than nearly anything else.  The one caveat is we should give everything thus far learned to the father, so he knows what remains to be cleansed away, and why.”

"Indeed, we must destroy at least one of the remaining haunts, or diminish it enough that it cannot continue its assaults on the townsfolk. That should suffice until a more permanent cure is discovered," Darcon said in a sombre tone, munching on his breakfast halfheartedly.

As the resident mage of the group Darcon was deeply troubled he could not protect his companions from such vile sorceries. Unfortunately defending against such spells had never been the forte of his Order, as they never really faced such darkly subtle magics in their history.

Perhaps Alendru might have some advice or guidance on the matter, being more of a sage and having some knowledge on how to fight necromancy.

---

Spellcraft: 30; Knowledge (Arcana): 09. Darcon will try to think of some way to use his magic to protect against the Nightmare spell should the party be targeted again.

Note: Since Darcon made his save that means he is not fatigued nor is he prevented from refreshing his spell slots to memorize arcane spells, correct?

Garland yawns widely as he listens to the other two, knowing that any more fatigue would easily turn to a worse condition. "It seems to me that there are two choices. We return to the prison as soon as were dressed and armed...or we go back to bed. Spirits tend to only function in the night, during the day they lie dormant similar to how a bear hibernates in the winter. If we rest now we would regain our stamina and have the evening and night to continue our investigation. Theres nothing to say either ghost could not use another magical assault on us but it would be extremely abnormal."

He pauses, letting the others take in the information before yawning again and continuing. "Alternatively, if we return now we do so in a weakened state. Which may very well play into either spirits hands. However there is yet a third option, the Temple of Pharasma holds many low rank clerics and Father Grimburrow himself is probably more powerful then even myself. Im sure they would be willing to aid us in overcoming the fatigue and Father Grimburrow may even like to know about the magical assault in case there are further possessions like with Gibs."

Kendra availed herself of Sir Constantine's lay on hands, shuddering both with the surge of healing energy as well as his fatigue clearing Mercy. She certainly looked more chipper afterwards, humming slightly as she packed a picnic basket with cured ham and flaky, home baked bread.

Our heroes spent the early morning making visits and tending to the estate.

Darcon already had solid knowledge on nightmare and similar magics, but he stopped in for a rather early tea to discuss things with Alendru. The aged proprietor of the Unfurling Scroll confirmed much of Darcon's information, consulting an old tome on illusion magics over the breakfast table. Magics and effects designed to work against mind affecting spells would be useful, but the most potent deterrent was a casting of dispel evil. Such a spell cast on a target affected by nightmare would cause a backlash, stunning the caster and freeing the victim.

Garland's visit to the temple were similarly fruitful. Father Grimburrow cast lesser restoration Garland, which cured the lingering fatigue that he was feeling. They had a brief conference about what could be done to curb the spirit's influence over the town. The most powerful spell available to Father Grimburrow, protection from evil, would be of little use because of its low duration. The spell would only last a few minutes, not long enough to protect from a mental attack that could come any time in the night. In the end the grizzled old father shook his head sadly and conceded that the best method to stop the haunting would be to banish the evil at its source, by defeating the ghosts in Harrowstone.

And so it was that our heroes found themselves again outside the prison, an ominous ruin even in the early morning sunlight, preparing to delve into the dungeons below.

---

---

1 - The Oubliette - unexplored
3 - The Nevermore - unexplored
B1 - Hell's Basement
B2 - Central Chamber
B3 - Guard Post
B4 - Guard Office
B5 - Reaper's Hold
B6 - Torture Chamber - Opened but unexplored

---

Darcon, nightmare is an illusion spell with the [mind-affecting] and [evil] descriptors. Anything that protects against spells of that type will be useful, usually by granting you a better save. You also know that spells like nightmare require the caster to be familiar with the victim. Casting it on someone you are familiar with is much easier. In short: the more time you spend in the prison (under the unseen eyes of the spirits) the more difficult it will be to resist.

Also you are correct, you are not fatigued and regain all of your spells and daily abilities.

As they descend back down into the depths of the prison Garland prepared his morningstar, holding it at the ready in one hand and his holy symbol in the other. "We retreated before because we were injured and had little strength left to face the haunt in the torture chamber. I believe we should give the room a detailed look as the psychic resonance left over still compels the spirits there. However as we have yet to face the Lopper and the Splatterman I feel we should also explore those areas not yet touched. At least until we find some form of danger or other obstacle. Any thoughts?"

“Once more into the breach then!  Perhaps we should look into the two unexplored areas before returning to the torture chamber, as it seems localized to one room.”

Like the others SCG checks over his gear and hopes someone remembered to bring a winch or a better method down through the hole.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:44, Thu 05 Sept 2019.

Hooded and standing beside his companions and gazing at the sinister ruins of the prison, Darcon merely nodded his acquiescence to their words.

"Whatever the case, let us end this today, one way or another," the mage said in a tone of finality.