Garland shakes his head back and forth at Keanala's suggestion. "I do not recommend bashing it in as anything fragile inside would likely be destroyed in the process. Unless Shara's key works I believe this is one of those situations where we will have to come back to it"

"Good thinking." Shara said.

She tried the key in the lock but was disappointed to find that it didn't fit. She thought for a moment and then used her dagger to scrape away some of the rust clustered around the keyhole and the head of the iron key. With a little jimmying and some dubious scraping sounds it slid home with a rattling click. She fished around in the lock for a moment, worried that the rusty key would break, but managed to spin the cylinder before the handle of the key snapped off. The bolts shot back and, although the key was broken off in the lock, it was open. Constantine pushed the heavy door out of the way to reveal the contents of the safe.

Inside was a hodgepodge collection of items, protected from the rot of the prison by the watertight seal around the safe door. Garland and Darcon pored over the items, examining them magically to determine what secrets they might hide.

Bloodstained Handaxe - The first item was +1 handaxe, obviously a woodsman's tool rather than a weapon. Wet blood still glistened along its edge, spattered over the head and handle in a way that would make it impossible to wield without getting one's hands bloody. Darcon detected a curse on the axe, although he couldn't determine the curse's exact effects.

Collection of Holy Symbols - This mass of dozens of silver holy symbols dangled from fine chains all tangled in a mass. Although they didn't appear to be fused or locked together, any attempt to untangle them proved useless. There were symbols of Pharasma, Erastil, Abadar, and a dozen other major and minor deities from across Golarion represented. These too had a curse upon them. Any divine caster carrying these symbols would face 10% spell failure chance, exactly like an arcane caster wearing armor, and would suffer a -1 saving throw against divine spells. However, subtle lucky magics seemed to interact with and influence the pervasive haunting around the prison. The bearer would also have +2 to AC and all saving throws made within the prison.

Moldy Spellbook - This leather bound spellbook had become faded and caked with mold over the years, although some pages remained legible. When Darcon paged through it he shouted in alarm and let it tumble from his grasp. For there, in blood, he found his own name etched again and again in the margins an spaces. Kendra picked it up with horrified fascination and reported that, to her, it was her own name that she saw scrawled there. Indeed anyone that examined the book found their own name scribbled in blood. As Darcon examined the book he felt a sudden greedy fear grip his mind, a paranoid terror of losing his ability to cast spells. He shook off the compulsion with relative ease but got the impression that, while they bore it, the book would make any caster reluctant to expend their spells. The spells held by the book were comprehend languages, false life, gust of wind, illusory script, levitate, mage armor, magic missile, and summon monster IV. He got the feeling that any lengthy examination of the tome could have deleterious effects.

Smith's Hammer - This heavy masterwork blacksmith's hammer had the well worn handle of a master craftsman's implement. Its masterwork nature would give the user +2 on Craft checks, with an additional +2 on armorsmith, blacksmith, and weaponsmith checks specifically. Holding the hammer itself was something of an ordeal, for when picked up strong pangs of guilt and regret washed over the wielder. Most significantly Garland, Constantine, and Darcon recognized it. It was the spectral hammer that they had seen crashing down on them when the crypt in the Restlands collapsed.

Tarnished Silver Flute - This flute bore the marks of age and ill repair but looked like it would still function, although none of our heroes tried to play it. The enchantment on this item seemed to resonate with the haunted prison just as the holy symbols did, although neither Garland nor Darcon were able to determine what effect it might have if played.

"If no one wants to use any of these, I can carry them. Perhaps Father Grimburrow may be able to purge the curses when we head back to the town." The stout dwarf stepped to the front saying. The dwarf was trusting in his kinds' resistance to magic to prevent him from suffering any ill effects from carrying the cursed items.

Kendra nodded and help him carefully stow the haunted artifacts in his pack. She handled them nervously, trying to touch them as little as possible, and didn't seem any the worse for the wear after the maneuver.

"Where shall we explore next?" She asked.

"While the curses are something to keep in mind, I believe these may have some connection to the prisoners who may still haunt this place. Why else would such artifacts be locked away like this?" he adds as he looks over at Kendra, not exactly comfortable with her carrying cursed items though he said nothing about it.

After a moment he points toward the other side of the building. "There was that long hallway going to the west. Perhaps we should see what is that way."

Shaken by what he had seen and senses, Darcon watched the objects be stowed away into Murkau's pack. He had been tempted by the spellbook, and still was despite the dark power infesting it, but it was too dangerous to peruse right now. Later, if they survived this place and found a way to purge the curses he could dive into the new lore and spells within the tome.

"To the hallway then," he echoed Garland, and gestured with his staff for the others to lead the way. "Wary of any traps," he added, the memories of the cave in and his own near death experience still fresh in his mind.

---

ooc: Someone should regularly keep checking for traps guys.

"It's kind of an odd place to keep cursed items, isn't it?  Out in the open like this?  Well, locked in a safe out in the open I mean.  I would've thought that they'd be kept in a basement someplace."

Keanala shrugged.  "Hallway is good."

“These items seem connected to the harms that have befallen us.  Do they need to be cleansed or destroyed to rid the curses?”

"These objects may not have been cursed when they were put in here. It looks like this was where the prisoner's belongings were stored, the safe was probably just for the highest security prisoners. Fifty years in a haunted prison can have all manner of strange effects." Kendra said as they trooped out of the property room. She shrugged.

"Then again, they may have been locked away because they were cursed in the first place. Cleansing the curses on these objects could go a long way towards resolving the haunting of the prison itself."

Our heroes made their way through the property room, backtracking through the auditorium and into the hallway to the west. They proceeded cautiously, checking for traps and haunts, but found nothing in the short corridor. The four doors leading off the corridor led to offices, now in shambles, that had once served as the administrative head of the prison. The papers were moldy, scattered, and largely illegible, but a great many remained intact. Taking an hour or two to properly collect and catalog them could lead to great insights about the prison's history and day to day business, and would provide a +4 bonus to knowledge checks about the prison itself.

The group could decide to make that search later but, finding no threats or traps, pushed on.

The two doors at the end of the corridor opened, one into a small washroom, and the other into a larger and more officially furnished office. The large desk was still stable and the walls were taken up with shelves, a cabinet, and a rack for weapons. But before our heroes could cross the threshold to investigate further Murkau and Darcon both hissed a warning.

No tangible presence could be seen in the office, but as they approached they could feel a rheumatic ache in their joints and a surge of anger and resentment directed towards the doorway.

---

---

A1 - Entryway
A2 - Foyer
A3 - Auditorium - You are here
A4 - ???
A5 - Property Room
A6 - Offices
A7 - Warden's Office

Remaining steady after hissing out his warning to the others, Darconc considered the doorway curiously, aware of the growing ache in his joints and the feeling of resentment and anger being directed towards the doorway.

"Careful, it could be a trap or another of those haunts," he warned the others. Raising a hand he made a quick gesture and murmured something under his breath, then held out his hand palm facing the doorway and the room beyond.

---

Cast detect magic to see if anything catches his attention
This message was last edited by the player at 16:47, Wed 03 Apr 2019.

Darcon's magical detection played over the interior of the room as he stood on the threshold, intensifying as he concentrated. His magical gaze detected nothing, illuminating in its own right. It meant that the foreboding aura that our heroes detected was likely not a magical trap or a spell, given their location it was almost certainly a haunt.

"We could use the haunt siphon or try to clear it with positive energy, although the latter would only suppress it for a day or two. We could also try to commune with it or investigate what unresolved business is keeping it here and resolve the haunting itself." Shara said, lending her expertise on the affairs of spirits.

"Of course, we could just trigger it and try to survive its effects."

“I am game to trigger and others observe and be ready to siphon.”

SCG moves aside the doorway waiting for the go ahead from his companion

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Kendra asked tremulously as the rest of the group save Constantine backed down the hallway. They backed up to the far end of the hallway, close enough to rush to Constantine's aid if the worst should happen, but as far as possible from the haunt itself.

Sir Constantine steeled himself and then stepped across the threshold.

An furious babbling like a mob of angry voices surged and rose, the temperature rising noticeably and the smell of burning flesh filling the air. Half glimpsed, ethereal figures rushed inwards towards the door, the manifestation of the prisoner's hatred and and resentment of their jailers. A surge of raw anger seemed to form and coalesce at the door into a scrawled symbol, prisoner's chicken scratch. Although it disappeared almost immediately words of condemnation towards the warden and his guards could be read.

Our heroes clustered in the hallway were blasted with the power of that symbol. Aches and pains tremmored through most of them but Darcon was suddenly wracked with a torturous agony. He seemed to feel harsh blows as from iron rods raining on his joints and hands and a searing pain lanced through his jaw.

Then, with a final moan, the haunt dissipated, leaving the hallway empty and Darcon shuddering with the memory of pain. The haunt was expended, at least for the time being.

---

Anyone within 60ft is affected by the haunt, which mimics a symbol of pain spell. Everyone except Darcon passes their saves. Darcon takes a -4 to attack rolls, ability checks, and skill checks for 1 hour.

---

With the haunt cleared our heroes were able to explore the warden's office without further trouble. The warden's desk held dusty papers similar to the nearby offices, these papers could likewise be collated into a collection that would provide a +4 to knowledge checks regarding the prison with an hour's work.

The gear on the nearby shelves was mostly rusty and useless, and the weapon rack was empty, but a cache of supplies was secreted in his lower desk drawer. The cache consisted of the prison's payroll, 500gp, four potions of cure moderate wounds, three potions of lesser restoration, and two potions of remove disease.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:12, Thu 04 Apr 2019.

The wave of anger born in despair washed over SCG.  He tried to make sense of the wash but in reality it made him question much of what he thought of the purpose of imprisonments and Redemption...

He looks back to the hallway
“Is everyone in fine spirits still yet?  Is it me or does it seem possible those housed here were subjected to torture?”

Kendra shuddered in the aftermath of the haunt, and at Constantine's grim suggestion.

"Perhaps the warden and his guards weren't so blameless. Ugh. Well, it doesn't look like there's any way through in this section. Where should we explore next?"

"Not just possible Constantine. Highly probable. Considering the history of the prison it is no stretch of the imagination that all kinds of atrocities were commited in these walls. Torture may be just the beginning. I pray Pharasma granted them the wisdom not to partake in necromantic research as well." he breathed in a sigh of contempt for the atrocities that had taken place in this prison and yet were continued in prisons across Ustalav. Perhaps one day they would outlaw the practice which caused so many emotional scars across the land.

He takes his time to gather all forms of paperwork and anything that might be pertanent to further investigation. "The next nearest door seems the best place. We need to explore the entire facility today before posting a guard in the town square tonight."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:27, Sat 06 Apr 2019.

"I hope that we have enough of those siphons."  Keanala added.  "There seem to be a lot of haunts in this place.  I wonder if they were here before the place burned down or before."

The memories triggered by the haunt still affected Darcon, phantom pain from the images and memories wracking his mind. "I strongly suggest we try to clear these haunts with positive energy, if we cannot afford to spend a siphon," Darcon remarked as the others explored the Warden's office.

After choosing two of the potions for himself the mage gestured to the others he was ready to move on with the exploration

---

ooc: Darcon will take 1 potion of CMW and 1 Potion of Restoration
This message was last edited by the player at 09:20, Sat 06 Apr 2019.

“Aye perhaps the warden was in the whispering way and perhaps the fire was part and parcel of some twisted scheme.  If this place was a torture chamber the potions we found give clue to the awfulness otherwise it was aid for any wounds that might happen.

SCG shrugs and begins to move forward once more he knows they must press on and hope to clear it all before nightfall

Our heroes moved through the moldering corridors of the prison, peeking through doorways and taking a quick survey of the layout. They first explored the northern corridor that led off of the entryway and found that it quickly branched out.

To the right of the corridor (A9) they found a staircase leading to the upper floor and a staircase leading down into the dungeon. The stairs leading up were traversable but those leading down were collapsed by the deadfall, triggered by the guards to keep the prisoners contained in the lower level during the riot.

To the right the floor plan opened up into a wide section of corridors punctuated with doors leading to the various prison facilities (doors 1-6). Our heroes chose the first door that they came to (A8) and took a look inside.

The interior was the prison chapel, overturned pews forming little mounds and an altar visible at the far end. Rather than the general disuse and rot that had overtaken the majority of the rest of the prison this room was festooned, high and low, with delicate cobwebs. Although no hostiles could be seen in the room it would be nearly impossible to enter without disturbing the webs.

---

---

Explored Rooms:
A1 - Entryway
A2 - Foyer
A3 - Auditorium
A5 - Property Room
A6 - Offices
A7 - Warden's Office
A9 - Stairwell

Unexplored Rooms:
A4 - ???
A8 - Chapel - You are here
1 - ???
2 - ???
3 - ???
4 - ???
5 - ???
6 - ???

"Our findings are disturbing but we should continue, there is still much more ground to cover before nightfall." Garland said as he pushed the door open, disappointed in their findings though not entirely surprised. He took the lead this time walking back down the hallway, through the foyer, past the auditorium and opened the double doors at the east side.

OOC: Moving to A4 for more exploration

“The webs indicate spiders or some creatures with webs.  I can go in with a torch and clear the webs.”

"Perhaps we'll return later to see what's in there." Kendra said to Constantine, following after Garland as he moved on to explore.

They moved through the auditorium and into the room on the east side of the prison. It was a large, open chamber with training dummies and similar equipment moldering against the walls. The far wall was partially collapsed, letting the murky waters of the pond flow towards the center of the chamber.

In the center a deep, black hole gaped. This was where the lift had been positioned, which the prisoners had attempted to scale after the guards triggered the deadfall that collapsed the stairs. The hole was blackened and charred, the panicked guards had dropped lamp oil and torches down to prevent the prisoners from escaping which had started the blaze that consumed the prison.

Before our heroes could explore much farther a dry, rattling screech sounded from the hole and the smell of charred flesh filled the air. With a whoosh six grinning skulls rose through the opening, wreathed in flame an swooping through the air.

---

---

During their turn the flaming skulls rise from the pit in the floor and fan out. It is currently the player phase.

Two of them swoop towards Garland and Constantine and attack, although both miss.

FS1 - AC 13, Touch 13, Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +1, HP 5/5
FS2 - AC 13, Touch 13, Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +1, HP 5/5
FS3 - AC 13, Touch 13, Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +1, HP 5/5
FS4 - AC 13, Touch 13, Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +1, HP 5/5
FS5 - AC 13, Touch 13, Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +1, HP 5/5
FS6 - AC 13, Touch 13, Fort +1, Ref +1, Will +1, HP 5/5

---

---

Explored Rooms:
A1 - Entryway
A2 - Foyer
A3 - Auditorium
A4 - Training Room - You are here
A5 - Property Room
A6 - Offices
A7 - Warden's Office
A9 - Stairwell

Unexplored Rooms:
A8 - Chapel
1 - ???
2 - ???
3 - ???
4 - ???
5 - ???
6 - ???
Door to the north of the training room (I forgot to label it on the map)

The sudden appearance of the flaming skulls caused Darcon's heart to skip a beat; he had been aware of danger since they entered this haunted place of-course, but still the flaming bony faces made for an unnerving strike.

"Careful, do not let them contact you," the mage warned the others, holding his staff one-handed and crosswise in front of him in a defensive stance. He raised his other hand and murmured something unintelligible, and a ray of emerald light lanced out at one of the grinning skulls farther off in the distance.

---

Initiative: 21; Cast Disrupt Undead @FS2: 21 on Ranged Touch Attack; Damage: 05

“This is wise counsel, let us keep them at arms length.”

SCG lashes out with the Morningstar
Looks like a miss with that roll