Cavalier waits until Fran leaves.

"I do not feel well about this doctor. It is one thing to investigate and examine strange creatures, but what this man does seems unnatural. I know that might be strange thinking, coming from one such as I."

The clockwork's gaze lingered on the closed door. "Should we truly trust a man such as that? What if he wishes to experiment on other exotic creatures? Such as.." Its voice trails off, as the porcelain mask turns towards Gren and Skitterlung, and finally, to Kaine.

Skitterlung had looked for a moment as if he might, in fact, trust this Fran when he agreed with him about the curse. But other factors prevented that one from gaining his full trust. When he had left entirely, he huddled in closer to the others.

"Don't trust a never-around tall. What's he doing so all the time? Secrets, secrets. Skitterlung Witchfinder of my Very Holy Order, and I don't trust the ripping and draining of this tall. Unholy, unnatural, smells like bad witchery . . ."

Catching the turn of Cavalier's mask to himself, Skitterlung scoffed. "Goblins ain't good for experiment. And I'll kill any tall with acorns who tries to experiment Gren."

"do not fret my friend I am an extremely hard nut to crack. If indeed there is more to him than seems it might be a good idea not to eat the food offered. I have a bad feeling deep down in the earth in my gut that all is not right or he is not telling us all. This object he speaks of to one who controls magic it might be a big enough prize to experiment on creatures to locate it. "

He took a deep breath" I would feel safer if we had some distance between us and this place. Perhaps if we can find out the next supply delivery time we can hide out until it comes and get off this island"

Considering the words of his companions over steeped fingers Kaine replied slowly, "Yes, there is the risk he would turn on us for his experiments. The good doctor seems too eager and too friendly I admit, though I do suppose that could be he has been starving for some real company that was not one of his experiments. If we do run though, we leave Jeb here to his condition. The other sailors may not agree."

Glancing towards the door Kaine added, "Maybe we should have a look around the place while Fran is away, to see for ourselves? Or we can do that later after he retires for the night, though then we would have to go through the lunch with him."

Kaine does seem to recall some rumours of such an artefact though it's very much scraps and fragments of information. Something which has the power to warp creatures and create existance from nothing. It has gone by many names through history though most translate as 'The Altar of Life' or something similar.

OOC: Just let me know if you want to go snooping or if you would rather wait to be summoned to dinner and I can progress things. No rush, obviously, if you want to talk through the situation or your options first.

"I have not much need for lunch myself, but I also do not particularly excel in the arts of skullduggery, and would likely be caught before I make myself of use to us. Your case for the good doctor being lonely might be true, but it is not as if he had no ability to leave the island if he craved social interaction so, with these claims of the support ships." The machine hmm's a bit, "Though I lack the ability, this man still leaves a poor taste in my mouth. Figure of speech, as it were."

Cavalier goes back to staring at the door, as if it expected the doctor to come bursting through at any moment and it needed to be ready to fight. Had it hairs, they would surely be standing on end.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 10:57, Wed 07 Oct 2020.

Gren nodded at the mechanical man's assessment of the situation "our little friend here would be good at getting into small places and finding things out" he said turning to the little goblin by his side

"what say you would you be willing to spy on the tall tall to allow us to understand more his motives and thus protect us all from harm"

"Sneakin' ain't priestly." He frowned a bit. Then he thought a bit. Then he scratched his head a bit. "But harm to friends is worse, especially for a short like Skitterlung. OK, I'll go sneakin'."

"Thank you friend, but be careful, if you are seen just pretend you were lost while wandering about," Kaine said to Skitterlung.

"I do recall reading about such an artifact years ago, or at least something which had similar effects. I believe it was called 'The Altar of Life'," he told the others as Skitterlung prepared to leave.

Skitterlung crept to the door, popping it open and shutting it as quickly as he could. He took in the space outside, trying to see where he might be able to sneak.

Outside the door Skitterlung stands in the empty corridor, there are no signs of the other occupants of the house nearby.

Immediately to his right is the door you came from which leads to the entranceway and the kitchens. Other than the door to the library there are three other doors leading off this corridor as well as a stairway leading up to a second floor. There are no obvious sounds coming from any of the directions beyond vague moving about and the sound of voices from back towards the kitchens.

OOC: We'll let Skitterlung get clear on his exploration and then move things along for the rest of the group too.

Knowing that talls keep their secrets high up where the shorts can't reach them, Skitterlung moved to the stairs to the second floor immediately, clambering up along one side to peer around the wall for talls coming the other way.

Skitterlung dissapears upstairs as he hears feet approaching from the direction of the kitchen. The stairs lead up to another corridor running left to right in front of him. At the far end to the left it takes a sharp left turn out of sight. To the right it ends in a wall not too far away. Three doors, all closed, lead to rooms which would be on the front of the house and one other door leads to a room which would be at the rear of the building. From behind this last door you can hear what you are sure are animal sounds and from one of the other doors you are sure you can hear the sound of someone humming.

***

Downstairs there is a  polite knock on the library door and it opens to reveal Felix. He inclines his head very slightly and says, "Dinner is served. If you would be so kind as to follow me? Hevsteps back slightly and holds the door open with one hand.

Skitterlung first tries to peer through the keyhole of the door he hears humming behind, trying to catch glimpse of whoever lay on the other side.

Following this, he repeated the same with the door he could hear animal sounds from, trying merely to get a look at both rooms before deciding which one he should go into.

Waiting for Skitterlung's return, Kaine was inspecting some of the books in the library to see if any were of interest when Felix opened the door and invited them to lunch.

Turning to greet the manservant with a smile Kaine glanced at the others, "Well its about time, are you all ready for for some lunch?"

It was mostly a rhetorical question, Cavalier for instance didn't need to eat as far as Kaine knew, and his companions had already divulged their concerns about eating anything prepared by Fran's people. Despite this, Kaine decided to take the risk.

"Could you invite the sailors to eat as well, or at least have food delivered to them?" he asked Felix, moving towards the door and indicating he was ready to proceed.

"Our companion Skitterlung went to check up on them, just to make sure they are doing fine; he told us not to wait up for him, he will find his way to the dining area," Kaine added casually.

---

ooc: Anything interesting among the book titles Kaine might have spotted?

Gren got to his feet and nodded to his metal companion "yes indeed let us see what feast our host has prepared for us" he replied in his gravelly voice. He was a bit concerned for their little green friend but knowing goblins if he didn't want to be seen he wouldn't be.


With that he gathered with the others and made ready to follow the man servant to the dining room

Cavalier turns its head down to Gren as he speaks to it. "Indeed I shall watch it thoroughly, and enjoy it by proxy." Some attempt at humour, perhaps? The emotionless face and voice did nothing to help in any of it, of course.

It shuffled along awkwardly in the too-low building, as it stood for its comfort. It was rather tall, after all.

Upstairs Skitterlung peeps through the first keyhole and finds himself looking into a small bedroom. Almost immacutaely tidy it contains a canopied bed, a small chest, an armoire and a dressing table. In front of a large window (which must, you reason, look down over the yard and the guesthouse) is a chair in which you can make out the back of a lady who appears to be humming to herself while she brushes long, dark hair.

The other door from which sounds emnate has no lock and, therefore, no keyhole. However, by dropping to his belly Skitterlung can look through the crack at the bottom and get a sense of the room beyond. The door would seem to open on to some sort of gantry, suspended over a room which must start on the ground floor. You can't see what is making the animal sounds so they must be on the lower level.

***

Kaine has had plenty of time to get a look at several of the books in the library and get a flavour for them. They are an eclectic mix from a travelogue of the lands of the Northern Reach to a book enttled "The Wisdom of Lord Toede" which appears to be a novel written primarily to support a series of bawdy illustrations. Most are reference books including a rather water damaged five volume encyclopedia and dozens of different medical texts detailing both human and animal medicine. Of a more unusual nature spread around the room are a number of children's primers for teaching writing and arithmatic.

Felix seems to accept Skitterlung's absence without comment and confirms that Orson is already "seeing to" the sailors. He then shows you across the corridor to a room just the other side of the staircase. Again holding the door open for you he lets you cross into a well furnished dining room dominated by a huge table and eight mismatched chairs. Six places on the table are set. One wall has a long table across it which is already dominated by several platters of fresh fruits, steamed vegetables and a loaf of bed so freshly baked that steam still rises from it.

Felix indicates the food, "Please do help yourselves. Dr Fran will be with you shortly and the main course will then follow." Then, with another inclination of his head, he leaves the room.

The books on medicine were to be expected, but the ones on teaching children were surprising. "Are there any children present here, or were there any over the previous years?" Kaine queried Felix casually as they were led to the dining area.

Taking his place at one of the chairs near the head of the table, Kaine wanted to wait for their host to arrive but the smell of the fresh baked bread was too good to ignore. He quickly cut off a slice and took a bite, followed by another, giving a relieved sigh at the taste.

Cavalier sits down, opting for the floor rather than breaking a seat. He was large enough to still remain at a comfortable eyelevel with the others, of course. It required none of the food, so it remained seated, just being company to the others. At least there was some satisfaction by observing them while they ate; like eating, by proxy.

"Can you describe it? How does it taste?"

Thinking he had nothing to lose at any rate, Skitterlung shrugged and pulled on the handle, to creep onto the other side and spy on whatever animals were making those sounds.

Gren listened to Kaine talk about the books, a sudden dread came over him. What if their host was actually creating the monsters they were attacked by instead of trying to cure them. What if he saw his creations as his children and the books on teaching children was to be the next stage of his experiment.

But something hadn't gone right with the the research and the creatures retained or even had their animal instincts increased.

He kept his thoughts to himself until Felix went out of the room then turned to Kaine.

"do you think he is creating the creatures we fought and the books on teaching children was to be the next stage of his experiment some how he believes he can uplift animals from their position in the natural order of things"

The door offers no resistance to Skitterlung and opens with little noise so the goblin is able to slip inside swiftly. The door opens on to a metal gantry suspended over a large square room  some twenty five feet high at the roof line. A wooden ladder leads down from the gantry on to the ground level.

On the ground floor, and running up to the gantry, are eight metal cages. All but one of them are occupied by a variety of animals; mostly livestock (goats, pigs and sheep) but also more exotic creatures such as a large flightless bird and, most impressive, a black panther. While general animal sounds emerge from all the cages it is the panther making the loudest sounds.

Two doors lead out of the room, one to the South and the other to the East.

***

Felix looks somewhat confused by the question about children but answers it nonetheless, "No children live in the house, sir. Dr Fran has a ward but she is a young woman now. The broken ones have young but they are rarely allowed in the manor."

Kaine's slice of bread is delicious, especially after a couple of days on the island. It is a simple, homebaked loaf but fresh and hearty.

OOC: Didn't want to cut off any discussions with the arrival of Dr Fran. I'll give it a couple of days in case anyone wants to discuss Gren's theory and then update with your hosts arrival.

Kaine chewed through another bite, enjoying the taste as he thought over Gren's words. "Quite possible, we have no idea of the types of experiments the doctor performs here. I do believe he was intent on giving us a tour after lunch, so perhaps that will shed more light on this."

Taking another bite he added, glancing at the others, "Ofcourse, we must be on guard. He seems a pleasant enough sort, but we do not want to end up becoming part of his experiments."

Felix's words on Dr. Fran having a ward were interesting, and Kaine wondered if they would get to meet her. Ofcourse, that still didn't explain the books about children...perhaps Gren was right and that was Fran's plan all along, transform animals into a new form of intelligent life.

Skitterlung tutted slowly at the sight of such lowly things brought to such a sad state, backing out of the room and heading down the hallway to the sharp left turn to see what secrets might still lurk up here.