Snet listens to Kojik's words, translated by Glinsael.

"If jackal-chiefs dead, safe, safe! If Scalescars all dead, safe! Scalescars make traps in secret places. Not safe! Rooms, halls, safe! Safe!"

He peers intently at each member of the party in turn.

"Ghost stays there! Down hall big room! Stays! Stays! Ghost is like..." he makes a strained, strangled noise, and then says, in Common, "Huuuuuu-mins. Humans!" He points at Ayanna and return to his rapid, barking Draconic. "Look like you! But not armor. Not spear. Gown! Gown!"

(Draconic has no word for 'gown' and neither is there a kobold equivalent. But there is a word for 'clothing-that-marks-the-wearer-as-easy-to-steal-from.' It can be used to mean almost any fancy, ornate clothing. 'Gown' is Glinsael's best guess.)

"That sounds like a proper ghost to me. I'm with Ayanna, we may want to gather our strength before tangling with that." Gill hung his mace from his belt. "Let's set up camp on the ground floor. If that ghost doesn't leave its place, as Snet suggests, and with the rest of the kobolds cleared out, we should have little to worry about tonight." He smiled hopefully.

"Maybe Snet can help us disarm those traps tomorrow as well? The other kobold up top told us there were several entrances to these lower levels that were trapped, right?"

Glinsael relaxed her bow as they talked. She was glad to be helping resolve the situation nonviolently, but translating in the moment was different than she was used to. Usually, she would have time to look up the proper words or approximate them from other sources.  She only hoped that her work was sufficient.

She agreed with Ayanna, and Gill, "we aren't in immediate danger. We should get as much information as we can, and deal with the ghost when we're fresh."

She thought on the problem of the ghost, and what she knew about them in general. She had heard many legends, but there were many kinds of apparitions. There wasn't enough information to determine what kind they were dealing with. She asked Snet about the ghost, "did the ghost harm anyone that you know about, and if so, how did they do it?"

09:20, Today: Glinsael rolled 9 using 1d20+3.  inteligence.

Snet stares at Glinsael, blinking slowly. He seems to think about it. He holds up one little taloned hand and barks, "Dead!"

And then marks them off his fingers. "Merp. Grep. Screpppin." At which point he runs out of fingers. Looks back up. "Dead!"

(Merp, Grep and Screppin are all jobs. Food-Cooker, Littlest-Guard, and Chief-Bodyguard, respectively)

"I didn't see. Not there! Happen before babies come! But Scalescars say ghost, touch! Scalescars dead. Ghost look! Scalescars dead. Dead! Dead!"

OOC: A DC 12 Arcana check or Religion check will allow you any information from the 'Ghost' statblock. Please note I'm not saying that's what this is, but the statblock represents 'common' information you might know.

"I've heard stories of how even seeing a ghost can cause those to age quickly. I don't know how long kobolds live for, but they might age so much they die. And I imagine trying to fight with out eyes closed isn't going to be very good."

12:39, Today: Kovann rolled 20 using 1d20.  Arcana or Religion check (same mod).

Who needs to have proficiency or an Intelligence higher than 10!!

"If the ghost was human, maybe it was a previous resident.  Hopefully it won't be hostile.  If we are lucky, it will talk and we'll learn something."  Ayanna certainly hoped that was the case.  Fighting something that could rapidly age you didn't sound like anything she would ever be prepared to fight.  "Either way, it sounds like we have time to rest before dealing with it."

Kojik nodded in agreement, speaking up.

"That is my hope as well. A human here would be a bit unusual unless they were from long ago. When the keep was in better shape. If they acted with hostility to the others, that could be due to either an ill disposition or perhaps specific to them as related in sorts to their demise. Being in good order before broaching they area though would certainly be wise. "

---

13:46, Today: Kojik Virsk rolled 16 using 1d20+6 with rolls of 10.  Arcana check.

The party returns to the top floor and settles into the most secure room they can find. The building is in terrible shape, but most of the inner walls are intact and the old wooden doors were still in good shape.

Before they lost the light, Snet agreed to disarm all the traps he's aware of. By the time he was done, all the secret passages into the basement were safe (although most of them were too small for anyone, except maybe Glinsael, to squeeze into). The only one that can't be disarmed is the chute that leads to the cistern below.

The night passes peacefully. Outside the walls, in the surrounding wilderness, there are many sounds of movement, but nothing bothered them.

The next day, in Snet's rat room, an old iron grate high up near the ceiling is propped open, letting sunlight into the room. The stone below the grate has been chipped and scored, making a rough stone ladder.

Outside the grate, behind the castle, is a large fenced in area where Snet (wearing a comically wide-brimmed hat) is running some of the adult and juvenile rats (but not the pups) along the fence, and throwing leather balls for others to fetch and place in wooden rings on the ground.

(He doesn't notice the party unless they call attention to themselves)

Meanwhile, careful scouting of the long hallway (with some kind of light) reveals an antechamber at the far end. It might have been a sitting room of some kind at one time. There are the mouldy remains of several large chairs with side tables and the remains of what looks like ornate suits of armour piled in the corners.

At the far end of the antechamber is a large, tall arched doorway with darkness beyond. There is a stone plaque above the door but it's too dark and too worn to read.

Just in front of the doorway are the ancient skeletons of some kind of large humanoid (bugbears, perhaps, or hobgoblins. It's hard to say). One of them has a knife lodged in its ribs. And between them and the doorway is a human skeleton with a similar knife in one hand. Hints of gold and silver jewelry glint among the bones. The chest and arms of the skeleton are broken and shattered in ways that speak of wounds with a large blade. Its clothing is worn to almost nothing, but it seems as though it was once the finely-made gown of a noble woman.

On the floor near the hallway entrance, only a few feet away from the party, are the corpses of a gnoll and a half-dozen kobolds. All of their gear seems fresh but their bodies seem ancient, wizened, and nearly dust.

A silence lies over the room like a physical thing. The air is chill and fraught with menace.

OOC: Take a Long Rest. You're welcome to interact with Snet and his Amazing Rodents or go down the Hallway of (Ostensible) Death. Or first one, then the other. Or both! Splitting the party never ends badly!
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:22, Wed 31 May 2023.

In the morning, Ayanna prepared herself.  “I’m going to go talk to a ghost.  I don’t expect a fight.  If it’s hostile, I’m retreating.  Does anyone want to come?”

"I'll go along, if that's alright. Now that I've rested, I can offer some healing and support if you run into trouble. Besides, I've never seen a ghost before. It surely will be worth looking into."

Ayanna, Glinsael, and whoever else comes along (Snet tries once more to warn you away from the hallway, but gives up and goes back to his 'babies') goes down the hallway and stands at the doorway to the antechamber.

Once again the air feels heavy and pregnant with menace. There's a chill deeper and sharper than the rest of the basement.

Three or four steps into the antechamber and the temperature plummets. A horrible frigid cold fills the room and within moments everyone skin and hair and clothing are covered in a rime of frost.

Two or three more steps and a figure appears in the doorway to the room beyond. An apparition. It appears human. Female. Middle aged. The face has the delicate cheekbones and long chin that bespeaks a noble heritage. It wears a finely made (but not at all large or ornamental or impractical) dress (not quite a gown, but Glinsael figures she guess that word well enough).

She holds a knife in one hand. Her face and chest have large gouges in them like wounds from a large, heavy blade. The wounds are the same as show on the corpse on the floor.

Her face is contorted with rage. Anger and fear roll out from her like waves on a beach.

She shines with a cold, cold blue-white light. But it does not illuminate the shadows around her.

OUT!

The word is suddenly, shockingly, painfully hissed directly into the minds of all present.

The apparition does not move.

OOC:
1. Everyone please made a DC10 Constitution save or take 1 level of exhaustion. Anyone resistant to cold damage automatically passes. Anyone with experience in high altitude or cold climates can roll with Advantage.

2.

---

Spoiler for DC12 Arcana check, anyone with experience with undead or the Planes may roll with Advantage: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
The particular way she manifests, and the darkness around her, indicates her undead state is influenced by (or perhaps even caused by) strong influence from the Shadowfell.

---

Ayanna steeled herself against the cold as she took an involuntary step back.  She wore her armor.  She carried her shield to give herself some comfort against any attack even if it proved useless.  Her weapon hand was empty and she held it open to her side.

“We mean no harm.  I can see something terrible happened here.  How can we help?”. For her first negotiation with the dead, she hoped that was sufficient to get a conversation started.

(Save Success!
Ayanna Bhunnel rolled 23 using 1d20+5.  Con save)

Kojik came with the rest, though as the initial blast of cold washed over them, he shivered uncontrollably for a moment, his breath coming out in puffs as the cold seemed to chill him to the bone. He looked up at the apparition, however, holding his spot with the others as he regarded the woman and listened to Ayanna remark.

He gave a nod at her own words, adding in after a moment, "We come at the behest of our own Lord, M'Lady. If we might aid you, we will certainly try. Let us help you against that," he noted, a nod of his head to the darkness around her, but he does not name it directly it seems.

More quietly, to the others, but not trying to hide his comments completely, he notes, "The Darkness around her is from a particular source. Another Plane's influence. Though I hesitate to name it," he adds. Naming it could provoke the spirit, so best to be safe is obviously his thoughts.

---

18:30, Today: Kojik Virsk rolled 6 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 4.  Con save - Ghost cold.

18:31, Today: Kojik Virsk rolled 25 using 1d20+6 with rolls of 19.  Arcana Check.

1 level of exhaustion for poor Kojik, but at least he knows what's going on with the ghost!

Glinsael winced at the hissing, but spoke back soothingly to the apparition, "It's alright. You are safe. We just want to talk." However, the wavering of her voice betrayed her uncertainty.

22:38, Today: Glinsael rolled 6 using 1d20+3.  arcana.

22:38, Today: Glinsael rolled 15 using 1d20+1.  con save.

Action: trying to calm the ghost
22:47, Today: Glinsael rolled 7 using 1d20+5.  persuasion.

The apparition doesn't move forward. But it doesn't move away either. As they watch, the wounds on its body vanish, and then re-appear one by one, as though hacked by invisible swords.

As the party tries to reason with it, it again mentally hisses:

OUT!

And this time so intensely that it causes pain.

OOC: Everyone roll a DC14 Intelligence or Charisma save. Failure means you take 4 psychic damage.

As it hisses, its light intensifies for a moment, driving away some of the shadows around it. And for a moment you can see behind it rows of shelves and books.

Kovann joins in seeing if the ghost is real. For all he knew, it could have been something else, and he wouldn't live with himself if they got hurt and he opted to not join in.

The air was cold, colder than he was used to with the warmth of living in a monastery built into a volcano. However, he toughed it out, focusing on what was happening.

Unfortunately, when the wounds on the ghost started to vanish, he could feel them appear on his own body, even though she wasn't attacking him.

19:24, Today: Kovann rolled 12 using 1d20+2.  Con save.
PASSED!

19:25, Today: Kovann rolled 10 using 1d20.  Arcana check.
Nope!

19:25, Today: Kovann rolled 9 using 1d20+1.  Charisma save.
Failed! 4 damage, 6 HP remaining.

While the cold may have gotten to Kojik more forcefully early on, he seemed to be able to withstand the latest shout with more ease, wincing a bit at the volume of the mental declaration, but otherwise unharmed.

"Do you not wish revenge against those who wronged you? Or your charge taken up by others?" Kojik uttered, though he did take a single step back in the appearance of beginning to follow the ghost's demands. "Or for your mortal shell to be finally laid to rest and given the honor it deserves? Out under the sun, in the Light. But we shall leave you if that is your wish," he offered. One of the two might entice the ghost maybe. Revenge and/or the continuation of their duty guarding this place... or a proper burial. While slowly backing away, it would at least give the ghost a chance to take up one of the offers if desired.

---

14:58, Today: Kojik Virsk rolled 19 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 15.  Intelligence save.
Saved!
This message was last edited by the player at 19:04, Sun 04 June 2023.

Constitution save 20: no exhaustion.
Arcana check 2: no idea.
Charisma save 22: no damage.

Gill winced at the cold and mental blasts the apparition sent forth, but he did not back away just yet.

Back in Havenport, he helped many different people with many different ailments. Even guided some in their final moments. But to help one that had already crossed over, that was new to him.

He noted Kojik's remark of something keeping her here. Perhaps closure was all she needed.

"Lady let us help you. Can't you see?" Gill gestured to the corpses around the room. "You are dead. Your body is broken. Only your spirit remains here, endlessly reliving this last painful moment. Let us help you. Show us what keeps you here, and we can set you free."

Persuasion 23.

Glinsael closed her eyes under the psychic assault, but she was able to shake it off in time to see the books behind the ghost. Her eyes took on a manic light

Gill was making some good points. Maybe he could get her to see reason. "I think you're  getting through to her. keep it up."

21:59, Today: Glinsael rolled 10 using 1d20+5.  charisma save.

Using my inspiration for advantage
22:07, Today: Glinsael rolled 24 using 1d20+5.  charisma save.

bonus action: bardic inspiration to Gill 1d6

The apparition's face contorts in pain and confusion as they speak to her. She doesn't move toward them, but the air fills with a gathering sense of menace. The shadows around her grow darker, thicker, and almost seem to ripple in the air like living things. Her wounds start to bleed actual blood that spatters to the floor.

And then again, her voice blows through their minds like the scuttling of dead leaves across a forgotten grave.

REMEMBER ME.

Ayanna staggered from the second scream.  This apparition was angry.  Her first instinct was to flee the room, but the others managed to talk and they got something more than OUT.

REMEMBER ME was an interesting statement.  After the last assault, Ayanna couldn’t comment yet but nodded.  Here was someone that needed help.  She just didn’t think they were going to be able to help her today.  Maybe more visits would unlock this mystery.  She stood her ground with the others, but was ready to leave the ghost in peace.

"We shall make certain none forget who you were. Your deeds here are obvious.. please, speak your name so that all may hear and for us to engrave for all to know henceforth," Kojik prompts. The fact the apparition was shifting her demands from making them leave to more of a plea suggested this is what had kept her here. The thought of being forgotten after such torment and pain. A marker to denote her name and her defense of the Keep would be an easy task to put such a soul to rest.

Glinsael took out some paper and a pen, and found a writing surface.  She looked up at the ghost expecting her to continue.  If the ghost doesn't continue she prompted her, "please tell me about yourself, who you are, and how you lived so that I may record your story."

During the coming months, Ayanna visits the ghost whenever any of the others does.  She feels a kinship or sorts to the former human and is hoping to exact some level of revenge on her slayers if possible.

If they discover a way that might help the spirit rest in peace, Ayanna certainly wanted to know what it was.

The ghost hisses in anger and frustration and emits another low psychic growl. This one contained the promise of greater pain if ignored.

OUT.

---

And with that, the party decides discretion to be the greater part of valour, declares the Keep safe enough, and starts on the long road home.

OOC: Adventure done. Everyone advance to Level 3!