"How long has this courthouse been abandoned?" Lao asks. "I don't mean to be a petulant coward, but will we find anything other than angry dead people in the cells?"
He then shrugs, "On the other hand, none of us will get out of here if we just stand still. On to the cells, sir knight."
Teresa follows the others, not at the back but not leading them either.
Nef snorts lightly from within his pouch in Eliannador's pack. She draws the tiny fox into her arms, scratching the flat of his head between his large ears. She nods appreciatively to Pharysene then smiles coolly at Avalerdis after she's turned her back. Eliannador will then help look about the cells, an air of frosty impatience about her - she's obviously beyond eager to leave this place.
Several rusted iron cages take up most of the
area. The barred doors are open and a few swing
eerily, although no wind blows down here in
the dark. In the lane stretching between these
cages lies a headless skeleton, one arm folded
beneath it awkwardly, the other outstretched
from its side.
Pharysene approaches cautiously.
Is there any clothing or possessions to indicate who this was?
Eliannador approaches the perfectly normal, unremarkable non-undead skeleton alongside Pharysene, her eyes occasionally darting up at the motion of the eerily swinging doors.
Nef whimpers softly from his padded pouch, his ears laid back flat in nervousness.
"I think she was Sashrala.
She was with a group that went into this building
5 years ago to cleanse the place of Evil,
I'm also willing to bet that ghast we
fought earlier was Kelgaard."
Looking back over her shoulder at Sir Rekkart, Eliannador icily mutters, "Well it's good to know what we have to look forward to if we fail." Then, more loudly so everyone can actually hear her, "How many others were there 5 years ago?"
"Five Years ago 3 went in,
one came out and even then,
his sanity was left behind."
Ava looks at Sir Rekkart when he mentions who the skeletons may have belonged to. "Sashrala? Who was she? A mage or a priest, perhaps? Would she have had anything which could help us?"
"And I hate to bring up this delicate matter," Lao says as he starts examining the skeleton and the area around it. "What happened to the lady's head? You'd think her skull would still be around here someplace."
"Sashrala was a sorceress."
"The head is accounted for,
as when Grisdom exited the courthouse.
His eyes hulled from his face,
he cradled a lantern with Sashrala’s decapitated
head stuffed inside, a still-lit candle in her silently
screaming mouth."
Eliannador looks blankly at Rekkart for several long moments before finally responding, "Mmmm. Charming."
"I want out of this nut house, now."
"What, Sir Rekkart's tale didn't just warm your heart?" She turns to Lao. "See anything? I think I'll avoid touching things for the time being."
"I want nothing but that too Halgrak."
Teresa didn't specifically reply to Halgrak, but to herself.
"I want out as well,
but it'll require time."
Pharysene will wander around the cages, trying to see what may be seen.
Perception:
Disappointed that nothing interesting seems to be present, she looks around at the rest.
"Clearly nothing of use is here. Let's go upstairs!"
Gingerly, Eliannador kneels down beside the headless skeleton and attempts to roll it over.
you find nothing
As Eliannador's hand touches the remains, her head suddenly snaps back violently as if she'd been struck. She falls back to rest on her butt and scurries away from the corpse mumbling, "No. No! Grisdom, no! NO!"
Just as suddenly, the witch's eyes seem to focus once more and her breathing slows. She turns to look to the group, eyes filled with fear, when her head snaps back again.
"No... no! A watching shadow! A shadow watching! Watching! Watching! Hands of ice! Fingers frozen! NOOO!" and with that final shriek, the witch crumples to the floor insensate, her eyes eerily wide open but unseeing.
"Witch! What's going on?!" Ava rushes over to Eliannador as she lands on the floor. "You shouldn't have touched it!" She tries to shake the witch to get her to respond.
@ Eliannador,
roll a perception check.
As Eliannador starts to act weird, Teresa rush over to help her along with Ava. She didn't ask for what happen as Ava has already asked that for her.
With a low moan, Eliannador slowly begins to recover. As she shakes her head, she nods appreciately to Ava and Teresa, laying a grateful hand on each of their shoulders as they help her stand.
"Don't even ask. I don't know what happened, except that I... saw things. Terrible things." An involuntary shudder ripples through her as the images she saw flash in her mind. She sighs, then pauses and goes stiff. "Wait. I saw something... else too." She looks around frantically for a few moments, "What was it? Where was it? Gods I hate this place. Ah! Here!"
She kneels down by one of the bunks, and stands a moment later with one of the boards in her hand. She comes back over to the group, displaying her find.
"Well, what do we make of this?"
Ava stands wordlessly as Eliannador recovers. She watches the Witch pry off the board and return with it. Looking at the board, Ava says, "Ten years. That's how long it's been. So Mord is seeking out the true murderer, but does he know who it is? And who is Sveth?" She looks expectantly at Rekkart and the other jurors.
After finish reading it, Teresa question is once again asked by Ava, and so she kept her words to herself.
"Don't know who this Sveth person is,
And I still think Mord was Guilty,
though the new evidence is pointing the other way."
"And what if this 'true murderer' is already dead?"
"I don't know..."
"Hold on. This says Mord's soul will stay until ten years to the day. What happens after that? Will this place cease to be haunted? Maybe all we need to do is survive the night."
"I fear that would be ... wishful thinking on our part. The spirits that haunt are extreme in their desires."
As if in response, little gusts of wind push and pull at Pharysene and anyone around her. She bears it with stoic unconcern.
After fidgeting for a minute, Pharysene starts pacing. A minute after that...
"I really don't feel safe staying in one place. As long as we are prisoned here, I want to explore. If we have seen all there is to see on the ground floor, I propose we mount one of the staircases leading up."
"sigh... Agreed. I don't think I could bear to stay near this body any longer either. Upstairs sounds like as good an idea as any."
"Well if you're up to it already, Witch, then I guess we can get going." Avalerdis turns to leave the room, but then turns back to Eliannador. "Maybe we shouldn't be so quick to touch things, eh? Hasn't worked out well for either of us."
As they gather themselves to leave this room, Eliannador chuckles at Ava's suggestion. "Ahh, too true. Too true." She'll then turn her attention to the rest of the group and ask, "So do any of the rest of you know of this Sveth? Killian? Ebin?"
the basic answer you get from the jury is "no."
Gloom reigns here, and the room scorns light.
An unnatural cold pervades this place, cutting
right through cloth and flesh. A raised gallows
with a noose hanging from its crossbeam stands
sentinel in this room where hundreds of souls
died either with a quick snap of the neck or jerking
freakishly. The air in this dark chamber is
absolutely still and unusually cold. The silence
suddenly breaks when a single creak echoes from
the rickety stairs of the gallows. Another follows,
and dust shakes from the steps as a figure comes
into view. His hands are bound before him and
he lurches with a palsied gait as he comes. His
head is shrouded in a black bag, hanging impossibly
at a right angle off his mangled neck. A
sound like an old door hinge or leather dragged
over wood curdles from his shredded throat and
he reaches for you with arched fingers curled
into white claws.