"That makes two of us." Harrold says with a chuckle. "So what was all this about killing evil?"
Herm adjusts his pack on his shoulders before answering Harrold.
"We are heading to the Prison because as we have seen in this village the people here fear the late Professor and are calling him a Necromancer. We hope to clear his name by finding out what is going on at the Harrow Stone and bringing it to light. We have a rumor that the old Wardens wife haunts the place calling out for the warden."
Herm realizes after talking that Harrold said he was local.
"You are local and were a friend of the Professors?" Might be that you would help us with this investigation? Also as my friends here said we have only collected that which Professor Lorrimor has laid out for us. No harm was done to the crypt."
Herm again adjusts the pack, the extra weight dragging it down a bit.
"Well I apologize for my rudeness. You all looked a bit suspicious standing outside that old crypt is all. I have never seen you all before. I hope you can understand my reaction." Harrold explains.
"I am glad that I misjudged you."
Tamara dries her eyes was the man so rudely approaches them with weapon drawn. "I'm Tamara Hart. Like the others professor Petros Lorrimor was my friend and mentor. If you live here and was his friend I'm surprised we didn't see you at the funeral. No one we've talked to have mentioned you as his friend either, even though we did ask. Would you care to explain that? Though you have a sharp eye if you noticed that we retrieved something from the crypt. We might need a sharp eye where we are going."
"I was visiting my daughter, and my new granddaughter. We were friends mostly before he started travelling, but I am honestly surprised that his daughter didn't mention me. I am not the easiest person to live with, so I don't get along with most of the townsfolk." Harrold says by way of explanation, It is good to meet friends of the professor, he didn't have many. I am Harrold Bathshforth."
"Well, I'm glad we finally met someone he would call friend from this town. As the others said, we are looking to clear the professor's name. But there is more. Petros suspected there were agents of mysterious cult of the Whispering Way looking to do something bad to Ravengro, which is why he went to Harrowstone to investigate. He might have been murdered to cover that up. I want to find out the truth behind that and takes steps to protect the town if necessarily. You seem like you can handle a bow. We could use whatever help we can get. Would you like to join us investigating Harrowstone?"
"I have been travelling for a while. I would like to head home and rest for a while before I head out again. I would also like to spend some time with his daughter, making sure she is okay." Harrold says thinking, "How urgent is this?"
"From his notes it seemed like it was quite urgent. We might already be too late. We'll just have to go there without you then. It was nice to meet you Harold." Tamara starts walking towards the exit of the graveyard. Like with all the inhabitants of this town she didn't really expect this man to help them.
"I never said I wouldn't come with you. If it is what he wanted then I can deal with some discomfort." Harrold replies
Tamara stops and looks back at the old man. "Are you coming with us? That's great. I hadn't expected to meet someone who would help out here."
She looks to the others. "Well, do any of you need a few more moments here at the grave? Or do you need to pick up anything Harold? If not, let's be off to Harrowstone."
"I am coming with you, and I don't need to collect anything." Harrold says walking after them, "I couldn't help but notice that none of you have a bow, and yet you came out of the crypt with arrows?"
A slight smile comes to Herm's face, he reaches around loosens his pack, taking out a bundle of arrows and the note that was attached to it.
"As long as you can use that thing and it isn't for show they are yours. I do not need any more time, I have said my good byes and then some. I wish to be off and find this killer or whatever ended the Professors life."
Herm will set off with Tamara once he has given his arrows over to Harrold.
"Thank you Herm." Harrold says moving to grab the arrows from him, he places them into his quiver after inspecting them
As long as someone get's some use from them,
"Oh I certainly will. Thank you."
Herm walks up to the left gate and stops it from creaking, he opens it all the way and secures it against the wall . He then looks around motioning for the others to approach.
He turns to Harrold, "Have you been this close before? I get the feeling that The Harrowstone is a place that people on the run come to hide." Herm looks up at the watch towers, eyeing both suspiciously "Should we check these out first? To have no one left behind us?"
"Nobody ever comes close to this place." Harrold says shivering, from the wind and from the stories about the place.
"The towers is a good idea."
As Herm opens the door more of the Harrowstone comes into sight. The two old stone towers that were already seen from the outside, stand to the left of the entrance. Their wooden roofs collapsed and their crumbling walls thick with ivy. They extend a further ten feet above the twenty foot high wall here.
A path leads from the entrance some 150 feet to the prison building. Halfway there to the left of the path stands a small brick manor house. It is also overgrown with thick sheets of gray-green ivy. The roof sags ominously.
The pprison itself is a two-story stone building that looms in the center of the prison grounds. Ivy and moss cling tenaciously to the walls, while above the wooden shingles of the roof are often missing entirely, exposing the wooden rafters of the upper structure to the sky. Here and there, leering stone gargoyles perch on the eaves, once functioning as drainspouts and decorations but now seeming almost to serve a more ominous role of sentinels. Many of these stone decorations have crumbled away and lie in ruined piles on the soggy ground below. Windows in the building’s facade are narrow and blocked by grills of rusty iron bars. Stone columns support a slumping wooden balcony over the building’s wooden front doors, both of which hang askew and reveal dark glimpses of chambers within.
To the right is a large pond of dark, muddy water that spreads out along the eastern section of the prison grounds. Here and there, bits of
ruined wall protrude from the water, and thick tangles of reeds and cattails grow along the muddy shores.
All of that is contained within the high wall. Only where the pond lies the crumbled wall reveals a view over Ravengro.
Tamara gets out her shield again and hides behind it nervously. "This place is ominous. I can see why no one comes here. The towers wouldn't have been my first suggestion, but it's as good place to start as any. Let's check it out." She wait for Herm to take the lead, then follows right after.
"Be careful of that tower there." Harrold says pointing to the one with the rats, "There seem to be some rats taken home there." Pausing for a moment, "Hopefully that is all that we find moving in this place."
Fine with me, let's go
Herm pulls down his hammer and proceeds to open the door of the left tower, peering in to the darkness.
"May I get some light Miss Amira," Herm puts out his left gauntlet "Be careful and stay close."
He moves in once he has the light spell cast upon his gauntlet.
Visibly shaking Herm moves to the stairs, hammer still in hand gripping it tightly to keep his armor from making to much noise as he shakes. He swallows hard looking up the stairs, sweat on his brow, slowly he puts one foot on the bottom step, breathing heavily and starting up the stairs.
"Desna, please bless this staunch warrior's gauntlet with light so he might illuminate and guide our way through the darkness." Tamara prays and touches Herm's gauntlet so it starts shining light.
"Well, let's see what's up here. And hope we don't fall through the floor." Tamara says as she gingerly steps out on the old floorboards, hoping they are enough to carry the weight of both herself and her armor. "Desna, please guide my eyes so I don't miss anything important."
After thoroughly searching the room and finding nothing, Tamara sighs. "I guess it was too much to hope that this tower would give some clue to what is going on. Still, it's a bit disappointing. So, where to now? Should we investigate the other tower, or should we go to that building?" She points to the one in the middle of the courtyard. "Personally I want to go check out that brick manor house." She walks over to the window to get one last good look outside in the hope of seeing something interesting before she walks back to the stairs to head down.
Herm looks around, attempting to keep the shaking under control, looking back at the group. "Do we go up the other tower? Or do we proceed into the manor house or main building?"
He gives a bit shake of his shoulders to help with the smaller ones.
I would have Herm but i don't actually know any spells to make light, i never needed them...i can see in the dark Ammira' follows along
"Well, unless you guys really want to check out that other tower, I do want to see what's in that manor." Tamara says when neither Amira nor Herm commit to one direction over the other.
"I suggest we clear the other tower first. We don't want to risk coming out of the manner and having to contest with something on top of the tower."
"Fair enough. That does make sense. Let's go see the tower first then." Tamara nods to Harold's more experienced suggestion.
"I agree with the tower, clear all behind us, move to the manor next then the prison proper. May be useful intel for us to gather on what happened here or what is happening here."
Herm starts to feel a bit more confident as they move towards the next tower.
"Give me two moments if you wouldn't mind." Harrold says, unslinging his pack, and taking two alchemists fires out of his bandolier. "Those rats look a bit unfriendly"
"You really have something against rats don't you my friend?"
Herm chuckles a little and waits for Harrold.
"I have something about anything that looks at me with beady eyes like that. If they don't do anything to me, I wont do anything to them." Harrold says, walking up to Herm, bow on his back with his quarterstaff and arrows on his hip
"Bloody rats." Harrold complains
Herm fumbles around in his pack, bottles clinking as he does.
"It is in here somewhere, I bought it just for this type of situation, well more like zombies but something like this." He finally pulls out a bottle containing red liquid. "Ha found it, never got to throw this stuff before but I have seen it done."
He takes aim at the centre of the rat swarm
Herm looks underwhelmed by the lack of fire.
Tamara looks at Harold with astonisment after the brief battle is over. "Wow, what was that? You burnt them all to crisp with a single one of those things. That was amazing. Good thing that you did come along!"
"It was alchemical fire. Basically exactly what Herm threw as well. It seems my supplier provides better quality explosives is all." Harrold says
Tamara let's out a soft laugh. "I don't think that's the whole of it. Regardless, it was effective. I'm glad you are with us." She smiles at him. Tamara doesn't care what he's using as long as he's using it to help them.
Harrold pointedly ignores the part about it not being the whole of it. He re packs his other flask and heads back to grab his pack.
"After you Herm." Harrold says waiting outside the door to the tower
Herm looks relieved the towers are clear, "Last thing we need is someone shooting us in the back from way up here. To the Manor house next then the prison proper?"
He heads back down the stairs and with the group to the Manor house next.
"My thoughts exactly. As always, after you." Harrold says following Herm