And for now, we split into two...
Beldrin’s Bluff is a rotting ghost town at the edge of a hungry sea. Throughout the derelict landscape, seagulls perched on splintered timbers reflect your passage in their glassy black eyes. Overhead, dark clouds move ashore with the promise of a storm.
A fence of black iron pikes surrounds a block-wide yard. Dead tree branches reach out from the fence like the arms of emaciated prisoners desperate to escape. A man is on the inside, cutting the trees down. Some of the dismembered branches remain, stuck in place by knotty elbows swollen around the iron.
Spooner realizes that Fool had the key they were given for the gate, but then suddenly he feels something in his pocket. It appears that the key was slipped in there when he wasn't looking.
The man looks up from his sawing and watches you. His thinning hair is matted and sweaty. Beyond him, partially collapsed buildings and
three whitewashed towers lean in a lake-filled yard.
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Chup smiles and waves at the man chopping down trees. "Evening!" When he shoves his hands back into his pockets, he removes a key he didn't know he had and shows it to everyone. "Oh, great. Don't tell me I'm starting to take after my uncle Lesuvo. He nabs anything that isn't nailed down. Did someone drop this or did I really nick it without even noticing?"
Shrugging, he trots up to the gate and inserts the key. "No point in delaying any longer, right?"
The man completely ignores you as you speak, but when you unlock the gate, his demeanor changes suddenly and drastically. He drops his gloves, smiles, and reaches out a hand to shake those of his new friends.
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Mavaro seems unmoved by the keys sudden appearance. Either the halfling indeed has sticky fingers, or some dark magic of this place has already taken hold of them. He still was slightly surprised at the others vanishig, but such was the fate of those who meddle with powers from beyond.
He eyes the man warily, as things could be not what they seem behind the gate.
"Indeed, good evening sir." he says, reaching for the outstretched hand.
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Since Dumm owns no clothing but what he wears, he neither changes for the banquet nor makes any attempt to improve his appearance, garnering perhaps the lion's share of the ridicule and embarrassment at the event as a result. Oblivious to his faux pas or to the negative reactions of the other guests, he whistles in amazement at the elegance of the place. Far bigger than necessary it is, and surely most of the finery hasn't the slightest practical use. "How they build this place? Why they need it?" During the conversation he says little, but scoffs at any mention of restless dead. "Dead no rise. Dead stay dead."
* * * * *
"No matters," he says to Spoony at the appearance of the key. "We need it."
"Of course, of course! Mrs. Heracks must have sent for you and given you the key, of course. Why, I can take you right to her. Just follow me to Headmistress Kiwu's old office! It is right this way..."
He starts to lead you to one of the buildings.
“Deris Marlinchen. Pleased to meet you. My daughter Cassiel attends this school. You should see how she’s grown. Those beautiful long braids!”
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Dumm looks at the others, puzzled. "Venture-captain said no one survived, right? But someone still here?"
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Getting a really intense vibe off of Tametomo, Chup leans in and whispers, "Uhm, are you okay? You seem really nervous. I'm sure this is okay. And, if it's not," the little halfling says, winking, "I'll protect you. Don't worry!"
Turning back to Deris, he continues. "That's very kind of you, Mr. Marlinchen. We've heard marvelous things about this school and you're very kind to show us the way."
"Of course, friends of the school are friends of mine! Come, come..."
The ruined paths of the Tri-Towers Yard wind their way around black ponds and gray, shattered buildings. Powerful fragrances precede one roofless hall where a thin path meanders through an abundance of flower
arrangements in wild bloom. Just off this path is the entrance to a small classroom—this is either where he leads you.
As you enter, you see ten students dressed in checkered uniforms sit stiffly at wooden desks, staring straight ahead. No one moves. At the front of the class, a conservatively dressed woman leans against the wall.
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"This looks strange. Why people not move?" Admittedly, Dumm's experience with other people is limited. But he certainly has never seen anyone stand motionless like this. Unless... Are they hunting? Dumm stops in his tracks, not wanting to scare off whatever their prey might be. Foolish, he thinks to himself. Forgotten the wilds already?
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"Just so you know, that headmistress Kiwu is dead as a doornail, just like everyone else in there. Of course this was obvious." Mavaro says silently to the others when there is a good moment and the gardener is a few feet away.
When they enter the strange classroom, his eyes fill with worry.
"Quite possible these people are nothing but memories of a house dreaming of better times. Let's hope there are no nightmares to be found." He ponders about the scene before him.
Eh ... propably not ^^
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"What?" Chup balks. "You're crazy. They're just really good students. Look at how patient they are, their full attention on their teacher!" He looks around and whistles. "You should see a halfling creche; it's like a mad house. Halfling children are uncontrollable. I once climbed on the roof of the school, naked, and sang half the Epic of Taldor before the teachers found a ladder to get me down."
Shrugging as he sees the deadly serious looks on all his companions' faces, Chup asks, "So... what should we do?"
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"Quite possible these people are nothing but memories of a house dreaming of better times. Let's hope there are no nightmares to be found."
"Or they just can be an illusion."
Always with his earthbreaker in hands, Crowe tries to touch some students and the teacher, while use his will to break any possible illusions.
You do not detect evil in the teacher, and disbelieving that they exist doesn't really do anything for you.
Suddenly, the teachers head jerks toward you, and she smiles and silently waves.
"She seems to be happy to see you. What is your business here?"
The teacher looks at Crowe, and gives a "who me?" look. Then she proceeds to pantomime being a teacher. She remains quite silent, however.
Deris looks at Crowe, and says "She is the teacher, of course!" He smiles, and then says "She wants to know what you are looking for."
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The Venture-Captain asks us:
1) to find a way into the necropolis;
2) document our findings with professional detail;
3) recover artifacts of historical significance;
4) the Society is interested in one artifact in particular — a two-finger ring topped with a ruby salamander.
Mrs. Dacilane asks us to look for any information about her daughter, Junia Dacilane who was one of so many children lost. Hundreds of them pinned under the rubble in that sinkhole. The black water rising — the kids screaming.
She still said - "I recall my daughter once mentioned that lesser children" — not her Junia mind you — "skipped class to tell ghost stories by candlelight in an abandoned corridor beneath the school. Perhaps it's connected?"
And remember the Venture-Captain's advice: "the Drownyard is a deeply personal site for many powerful Inner Sea families. You will tread upon the graves of their children. Be sure to give the site the respect it deserves".
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"Fellows, I really think that this is a kind of homage made by their parents, something like a mirror of how this place used to be... Or maybe ghosts, you know."
Crowe turns to Deris: "So, what do you do in your life? You don't appear to be a noble, why is your daughter studying here? Does she survived the blackwater's disaster?"
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Dumm raises an eyebrow. They clearly aren't interested in staying still, which makes him all the more confused as to why they were to begin with. "Venture-captain wrong, maybe. These people no died. Stayed here."
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In response to Crowe, Deric says “Oh yes. I saved her, you know. I saved many of them—teachers and students. Some still call me a hero. She’s still here. She just… just hasn’t come out yet. I thought I’d tend the grounds while I wait for Cassiel.”
The teacher starts jerking her head up and down, as if in agreement.
You do not see any child resembling Lady Dacilane’s daughter, Junia.
When Tametomo asks about the necropolis, Deris starts "communicating" with the teacher via complex gestures and sounds. Finally, he says "She can lead us to the necropolis! With that, the teacher starts to walk out of the room in a jerky sort of way, but does lead you through the halls.
Eventually, you arrive at a wide, black pool with an occasional bubble percolating up in the center.
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While Crowe studies the gardener's communication, Mavaro asks the man outright: "Who is this Cassiel, and what did you save them from?"
Once the group is lead to the black pool, he turns to his companions.
"Halt." he says. "This is unusual to say the least."
He watches the black pool very carefully .
In case this is applicable.
To Mavaro, the man says "Cassiel is my daughter."
The gently bubbling black water looks to be about waist deep. Mavaro and Tametoto both notice a fully-submerged, severed human arm jutting up from the blackened silt near the center of the pool.
"She says that is the entrance."
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The worried look has not left Mavaro's eyes since the moment the group entered the schoolgrounds. "I don't think we have much of a choice here. Wasn't expecting this, but could have been worse. Might still get."
He gestures to Dumm as well. "Might as well start going in. Do you mind checking if this actually leads somewhere?"