GM WhtKnt's Darkness Within: A Carrion Crown Adventure Path

Game Master WhtKnt

Cassiel glares at the skeletal corpse. "Heretics that blasphemous, I'm disappointed they kept his corpse around this long."

"Uh, Magnimar. City of Monuments. Full of all kinds of history and cultural whatever. It's mostly like a slum built on top of a ruin." Judah replied, happy to be thinking of something else for a few seconds.

"Uh, Magnimar. City of Monuments. Full of all kinds of history and cultural whatever. It's mostly like a slum built on top of a ruin." Judah replied, happy to be thinking of something else for a few seconds.

"Huh. Sounds kind of like Ardis," Lorant comments.

"I don't think anyone has been in here since the fire."

Any reactions?

The skeleton makes no reaction to being visually inspected, nor the conversation.

Ella watches for a few seconds, then kicks the corpse. Assuming it still does nothing, she shrugs. "Well, may as well head out, then." Lifting the torch high, she returns into the hallway, looking around.

Nothing happens when Ella kicks the remains, aside from them crumpling to the floor with a clatter of chains and holy symbols.

"This... seems anticlimactic." Judah said, looking at teh corpse with disgust. His heart was pounding, and with the blood he'd lost it was making him woozy again. He leaned on the wall to steady himself for amoment before going around the corner back to the door next to the table he'd been working on earlier. "Someone want to open this? it's clear."

Ella, looking like she's starting to get impatient with sending Edmund ahead, pushes open the door that Judah has indicated, torch held high.

Lorant doesn't relax as they leave the room. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something in the air of Father Charlatan's cell that felt wrong...He sniffs the air again and strains his ears for any possible sound. After all, the rhyme said to listen close...

”I can hear Father Charlatan’s chains clinking. He’s here,” Lorant says in a grave voice.

The door from the barred-off guardpost leads to a crumbling outdoor balcony. There appears to be nothing here of interest to adventurers.

Judah turned and glared at Lorant. "You know, this place is bad enough without you trying to f%!@ with me too."

Cassiel raises his sword and shoots a glare at the gloom around them. "Then where is he?"

"Perhaps he is biding his time," Ella says, frowning, as she looks about. "And not all spirits take form in the world..."

"And without him making an appearance...what can we do besides keep going?"

"Wait," Judah said, suddenly looking surprised and paranoid. "You're serious? You can hear him? He's here?"

Judah started shaking and looking around, trying to stay away from walls.

"Wait," Judah said, suddenly looking surprised and paranoid. "You're serious? You can hear him? He's here?"

Judah started shaking and looking around, trying to stay away from walls.

Lorant nods.

"I can hear the tinkling of chains, and I'm pretty sure they're not from Eleanora kicking his skeleton over...I think she's right. We got his attention, and he seems reluctant to confront us."

He strokes his chin.

"Could Edmund get him to show himself? Other than that, I'm not sure what else we could do besides walking away or basically asking him to appear, and he can always refuse to talk to us."

"I may have an idea," Mathus says. Drawing a vial from his pouch, he mixes a few reagents and drinks the concoction. His eyes glow green for a moment and then he looks about. "Yes, I see him. A portly, elderly priest with his hand on Eleanora's shoulder. He carries a shepherd's crook. He seems to be smiling."

"What the--" Ella jerks away, whirling, eyes wide. "He's invisible? Or what is it? I'd like to not have a vicious, murderous ghost following me around. Well, one that I don't know, anyway." She prods the air where he would have to be gingerly.

Nothing meets her prodding, though Mathus confirms that the spirit is still there. "It would seem that he is undead, since my infusion gives me the ability to detect such, though I have no other way of communing with him."

Yeesh, I totally forgot about Mathus. I'm sorry!

Lorant grabs his fleur-de-lis, and glowers at where Mathus indicates the ghost is.

I don't suppose I can brand him if I can't see him.

Nope, sorry. Truth be told, I largely forgot about Mathus as well and planned on writing him out when it was convenient, but in the meantime, I might as well make use of the character, and since he had detect undead...

"...well, what in the seven hells do we do about him?!" Ella exclaims. The flesh on the back of her neck is crawling. "It doesn't seem safe to just let him follow us around..."

"...well, what in the seven hells do we do about him?!" Ella exclaims. The flesh on the back of her neck is crawling. "It doesn't seem safe to just let him follow us around..."

"Nine, Hell has nine levels," Lorant mutters impotently.

Judah's jaw clenched. He stared at Elanora, wanting nothing more than to just throw his hands up and leave this cursed place.

The problem was, he liked these people.

"What hurts ghosts?" he asked. "We have holy water. What else?"

"Would holy water work? Is he even truly a ghost?!" Ella asks, pulling a flask out frantically.

Which is a good question! Not sure why I didn't do this before...

Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

I HAVE RETURNED FROM DISNEY WORLD!

Lorant's brow furrows as he concentrates and focuses on Father Charlatan's presence, and tries to figure out what weaknesses ghosts had.

Lorant uses his Undead Sense and uses his Monster Lore to try and determine a ghost's strengths and weaknesses.

Monster Lore - Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

Lorant is pretty sure that this isn't technically a ghost, but a haunt. It would not be susceptible to things that effect ghosts but would suffer from the effects of a haunt siphon, for example. Aside from that, they only way to be rid of it is to figure out what it wants and accomplish the task.

Suddenly Lorant’s eyes snap open and he smiles.

”The planchette! We can use its magic to communicate with Father Charlatan and learn what could help free his soul!”

"You think Father Charlatan is going to tell the truth?" Judah asked, incredulous.

"...Judah raises a legitimate point," Ella says dryly. "But on the other hand, it could be a good idea to at least see what happens when we ask. I say we do it."

"Besides, I am an inquisitor. I am well trained in piercing the veil of lies to find the truth."

Who's got the planchette again?

Doesn't matter. Whoever has it pulls it out and gives it to Lorant.

Judah shrugged, not liking the plan but also not having a better one.

Lorant prepares the board and planchette on the floor, kneeling as he concentrates on the board so it attunes to the spirits.

Happy Halloween everyone! I had a slightly spooky encounter with a low-flying bat as I was leaving work today. I figure the little fella was probably more scared of me than I was of him, but I thought you'd all appreciate the coincidence! XD

Lorant rests his fingers gently on the planchette and mentally tries to attune himself to the surroundings. Several seconds tick by (a full minute, actually) and then, seemingly of its own accord, the planchette begins to slowly slide in random patterns across the board!

Lorant, you may now question the spirits. This is a brass planchette, so you get only one question. It will be answered "yes", "no", "maybe", or with a single word spelled out on the board. There is a chance that the spirits will lie, but I will not tell you the odds of such.

Ella watches the use of the ouija board carefully, not fully trusting such things but also convinced that they are real enough to be worth trying.

Ed looms in the background, leering. "You know you can always ask me! I'm a spirit! Technically."

Lorant ignores Edmund as he makes a droning hum to center himself.

"Spirits of Harrowstone, Father Charlatan, what is the way we may help you pass from this world and into Pharasma's peace?"

"Does it involve smacking you with holy power? Because we can do that."

The planchette quavers slightly then begins to move under Lorant's fingertips. S - I - P - H - O - N, it spells out.

Judah shrugged and cracked open a Haunt Siphon next to the corpse.

"Eleanora, could you make sure you're standing near the remains when he does that, please? Father Charlatan's spirit seems to be following you after you disturbed his remains," Lorant says as he finishes and puts the planchette and board away.

As Judah opens the haunt siphon, there is a sudden rush of wind accompanied by a loud moaning sound. A cold chill runs down the spine of those present as the moaning increases in intensity. Judah feels the siphon resisting him as though someone was pulling it from his hand. The moaning increases in volume and pitch until it becomes an unearthly scream. Then, suddenly, the screaming stops and all is quiet. Judah nearly drops the siphon as the invisible force that had been tugging on it goes slack. The crystal vial no longer holds a wisp of churning vapor.

Lorant turns to Mathus, who shakes his head. "My infusion has worn off. I can't be certain whether or not the haunt is still there."

I AIN’T ‘FRAID OF NO GHOST! :P

”Leave that to me.”

Lorant focuses on the room and casts his eyes about. Most inquisitors trained to see the evil in people’s hearts, but his senses were better tuned to sensing the unquiet dead, a side-effect perhaps, of his own half-dead nature.

Lorant uses his Undead Sense ability.

Judah stared at the strange bottle in his hand with wide eyes. "Well that was... awful."

"What do we do with it now?"

"Put it away and open another siphon," Lorant replies.

"It weakened Father Charlatan, but he's still there."

Judah popped open another siphon.