Aral will go back to his comrades and will shake his head negatively at their looks of enquiry . He will then take leave of the parents of the newly born.
Once outside he will turn back and say deprecatingly : I am afraid that the good father does not like to rock the boat and believe in letting unquiet spirit lay where they lay. That was not the place to remind him that such do not lay still for ever. I'll keep at it but it will take time. Let us go to Harrowstone now .
Benedict frowns as Aral relates Father Grimburrow's response. "This is similar to the response we received. I agree that we can further foster our relationship with the Father, but I do not think it wise to enter into Harrowstone without whatever items of protection might be waiting in the graveyard. I am all for following social niceties, in fact I pride myself in doing so, but I am not for going into a dangerous situation unprepared because the good Father does not want to face certain facts. Most importantly the fact that the Professor died in Harrowstone, and likely there were sinister supernatural forces involved."
Talia looks thoughtful for a moment, before asking, "Do we need to fully enter Harrowstone just yet? Can we not take a look before delving too deeply, unprepared? The Professor was alone, whereas we are not. While I, too, wish to be as prepared as possible before facing the unknown and sinister, still it might behoove us to at least take a look around the grounds. Cautiously."
Benedict nods at Aral's words, "Conceded, a preliminary check should not be too risky, but at the first sign of supernatural contact we should go. I am not going to be confronting a ghost with my words and a dagger, both of which would be useless against such a creature. IF that is what we are dealing with I mean."
Skie Watcher listens and nods to the points everyone makes. "I have seen the prison from a distance. It is surrounded by a high wall save for it's eastern side. We should have little trouble getting unto the grounds and looking around."
He starts to take the lead, waiting a little ways ahead of the others as a good scout or guide should.
Harrowstone is located on a barren hill south of Ravengro, the stark sagging roof of it's central structure visible through a large gap in the surrounding wall.
A partially overgrown track leads from the southern edge of town, winding around the base of the hill and then backup along the southern slope to the prison itself. This allows the group to get a good look at each side of Harrowstone before arriving at its front gate.
The ten foot walls are covered in a creeping ivy that seems to have been growing for years.
The group reaches the former front gate that sags between two guard towers. It hangs negligently open, creaking softly in the small breeze.
1. Gates (current location)
2. Warden's home
3. Whole guard towers (two of them)
4. Western Balcony
5. Murky Pond
6. Main Entrance to Harrowstone
Kholtan nonchalantly draws his two short swords and places them upon his shoulders looking bored but continually looks around with his eyes. The place...unnerved him but his employers wanted to be here plus it was the only way to find out what had happened to the old man.
"Shall I go first then?" he says after a moment appearing bored.
Talia appears slightly apprehensive as she gazes at the haunted prison.
"Uh... yeah. That sounds good, Aral. Let's take a walk around the walls and see if we spot any tracks or the place where the Professor met his end. And yes, Kholton, since you volunteered..." She smiles at Kholtan and gestures for him to take the lead.
Making a circuit of the prison is hard as the hill and the small pond cut off going all the way around without doing a little backtracking.
Skie Watcher leads the way checking for tracks on the ground and signs of someone who may have climbed the wall. Neither can be found.
Once more you make it back to the gate, and Kholtan shrugging moves between the worn broken gate onto the grounds of Harrowstone.
Then you start to feel warm all over, like standing next to a burning hearth. The sensation starts to increase and your skin tingles with pain as if it was on fire.
And a split second later all the feelings are gone, but not forgotten. Teh event leaves you a bit shaken up.
The group explores the eastern quarter of the grounds.
The farthest tip of land on the east side of the building allows the group to see into Harrowstone through the collapsed eastern wall. It looks to reveal a training room as a few moldering straw training dummies still stand in the rooms center. The water of the pond looks to enter the room and go no further into the building.
The the group gets close to the building it's self moving around back towards the front. Only the good doctor and Aral seem to notice something on the foundation walls.
The ivy and grass have been cleared along the edge where the foundation
meets the ground, and along this edge a series of sinuous runes has been etched and then smeared with blood. The runes go around the entire building’s foundation save for the northeast corner, where part of the building has flooded and the foundation has crumbled away.
The runes themselves are written in Varisian, and among numerous magical incantations, repeat the name Lyvar Hawkran dozens of times.
Benedict kneels down to examine the building's foundation where he finds the name Lyvar Hawkran etched. He rubs his finger along the etchings, his finger comes away with blood on it. Rubbing his finger and thumb together, "Hmmm, just like the statue." His eyes widen suddenly and he reaches into his backpack, pulling out the rubbings he made of the monument. "Here! The name etched on the foundation is also on the monument! One of two pairs that had the same last name. This has the look of an arcane ritual, likely a necromatic or summoning related one with all the writing and blood."
to have been part of a larger ritual that involved both abjuration and necromantic magic.
The sun is less than an hour from it's noon day height and there is still more grounds to explore as well as the small house that stands near the path.
The group moves past the front doors of Harrowstone noticing them slightly ajar and the balcony above them partially crumbled with age. Nothing can be seen inside but darkness.
Aral and Dr. Benedict find more runes on the foundation on the western side of the doors. They are exactly the same as all the others.
And then the group finds what they have come to see. At the southwestern corner of the building is what looks like a gargoyle that broke off the corner of the building and fell to the ground some twenty feet below. The statuary has dried blood on one side and the ground below has a small spot of blood staining the ground. This must be the spot where the Professor was found.
Aral notices drag marks that lead toward the gates, but also ones that lead around the building towards the north.
Skie Watcher looks all around the area where it appears the Professor met his death. He starts to head around to the west side of the building at a hurried pace. He stops and moves in a circle a few times.
Then he bends down and grabs a handful of dirt. "This is where the great teacher died." he says nodding to the spot on the ground where he had gathered the dirt. He moves back along the drag trail to the fallen statue.
"Someone moved his body to here. The scuffs in the ground and the markings say their were many people here some time ago. But it is clear they they did not kill him here."
He takes the handful of dirt and places it in his belt pouch before waiting for the others to finish their examination of the area.
Looking concerned, Talia inspects the spot where Skie Watcher indicated the Professor died. "Skie Watcher, from what you're saying, the Professor died here, then was dragged to the place he was found, and the statue made to look as if it had fallen on him. Can we trace the trail Aral found to the north? Were there any tracks which would indicate the nature of his attackers, or the people who moved him?"
"Yes it is there," the man says gesturing with his weapon. He points back to the spot he took the dirt from on the west side of the building near the stairs leading to a balcony.
"He was dragged back to here and then the statue toppled on him. Perhaps pushed from the roof above. It is the blood in the ground that tells the tale. The blood back there was fresher, thinner. The blood here," he says indicating where the blood stained gargoyle sits. "This blood was older and thicker when it stained the ground."
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Skie Watcher takes a few minutes looking about the area the professor died and then follows a trail towards the gate.
He has to stop about ten feet from the structure to once more look around. Looking slightly vexed he exits the gate and looks for tracks on the path outside.
Nearly fifteen minutes later he shakes his head. "There has been to much time, and to many others. The trail is gone."
Benedict continues to look thoughtful. "Well, if he was killed here and then moved over there, then it figures that there might be something in this area that the killer or killers didn't want the people who found his body to find." Benedict begins to carefully search the entire area below and then on the western Balcony. He will not actually enter the building though.
Talia looks around as well, but doesn't seem to notice much that could help. After a while of searching, and waiting for her party to do the same, she says, "Well, I think we've found all we can discover with a cursory glance at the grounds. Shall we look elsewhere here? Perhaps that small building or the balcony? Or should we return to Kendra's house, regroup, and figure out our next moves?"