"I'm afraid he is very ill and cannot be disturbed," the voice replies with finality. "Good day to you."
Vaclav steps closer to the door. "I am Vaclav Rennet, priest of Erastil at the Cathedral in Sandpoint. "We are investigating a series of murders in the area. We have a letter from Sheriff Hemlock. It essential that we see Sevilla because he is the only known witness. We will of course take precautions to minimize agitation of your patient."
Diplomacy
The eyes focus on the letter and scan it rapidly.
"Ah, well, obviously I didn't recognise you, Brother Vaclav," the voice changes tone suddenly. "I so seldom get into town these days, my work is so consuming. Of course if the good Sheriff says that you must interview Mr Sevilla, then by all means you must. However, if we can restrict you to just two visitors, and please no heavily armed men, it would be preferable by far. He may prove more, um, tractable if not intimidated."
There is a click as the door is unbarred and opens.
"I am Dr Habe, so glad to make your acquaintance," the owner of the eyes is revealed as a pensive, thin man. "The rest of you can wait within, of course," he adds, opening the door wide.
"Doctor," Vaclav says as he steps through the door. "What can you tell us about Sevilla?"
Assuming he counts as a 'heavily armed man', Thanadros waits with Gornak. "Yell if you need us."
Gornak will look around outside for tracks like Thanadros suggested.
Survival: take 10 for a result of 17
Inside:
The door opens into a comfortable waiting room, and Aylmora and Vaclav go on with Habe into the sanatorium. The rest of the ground floor seems to be a kind of common room, but seldom used. The first floor appears to be where patients would be kept, but most of the doors to the small rooms are ajar and the rooms empty. Two burly men join you there, and follow discretely. Habe takes you up to the attic.
"I had best warn you, he isn't terribly well and we have had to restrain him," Habe cautions as he unlocks the door.
Outside:
Gornak can find only the tracks of booted feet two and from the cottage outside. However, he does hear in the distance the sound of a rider approaching from the south at speed.
Vaclav sheds his weapons before following Habe into the common room.
As Habe unlocks the door he glances at Aylmora and gives her an encouraging smile.
Aylmora gives Vaclav a slightly nervous smile back before peering through the door.
The first thing that assaults Aylmora and Vaclav is the smell: it literally smells as if something has died in here. Not as bad as the smell in the saw mill, but reminiscent of it.
The room is heavily padded on the floor and all four walls. The sole occupant, Grayst Sevilla, is crouched, sobbing, in the corner of the room. He is tightly bound in a strait-jacket, and as his head turns to peer at you, you can see that his skin is pale and looks gangrenous, hair is wild and eyes are milky white like a corpses.
His eyes widen as he sees Aylmora, and he coughs a few times and starts to talk in a cracked, slurring voice that seems barely human.
“He said. He said you would visit me. His Lordship. The one that unmade me said so. He has a place for you. A precious place. I’m so jealous. He has a message for you. He made me remember it. I hope I haven’t forgotten. The master wouldn’t approve if I forgot. Let me see… let… me… see…” he mumbles for a moment, then his demeanour changes, his voice deepens and the uncertainty falls from his voice.
“He said that if you came to his Misgivings, that if you joined his pack, he would end his harvest in your honor.”
As soon as he speaks this, Grayst slumps to the floor, moaning softly.
Gob helps look around for tracks as he suggested earlier.
"Hey Gob, maybe we better get out of the way; it sounds like someone is coming. We might spook him!"
Gornak looks for a tree to stand behind or something like that.
There are plenty of trees about close to the road, and Gornak and Gob can easily conceal themselves from casual view.
With a splashing the rider fords the creek close by, and rides into view. His horse is lathered and the man looks wild-eyed and terrified. He is dressed as a farmer from the nearby hinterlands, and is quite elderly. As he rides he seems to be chanting a child's nursery rhyme Gornak recognises.
"Mumble Mumble Scarecrow,
Alone in the maize.
Sleeping in the daytime,
A stitched man he stays.
"But when the moon she rises,
Up Mumble gets.
He shakes his hands at first
And moves his feet the next.
"And when the dog is snoring,
And when you’re fast asleep,
Mumble Mumble Scarecrow
Will find you good to eat."
He pauses, still a hundred yards away from you.
"They even ate the dogs!" he shouts. "Even the dogs!" Then he spurs his exhausted horse forward. It seems he is making for Sandpoint and will pass close by where you hide.
Gob whispers to Gornak, He coukd cause a panuc in town... What with recent events. Stop him ir leave him?
Gob manifests ectoplasmic sheen if Gornak or Thanadros think we should stop him.
Gornak yells from his hiding place (hopefully so that the people in the sanatarium can hear too):
"Wait, Mister! Do you need some help? Maybe we can help you?"
Perception Check DC20 for those in the sanatorium to hear Gornak's shout.
The rider slows, and stares around wildly.
"Who's there?" He makes out Gornak (it's hard to hide a half-giant in plate armour). "Guard...you're a guard...you have to tell the Sheriff," he mumbles. He all but falls off his exhausted horse and starts babbling a confused story. You are able to make out something about "The Hambley Place" and "things not right." It's going to take some time to get the facts out of him.
Aylmora falls back a step at the crazed man's outburst. "Did he look like that when he got here? And what does that mean - 'come to his Misgivings'? Does that make any sense to you, Brother Vaclav? Dr. Habe?" she asks both men.
Aylmora pauses, turning her head as if suddenly hearing something. "Did you hear that, Vaclav? Sounded like Gornak shouting. We'd better check it out," she says, dashing down the stairs.
know(religion)
Vaclav stares at the unkempt, unhealthy man in the straitjacket.
He shakes his head in answer to Aylmora's question.
Seeing Grayst collapse, Vaclav steps forward and lays a hand on the man.
***
Before he can see the result of his touch, Vaclav must follow Aylmora out of the room. "We'll be back."
"Speak straight. What are you going on about?" Thanadros says, getting a bit frustrated at the muddled rider.
Inside
As Vaclav touches the fallen man, he sinks to the floor, silent.
Outside
The man sinks to the floor, sobbing. The sight of a normal man seems to rally him a little.
"It was the Hambley place," he groans. "It was at the centre of it. All around, things going missing, dogs, children, livestock. Scarecrows walking out of the fields, strories like that," he shudders.
"We didn't need no Sandpoint Sheriff to tell us what to do. We got together, we did, pitchforks and torches, we seen off goblins, orcs, bandits and all, we have. Went there, to the Hambley place, we did...and they killed 'em all. Scarecrows and corpses, tore us apart and ate 'em all like starving animals. I ran. I rode. Fastest 'orse in the farmlands. They ate the rest. They even ate the dogs! They even ate the dogs!"
He scrambles to his feet and struggles to mount his horse again.
"Got to tell the Sheriff, got to raise the guard!"
"Oh my goodness. Another massacre. It's gotta be related to the others! Mister, you go tell the sheriff and we'll go check it out. Where's the Hambley place located?"
Gornak grabs his hammer and his brow furrows at the thought of man-eating monsters on the loose.
Gob hastily scribbles a note to Sheriff Hemlock attesting the party's speaking with this man, and what he told us in case the story changes, and our intent to investigate the farm. He signs it, passes the pen and paper to the rest. He asks the man to wait until Brother Vaclav can come out to speak with him. As a priest, any informstion on the wslking dead will be helpful (also for Vaclav to look at him and make sure he isn't bsing/sick/whatever). Gob adds Vaclav's info about the patient to the note if Vaclav okays it, and sends the letter with the farmer. Gob keeps his helmet on so as not to frighten him.
"Well, maybe we should go and investigate before anything worse happens."
Vaclav trots up after Aylmora.
After a brief recap of the situation, he takes a look at the panicked farmer.
Then he tries to coax some more details out of rider, especially the "scarecrows and corpses".
Diplomacy
He'll offer GOb any information the blue wants for the letter, but he has already suggested ghouls to the Sheriff, so I'm not sure how much more we can add.
Aylmora rushes up just in time to hear the end of the farmer's story. She listens quietly as Vaclav speaks to the man, interjecting every so often to speak a soothing word or two to help him keep calm.
With Vaclav's calming touch both man and horse recover somewhat.
Maester Grump struggles to relay his tail more clearly: A week ago, some odd things started happening to farms around the Hambley Place, the farm of a notorious miser and skinflint Crade Hambley. Livestock disappeared, children went missing, and scarecrows were seen in the evenings moving in the fields.
The farmers out here are an independent lot, and rather than call for help from the town they assembled on their own and rode to the Hambley Place to find out what was going on. They arrived the previous evening, and the farm seemed oddly silent and dark. As they approached they heard strange rustling in he corn fields, and on reaching the farm figures that looked like corpses attacked them from the farm-house, and more dressed as scarecrows from the fields.
The farmers were no match for the monsters, which tore into their fallen pray like starving wolves. Grump managed to get on his horse and ride like the wind, but once he was clear he made the mistake of getting lost in the woods, where he wandered terrified and alone all night. He got his bearings earlier this morning, found the road and rode for Sandpoint as hard as he could.
"Sounds like we need to head to the Hambley farm," Aylmora says grimly after hearing all of Master Grump's tale. "Maybe we'll find the monster behind all of this there."
"And quickly. There's no one to protect the families with all the farmers dead," agrees Vaclav. " Maester Grump did you gather the women and young in one spot? Where are they now?"
"Yeah, once we know where to go, let's head out."
"Th-they stayed at the farms well away from the Hambley Place, they got older sons to guard 'em, but if those things come a-knockin'..." he shudders, and gives you directions to the Hambley Place, it is only a few hours walk if you stick to the trail, but evening will be falling by the time you arrive.
"Watch out for the scarecrows," he warns you, making ready to ride again. "I'll tell Sheriff Hemlock where you gone. You're braver then I would be, I can tell you."
[b]"Let us make Haste then!"[b] Thanadros says, and unless anyone objects I believe the party starts heading their right away.
Thanadros keeps an eye out for trouble along the way.
Perception
You follow the track that Farmer Grump rode along south-west, skirting the edge of the Ashen Rise, a hilly outcrop of limestone, to rejoin the Lost Coast Road. Grump was using a short-cut that a skilled rider can follow to cut a mile or two off the trip to Sandpoint.
Joining the road, you follow it south for two miles before crossing the old stone bridge over the Soggy River. The Whisperwood is already in view, and the Hambley Place is nestled in the northern eaves of the wood, just shy of the Foxglove River.
The sun is sinking toward the west as you find the track that leads to the farm...
Before we leave, Vaclav speaks with Dr. Habe, telling him the reason for their abrupt departure and that they will return to talk further with Grayst.
Then he re-arms himself and follows the others southwest....
Sighting the Hambley Place, he says, "Now is a good time to plan. The enemy likely lies there. If we face undead, they'll have an edge at night. Do we plunge ahead and race the setting sun? Do we take the time to scout the grounds first? Or do we wait until morning?"
"I can see fine at night, Vaclav, and am able to hide quite well. I am in favor of the plan that will keep the most innocents alive, whatever you think that may be." Gob follows along, crossbow in hand.
Stealth when needed:
Perception when needed:
Take 10 whenever possible.
Gornak renews his 5 pp metaphysical weapon on his hammer.
"I hate to lose the sun. What if we march in with Thandros and Gob 100 paces ahead? They can provide some scouting, but everyone stays within quick reach of everyone else."
"That works for me. I want to put an end to 'His Lordship'," Aylmora says grimly, pulling back the string on her crossbow and slamming a bolt into place.
"I don't have a problem with that, but I cannot see in the dark like Gob can, So I will need to use a torch or go blind."
Gornak says with concern: "Don't go too far ahead, Gob. Remember -- there are things out here that can rip men and dogs to shreds!"
"Thank you friend Gornak, but it's what goblins are good at too." Gob smiles in jest, and scouts ahead.
Ahead of you are tall fields of corn, even Gornak cannot see over them and the setting sun stains them pink as if there is blood upon the corn. In the distance you can see the roofs of the barn and farmhouse. Dotted around are scarecrows on tall poles.
Aylmora's eyes narrow with suspicion as she studies the scarecrows in the distance.
Did a scarecrow move?