With a snort and shake, Ezekiel continues into Harrowstone.
The group walks onto the grounds, and can finally get a good look at the outside of place.
Ezekiel begins to dig around in the ruins.
I suppose I should get a look at this Harrowstone place, though I certainly don't intend to go inside any time soon. Far too dangerous, if the professor's journal is to be believed.
Cassiel arrives at Harrowstone shortly after the rest of the group goes in, just in time to see Ezekiel disappear through the gate.
...Uh oh.
He casts Resistance and Mage Armor on himself, then runs through the gate after Ezekiel.
On a quick look around, Ezekiel notes a few features that stand out. A small house or possibly a large shed to the west, with a watchtower or guard tower further along the wall. Directly ahead is the front door, and to the east is a lake.
Ezekiel goes to investigate the shed, earthbreaker at the ready.
The small brick manor house is overgrown with thick sheets of gray-green ivy. The roof sags ominously, and the front door hangs askew.
If any of you were to hazard a guess, this would be where the Warden lived.
"I swear Zeke, yer gonna get us all killed. Oh, hey Cass. Think you can help me convince Zeke here that this is a stupid idea and we should go back to the house, so that some of us who haven't slept in an actual bed in almost a century can break that streak?"
"Steef is right. The professor mentioned in his journal that there may be ghosts here, and we're hardly prepared to deal with that sort of thing. Honestly, we're in enough trouble already after the incident at the funeral."
Ezekiel notes as he gets closer to the house that it is very unstable, and could collapse if you root around in it too much.
"Cassiel, just thought you should know-you're standing in a massive turd right now. Don't think you could see it."
Cassiel grimaces and takes a few steps back, scraping his shoes against the grass.
Of all the days to not have Prestidigitation prepared...
"No matter. That stench should hardly be noticeable under the odor of...what was it? Cats and potato chips?"
"I'm getting out of here before I step on something more dangerous. And I suggest you both do the same."
Cassiel leaves and heads back to the house.
With a shrug, Ezekiel leaves Harrowstone.
Some things are better left for daytime...
Steef goes back to the house as well, intent on getting some sleep.
The night passes without incident.
The next morning you are treated to a tasty, if simple breakfast by Kendra, and then left to your own devices.
You may spend this time to research, gather information, or explore the town/prison more as you please.
The first thing Cassiel does is cast Prestidigitation and clean his stinky shoes.
Then he scribes an Infernal Healing scroll.
Cassiel does so easily.
Ezekiel goes to visit Father Grimburrow.
"Can't you use some of that healing magic to get rid of the haunting at Harrowstone? Whenever people in my clan had troubles with a haunted... what is the word... gravehill? Well, the priest, or maybe the word is Shaman, would release magic like yours and then we would dig up the barrow, crush everything inside, and... spread? No, throw the dusts into the great sea."
"Assuming there even is a haunting at the old prison, which we've seen no sign of, it's not that simple. Hauntings are much more complex things than simply killing an errant corpse or skeleton. Simply blasting it with positive energy is not enough."
Shoukichi heads on to the Temple and asks for entry into the library.
"Hello, I realize that we didn't exactly get on the right terms yesterday, and I would like to apologize. My friend has some strange ailment and I would like to access your tomes to research this issue."
There's a different person sitting at the front today.
"Yes, of course, I'm sorry to hear that. If you find anything and need our help, please let me know."
"I'm looking specifically about Harrowstone. My friend happened to enter the place and is now severely traumatized by the experience. Are there any books about Harrowstone and possibly any of its hauntings?
"Yes there are."
He leads you deep into the library, and there's quite a few books on the prison, both historical and speculative.
Meanwhile, there's a commotion in the town center.
A crowd has formed around the Harrowstone Memorial Monument.
You catch a glimpse of what has happened as the crowd parts and shifts...someone has desecrated the monument, drawing in what appears to be blood a large "V" and splattering blood all over the monument and the ground around it. A large rat's corpse lies nearby, wrung dry. It appears to be the source of the "paint" used.
Shoukichi picks up some books about Harrowstone's history, specifically the prison fire.
After getting nowhere with his research, Shoukichi goes back home.
"Cassiel, I need some help researching some topics in the Temple. You want to come? Also, don't mind the defaced statue with blood all over it. Just has a giant 'V' written in rat's blood. Nothing special at all."
"Certainly, young man! I've been meaning to do some research on Harrowstone myself."
"Defaced statue, you say? Well, we can worry about that later."
Cassiel follows Shoukichi back to the Temple.
Cassiel looks over the history books that Shoukichi was having trouble with.
Ezekiel notices the ruckus around the statue and goes to investigate.
"What's this?"
"So what exactly did all that mean? I can read speeches with a silver tongue, but not analyze historical documents."
Shoukichi then pulls out a book about the Whispering Way.
"I also intended reading this one, but I didn't get the time to look at it before I left to get you. Think you can help me with this one too?"
He then opens the book and starts reading.
Harrowstone is a ruined prison—partially destroyed by a fire in 4661, the building has stood vacant ever since. The locals suspect that it’s haunted, and don’t enjoy speaking of the place.
Harrowstone was built in 4594. Ravengro was founded at the same time as a place where guards and their families could live and that would produce food and other supplies used by the prison. The fire that killed all of the prisoners and most of the guards destroyed a large portion of the prison’s underground eastern wing, but left most of the stone structure above relatively intact. The prison’s warden perished in the fire, along with his wife, although no one knows why she was in the prison when the fire occurred. A statue commemorating the warden and the guards who lost their lives was built in the months after the tragedy—that statue still stands on the riverbank just outside of town.
Most of the hardened criminals sent to Harrowstone spent only a few months imprisoned, for it was here that most of Ustalav’s executions during that era were carried out. The fire that caused the tragedy was, in fact, a blessing in disguise, for the prisoners had rioted and gained control of the prison’s dungeons immediately prior to the conflagration. It was only through the self-sacrifice of Warden Hawkran and 23 of his guards that the prisoners were prevented from escaping—the guards gave their lives to save the town of Ravengro.
At the time Harrowstone burned, five particularly notorious criminals had recently arrived at the prison. While the commonly held belief is that the tragic fire began accidentally after the riot began, in fact the prisoners had already seized control of the dungeon and had been in command of the lower level for several hours before the fire. Warden Hawkran triggered a deadfall to seal the rioting prisoners in the lower level, but in so doing trapped himself and nearly two dozen guards. The prisoners were in the process of escaping when the panicked guards accidentally started the fire in a desperate attempt to end the riot.
Shoukichi finds nothing in the books that Cassiel did not already know.
Cassiel tells Shoukichi what he already knows about the Whispering Way , and tries to find out more.
But he finds nothing new.
Cassiel finds out something new about the Whispering Way, known only to a few skilled or lucky enough to escape an encounter with them alive. Even that is mere general knowledge about the elusive organization.
The Whispering Way itself is a series of philosophies that can only be transferred via whispers—the philosophies are never written or spoken of loudly, making the exact goals and nature of the secretive philosophy difficult for outsiders to learn much about.
"Let's see if we can find anything about the prisoners."
Cassiel knows only the barest of knowledge about the prisoners of Harrowstone.
Originally, Harrowstone housed only local criminals, but as the prison’s fame spread, other
counties and distant lands began paying to have more dangerous criminals housed within this prison’s walls. At the time of the great Harrowstone Fire, the number of particularly violent or dangerous criminals imprisoned within the dungeons below was at an all-time high.
Ezekiel notices the ruckus around the statue and goes to investigate.
"What's this?"
"It's terrible! Someone's desecrated the monument!" a large "V" has been drawn in blood at the base, with more blood splashed everywhere. A twisted, dried out (wrung out, more like) rat corpse lies nearby.
"Any idea who?"
"No, nobody saw who did it."
Steef wakes up fairly late in the day-he's always been a bit of a night owl, and now that he's not on the streets he can sleep in as late as he wants. After getting dressed, he decides to wander the streets a bit to look at the shops to see if anything interesting's being sold.
Jules got up from bed at noon; his habit of staying up late and studying textbooks (one he picked up in order to impress the late Professor, by the by) had not died would not die without a struggle. He put on his regular clothes, and headed down into the streets.
Seeing Steef from a distance, Jules walks and catches up to the dwarf from behind.
"About last night; I tried following you and the others over to the site of the Professor's death,"appealed the half-elf, "but I got lost along the way. Shortly after, I decided to head back to the Lorrimor estate should there have been any thugs roaming the streets that late."
This being such a small town, there's not a whole lot of interest. The Ravengro General Store has your standard adventuring gear (rations, lamps and oil, torches, pitons, etc.), but not much else. There is a Masterwork Full Plate set "standing guard" in the back of the store, and the owner MIGHT be able to be persuaded to part with it.
The Ravengro Forge has most common weapons and armor you could care to buy. There's rumors that the owner, Jorfa (an old dwarven woman) might have some more exotic, or even magical equipment, but she's tight lipped about it.
Jominda's Apothecary sells most alchemical supplies and common spell components. She also has a decent selection of magic potions, which she brews herself. These are all kept under heavy lock and key, and she'll only sell them to those she trusts.
The Silk Purse is a moneylender that also doubles as a pawn shop (they sell old collateral nobody's come to collect or which has defaulted to their ownership). They currently have on sale a number of pieces of jewelry, one of which is a Ring of Feather Falling, and another which seems to shine oddly in the light, but nobody quite knows what it is (if it's not just a very shiny ordinary gem).
And finally, the Unfurling Scroll, which sells minor magic items, mostly scrolls and some wands. The owner, Alendru, also hints that he's recently come into possession of a rare collector's item, some kind of book. He doesn't outright say it, but you get the feeling he wants it off his hands, but doesn't just want to give it away. Doing a favor for him might get him to part with it.