"If there was a cart, it might still be here. Let's go around and check the back."
Define back. Draw me a path where you mean to go please.
Done
I don't see anything.
Use the Draw tool on the map and give me a path from where you started.
Also, anyone heard from Comeau and Alex?
what
I did, but apparently it decided to erase it =\
Ok, let's try that again...
Cassiel heads around the western side of the building, and comes across a balcony of sorts.
A large, rectangular block of stone rests on a weather-beaten stone balcony, while ruined wooden benches line the eastern wall under a row of tiny, barred windows above.
A stout wooden door sits in the wall near the northern end of the balcony.
A set of stairs leads up onto it.
Behind you lies another watchtower. Even the mos unobservant of you notices a veritable horde of rats infesting the tower from top to bottom, glaring at you with beady eyes.
They chitter and shriek as you get within about 15 feet of the tower, but do not attack.
Ezekiel tries to open the door.
Ezekiel moves in toward the door, and the rats disappear from the windows and ledges.
He opens the door.
Hundreds of rats come pouring out, nipping and biting at him.
The other door. The stout wooden one.
As soon as Ezekiel steps foot on the balcony, something stirs. Two ghostly arms appear from nowhere, and a wicked looking scythe appears between them, and swings at him viciously, but misses.
With a thunderous roar, Ezekiel heaves his mighty earthbreaker up and brings it down with devastating force on the haft of the scythe.
Cassiel summons an eagle, which begins attacking the scythe.
The scythe takes a hard hit from Ezekiel but doesn't appear to be unduly inconvenienced. It swings at him again, but misses once more.
Ezekiel unleashes another blow of inconceivable down to clownage.
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Shoukichi does a thing and reads about the Whispering Way.
Shoukichi learns nothing new.
Ezekiel pounds the scythe again, and it starts to show signs of wear.
Cassiel's eagle hits the scythe with all it's got, but doesn't leave a mark on it.
The scythe takes another swipe at Ezekiel but misses once more, and Ezekiel's final hit puts the thing to rest, the scythe shattered and broken on the ground.
He inspects the door, but it appears to be locked. It can be disabled, or simply broken down if you're so inclined.
Ezekiel gathers up the remnants of the scythe and rests after his rage.
"What now, Cassiel? Take this to Grimburrow as proof of a haunting?"
"I suppose so, but those ignorant fools will probably find an excuse to not believe us anyway."
You do so.
He inspects it, even casting a spell to Detect Undead, but what little necromantic magic had animated before has long since faded by the time you get it to him.
Nevertheless, he takes your claim seriously.
"Now, you're entirely certain it was something undead? Animated Objects are not unheard of as far as being animated by magic, rather than spirits. We'll look into this further, but I don't expect to find anything. Even if it were haunted all trace will have long since faded."
After asking for the remains of the scythe back, Ezekiel says "Also, there where a bunch of weird rats in a tower. Is there a sort of ghost that controls rats?"
"Yes...the rats. No, sadly those are just normal rats. We've investigated them before. Killed two townsfolk who went to smoke them out about 10 years ago and we've left them alone ever since. They won't leave the tower and nobody really wants to go to Harrowstone anyway, so it works out fine."
Steef wakes up in a back alley, after wandering away and getting lost in the small town for a few days.
Cassiel goes to the temple to try and figure out whether the scythe is magical or spiritual.
The +4 does not apply here since you are not researching one of the research topics (they don't have books on things they didn't know about, duh).
But Cassiel's check is good enough to know it was an Animated Object, and it was definitely Haunted.
"Hey Shoukichi, do you think you could talk to Grimburrow? Tell him we can prove Harrowstone is haunted, but we will need equipment."
Ezekiel decides that the rats have taken too many lives, and goes to deal with them.
He marches into Harrowstone, goes to the rat tower, rages, kicks open the door, and smashes the rats under his mighty earthbreaker.
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Steef roams around the town, hoping to maybe catch any news of what's going on.
Ezekiel hits the rat swarm once.
The majority of the rats are squished under his giant hammer, and the remainder flee, too few to be any more of a threat.
Steef encounters no real news. The "Wealday Parchment" stuck up on the posting poles notes that two local lovebiirds have finally gotten engaged, and the wedding is set for a few months from now, but little else.
However, the town center appears to be a-buzz today, a band having set up there and begun playing a rousing jig.
After a few minutes of listening, something appears from off on the horizon. A pair of giant bugs sway and dance unnaturally to the music as they weave their way toward the area.
Nobody else appears to have noticed them yet, but Steef's keen senses pick them out from afar.
Steef's eyes narrow as he spies the bugs getting closer. He draws his bow, but doesn't nock an arrow just yet, choosing instead to call out to the nearby townsfolk. "Those are the biggest damn bugs I've ever seen in my life...anyone else see these things?"
Steef warns the crowd, and when he does the band stops playing.
The bugs jerk like someone's yanked on their strings and then begin shaking uncontrollably, going almost berserk, but not coming any closer...yet.
"Stirges! Scatter!" one of the crowd yells and they all rush inside the Laughing Demon for cover.
Steef tries to run into the Laughing Demon as well, nocking an arrow as he does so, just in case.
The Stirges get over their fit and come down, sniffing out warm, juicy blood to suck.
They home in on the crowd inside the tavern.
The two swoop in on Steef, hoping for some of his delicious dwarf blood.
Curiously, they avoid even inconveniencing the musician who was playing earlier, though he looks as genuinely terrified of them as everyone else.
[ood]Versus Flatfooted Touch, both hit.[/ooc]
The two Stirges grab onto Steef and jab him with their proboscises, draining his blood like giant mosqitoes.
"Bloody hell...why does this always happen to me?" Steef tries to strike at one of the Stirges attached to him.
"Anyone want to help, it'd be greatly 'preciated!"
"There you are Steef, I've been looking all over for yo-WAAAAGH!!"
Cassiel had casually walked into the Laughing Demon, only to find Steef getting attacked by two massive bugs.
"W-what are these things?!"
Cassiel casts Mage Armor.
"Cass, could use a bit of help! Don't think yellin' at 'em's gonna help much!"
Steef swings at one and misses the tenacious little booger.
Cassiel walks in and after his initial shock recognizes them as Stirges, vicious blood sucking creatures.
None of this info is helpful to Steef, who has figured this out the hard way.
One of the Stirges stays latched on to Steef, but the other is jostled loose by his punching.
After catching his breath, Ezekiel's heads back out into town - quite parched after his rage. As he approaches the Laughing Demon, he hears the tustling inside, and warily readies his Earthbreaker as he goes inside.
Assuming he arrives in time to fight a stirge, Ezekiel rages and crushes a pathetic bug under his hammer.
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Steef stomps on the stirge that fell off of him.
Shoukichi runs over to Father Grimburrow and starts making frantic hand gestures while waving at the general direction of Harrowstone.
Cassiel brings his staff down on one of the bugs, only to miss and hit the floor.