The bard nodded his head in agreement with the halfling's remarks, "but the tale lays in the overcoming of bleak and troubling experiences." With a laugh he quickly adds, "so let me here about these troubling tales and their suitability for verse."
"I can tell you my part. There were rumors about this manor. Evil alchemy that that was effecting the surrounding area. I had just finished a rather daring infiltration that involved getting myself captured then manifesting a familiar from my mind to free me. These fine people broke in and defeated the ogre guards."
Eleric takes a breath, "We cleared the maze like coastal fort. We found all manor of hidden evils. Some in disguise others were made of dozes of bodies stiched together. The worst of which was the promethan. We called an ally, a Mr. The Beast. To help us."
"Hmmm," Lysander softly hums as he listens to the tale. When the half-elf mentions bodies stitched together he raised his eyebrows in astonishment but quickly recovered.
"That has the making of a fine tale. The only thing tat could improve upon it would be if a damsel was rescued instead of you," he says with a laugh. With a note of seriousness in his voice he quietly asks, "Have you ever come across a gagged skull?"Gagged skull link
"Thank you. That is very kind of you. We might use your libraries a little late."
"Lysandar, we have come across such a symbol. It is of interest to our current investigation. What interest do you have in such an object?"
The bard hesitated for a second and nervously glanced around the room, ”I can go into more detail later but to summarize; I have been on the been on the trail of some of these Whispering Way cultists for several months and I have tracked them here to this lodge.” He shook his head in disappointment, ”I don’t know what they are up to but I aim to find out.”
"Then our meeting is one of fortune. We have also attracted attention. It maybe worth taking some time to do some information gathering. I'm more of a library person rather than a barroom person but maybe we can exchange what we find."
”Fortunate indeed”, his smile widens and he enthusiastically adds, ”Joing our efforts makes sense and I can handle the people side of things.”
Another man, which is seated at a table not too far from where the conversation is having place, stands up.
He is a middle-aged man, probably on his fourties, with a faced very marked by suffering.
He wears a full-plate armor and has a shield tied to his back, but wields no weapons. His holy purple rainment can be seen under his armor, and bears symbols tied to some divinity. He has a pendant, which is undoubtedly a holy symbol, and has the same shape of the ones on his rainment.
Could they be the link? The vision was clear about this place, they must be...
"Greetings travelers, I could not avoid hearing your talks, and your words caught my attention, especially the part about lycanthropes. My name is Jeremiah, and I'm a wanderering cleric. This place holds a great importance in my prayers and dreams, and I think you may be the connection I am looking for. May I ask you what you seek from this place, as it might be the same thing I am seeking?"
Lysandar is startled by the intrusion but quickly recovered. He looks the man over before he answered, ”Well met, I am called Lysandar. Ye mentioned that ye be thinking this is an answer to some sort of prayer. Which deity to ye be praying to?
"There are currently several evils we are investigating. There seems to be a thread of Whispering Way."
Jeremiah gets a little anxious for the question, almost if finding the words to explain what he would like to say had become extremely difficult.
"I think I could say I pray and revere Groetus, but that would be just half of the answer. I have visions, I see beasts, undeads and all kind of abominations feasting upon this world, they hunger for the living and they seek nothing but the flesh of the people. They ravage cities, villages and everything that stands in their way, with no chance to stop them."
He stops and closes his eyes, whispering some words, as if trying to turn away some detail of what he said that flashed in his mind, attempting to compromise his sanity.
"I was lost", he continues, "but Groetus helped me find a way to resist this madness. Sometimes I can even see details that guide me to places of interest, where something is going to happen. Sometimes I also find opportunities to stop bad things from happening. Groetus might be waiting for inevitable World's End, but I shall do everything I can to stop it. This is how I got here."
"What is exactly this Whispering Way?"
"As many stories do, this one starts with murder and an old man's will..."
Providing that the story from the summary intrigues our cleric Eleric is getting itchy investigate.
Ortensia greeted the slight, frazzled man who identified himself as Estovian Lozarov. No worries, ser. Just being catious. Thank you for having us.
Ortensia gave the man a look over, noting he seemed to be a scholarly sort.
She decided to castSeek Thoughts ,which would allow her to sift through surface thoughts like an archivist searching for a subject in a library.
The Whispering Way. Auren Vrood. she searched for among the thoughts of those around her, making rounds to pass by the guests and staff alike.
She saw her companions mingling with a handsome blonde bard and a weatherd, disturbed older man. She nodded to them after passing by to scan their thoughts.
The old cleric's were a frantic jumble she decided to avoid for now.
Starting to get an idea of Ortensia power Eleric feels better seeing that she has given them the once over.
Eleric will ask, "Is it ok if I look through your library now? I'm quite interested to see what is housed there."
Eleric will allow the others to talk to the people in the room and he will try to get started on the library research.
A madman, only a madman would worship the Harbinger of Last Days, the bard thinks as he scrutinizes the cleric. He readily agrees to Wrens suggestion of splitting up.
he looks to the remaining party members and suggests, "Perhaps we should start with the man in the wolf skin I believe he is called Duristan Ariesir."
Jeremiah feels something strange coming from the orc near him. ( ) .
Surprised by the complete lack of words or motion coming from the half-orc, says: "I mean no harm to you, half-orc, but I think it could be more polite avoiding to cast things on people you're talking with. I hope we can settle this down in a more peaceful way."
Turning to Eleric, "In my visions, some living walked with the dead. They weren't touched by the destruction. And when I was seeing this place, I always saw some of them lurking around. Could they be this Whispering Way you're talking about? If that is so, I must find out more."
Ortensia suppressed the seething distaste she felt suddenly towards Estovain.She knew she wouldn't particularly like the man, but this revelation reinforced her first impression.
Ah-ha...
She decided to exercise extreme caution around Estovain and those in his employ, such as Belik. She would warn the others to do so as well.
She also now knew there was indeed a lycanthrope problem, and one Mordrinacht was at the root of it. They were also meeting with Vrood, which meant absolutely nothing good.
To the cleric, she barked out a throaty huff of a laugh she was unable to stifle. The black lace of her veil fluttered. Fear not, ser. I mean you no harm. I'm simply...sifting. Getting a feel for the present company, to ensure you don't bear me or my companions ill will.
Worshiper of Greotus, eh? Well, I suppose all good things must come to an end.
"Jeremiah, some endings of the world would be worse than others. I wouldn't want to be ripped apart by undead, for instance. Happy to have your help."
Eleric will be look for any information on the whispering way, any history's of the group, past or present members. Then more generally he will look for information about lycanthropes, other dangers in the area like the worm, and any books or materials it looks like some has tried to hide.
Eleric will pick a book that would not draw suspicion and start to read. He will have Jaboa search.
Jeremiah mantains an innatural calm when answering Ortensia's words, almost if focusing his concentration on something. "I understand your concern, half-orc, as trust must be earned. But if sifting is what you want, you could just ask, and I would be glad to lower my defenses. Try again now, if you need to."
Turning to Credeen, he says:"Groetus does not want the end of the world. He waits for it. As it is indeed inevitable. Anyway, I thank him for finding you. This meeting brings indeed his blessing."
They will never understand, they would have gone mad already if they saw those things. Thank you, Groetus, for granting me sanity everyday.
After a sigh, disappointed, Jeremiah turns to the staff person sent by Estovain. "I'm also interested in seeing this library."
Lysandar looks to Creeden and half-orc, "what do you suggest we do while the others peruse the library."
"Hmm. A lot of information. I'm impressed with this Library. The time flew by I hope the others are alive."
"No harm in gathering the news. I say we do our best to pick up on any rumors circulating in the lodge without mentioning our purpose here."
"So this is what the Whispering Way truly is, fits his name perfectly. I wonder how could it be possible that this place holds something written about it. We need share this information with the others, Eleric."
"We certainly do.I'm sure there is much more to learn elsewhere."
Lysadnard nods in agreement at Creeden's suggestion, "I'll see what I can find out" He makes his way around the room.
”Not much to go on. We should talk Niama and find out about these strangers,” he suggests. ”But first lets check with Wren and see if he found anything interesting in his books.”
Waiting for also Eleric to come, Jeremiah goes back in the main room, looking for the others, wanting to share what he and Eleric discovered. He stops in a corridor for some seconds, sweating.
Werewolves ravage a village, they kill a child, eat his heart. But one of them stopped at the village's borders, not joining the others. He cries, cries blood.
He recovers from the vision, and goes on.
“See ‘Halo of Dreams’ on page 322. Filed under Religion upstairs."
Eleric will try to finder this book. And get the missing info. Skill check?
Eleric was past Jeremiah not noticing anything. Whistling.
Eleric reconvenes the group. He tells them what he has found. Highlight the temple, that some werewolves may be useful allies, and that the temple belong to the enemies of the whispering way.
Eleric will make sure no one is coming and have Jaboa check the door for traps and pick the lock.
Following that, if all goes smoothly Eleric will hop on his flying disk, put Jaboa in his pocket, turn invisible and go find the book and information.
Ortensia wisely decided against skimming Jeremiah's addled mind, waving off the offer.There was no knowing what sort of psionic feedback she may encounter glimpsing into a mind touched by madness.
No,no.That is quite generous of you. I am satisfied with what I have gleaned so far.
While she gathered her thoughts, she leaned in to speak softly to her companions so not to be overhead.Belik, Estovian and the stablemaster Quine Steymor are whom we should focus upon.Not only are they familiar with the cult but have all personally met Auren Vrood at some point or another.Even morso,Estovian also arranged a meeting between Vrood leader and the current werewolf leader Mathus Mordrinacht. Which means they have a hand in the recent lycanthrope troubles.
She sought out Duristan, who seemed rather zealous about his hunting of the beastmen.Evening, ser. Care to regale me of your experiences hunting the wolf men?
Seeing Eleric getting late, Jeremiah follows him upstairs.
Eleric will cast message on Jeremiah and whisper, "This is not a job for a holy man. It is a job for a master theif or at least some much less scrupulous. I leave no footprints nor fingerprints so I'm half way there."
Jeremiah is startled by the sudden voice in his mind, expecting to see Eleric somewhere, but understands the situation.
Speaking no words, Jeremiah leaves the better suited Eleric to his work, waiting for him downstairs, pretending to be reading some book in the library, just in case anyone came to check the upper floor.
May Groetus grant you swiftness and silence, may the Moon be Dark. I will remain vigilant.
"you can whisper and tell me when someone is coming. It have been a long time since I have had a point man."
Jeremiah whispers a quick sentence, knowing Eleric will hear: "Estovian is coming."
He then takes the book he is reading and walks towards the source of the footsteps, trying to identify who the man is, and hoping to distract the man, and buy Eleric some time.
Eleric leaves the room. Invisible he closes and lock the door behind him and flies over and past Estonian and waits in a quiet part of the library out of sight.
Ortensia decided to gracefully accept the compliment, as unused to them due to her heritage and somewhat bestial appearance. She fluttered a gloved hand, feigning being flustered.
Oh my. You flatter me, ser. Why, I think that's a splendid proposal. I'll be sure to talk to my companions about it. I for one will most definitely be joining you for the hunt. How thrilling!
"Let's get a room. Go over what we know and form a plan of action.