Gabbi pulls up chair and sits down looking down for a moment, she looks crestfallen and tired. What am I going to do now, Petros was only one who ever showed any real interest in my work. Will anyone notice me now. Dad didn't even look up from his book when I told him I was going to be a necromancer, Petros was interested, he cared about me. Dad didn't bother getting out of his office to come to the funieral, would he even noticed if I died? Gabbi stop being so self obsessed Kendra's lost her father and mentor, you have only lost one be cheerful for her. Looking up with a forced smile on her face she says "Kendra I am so sorry for what I said to that man I didn't mean it, no I meant it but I shouldn't have said it. If he causes any problems I'll do anything to fix them. But enough of all this sad talk there must be something else to talk about. Are there any cute boys in..."she interupted a squark from the bird on her pigtail.
The bird interupt and then quietly but in quite understandable speach say to Gabbi "She doesn't want to talk about boys, she not one of your idiot friends who needs cheering up after tailor makes her dress too small. She has just lost her father, make yourself useful."
Quietly to the bird "Okay okay enough Lisa.". Turning back to Kendra "Sorry about that, maybe I can do your hair for you, I always feel better with a new hair style and colour?" She says with the bird giving with a almost human dark look.
Kendra smiles, although it seems to be more through manners than joy, "No thank you, Gabriela, I'm not really one for fashion."
Kendra fetches some tea and cakes, and you spend the hour making small talk. At the appointed time, Councilman Hearthmount knocks at the door and sweeps in when Kendra opens the door. The look on his face tells you how much he trusts dealing with outsiders as he looks at you as though there is a foul smell under his nose. Regardless, he says nothing as he takes a seat, fetching a scroll case from within his jacket. He holds it forward, allowing everyone to see that the seal of Petros Lorrimor is intact. Once everyone has seen that, he quickly breaks the seal and opens the case, a small iron key clattering onto the table. Unperturbed by the noise the key makes as it slaps against the oak table, Councilman Hearthmount begin to read in a gravelly voice.
"I, Petros Lorrimor, being of sound mind, do hereby commit to this parchment my last will and testament. Let it be known that, with the exception of the specific details below, I leave my house and personal belongings entire to my daughter Kendra. Use them or sell them as you see fit, my child." Kendra chokes back a sob as the Councilman pauses.
"Yet beyond bequeathing my personal effects, this document must serve other needs. I have arranged for the reading of this will to be delayed until all principals can be in attendance, for I have more than mere inheritance to apportion. I have two final favours to ask." The entire room is silent as the group and Kendra wait for te Councilman to continue.
"To my old friends, I hate to impose upon you all, but there are few others who are capable of appreciating the true significance of what it is I have to ask. As some of you know, I have devoted many of my studies to all manne of evil, that I might know the enemy and inform those better positioned to stand against it. For knowledge of one's enemy is the surest path to victory over its plans," Councilman Hearthmount clears his throat before continuing.
"And so, over the course of my lifetime, I have seen fit to acquire a significant collection of valuable but dangerous tomes, any one of which in the wrong circumstances could have led to an awkward legal situation. While the majority of these tomes remain safe under lock and key at the Lepistadt University, I fear that a few I have borrowed remain here IMA trunk in my Ravengro home. While invaluable for my work in life, in death, I would prefer not to burden my daughter with the darker side of my profession, or worse still, the danger of possessing these tomes herself. As such, I am entrusting my chest of times to you, posthumously. I ask that you please deliver the collection to my colleagues at the University of Lepistadt, who will put them to good use for the betterment of the cause," the Councilman pauses for breath once again although this time he looks a little shaken, and his eyes dart to the mountain of books surrounding you all as though they were going to jump out at you all.
"Yet before you leave for Lepistadt, there is the matter of another favour - please delay your journey one month and spend that period of time here in Ravengro to ensure that my daughter is safe and sound. She has no one to count on now that I am gone, and if you would aid her in setting things in order for whatever she desires over the course of this month, you would have my eternal gratitude. From my savings, I have also willed to each of you the sum of one hundred platinum coins. For safekeeping, I have left these funds with Embreth Daramid, one of my most trusted friends in Lepistadt - she has been instructed to issue this payment upon the safe delivery of the borrowed tomes. O sooner than one month after the date of the reading of this will. I, Petros Lorrimor, hereby sign this will in Ravengro on this first day of Calistril, in the year 4711."
Councilman Hearthmount looks to Kendra who nods and thanks him. The Councilman rises and takes his leave.
"Thank you for coming," Kendra says, putting on a brave face, "I'll need a few weeks to decide on what I'm going to do with the house so I'd echo Dad's sentiments in asking you to stay here for a month, as long as no one has more pressing business. You are, of course, more than welcome to remain here as I have rooms aplenty. If you'll excuse me, I'll fetch the chest that Dad spoke of," she says, rising from her seat.
Perhaps that fool in the street wasn't as far from the mark as I'd thought - it sounds like the professor was acquainted with some dark materials. And perhaps... no, dare I hope? Perhaps his library might help me where he now cannot!
Dantrian's expression remains grim throughout the reading, his fingers steepled before his face as his elbows rest upon the arms of the chair. As Kendra rises to fetch the chest, he responds to her invitation to stay, "Of course, Kendra. Whatever you need." He settles further back into the chair then, but his fingers remain steepled as his gaze flits about the room over all the books.
Ebon glances around, but keeps an uneasy smile pointed at Gabriela the entire time. "Might I ask, what was the meaning of what you said earlier, in the Restlands, about necromancy and how it could be used to help people? As a fellow intellectual, I find myself fascinated by your speach."
"There must be something more to this girl than meets the eye. I feel it, clanging around in my hollow bones."
Ebon is only somewhat shocked by the news that the Professor had in his possession these so called, "Dangerous Tomes"
"A man like that, so vastly intelligent, it's unsurprising there would be a few skeletons in his closet. Still, I must make sure those books reach safety. I know not what they entail, but I doubt not the problems they would create in the wrong hands."
He bows ungracefully as Kendra finishes. "Yes, of course, anything to ease your burden after such terrible a loss."
I suppose someone must have seen him read those "dangerous books" and that's how those necromancer rumors started. But how else can you destroy such evil unless you study them to know their weaknesses?
"Of course I will stay to help."
As Kendra leaves, Lysa looks over the males in the room and says quietly: "I hope at least some of you will take up Kendra's offer to stay here. Just in case anyone tries to cause her any trouble."
Dantrian's gaze slowly turns from a neglected pile of books to regard Lysa.
Is this dainty Pharasmin deaf? No - she responded fine to verbal cues earlier today. Rattled then? Does it matter?
From behind his steepled fingers, Dantrian attempts to smile at Lysa and nod, but the smile produced is little more than a half grin or smirk. He then turns back to the pile of books he'd been looking at a moment ago.
Kendra returns from elsewhere in the house, carrying a small oak and iron chest. She offers the key nervously to Dantrian and watches as he unlocks the chest.
Within the chest are five books; four which bear signs of age and the last, the uppermost book, which appears to be relatively new.
The four aged books are certainly more interesting than the newer one if judging by the covers. The first is a purple time which sports a brass scarab on the front cover with a single eye in it's centre which appears to function as a lock, although there is no key in sight. It bears no title, however. The other three do bear titles, 'On Verified Madness', 'Serving Your Hunger' and 'The Umbral Leaves'. The purple book has a note attached which asks it to be delivered discreetly to Embreth Daramid at the Lepidstadt Courthouse although the note also bears their home address. The other three books all have notes asking to have the books delivered to Montagnie Crowl, professor of antiquities at Lepidstadt University.
It is the newer book the becomes very interesting as the group begins to read it. It is he journal of Petros Lorrimor and although many of the entries are mundane, there are a series of circled entries that Petros obviously intended you all to read, given the note attached to the book which boldly exclaims 'Read Me Now!'.
The Whispering Way is more than just a cabal of necromancers. I see that now. Undeath is their fountain of youth. Uncovering their motivation does not place me at ease as I thought it might. Their desire to be eternal simply makes them more dangerous.
Two Months Ago:
It is as I had feared. The Way is interested in something here in Ravengro, but what could it be?
One Month Ago:
Whatever the Way seeks, I am now convinced their goal is connected to Harrowstone. In retrospect, I suppose it all makes sense - the stories they tell about the ruins in town are certainly chilling enough. It may be time to investigate the ruins, but with everyone in town already being so worked up about them, I'd rather not let the others know about my curiosity - there's plenty of folks hereabouts who already think I'm a demonologist or a witch or something. Ignorant fools.
Twenty Days Ago:
It is confirmed. The Way seems quite interested in something - no, strike that - someone who was held in Harrowstone. But who, specifically, is the Way after? I need a list of everyone who died the night of the fire. Everyone. The Temple of Pharasma must have such a list.
Eighteen Days Ago:
I see now just how I'll prepared I was when I last set out for Harrowstone. I am lucky to have returned at all. The ghosts, if indeed they were ghosts (for I did not think it prudent to investigate further) prevented me from transcribing the strange symbols I found etched along the foundation - hopefully on my next visit I will be more prepared. Thankfully, the necessary tools to defend against spirits are already here in Ravengro. I know that the church of Pharasma used to store them in a false crypt in the Restlands at the intersection between Eversleep and the Black Path. I am not certain if the current clergy even know of what their predecessors have hidden down below. If my luck holds, I should be able to slip in and out with a few borrowed items.
Seventeen Days Ago:
Tomorrow evening I return to the prison. It is imperative the Way does not finish. My caution has already cost me too much time. I am not sure what will happen if I am too late, but I'd my theory is right, the entire town could be at risk. I don't have time to update my will, so I'll leave this in the chest where it'll be sure to be found, should the worst come to pass.
"Harrowstone? Where and what is Harrowstone, Kendra?" Though his question is directed at the professor's daughter, he doesn't look up from the pages of the book. After a few moments, he snaps the journal shut and looks up to Kendra expectantly, offering the book offhandedly to anyone who might be interested to read through it for his or herself.
"Harrowstone?" Kendra returns, as though puzzled by Dantrian's question, "It is - or rather - was the local prison. It was destroyed fifty years ago in a fire that claimed the lives of all of the prisoners and most of the guards. It's to the south of the village. There is a memorial to the event along the river. It's also where Father's body was found."
Lysa accepts the book from Dantrian and flips through the pages for herself, paling at the mention of necromancers. "Kendra, this journal talks of his investigations at Harrowstone. Did he never speak of it to you?"
"Father rarely discussed his work with me. I think he was trying to protect me from the darker side of life," she replies, "You are welcome to use his books to try and gain some idea on what his research was about."
After the will is read and before Kendra brings the chest, the half-orc bows his head to her. He is slow to speak, knowing that most people think far more quickly than he does, but there is a power to his voice. "I must honor my friend's final requests." He turns to Kendra and rests his hands on his weapon's pommel. "As long as I am needed here, I will stay."
He looks around the room, at the humans and the tengu. "None of you are evil," he says. Though they are strangers, he sees evil the way others see hair color, and speaks of it that way. "It will be an honor to call you my fellows."
He watches in silence as the journal is read and discussed, most of what is being discussed being beyond his understanding. At the mention of ghosts, though, he bares his teeth in reflexive hatred of the undead. The human woman with the bird claims to be a necromancer, but she is not evil. The group that the professor writes of, though, The Whispering Way, seems to be a danger. The professor certainly thought they were, and if he was sure of it, can there be any doubt?
"The Professor says that the Way must be stopped from what they plan to do at Harrowstone, and he has given this task to us. Whatever their plan, we must find them and stop them." He frowns, uncertainly, and looks at Kendra. "I know little of these things, but your father summoned us for this purpose. I would speak to this man Gibs, to see what he knows, unless there is something else I should do."
Dantrian turns to Qorin at his mention of talking to Gibs, "Actually, I think our cause would be better served if someone were to retrieve the cache of supplies hidden in the Restlands that the professor's journal mentions. A noble, forthright fellow like yourself and perhaps our devout Pharasmin," he nods to Lysa, "would likely be the best suited to acquiring the church's aid in retrieving that hidden stash. Just a suggestion, mind you, but if we are all planning on investigating Harrowstone as I assume we are, then those supplies might prove to be a vital boon."
I'd do it myself, but if these superstitious and paranoid locals were to suspect the truth as to my acquaintance with the professor... yes - best to send the most familiar members of our little group to the locals rather than a creature as foreign as a tengu, a self-espoused and emotionally volatile necromancer, or... well, me.
Lysa speaks hesitantly, "I've heard of the Whispering Way before, though I can't offer much information on it other than that it has been around for over a thousand years and is comprised of foul necromancers as the journal states. I agree that we should retrieve the stash mentioned since it was obviously important to the Professor's plan."
Lysa looks up at the half-orc uncertainly. "Shall we go ahead and see if we can find Father Grimburrow?" Lysa seems to be a bit intimidated by the large half-orc.
"Yes, we will speak Father Grimburrow," Qorin says, nodding his head slowly. He gave Lysa a serious nod as he opened the door and held it for her. Blessed Iomedae, let her do the speaking. Surely she can see that I am not made for delicate conversation, but for filling the enemy with fear.
Outside, he took a deep breath and rolled his powerful shoulders, loosening up, with a grim scowl on his face, as if he were marching into battle. Give me an enemy I can fight or frighten, and I'll know what to do, but I am ill-made for this business of solving mysteries and asking help of priests.
He turns to Lysa as they walk towards the temple. "The journal said the new priest may not know know of what their ... er ... predators hid. Can you make this Father Grimburrow understand why we need these things?"
With a "thank you" murmured at Qorin for holding the door, Lysa leads the way back to the temple she had stopped at this morning.
Lysa glances back at Qorin as she responds to his question. My goodness, he does look rather fearsome when he scowls. I do hope that he doesn't frighten the Father. "I don't know Qorin, but I will certainly try my best to make him understand."
Once they reach the temple, Lysa will knock on the door and ask to speak with Father Grimburrow.
As the Pharasmin and the burly half orc depart, Dantrian turns back to Kendra, "My dear lady, would you mind terribly if we began to familiarize ourselves with your father's expansive library while those two are inquiring of the church?" Dantrian's words are stiff and dry, while his eagerness for the books is evident in the gleam in his eyes.
The key to my condition may be found within these very books! I must find it!
"Do we know that the professor hasn't already got the items from the church? He had some a day or two. Kendra when he was found what was he carrying?"
"We should probably lock that chest again, those books might be quite dangerous and we should make it as hard as possible to steal them."
Gabbi will pick up the Professor's journal and sit down next to Kendra and start reading through it properly.
Before they leave, Lysa responds to Gabbi with a shrug as she says: "No, we don't know for sure, but we may as well go so that we can also ask Father Grimburrow about that list mentioned in the journal as well."
Again, at Gabriela's outburst Ebon stares dumbfounded, face contorted in surprise and disbelief. "Silly, stupid, entitled little girl! The nerve, the gall, the naivete that must accompany such an ignorant notion of squalor and the societal condition! She hasn't seen poverty, no more than she has seen true horror or pain if her mannerisms are anything to go on. I can almost feel the bile rising to my throat. It's almost sickening."
Ebon does his best to repress the horrible feelings of indignation churning about in his stomach and flashes Gabby another smile. "An interesting... hypothesis, though, I must call into question its... practical application. But that is a topic for another time.
The events afterward move impressively and shockingly fast. The books, as they are brought out, draw his eye immediately. The nature and look of the books does not surprise him, but a feeling of dread still runs awash in the place where the books sit.
"If their contents is anything like how the Professor has described, these tomes are dangerous. I must learn their contents. And this Whispering Way... I think it goes without saying, but any kind of involvement of cult activities spells bad news for us all. It is not safe yet to look at the tomes, and as much as I dread it the thought of even looking at those things, that time must come later."
Kendra shrugs at Qorin. "You can try to speak with Gibs, but he usually keeps himself to himself. He owns a shack on the edge of the river, if you follow it south you should find it although if you come across the river then you've gone too far."
She listens to the rest of the discussion but is otherwise quiet.
After while of reading the journal for while. So much in here but I can't find anything useful, I wonder if the others have found anything.
Turning to Dantrian, "You seem to quite at home with you nose in a book, where you an associate of the professors? Sorry I'm being rude and haven't introduced myself. I am Gabriela Szabo, but everyone just calls me Gabbi, and this" Indicating the bird sitting on her head. "is Lissala."
After several hours perusing through the books in Petros' home, Dantrian has managed to piece together what he believes is pretty much everything that the Professor knew. Dantrian's years of working with the Professor has helped him understand the Professor's methodology.
- Agents of the Whispering Way often seek alliances with undead creatures, or are themselves undead. The Whispering Way's most notorious member was Tar-Baphon, the Whispering Tyrant, although the society itself existed much longer than even that mighty necromancer.
- 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.
- Exact details on the society are difficult to discern, but chief among the Whispering Way's goals are discovering formulae for creating liches and engineering the release of the Whispering Tyrant. Agents often travel to remote sites or areas plagued by notorious haunts or undead menaces to perform field research or even to capture unique monsters. Their symbol is a gagged skull, and those who learn too many of the Way's secrets are often murdered, and their mouths mutilated to prevent their bodies from divulging secrets via speak with dead.
While Gabriela and Dantrian converse as they search through the writings of the Professor and his many books, Gabriela's memory whips her back to the previous year when she came to Ravengro to work with the Professor. Intrigued by the large ruin on the local hill, she had asked the Professor about it and now that her memory has been prodded, she recalls the following details.
- Harrowstone was built in 4594. Ravengro was founded at the same time as a place where the 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 doing so 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.
As Gabriela researches the Whispering Way with Dantrian, she also comes across some additional information on the prison, or more specifically, the prisoners themselves.
- 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.
A fresh-faced acolyte answers Lysa's knock and smiles brightly as she makes her request.
"Of course, please follow me," he steps back, sweeping an arm out to indicate that Lysa and Qorin should step inside. "He's currently tending to the Remembrance Garden but he'll be happy to speak with you."
A few moments later, you're standing in front of Father Grimburrow as he dusts off his robes.
"Ah yes, I recognise you from the Professor's funeral. How can I help?"
"Good afternoon Father. First, I'd like to thank you for your service for Professor Lorrimor and for the lovely eulogy you gave. Second, if you don't mind, we had a couple questions that we would like to ask you that popped up after the reading of his will. One of his last requests was to read a journal of his that he was keeping of an investigation he carrying out and since we wish to honor him by completing it for him, we were wondering if the church here had a list of those who perished in fire at Harrowstone? Also, did the Professor ever come here to ask about a cache of tools that was supposedly hidden in the Restlands?"
"What you are speaking of goes against the gods," he snaps. He then shakes his head in frustration at his temper, and tries to explain himself. "The dead belong to the gods. This is why we stood against that rabble to ensure that the Professor was buried in sacred ground. Heaven is for the Gods to create, not man. It is dangerous."
He stopped there, trying to rein himself in. She is clearly knowledgeable. She will see in time the danger of what she was doing, won't she?
He nods to himself.
Qorin bows in respect to the Pharasman priest.
"I am Qorin and this is Lysa," he says, straightening and then hesitating, looking at Lysa for help. He attempts to speak civilly, but finds it hard to make the words get to his intended purpose.
"We are friends of the Professor. He has sent us ... that is ... before he died, he had been investigating ... We need a list of all who died in the fire at Harrowstone." He stops, taking a deep breath and bowing again. "I would be very grateful for your help in this."
Father Grimburrow draws his eyebrows together in thought for a moment. "I suppose that the temple records would hold a list of those who perished in the fire at Harrowstone, but I'm afraid that I can't permit you to view those records, as they are property of the church. I suppose that I could perhaps investigate upon your behalf but that would take a couple of days as I must carry out my right and proper duties as they only fully-invested member of the church in this village."
"As to your question regarding a cache of tools hidden in the Restlands, I certainly have no knowledge of such tools and I have looked over the inventory records for the last decade. Certainly, if such a cache ever existed, it would have long since become useless," Father Grimburrow replies. It appears as though this is all he will say on the matter, but then seems to change his mind.
"Petros was a good friend to this temple and to the Church at large, and I suppose it will do no harm for you to look. Please act in accordance with the sanctity of the site you are visiting, I don't want the people of my parish to think any worse of Petros than they already do."
"We thank you for your assistance Father. Should you need to find us, we will be staying with Kendra. It was also requested in the will that we stay with her for a period of a month to give her support and companionship during this most difficult time. I hope our extended presence in the village won't cause any problems."
Lysa will give a little bow and then leave. Assuming Qorin follows her out, she'll head back to Kendra's house. On the way back, she attempts to make small talk with Qorin. "If you don't mind me saying so, you don't seem the scholarly type Qorin. I was wondering how you came to know the Professor?" If I am going to be here a month with him and the others, I suppose I may as well get to know them and be friendly. Even if the big fellow here is kind of scary.
"Don't worry about it, my dear, they'll soon find something else to talk about," Father Grimburrow replies.
Dantrian doesn't look up from the rough pages in the leatherbound tome before him as he offhandedly answers the young necromancer, "Yes, yes. I suppose you could say that. " He leaps up from his seat with his sudden outburst, and hurries over to Ebon and Gabbi, "Look here! The first scent of our quarry and a possible hint as to their motivations. According to this brief passage, it seems that agents of this Whispering Way are trying to free some seemingly significant member of their order, some one or thing called 'The Whispering Tyrant'. Keep looking! We may find more information regarding this tyrant and his minions." He then glances up to Gabbi, "Ah. Yes. I nearly forgot in all the excitement. I am Dantrian, and you are familiar to me for some reason I haven't yet been able to discern." He tosses the heavy leather tome to Ebon, a fiery eagerness in his eyes as he spins back toward a pile of books and begins sifting through them for another promising sounding title.
"I'm out of my element here," Ebon says as Dantrian plops the heavy leather book on his lap, right in the worst area it could, and he winces in pain.
As the pain subsides, he sighs again and returns to his research, only he doesn't. He finds himself staring at the man, his youthful figure betraying the aged filter his hair represents.
"Not old, not like I originally thought. No, he's young enough, but he's done something, something that has effected his entire body. His hair is not naturally that color, and I see no evidence of dyes.
In fact, out of everyone I've met this day, this man confuses me the most. The cleric is a bright, wholesome and familiar girl, and honest at that. The half-orc wears his haughty disdain on his sleeve and I see no guile behind his simplistic speech. The girl Gabriela is too air-headed and idealistic to hold many secrets, but this man... there is something off about him.
At the very least, he seems a bit too fascinated by the Professor's research."
Qorin thanks the Father for his assistance and beats a hasty retreat from the temple. As they walk, he gives Lysa a friendly smile.
"I fear you are correct, I am no scholar. I was a gangster's muscle for a time, and I met the professor shortly after leaving that life behind. He was having a little trouble with some orcs, and I was able to negotiate with them for his life. In return, he gave my life direction, introducing me to the man who showed me the path of Iomedae."
Dantrian mummbles to himself as he pours over book after book, putting them in neat and organized rows and stacks as he finishes. After a few hours he sighs contently, "I think I've garnered quite a bit from the professor's books here concerning this 'Whispering Way' and their tyrant 'Tar-Baphon'. Though what I've learned leaves me ill at ease. When Lysa and, what was that broad-shouldered man's name again? Core? Orin? Bah - when the other two return we should discuss a possible venture out to Harrowstone on the morrow. In the daylight. Most definitely in the day light." He crosses his arms then, his right index finger tapping thoughtfully against his thin, drawn lips.
What could be lurking in those burned out ruins? Whatever lairs there, it is responsible for the professor's death and should not be taken lightly. We'll want to find this cache belonging to the church before venturing- Why does the tengu keep staring at me when he thinks I can't see him?!
Kendra idly flips through some of the books that Dantrian has put into piles. A small smile plays on her lips as his concentration reminds her so much of her father.
"You remind me of him, Dantrian," she says quietly when Ebon and Gabriela are otherwise engaged with research of their own. "My father chose his friends well." There is a twinkle in her eye that hasn't been there all day.
Encouraged by his response and by what she thinks to be a friendly smile, Lysa continues the conversation as they near the house. "I met with the Professor after attending one of his lectures while I was taking some history classes at University. It was a very interesting class on funeral rites of past cultures. We started discussing how many of the aspects of the more elaborate rites seemed more focused on ensuring that the deceased wouldn't rise again as any form of undead."
Lysa slows as they near the house and then knocks upon the door before entering. Going into the main room, she sees everyone hard at work searching through the Professor's massive and randomly organized library.
"Sorry to interrupt your reading, but we've just spoken to Father Grimburrow and unfortunately he has no knowledge of the cache of tools the Professor mentioned in his library. He did give us permission to search the Restlands for it though. Discretely of course so as to not upset people. Father Grimburrow will also search through the church's records for us and will hopefully be able to get us a list of those who perished in Harrowstone in roughly four days time."
As he walks beside her, listening to her speak about her scholarly pursuits, Qorin nods, attempting to seem intelligent. When she finished, though, he brightened, able to respond with some enthusiasm.
"Yes. The undead are an abomination and it is right to protect the living from them, and to protect the dead from becoming them. That trash who wished to stop us burying the professor in the Restlands can't have known the danger." He paused and scowled at the memory. "But perhaps someone else did, who was not with them."
As Lysa explains their afternoon's events, Kendra speaks up after she finishes.
"The Unfurling Scroll might have more information too, as may the Town Hall, although it would be too late in the day to go there now," she explains. "Perhaps you could look there tomorrow?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't know what the "Unfurling Scroll" is or where is it located? Also, I was wondering if perhaps we should head to the Restlands at first light to begin the search for the cache? I really think that we should find it before we attempt any trips to Harrowstone since the tools it contains may help if we encounter the same "ghosts" that the Professor did."
"The Unfurling Scroll is Ravengro's schoolhouse and local magic shop, but he also has a small library which he lets people use, for a fee," Kendra explains.
"Ah, I see. Perhaps it would be best to go there late afternoon tomorrow then. I would not wish to disturb the children's classes and I am sure the mere appearance of some us would distract them from their lessons." Lysa glances over the Tengu and Half-orc at that last statement.
"When I was looking through the diary I remembered talking to The Professor about the prison, he mentioned a few thing from his research. The prison was built to hold the worst and generally they only stayed a little while before being executed and became so famous that it housed the worst not only of Ustalav but also of other neighbouring countries." Gabbi pauses for moment fiddling with her hair. "And the important bit, the fire that destroyed it wasn't an accident, there had been a prison riot a few hours before the fire, the prisoner had managed to make into and seize control of the dungeons below and warden... Warden Hawkran and his guards collapsed the dungeon entrance trapping themselves in and started the fire to save the town from the worst criminals in Ustalav." pausing again "He also mentioned a couple of other things I found odd, firstly Mrs Hawkran was at the prison at the time, she lived in town which was built for the guards and families at the same time as the prison. Also apparent five particularly notorious criminals had just arrived but I can't remember their names or what they did."
Dantrian stares at Gabriela, blinking several times as if stunned as the young girl produces a huge amount of information in a torrent of rapid words. After she has seemingly finished, he blinks a few more times before clearing his throat, "Oh. Is that all is it? How did you remember all that, girl?"
His face maintains his perplexed expression and he looks from Qorin to Lysa and then to Ebon before returning his gaze once more to young Gabbi.
"Why do they always look at me they talk about distractions? I'm not that different am I? I mean, of course there's the beak, and the feathers, but I'm just as smart as them... hrm, perhaps smarter than some. In a world of Tengu, they'd instead be the outcasts."
"Yes, yes," he laughs a bit, trying to mask the sardonicism in his voice. "The last thing a schoolchild needs is a distraction. But I agree, we should first find this cache of items. If the Professor believed he needed them, then we certainly may as well. We should then proceed to Harrowstone or even Gibs's little hut. These are the most pressing issues. We must, oh, certainly work together to solve them."
Ebon tries to keep the slight smile and easy-going attitude plastered on his face.
I do not trust these people. Sure, most if not all are certainly not bad men or women, that'd be pushing it. I'd be letting my distaste for some of their attitudes distract me, but... no, I cannot trust them. Most seem disinterested in my acquaintance with the professor, and that's fine."
"Better than fine. If they knew, then I'd have to let on to my true line of work, and that, I can never jeopardize, not ever. After the enigma of the professor's death is solved, I must leave, I must cut ties as soon as possible."
"Dantrian and Miss Szabo, well done on the research. I must apologize that I could be of little help. I must admit, research is not my area of expertise."
Lysa thinks over what Gabbi has said. "Hmm, well I wouldn't think it too odd if the warden's wife visited the prison on a regular basis, to bring him lunch for example. Though how does anyone who or why the fire started? Were there any survivors to tell such a tale? If so, did they leave any form of written record? As for who was in the prison, hopefully Father Grimburrow will be able to find those records for us."