Sarrah walk up and places her hand on Stannis' shoulder in an attempt to re-assure him,
The lady of graves brought us here to stop the evil restless dead from hurting others.
You'll find no shortage of such spirits here. What is it that you wish to know? asks Corinne. Without my husband to keep them contained here in Harrowstone, the burden has fallen to me. And each day, the splatter man saps my strength.
Maybe you can start by telling us about yourself?
Sarrah says trying to sound sure of herself...
I am Vesorianna. Corinne/Vesorianna states simply. I came to Harrowstone on that fateful evening to find out why my husband, Harrowstone's Warden, was late for dinner. I ended up being locked into this workshop and died of smoke inhalation once the fire in the dungeon got out of control. My death resulted in something more— I have been trapped in this place since that night. For decades, I could sense my husband's presence, keeping the other spirits in line even in death- but I could never leave this room and go to him. It was so terrible; I could sense his sadness and anguish and he my own.
The sadness in Corinne/Vesorianna turns into grim determination- the ghostly blue face appearing just in front of Corinne's own.
I am not as strong as my husband was and less of a barrier to the other spirits dwelling below. But I still stand since the few weeks since my beloved was taken and although the Splatter Man somehow assails my spirit I have some time left. It will be a matter of days until all the spirits escape though, with my impending destruction. Now I ask again- what are your intentions in this accursed place? Have you come to bring further torment on me? They took my beloved so you cannot hurt me further.
No! We have come to give peace to all of the restless souls within these walls. Pharasma has commanded it! We mean no harm to you, we only want you to find peace so you can move on.
Tell us what you can of this Splatter Man and as soon as we have rested we will be back to try and destroy this foul creature.
The Splatter Man is merely one of many powerful spirits within this place, although he is the strongest. You are leaving so soon? Very well. I would suggest you leave food and water for this vessel so that it does not starve in your abscence...
Stannis seems to be struggling to follow the spirits words.
If you are a friend you will give this woman back to us. She is not yours to have!
You say your husband was a .. barrier. A shield? What happened to him? Where is he?
Stannis seems to be struggling to follow the spirits words.
If you are a friend you will give this woman back to us. She is not yours to have!
Her life force will help me to sustain the barrier once my own strength fails; her single life is irrelevant to the horrors that will follow if the barrier falls. If you are able to deal with the spirits yourself, you may have her back- but I must use any means at my disposal to continue my husbands work.
You say your husband was a .. barrier. A shield? What happened to him? Where is he?
He is also a ghost within these walls; or was. For dozens of years he kept the other spirits in line, much like he did in life. The ones who spoke only in whispers took him from this place in some strange ritual outside the walls a few weeks ago- after they slew the old man. He no longer dwells within this place; what purpose they had for him i do not know.
Stannis, maybe we should go back and drop off Theodric and Morven. I have plenty of magical strength left, we could come back immediately and continue our work against the evil spirits?
We cannot destroy this creature, it is an anchor of some type keeping the other spirits from escaping this place. If we destroy her it could mean very bad things for us and the common folk of Ravengro.
I don't want to leave her here either, but we can leave food and water for her and make sure se is okay each time we come by here.
Quiddling has once again retreated behind Stannislav, where he stands silently listening to the conversation. From his expression he doesn't look to keen on what's unfolding before his eyes. "How long do we have?" he finally manages from his sanctuary. "We must get Morven and Theodric to the village. What will happen with Corrine?" he says with concern in his voice.
Stannis, maybe we should go back and drop off Theodric and Morven. I have plenty of magical strength left, we could come back immediately and continue our work against the evil spirits?
We cannot destroy this creature, it is an anchor of some type keeping the other spirits from escaping this place. If we destroy her it could mean very bad things for us and the common folk of Ravengro.
I don't want to leave her here either, but we can leave food and water for her and make sure se is okay each time we come by here.
Stannis looks at Sarrah miserably and from her to the others who are injured. Its evident if it wasn't already just how young he is.
He looks to the possessed Corrine. I want to talk to her. Hear from her that she is alright and doesn't want us to rescue her.
Corinne's knees half-buckle as she looks like she is going to pitch forward onto the floor, but she catches herself as control over her limbs returns to her. "Oh, quick, quick," she begs in a whisper, stretching out her hands to the others imploringly, "let's run; let's get away, before she ... Oh gods! She's still there! She won't let me go!" Tears begin to spill down her face. "Get her out of me, for the love of all that's holy! Don't leave me here in the dark, all alone! She'll use me up, leave me nothing but a shell! Oh gods!" Her face twists in anguish for a moment before the reassertion of Vesorianna's will wipes her face clean of emotion, the tracks of tears an eerie memento of the woman imprisoned within. The mouth speaks again, impassively, in the voice not her own. "You see she is alive and knows her own mind still, but the Splatter Man will waste us both away until he is freed."
With a ring, Stannis draws his sword. He looks around in confusion obviously looking for a target but there is nothing but the woman he is trying to help.
SPIRIT! Let her go! I don't care what your purpose is. I will fight your Splatter Man to my last breath but you may not have this woman!
He pauses.
Or if you must use someone then use me instead!
Stannis draws his sword with a ringing noise. His gaze flicks around the room as if he's looking for something to fight apart from the possessed woman.
SPIRIT! Let her go! If you do so I will fight this Splatter Man to my last breath. But I care not your need, she is not yours to take!
Or if you must have someone then take me instead. Me for her!
Corinne/Vesorianna stares at Stannislav intently, then gestures to Theodric.
I would be willing to take the one with the broken mind. Your strength will be needed to face the Splatter Man.
No! No .. hostages. Stannis seems to stumble over the word.
You want us to fight for you? Willingly? Then you cannot simply take one of us against our will.
You can have me. Or noone.
Vesorianna's eyes darken and her pale blue lips curl up in seething fury.
Tell me, do you know how is it that the Splatter Man is weakening me? He is doing something in town to gain power over me, but I do not truly know what it is.
Stannis looks to the others in confusion.
She means the carvings in the town... Morven gasps out, still clutching his wrecked eye and talking between piteous moans of pain.
I, I don't know what to say, maybe there is something in town we can discover...but where would we start? Who is making the carvings? How can we stop whatever is happening...
I don't know how to drive the spirit out of Corinne's body without hurting the spirit...I don't think I dare to do it...
Vesorianna jerks, almost involuntarily. Her ghostly silhouette inclines its head to the left a little, as though listening.
Ah... It seems this one understands better than the rest of you. Very well, Pharasmite... she intones slowly and carefully, addressing Stannislav.
I shall take no 'hostages'. But in return, you will swear me an oath that if you have not stopped the haunting of Harrowstone by the time the wretched ghost has got as far as carving the first N in my name, you will give yourself to me willingly. What say you?
A smarter man than Stannis might have factored in the expected rate of name carving but Stannis is not smart. He looks greatly relieved.
I do so swear Spirit. Release Corrine and take no others and when the first N is carved I will immediately return and you can have me to do as you will. I swear it before all the Gods, old and new.
Vesorianna's pale blue, ghostly form seems to emerge from Corinne's body as she nods her agreement to the deal.
Corinne stumbles forward, gasping with relief, but wastes no time. "Quickly" she hisses, seizing Morven's arm and leading him toward the corridor, "we have to get out of here!"
Quiddlings doesn't know what to belive but he follows Corinne out the door in a hurry. "How long do we have? How do we fight the splatter man? What are the carvings in the town? Is it the statue in memoriam of the people who died in the Harrowstone fire? How can the splatter man leave the ruins and desecrate the statue in the town square? Is it the splatter man who's been haunting our dreams?", the halfling blurts out nervously as the party exits the haunted ruins.
Theodric follows quietly, muttering about fire, his father and Pharasmites; occasionally reciting scripture. As you exit the ruins you occasionally spot shadows flickering around corners and the light level in Harrowstone seems to become just a little darker, a little gloomier.
You leave the haunted prison behind you as you begin to walk back towards Ravengro. Morven's condition has not improved and neither has his temperament; he roars in bestial pain and rage at Quiddling's incessant questions.
"Hush!" Corinne tells the half-orc, brusquely but not unkindly. "Be glad it's your eyes and not your ears. You can cast blind. Yes, yes," she tells Quiddling, "the letters on the statue. Remember the V? Thank Nethys my name is long." She seems not to have completely recovered from the imposition of the ghost's stronger will. "My beloved ... the warden," she corrects herself, "stayed on to keep his prisoners restrained even after his death, but he was stolen -- by the same people who killed the professor. What they want with him, I don't know, but in his absence, the evil spirits of the prisoners have begun to escape. I've tried ... she's tried to do her husband's job, keep them imprisoned, but she's not as strong as he was. The energy it takes to hold them there... I felt it, draining me. Every letter he writes, she grows weaker." She doesn't slacken her pace, even after the prison has disappeared behind them.
Stannis has been silent as he helps the others along.
We will need to go back and destroy the dark spirits. Every last one of them. He speaks firmly despite an undercurrent of fear.
"They'll kill you. All of you," she tells Stannis bluntly. "Or worse." Morven's ruined eye and Theodric's ramblings puncutate her assertion.
Sarrah's magic can hurt them and steel worked well enough on those cursed things.
He seems to be half convincing himself as well as the others.
"They'll kill you. All of you," she tells Stannis bluntly. "Or worse." Morven's ruined eye and Theodric's ramblings puncutate her assertion.
No, they will not!
Pharasma guided me here for this very purpose. We will return and we will destroy the undead who are haunting this prison before they hurt any of the innocents here if I have to do it myself!Sarrah keeps a brave face, but even her resolve is a little shaken...
Well, i'm done. I'm heading back to my academy and I bloody hope they'll restore my eye in return for a debt. I just need to find a carriage heading that way with a trustworthy driver...
"I'm going with you, Morven. I haven't seen a friendly face other than the Professor's daughter since I stepped into this godsforsaken place; I wouldn't trust someone to drive you where you want to go any more than I could throw you there. They'd rob you bl-- ... well, they'd take advantage of you. If we can just make it back to Kendra's house, perhaps she can tell us when the next coach back to the city is." She looks up at the sky to gauge how much daylight is left.
Despite a strong sense of foreboding, nothing untoward happens to your battered and shocked group as you return to Kendra's home. However, once there you can see something is clearly amiss. Although the front door is closed, there is fresh blood just outside it, splattered over the door frame and the front porch...
"Oh gods," Corinne utters, turning very white and holding Morven back from walking forward into danger. "Are there ... letters?"
Quiddling seems to want to protest against Morven and Corinne leaving but seems unable to do so. Morven and Theodrics injuries combined with Corinne's gloomy predictions about death have taken it's toll on the halfling. He does seem to gather some strength from Sarrah's resolve, but not enought to speak up.
The blood on the porch claims his attention and Quiddling gathers what's left of his wits and rushes to investigate.
The blood is very recently shed, and appears to have only recently dried. Its not enough to suggest a murder took place here, but you suspect someone or something was grievously wounded.
Stannis dashes up to the door, trying it and yelling out for Kendra.
Corinne murmurs to Morven to let him know what they've found.
The door is indeed locked.
The sound of someone trying to force entry via the front door reaches your ears. Kendra looks on in worry, drawing a wand and gesturing to you to approach the door.
What should we do? Do you think its more Undead?
Arianna stands a few feet back from the door, ready to let loose a spell to burn the intruders if need be...
From behind the door you hear an unfamiliar voice, a heavily Varisian accented female voice...
"Speak your name and your business or be gone...
From behind the door you hear an unfamiliar voice, a heavily Varisian accented female voice...
Speak your name and your business or be gone...
We are friends of Kendra and the late Professor Lorrimor, please... open the door, we are here to help!
if needed...
To the folks on the other side of the door
"That's all well and good, but I still haven't heard names...why should we trust you?"
It sounds like one of them... I'll risk a peep through the curtains. Kendra says, peering through and then nodding.
Its the others I was telling you about.
The door to the Lorrimor house opens and you see a young Varisian woman cautiously eyeing each of you as she backs away from the door and heads for table. Once at the table she quickly pulls a deck of cards from a pouch at her hip...
"Forgive my suspicions, the last being that came to that door was the unliving corpse of the Professor. I am Arianna. Kendra has told a bit about your group, but not a great deal. Who might you all be?"
The woman says as she sits shuffling her cards, and laying out a Harrow spread...
Corinne murmurs to Morven to let him know what they've found.
I thought i'd be a hero or die in the process, Corinne. I didn't want this... Morven whimpers, clutching his further-ruined face.
"Hush, Morven," she comforts him, "you must know your face was never your strong suit. We," she says, pulling the half-orc into the house and past the newcomer, "are leaving. I'm sorry, Kendra, but you'll do the same if you've a thought in your head. The prison is full of malevolent spirits about to spill out into the countryside. Morven's been blinded, Theodric's been broken, and I've been ... violated," she spits out. "When can we catch a coach back to the Arcanamirium?"