'Almost certainly. We may need gallons of the stuff, I wonder how pleased Grimburrow will be about that. Let's try this door shall we, if Melk is okay to go on?' Aydan looks to his quiet friend, if the man gives the nod to go ahead, he moves to the door and tries to open it.
With the tension dieing down, Tanner looks at the wet branding irons. " 'M' and 'R'. What are these other two? Do these mark you by your crime or were they spelling something?"
"Well, I've committed no crime I'm aware of, unless the ghost is branding us with what it feels are crimes. My actual, given name starts with an "M". Hmmm. But so does Melk's. I would guess whatever criminal or guard or...or...whatever was running this room was sending us a message. Like all thugs, probably just writing his name." The elf rubs at her wrist, the phantom sensation of burning still sticking with her.
Melk looks up, eyes blinking, but firm. "Ja, whatever was here, it's not there anymore - at least I don't feel it." Melk closely examines his brand, rubbing it to see if it fades; but he lets go pretty quickly when he discovers it is quite tender to the touch. "Well, let's get through this place - there's more, and somewhere should be our escape out of here."
There is little in the room beyond the brazier and branding irons. Melk knows how to quickly search a prison, finding nothing of note in the room. He is amazed by how malicious and dangerous the ghosts are in the Harrowstone. The ghosts of the Lepidstadt Prison were not at rest and occasionally would make their presence known with a hard push, but these ghostly manifestations are a very real danger. From the moment that they set foot in the Prison, the haunts have given them hardly a moment's notice. They are lucky to escape with their lives, much less destroy Kalkaroth's dark spirit.
Aydan tentatively tries the door, finding it to be unlocked. He opens it slowly, worried that yet another of the prison's dangers is going to pop out at him. As he opens it closer, he hears a scraping noise coming from outside. He realizes what it is just in time: the west courtyard was where executions would be, and he is standing where the condemned would come out of to meet their fate. He ducks just in time as the executioner's axe, one that executed countless murderers in its day, slams into the door. Wood splinters everywhere as Aydan scrambles back.
Aydan
Azuk'ai
Executioner's Axe
Melk
Runyon
Tanner
"Pass auf!" Melk shouts as the axe buries itself partway in the door, before mysteriously pulling itself out again. "Is there a ghost wielding it invisibly? Or is it moving by itself? Can somebody tell?"
Run examines the room around them, the materials on the floor and the movements of the axe. After a moment's furious thinking and observation she bares her teeth at the animated weapon swinging towards them. "Destroy it! Gentlemen, this is not a typical haunt and cannot just be shuffled off as we diffused the others, we have to simply destroy the axe!" She begins fingering a bomb, ready to contribute to the animated object's demise.
Azuk'ai snarls as he tries to get around Aydan to make it out. He has to hop over the low stone bench to get out the door, but stumbles as he does. He keeps going and regains his footing, dodging the axe as it whips through the air in a deadly arc. The axe has cut the heads off hundreds of prisoners, and hungers for more.
The axe 'turns' to Aydan and swings again, the only sound it makes being the whistle as it cuts through the air. Aydan is still not quite recovered from the strike that shattered the door, and doesn't quite get out of the way. If he hadn't moved back just as he did, his head would be rolling on the floor. The axe cuts a gash into the left side of his neck, not quite deep enough to sever a major blood channel or his windpipe, but still enough to spew blood onto the ground.
Melk closes in to help out, throwing his large fists at the floating weapon with reckless disregard of personal safety.
Aydan draws his sword and swings hard at the axe's haft, blood pouring down his side, adding to the gore the spider left him with. I've had better days, one more hit and I'm out.
He catches it and shears off the very bottom of the haft as it floats and bobs around him, the great sword piercing its toughened wood with ease and delivering a mighty blow.
Aydan then steps back from the axe and shouts 'If you guys can heal me, now is the time! I'm nearly dead!' The sound of pain is obvious in his voice, and he staggers somewhat as he backs away from the axe, clearly in dire straits.
With Azuk'ai and Melk right next to the axe, Run knows there is nothing she can do without hurting her companions. Seeing Aydan's dire condition, she shoulders past Tanner, reaching for a potion of curing as she does so. "Tanner, let me through. I have one last potion and can do nothing while others are in such close proximity to our enemy. The blast radius on my bombs is too wide. Aydan! Remain calm and still, I'm right behind you. I'm going to administer the potion." The elf finishes unstoppering the potion and abruptly shoves it up to Aydan's mouth, pouring the liquid down his throat. She is gratified to see his bleeding slow down and some of his wounds quickly seal over.
Tanner's initial thought is to try to grab the axe,...but then items around here tend to possess people. Instead he prepares to knock in down with his walking stick. Suddenly, Aydan backs into him after being slashed with the axe and then Run shoulders by with a potion. He makes room for them stepping into the doorway.
He looks at his quarterstaff and then at Aydan's sword and the splinters he smashed off the axe. Best let him do it...be better if the axe didn't chop him up quicker than he chops it...Got to do something though.."
A quick sip at his flask, and he is ready. He steps up his stick held ready, but he lays a hand upon Aydan's shoulder. "Good job Run! Aydan, you can do this better than any of us. I have faith in you.
At his touch, a blue shimmer covers Aydan. Tanner is as surprised as anyone else.
Azuk'ai whips his spiked chain around and swings it at the floating axe.
He strikes it, raising sparks, but the spiked head of his chain slides down the haft. It is not particularly difficult to hit, just hard to hit effectively. He takes a step back and shouts inside the branding room. "Run, light it up! Stand back!"
The axe continues its assault of Aydan, this time using a more martial swing and attacking his torso. Aydan brings his sword up to parry it away, the connecting blow striking up more sparks.
Melk's face - for a moment - exudes an even greater sense of serenity and warmth; although he attacks, open-palmed, trying to hit the floating weapon. The attack, and the followup, are not enough to hit. But he manages to shift his position slightly, hopefully enough to help flank the strange thing in the near future.
'Thank you friends! That helps alot! What did Tanner do there? No time to dwell on it now.
He parries the axe's blow desperately and lunges forward for a counter attack, praying that he can cleave the possessed thing in twain, though it is lent great strength by the ghostly forse that wields it.
Aydan's wish is almost granted as he lands a mighty blow on the thing, but it manages to splinter horribly, but not break, still floating, and looming in front of him.
Run shakes her head. "Azuk'ai! Melk! I cannot assist if the two of you are so close to the axe, my bomb will damage it but hurt you as well. You will have to back up five more feet before I can throw! Blast these close quarters!"
Not sure how much damage he can do, Tanner is sure he could annoy the axe and perhaps provide provide an opening for his companions. He moves in and jabs the axe haft, rapping it repeatedly interfering with its smooth floating about.
Azuk'ai spins his chain around again and swings at the floating axe. This time, he misses completely as his weapon crashes on the stone floor of the courtyard. He takes a few steps to his right to help Aydan hit the haunted axe.
The axe, hardly more than a head now thanks to Aydan, whips around and strikes at Tanner without warning. It hits him in the waist, sparking as it strikes something metal. It still draws blood, but the worst of it is warded off. Tanner looks down and sees his flask, slightly dented from the impact but intact.
Melk's mouth pulls off a grim expression. At least it tries to, the rest of the face just doesn't work along properly. Still, he manages to smash the axe once in a way that he's sure had some effect, though not much. With some satisfaction he grunts, his breath wafting up hotly around him. He catches himself just long enough to realize what Run is asking for, and quickly takes a step away.
Aydan raises his sword again, as the axe lunges towards Tanner, and brings it down as it moves away from the man, the blade whistling in the air as it scythes towards its target.
However, the smaller target is not easy to hit, and he misses his attack, the blade flying wide.
"Hey! That was a gift!" Tanner almost doesn't feel the cut he is so incensed at the damage to his flask.
He again jabs the axe. "How do you like it? Huh? You're dented more than that."
The axe, seeming more aware of him now, avoids his interference. Instead feinting towards him that has Tanner stepping back.
Run, still unable to contribute in any meaningful way to the melee, hangs back and watches nervously, alert for any opening where she might be able to lob in a bomb and end the matter conclusively. She also takes a moment to look around the area, hoping to intercept anyone (or thing) thinking of sneaking up on them while they are otherwise occupied.
Azuk'ai simply cannot land a strong blow on the possessed weapon, its shape making it very difficult for his spiked chain to gain any advantage except on a perfectly aimed strike. He growls in frustration, spitting at it in a fury.
The axe, eerily floating in mid-air, spins around and strikes at Melk without warning. However, he dodges and rolls out of the way as it swings in a powerful downward arc. It hits the ground with a heavy crack and is still for a moment. It appears to be almost stuck in the stone floor, though it shudders terribly to be free.
Melk's quick to respond to the miss-step of the axe; as it is about to pull itself free, he clobbers it expertly - but unfortunately it is not enough to overcome the hardness of the thing.
Aydan grimaces as he fails to hit the axe, and watches it weave towards Melk, gritting his teeth he raises the weight of the blade again and swings down hard.
However his blade flies wide once again to his chagrin.
Aydan brings his sword down upon the trapped axe, the steel of the greatsword cleaving the head of the executioner's weapon in half. A ghostly light escapes the destroyed weapon for a moment, as does a terrible moan that comes from no human lips. After that, all is quiet. The grounds of the Harrowstone lay open, with no more supernatural obstacles to their exit.
They have escaped. With a flash, they realize that the sun is already setting. There's no telling how long they were trapped inside, but it certainly wasn't all day, was it?
"Damnable axe! Probably killed so many, it realized it didn't want to stop."
Tanner steps into the courtyard and enjoys the fresh air, it is then that it dawns on him how dim the light is...not from clouds, but the setting sun.
"Hey, where did the day go? We weren't in there that long..were we?"
He turns and looks out toward the town, "And if it's night, we didn't find the knife, so another girl is at risk."
Facing back to the group, "Do we keep trying? Can the night here be any worse? Its not like we had light in there anyway?" It sounded like a stupid idea, even to him. But his stupid idea usually work out.
Melk bursts out laughing, a strange sight in this case. "shishishishishi - Time flies when you're having fun! shishishishishishi" When he calms down a bit he explains, "That is old prison humor, time flies when you're having fun." In spite of the horrors of the day, that spurt of memory has done a lot to return the spirit of liveliness to him.
Run at first shakes her head in disbelief, but then can't help but join in with Melk's laughter, so glad is she just to be alive. "Hahahaaaa, it feels good to have survived that, I'll confess. But what...what did we accomplish?" she asks, as much to herself as anyone. "I suppose at the very least we have a bit of the prison mapped, and we know that if we are to return we need more holy water and more healing potions, but...but Tanner is right. We failed to find the knife. I...I don't know how I feel knowing that another girl may die tonight because we were unable to accomplish our desired task."
The elf looks at the prison, her leaf-green eyes huge. She suddenly looks very alien, and not a little forlorn.
'We can't. We need to, but we can't. The sheriff still has all of the potential victims gathered together. We have to trust him. Because if we go baack in there, we will die. We're running out of holy water and magical healing potions. We need to climb that wall, and get back to the manor. We need to come at this place again tomorrow. Prepared, and dedicated. But if we stay here all night. We will die.' Aydan steps forward into the courtyard and takes a breath, looking off to the horizon, then his shoulders slump in acknowledgement of his own point. I failed. It was too big for me, and I failed. But I can't let my comrades throw away their lives.
"Dann let us not delay," Melk's verve is staying with him for a while at least. "This night we can reflect on our strengths and failures, hopefully return stronger."
The trek back into the town is a silent one. They may have survived, but they accomplished little in terms of stopping Kalkaroth or rescuing Lorrimor's soul. Even if Sheriff Caeller can gather everyone, the ghost murdered Sarianna while in arm's length of Tanner. They simply don't know what their spectral stalker might be capable of.
They arrive at the Lorrimor house just as the sun sets. The Ustalavic mist has begun to settle into the town, covering Ravengro in a thick layer of heavy fog. Melk raps on the heavy wooden door, which causes the sound to carry through the house. There is a beat, a moment in time in which the house's silence is terrible and overwhelming, then Kendra opens the door. "Good, you're back. I was so worried that you'd met some grisly fate in there. Come in, come in. We have company." She ushers them into the house, which is warmed by the fireplace. Despite the roaring fire, the chill of the Harrowstone seems to linger. As Tanner walks in, she looks at him curiously. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Kendra Lorrimor. Please, come in."
She leads them into the study, the windows of which are finally repaired. An older gentleman sits in one of the chairs on the east side of the room. He is clearly a man of some distinguished fashion, dressed in clothes that are quietly expensive. His gray hair and patrician countenance give him the look of a nobleman of good breeding. He is clearly middle-aged, but has the stature of a much younger man. He stands and politely bows as they enter. "Good evening, my friends. I am Professor Adivion Adrissant of the University of Caliphas, a friend of Proffesor Lorrimor's. While I was unable to arrive for the funeral, I wished to pay my respects to his lovely daughter."
Tanner stops at the greeting and self-consciously rubs his hand on his pant leg trying to get blood and grime off of it, but with a grin decides it is better if she doesn't shake it. "Kendra, of course. The Professor used sent me into town to mail you letters..I mean..his letters, that he wrote to you..that I mailed." He runs his hand through his hair. "From his stories I pictured you younger.." he holds out his hand indicating the height of a young girl of 10 or 12, and then with a faint smile, "...and I don't know, more Professor-ish."
"Oh I am Tanner, Tanner Illengrin. I was working for your father in the field. He was a great man and I am sorry for your loss. I was supposed to meet him here and just yesterday learned of the sad news."
Kendra smiles at Tanner, happy to meet him. "I remember what my father told me of you. He said that you were a good man who simply needed a little guidance. I know that he would be happy to have you here. I see that you've joined the others, which only proves to vindicate the faith he had in you."
Melk is relieved to be back at Kendra's place. He nods to the guest, politely. But he thinks little more of it. The prison had somebody new every other day, he was used to it. "Maybe you can help us," he starts, without intermission. "We've spent time in the Harrowstone today, it was schrecklich. The tales and rumors do not do it justice. We are lucky to have come out at all."
Leaving Tanner and Kendra to their introductions Aydan turns to Professor Adrissant, he pats himself down, and wipes his hands off on his pants before shrugging his shoulders and offering his hand to the distinguished man.
'I'm sorry we're not in a fitter state to meet you Professor, but if you were a friend of our Professor's, you are no doubt used to the occasionaly rigors of exploration. My name is Aydan Mishnok, Pathfinder Initiate out of Caliphas myself. Its a pleasure to have you here, though I have to warn you, Ravenegro is in some dire straits at the moments, and strangers are even less welcome than usual.'
Diplomacy:
Professor Adrissant stands to shake Aydan's hand. "Yes, Petros always did get into some excitement in his quest for knowledge. When he died, a great light went out in the world. I cannot express my sorrow, not truly, for the loss of this great man and even greater friend. I've known him for nearly forty years, since I was a young university student and he was just beginning his career as a teacher. We learned so much from each other. We traveled across the world together, discovering as much as we could about whatever we could. Many an evening, we ended up looking just as you do now, likely for many of the same reasons." He smiles and strokes his salt and pepper goatee, some ancient memory replaying in his mind. "Still, he was always moving, always seeking out new challenges and new fields. We eventually had to part ways. When he went to Osirion, I returned to Caliphas to study what had become my primary academic passion, which was the inheritance of magical ability and aptitude. Sangrelineage, I called it: the effect that one's blood has the ability to master the natural force that we call magic."
He stops, realizing that he is rambling about something that no one asked about. "I apologize for talking so much about myself. Caliphas, you say? I am good friends with Doctor Beaurigmand Trice, the venture-captain of the lodge in Caliphas. Have you informed them of your situation here? Kendra has filled me in on what has happened since Petros's death."
'No, no, that's quite alright Professor, it sounds like you do truly fascinating work. I'd love to see the results of your investigations and studies some day,' Aydan smiles broadly, rolling his shoulders as he lowers his hand from the man's clasp. 'I didn't think Dr. Trice would want to be involved in what, despite its severity is still a regional affair. He's likely to dispatch maybe one initiate to investigate, and its likely just to be me. I have been carefully documenting our travels however, and I'll have to add maps and descriptions of the inside of the Harrowstone this very evening.'
Aydan shakes his head at that thought, and the idea of the horrors they had faced while within, temporarily forgotten in the firelight and polite conversation. Snapping back into attention, though with his mirth now lost Aydan looks to the older man and bluntly says 'You Professor, however, are here and can see the real danger posed to Ravenegro. Is there any aid you can lend us at all? Even information would be of utmost use. We find ourselves stumbling blind through the dark alot, and I'm sure you'll agree that that isn't a healthy state for an explorer to be in.'
Adrissant nods his head with understanding. The faint smile of old memories tugs at the corner of his mouth. "All too well, Mister Mishnok. I do know quite a bit about the undead and this sort of infestation. Petros and I spent quite some time here, as a matter of fact, about twenty years ago. As a very young man, he worked there before the fire, you know, under Doctor Hean Feramin. Feramin, who was studying the prisoners of Harrowstone. He recognized the brilliance in Petros, who was a young student from the University come home for a holiday to see his family. He told me that his teacher was involved in dark magic, unbeknown to Petros, in his quest for knowledge. As he told the story, Doctor Feramin had developed an obsession with one of the patients, a man colloquially known as the Sliver. As his execution neared, Doctor Feramin staged a jailbreak to further study him in a more natural context. Petros discovered this and warned the Warden. Petros escaped the resulting fire with his life, but came back often to this place looking for redemption. He blamed himself for the deaths of the warden and the guards, one of whom was his own father. He always sought to set the souls to rest, though each attempt only seemed to bring misery upon the town."
'I hadn't realised his ties to the Harrowstone ran so deeply, and so personally. If we can lay him to rest, maybe we can help all of the spirits locked within its crumbling, gods-forsaken walls,' Aydan looks away deep in thought, already trying to plan tomorrows excursion.
'I don't suppose you know much about the interior of the place? If we could locate the infirmary or even Harmin's office it would help alot. Even to know what level or end of the building they will be in would be a huge help.'
"Ja! It was fortunate that we are a good people," Melk nods, agreeing with himself, "once or twice I nearly lost heart and ran from the place. It is terrifying." He swallows. "I hope to be stronger tomorrow. I feel like I've aged a year while in there."
Professor Adrissant smiles at Melk with a fatherly look. "I'm sure that you will be. From what Kendra has told me, you must be Mister Besonders. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. If I am not mistaken, you grew up in Lepidstadt Prison? I actually traveled there about fifteen years ago, shortly before its destruction, following a research lead. I met with Warden Inverios there. He mentioned that they had a young man living there, who was born to one of the prisoners. I can only presume that you were that young man. He had many good things to say about you. I believe that he still lives in Lepidstadt, and is now in charge of their new prison." He returns to Aydan's question. "Petros and I were only able to map out the first level. We were not welcome there, I would say. I will do my best to sketch out what I recall of the place. I believe the infirmary is located on the northwest side. Petros told me that Feramin kept an office on the second floor, but he primarily worked with the prisoners in the basement."
At the mention of Warden Inverios Melk glows with second-hand pride. "Ja ja! That is me!"
"Hello Professor Adrissant. I'm Tanner Illengrin, I was the Professor's field assistant these last couple of years. Thanks for your help in this..." Tanner runs his hand through his hair and cocks his head with a bit of a crazy smile, "...and somehow I just knew you were going to say the prisoners were in the basement. But at least we now have some areas to target before we have the need to venture down there."