Iesha nods and turns to go with Kendra and the stranger. "I am Iesha Shadowstar-Petrosca. I'm sorry your welcome here has been so poor. I'll go with you to the Professor's grave, then when we return to Kendra's home, we'll fill you in on the circumstances."
Alzano nods at Talia as well, "Alzano. If you need any daggers thrown ineffectively at anything, I'm your man."
Talia lets out a sigh of relief as the guards release her. Turning at Kendra's words, she says "Thank you, Kendra. I would very much appreciate paying my respects. And thank you, as well, for your hospitality."
Speaking to both Kendra and Iesha, Talia continues, "My name is Talia Senshir. It is a pleasure to meet you." With that, she lifts a backpack from the ground and proceeds to follow Kendra and Iesha towards the Restlands, glancing back at the guards with a slightly fearful expression.
"Peredur ap Erevel, I, out of Andoran. A pleasure." The tall half-elf bows slightly.
"Aleksandr Markov, sin eater of the Church of Pharasma, at your service," Aleksandr says to Talia by way of introduction.
"Thank you, Alzano, Peredur, Aleksandr," Talia says, nodding to each in turn. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well. Though I wish it were under better circumstances."
"Aye, circumstances. You know less than a tithe of it...." His voice trails off as Peredur walks along to the gravesite, keeping an eye out for the walking dead or other odd occurrences. "Apologies, Mistress Talia, if I seem distracted. Since th' Professor's funeral, 'twould seem that Ravengro has labored under a terrible curse, and we've been attacked by many odd creatures. I tell you so you'll know that staying here any longer than you must is, in truth, an unwise idea." He smiles briefly. "What that says of us who stay, well. I'll not speak here, but when we come to th' house that now belongs to Mistress Kendra I can tell you more."
Iesha studies the new arrival. "You've missed some of the -fun- we've been having. First some locals wanted to prevent Professor Lorrimor's burial. They seemed to think he was a necromancer and would contaminate the place if he was buried in the local boneyard."
The last was in a sarcastic tone, but as she begins to explain the events since they've arrived, she takes on a more serious tone.
"The Professor asked us, in his will, to stay with Kendra for 30 days, then to transport some -unusual- tomes to the university in Lepidstadt. We will all get an inheritance once the tomes are delivered. He also left his diary in the same box with those tomes, with a note asking us to read it."
She pauses, reviewing all that they've discovered. "The Professor believed that a group of necromancers, the Whispering Way, wanted something or someone from the old, ruined prison south of here. He was investigating the place when he died, apparently accidentally. Since then there have been strange inciednts in town. The night of his funeral, someone desecrated the moument where we found Taanyth today. It was splashed with blood and entrails, apparently from an animal, which seem to make the letter 'V'. We weren't sure, as the splash could have been random. Today's incident" she shudders before continuing "certainly wasn't.
"The prison burnt during a riot about 50 years ago, not long after receiving five transfer prisoners described as the worst they'd ever had. We've been trying to learn all we can about the prisoners and the prison while doging stirges and undead."
"Needless to say, the townsfolk are on edge. Taanyth was doing the research on things arcane, being the only one of us whose talents lay in that field. I hope it wasn't that research that led him to..." She sudders again.
"You're welcome to any information we have, perhaps a fresh outlook will spot something we missed."
"This very day we were intending to enter th' prison, to learn more of what Petros may have been looking for. We know something of three of th' five prisoners, and th' Whispering Way likely also has an interest in them. Alzano here found Petros' notes on that group; they seem to seek out unusual haunts, and Lorrimor certainly suspected that th' prison were cursed by spirits."
Talia listens patiently to Iesha and Peredur, looking at times shocked, worried, and curious. As they walk past the tombstones and graves towards the Professor's burial site, she looks at each of them.
"Thank you," she says softly, "for telling me these things. I had not known... But of course I will carry out his last wishes with..." Her voice trails off as they near the Professor's tombstone, where she bows her head in silent prayer. After a minute, she begins singing quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. As she stops, the mournful caw of a raven can be heard in the distance. When Talia raises her head, a tear can be seen glistening upon her cheek as she turns to those around her.
"Yes," she says. "I will certainly aid you, and whatever knowledge I posses, or skills I can muster, are at your disposal. I know somewhat of the arcance, as well as history, nature, and the dimensions beyond our own. I would be obliged to continue the research your friend began, no matter the danger, and would be happy to venture to this prison you speak of. Perhaps more can be learned of the Professor's death. If necromaners were involved..."
A raven's caw can be heard once more, and Talia shakes her head slightly. She turns to those around her. "Thank you," she says, bowing to all in attendance. "For allowing me to pay my respects to my friend. I am greatly appreciative, and hope that I can repay the favor in kind."
Aleksandr walks alongside the small group, interjecting with small points for clarity but otherwise permitting Iesha and Peredur to bring the newcomer up to speed. Her ready acceptance of what was happening and her willingness to assist warmed Aleksandr to her and he smiled at her as she pledged her help.
"I want to see if there are tracks at the monument that I can follow back into town. I don't want to give the killer a chance to do more harm, especially if they are connected to the Whispering Way." Aleksandr mulls over something for a while longer.
"We also need to understand the significance of the letters. We know no-one living in Ravengro now bears the letters V-E at the start of their name, but did someone witha similar name live here fifty years ago? Or are they simply spelling a word? Vengeance, perhaps? Restless spirits of the prisoners burnt in the fire who wish to get what they see as justice against the people of Ravengro?"
"That is a possibility, Aleksandr."
"Th' trail was lost to me close to where it seemed Taanyth fell; p'raps you may have more success than I did following it."
"Then we should gather the Sheriff and the others and see if we can't follow those tracks to their owner," Aleksandr looks back towards the monument. "Given we've had two letters so far, I doubt that our killer is finished with their work."
Kendra, long silent during the trip back to the cemetary, finally speaks up as the group moves back toward the town.
"Perhaps you should discuss posting a guard with the Sheriff. If we were uanble to follow any tracks, we may as well attempt to catch the murderer before he can strike again." She pauses, a pensive look evident on her features. "The intial... attack left no victim correct? Perhaps Taanyth only died because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"In the meantime, do you intend to move to the prison still?"
"Granted, Kendra, it could indeed be that Taanyth was at the wrong place at the wrong time but this is something that still bears investigation; placing a guard would frighten off the murderer but they still deserve to be caught," Aleksandr scratches the stubble on his chin as he looks at the tracks coming from the monument.
"I wonder whether the men at the temple are well enough versed in the arts of conversing with the dead; that may prove another useful avenue."
Talia thinks for a moment, before asking, "Were the desecrations at the monument done at night, do you think? If stealth is needed, I may have a suggestion."
Turning to the nearby trees, Talia calls out, "Kieli!" and holds her arm out at an angle. In moments a raven swoops down and lands on her arm, tilting his head to the side and looking somewhat quizzical. "This is my friend, Kieli," says Talia. "He may be willing to wait around and see who shows up, and follow whoever it is that is marking the monument, if you wish. Just as an idea..."
The raven and Talia have a short conversation in a strange tongue , at the end of which Talia sighs heavily.
Kieli: Whatdya want?
Talia: I may have a job for you, but you won't like it.
Kieli: Why? Not going to send me on another fetch quest, are you? I hate those things. Go here, get this, come back...
Talia: No, but you might get really bored.
Kieli: Aw, really? You shouldn't have! Well, okay, but don't be surprised to find another dead fish head on your pillow some morning!
Talia sighs in exasperation.
Aleksandr was able to glean no more knowledge from the scene. The tracks faded, most likely due to intent to cover them.
the statue itself stands in a small clearing,a copse of trees with a single path leading up to it. It is a somewhat secluded spot, and easy to see how the murderer could have gotten away with it... And easy to hide anyone in wait for the murderer's return.
"So, should we take one more day to try and learn about the remaining two 'worst' prisoners or head up to Harrowstone now?"
She hesitates "We should also make the arangements for Taanyth...and at least, be present for his interment."
Aleksandr is annoyed at having been unable to follow the tracks of the murderer once the dusty trail gave way to the half-cobbled streets of Ravengro.
"I suppose we shall need to wait for the Sheriff to post a guard and see whether or not our murderer returns," Aleksandr replies, studying the haft of his longspear. "More research then, to see whether we can turn up more information on the murderers who died in the prison and if we can locate someone with a name that begins with V-E?"
"Since we're here, we should check to see if there are any such names on the monument."
Iesha will examine the names on the monument, looking specifically for any starting with VE.
There are twenty six names etched into the base of the statue. While the blood makes it somewhat difficult to read, they are more or less legible.
Twenty five are males, the guards of the prison. One of the names is Vernon Hearthmount--the same surname as councilmember Vashian Hearthmount.
the Twenty sixth name, listed last is for Vesorianna Hawkran. The name above it is Lyvar Hawkran, Warden.
Alzano grumbles at the thought of spending yet another day surrounded by dusty, old tomes, but otherwise remains silent as everyone else discusses what to do.
"It appears that we have two possible targets," Aleksandr says, stroking his chin, "We can question Councilman Hearthmount as to whether there could be any link. However, the name that interests me most is Vesorianna Hawkran. Was she a daughter or wife to Lyvar? And more to the point, how did she come to die in the prison? Did the Warden live on the premises?"
"Alzano, didn't you mention that you'd heard of Harrowstone and that one of the deaths was that of the warden's wife? I think I mentioned that in my notes."
"More and more curious," Aleksandr remarks, "I'm intrigued to know why she would be at the prison in the first place, let alone in a place that would get her killed. I believe this connection warrants greater investigation."
"If I may ask," says Talia, "How far away is the prison? Would it behoove us to make a cursory check of the grounds and see what we can discover, before coming back and engaging in further research? Perhaps we'd have more to go on?"
"That's a good idea. From what the sheriff said yesterday going up there was a pretty standard dare for the locals so just visiting and getting the lay of the land couldn't hurt."
"It is just south of town, maybe a half hour's walk from here." Kendra says. "The road south follows the river, you can see Harrowstone after you crest the first hill."
"'Tis unlikely that any of th' guards or th' warden knew of th' breakout in advance, so I'd not question th' warden's wife's presence on that account. We know too little. Which brings to mind....
"On our return from Harrowstone, Alzano, it comes to me that your talents might be well suited for learning something more of what's happening in and around th' town, rather than burying your nose in old records yet again. It's thinking I am that there may be things out there of which we know nothing. Now, I would do this myself, but, look you, there are few of my kind hereabouts. And it pains me to confess that at times th' Ustalav accent falls strangely on my ears. You seem to have less trouble following what they say."
"Well then, are we to abandon the research and visit the grounds instead?" Aleksandr seems unsure that this is the correct course of action but he does admit to himself that time is of the essence.
"I'm not advocating abandoning our researh entirely. Just, going up to the prison to survey the area and to" she looks caustiously at Kendra"check the spot where Professor Lorrimor died, might give us more clues as to who or what we need to research."
"'Tis true, I'm thinking that Aleksandr and I are perhaps better trackers than th' majority of th' Sheriff's men, if not all of them."
Alzano pauses to think before responding to Iesha's question about the warden's wife, "Yeah... the guy's wife was at the prison the night of the fire. No one knows what she was doing there, though."
At Peredur's request, Alzano frowns, "I'm... not exactly a people person. Wouldn't be surprised if folks around here trusted you more than a Varisian like me... heh. I'm more of a poking around kind of guy... digging up information... stuff like that."
"It is still early in the day," says Talia. "As the prison is close by, a quick survey would not go amiss, and we can be back rather quickly, to decide what course to follow. Though, as I'm new to these proceedings, I shall follow what you all decide." She smiles patiently, awaiting word of where they will go.
"That does seem to be the best plan. It means we'll be researching later into the night, but right now I think I'd rather be in town at night than up at the prison."
"We can stop at Kendra's place so Talia can drop off her things and we can pick up our gear.
With Talia's equipment stowed, and everyone appropriately armed, the party sets out for the prison.
As you exit the house, Kendra stops you.
"Please be careful... and do not tarry long, the council has called a town meeting in light of the murder. It will be tonight at sundown. You should probably be there." She does not wait for you depart, but exits the room hastily once her piece is said.
The road south out of Ranvengro rolls over that first hill, and ahead on the next rise you see the ruined walls of the prison itself.
The faded trail brings you to the front gate, a sagging wood and metal thing, set between a pair of stone guard towers. This gate once purposefully barred entrance into Harrowstone, but now hang negligently haphazardly filling the entrance-way, ready to collapse. The mostly unhinged gate creaking softly in what wind touches the ruined bars. Beyond, the roof of the prison is visible above the walls. You can see that the building is slumping to the eastern corner, which makes sense as the eastern wall has collapsed into a black, motionless pond.
The walls themselves are twenty feet high, and look easy to scale. To the left of the gate there is a tower, maybe ten feet higher, and the wall continues off in that direction. To the right it collapses into the pond, jutting out in a few spots.
Peredur easily scales the wall to the left of the gate, and the grounds of the prison are laid out before him.
Map
A small brick manor house on the grounds is overgrown with thick sheets of gray-green ivy. The roof sags ominously, and the front door hangs askew.
It is dwarfed by the prison, just beyond the manor.
Harrowstone is a two-story stone building that looms in the center of the prison grounds. Ivy and moss cling tenaciously to the walls, while above the wooden shingles of the roof are often missing entirely, exposing the wooden rafters of the upper structure to the sky. Here and there, leering stone gargoyles perch on the eaves, once functioning as drainspouts and decorations but now seeming almost to serve a more ominous role of sentinels. Many of these stone decorations have crumbled away and lie in ruined piles on the soggy ground below. Windows in the building’s facade are narrow and blocked by grills of rusty iron bars. Stone columns support a slumping wooden balcony over the building’s wooden front doors, both of which hang askew and reveal dark glimpses of chambers within.
"What do you see, Peredur?"
The ranger climbs back down from the wall. "Naught moving but us and th' wind. Yon pond covers a bit of th' prison itself. There's also a manor house this side of th' prison, though 'tis hard to tell what it looks like under th' vines. It's thinking I am that we should start there. None of th' buildings look any too sound, though."
"The manor it is, then," says Talia, looking at the building in the distance and frowning slightly.
"Well, let's get started. It isn't going to come to us."
Iesha boldly walks through the gateway onto the grounds.
Iesha moves to the entryway, and grasping the ruins of the, she pushes. The left gate unhinges as she does so, and slams to the ground in front of her. From nearby, a flock of birds explode into the air, cawing their alarm.
Silence returns as the birds retreat over the horizon, and Iesha walks through the now open gateway. She gasps as she does so, her skin breaking out in gooseflesh as a moment of absolute dread, followed by an intense burning sensation that races through her. She bites back a scream, and pushes onward, the effect fading as quickly as it came on.
the rest of the party follows, with no ill effect.
A small brick manor house on the grounds is overgrown with thick sheets of gray-green ivy. The roof sags ominously, and the front door hangs askew.
It is dwarfed by the prison, just beyond the manor.
Harrowstone is a two-story stone building that looms in the center of the prison grounds. Ivy and moss cling tenaciously to the walls, while above the wooden shingles of the roof are often missing entirely, exposing the wooden rafters of the upper structure to the sky. Here and there, leering stone gargoyles perch on the eaves, once functioning as drainspouts and decorations but now seeming almost to serve a more ominous role of sentinels. Many of these stone decorations have crumbled away and lie in ruined piles on the soggy ground below. Windows in the building’s facade are narrow and blocked by grills of rusty iron bars. Stone columns support a slumping wooden balcony over the building’s wooden front doors, both of which hang askew and reveal dark glimpses of chambers within.
A large pond of dark, muddy water spreads out along the eastern section of the prison grounds. Here and there, bits of ruined wall protrude from the water, and thick tangles of reeds and cattails grow along the muddy shores.
Thought I'd climbed down already. In that case, Peredur climbs down the other side and rejoins the party.
Startled by the inital senesation, Iesha cautiously moves toward the vine-covered manor, observing the area the entire time.
"What happened, Iesha? You seemed startled by something."
Alzano draws his rapier as he follows silently, leaving his other hand free in case he needs to grab a dagger in a pinch.