At first, the children seem put off at Iesha's appearence, but one of them sheepishly says "We learned it from the older girls..." She shrugs, and the children scatter.
...
It comes to nothing. The day is wasted thumbing through tome of obtuse histories, meaningless business ledgers and arcane theories of a wide and boring variety. The children are ushered out in the afternoon, and an hour later, the owner returns to the back room you've been in.
"We are closed. Please come back tomorrow if you wish to continue using the library, or if you have need of any scrolls, wands or the like."
Peredur stands up and stretches, grimacing. "'Tis passing hard to sit still for this long." He smiles tightly. "Mayhap we'll see more action this eve. Let's to th' others, for we have much to share with them." He gathers up the notes and thanks the acolyte again. "Alzano, I'll let you give th' news, since th' lion's share of th' work were yours."
I hope the rest of you had better luck than we did. It cost us 10 gold and we found nothing at all. she says when the group meets for dinner.
Alzano nods to the acolyte as he and Peredur leave the temple. "We're done."
After rejoining with the rest of the group, he explains what they found in the temple. "We actually managed to scrounge up some info. The stuff we found yesterday helped. First is that apparently this Harrowstone was a big success. Prisoners from all over Ustalav were transferred there."
Alzano pauses for effect, one side of his mouth moving in what seems to be some sort of grin. "And second, the names of the prisoners." Then he seems to remember something and his grin disappears. "Well... not quite their actual names. Just what people called them, I guess. We have Father Charlatan, the Piper of Illmarsh, the Lopper, the Mosswater Marauder, and the Splatter Man," Alzano counts off each name with a finger.
"What a charming-sounding group. Were these the worst of the lot or only the most recent? Given the size and the comment that prisoners came from all over, surely there were more than that. That monument did show multiple names of guards. We need to be sure these five are the ones we need to be concerned with...that the prisoner the Whipsering Way wanted was one of them."
"That quintet were th' most recent of th' country's problem children to arrive. 'Tis our only lead thus far; since we wish to research all of the prisoners in time, let us look for more on them as well as any other names of interest.
"How did th' townsfolk treat you? Places such as this are, as we saw, prone to distrust strangers, but we've done much for them in th' short time we've been here. If no one were making warding signs 'gainst Taanyth and Iesha, perhaps we might sup at one of th' other taverns this eve; make ourselves more approachable, one might say."
"So far, we've had on problems." she says, then pauses.
"Hm, there was one weird thing, an odd skip-rope tune the girls at the school were using. it went something like this:"
'Put her body on the bed,
Take a knife and lop her head.
Watch the blood come out the pipe,
Feeds the stirge, so nice and ripe.
Drops of red so sparkly bright,
Splatters spell her name just right.
With a hammer killed his wife,
Now he wants to claim your life.
Tricksy father tells a lie,
Listen close or you will die.'
"Maybe there's some connection? Lop her head...the Lopper? Splatters spelling names...Splatter Man?"
Peredur listens to the cleric, looking back at the list of felons and jotting down what she said on another piece of paper. "And Father Charlatan--'Tricksy father tells a lie?' This charming little rhyme has ten lines, a couplet for each of our quintet, and stirges mentioned in th' same couplet as a pipe, perhaps to go with th' Piper of Ilmarsh. Which would leave th' Mosswater Marauder to be someone who slew his wife with a hammer.... Unless it's sheerest coincidence." He shakes his head. "Best we keep an open mind. But hold...splatters of blood to spell a name? 'Twere but this morning we saw splatters of blood spelling a single letter. Where did th' children hear that rhyme?"
As he's putting away the notes again, the ranger stops, struck by another thought. "Th' barmaid; she said th' stirges came into the room and were swaying to th' music. They didn't attack 'til th' music stopped. When I hear tell of a piper, it puts me in mind of a musician. If this fairy castle of conjecture I've spun has aught of substance to it, we've seen two revenants of those five in th' two days we've been here. Keep our minds open, true, but also our eyes and ears."
"The girls said it was just something they'd always used here. If it is related, I guess 50 years or so could seem like 'always' to 10 year olds."
"Let's get some rest for now. We have a few more clues to check out. Perhaps those names will be easier to research."
She starts to leave, then stops as an idea occurs to her.
"It just occured to me that if this bit with the Memorial was not just a coincidence, perhaps we should guard it at night and catch the vandal if he or she should return. And if the vandal is a spirit of some kind, we might be better able to deal with it than the locals."
Aleksandr remains quiet while the group figure things out. However, he must admit their findings ring true.
"It does indeed appear that the town is being targetted by the ghosts of these prisoners," Aleksandr agrees, "Quite what we do about it, I'm unsure. Perhaps the source of these problems is at the prison? However, I would want to know as much as possible about them as possible before we make any moves."
"I agree, but we shouldn't spend so much time on research that we forget to act. Two more days?"
Kendra approaches you as you converse outside the Unfurling Scroll, smiling.
"I was thinking tonight, perhaps the Laughing Demon for supper. It's a bit more lively than the Outward Inn, and doesn't have a reputation for flying, blood-sucking monsters."
She turns to lead the way.
Ever a source of mirth and music, the Laughing Demon opens to you. Long rows of tables cross the room, a long bar fronts a wall of wooden barrels. And a massive, red faced and smiling Varisian man booms a welcome.
"Kendra! You look so wonderful my dear! So glad to see you smiling again!" He sweeps her up in a massive hug, and for a moment, you worry that he may crush her. Once released, Kendra introduces you:
"Zokar, these are friends of my father. The ones who talked down Hephenus before the funeral. Aleksandr, Taanyth, Iesha, Peredur and Alzano." He shakes your hands, each in turn and greets you warmly and with thanks.
"All friends of Kendra and Petros are friends of mine. Come! Sit! Eat and drink, you are most welcome here." He ushers you to an empty table and a lovely young barmaid provides a round of a ale. The beer glows an unearthly green and soft vapors coalesce from your mugs. Kendra does not hesitate, and drinks deeply of hers.
Aleksandr quirks an eyebrow at the drink. "And what, pray tell, is this concoction?"
"Zokar calls them his 'Liquid Ghosts.' It's just a pale ale with a secret ingredient or two. All of the items here have a similar... theme." Kendra points to the menu, a chalkboard hanging above the bar.
Each is scrawled in white chalk, with no description beyond the name:
TONIGHT'S MEALS:
Vampire Steaks
Wolfballs
Corpse Chowder
Brain Salad
What shall I partake of? That salad sounds enticing, as well as soup. However I cannot beg to tell how long it has been since I've eaten a good round of steak...
The elf fixes himself on his seat and takes a sip of the Liquid Ghost after a short prayer to Cayden.
"I'll partake of the wolfballs," Aleksandr says, stroking his chin as he makes a choice.
"Steak sounds good. And some 'Liquid Ghost' as well"
"Charming. Corpse chowder for me."
Peredur shrugs and takes a drink of the fuming liquid in front of him. "Brain salad for me." Strange sense of humor this man has....
"The Vampire Steak for me as well."
The food arrives shortly, and follows the owner's sense of humor. The Vampire Steaks are strips of beef on wooden skewers, The Wolf Balls are apparently just lamb meat served on a decorative plate in the image of the full moon.
The corpse chowder is a thick reddish stew with rare chunks of steak, and the brain salad prominently features cauliflower in a pinkish dressing. Despite the rampant puns however, the meal is most filling, the ale is smooth and surprisingly strong. The cares of the world melt away and are replaced with the comforting warmth found only in the mixture of good food, good drink, and good company. Combined with the raucous atmosphere and lively music, it is a welcoming alchemy. The hours pass, and the ale flows freely. At last, Kendra, tired and a little inebriated, stands.
"I do believe that sleep is in order." she announces abruptly.
"Agreed. Let's head back to Kendra's"
Alzano stands as well. "Aye, I could use some rest. Without nightmares of little girls singing scary nursery rhymes... suppose I could spare some words for Desna tonight. We got a plan for tomorrow? Town hall sound OK?"
Aleksandr nods sleepily, the ale taking effect.
"Yes, it would appear that the town hall would be our next port of call," he says, standing and swaying slightly.
Iesha stands up, also just slightly tipsy. "Hm. I haven't done anything to honor Shelyn today..."
She decides to entertain the crowd in song before leaving.
She sings an old song about the Shining Crusade, hoping to inspire the crowd.
While a few faces seem put-off at Iesha's appearence, the song wins most of the people over. More than a few join in at points, and the only ones not applauding afterwards are too drunk to have noticed the song in the first place. 2 gold pieces, and one silver find their way to Iesha's hand, and two mugs of ale as well.
As you exit the bar, several other patrons go with you. A few stand, swaying and singing a drinking song. Kendra, leaning rather heavily against Aleksandr smiles and sighs, her breath showing in the cool night air.
"I do believe the spirits have gotten to me," she says with a laugh.
You hear a crash from between buildings and notice a local pointing down the alley and swaying with laughter. "Hey! Watch your step there! You're actually worse off than I am!" A poor soul seems to have imbibed too much and taken a spill in the alley. They appear to be flailing, unable to get up.
"'Twould be a friendly thing to help out a fellow drunk, it would." Peredur suppresses a hiccup and heads for the alley to assist the fallen soul.
"You're right. Let's give the poor man a hand."
Iesha also walks toward the alley.
At first, Alzano peers down the alley with a sneer. Heh... damn fool can't hold his liquor. But then a feeling of paranoia replaces the buzz in his head. "No, wait! Spattered blood, stirges, now this. Something's not right, or the Nine Hells can take me now."
Quite tipsy, the elf walks over to the man whilst pointing to Alzano. In his liqueur, Taanyth believes he is speaking that which is only thought of.
You're quite hilarious, Mr. Vignari. You seem to be more paranoid than I and that is something worth noting.
He then joins Peredur and Iesha to help the man.
"What are you fools doing?!" Alzano snarls before following his companions. He draws two daggers but tries to keep them concealed as he approaches danger that anyone else should find apparent.
The smell hits Iesha and Peredur like a fist, and they both recoil, purely on instinct. This gut reaction saves them both, because an instant later, the prone form pulls itself up and lunges forward.
The rotting, ambulatory corpse lurches out of the alleyway and into plain view, its decaying claws stretched out before it.
"Bloody hell... I was really hoping I was wrong there. What is that?!"
HP: 9/9 AC: 14 Conditions/Duration: None/None
Spells: 0th: Detect Magic, Guidance, Light
1st: 1 domain: Shield; 2 standard: Bless, Magic Weapon
"Undead!"
Alzano moves toward the corpse but stops before getting to close. With a flash of steel, he throws one of his daggers at the creature !