Alessa pauses momentarily to take another sip of wine before continuing. "Lorrimor mentioned returning to Ravengro once or twice during our travels. There was always "just one more task to be done". Had I known he had a daughter here, I would have pestered him into allowing me to accompany him home sooner. I would have liked to have met you under better circumstances, Kendra. Your father was a good man."
Kendra blushes a little, but accepts the compliment graciously. "As I say, dear Dad was quite often off on an adventure -- I wish, in many senses, that I had been old enough to join him during his journeying, but Mother was always so insistent that I should not."
Xavian spends some time walking about the living room studying the tomes and scrolls with a keen interest reading what snippets he can of their contents be it the title or a bit of whats inside. When the wine is offered, he asks, "I"m not much of a drinker, dear lady. Might I trouble you for some tea. Preferably Tien Green Tea, but whatever tea is available would be fine. A light touch of honey if possible."
"Oh, of course," says Kendra. "That's no trouble at all. Daddy has..." she stumbles slightly in her delivery, but swiftly recovers, "I mean, 'had' quite the collection of teas. He was rather partial to them, as I'm sure you remember. Some had quite the oddest side effects -- I feel sure that one or two weren't really tisanes at all, but rather some sort of alchemical experiment. Kendra titters very prettily.
After he receives his tea he takes his seat with the others listening to their tales, he says to Kendra when the conversation provides a moment's break, "Quite a library this home is. More than a few interesting tomes on these shelves. Do you share your father's passion for knowledge, Lady Lorrimor?"
"Oh my, no, no, I could wish. I have some small smattering of arcane knowledge myself, but I'm fully aware that my understanding occupies but the smallest corner of Father's vast wealth of knowledge. I cannot understand half the languages these books are written in, and believe me, Father has done his very best to teach me rather more languages than are given to most to speak. You are very welcome to peruse the shelves in this house yourself -- if you see something that appeals, I'm sure Father would like you to have it."
"Ah yes, but Dad so often did *not* have time for his family, truth be told," admits Kendra, though there is no rancour in her voice. "Were it not for Mother, I'm sure I should have become quite the strange, wild child. Don't get me wrong, though, Dad was always very loving, but he was *so* easily distracted. He did disappear for weeks at a time -- that was harder on my Mother than on me, I think, in some ways. Children are so very acceptant that *that* is just the way things are."
Xavian gazes at Kendra with an understanding look, "You speak truly, Lady Lorrimor. My father is a merchant that is to this day still often away on one of his ships. Never did see him when going to bed or waking up for most of my life, though the memories I do have of him are quite fond. He was always bringing me books, gifts, and sometimes people", Xavian smiles wistfully, " from far off lands."
"Oh, of course," says Kendra. "That's no trouble at all. Daddy has..." she stumbles slightly in her delivery, but swiftly recovers, "I mean, 'had' quite the collection of teas. He was rather partial to them, as I'm sure you remember. Some had quite the oddest side effects -- I feel sure that one or two weren't really tisanes at all, but rather some sort of alchemical experiment. Kendra titters very prettily.
"Oh my, no, no, I could wish. I have some small smattering of arcane knowledge myself, but I'm fully aware that my understanding occupies but the smallest corner of Father's vast wealth of knowledge. I cannot understand half the languages these books are written in, and believe me, Father has done his very best to teach me rather more languages than are given to most to speak. You are very welcome to peruse the shelves in this house yourself -- if you see something that appeals, I'm sure Father would like you to have it."
"I thank you kindly for the tea and your generous offer.", Xavian smiles at Kendra.
Don't worry though - at least I won't think any less of you for being a scholar. He's right, though, there weren't many details in the letter. Kendra, is there anything you can share about his passing?"
Kendra takes a deep breath, and you fear there may be tears again. But, in fact, she appears to pull herself together, and talks quite coherently. "It's very odd, actually. Dad was found lying on his back near one of Harrowstone’s walls -- that's the old disused prison up the hill. No idea what he was doing there, but if you believe the people that found him, a stone gargoyle water-spout from the guttering in the roof above fell on him. He would have died instantly... there was little left of him..." Kendra swallows, and takes a deep breath, but manages to keep a hold of herself. "Above the neck, I mean. Completely crushed -- we could not have had an open casket -- I think that might have added to... people's suspicions. I just cannot explain what he was doing there -- there wasn't a storm that night, so it wasn't lightning or wind that made the stone fall, and there was no reason that I know of for him to be up that way anyway. It's all a bit of a mystery."
Xavian responds to the lady with the different colored eyes, "That is a harrowing tale, even moreso given your youth."
Kendra takes a deep breath, and you fear there may be tears again. But, in fact, she appears to pull herself together, and talks quite coherently. "It's very odd, actually. Dad was found lying on his back near one of Harrowstone’s walls -- that's the old disused prison up the hill. No idea what he was doing there, but if you believe the people that found him, a stone gargoyle water-spout from the guttering in the roof above fell on him. He would have died instantly... there was little left of him..." Kendra swallows, and takes a deep breath, but manages to keep a hold of herself. "Above the neck, I mean. Completely crushed -- we could not have had an open casket -- I think that might have added to... people's suspicions. I just cannot explain what he was doing there -- there wasn't a storm that night, so it wasn't lightning or wind that made the stone fall, and there was no reason that I know of for him to be up that way anyway. It's all a bit of a mystery."
Xavian stares into his tea deep in thought. After a short while he says, "If you do not mind, Lady Lorrimor, I feel compelled to investigate the death of your father. I never knew your father to be unobservant to the dangers surrounding him. I find it peculiar to say the least that he would fall prey to falling statuary. What were the conclusions of the local constabulary? I am sure for a man of Professor Lorrimor's distinction they did a thorough investigation."
"Well, the sheriff, that's Benjan Caeller, did the... investigation. Not sure how much of an investigation it was, truth be told. It was fairly clear what had done for Dad, I suppose. It's just a mystery what he was doing up there. And what made the stone fall. Dad did some odd explorations occasionally."
Kendra looks a little bashful. "Um, it's the old prison, Harrowstone? Folk say it's haunted. Nobody really goes up there, that's the thing. They said it was "misadventure"."
There's a knock at the door. Kendra goes to answer it, confident that it will be the Councilman, because he's always so punctual. Vashian Hearthmount acts as the village's resident legal adviser. Entering the room behind Kendra, he doesn’t take a glass of wine, and shows no desire to get to know you better, particularly. He's clearly here in an official capacity, and bids you sit whilst he reads Petros's will. Kendra sits a little nervously, but very attentively -- it's fairly clear she isn’t aware of what’s contained in the will, and evidently the part of it where it stipulates that you all much be present for its reading, bewilders her a little.
Councilman Vashian produces a scroll case, shows that the professor’s personal seal is unbroken, and then ask you to confirm your names and connections to the Professor. After that, he breaks the sealing wax and opens the case. As he does, a small iron key falls out of the tube, clattering noisily onto the table.
Undaunted by the key, the councilman begins to read, eager to be done with the business and to get back home:
“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 home and personal belongings entire to my daughter Kendra. Use them or sell them as you see fit, my child.
Yet beyond the bequeathing of my personal effects, this document must serve other needs. I have arranged for the reading of this document to be delayed until all principals can be in attendance, for I have more than mere inheritance to apportion. I have two final favors to ask.
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 manner 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.
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 Lepidstadt University, I fear that a few I have borrowed remain in a 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 tomes to you, posthumously. I ask that you please deliver the collection to my colleagues at the University of Lepidstadt, who will put them to good use for the betterment of the cause.
Yet before you leave for Lepidstadt, there is the matter of another favor—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 a sum of one hundred platinum coins. For safekeeping, I have left these funds with Embreth Daramid, one of my most trusted friends in Lepidstadt—she has been instructed to issue this payment upon the safe delivery of the borrowed tomes no 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.
Councillor Vashian looks up expectantly, his duty discharged. Kendra appears a little too distracted to talk just yet...
After Xavian states his opinion, Alessa eyes narrow. Could it be possible or is this just paranoia speaking through this man? Who would even do such a thing to someone like the Professor?
"Xavian, are you suggesting that the Professor met with a more sinister end? Personally I've never known him to have any enemies nor has he ever told me of any during our travels together. With respect, it's not to say that it could not have occured as you say, it is merely that I believe he would have made the extra risk known to me before we began any given journey. He was always honest in that regard."
After a brief pause and a glance at the others... "Examining the area is the least we could do to ease our suspicions regardless. Perhaps our eyes may find something that the Sheriff might have overlooked during his own investigation. I would be honored to assist in the endeavor, if you all would have me."
To Alessa, "To my knowledge The Professor was involved in affairs beyond what might be considered scholarly. He was my tutor, not only in acaedemic matters, but also in matters dealing with the arcane. He was the one that first saw my potential as an arcanist, a path I pursued vigorously after The Professor showed me what was possible. The tales he often told me as part of my studies included an occasional altercation and quite a bit of involvement with the more villainous and monstrous elements of our world. You could say he used his own experiences as a case study in arcane tactics. For this reason I feel it is very much within the realm of possibility that after all his travels he found an evil at home that was too much for him. I would feel remiss if I did not look into the matter. Perhaps his untimely passing was nothing more than an accident, perhaps not. I would like to know with certainty. Not to mention searching about an old, possibly haunted prison is intriguing as well. Don't you think?"
As the Councillor finishes reading, Shanoa casts her eyes to the floor and stares for a moment in silence. She takes another sip of wine before standing up and looking around the room. Seeing Kendra apparently dazed, she steps up to the man to take the scroll. "Thank you, I'll see that Kendra gets this. Let me see you out."
After the man has left, she turns back to the group. "Well, it looks like I'll be spending some time in Ravengro. I'd be happy to investigate this prison with you, as long as I'm here. Aside from that, I offer my services to Kendra, however she sees fit."
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As the Councillor finishes reading, Shanoa casts her eyes to the floor and stares for a moment in silence. She takes another sip of wine before standing up and looking around the room. Seeing Kendra apparently dazed, she steps up to the man to take the scroll. "Thank you, I'll see that Kendra gets this. Let me see you out."
After the man has left, she turns back to the group. "Well, it looks like I'll be spending some time in Ravengro. I'd be happy to investigate this prison with you, as long as I'm here. Aside from that, I offer my services to Kendra, however she sees fit."
"It seems the professor has left in our care his most valuable treasure." Xavian smiles at Kendra. "I am at your service as well, Lady Lorrimor."
After some thought, Alessa decides to delay her trip to the Stolen Lands until this task is done. "I too will stay as per the Professor's final wishes. Now, if someone would be so kind as to give directions to an Inn, I would be most grateful. Perhaps in the morning we could visit this Harrowstone?"
Cassandra picks up the old key and hands it to Kendra "I wonder what this is for?"
At Alessa suggestion Cassandra says "Yes an inn would be marvelous. I'm afraid I had just arrived this morning and haven't had time to find lodgings. Perhaps over dinner we could discuss Xavian's misgivings about the Professor's death and how we should proceed." She looks over at the still silent Kendra, she adds "Perhaps Mistress Lorrimor, in her grief, would like some time alone and not with four strangers."
"It seems the professor has left in our care his most valuable treasure." Xavian smiles at Kendra. "I am at your service as well, Lady Lorrimor."
Kendra blushes very prettily at that, and appears to gather herself again.
She looks over at the still silent Kendra, she adds "Perhaps Mistress Lorrimor, in her grief, would like some time alone and not with four strangers."
Kendra soon pipes up. "Oh, I should not hear of it, Cassandra. There's more than enough space here, and having people to look after will give me a focus. I rather need something like that. And as you're being so kind as to obey father's last will, I cannot imagine he'd think you live anywhere else but here. All his gubbins is here, to boot. Talking of which..."
Kendra excuses herself to go fetch the chest mentioned in the will. The chest itself is a relatively small object of oak and iron. Whether it is the wording in the will, or a general perturbation about her father's affairs, she appears nervous about the contents, offering you the key, and proposing to give you the honour of opening the chest. She doesn't sit down at the table with you, but sort of hovers in the background.
"Your hospitality is very kind, Lady Lorrimor. I do think I will accept your offer if for no other reason than to look after your health. If someone dastardly is about, best not to leave you alone."
After Kendra returns with the chest, Xavian looks at the dark-haired woman with the different colored eyes"It seems the honor is yours."
With some trepidation, Cassandra inserts the key and opens the chest.
Almost expecting some jack-in-the-box wizardry, it's a bit of a relief when the key fits the lock perfectly, and the box just opens normally. It's very well made, and within are several old tomes and one relatively new one. The newest tome sits on the top and bears the phrase “Read me now!” scratched into the leather cover. The other tomes comprise the books of dangerous lore mentioned in his will—three of these (On Verified Madness; Serving Your Hunger; and The Umbral Leaves) have notes tucked into them indicating that they should be delivered to one Montagnie Crowl, a professor of antiquities at Lepidstadt University. The fourth, which has no obvious title, has a note indicating it should be delivered to Embreth Daramid, a judge at the Lepidstadt Courthouse (although the note asks for this delivery in particular to be handled discreetly, and includes the address of Embreth’s home). The rich purple cover is rimmed in polished steel, and contains a brass scarab set with a single eye in its centre. The whole book is clasped with a small but intricate lock, the keyhole of which appears to be for a key with a strange, triangular shaft. Such a key does not appear to be in the box.
Knowledge (Religion):
Knowledge (religion):
Cassandra will pick up the book with the message scrawled in on it. "Wonder what this is?" she says aloud as she picks it up and opens it.
The "Read Me Now!" book turns out to be Professor Lorrimor's journal, and Cassandra's quick flick through the dated pages reveals it goes right up to only 17 days prior to today, though by no means every day has an entry. This would not appear be a book mentioned in the will, and there's no slip of paper saying to whom it should be delivered.
Further inspection shows Cassandra that the majority of the entries are relatively bland, accounting for day-to-day activities in a small town. The professor has circled several entries in the book with red ink, though, and Cassandra can't help but read the first of them (from about ten years ago), out loud: "Oathday, 4 Desnus 4701: 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."
Xavian listens with interest taking in the information.
Another book is The Umbral Leaves. Shanao knows that the tenets of Zon-Kuthon's faith are probably detailed within in this grisly book, and she's also aware that usually they would be written in blood on pages of flayed human skin. Thankfully, this looks like it might be a translation into Common printed on rag paper, rather than the original item.
The third book, she doesn't recognize, but upon perusal it quickly reveals itself as a treatise on aberrations and other entities found on Golarion that possess remote ties to the Dark Tapestry, the name given to the dark places between the stars in the night sky. If people knew the Professor kept this sort of material in his house, it's not entirely surprising that some might have jumped to the wrong conclusions.
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Shanoa leans forward, picks up the books one by one and opens them, a look of obvious disgust on her face as she recognizes each one. She carefully sets the them back on the table and comments, "They're certainly unholy texts of the dark gods, but I find it strange that the townpeople here would know about them, when he kept them secure under lock and key. He certainly wasn't the type to brag about such things in taverns." She sits back again for a moment. Kendra, if you'll give us leave, I think I'd like to spend some time tomorrow looking around town and talking to folk before we investigate the old prizon."
Cassandra will keep flipping through the pages of the journal, reading each one she finds circled in red. "The Professor must have thought these were important in some way."
Starting systematically from the beginning, in addition to the one she's already read out, Cassandra finds the following "red" entries, and reads them out to the room:
"• About Two Months Ago: It is as I had feared. The Way is interested in something here in Ravengro. But what could it be?
• About 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 ill prepared I was when I last set out for the Harrowstone. I am lucky to have returned at all. The ghosts, if indeed they were ghosts (for I did not find 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 if 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."
Kendra looks as bewildered by these entries as the rest of you, but she does add in hushed tones at the end "Oh my! Seventeen days ago? That was written just the day before they found Dad's body!"
Alessa listens to the exchanges and begins to think that Xavian's paranoia might be justified. A sliver of anger rises within her at the possibility that the Professor was murdered by this nefarious cabal.
"I suggest two courses of action. Since we are obviously going to investigate the prison, we should get the equipment from this false crypt in the event that we decide to enter the structure. The other prudent action would be to arm ourselves with the knowledge that the good professor was after, the names and circumstances of those who perished there. This would be a boon if we were forced to deal with these spirits.
As a devout follower of the Lady of Graves myself, I might be able to get the local Pharasmin clergy to speak with us."
Xavian mulls what he has heard.
Cassandra lowers the book in stunned disbelief "It looks like your suspicions might be correct, Xavian. Professor Lorrimor found out the the Whispering Way were after something/someone still trapped in the prison's ruins and they killed him for his trouble. Or it still may be a coincidence, not that I believe that anymore than you do."
"Alessia perhaps you and I can go discuss this cache with the local priest, Father Grimburrow, and obtain his permission to investigate this crypt. It would be far better to recieve his blessing beforehand than be caught skulking around the graveyard like some bodysnatchers."
Harrowstone was built in 4594. Ravengro was founded at the same time as a place where 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 conf lagration. It was only through the selfsacrifice 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.
His encyclopaedic knowledge of Religion also means that he knows The Whispering Way is a sinister organization of necromancers that has been active in the Inner Sea region for thousands of years.
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 has 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. The presence of the Whispering Way in the Professor's Journal, and his unfortunate demise and the manner of his end certainly begins to take on a sinister quality.
A chill goes down Shanoa's back as she listens to the journal entries and becomes increasingly uncomfortable in her chair. "Kendra, you mentioned before they say the old prison is haunted. Your father seemed quite sure there are real ghosts - what happened there?"
"Oh yes, absolutely. Father believed in such things completely. He'd seen more than enough evidence in his travels, and used to share scary stories on the last day of Kuthona as we waited up for the new year to begin," Kendra muses, but then tails off, a faint aura of past remembrances descending and bringing respectful silence in its wake.
Cassandra lowers the book in stunned disbelief "It looks like your suspicions might be correct, Xavian. Professor Lorrimor found out the the Whispering Way were after something/someone still trapped in the prison's ruins and they killed him for his trouble. Or it still may be a coincidence, not that I believe that anymore than you do."
"Alessia perhaps you and I can go discuss this cache with the local priest, Father Grimburrow, and obtain his permission to investigate this crypt. It would be far better to recieve his blessing beforehand than be caught skulking around the graveyard like some bodysnatchers."
Coming round from her reverie, Kendra picks up on the conversation, and immediately offers to write a letter of introduction for you to the priests at the temple, and seems confident that she could persuade Father Varian Grimburrow to be sympathetic to your cause.
Xavian after mulling over what he has heard and referencing his own knowledge of the topics presented in the journal speaks, "I have read a bit about this Harrowstone. The prison and Ravengro rose together with the prison providing the impetus for the founding of the town. It was some years ago in the year 4661 that a great tragedy occured at the prison during a riot. It seems the prison caught fire, possibly set by the warden and remaining guards to prevent the prisoners from escaping. That makes it the site of a great tragedy. Tragedy often causes spirits to die in a restless and vengeful state that leads to haunting."
Xavian pauses for a moment, "If the site were haunted, that would attract the attention of The Whispering Way for they are a cult of necromancers that have sought the secrets of undeath for thousands of years. They traffic with undead as a merchant traffics with customers. The way the professor's corpse was defiled could have been a method to ensure none could speak with him after his passing. The Way is notorious for mutilating the bodies of those that learn their ways to stop them from divulging their secrets. Their symbol is a gagged skull. Their members often whisper to one another as they don't wish their secrets spoken aloud. Their most infamous member was Tar-Baphon, The Whispering Tyrant, a figure well known to Ustalavic historians."
" Given this information, I think we must go forward accepting two truths: Harrowstone is haunted and The Whispering Way have a presence either at the prison or about Ravengro. We must be watchful of whisperers or any bearing the gagged skull and must be as untrusting as possible with those we speak with of these matters. I would even suggest giving minimal information to the clergy of Pharasma. If The Way becomes aware of our involvement, they may seek to halt our investigation as they did the professor's. We should stay together as much as possible. No one should move about alone including you Lady Lorrimor."
"I concur with Lady Alessa that our first course of action should be to secure what tools we can to do battle with undead for our enemy uses them often as soldiers and servants. Most likely the restless dead that might reside in Harrowstone are under the control of agents of The Way or hostile on their own account. We should be prepared before venturing the prison."
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Shanoa's mouth hangs open slightly as Xavian imparts his knowledge. Truly this man is a scholar! "You may be right - I no longer wish to talk openly with the townfolk about this. And I agree, if we stick together they may be less likely to try anything. Let's all go together to the temple with Kendra's recommendation in the morning - with this rain I don't particularly think we should venture out again tonight.
"Kendra, I'll accept your hospitality and lodge here with you. Is there anything I can do to help repay your generosity? Perhaps I can assist in the kitchen to make dinner."
"Kendra, I'll accept your hospitality and lodge here with you. Is there anything I can do to help repay your generosity? Perhaps I can assist in the kitchen to make dinner."[/b]
"Oh that would be marvellous! Daddy was always *so* useless in that regard -- didn't know where a single thing in the kitchen lived. Couldn't even toast some bread without wandering off to "check on something" -- it's amazing the house didn't burn down years ago. It would be lovely to cook with someone else and have a natter whilst doing it. And, of course, it will take my mind off... things. I do think you're brave to contemplate all these matter that you do. No wonder Dad considered you all his trustworthy friends. I'm honoured to meet you all, truly."
"I accept your hospitality as well, thank you Kendra. Perhaps you could show me to my room, I would like to stow my gear, rather than have it clutter your parlor any longer."
"Um, two of you will have to share, I'm afraid. And one of you will have to take Dad's room, I have not the heart. But other than that you're welcome to make free with the entire house, as I say."