As the group approaches Harrowstone, Alessa has her bow at the ready with an arrow half-nocked. "We should circle the outside of the ruin first before we enter. I'd like to examine the area where the Professor was killed first, if that would be acceptable to all."
Perception (as we approach and around the prison):
The prison is surrounded by a 20ft high curtain wall, which must be 10ft thick at the base. It extends round the central prison area in a slightly squashed hexagon shape, and as you step aware from the main gate, and follow it north, it seems in surprisingly good condition. Some of the corners have stone towers rising up far above the height of the wall, and these would appear to be observation posts. Just as you're beginning to be thankful the main doors were clearly rotten and open -- for it would require some great additional planning and equipment to get over the wall -- you turn the fourth corner of your ambulatory peregrination around Harrowstone, and discover the reason it is no longer used as a prison.
The wall here has collapsed, and you encounter instead a large pond of dark, muddy water which 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. Clearly, like many high-security prisons, many of the actual cells must have been underground. When the fire raged, it triggered a collapse, and now a vast sinkhole has formed. In the fifty intervening years, this has become a filthy, stagnant pool of water -- and none too fragrant, either.
Standing on the far side of this pond, you can see clearly into the ruins of the prison itself, and the inner buildings, mostly two-storey affairs are in much less good condition than the majority of the outside wall. 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. Supposedly it was one of these that caused the Professor's death, though at this distance it's quite impossible to tell more.
Xavian chants a few words enacting a detect magic to scan the area as they explore at a cautious pace. He pays especial attention to unusual details as well.
Alessa carefully enters the grounds at the broken wall near the front gates. She remains wary as she approaches the main building as she glances over the prison from a distance looking for the fallen gargoyle that was said to have killed the Professor. As she gets closer, she returns her arrow to its quiver and stows her bow in favor of her rapier.
Perception (at the gargoyle if applicable):
Cassandra shudders as the approach the looming hulk. She nods as the others suggest searching the exterior of the prison before entering the yard proper.
When they reach the area where the Professor died she pays close attention to the wall and the debris scattered around.
Perception check:
Xavian's spell reveals nothing of any particular significance as he enters the grounds, but it is strange -- he senses that there's a all round aura, more like an echo, or one of those occasions where you see something out the corner of your eye, but once you look more intently, you cannot see the thing you thought you saw. The spell is trying to show him something, but it's so faint he can't tell where.
Though you hunt diligently, there's no signs particularly of where the poor professor might have met his end -- there are large pieces of rock strewn around the place, fallen masonry, collapsed ha-has, broken walls, and there's the remnants of a large gargoyle, but it's nowhere near where it might have fallen naturally. It's raining a little even now, and it's certainly rained since the incident, so it's unlikely much would remain to look at.
The prison is quiet, but it's somehow not a peaceful quiet, it's a quiet that's utterly devoid of life: the more you enter the grounds the more the natural sounds of the countryside appear to be diminished -- you get the eerie sense you're not welcome, though quite what is telling you that is a mystery.
You approach the main part of the prison. 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.
To the north-west appears to be a small brick manor house, but it is overgrown with thick sheets of gray-green ivy. The roof sags ominously, and the front door likewise hangs off its hinges. Neither place looks in the least bit welcoming.
Alessa slowly makes her way to the manor house. Cautiously with the tip of her rapier, she pushes the door open a little further for a better look inside.
Xavian follows Alessa, "Something I cannot quite put my finger on about this place, some lingering magical aura not easily discerned. That house is rather uninviting. The roof does not appear too stable either. At least the door is not locked."