"Hey, yeah, no worries there, sir. Umm, say, you wouldn't mind answering a couple of questions, would you? They are in regards to the werewolf issue around here. I believe it won't be long before something goes seriously south with those beasts and we really could use some information about them. That is, if you happen to know any details about it and are willing to share."
"A bit blunt but he's to the point. Best to sort these things out before they escalate if possible."
Estovion nods distractedly at your question. "I know little about the local Werewolf tribes. It seems that they are in some disarray, fighting among themselves, and they blame Ascanor Lodge for a betrayal by one of their own, a werewolf named Mathus Mordrinacht. A name I've never heard before.
You might wish to ask more questions but, but his overall tone seems distracted and dismissive. As quickly as he can, he attempts to free himself from your company, saying, “My apologies, but I regrettably have some business to attend to at this time. Belik is waiting for you
outside the door just down the hall. He shall show you to your rooms. Feel free to ask him for whatever you need.”
What now, he certainly isn't being helpful at all, is he?
Maria raises an eyebrow at this lack of disclosure but doesn't comment on it. Instead, she asks "Do you know of anything in the area that might need the Order's attention?"
"That's it! That's the name. I knew 'crotch' wasn't right. But for the life of me I just couldn't remember that last part. Ah well, could happen to anybody," he simply says, grinning.
Estovion is a slight man in his sixties, with a long face, myopic eyes, dirty spectacles, and a permanent squint. Despite his decrepit appearance, however, he remains alert and seemingly spry. "I'm afraid I'm completely unaware of anything that might draw the attention of the order."
He ascends the stairs at the back of the room to his office, ignoring any other questions.
He be lying.
What are you doing now? It's a country estate murder mystery. With Werewolves!
When the man is out of hearing range, Lazar whispers so that only the group can hear.
"He's obviously lying. Not sure about what, though. Maybe about everything."
"Yeah Lazar's right. A dirty rotten liar that one. I think he's fully aware of everything he said he's unaware of. And I'm thinking Cedric might be right. Maybe that guy is Mathus but uses the name Estovion as a cover. He's obviously hiding something and we need to find out what it is."
Maria detects evil at the man as he walks away.
Maria grunts in confirmation and mutters to the others in a low tone "He smells bad to me. Very bad. Something is going on here and we're going to find out what." But Maria isn't much of an investigator so her idea for what to do next is pretty blunt. "I say we corner members of the staff one at a time and see what they know."
"Now I'm not so sure about 'cornering' anyone but I think we ought to talk to that servant of his. Belik was it? He said we could ask him whatever we want. And between the lot of us, we ought to be able to tell if he's lying. Or maybe even if he's dirty-rotten-wretched with Maria's sharp senses on our side. What do you say? Should I go get him and bring him back here?"
Maria nods wordlessly.
"Sure. Let's see what he has to say."
Nodding, Jack doesn't hesitate and moves out and down the hall to where he was instructed Belik would be. Once he reaches the halfling, "Hey, Belik, would you mind following me back to the others? We are curious about a couple of things and are wondering if you could help us out. We were going to ask your boss man but he seemed in a hurry to be somewhere."
Gadren considers the opinion of the others. It wasn't too surprising the man was potentially involved but they had a tangled web to cut through. "What kind of facilities are here would be one question and any notables visiting?"
The Halfling responds calmly. "Of course Sir. What would you like to know?"
What are you doing now?
"Well what visiting notables are here? Acclaimed hunters or nobles, that kind of thing."
"What kind of services do ye provide?"
Belik answers Gadren politely.
"Certainly Sir. We have a number of notable guests staying with us."
"I believe you have already met Duristan Silvio Ariesir. A scion of one of Ardeal's wealthiest families?
"We also have:
Cilas Graydon Nearing 50 years old, Cilas Graydon, the Margrave of
Sturnidae, is a retired military commander who served under Count Neska of Barstoi. Graydon is infamous for the ruthless brutality of his martial strategies, and is almost universally loathed by citizens of both Ardeal and Barstoi. Toward the end of the civil war between Barstoi and Ardeal, Graydon broke with Neska and openly denounced
him as a tyrant, an act that many credit as one of the causes behind Neska’s retreat from Ardeal. Forced to flee his home county, Graydon sought amnesty in Lozeri and soon became a strong voice in Palatine politics. Back in Barstoi, Neska convicted Graydon of treason, revoked his title, and placed a sizable bounty on his head. For his part, Graydon continues to identify himself by his ancestral title as an act of fearlessness and defiance.
Corvin Tergsvor The second son of Cervaus Tergsvor, one of Courtaud’s
most influential nobles, Corvin Tergsvor is enjoying an extended stay at Ascanor. A dissolute young poet and something of a black sheep,
Corvin was involved in a minor scandal when he engaged the young wife of a wealthy courtier in the upstairs bedchambers of his father’s manse during a dinner ball. Concerned for his family’s name and reputation, Corvin’s status-conscious father exiled him to the lodge for his
indiscretion.
Markiza Welgory. A frequent guest at the lodge, Markiza Welgory has come to Ascanor to hunt fox. Now in her early forties, the Markiza is married to an older, quite wealthy husband, though at this point their marriage is chiefly a business proposition. Between her family name (and somewhat overblown title) and his financial prowess, their business has been incredibly successful. She often discusses trade regulations and taxes that directly affect her family’s commodities business with other lodge guests, and her attentions are aggressively courted in exchange for trade options and access to her lucrative
business connections.
"As for what the lodge provides. We are hear to met the guests needs for hunting, and for their desire for the comforts of home while doing so. We have a fine chief, a well stocked wine cellar. Comfortable and clean beds for when you return from the hunt."
Anything else you wish to ask him?
Maria nods thoughtfully. "I know Greydon and Welgory but haven't heard of this Tregsvor."
"I'm familiar with Corvin Tergsvor, he's the son of Cervaus Tergsvor, one of Courtaud's most influential nobles." Gadren didn't mention the scandal just yet.
He looks to the others a moment to see if anyone is about to speak up. Giving them about a second and a half, "Yeah I got a question. Have you ever heard of a guy named 'Mahath'? And if you have, what do you know about him? Whatever info you can give us would be super helpful. Thanks."
Belik has never heard of anyone named 'Mahath'.
He leads you to your rooms while talking. (areas D26b and D26e).
Once you have settled in you are free to explore the lodge and the estate grounds, mingle with the other guests, or conduct research in the library.
Remember it is night and you have spent the day in action.
What are you doing now?
Once they are by themselves Gadren will fill in Maria on the noble she didn't recognise. "As I saidCorvin Tergsvor is the second son of Cervaus Tergsvor, one of Courtaud’s most influential nobles, Corvin Tergsvor is enjoying an extended stay at Ascanor for reasons I will elaborate on. A dissolute young poet and something of a black sheep, Corvin was involved in a minor scandal when he engaged the young wife of a wealthy courtier in the upstairs bedchambers of his father’s manse during a dinner ball. Concerned for his family’s name and reputation, Corvin’s status-conscious father exiled him to the lodge for his indiscretion."
He turns to the others "I'll inform you of the basics of the others..."
Once that was cleared up. "Markiza might be a bit more privy to the events here as a regular but will have many vying for her time. I'm going to have a nice cup of tea and after that I'm going to go to the library. Aside from the werewolves is there any matters you would like me to look into?"
Oh, dear..." Lazar sighs, "I know none of these people. I guess I'll stick with any of you and observe their reactions. If I open my mouth, nothing good can come out of it."
Maria shrugs. "Guess it would be good to learn more first before we plunge in. Something weird is happening here."
While I would rather avoid it, I do have a spell that will tell me if the person we are questioning is lying. We would need to tell them and ask for their consent, then it would be simple, as they would not attempt to resist the spell. The hard part would be convincing them to accept the request. Cedric offers his thoughts to the others.
"Well, that would require some sort of... confrontation. Maybe we should talk to the three knights first and see what they have to tell us?"
Gadren goes to visit the reference library first...
As Gadren takes his leave, "Okay, well, I guess that leaves us to go visit these three knights. And I'm thinking we just stick with talking to them normally, Cedric, without using magic. Like Lazar said: that would probably require some type of confrontation and we really don't need - or want! let me be clear - that." A thought then occurs to him, "By the way, Lazar, who in the blazes are these three knights again? Yeah if we've talked about them before I'm drawing a total blank as to who they are. Which would lead me to believe it was probably a fairly boring conversation about a bunch of boring knights. Just sayin'." He shrugs, grinning.
For those in the reference library.
You find an old Journal.
The journal’s author, an unnamed worshiper of Desna, recorded several entries describing his pilgrimage to an ancient, abandoned temple of Desna and observatory in the Shudderwood known as the Stairs of
the Moon. The journal includes a description of the temple, but the
details of its exact location are frustratingly vague. These pages
are bookmarked with a folded piece of paper, scribbled with a faded note reading, “See ‘Halo of Dreams’ on page 322. Filed under Religion upstairs.”
What is everyone else doing?
Gadren first familiarises himself with the organisation of the library.
Cedric shrugs as I said, I prefer to not use the spell without the subject agreeing to it. That said, we probably shouldn't split off alone, if two go to the library, that leaves three others to talk to the three knights. And I don't think any more than two should approach one of the knights. As they would likely be suspicious of that. I admit at being better with people than books... even if I am a bit too candid in some peoples opinions. And Jack seems quite good with wordplay so he should meet with the knights... Maria. You have the ability to sense evil, or an ill aura from people don't you? I think the three of us would be best suited to knights. Though if you wanted to help Gadren that works too. I'm sure more eyes would make finding the information quicker, if not easier.
Shrugging, "That works for me. But I think you're a bit better with people than myself, Cedric. Well... unless the people are ladies, know what I mean?" he says in an arrogant, yet, also in a somewhat jokingly manner, giving a wink before glancing over at the stone cold visage of Maria. Clearing his throat and quickly moving on, "You know, how about I go help the old man with his books and you and Lazar and Maria can take care of the knights? Because I don't really want to deal with a bunch of boring knights. And while books may also be boring, they still win over knights any day in my book. HA! Get it. 'In my book'," he reiterates, grinning wryly as takes a gander again over at Maria and actually wonders if she's a statue as her look appears completely unchanged. Although, Jack could almost swear that her stare has gotten even colder than previous. Quickly turning back to Cedric, "You know, I'm thinking it's wise if I go help the old man. See ya!" And with that, he quickly takes off toward the reference library hoping to escape the destructive eyebeams of Maria.
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After taking a multitude of several wrong turns, Jack finally decides to ask for directions and meets up with Gadren. Rubbing his hands together, "Okay, ol' Bean! You got yourself an extra set of eyes. What can I do to help? What are we looking for here exactly?"
Cedric grins, you didn't do anything unscrupulous that may cause these knights to know your name, did you? he asks after jack as he leaves. well, I suppose formal and boring questioning it is.
Jack turns and walks backwards a moment so as to give the cleric and 'innocent' shrug and grin before turning back around and continuing on.
"Alright, I will stay with you and observe their reactions, then." Lazar does as intended, not losing eye on the details.
"This journal we found seems to have been written by a follower of Desna. You see Jack there are entries here describing a pilgrimage to an ancient, abandoned temple of Desna and an observatory in the Shudderwood called the Stairs of the Moon. Decent details on the temple but very vague regarding it's location but someone book marked it with this piece of paper referencing 'Halo of Dreams' on page three hundred and twenty two filed under religion upstairs. It shouldn't take long to look into and might prove useful to know more about."
Impressed by the find, "Good catch there, ol' Bean! Now, all you've got to do is find this page '322' and we're in business. Seeing how we got this narrowed down, I'm gonna leave this with you and go and see if we can't find out some more information about this place. See you in a bit." He gives the wizard a pat on the arm and takes his leave.
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Jack then makes his way - presumably with the others with the exception of Gadren - to find the nobles. As they walk, "Okay, gang, I have no idea what these people look like so I'm gonna need a bit of help in that department. And seeing how Gadren is not with us, I'm going to need your help, Maria, in recognizing these men. Just say the word when you notice one of them. It's getting late so odds are they're probably in the main area having a drink or something. Let's head that way first and see what we see."
Cilas Greydon is occupied with having a Harrow reading with the noted fortune teller Madame Ivanja
However Corvan Tergsvor & Markiza welgory are both unoccupied at the moment.
"I'd say the reading library might be the best place to hunt for that book. Lets just hope I don't get too distracted while leafing through it." Gadren says to Jack before they part ways... and heads towards the reading library.