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Joesef moves in and carefully tips over the red lion statue on the fountain at Grishan's suggestion. The statue is hollow and quite light; inside is a small package wrapped in many layers of wax paper.
Khaya admits to Muzhaa'f, "We are not really interested in trade, at least at the moment. What we really desire is to remove the corruption of this place and bring people back in to enjoy what were once such beautiful greenhouses."
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Muzhaa'f bows deeply. "I understand. We shall endeavor to make it so."
The priest eyes that package hungrily. "If I may?" he asks of Grishan before taking out pen and paper and copying the entirety into his journal. While he's at it, he starts on a sketched map of the Arboretum.
"Some of this intelligence may be useful to the Society, even after so many years," he states with a hint of awe in his voice.
"Many years," Grishan says. "I hear my brother has grown quite a bit and holds a lofty position in the Society." He allows you to read and copy the notes.
Finished with Grishan's request, you can leave the Arboretum and head to the Drownyard. The Drownyard is surrounded by a tall, wrought iron fence. The key provided by Drandle Dreng unlocks the front gate.
The grounds of the old Tri-Towers yard have been cleaned up in the last several years, and several old ruined school buildings that stood too close to the cliff's edge were demolished. All of the gnarled old trees were removed and new flowering bushes and trees have been planted in their place. Despite these efforts, the few ruined classrooms that remain look sad and forgotten. Just inside the gate sits a small, locked storage shed marked with the Pathfinder's Glyph of the Open Road.
J falls silent as she steps on the grounds of her old school, as she has not been here since she was rescued seven years earlier. She asks you to remain quiet just for a moment while you remember the children and adults who died there.
Once the moment has passed, she nods, as if she has made a decision. She states, "I sense something within the haunted classroom. It has something to teach me, something I need to learn."
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The half-orc's face darkens as he leans in close, barely audible as he speaks. "I... I hear it, too. It's like the long-lost spirit of a forgotten age whispering across the chasm of time between us with ancient wisdom. It calls to me, to us all, imploring us to heed its warning. It says... don't build a damn school on an unstable cliff side, halfwits." Azuk bellows with laughter, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes as he straightens back up. "Alright, alright, let's go see what's inside."
Warden marches along behind him, his angry gears whirling inside his mechanical torso.
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Andrietta offers the following to Khaya...
"The name of organizations and background training might mean little to you, but I am a holy warrior of Grandmother Crow, known as Andoletta for some. I am part of a group called the Silver Crusade, and it is part and parcel of my work with our organization to cleanse such places of their corruption. It would be an honor to do this task for you, miss."
The tengu will follow along after the team and respects the moment of silence, looking out over the grounds, remembering what it used to look like and now what it does look like.
"There was no indication that the cliff was unstable before. THAT is what made this such a tragedy. There was no warning, and it came suddenly." Andrietta's tone is not scolding, definitely not mocking in its sobriety. "But yes, we should investigate, and perhaps help clear this place of the darkness. Far too much has been waiting here too long..."
EDIT:
Andrietta detects nothing evil from the outside. As you enter the small classroom, which is all that remains of the once great school, you can see that all of the benches and chairs are scattered about in a haphazard fashion and the sound of the ocean beating against the cliffs in the distance is the only thing that breaks the silence. Several children's names are written next to small memorials with their portraits: Badru Ahnkamen, Grishan Maldris, Cassiel Marlinchen, Stilonius Morilla, Anaretta Nimz, and Jaran Shamyyid.
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Hold on a minute. Joesef stands still, eyes closed, as if trying to recall something in his mind. Yes, my training to become a cleric taught me that this very well could be a haunt! Yes, I'm sure of it!
There was a supply shed nearby but unfortunately it is too late to check it now before the haunt manifests.
The sound of rumbling grows louder and within seconds everyone feels the ground begin to shake and the sky in the room grows black. Dozens of spectral school children run frantically for the door, but just before they escape there is a mighty racking sound as the ceiling collapses.
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The tengu slowly uncurls from her position under her shield with what could be best described as a 'sheepish' expression from the way her feathers lay down and her shoulders slouch.
Idiot.
She pulls out her curative wand and uses it to heal up the party.
"I'm really, really sorry about that, I... I wasn't even thinking that this could be a help... it's not the kind of thing I encounter normally and my gut-reaction was to try and cover from the quake..."
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Vires gets up as some ruble falls from his body, blood drips form a large gash n his head anger clear on his face. The small golden hedghog pops out fron under his clothing climbing atop vires' shoulder it begins to glow in a soft holy light. The blood stops flowing and the gash on his head closes.
A number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier, your familiar can grant fast healing 1 to an allied creature it's touching. This effect lasts a number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum 1) or until the familiar stops touching the creature, whichever comes first. At 10th level, the familiar grants fast healing 2 instead. At 20th level, the familiar grants fast healing 3 instead.
J coughs the dust from her lungs and says, "Sorry. . . but thanks for your help." Her voice grows distant though, as if listening for a barely audible whisper. After a moment's pause, she tells you, "There is a restless force here, calling to me from below." Grishan agrees, "I sense a vengeful supernatural presence emanating from inside the entrance to the necropolis. We should put it to rest. Be wary; I feel madness in its spirit."
Returning outside to find the supply shed, you find various supplies used by the archaeological teams that work here including large rolls of twine, wooden stakes, brushes, sacks, shovels, trowels, and various measuring implements. A large sign hanging on the back wall reads: Entry to above ground structure in the 'Yard is strongly discouraged. It contains a dangerous supernatural force. Items in the yellow box are for emergencies only. Signed, V-C Dreng
In the box are two haunt siphons with a short note describing how to use them and how to recognize a manifesting haunt.
Having checked the supply shed all too late, you head back through the haunted school (which luckily does not cause any further problems) and down into the necropolis hallway, which reeks of death where a trio of corpses slowly rots into the stone ahead of you.
These grave robbers seemed to be in the process of stealing several things. Along with their own gear, they were carrying the following: three suits of leather armor, three short swords, three oils of magic weapon, two potions of cure light wounds, a scroll of remove disease, a wand of lesser restoration (6 charges), and a wand of protection from evil (18 charges). There is also a collection of excavation tools and sundry items along with 105 gp. All of the magic items are marked with a small Glyph of the Open Road, the symbol of the Pathfinder Society, and yet these were not agents. They must have raided the supply shed and took what they thought would be useful.
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"Savages," Azuk spits as he stands over the corpses. "They got what they deserve, breaking into a place of such tragedy and looting it."
He grins at the rest of his party and shrugs, "Well, let's steal all their stuff and continue exploring this tragic place. Who wants what? I can use the wand against evil and apply it to anyone who needs it."
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Andrietta will offer to take the wand of restoration if Muzhaa'f does not want to carry or use it -- same deal with the scroll.
"Whatever we don't use down here we should put back in the shed so the Society can put it to use at a later time if necessary. Azuk, it's not stealing. We're Pathfinders, these items are marked with the glyph from the Society, if anything it's equipment recovery."
Before the looting recovery process begins, though, she squats down by the corpses and murmurs a short prayer for the fallen.
"Grandmother ward the souls of these thieves if they had any good in them, and may they find peaceful repose in any regard."
"J? Can you wear armor and swing a short sword? If so, why don't you get one of the armor suits on and belt a blade? No, not if they were wearing them, that'd be unhealthy!"
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Joesef takes a look at the bodies while the other rummage through their belongings. I'd say these fellas died two months ago. Two of them have no signs of physical injury... I wonder what killed them?
Joesef will further investigate in order to determine the actual causes of death for all three of the men if he can.
At Andrietta's question, J pulls back her shirt to reveal a shining shirt of mithral beneath, along with a kukri strapped to her belt. "I came prepared!" she says proudly.
The corpses are not evil and Joesef can't discover their cause of death. "The restless force is nearby," J warns as she nods down the necropolis hall. "Further in that way."
A wide chamber lies just beyond the hallway where the treasure hunters met their end. The spirit of a young girl with blond hair sits in the center of the room. As you enter the room, the spirit girl stands up and addresses J, "I’ve been waiting for you a long time, Junia. Waiting for you to come back. Why did you leave me? Won’t you come back to me? Then we can all be friends again."
J. is paralyzed by fear and guilt, and can only mutter "Cassiel, Cassiel, I’m so sorry, please forgive me" over and over again. Grishan explains that this is the spirit of their friend Cassiel Marlinchen who died with him in the necropolis.