"So what now?" Herm looks at his companions
Jominda turns to the guard. "Hey you, you are standing in my way! I demand to talk to that groundskeeper."
As the guard doesn't move away as he should Jominda gets physical.
To everyone's surprise, and probably most to the guard, Jominda manages to get hold of the man and subdue him.
"Would someone help me here so I can unlock the door? Jominda asks while kneeling on the back of the guard.
Kendra squats down near the Guard's face to look him in the eyes in his rather awkward position. She tilts her head slightly to align it a bit more with the guard's. "Look, I get where you're at right now. Your employer told you to guard this door, and so you do. But you've just been bested by one of us, moments after we've taken down that big scary thing over there." She hikes her thumb over at the big spider-like creature's corpse.
"I think it's fair to say we beat you and let you get away with your life, yes?"
Herm nods at Jominda, moving to the side of the guard, taking the keys and opening the door.
Jominda hands Herm her special 'keys' as he seems intent of not holding the guard down. Once he realizes, that it's not that easy, Jominda takes over as the guard is in the persuasive hands of Kendra.
It really annoys her that she needs that long to open the door after she gave Herm that smug smile. "Tadaaa! Finally open."
This shed was originally meant as a storeroom and workshop, but Ascanor’s groundskeeper and handyman Paucy Troabs converted it into his private living space. He still performs small jobs in the attached workshop, but handles larger jobs in the new workroom on the ground floor of the adjoining watchtower. Paucy keeps his extensive collection of skinned rats in the storeroom, preserved in jars filled with Ustalavic brandy.
Paucy, the groundskeeper - is surprised and a bit scared, that it is not Estovion who opened the door again.
"Hello Paucy, can you tell us about what happened?" Herm asks the man
"I, I, I,... no. Estovion can tell you." Paucy replies. "It's, it's,..." Paucy thinks really hard "... because of the, the, ... Marquisa!" he finally tells beaming as if he found the right answer in a test.
[b]"I see, do you honestly believe that?"{/b] Herm asks
The guard hides his face in the dirt. Taken out and intimidated into submission by two women. Not only at home, now also on his job. His life sucks.
"Encourage him to tell us the truth, Herm. Explain him how he has nothing to fear from the truth." Kendra says.
"Ewww, this collection is disgusting." Jominda voices as she looks at that pickled rat collection.
"How about we bring Paucy to the Markiza, so he can confess his love for her?" Jominda suggests.
"Estovan is not here, you can tell us the truth, we know you didn't do this and are being set up/" Herm says kindly to the man.
"But I did." Paucy replies confused.
"He did open the cages Herm," Kendra says, before turning to paucey. "The question is, who told you to do so?"
"Did what? As you were told by your boss?" Herm detects if the man is evil
"The Markiza?" Paucy replies. After a short pause "No. I told myself, because of the Markiza!"
"We won't get much out of him, So we have nothign really to proceed on." Herm says
"That was not very fruitfully." Jominda agrees.
"Then we go talk to Estovan, see what he has to say." Herm says leading everyone back inside.
JOminda picks up the guard, and brushes some dirt off his clothes. "I'm sorry, that wasn't personal."
She takes her time to lock Paucy in again and then follows Herm.
Inside the Lodge Estovion is not found. Neither on the first floor, nor on the second. His office door is locked and he doesn't answer to knocking.
"How much do you think a door costs?" Herm asks as he swings his hammer at the door.
"20 silver." Jominda replies. "The question is, if he can make you pay for it."
"I will leave money behind." Herm says.
"Hey, are you crazy?" Estovion shouts from behind the door, as the hammer comes through with the first swing.
Herm reduces the door to shreds with teh second swing, but all suddenly find thenselves in a green stinking fog.
"Ew..., are we still talking, or is that over?" Jominda asks.
Herm holds his breath walking into the room. "We know that you are lying and that you set up your servant. Tell us the truth now." Herm says hammer in hand
Estovion is not amused about Herm's insolent behavior. "No, I'm not answering to a barbarian like you." And with that he is gone. Vanished into thin air.
You find yourself alone in the office/private library of Estovion. Besides a desk and a chair it contains mostly shelves full of books.
"I can see where he went, most likely. Or at least what he's doing." Kendra says. "But let's look around his office first."
Jominda steps out of the stink and follows Kendra's suggestion.
Just Over Two Weeks Prior to the PCs’ arrival:
It appears that my past has come back to haunt me, in the form of unexpected visitors who
arrived last night. Ostensibly nobles from Courtaud, they bore invitations from Adivion Adrissant
in Caliphas, and Belik admitted them to see me. Their leader, a disturbing man named Auren
Vrood who carried a sinister-looking, twisted homunculus on his shoulder, confided to me that
they were agents of the Whispering Way, come to finally collect the debt I owe them for
helping me with the spirit I discovered at the Stairs so long ago. Vrood “requested” that I
arrange a meeting between him and one of the werewolves of the wood. Though I would prefer
to have nothing more to do with them (for my youthful indiscretions were just that), I saw no
choice but to acquiesce to their demands, lest they reveal my secrets to the Palatine Council.
As Mathus is my sole ally among the packs, I will speak to him and arrange a meeting, and
hopefully I can wash my hands of this whole sordid affair.
Two Weeks Prior to the PCs’ arrival:
Vrood and his fellows have returned. Though I made my office available to them, they declined
and requested a meeting with Madame Ivanja instead. Mathus arrived shortly after and went
straight to Ivanja’s tower as well. I was somewhat surprised by their choice of location, but I
suppose even necromancers and werewolves have their needs. I spoke briefly with Mathus after
the meeting, but he was unusually withdrawn and gave no hint of what was said at the meeting.
Two Days Prior to the PCs’ arrival:
A grave threat has befallen the Shudderwood, and I fear its origins lie at Ascanor. Unknown
forces, almost certainly agents of Vrood and the Whispering Way, have attacked the Stairs,
butchered Kvalca Sain, and stolen her heart for some dark purpose. Although their motives remain
a mystery, this single act has thrown the entire hierarchy of the Shudderwood’s packs into
disarray and violence.
I know that it is customary when a packlord dies for her successor to consume the fallen
packlord’s heart. With Sain’s heart gone, the position of packlord shall fall to whoever can claim
the title, either by recovering the lost heart, or more likely through force, by slaying the leaders
of the four rival tribes and adopting the surviving wolves into his own pack.
Mathus has spoken with me before of his desire to become packlord, and I now wonder if his
secret meeting with Vrood was the impetus behind these events. Without Sain’s heart, however, I
doubt the other tribes will accept Mathus as their leader. He might find allies with the Sczarni
or the Broken Ones, but the Vollensag and Jezeldans will never bow to his rule.
Mathus’s concerns doubtlessly lie with his pack, not with me, however, and I worry my
alliance with the Mordrinacht shall soon be forfeit. I fear greatly for the safety of the lodge,
for if Mathus moves to take Highthrone without Sain’s heart, or if it becomes known that his
ascendance is due to the Whispering Way’s interference, civil war will soon erupt among the packs
of the wood, with Ascanor caught in the middle.
Jominda looks through the papers on the desk and the small piles of books that are there and on the shelf. After flipping through the pages of a handwritten journal she tells "I think our search has come to an end. Estovion is guilty of supporting the whispering way."
She reads the passages to the others.
** spoiler omitted **
"Madame Ivanka next?" Kendra says. She starts the way there already as she speaks "She might've heard what the Way discussed with the Wolf Mathus."
She walks briskly through the hallway, her steps fierce and strong.
"Whatever the case may be, the Werewolves have been interfered with by the Way as well. Maybe that's why they have been rowdy enough for Werewolf hunting parties to be formed. I.... I could probably help with that." she continues. "Bring a bit of peace to the forest again, and... oh!"
Kendra stops dead in her tracks, and turns around to face her companions. "We should probably tell the people of the lodge about Estovion's resignation."
"Whom would you tell? With Estovion and Belik out?" Jominda asks.
herm jus shakes his head at Jominda.
"We should speak to this madam, maybe find some information about her prior to going there so we know what to expect." Herm says leading everyone back to the main area seeing if everyone is okay.
In the main area Delgros is busy together with Quiene and two of the lodge's horses to pull the giant spider out of the building. The corpse of the monstrosity spoils everyone's appetite and no one is interested to add this to the trophy collection.
It seems the guests have all retreated to their rooms. Ruessa Webbe holds onto her broom and sweeps right after every inch the monster moves out, as if she could undo what happened if she removes the traces.
The reapir of the entrance will take a while though. That is beyond Paucy's abilities and there is no carpenter on the premises at the moment.
Herm survey's the damage that was done to the entrance hall and the dining room. Keeping away from those cleaning up so as to not get into the way.
"We go to the madam as we will only be in the way here." Herm leads the way to the tower, knocking on the door.
The door is opened by an armored guard, who asks the guests to come in. From a neighboring room, walking through a heavy velvet curtain comes a well built woman with black hair, dark eyes, who wears a black leather corsage, black over-knee boots, a long skirt with a high cut, revealing the leg and golden bangles at her wrist and upper arm.
One more guard stands in the foyer, two more follow the woman. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Madame Ivanja. What desires lead you to my humble abode?"
As Kendra leaves the hall on her way to Mme Ivanja's tower, she mentions to Ruessa "Pardon me, could you tell Master Graydon I'd like to see him at his earliest convience once we return from the tower?", and awaits an answer before hurrying after Herm.
In the tower, in response to Ivanja's question, Kendra answes "We desire to clear up some misconceptions and mysteries, mylady."
"There were some men that came to visit you the other day. Can you tell us why." Herm says
Madame Ivanja chuckles at Herm's question. "That's not very specific, but most of the men that come for a visit do so, because of our excellent service."
To Kendra's request she replies "What mysteries and whose misconceptions would that be?"
"These men were black riders, with a wizard named Vroom." Herm clarifies