"No, no, no! First you tell, then you get the drinks to forget for free." Zokar replies and comes closer - eagerly waiting for the stories.
Jominda first eats some spoons full of her stew. "It is horrible! You can't even enter the grounds without getting haunted by the dead there. As I took the first step in it felt like my whole body was suddenly on fire and I would burn alive!"
"Lucky me - it was not real. But I wanted to turn around right there."
"On the grounds we found a swarm of rats. As if the ghosts weren't enough. Next was the entrance into the prison itself. As we stepped in the ghostly burnt faces of the prisoners came flying in through all doors and the doors slammed shut. Locked in in the dark of this prison with the ghosts flying through me!"
"And Kendra simply lights a sunrod and is like 'let us see what we have here' - can you believe that? I stand there and wet my pants and she plays cool." She eats some more stew before she continues.
Pointing the spoon at Zokar she tells "And it all went downhill from there. Some ghost almost froze Kendra to death! We found a cursed book that spelled out my name in blood as I looked into it. Then a really scary whirlwind skeleton ghost that throws with medical equipment like syringes."
"And we found the ghost of Vesorianna Hawkran. She is a really nice ghost. If you want to get to know a ghost I'll suggest her. All the others are a%~!&%&s so far."
"And on the upper floor we found some flute playing ghost and a dozen skeletons raised from the dead to attack us. But Father Grimburrow did his holy thing and swoosh - all skeletons dead again. But he gets really old. There were some giant mosquitoes. He stabbed them with his knife but was not able to penetrate the skin of these critters."
"Haha!" Jominda replies. "You can all come tomorrow. Some dumb meat shields to go in first would really help."
Jominda lets out a sharp scream. But she braces herself quickly. She has seen worse today. "Hey why did you stop playing?" she asks the guy with the flute.
Zokar collects the coins and returns with a bottle of hard liquor and two shot glasses. Pouring two he hands one to Jominda. "Now I need one too." he tells.
Jominda downs the shot in one go. "Now I'm going home before the effect kicks in. Or I won't make into my bed. Good night Zokar." She gets up, leaves the coins for the meal on the table and walks home. There she locks the door and checks it twice and then goes to bed.
Kendra wakes up, relieved to find herself in her own bed. She repacks her things, packs the lunch as well, and heads out once more, dressed in a warm coat.
As Kendra approaches the door of the apothecary it is still locked. But through the glass she can see a ladder. Following the ladder with her eyes she is lead through two doors where Jominda is slumped into the bed - at least according to the yellow dress it should be Jominda. As Kendra knocks Jominda turns around - accidentally over the boundaries of the bed. A short scream and then a *thumb* is heard as she hits the floor followed by some muttered cuss-words.
Jominda gets up and weaves towards the entrance. Her hair is tousled, she is still in her tattered dress and she is squinting because the bright sunlight hurts her eyes. She unlocks the door and opens it for Kendra. "Is it already time?" she asks - as she is sure the sun is fast by at least an hour.
Kendra chuckles a bit. "I believe it is. It appears you had a rough night as well?"
She looks around trying to spot the Father and Jorfa. As she spots neither yet, she states,
"I might be slightly early though."
"Come in and take a seat. I need to change clothes at least before we go. Did you have reakfast already?" Jominda asks. Yawning she walks back to her bedroom to put on something else.
"No,", she answers as she walks inside and picks a chair. "I wasn't hungry. Strange, isn't it, after a day like yesterday?"
"If you want there is some bread, butter and jam on the sideboard." Jominda calls from the bedroom while she puts on some tight leather pants and a comfortable pullover. The chain shirt she puts on top this time. Her hair put up into a bun she comes back into the dinner room.
She cuts two slices of bread and put butter and jam on them. she wipes one used plate clean with her hand and then searches a clean one in the cupboard. With one bread on each she walks to the table and takes a seat and puts the clean plate down for Kendra. "I hope we'll have it easier today. At least we got an idea what to expect and had the chance for some preparation. Mine you see here." She points to the ladder. "Did you find something that might help too?"
Kendra thanks Jominda for the bread and takes a bite before answering. This gives her a short time to collect her thoughts.
"I've learned some more backstory to many of them. There may be... things we can use, but I'm not sure how.
Do you remember that mournful dirge we heard yesterday on the top floor? The piper of Illmarsh used to be a fan of playing such a dirge for his victims. He also was a fan of drugging them and then having them sucked dry by those flying bat things we encountered yesterday."
She pauses for a moment.
"I wonder if that one skeleton we found on the top floor was him, and if we already dispelled him."
"You mean the one weighed down with the chain of holy symbols?" Jominda asks while chewing on her bread. "You got an idea why that strange punishment?"
Jorfa stands up at the same time as always. Then she goes through her standard morning routine that has been the same for about a century.
After that she put on her armor and selects her weapons for the day. Her warhammer and and a dwarven waraxe. That she hasn't done for almost a century.
Jorfa leaves the house, locks the door and walks over to Jominda. Finding the door unlocked she lets herself in. "Morning." she calls into the apothecary in monotone tone.
"We're here, come in." Jominda replies in a chipper tone.
Jorfa closes the door and moves to the dining room. "Can we go?" Noticing that someone is missing she asks "Father Grimborrow isn't here yet?"
"None Whatsoever." As Jorfa comes in, she greets her heartily, and confirms the absence of Father Grimburrow.
"I suspect he is an old man and has trouble getting out of bed. Perhaps we can meet him at the temple after we finished breaking fast? That is, if he hasn't arrived by then."
Kendra continues by telling Jorfa about the piper as she did Jominda.
"What about the others. Vesorianna told us there are five of them?" Jominda asks.
"Ispin Onyxcudgel killed his wife in a fit of rage. In remorse for her death and an attempt to restore her, he went on a large killing spree. Perhaps that we can use his guilt and love for her to our advantage." she explains.
"Then there's Hean Feramin. He was a professor who got obsessed about the link between a person's name and what happens when they die. So to prove his own theory, I guess, he wrote people's names in blood somewhere and then some days later trick them into a set of traps which killed them in a way that looked like an accident. We should be on the lookout for traps, I guess, and perhaps not use our own names just to be sure."
She pauses a moment before continuing.
"Great! Too late for that. You remember that cursed book that wrote my name in blood on the margins?" Jominda replies grunting.
"Oh, of course! Wow, it's really important we get that ghost down then. And that you be extra careful of traps!"
She gives Jominda a sympathetic look.
"uh, right. The next one is Father Charlatan, which is a nickname. He was a con artist using faith to trick people into giving him money. His group then killed a dozen city guards as they tried escape after being found out, though technically the father never killed anyone. It was his misuse of various faiths that made him be punished so harshly. I'm not sure what use this information could be."
She gives Jominda and Jorfa a glance, inviting them to speak their ideas if they have any.
"Lastly there's Vance, and I believe Vesorianna pegged him as the leader of the group. Strangely enough I could find no information about him." she says apologetically.
"As for Vesorianna, she told that name scribbling guy is after her. So I guess he is the main threat. But I may be prejudiced as he is also after me it seems... that's what you get for helping. No good deed goes unpunished." Jominda sighs.
Then suddenly her face brightens. "But that Father Charlatan - I like that name - that has to be the guy with the chains! We found that ball of holy symbols on silver chains in the cabinet. And the skeleton covered in chains with holy symbols!"
"Perhaps so." Kendra accedes as she finishes the last of her breakfast. "Shall we see what's keeping Father Grimburrow though?"
"Yes please." Jorfa replies.
"Do we take the ladder now, or do we go back once we have the good Father?" Jominda asks.
"We take it now and leave it at Kendra's house." Jorfa suggests and moves to the end of the ladder at the door to pick it up.
Jominda gets up and puts the plates back on the sideboard. "Then let's go." she takes the rear end of the ladder and carries it out with Jorfa. Outside she stops to lock the door after Kendra is out too.
At Kendra's house they put the ladder to the side of it.
And onward it goes to the temple where Jominda hammers at the door. "Good morning. It's time to goho!" she calls.
"Come in!" a voice calls from inside.
Grimburrow sits at a table with piles of books about him, "I have been looking for any information about to prisoners." He says, "It seems to have engrossed me more than anticipated he says looking at the light streaming through the windows.
Jominda opens the door to the temple and walks through the aisles to the side door that leads to Father Grimburrow's office. "And have you been successful?" she asks.
"Much minutiae about the prison but little about the prisoners themselves, I can't seem to find those books." Vauran says with a disappointed shake of his head
"Then lets go and find out first hand. Kendra got all but The Lopper. But we still have no idea what that helps us. Other than to see who we face." Jominda tells. "Did you pack some healing potions like Kendra suggested yesterday?"
"That and some more besides. Let me just pack these books away and then we can leave." He says, almost creaking as he stands
"I could make you some breakfast cereals with some oil seeds. Maybe that would make your joints work more smooth." Jominda offers.
Once the father is ready she leads the was to Kendras house to pick up the ladder and then to the Harrowstone. Together with Jorfa she manoeuvers it through the hole in the wall into the prison. All together manage to slide it down into the basement and align it so it has a sturdy standing. It even sticks out five feet and allows a comfortable entrance into the darkness.
"Oh... did you bring a sunrod again?" she asks Kendra as everything is set up to go down.
Kendra almost plants her face in her palm. "I knew I was forgetting something!" She slumps her shoulders dejectedly.
Jominda chuckles "I didn't think of it until now too. But maybe Father Grimburrow saves us here with his magic?"
As Jominda speaks Grimburrow nods and holds forward his holy symbol and encants a blessing. Soon the symbol begins to glow.
"Yay!" Jominda exclaims. "So who's going first?" she asks.
"Me." Jorfa replies and climbs down the ladder.
Jorfa draws her axe and swings it at the thing.
"Ugh" Jorfa voices as she is hit from behind. She turns around
slicing hard into the thing but not making it all the way through.
"Do something! Jorfa is attacked!" Jominda voices in an alarmed tone.
Kendra squints her eyes as she tries to make out what is happening. She gestures and speaks the spell, and the palm of her hand forms an orb, which launches towards the shadowy form fighting Jorfa.
Her haste and the bad sight makes the orb splash somewhere in the shallow pool, far from where the fight is taking place.