"Gawkers usually end up throwing things so I agree with moving on to Harrowstone."
"Shall I play a song while walking?" Eldon suggests. "Oh no, wait, that's probably not a good idea. People will flock around us as we walk to be in the presence of my musical talent."
"Oh well, even I have a single less bright idea every other month. Luckily I always do realize it when such an idea occurs to me."
Seeing no further evidence of Vesorianna's name despoiling the monument, the group make a beeline for Harrowstone. A good hour later, they find themselves huffing and puffing at the outskirts. Once again, upon entering the gates a horrible sense of dread and claustrophobia descends upon everyone. However, now used to it, they push through.
The group previously entered through the front door, which hangs ajar. As well there are potential entrances on the east and west balconies, and if someone was brave enough to climb up to the north or south balconies.
Do you wish to return to where you left off previously, or attempt to enter Harrowstone through a different entrance?
Upon arriving at Harrowstone.
"I would say we best continue where we left off. We had a closed door in the last room if I remember correctly? Shall we head there first?"
Trying to sound more confident that he was yesterday Rustom speaks up."I have a good feeling about today, having had not that great a day yesterday I feel I will be more myself today."
"I agree, let us return to the place where we ended our search yesterday."
Eldon follows after the others, not wanting to admit he's completely forgotten how to get to the room. His dancing lights will provide the necessary lighting again.
When everyone is ready, standing at the door, Arval thinks of a "genius" plan.
"If we combine all our money we could simply buy the scroll of knock. I have quite some money still, although it wouldn't be enough. It would save us quite some time, and I wanted to buy something at the market for myself too."
He turns around to see the reactions of the others.
Arval walks with the group towards the town.
"I have around 140 gold. That would be almost one scroll. Kawrock, you had enough for one scroll right?"
He turns to the others.
"So how much do you have? Are we able to buy two or only one?"
He keeps walking, waiting for the answer. In the meanwhile he also seems distracted by a stall they just passed.
"A moment guys! I saw something I really want to have! You continue, I will catch up in a min."
"Hello! I see you sell charms. I really want a ward evil charm if you have one."
Shopkeeper:
*older woman's voice* "I might just have what you want son. Here let me get it for you."
She comes back with the charm, holding it up for him. Charm
"I will have to attune it to you. Else it might not work at full potential."
She waves Arval closer.
"Come here son. Here we go" As she says the last sentence she pulls out a few of his hairs. She ties them to the charm and holds it up for him.
"That will be 10 gold."
Arval gladly hands over the gold and accepts the charm. He directly puts it around his neck and immediately feels safer. He makes a tiny and stiff bow and thanks her before running back towards the group.
"Guys! Guys! See what i got!"
He holds up the disgusting looking charm for the others to see.
"Eww," is Eldon's brief reply.
He then continues to follow Lena and the others. "I'm curious to find out what's in the vault. Hopefully something we can use to out advantage."
"Yes I have enough left over for a scroll if we need it." After Arval returns with his charm Kawrock narrows his eyes and clicks his tongue twice in disapproval. "Is that a raven's claw?"
Delighted with his gross and possibly offensive charm, Arval rejoins the group. Everyone makes their way to Harrowstone. As before, the first room slams the doors shut and screaming faces overwhelm the group. It appears the haunts have refreshed themselves. This one is over in a minute, and you return to from where you left off.
The six of you are now in Harrowstone proper. The creaky, dusty old prison continues to be ominously silent, despite the terrors that you know lurk within.
Where do you go?
"It is a ward evil charm! I don't know what it is made of, but it is really powerful."
He looks with wide eyes at the charm. He holds it closer to Vladlena to let her examine it better.
"Shall we head for the vault then? Or are we going to try and get the key first?"
He looks in both directions and seems indecisive.
No magical auras are detected.
"Let's go and finish exploring this floor before we decide what needs to be unlocked.
Kawrock heads into the northern hall and stops at a set of doors that they did not check the previous day.
If he doesn't see anything usual about the door he will open it.
Kawrock listens at the door and hears nothing. He jerks it open to see nothing but rubble. This flight of stairs once led down toward what must be the lower level, but it's now filled with a mess of large stone blocks and shattered timbers.
This rubble was not a ceiling collapse. Rather, it was a manually triggered deadfall that blocked off the stairs.
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Lena considers telling Arval that he had been conned, but thought He ran away a few times in our last excursion. Maybe he will be happier with this thing in tow. I won't tell him its non magical junk.
Later
Maybe we can check the vault first. Also we might check out those balconies. might be a way in there, and there are stairs up to them.
"I say we go with Kawrock's plan. But I believe there are only 2 doors left to explore, of which one is locked. After we tried those two doors I think we should head up and see if we can find anything there."
Since they are inside Arval is holding his charm, ready to use it if necessary.
Rustom follows the group in silent silent contemplation on his failures of the day before. Has his axe ready at his side.
Kawrock listens at the door, hears nothing, and tries to open it. Like all the other doors it is stuck and warped, so a swift kick sends it crashing inwards.
Several rows of wooden benches, all spotted with mold and sagging with neglect, face a stage walled off from the rest of the room by a wall of four iron bars.
Eldon peeks into the room from behind the safety of the door frame. "Yet another room that's probably haunted..."
"I agree with Lena's suggestion to check the vault out first. It may contain items that'll help us in the other rooms of the building."
Kawrock does a glance around the room before following the group to the vault.
"You go first Lena, you have the scroll after all."
Arval grabs his shield and weapon for the worst case scenario.
The group look into the auditorium, decide against investigating further, and make their way over to the metal door in the south east. Once again it stands resolutely in front of them.
Lena starts to chant the scroll but fumbles the complicated chant. She gives it another try.
The second time is a success. The scroll burns away in her hands and a loud *CLICK* sounds. The giant metal door opens to reveal a property room of sorts. A bizarre collection of antique goods rests upon wooden shelves that line the room. Several of the items contain tiny tags with
labels written in a careful script.
"Whoah! You did it!"
Arval takes a quick look around the room.
"This could be worth a fortune."
You see no sign of the powerful magic items Vesorianna spoke of. The room does not look to have been looted, either.
As Arval explores the room, it becomes readily apparent most of these are worthless knick-knacks, the vast majority of which are worth maybe a handful of gold. Personal items such as wooden combs, dice, a broken mirror, a couple of ruined books, and the such are scattered around showing only bare organization.
However the room does have some objects of interest as Arval scours it, piling whatever looks valuable. Upon closer inspection, a lot of the remaining property appears to be of little value, but some interesting objects are found.
- A masterwork set of thieves' tools
- A bronze medallion, with a symbol of Iomedae overlaying a man on a horse
- An unframed painting of some sort of monarch or noble
- A set of silver hair clips
- A masterwork punching dagger
- A pouch containing a dozen masterwork shurieksn
- A masterwork silver war razor
- An ebony wand
The painting is of King Stavian I of Taldor.
The medallion is from the Shining Crusade. Well-made, but a fairly common item.
The wand is a wand of lesser restoration with 12 charges remaining.
Eldon casts Detect Magic on the wand, and his eyes begin to shine when he learns the nature of the wand. "Oh! A wand of lesser restoration! apparently we can use it... I'd say... 12 more times."
"This painting is of King Stavian I of Taldor," Eldon says as he studies it. "Hmm..."
Grand Prince Stavian I was the ruler of Taldor in the early part of the 46th century AR. He is best known for initiating the Great Purge in 4528 AR against the church of Sarenrae (known in Taldor as the Cult of the Dawnflower) in an effort to crack down on anyone who might view the enemy nation of Qadira in a favorable light. Within a few months, every temple to the goddess in Taldor had been destroyed, and her priests murdered or banished.
According to Taldan history Stavian was the first son of Grand Prince Micheaux the Magnificent and Euphemi Finara. He took the throne in 4526 AR, a little over 200 years ago.
With close inspection, you determine that the medallion is worth 40 gold, the painting is worth 100 gold, and the hair clips are worth 35 gold.
"I'll hang onto the wand until Norna gets here as I believe I can make use of it as well."
"Not bad! Not bad at all!"
Arval says while he examines the loot.
"I think our next stop is upstairs then?"
"If there should be more in here I will keep looking until I am satisfied it is not here," Kawrock says as he combs through the room.
Kawrock begins to comb the room top to bottom. His search is eventually rewarded as he slaps his claws against the back of a cabinet, and finds a small switch. He flicks the switch, and the cabinet door swings inwards.
Inside is a tiny vault. Neatly laid out are five different items, neatly laid out:
- A bloodstained handaxe
- A collection of holy symbols
- A moldy spellbook
- A smith's hammer
- A tarnished silver flute
As Kawrock uncovers the hidden vault Arvans turns back around again.
"That is a weird collection. Do you think they have anything to do with each other?"
"From what the warden's wife told us, these items are tied to the five. Lets see if any of them are magical "
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Eldon's about to tell the fascinating history behind the painting when Kawrock finds the hidden stash. "Oh dear... Those indeed look like they're tied to the five... I expect those to be their weapons."
He casts detect magic, and tries to figure out more about the items' properties.
The group settle in and begin casting their detect magic spells and attempting to discern the nature of the weapons. Norna pipes up that after a cursory inspection, the weapons have the same sort of magical nature as the haunts do. That is to say, they're not magical per se, but powered through the spirits of the undead. Typical means of identification would not work, unless there was a way to talk with spirits.
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Norna, use that spirit talking board. But this time ask a better question. Like "what are the properties of these five items?' or something.
She thinks for a moment, and then says we could also use logic. There are five big bads in this prison that we found out about. The lopper, the piper, the splatter man, father chaleton and the moss river marauder. That axe is the lopper's (you know to lop things), the holy symbols is the bad father, the flute is the pipers. The splatterman likes words so give him the spellbook (was he a mage) and that leaves the hammer for the other guy. I wonder how we use them. That's what the question should be, norna. How do we use these against the spooks?