Sister Zephra blinks, looks at Inessa, and smiles sweetly. "I think they might listen to us, what do you think?"
"It's possible the Professor is connected to this incident, but if the origins of this 'V' are indeed supernatural, the Pharasmins could be of great help. In addition, the Pharasmins as locals could potentially have more information. I believe we should head there first."
"I'm with you Rheeg!" says Zephra brightly. Then she glares at the memorial statue, as if disappointed by it.
"And by the way..."
Nasrin kneels next to the sign, scraping some of it off with a nail and smelling it.
you just don't know.
Having decided to pay it a visit, the party comes to the local temple of Pharasma. A few acolytes wander around the lobby of the grand building, offering aid and religious advice to the few locals sitting in the pews. Father Grimburrow is nowhere to be found, likely retired to his chambers or taking care of official business.
Once the party enters, their faces unknown to the attending clergy, one acolyte approaches with a smile. He welcomes them, offering his sincerest aid. Having noticed the two bearing their symbols of Pharasma, he greets Inessa and Zephra, glad to see two of the faithful visiting Ravengro. He asks how he can be of assistance, and mentions that if holy water is necessary, the temple has plenty for sale.
Awkwardly, Zephra nods to the acolyte while looking up at the impressive architecture. "Praise be to the Lady of Graves, holy water could be very useful for her purposes," she says. "Our purposes, I mean-- her purposes through us. We like holy water, certainly." She smiles with a slightly manic expression, obviously not especially accomplished at public speaking. She looks quickly to Inessa with wide eyes and what appears to be a fervent hope that she will guide the conversation.
Anna will nod to herself before turning back to the party. "Welp, it's blood. At least it seems to be from a animal and not anything human. Sounds like we still need to be on the look out for some sort of animal killer. Maybe we can have a stake out tonight to catch some one in the act."
Once at the temple Anna will go a bit silent, awkwardly shifting around as she tries to avoid touching anything inside. Once the acolyte comes to speak she will quickly step in, hoping to be out as soon as possible. "Oh, pardon me sir. I don't need any holy water currently, but we could use a small favor. It sorta sounds like the late professor had knew of some old supplies that could be used that were hidden in the graveyard. With all due respect and permission we were hoping to go retrieve those. Would you mind? As far as we know we will not be disturbing anyone's rest."
Sister Zephra nods in encouraging assent to Anna's declaration.
Her robes showing clearly her devotion to the Dawnflower, Nasrin calmly observes the unfolding of events. There is a time for swords and a time for words, and she has always been better during the former.
Viare stands with the others, waiting to see the reaction that the question would ultimately bring. She feels her viper slither to her forearm and begins to stroke her side without looking at her.
At first, the acolyte seems hesitant to give Anna an answer, looking down at her with a glare. He excuses himself for a bit and heads into the temple's main chamber, and talks to a couple of other acolytes. A lot of shrugging and shaking of heads happens between all three of them for a good couple of minutes before he comes back. He hesitates again, a hand instinctively clutching at the holy symbol hung around his neck. He says that it should be fine to investigate the area, but they must be mindful of not disturbing anything. As there's a couple of fellow Pharasmins in the party, he's sure that all proper respect will be paid, but cautions them anyway about possible consequences for misconduct.
"Thank you, good acolytes," Sister Zephra gushes. "We will be careful, I promise. The dead's rest must not be disturbed, of course. When we return, we will talk more about buying some of your water, okay? Our grandmother's blessings upon you all."
"Thank you," Viare speaks quickly, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "We must be on our way now." She turns and begins to walk away, needing to get out of this place.
Nasrin bows deeply in thanks to the Elders and walks next to Viare.
"Not much to be found as for information in this temple, I fear. Hopefully the crypt will provide more answers."
Straight to the point as always, Nasrin's feet point towards the graveyard. "Shall we?"
"No sense in sticking around here. Lead the way."
The Restlands aren't too far away from the church, so the party gets there rather quickly after bidding the acolytes farewell. Memories of the night before may show up in the minds of them, the solemn burial of their dear friend. Despite this, they press on, and notice that hardly ya soul is around the graveyard, aside from the two grave tenders keeping the headstones free from debris and grime. The crypt they look for is near the back of the graveyard, so they pass by many of such headstones.