"We learned the identity of the Piper of Illmarsh and his modus operandi. It mostly confirms what we already knew, that he has some link to the stirges we've encountered in and around the prison."
"Oh. Cool."
"Are you sure that this brand of yours will work, Lorant?" Ella asks, frowning. "We haven't actually seen the shade yet."
"If we can force the Piper, or any of the other ghosts to manifest, it will work. The goddesses' power can sear it right into their incorporeal form."
Lorant stirs and takes to the washroom to shave, leaving the areas where he wants his beard to regrow. He was going to look a bit scraggly for the next couple of weeks, then he finds a quiet spot to pray.
Ella rises, feeling better than she has since her encounter with the stirges a few days ago, and goes to her window. Looking out oat the gray skies over Ravengro, she sighs. Another day...and I suppose we have to go back to that cursed place.
Oh, you didn't like it, sister dearest? I did. But then, I've always liked hearing you scream.
She grits her teeth and presses her forehead against the cool glass as a brief spike of pain runs through her head. Stop it. Is this charm fading? It's supposed to keep you silent.
After a few moments with no response, she straightens up, stretches, and dresses for the day before heading down to find some tea and breakfast.
Finishing his prayers, Lorant joins Eleanora in the kitchen.
"Good morning and blessed be, Eleanora," he says gently as he begins preparing his morning coffee.
Lorant finishes making his coffee and pauses for a bit, taking in its aroma.
"Just the scent can sometimes be enough to invigorate...especially when you've got insomnia like mine."
Cassiel manages to rouse himself and complete a few sets of push-ups before joining the others for breakfast, wiping his head with a towel.
Ella nods back to Lorant. "Good morning." Her lip quirks when he mentions his insomnia. "I imagine that could be...bad, yes," she says, stirring her own tea. She spreads some jam on a piece of toast and bites into it, sitting down at the table and glancing around for Kendra.
"It comes with being a dhampir. We're attuned to the night just like our vampiric parents. I'm lucky sunlight doesn't hurt my eyes like most dhampir. Another gift from the goddesses."
Judah had slept a very long time, having gone to sleep before the others had returned from their research. He talked in his sleep a lot, but the words were incomprehensible gibberish. In spite of getting more sleep than he had in months, he woke up feeling tired. Also hungry.
Without a word he shuffled into the kitchen looking like hell, his eyes squinted and red rimmed. He fumbled around for a cup and poured himself a large glass of water before throwing some bread on the stove to toast.
"Are you alright, Judah? You look like you need this coffee more than I do!" Lorant says in a concerned tone.
"Didn't sleep well." Judah grunted. "Bad dreams."
He looked at the coffee for a few moments like he was trying to remember what it was, drank his water down and poured a cup of the dark brew. Then he pulled his toast off the stove and slid into an oversized chair.
"Good morning," Ella says, looking slightly concerned by both Judah and Kendra. "There's no reason for you to slave over us, you know," she tells the other woman. "You're in mourning, after all! Relax. We can shift for ourselves."
Mathus nods in agreement with Ella.
Lorant sips his coffee and then nods.
"If anything, we should be taking better care of you. Especially after what happened..." he trails off, frowning at the nerve he realizes he might have accidentally struck.
Judah hauled himself slowly to his feet and trudged into the kitchen. The strain of the haunted prison wasn't just mental. His whole body hurt. Hours of stress, fear, and fighting for his life had left every muscle in his body sore and overworked. He didn't know how everyone else seemed so at ease.
I guess that's the difference between professionals and... me.
Still, he needed to pull his weight.
"Doing things helps quiet the mind." he said. "C'mon, Kendra. Don't mind them. Lets make breakfast."
Ella looks at the others. "Is there aught that we should do before venturing back to Harrowstone? I admit I'm loath to go back there..."
She pauses, and waits for a moment when Kendra is out of the room. "You know...we did find that board for contacting the dead. I'm not a big fan of the idea, but it occurs to me that we could attempt to contact Professor Lorimor's spirit with it."
Lorant frowns.
"I'm not sure we'd be able to reach his spirit particularly...especially since whatever's going on in Harrowstone...reanimated the Professor's body and made it attack Kendra."
He looks at Kendra apologetically.
"I'm sorry. I don't want to dredge up such a bad memory so soon after it happened."
Lorant looks to Kendra, wondering how she will react...
"Well, I admit that I feel the urge to do something," Ella says, sounding slightly exasperated. "If we don't think there's anyway for us to contact a helpful spirit, then I'd propose that we just head back into the breach."
"Indeed. Perhaps we'll get the Piper to manifest before us and then Edmund can wrassle him."
Ella smiles faintly. "Well, I'm willing to try. How do we go about it?"
"We return to where we fought the skeletons, he seems to be haunting that part of the building," Lorant says.
"How much of the main building did we cover, anyway?"
"Hard to tell without a map of the place. In all your research, you didn't find any building plans?" Judah asked. "Seems like those should be on hand somewhere in town."
Cassiel, having been silent this whole time eating breakfast, quietly groans at the prospect of delving back into books.
Ella sighs. "You'd think, wouldn't you? But then, perhaps they were kept on file at the building itself--in which case they'd be gone in the fire. We should keep a map when we go in this time." Draining the last of her tea, she stands. "Well, I'm ready to sally forth--and perhaps pick up more holy water en route, eh?"
"Holy water is a good idea." Judah said emphatically.
"Though we may want to avoid the word "more," lest we're forced to explain where our initial supply came from..."
Lorant finishes his coffee and grabs a small bit of food to munch on as the group prepares to leave the Lorrimor House and make their way to the Temple of Pharasma.
Ella straightens her skirts and follows Lorant, ready for the day ahead.
"We've, uh...discovered some alarming signs of undead around," Ella says as she hefts and stows one vial of the holy water. There. That's...true enough.
Lorant nods.
"More than alarming signs. The rumors of Harrowstone's haunting are true."
He silently wishes he had more to contribute than the single sovereign he had left.
"Well then," Ella asks as they conclude their venture. "Not that I'm particularly enthused by it, but...shall we?"
"I'll lead the way," Lorant says.