Mathus copies Lorant.
I fear you are right - it could be reference to these five prisoners. Where did you hear that poem or lyrics?
"Some children I encountered on the way to the monument. They sang it as they skipped rope. They...ran away when I tried to talk to them."
"I wonder why?" Eleanora asks, blinking rapidly. She mostly succeeds at keeping the hard edge out of her voice.
At least he's well-spoken.
Shaking her head, she says, "It's strange but...not impossible, I suppose, that this children's rhyme should refer to the Harrowstone Five. But it seems so unlikely that this 'Splatter Man' is actually walking the earth without anyone seeing him...perhaps it's a copycat?"
Cassiel looks down. "Maybe we should perhaps stake the place out, see if it's really the case."
Anything to get out of research eh Cassiel? I think there is little to stake out and I am not comfortable approaching the prison until we know more about the spirits that may haunt it.
"Hey, I'm a man of action, not sitting in a library all day." The paladin nods. "But I was kinda referring to the site Lorant mentioned when it came to a stake out."
Ahhh, says Mathus in understanding, Good point - yes, it may be worthy of additional investigation.
Judah just listened, getting more and more uncomfortable with what he found himself in the middle of.
The murder investigation of an occult expert had dumped him into a conspiracy involving a cult of undeath and a prison that might be haunted by the ghosts of psychopaths.
He drank his water, wishing it was wine.
"Very well," Ella says. She's trying to sound business-like, but her voice quavers slightly. "Tonight we'll try to find a way to keep watch on the spot that Mr. Endronil observed the defacement at today. With any luck, we may be able to catch the culprit and set this to rights quickly."
She hesitates, then continues: "I don't...really know this town. Is there a constabulary we should alert? Any sort of authority who might be more competent in this than we?"
"Please, Eleanora, call me Lorant."
He smiles pleasantly, but takes care not to grin too obviously like he did with Mathus.
"We'd need to ask Kendra. She's the local."
"There's no way we'll be able to bring him into this investigation without sounding like we're mad, are we?" Lorant says sheepishly.
"Especially if it looks like it's something else entirely that's defacing their monument." Cassiel replies with a resigned sigh. "Frankly, I don't see how watching a town's monument in the dead of night is illegal or immoral in any way."
"Suspicious, certainly. But well within the bounds of the law. Unless there's a curfew involved, in which case we're f%%%ed."
I don't think watching it would be an issue - just viewed as weird.
That said, its just one bit of graffiti - do we really need to spend the cold Ustalav nights watching an old monument? I strongly believe that local books and records will provide us with the answers we seek rather than some blood scrawled across some old stone! If there is a pattern then it makes sense to look into it.
"It may be best to keep watch, Mr. Kohlheim," Kendra says softly. "After all, this is...some sort of pattern, right? With what we know of this 'Splatter' from the children's rhyme?" she shrugs. "If it turns out that the monument is being vandalized by a troublesome but otherwise normal person, no need for us to do anything further. If not..." she shivers. "Well, that might tell us something important, too."
"Especially if it looks like it's something else entirely that's defacing their monument." Cassiel replies with a resigned sigh. "Frankly, I don't see how watching a town's monument in the dead of night is illegal or immoral in any way."
"Suspicious, certainly. But well within the bounds of the law. Unless there's a curfew involved, in which case we're f#&~ed."
"Weren't you the one telling me to watch my language the other day?" Lorant says with a cheeky smile.
Very well - given Kendra says the worst that could happen would be the locals visit us with suspicion due to our eccentricity it wouldn't hurt to watch the monument. We can visit the sheriff in the morning to talk about the town records and try to win him over.
"An excellent plan," Ella concurs. "It's getting late now, in any case."
Her voice gains a slight edge. "Do you think we should be...prepared for trouble, tonight? I'm far from a warrior, but a lone traveler learns to defend herself...I can, at least, shoot a crossbow at need."
"If it comes down to it, stick close to me, ma'am." Cassiel jostles his sword & shield. "I'll make sure you're safe."
"What am I, then, chopped blood sausage?" Lorant says, indicating his morningstar.
"I'm training to join the Knights of Ozem too!"
Ella smiles thinly. "Thank you, Mr. Hawks. I will rely on you." Though she doesn't say anything about it, Lorant'a revelation surprises her. It's training to be a Knight of Ozem? ...Perhaps there's more going on here than I realized.
"I won't let you down, ma'am." Cassiel nods.
"What am I, then, chopped blood sausage? I'm training to join the Knights of Ozem too!"
Cassiel purses his lips. "Well, you'd better not let her down either, Lorant."
"There's no way we'll be able to bring him into this investigation without sounding like we're mad, are we?" Lorant says sheepishly.
Judah had been staring into his glass of water, clearly fighting off the urge to sleep. He'd been absently listening, coming to grips with all of the strange things being discussed.
The strange pyramid hanging from his belt slowly driving him mad? It would have to wait a while longer.
Being added to the will of a man he'd never met? Fine.
Undeath cults? He could handle it.
Ghosts of dead serial killers haunting a ruined prison? Well, at least it was a ruin.
Going to make friends with Johhny Law? F@~%. That.
"You folks are seriously considering talking this to the Sheriff? You'll end up locked up and shipped off to a sanitarium."
I've seen it - just outside Lepidstadt, its called The Sanctuary. I believe, however, that it burned down some months ago. Judah may have a point - why not just approach him on the desecration of the town monument rather than laying everything open? I'm barely able to take everything in myself - a provincial sheriff? He'll not believe a tenth of it. Besides the last thing we want to admit is our visit to that vault we found.
"Besides, how do we know he's not a part of this Whispering cult. Do any of you know him well enough to really trust him?"
You've a rather dark frame of mind - I don't know him but I think we can very likely count him as not being a part of a cult of undeath. So, its books and research tomorrow at the town records and then the Church if the records prove unhelpful, and some of us will see to the sheriff tonight so the monument can be watched?
Lorant frowns at Judah's paranoid suggestion.
"You've seen Petros' journal. If he'd been worried about a conspiracy with the Sheriff he'd probably have mentioned it there. He did essentially leave it as a primer of what we'd be dealing with here, and he seemed to suggest the town was ignorant of what's happening in Harrowstone. They're scared of that place. They don't know what's up there and they don't WANT to know. Ustalav's a land of darkness and fear. If we can light just one bright candle against it, we've done the godesses' work."
He nods at Mathus' reply.
"Besides, we can ask his permission for access to the town records. I'll go with. The night holds no secrets from my eyes. Never has."
Judah just shrugged. "It ain't my play. I just got here, so I'm following your lead. I just don't think bringing all this to the eyes of the law's a good idea."
"Why not?" Lorant asks innocently.
"Because what we are talking about is the kind of shit people get locked up for being involved with." Judah said, a little exasperated. "Getting access to the town records is fine. Talking to the Sherriff about the rest of this is a terrible idea. The smart thing to do would be to get into Harriwstone, get out, and either drop overwhelming evidence of foul play in the Sherriff's lap after the fact, or just get out and leave him trying to figure out what happened."
"The law ain't never on your side unless you're on it's first. It's on the side of keeping order. If you're doing anything that threatens order, the law's going to tell you not to."
I think Judah has it mostly right - investigations into vampires quite often run into this sort of thing - corrupted or co-opted officials and so forth. I suggest just the records and putting a watch on the monument only.
"That may explain why I've always had trouble finding my father. I've toured Ustalav at least twice over in my lifetime before I met Petros and he convinced me to go to Lastwall for training, and never once could learn where to even look if I wanted to stake the bastard. We'll do things your way, then."
Seeing the others all in favour of night stake outs Mathus grumbling acquiesces to come along as well.
Lorant gives Mathus a playful clap on the shoulder.
"Why so glum, Mathus? We're making progress in solving this mystery!"
See?, says Mathus with a yawn. Nothing to be worried about - some kids playing around I'm bound. I'm off for bed. I'll try to rise early afternoon so the day isn't completely wasted. I recommend you all do the same - then we can check the town records... or the churches, for the names of these five prisoners.
The night wasn't completely uneventful. Just before dawn Judah finally succumbed to sleep, no longer able to keep himself awake. He passed out standing, leaning against a wall, his head lolling down inside his hood. He started snoring almost immediately.
Over the course of the next few minutes the feeling of being watched slowly crawled up the spines of the rest of the group. Judah jerked awake just after and the feeling faded.
"Sorry." Judah muttered.
Wide awake, staring like an owl at the statue, Lorant was eerily quiet most of the night. Occasionally he'd sniff the air, like a hound tailing a fox. When nothing appears, he begins to glower, especially when Mathus derides the whole affair as an overreaction.
"These are not coincidence, Mathus. I would not have heard that rhyme if it were not an omen. Our prey has gone to ground. But that does not mean this is a mere jape. Ravengro's not a town that would tolerate antics like this."
Ella stirs when the group finally decides to give up its vigil, unwrapping her cloak and pulling herself out of the hollow she'd been nestled in. Well, that was...uneventful.
FOOLISH is what it was. Always had your head too much in books, and this lot looks hardly better. You'll regret it in time.
Ella's so worn by the night's watching that it takes her a moment to realize that the voice isn't her own self-derision. Then her eyes widen, and she clutches the thing that hangs around her dress, turning slightly away from the others.
You are not to comment on these others! Or on ANYONE! Down! Silence!
The voice recedes, though she can still feel it distantly resounding in her consciousness. Oh, you'll be glad I'm here...soon enough...
-----------------------
That afternoon, Eleanora rises looking refreshed and surprisingly resolute. She joins Mathus on his trip to the town hall, and slides to the front when the clerk greets them. She smiles warmly at him.
"Good morning, sir. My name is Eleanora Olexina, and these are my companions..." She introduces them formally, one by one, then leans forward. "I'm something of an amateur of local history, and we were wondering if you had any records we could investigate about the local Harrowstone Prison...particularly about the fire and the prisoners housed there at the time."
"I'd be deeply grateful," she adds, her voice slightly husky and eyes taking on a strange light. The moment the clerk has responded and turns away she snaps upright, smile vanishing. Do NOT do that!
Lorant is about to take the initiative with the conversation, his morning coffee doing little to help the dark circles under his bright eyes, when Eleanora steps in.
"Indeed. We've exhausted what little information Father Grimburrow had in the temple's archive, and figured this was the best place to find more information. Since we'll be staying here in Ravengro awhile, we felt this would be a fine way to get to know the town better..."
He gives a weary, but warm smile.
And you look like the right chap to help us too! Maybe we could pour over the books while you talk history with our friend here?
Cassiel just shrugs. "I can vouch for the lady, on my honour as a paladin of Iomedae."
He glances over at Eleanora and smiles a bit.
He blinks and tilts his head at her. Is she doing alright? She looks a bit... odd.