Looking at the rest of the group. Two thoughts. First, we could keep a watch here at night. Not that I want to split things up, but Aeleanor looks quite skilled at some of the stealthier arts and can probably see quite well in the dark. If someone were with her, they could rest during the day and hide at night to see who or what is doing this.
Also, do any of the spellcasters here have skill at identifying spells? This was assuredly created with some magic and while I never was very proficient at spellcraft, I know that my father and other wizards frequently used their knowledge to identify spells, both at the time of casting as well as after. If we can identify what spell created this magical graffiti, that may be a large step toward identifying the culprit who did it.
Shol'a'saul stares at the statue, lost in thought. She talks softly to herself, First a 'V', then an 'E'...what is the message being conveyed here? We need to keep researching this further for answers.
On hearing Adi'faah's question, she stammers, "I...I have some knowledge of dweomercraft...but the nature of this effect eludes me."
Corey approaches the statue, standing next to Ad'ifaah to examine the "E". "I can try my best."
The elf tries his best to see if he can discern any magical properties of the new letter.
Knowledge, Arcana
Spellcraft Check
"V and E?" Venedictos mutters to himself, wiping his brow furiously. "I need a drink!"
"Why are you so sure this was done with magic? Perhaps it is some other manifestation?"
Aerys likewise examines the markings on the statue.
Spellcraft check
"I can't hide very well, but I can stand behind a tree or in a bush for a good long while. And I can see better at night than some. I can help stand guard tonight and see what happens."
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This day, Corey's research again pays off and he discovers the following information:
Father Charlatan (Sefick Corvin): Of the five notorious prisoners, only Father Charlatan was not technically a murderer, yet his crimes were so blasphemous that several churches demanded he be punished to the full extent of Ustalavic law. Although he claimed to be an ordained priest of any number of faiths, Father Corvin was in fact a traveling con artist who used faith as a mask and a means to bilk the faithful out of money in payment for false miracles or cures. He became known as Father Charlatan after his scheme was exposed and his Sczarni accomplices murdered a half-dozen city guards in an attempt to make good the group’s escape.
Shol'a'Saul thinks for a long time on what has happened so far. When she speaks, her voice is tinged with a hint of concern.
"What we have learned so far is....troubling. Very troubling. What do these manifestations on the statue mean? They must be related to Professor Lorrimar's death, but I fail to see how the two instances are related." She fingers the planchette idly and adds, "Perhaps we should consult the spirits at some point...?"
"Well, it seems the warden, his wife, the guards and the prisoners all might know something about the statue and why the prison is so important. It seems a bit disrespectful to contact the professor, and I don't even know if that would work given the way he died."
"So, who were you thinking of contacting?"
"Or would using such a device provoke an even stronger manifestation? Given that the warden's wife might be name being spelled, she might be a source of information, however..."
"Or perhaps the Professor himself!"
"We should consider very carefully what question we ask as well as who we ask it..."
Abe pipes in.
"If the consensus is to contact the Professor, might I suggest we not tell Kendra? That might be a bit traumatic for her."
True, though Kendra need not know...However, I would suggest that we ask the spirit that is haunting the monument if it bears the town ill will...Although if we do and it does, it may deceive us. So the logical solution is to ask the Professor if the spirit is good or ill.
Shol'a'saul swallows slightly, but nods in agreement. "Yes, that would be a good question to ask. Should I proceed?"
Wait. What makes you think the professor would have any idea about this? What about asking him who killed him? Or what dangers we might expect in the prison. We have one question, let's not waste it by asking a question that it is likely to know nothing about since he was dead before it started.
"Adi'faah, the use of this planchette is quite limited as I am sure you know. I believe unravelling the mystery of the statue defacing will help answer the questions concerning the Professor's death. Plus I have no control which spirits would answer the call here."
"Or perhaps we should ask if this Whispering Way has done something at Harrowstone to awaken this spirit? Or if they were the ones responsible for the Professors death, or perhaps one of the prison's former residents?
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Shol'a'saul begins the seance. She concentrates for a little over a minute and the planchette begins moving. Before she even asks her question the planchette begins spelling a word. It starts slowly, but quickly builds speed. It finally spells out "whispers". This is highly unusual as no question was asked. Shol'a'saul asks her question anyway and the planchette nearly flies from her hand and stops dead on "yes". Then there is a howling noise and the board and planchette fly from the table and hit the wall. Shol'a'saul slumps unconscious in her chair, but wakes immediately.
"My dear!" Venedictos cries out, rushing to her side. He fans her face and checks the pulse in her wrists, before breathing a sigh of relief. "She's okay, just a little disoriented, I fear."
As the planchette begins flying about, Aeleanor quickly draws one of the magical arrows and grasps it in her hand, ready to defend against the spirits.
Abe does a quick detect evil when the howling starts.
Shol'a'saul struggles to her feet after looking about her, fear etched on her face. She lays a hand on Venedictos' shoulder and smiles at him. "Thank you for helping me there, I think I will be fine now."
She walks over to the planchette and picks it up, holding it in her hand. She stares at it for a moment before she stows it away, and turns to the rest of you.
"It seems to me we have learned more here than even I had anticipated. I fear to consult the spirits again, and yet the name 'Whispers' was mentioned. Could it be related to the Whispering Way or perhaps it is one of the criminals previously held at Harrowstone?"
The fighter takes his hand off the hilt of his weapon and runs it over the back of his neck, trying to get those hairs to lie down flat again.
"That sounds like one more thing to research. Perhaps the library of the professor's can help us narrow some of this down. Surely he had already researched many of the questions we now have. Unless his papers were taken."
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After a disquieting night, everyone sets out for the day (this is the third day of research, so after this you will need to determine your next actions). Corey finds nothing this time out, but Abernathus, after two frustrating days, comes across this information:
The Lopper (Vance Saetressle): When the Lopper stalked prey, he would hide in the most unlikely of places, sometimes for days upon end with only a few supplies to keep him going while he waited for the exact right moment to strike. Once his target was alone, the Lopper would emerge to savagely behead his victim with a handaxe.
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Aeleanor, your performances have attracted several villagers. A group of men who occasionally play music in the afternoons at the gazebo in the town square ask you to perform with them. On this day, as you are dancing and several villagers watch and listen to the music, the performance is interrupted as several winged creatures burst forth from the eaves of the gazebo. They immediately attack those nearest except for the musicians.
Initiative:
Perception:
Venedictos dashes forward towards the largest group of civilians being attacked by these things and casts an obscuring mist to give the citizens cover to escape. "Keep your heads down and clear the area!" he shouts through the fog.
Shol'a'saul moves quickly towards the mass of people being attacked by the winged creatures She then calls on her strange connection to the otherworld to distract the closest one, buying time for Venedictos' plan.
Initiative:
Aeleanor stops dancing and leaps into action, gathering her sword from the floor of the gazebo where she has left it to slash at the nearest creature.
Curved Blade:
Damage:
Crit confirmation:
Damage:
Seeing the birds attacking, I pull out my scimitar and attack the nearest beast.
Init:
Attack:
Damage:
Abe takes a swing at one of the flying birds with his greatsword.
Nyx hisses at the sight of the attacking creatures. Aerys whispers softly and hurls a bolt of bluish-white light arcing towards the nearest one.
Ricven nods his head in time to the music as he eyes the crowd for suspicious people who might have hurt the professor, so he's quite surprised when the townsfolk come under attack from above!
The fighter moves forward, going to the closest grouping of the creatures and tries to cleave two of them in half.
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Aerys sends a bolt of arcane energy into one of the creatures, but it continues on. Abernathus chops one of them out of the air. Not to be outdone, Ricven moves to a cluster and cleaves two of them himself. Aeleanor dives for her weapon and rolls up to knock a fourth flyer to the ground. Venedictos covers the majority of the crowd with an Obscuring Mist, protecting them from the three remaining creatures.
Having their targets limited, they attack your group.
One creature barely misses Abernathus, but the other two attach themselves to Shol'a'saul and Ricven. They hungrily begin sucking blood from their victims (each of you take 1 pt. of CON damage). Ad'ifaah is able to kill the one that missed Abernathus as it flies by. Shol'a'saul hexes the one that is attached to her.
Venedictos raises an eyebrow at that observation, but figures he has little to lose, so he scrambles up onto the stage and starts to sing, veeee-rrrr-yyyy sl-ooooo-wwwww-lyyyyyy.
Perform - sing:
Perception:
Guys, these monsters are mimicking the band's music. Someone see if there is anyone in the band who appears to be unnormal, say an evil bard or something.
Round 2 - I think
Seeing the beast attached to Shol, I quickly stab my scimitar at it drawing a nice shower of blood as I do.
Attack:
Damage:
Venedictos pauses his singing long enough to ask,"And what exactly does an 'evil bard' look like?", quirks an eyebrow, then resumes his song.
Shol'a'Saul gasps in pain but still has the presence of mind to utter a quick incantation. She also calls on her companion for assistance...
In response to Venedictos' query, she responds "I suspect he looks like one of the band players, Vene."
Her familiar responds instantly, and moves to attack the creature who dares to harm its charge.
Ricven starts to feel weaker as the strife drains his life's blood away. He takes a deep breathe and slow tries to cut the creature off of himself with his sword.
Perception:
Aeleanor glances back at the stage and the players, trying to tell if any are doing this on purpose.
Sense Motive:
As the stirges go after Shol'a'Sul and Abe, she quickly steps in, slashing at whichever one is closest.
Curved Blade:
Damage: + because of flanking
Crit:
Damage: