"I'll take lead, if you wish," Val replies to Delia, "But I plan to stay close to Miss Lorrimor. I did vouch for her protection."
That said, he gestures to Kirill. "Lead on; we're just behind you."
The rest of the group makes its way without issue into the courtyard. While the crumbling ivy clad walls and teetering gates make the place seem forbidding, the interior of the walls looks much the same as it did from without the gate. As the party gathers to orient itself, you see the sagging brick house on your left, the gloomy pond far away on your right, and Harrowstone itself before you.
Agnar looks around before saying "I say we search the brick house first."
"Agreed," Kirill responds to Agnar without looking back, still feeling a bit awkward and shaken from the recent ordeal by the gate. He heads straight for out-laying brick building. He steps quietly to avoid alerting any within to his presence and steps between what doors and windows he can see.
Kirill circles the sagging house once, making a note of any and all exits to the small thing.
The small brick manor house is overgrown with thick sheets of gray-green ivy. The roof sags ominously, and the front door hangs askew. It is mainly all on one floor, with a small second story, probably a single room, above the center section of the house. There is a single main entrance on a small, rotted porch, 4 broken windows on the main floor, a back door that is overgrown with ivy and apparently jammed shut. The foundation is built into the ground, indicating that there is probably a root cellar below the house, but their is no entrance to it from the outside of the building.
Kirill continues to sneak to the nearest broken window to see if he can peer inside.
The ever present light of the overcast sky allows you to see inside without too much difficulty. The inside appears ramshackle, with bits of broken furniture here and there and a chesterfield with no remaining upholstery off to one side. Bricks and debris from the ceiling litter the floor. The house appears to have been looted in the past, and you can see nothing of interest from where you stand.
Kirill makes a quick jaunt back to the group to relay what he found.
"The building seems to have been long looted and empty at first glance. There may be something lurking within, but I doubt it. Think we should take a closer look or move on to the proper ruins?"
"I would say to move on to the ruins of the prison itself, unless something would indicate that this building is cause for hauntings," Ember says. "I would guess that any haunting would originate from the prison and its history."
"I agree," Val echoes Ember. "This place looks like its about to cave in on itself. Unless you see something from the window that's worth going in, I wouldn't risk it."
Delia looks over the place as a whole, a minor look of confusion crosses her features, "Would we be better off encircling the outside first, see what we can out here before we go right in? If we can resolve anything without having to ACTUALLY enter the place, it would be nice." She adds, a shiver making its way down her spine.
From where you are standing, you can see most of the front face of the Harrowstone prison. The two-story stone building looms in the center of the prison grounds. Ivy and moss cling tenaciously to the walls, while above the wooden shingles of the roof are often missing entirely, exposing the wooden rafters of the upper structure to the sky. Here and there, leering stone gargoyles perch on the eaves, once functioning as drainspouts and decorations but now seeming almost to serve a more ominous role of sentinels. Many of these stone decorations have crumbled away and lie in ruined piles on the soggy ground below. Windows in the building’s facade are narrow and blocked by grills of rusty iron bars. Stone columns support a slumping wooden balcony over the building’s wooden front doors, both of which hang askew and reveal dark glimpses of chambers within.
Riff steps forward and points of to the left side of the prison entrance, "That's where Professor Lorrimor's body was found, just over there. Vrodish and I came along with Father Grimburrow and Benjan when it was time to move the body. We had to help that old stodge Gibs load him aboard the wagon."
Ugh... this hurts. I hope Kendra is holding up.
Valachi shakes his head and sighs, then walks over to the spot and takes a thorough look around (including up).
Valachi makes his way to the area Riff has pointed out, the deputy following along with him. Riff takes the lead and brings Valachi and the others to a halt at a point where the front wall of the building comes forward a ways, to allow extra space for the room inside.
"There it is," Riff says quietly, gesturing stiffly to a fallen gargoyle lying upon the lawn. The statue is quite large, about the size of a heavy framed man, if he was crouching down as gargoyles are so often posed. The feet and parts of the legs of the statue have broken off, and are nowhere in evidence, probably still attached to the roof above. The gargoyle's head, also detached, lies separate a few yards away; perhaps broken off in the fall or by the impact. As the professor died just over a month ago, there is no other obvious sign that marks the spot, and no blood or other indications someone might have died here.
Valachi searches the area thoroughly, taking several minutes to comb through what remains of the scene. There are no tracks left, no blood or pieces of bone, and no obvious tool marks on the statue to indicate that it had been chipped free of its mountings. Looking up, you can see the eaves attached to the roof, and it does appear that if it dropped from up there, it would be quite plausible that the gargoyle could have some to rest about here without any extra assistance. You cannot see the gargoyle's legs from down here, but the spacing of the other gargoyles visible does show a gap approximately above your current location.
Looking at the building itself, this section of the wall looks reasonable stable; though it is overgrown with ivy, the mortar and the bricks are secure, and it does not appear that this wall in general is in any danger of collapse. However, some parts of the ivy appear odd, as some branches have started to brown or even die, where the majority is quite lush and green. Examining the base of the building reveals that some of the stalks have been severed where the wall meets the foundation, and other bits of brush cleared away. Small new growth is visible, indicating that while this happened fairly recently, it was not in the immediate past.
Valachi points out the oddities in the ivy to the others. "Any ideas on what may have happened here?"
For some reason you cannot bring to mind what species of vine this is, but fortunately it doesn't require a botanist to see what happened. Upon your closer inspection you can see that many of the vines have been cut near the base, where their roots enter the ground near the foundation of the building. Others have had their roots pulled up haphazardly. It appears that someone was trying to gain access to the stones of the building right along the ground. Though the stones themselves are splattered with mud from all the recent rains, your close examination reviews some sort of writing made in a flowing, and continuous script. The writing continues several feet to the left and right, before it disappears behind more foliage. Valachi points this out to the other members of the group, who make their own examinations. People start following the wall a ways and in both directions it seems the same; the script continues, unbroken for even an inch.
Delia gives them a cursory glance, trying to see what she can tell from them. As she does, she remembers something they came across. "I wonder if this is what the Professor was investigating, when he wrote about strange symbols along the foundation?"
She does her best to return to learning what she can about the symbols herself.
While the script is clearly Varisian, many of the words themselves are unfamiliar to you. To you, the structure of the phrases seem consistent with those used in magical constructions, and so it seems apparent that this was an element of some sort of ritual magic. Whatever the ritual was designed to do, it is quite complex, and deciphering it here and now is beyond your present skill. However, you recognize enough of the sentence clauses to be reasonably sure the ritual involved both abjurant and necromantic magic. After approximately 15-20ft, the script appears to start over, repeating the same phrases you saw where you began. You can pull out a single name, repeated over and over within the spell: Lyvar Hawkran.
"The Professor was investigating this?" Ember asks.
Delia stands, thoughtful, "It appears to be a kind of ritual, using the schools of Necromancy and Abjuration. It's a repeating script, specifically including the name Lyvar Hawkran. Hawkran was the warden's name wasn't it?"
Absently turning to look at Ember like she thought she heard something, and then snapping out of whatever had her attention, she replies. "Milady, my apologies. We have some clues within the Professor's journal. I believe Kirill has it if you would like to look over it. We have done some research to the topics mentioned"
Riff pipes in, "Yeah, I think he was the warden; his name is on the monument back in town."
Valachi quickly steps back from the wall, a look on his face like he got too close to an overflowing sewer. "Was it some foul necromancy, some lingering curse, that perhaps killed Lorrimor?"
Zhan takes a step closer to Sister Ember, "Your pardon, dear lady. Young Delia has accused me of being too free with the details of our investigation in he past, and so I have become more tight lipped of late. Leaving you in the dark was not intentional, nor meant as an insult. Yes, the professor was investigating something here when he was killed. As you know, he was a skilled arcanist, with experience in navigating numerous dangerous locations in the past. We find it unlikely, at the least, that he was killed by a falling sculpture. Besides if you look at the scene: this statue lies 8 or 9 feet from the outer wall; where it would have fallen had it rolled off the roof to be sure, but what would have made it fall? The building is weak, and I could entertain that had someone been climbing on it, a section, or a statue might come loose and fall, but here? He could not have been even near the wall and still have been hit by the gargoyle. Had he been at the wall, or climbing it, which I must say I cannot picture, the gargoyle would have tumbled right over his head and landed behind him. So, was he sleeping in that spot when an earthquake shook he statue loose?
"The professor expressed in his notes the belief that a cabal of necromancrs were attempting to find or do something here at this site. He was coming here to stop whatever it was they were doing the night he was killed. According to all reports, none of he supernatural occurrences began until after the night he died. It seems that he failed to obstruct them and died bravely, but that this cabal did something here that set all this strangeness in motion."
He turns to Valachi, "No, I think the most likely explanation is that one of these Necromances saw him coming from a position nearby, or from on the roof. He then waited for the professor to come beneath the statue and either pushed the statue from its moorings, or used some telekinetic effect to pull it down atop him."
He moves over to Kendra and wraps a comforting arm around her shoulder. "I am sorry you had to hear this my lady, and come here, but as I said, I believe he died bravely, trying to put a stop to the evil these men came to do."
Agnar lets out a bestial growl at the speak of dark magic. He than says "This does not bode well."
"If this writing on the foundation is recent, and I would guess that it is, then the necromancers you spoke of might have disturbed the spirits that are within, which could account for the recent disturbances."
Ember kneels by the wall, looking at the writings. She casts a pair of orisons to aid her.
Riff leans forward to take a look at the writing as well, just in order to see it for himself. "I see Lyvar Hawkran's name in there, but the rest is just gibberish to me. Well, the council wanted me to bear witness to proof the professor could have been murdered, proof that Harrowstone really is haunted, and whether or not what's happening here is the cause of all the strange things happening in town. Is there more to learn here, do you think? Or should we search around more of the place. I think I'm with miss Delia on the, 'Let's avoid going inside of we can,' plan.
"We could continue to walk the perimeter, and see if we find anything of note. I am not sure we will be able to find evidence of haunting without going inside, however."
"One spin of the grounds then, and keep an eye peeled for ways in or out, other than the front door." Val begins to walk clockwise along the outer wall, keeping a respectful distance in case someone drops a gargoyle on our heads. He'll keep a close eye to the ground, looking for tracks and clues that may point towards a secret entrance or other activity.
The party starts walking slowly around the Harrowstone building, walking in roughly the same order as before. About where you start, the face of the building juts out a bit; here a room inside is visible through the window, while above the sloped roof ends, and the East Balcony begins. The room appears to be an office, with a long desk, and piles of paper strewn about. The windows are barred with heavy iron and the mortar looks firm, though you guess a few minutes or half an hour of labour with a heavy hammer might gain you access that way.
As you come around the corner of the structure, the wall slopes away at an angle, making the building more a hexagonal shape than a true rectangle. Before the midway mark of the wall that forms one point of the hexagon, there are two windows, though both are some 8ft above the ground and would require climbing up to see in. Both are barred like those on the office out front.
After the midway point, the wall begins to angle back the other way. This section of the wall has no windows, but only a solid stonework staircase leading up to the East Balcony. The staircase looks to be completely intact, and aside from a heavy coating of moss on some steps and the ivy climbing the outside, looks as solid as the day it was built. The staircase appears to be constructed of layered stones with no empty space or storage below, so it should be as safe as a castle rampart. At the foot of the stairs, a somewhat overgrown gravel path leads to the nearest of the guard towers, which stands silent some 70 ft or so away.
You note that from the East balcony, you should be able to get very close to fallen gargoyle's original position, should you wish to examine it.
If you do not trust the look of those stairs, climbing is an option. However, the vines here look slick, and cover much of the irregular surfaces of the wall. You estimate that it would be a bit more difficult a climb than what you accomplish without effort , but not a lot harder . It would be a 15ft climb to the balcony, so even if you fall, you would be unlikely to break anything.
If you are instead referring to climbing from the balcony to the Gargolye, the DC would be the same.
"Want I should scamper up and peer in through those windows real quick; see what I can see and make sure there isn't anyone in there sneaking a peak down on us?" Kirill offers, motioning his shoulder with a nod of his head toward the windows a few head lengths out of reach.
Delia looks at Kirill, then the height and angle of the balcony "If you go to the windows, have someone else at least go to the top of the stairs so we can maintain a clear sight to each other." She suggests cautiously
"I'll go," Valachi offers, hefting his spear and moving to the staircase. He will use the butt end to test the steps ahead as he moves up, moving slowly to keep balance on the mossy bits.
Agnar listens to the others wondering if he could be of some help before he says "Could I be of some help?"
"Be at the ready in case they stir something up," Ember answers.
While her right hand grips her mace, her left hand hovers in the air over her holy symbol, moving with uncertanty, as she wonders what she might need to cast.
Valachi moves up the stairs slowly, placing his staff and boots carefully to avoid slipping. While moving slow, the moss does not cause any major impediment, but you would not want to have to move over it in a hurry. You come to a stop atop the stairs, where the top step forms a landing, about 5 ft by 10 ft long, even with the balcony, but not necessarily a part of it. Standing at the top of the stairs allows you to see Kirill in his position near the window, but puts you at a distance of about 60 ft. You also have a clear view of the rest of the party where they stand on the tall, unkempt grass.
A large, rectangular block of stone rests on this weather-beaten stone balcony, while ruined wooden benches line the eastern wall under a row of tiny, barred windows above. The block is perhaps two feet wide and a foot thick, and resembles nothing less than a headsman's block. A stout wooden door sits in the wall near the northern end of the balcony.
Kirill nimbly climbs the wall and vines near the first window, the one that is closest to the building's facade.
Kirill thanks whichever god (or goddess) is listening for not embarassing himself by slipping and falling when he scampered up the building. "Looks clear," he announces down to the rest of the party. Before easing himself back to the ground Kirill pays careful attention to any disturbances in the dust in the room, such as for foot prints of other recent activities.
Though there is a virtual layer of soil on the floor of the room from all the dust that has blown in through the window over the decades, and even a few weeds growing here or there, there is no sign of anyone laying foot in the room in recent days.
"Return safely then, and we'll continue our inspection of the prison," Ember answers, letting out a breath that she was not aware of holding.
Kirill turns his head back over his shoulder and shouts back to the others, "There doesn't seem to be anything interesting here. It looks like the privy."
He jumps off the wall and lands easily enough. He gives a thumbs up and heads over to the second of the two windows.
The vines are slicker here, and Kirill appears to have more trouble getting started this time.
After another minute of trying, he is still unable to make any headway getting up to the window.
Silently, Zhan approaches and offers Kirill a boost on his shoulders. At only eight feet off the ground, Kirill should be able to see in the window.
[/ooc]Crying baby, details will have to wait. Valachi, could you make a perception roll? [/ooc]
The room Kirill looks into is a stark area that contains a low stone bench against the north wall and a ruined desk to the west that sits under three narrow, barred windows. An old brass brazier lies on its side to the
south, surrounded by several rusty branding irons. This would appear to be a branding room, where criminals whose crimes warranted it were marked for life for what they'd done. Again, dirt covers the floor, and grasses and a few other weeds grow where the light must occasionally reach. There is no sign of anything having been recently disturbed.
Kirill hops down from Zhan's shoulders (), landing gracefully. Zhan shrugs and rolls his shoulders to loosen the trodden muscles and then brushes the boot prints off his cloak.
Your eyes roam over the length of the balcony looking for the source, but nothing is evident. You look over the same area in more detail, looking for anything you missed at first glance. You now notice that there appears to be a pole or staff leaning low against the headsman's block from the far side. You don't know how you missed it before. You cannot see much of it, as most of it lies on the far side of the block. Since there are no other sticks or tools upon the balcony, it seems to be the only thing out of place.
Creeped out, Valachi slowly backs down the stairs to rejoin the others, spear readied before him.
"Probably my nerves getting to me, but I think things are moving around." He explains what he saw to the others.
Agnar draws the new blade, he had been given, before he says "I would think it is best if we believe there is something moving around, than not. I would rather us not be surprised."
"Thanks for the boost, friend," Kirill says to Zhan with a grateful pat on the shoulder. He offers a wink. "How about next time we do that before I make a fool of myself skittering up and down a crumbling wall, eh?" The graverobber says in a carried whisper, hoping to ease the tense and ominous atmosphere with a spot of humor.
It wasn't working well.
"What do you mean: "Things are moving around?" What things?" The Varisian asks, reaching over his shoulder and fingering the polished wood of his new bow, and feeling reassured at its touch. He had wished he had purchased some blunted arrows. Again he became aware that he would have a hard time shooting a man with the intent to maim or kill. Destroying undead and slaying oversized vermin was one thing, but murdering a man, even one out for Kirill's blood, he wasn't sure he had the stomach for and felt terribly unprepared despite his recent shopping trip.
"Well... that pole there, by the block. I don' think it was there when I first went up the stairs." Valachi points to it.