Saeri looked at the room for a moment. "Which balls?" she asked.
"The iron ones," Alastor said as though Saeri was slow. He pointed to those that carpeted the tunnel.
"Now, I would be willing to take your bones back home, because it's the right thing to do...but I'm not entirely convinced. We have moral standards, among them not pimping out members of our group...but certainly, in the past, others came by with less moral implications. If you offered to open the door for a kiss to those, too, then how come nobody made it past? I don't doubt that you can go over there, but can you actually interact with the physical world? And secondly, and more important...if we return your bones to your family, you would get to pass on to the next realm - which still leaves us locked out from where this door leads...how about this...we retrieve the bones, and you unlock the door for us, to prove you can, then we return the bones to your family, and return here to an open door."
"They didn't pay attention. Lots of them didn't make it across to the door. And I can so still touch things!" Alastor kicked one of the iron spheres. "Take my bones home and I'll know. Ghosts know this stuff. I'll open the door before I go. It's really easy."
"'Ghosts know this stuff'?", Janus raises an eyebrow, "How often have you been released to the afterlife before that you can guarantee it will work like that? I swear to the gods, if we do as you ask and return here to find you tricked us, I'll personally dig the bones back up and scatter them through the countryside-"
"Well well let's not be hasty!" Lu glanced at Janus then back at the ghost. "First we need to find ze bones yeah? Do you *uhm* have any inkling as to where they may be? Something zat ghosts also know maybe?" Surveying the small sea of iron balls, Lu wasn't really looking forward to sifting trough *all* of them!
Chaïa started shifting through the layer of spheres on the ground around her, looking for any usefully suspicious shapes as she began working her way out. She frowned at Janus’ outrageous threat, but checked her instinctive outburst. One and the Three, save us from the posturing of… boys! she thought.
Keeping careful control over her voice, she said aloud, sweetly, “I think that would fall under the heading of unfinished business. Fate, or the fitness of things, looks after this sort of situation: since bones – excuse me, Alastor – won’t bury themselves, it becomes a matter of obligation. If I were in such a situation, I wouldn’t like opening a silly door or not to be what was keeping me from the goddesses.”
And, even if he can’t or won’t open the door for us, we’re no worse off than we were before he showed himself. Possibly better, if we don’t pick a fight with something that will probably take more magic than I’ve got to put to rest.
She returned casually to the process of looking for Alastor’s remains.
Saeri sighed slightly as she flipped over a card to gauge their chances of success if they bothered with this.
The Juggler... he who represents destiny, deities, and those who play with the fates of others. Lovely.
It wasn't a bad card, per se, but she certainly felt like the spirit was toying with them.
"'Ghosts know this stuff'?", Janus raises an eyebrow, "How often have you been released to the afterlife before that you can guarantee it will work like that? I swear to the gods, if we do as you ask and return here to find you tricked us, I'll personally dig the bones back up and scatter them through the countryside-"
"How many times you been dead?" Alastor said. "You know some way I can prove it to you beforehand? I'm not going to open the door now and watch you run in."
"Well well let's not be hasty!" Lu glanced at Janus then back at the ghost. "First we need to find ze bones yeah? Do you *uhm* have any inkling as to where they may be? Something zat ghosts also know maybe?" Surveying the small sea of iron balls, Lu wasn't really looking forward to sifting trough *all* of them!
Alastor floated over the spheres to one side, by the door. "Right here."
"All-righty zen." Lu mumbles to herself and leaves Janus and Alastor to work out their kinks. Instead she tried to shuffle her way to the indicated area of spheres, without tripping, and start to dig. Hopefully the corpse would be somewhat shallow but ... Not likely.
"Half a time.", Janus answers, holding one of the Spheres up and letting it drop, only for it to curve away and come to a halt almost 10 feet away. "My twin sister is caught between worlds without having died, and the whole reason I risk my life in places like this is because I hope to learn a way to bring her back."
Taking a few breaths to calm down, Janus continues:"I suggested for us to be on the other end of the beam. If you want, further away. You open it, and if we tried to rush in, you could easily close it again before we make it there. But the plan is that we leave, and you can safely pass on once we buried your bones, with no last-few-seconds frantic door opening needed before you go get yourself a girlfriend or two in the afterlife."
As the negotiations continued, Chaïa moved over to help Lucrecia at the spot Alastor indicated, pausing to extract a spare blanket from her bedroll to wrap up the boy’s remains for safe transport. She moved quietly, hushed by the solemnity of this part of her duties as a priestess, her mind already running over the prescribed litany for such a case.
"Half a time.", Janus answers, holding one of the Spheres up and letting it drop, only for it to curve away and come to a halt almost 10 feet away. "My twin sister is caught between worlds without having died, and the whole reason I risk my life in places like this is because I hope to learn a way to bring her back."
Taking a few breaths to calm down, Janus continues:"I suggested for us to be on the other end of the beam. If you want, further away. You open it, and if we tried to rush in, you could easily close it again before we make it there. But the plan is that we leave, and you can safely pass on once we buried your bones, with no last-few-seconds frantic door opening needed before you go get yourself a girlfriend or two in the afterlife."
"Fine," Alastor said, infinitely put upon. "All of you get out of the pit and go to the far side. I'll open the door. If you come running, it gets shut."
Saeri raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and followed the instructions. The reading hadn't been bad, after all, so it was probably fine to go along with this... at least for now.
"Thank you.", was all Janus commented to Alastor, before joining the others in retrieving the boys bones, then speaks up again:"How long ago was it you died? Any of your family likely to still be alive? If so, any messages? Like when and how you ended up here?"
The boy had said it was likely decades...but then, he had no real way to measure the passing of time, it could have been only a couple of years since he met his fate. Or centuries - but if he was here because he left his home, then helping him make peace with his family or their descendents would make sense.
"Thank you.", was all Janus commented to Alastor, before joining the others in retrieving the boys bones, then speaks up again:"How long ago was it you died? Any of your family likely to still be alive? If so, any messages? Like when and how you ended up here?"
The boy had said it was likely decades...but then, he had no real way to measure the passing of time, it could have been only a couple of years since he met his fate. Or centuries - but if he was here because he left his home, then helping him make peace with his family or their descendents would make sense.
"Decades. Maybe hundreds of winters," Alastor said, gesturing vaguely. "They're all long dead."
Once everyone was removed as he asked, he floated through the door. A moment later it opened, showing a dark chamber beyond.
"Well, thats your end of the bargain. Where do we bring these remains?", Janus shouts out, asking of Alastor.
Of course, there was more to consider. That active spell on the sarcophagus...they had found no one recently dead...or alive. So whoever placed the ward would likely still be in or near the complex.
They would also need to secure the lanterns...one would be enough to deny access to others...but that worked both ways, so they would need to bring all the lanterns along to secure access when they returned.
Lu peered into the dark chamber, trying to make anything out. She briefly considered having Arun try to sneak in but that seemed to dangerous. Also, how will he get any information back to us anyhow? "So... Yeah. A family name might help?"
If so...
"Well, thats your end of the bargain. Where do we bring these remains?", Janus shouts out, asking of Alastor.
Of course, there was more to consider. That active spell on the sarcophagus...they had found no one recently dead...or alive. So whoever placed the ward would likely still be in or near the complex.
They would also need to secure the lanterns...one would be enough to deny access to others...but that worked both ways, so they would need to bring all the lanterns along to secure access when they returned.
Alastor gave directions to a farm that should be three or four miles south of Daggerford.
"If it's a farm from a few hundred years ago, it might not be there anymore." Saeri warned. "We can bury you in the area, but there may be nothing really left at all. That's how farms go." Outside of major, city-run locations, anyway. "Best to make your peace with that now."
"If it's a farm from a few hundred years ago, it might not be there anymore." Saeri warned. "We can bury you in the area, but there may be nothing really left at all. That's how farms go." Outside of major, city-run locations, anyway. "Best to make your peace with that now."
Alastor shrugged, which sent his broken neck twisting in ways that looked intensely painful but didn't seem to bother him at all.
"I'll know when it's done."
Chaïa adjusted the bundle of bones the others had helped her to wrap up as she finished murmuring a preliminary prayer for the translation of mortal remains. It felt a bit strange to do so while their associated spirit was watching, but she was determined to do things properly, and there would be other words to say once the group found Alastor’s old home.
Once Janus, Lucrecia and Saeri coaxed a few more helpful details about where they would be going from the boy’s ghost, she nodded an acknowledgement, the only sign she could easily make around the mass of her grim burden.
"It will suffice to find the place", Janus nodded to the boys explanation.
Saeri was right, of course, in that nothing might be left of the farmstead - but it would still be pretty easy to identify a good location for a farm 3-4 miles south of the city, and bury him in the area.
Things would be more complicated if they found a farm run by someone else, and would need to explain to those people they wanted to bury some bones in their backyard...
"It will suffice to find the place", Janus nodded to the boys explanation.
Saeri was right, of course, in that nothing might be left of the farmstead - but it would still be pretty easy to identify a good location for a farm 3-4 miles south of the city, and bury him in the area.
Things would be more complicated if they found a farm run by someone else, and would need to explain to those people they wanted to bury some bones in their backyard...
Collecting the lanterns and making their way out of the cairn took Yellowknife's explorers half an hour. Much of it was spent on making sure the lanterns were all safely stowed away. About an hour's walk over uneven ground brought the explorers to where Alastor claimed his family farm stood. Another half hour found its footprint among the tumbledown stones, overgrown and touched with old soot. A few tumbled stones and rotted lengths of wood spoke to a long-ago fence.
A decent distance from the farmstead, a ring of trees stood about a collection of gravestones.
"Well, that seems convenient. I suppose that is the spot he wants to go.", Janus exclaims as he starts making his way to the collection of gravestones.
"With an out-of-the way homestead, it is a sensible arrangement, if rather lonely, I suppose," Chaïa agreed.
"I wonder how long his family stayed here, and where they ended up," she mused, counting the gravestones as she followed Janus, wondering what inscriptions the stones might bear.
"With an out-of-the way homestead, it is a sensible arrangement, if rather lonely, I suppose," Chaïa agreed.
"I wonder how long his family stayed here, and where they ended up," she mused, counting the gravestones as she followed Janus, wondering what inscriptions the stones might bear.
Chaia counted five stones, each etched with a name: Anders, Bemissa, Coldaran, Gertia, and finally Alastor. They were weathered and mossy, but still legibible. But as she and the others came into the small graveyard another fact caught their attention: open pits yawned before each, with piles of dirt to match and a few discarded shovels laying about.
“On second thought, this is far too convenient after all,” Chaïa said, as the group got close enough to see that the small graveyard had been – well, ‘disturbed’ would be putting it mildly. Despite the alarming state of the site and the solemnity of the task at hand, Chaïa’s curiosity took over again, tingeing her words with nervous excitement. She laid the bundle containing Alastor’s remains next to his grave and peeked in, before taking a look at the others. Were there no bodies buried here after all, and how recent a development might that have been?
“On second thought, this is far too convenient after all,” Chaïa said, as the group got close enough to see that the small graveyard had been – well, ‘disturbed’ would be putting it mildly. Despite the alarming state of the site and the solemnity of the task at hand, Chaïa’s curiosity took over again, tingeing her words with nervous excitement. She laid the bundle containing Alastor’s remains next to his grave and peeked in, before taking a look at the others. Were there no bodies buried here after all, and how recent a development might that have been?
Chaia found no trace of bodies anywhere in the holes. To judge from the state of the edges -not yet sunk in much- and the looseness of the piles, she thinks that the holes were likely dug within the last tenday.
Once she sees the open graves, Lu immediately draws her sword. Her head swivels from side to side as she tries to scan their surroundings as quickly as possible.
"Graverobbers?" she starts and mutters under her breath. "Bloody necromancers probably ..."
With that she calls for Arun to fly a lap around the area to see if there are any (other) suspicious types lurking about or more signs of nefarious activity.
"Hmph." Lu headed towards the graves since there were no obvious threat visible (yet). Looking into the empty holes and then the headstones she shrugged. "If all of his family are so picky we'll have a whole pack of pesky ghosts on our back. I don't want to drag around *zat* many dead bodies today - let's hope zey already have passed over with no intention of returning yeah."
Her excitement rapidly shifting to indignation as she found herself agreeing with Lucrecia’s hypothesis, Chaïa bit her lip and tried to keep herself under control. If they were resurrectionists of one form or another, they probably won’t have occasion to return, and in the meantime we do have to honour our side of the bargain with Alastor, so…
After a few moments of silence, Chaïa collected herself and resumed more calmly, “Alright. I doubt whoever did this will be back any time soon, and they know Alastor’s grave was empty, so it should be safe to continue as planned. But I think it would be best if we filled in the other graves too, if only loosely, so it’s not obvious that we’ve only buried one something.”
With that, she jumped down lightly into Alastor’s grave, reaching up to gently lower down the bundle of his last earthly remains before extricating herself with as much dignity as she could manage. If in life the boy had been anything like his ghost, he would have been an obnoxious brat, but Chaïa couldn’t bring herself to just throw down his bones for that. She paused to gather appropriate snippets of ritual so as not to leave even a stranger without a fraction of the due rites.
“It’s time,” she said, simply.
Saeri was more of an indoor sort of woman, but she moved over to help Chaia and the others dig, carefully moving dirt to bury figures properly. She'd leave any final rituals for those with priestly knowledge, though - her studies had been arcane rather than religious.
As Chaia begins to speak her rites, Arun flies off into the air. He returns moments later, reporting that's something large is moving beneath a part of the farm house roof that hasn't entirely given in
While Janus would have offered to help digging some more, or rather, returning dirt into Alastors open grave, the implication of necromancy was a grave one.
Luckily, mindless undead weren't particulary subtle about their motives, movement, or anything, really.
Janus checks the perimeter of the site to see if there's any obvious tracks, beyond those they made arriving...with only a ten-day or less passed, there could still be a trail left.
"Anything could have taken residence in that abandoned farm house. If there's a Bear with her young, I wouldn't want to be the one disturbing them...", Janus comments on Arun's findings...hoping there would be no tracks leading to the farm house...
"Or some sort of corpse-amalgam?" Lu suggests and rubs her nose. "I've heard zat's a zing bored wizards do ... At ze very least I d'nt zink a bear would dig up old graves right? Maybe it's just unrelated." She didn't sound too hopeful about the last part. With a sigh she lifted Arun into the sky once more. "All right. Keep an eye on ze house and tell us if it moves! Whatever it is."
Upon hearing Arun’s report, Chaïa changed the cadence of her prayers, to minimize disruption if they should be interrupted.On top of that, she started running through them more quickly, obviously jumpy. “May the Queen of Arvandor guard you, the Lady of Dreams guide you, the Winged Mother carry you, Lady Goldheart bring you to Sune’s embrace.”
She crouched down to touch the earth of Alastor’s newly-filled grave, and called forth a blessing in the names of her goddess – it was largely symbolic, but she had promised. Softly, she added, kindly, “I hope you find your kiss.”
"I agree that we shouldn't disturb it if it's just something living there." Saeri noted, doing a quick fortune anyway to try and determine the nature of what might be there.
...
On second thought, if its nature was the Locksmith, it was definitely worth examining.
While Janus would have offered to help digging some more, or rather, returning dirt into Alastors open grave, the implication of necromancy was a grave one.
Luckily, mindless undead weren't particulary subtle about their motives, movement, or anything, really.
Janus checks the perimeter of the site to see if there's any obvious tracks, beyond those they made arriving...with only a ten-day or less passed, there could still be a trail left.
[dice=Survival]1d20
"Anything could have taken residence in that abandoned farm house. If there's a Bear with her young, I wouldn't want to be the one disturbing them...", Janus comments on Arun's findings...hoping there would be no tracks leading to the farm house...
Now that he knew to look for something, Janus saw cart tracks in the dirt. It wasn't much on the hard-packed ground, but the pattern was clear. They led off toward the farmhouse ruin. Some markings that were probably footprints accompanied them.
Tracks?” Chaïa inquired, seeing Janus frowning at the ground on the periphery of the graveyard. She only really had the basics to try to get by in the wilds, but she thought she could pick out what he was looking at, and what that might mean.
She quickly drew and strung her bow, guessing that what Lu’s familiar had spotted was, if not dangerous itself, poking about in something suspicious.
"I guess that settles it," she said gaily, her insouciant tone failing to disguise her nervousness as she set off towards the ruined farmhouse as quickly as her limp allowed.
"A cart?" Lu sniffs. "Zat doesn't sound so bad - necromancer logistics department? Or maybe a cart-zombie hybrid ...heh zat would be something to see - at a distance!"
Lu brandished her sword and, as the prayers were done, lead the way towards the ruin.