Kiara follows the others through the curtain, idling wondering what was going to be for dinner, as well as what the rooms looked like.
The footman leads you through the hallway and then sharply to the left and up a plushly covered set of stairs. As you near your floor, you see that further ascension is barred by an ornate iron gate. You are then led down the hallway and pointed toward the available rooms. "When dinner is ready, I will return, in the meantime, is there anything else I can do for any of you?"
"Just this one question", Kiara asks, pointing at the large iron gate. "What is that gate blocking access towards?"
Chester flashes a delighted smile and gestures for his valet to make himself useful, pointing out the nearest room to claim as his own. "Outstanding. Provided everything is prepared within, I can think of nothing I shall require." At Kiara's question, he falls silent and turns an inquisitive gaze toward the footman. Perhaps that is where the hauntings are centered.
Yazmine looked around with interest, happy to be in a place that was clearly closer to her usual standards of quality. When Kiara inquires about the gate, she nods along, clearly also interested in what laid beyond.
The young man gives Kiara an uncertain look. "We're told it's not safe up there, I wouldn't test it if I were you...we've had a few accidents, I guess, from guests going up on the fourth floor."
"Oh, come now. Surely there's more to it than that. I rather doubt that you've not at the very least heard stories of the happenings therein. Fear not for scaring us off, I do love a good ghost story," Chester pries a bit further, trying to get more information out of the man. He simply cannot believe that they do not talk about whatever haunting might go on. Even if it is nothing more than a warning from the young man's superiors, it could prove telling.
"Master Pinough doesn't want me talking about it with the guests, says it drives them up to their dooms. Some people who go up there sir, they don't come back down, and we don't look for them. Some nights, you can smell them, still moldering up there, and some of the maids say you can hear them if you wait at the edge of the stairs. I won't, I'm not the kind to go looking for trouble." He looks around nervously.
Reaching out to pat the young man on the shoulder with a warm smile, Chester nods thoughtfully. That was good to know; though the group has no idea what sort of capabilities those who came before them possessed, it would help them gauge what to do next. If anything at all. He has every intention to try to convince the group to go upstairs, but the final decision is still theirs alone. He is not mad enough yet to attempt to do so without help.
"I appreciate your sincerity. Don't fret, we will keep this between us and your master need not know that you've told us anything at all. Do you know what started all of this? A violent death, perhaps?"
The tone and movements of the young bellhop lead Jacob to believe that he was legitimately frightened of something through the bars. "Please tell me that is a rehearsed monologue about dead guests. If there have been actual deaths or disappearances here then I will need to have words with the owner. I was lead to believe this was a novelty gag for tourists, not a legitimate threat. I don't take threats kindly."
"The old lord of the house, he murdered his entire household they say, I've seen him...he looks through the windows sometimes..." He's almost white as the walls, shivering.
Yazmine places a gentle arm around Jacob's shoulders. "Manners, young one! Working in the service industry is hardly the easiest job, now let's not make it any harder. If you'd like, you can make a bed on the floor with Kiara and me in our room should ghostly thoughts tickle your imagination too roughly in the night. And," she starts, leaning in and lowering her voice. "I promise we won't tell Aldric or Chester should you take us up on that offer."
With that, she gives Jacob a final pat and nods at the chap showing them about. "Alright, very spooky. Now let's get moving before Chester here tries to climb through the bars and see for himself."
"Oh, pish tosh. I'm hardly going to go gallivanting off on my own without the rest of you in a haunted house. That sounds...wildly outrageous and more than a bit thrilling, if I do say so myself. But I shall resist," Chester proclaims with more than a bit of amusement touching his tone at Yazmine's comment.
He steps forward to pat their guide on the back companionably as he offers what he hopes to be a reassuring smile. "Easy now, young man, don't get yourself too worked up. We'll not trouble you any further about the past. Let's look now to the present and get situated in our rooms, shall we?" The question is more directed at his own group, but if the young man wishes to lend a hand, he doubts anyone will turn him down.
The available rooms are on either side of the hallway, the room with the single bed is on the north side and closest to the stairwell. Peeking inside, you'll find luxurious rugs, oak furniture and ample beds. Pinough wasn't exaggerating, this is probably one of the finest places to stay in Ustalav, many other places too.
For the average male youth, the chance to spend a night with two attractive women would have been once in lifetime opportunity. But Jacob was not your average youth so his instinct was to look at her suspiciously. "Thanks but no. I will have my own room and I will not be disturbed," he says directing the last bit at the bellhop. "Knock before entering."
Chester could not help but let out a soft chuckle and shake his head as Jacob turns down such an offer. Terribly amusing, considering their circumstances, but he could hardly judge. The man seemed to be far more studious than sociable and there was no harm in preferring time to be alone. "Well, I'm sure they're both heartbroken. Truly. That said, I've half a mind to get myself settled in before dinner. Do excuse me, won't you?"
The cleric turns and makes for the room nearest the barred stairs with his overburdened valet in tow. Just before the door slides closed behind him, he pops his head back out with a sheepish smile. "Ah, Aldric. If you've a moment, would you mind lending me a hand?" With that, he was gone again, disappeared within to tend to whatever was giving him trouble, presumably.
Yasmine watches the exchange between Chester and Aldric with an arched brow that seriously risked disappearing into her hairline with how far she raised it. Once Aldric disappeared with Chester, she leaned in to Kiara. "Didn't know they swung that way..." she whispers in a low voice, barely suppressing a chuckle. "Such a sweet budding romance."
She straightens up and looks to their host with a smile. "I think I'd also like to set my bags in my room. If you would lead the way?"
Within the room, Chester seems to be having as little difficulty with his things as one would expect. In fact, he seems far too preoccupied with mopping at his face and neck with a damp cloth. The moment the door closes behind Aldric though, he looks to the larger man with an expression of somber sincerity.
"Though I realize our true goal lies elsewhere within these lands, I believe it would be in our best interest to find a way through those bars. I'll understand if you disagree with me on the matter, but I do feel it could benefit us a great deal. Both to perhaps cause the owners here to view us in a positive light and potentially to...bolster our forces, shall we say?
"I asked you within to keep the staff here in the dark, not the rest of our companions. If you're amenable to the idea, perhaps we ought to endeavor to get the rest on board, as they say."
"I will keep my belongings. Where will dinner be?" Jacob asks.
Kiara listens to Yasmine with faint amusement, watching Chester and Aldric heading off for some private time. "Yes indeed, I wonder who prefers to wear the pants in that particular relationship", she responds, the hint of a smile curling around her mouth, before turning back toward the young man serving them. "I would also appreciate seeing our own room...if you could be so kind"
"I believe so, yes. But while I am confident in my own capabilities and all of yours, I should think that we will do far better if we work together. Bolster one another's strengths and cover weaknesses and whatnot," Chester replies as he tosses the soaked cloth back into a wash basin. "The true question is how we will be getting through those bars. Regrettably, I am not entirely skilled in the fine art of opening locks. Ideas?"
The young man leaves the group to its socializing, returning some twenty minutes later with a small gilded tray, knocking politely at each door. "Hello again, Master Pinough requests your company for dinner, and that you place the rent for your rooms on this tray. He's very particular about coin."
After each room has been paid for, the youth escorts you down to the dining room, where awaits you a long table able to sit twenty guests, though only ten places are adorned with fruits and glasses filled with wine. Pinough stands near the head of the table and smiles at your arrival. "Again, welcome!" he quietly inspects the coinage on the tray, then continues, "Excellent, please take your seats, dinner is about to be served. If it please you, avoid sitting in this chair," he gestures to the chair at the head of the table, "bad luck seems to follow, nightmares and such are known to occur, so we leave it empty, as it is thought to please the old master of the house. Tonight we will be serving fresh fruit, roasted boar and strawberry pudding. You may avail yourself of our large stock of spirits as well, we will be happy to assist."
Yazmine walks into her and Kiara's shared room, tossing her things on one of the beds. Her servant brings up the rest of her things and places them in a tidy stack at the foot of the bed. Yazmine makes herself quiet comfortable.
By the time their host comes to fetch them for dinner, Yazmine has had a chance to refresh herself. "Excellent. Time to cure that rumbling my belly has been feeling since our arrival!" she said with a grin. "It all sounds delightful I do hope the late master of the house sees fit to join us this evening. It would be rather exciting, if I do say so myself."
Before following the man down for dinner, she waits on Kiara to ensure they go together. Female bonding at it's finest, Yazmine figures.
Kiara follows into her shared room, and quietly examines the room. Truth be told, the room was much more lavish than she was used to, although it reminded her of another time, which was more than a little unsettling. After taking a moment to freshen up, Kiara follows Yazmine out of the room, and down for dinner, deciding that with the possibility of supernatural events happening while inside the building, it was best to stick together.
The staff visibly pale at Yazmine's comment about the "late master", but attempt to continue on with their duties as if nothing had been said.
"True enough. I will have to consider just how the staff might be swayed to our cause, then. Regardless, I believe we are fashionably late to dinner. Come, let us join the others."
Down at dinner, Chester arrives just in time to note a thoroughly pale staff as the majority of his companions are already seated. With a soft chuckle, he asks aloud on his way to his own chair, "What's given all of them such a fright? It's as though you've seen a ghost." Without meaning to, he moves to sit at the head of the table as he missed the warning. Assuming no one stops him, of course.
Jacob takes a moment to get settled into his room. He lays out tomorrows clothes, moves the bedside table to be exactly 4 inches from the bed, folds the covers back, and a number of other compulsive actions. He keeps his pack and wallet within close reach though. He smiles smugly at the knock on the door. Good. He picks up his belongings and heads down to join the others for dinner.
Pinough deftly grabs the back of the chair Chester is about to sit in, pulling it away. "I am sorry, but before you sit in this chair, you must know that it is cursed. Men have died from sitting in it."
Chester lifts his eyebrows in surprise and does not hesitate to step away from the chair with an apologetic smile. "Ah, my mistake. You will have to excuse the faux pas, I fear I was unaware. Do you have a recommendation as to where to sit to avoid imminent death?"
Yazmine can't help but laugh at Chester's antics as she takes her own spot along the side of the table. "Well aren't you just brushing the horse against the hair," she commented with a suspicious look at Chester. She didn't know what he was up to, but it had to be something besides stolen moment's with Aldric.
"Ah, Jacob. You're looking more pleasant than I'm accustomed to from you. Room to your liking, or at least more so than the last place, hmm?"
Jacob, for once, maintains a neutral mask rather than a full scowl. "I wouldn't get used to it. Ghost story aside, this place meets the bare minimum standards all inn's should adhere to. And there is no basis for comparison there. It's like trying to compare protection from evil to mage armor. In name they both protect but form, function, and execution they are all different. Its a futile argument."
"Regardless of the circumstances, I do believe that I will be sitting elsewhere," Chester replies quickly as he moves to settle himself beside Yazmine at the table. "Even so, I confess that I am curious about the nature of the chair itself." With a soft murmured prayer to a mysterious god, Chester casts detect magic on the chair from his seat.
Pinough purses his lips, considering his response to Aldric, "Not immediately, no. Something happens to them in the night, they cannot be found in the morning. Every time, dear guests, please refrain from sitting upon it."
"You may inspect the chair, of course..." Pinough gestures to the chair with a little flourish.
Chester tries to suppress a shiver as he gives the chair a good once-over with his mystical senses. How he missed that when he first walked up to it is a mystery in and of itself, but he shoves those questions aside for now. Best to figure out just why it feels so wrong before making any assumptions. "It is certainly a lovely piece of furniture, though I do see now just what you mean. May I ask if there is a tale behind the malevolent forces there specifically? Or within the estate as a whole, if you would prefer?"
Pinough clears his throat, "That chair, and the entire house in fact, was once the property of Marius Beumhal, and in a sense perhaps it still is. Lord Beumhal, in a fit of madness, some say, noosed and hung the entire household, and himself. Many...in this very room. Their spirits sometimes are seen at night, I've seen several myself."
Yazmine leaned forward on the table in interest. Ghost stories were not common in Qadira mainly because anything associated with the undead was highly frowned upon. Telling such stories to children might invoke a dangerous curiosity in children and no one wanted that.
"Fascinating! I hear the temperature drops when you come in close proximity with a ghost. Is it true?"
Jacob sighs loudly. "Yes. Yes. Very interesting. Can we eat now?"
Pinough turns to Yazmine, "It's true, it's quite...forgive me...a chilling experience. And yes, please partake of the meal! I do hope you enjoy your stay here with us, now if you'll excuse me, I have some upkeep I must attend to." Pinough bows. The servants stand ready to serve.
Yazmine needs no further instruction and quickly begins shoveling food into her mouth at an alarming rate. Of course, anyone who has even been half paying attention would know she hasn't been able to keep a meal down on that boat and she was often found emptying her stomach over the edge.
"So assuming Chester doesn't go out of his way to get us all killed tonight by disturbing every ghost supposedly in this place, how many more days you figure we have left on the boat?"
"I haven't the slightest idea what you're referring to," Chester replies, but he does not make the least bit of effort to cover his lie. Instead, he simply begins to tuck into his food with the rest of the group, though the shadow of a thoroughly amused smile does touch his lips between bites. "I must say, since we're on the topic, that it would be quite the adventure to brave ghosts and ghouls. Certainly an appropriate way to test our capabilities, no?"
"No!" Kiara responds, frustrated at the current topic at hand."I don't have a particular desire to match spells against an undead creature that tends to resist most of the magic I have access to".
Ghalmont takes his seat near the center of the table, eyeing the cursed chair intensely. His attention breaks at the mention of disturbing the dead. "No thank you very much, my friend, I would rather not interfere with the plans at hand. There will be much to overcome in the wilderness, and I would rather spend my time empire building than meddling in the affairs of counties outside of our charter."
"Words of wisdom," Jacob says, agreeing with the older Varisian.