John had to venture down the stairs and into the 'hospital' tent, but he eventually found Dr. Elbourne. Once they were back in private and John told him the plan, the doctor nodded. "I hadn't even thought of that. Good idea."
"It depends which way you want to go. The kitchen is haunted, but it's otherwise a straight line from here to the northwest tower if you want to go that way. If you want to avoid the kitchen, you'll have to go outside, through the courtyard, and then loop around back north."
"What's one more haunt?" John asks.
"Keeping out of sight of the assembled nutjobs outside is probably our best move."
"We think the kitchen is the better way as well. We don't like the thought of being out near the mist."
While Broom was genuinely uncomfortable with the thought of going outside, she was also eager to see what she might find in the kitchen. Any thoughts of what kinds of horrors one might find in a haunted kitchen in a nightmarish asylum never crossed her mind.
Desdemona nodded at the others' suggestions - unlike Broom, she had immediately thought of a dozen horrible things they might find in the kitchen, but none of them were as awful as the inevitablility of the Tatterman - and he seemed to stick to the yellow mist.
Less than eager, but with her curiosity sparked at the idea of the mist-spewers, she steeled her will and prepared to follow her companions.
"Let's... not go outside just yet if we can avoid it, yes?" Reine put words to everyone else's thoughts.
"What kind of haunt," she asked the doctor. "And what's guarding the smoke-eater? I don't like surprises. When I get surprised, people get hurt."
Wren took a step back from the suddenly imposing Reine. "I don't... I don't know if it has guards. But, uh, I've heard that section of the asylum is overrun with ghouls and face-stealing shapeshifters." Which corresponded with all the survivors' experience in the section north of the chapel.
"I can show you to the kitchen doors, if you're ready now."
"We're short on healing magic because our healers are headed back to the south of the asylum? Do you have anything you could share with us? If there are ghouls and dopplegangers up there we're sure to be fighting." John asks the doctor.
Broom quickly gathered up her cloth and made ready to leave. As John explained the situation to the doctor Broom felt frustrated once more that she couldn't fix people.
"You've 'heard' that, eh?" Reine gave the doctor a dark look. "Is there anything else that you've 'heard,' that you might want to remember before we go through the kitchen? Like, for example, details about the haunting, and whether we can avoid it or not? Or a stash of healing potions in the pantry - that kind of thing?" She wasn't deliberately trying to frighten the man, but her typically angry demeanor had returned, and it showed in her glare.
The doctor shook his head quickly and took another step away from Reine. "It's marked off by rocks to keep people away from it! I know it makes some people sick! But not everyone. We think... we think it's the old cook's ghost who's angry!"
Wren gestured to the northwest and took another step away. "The door's over there, unlocked. I have to... I have to go check on my patients!" With that, he fled the terrifying woman and her companions.
Miniel made a noise as the doctor fled. It was hard to tell if it was appreciation or amusement. "With allies like that, we can't help but succeed." She looked at the group readying itself to return to the chapel. "I think I will go with them. We need to keep the chapel safe and secure."
John will cautiously try the door and look into the supposedly haunted kitchen.
(+1 for traps)
Broom peeked over John's shoulder as he investigated the door. "The eye wanted to see itself, the child in the dark wanted his lamp, the birds wanted out of their cage and the old woman wanted her medicine. What do you suppose a cook would want? We know We want people to enjoy the meal and be satisfied when We cook."
"He probably wants a sack of potatoes"
Broom furrowed her brow as she thought about what John had said. "Well... the soil We saw outside looked a little too sandy to grow potatoes, but that might not matter if there is enough rain.
She shrugged "We don't know, it sounds good to Us. But We don't have any potatoes with Us. Maybe he might just want some spices? Some of the ones We found in Our other stuff look kind of exotic."
"He's dead," Reine said flatly, looking behind them to make sure no one was reacting to the group scouting a door that she suspected was used regularly by the 'apostles.' "He's probably just pissed off about being dead."
She shrugged, and lowered her voice. "Wren said the haunted part is marked off with stones. We don't have to put the poor bastard to rest, we just need to go by the thing without setting it off. Then all we have to do is kill or avoid ghouls and dopplegangers, get to this smoke-blower, and decide what to do from there, right?"
John nods to Reine.
"The direct approach ... no mucking about with the potato guy."
The unlocked door opened onto a wide, long room that was obviously once a large industrial kitchen. A row of fireplaces stood among heaps of barrel-sized pots and cooking implements in the ruins. The kitchens have suffered heavy damage, both from the quakes and from being a primary target for looting. The northeastern corner of the room was completely caved in, leaving nothing but a large pile of rubble.
Several doors led south and west, while multiple corners of the L-shaped room have collapsed in addition to the northeast corner.
Even from here they could tell something was wrong- the cauldron over the kitchen’s cold westernmost fireplace rattled like something in it was boiling hard. A line of large rocks deliberately cordoned off the westernmost door, blocking the group's path.
Broom looked about in dismay at the sorry state the kitchen was in. Despite its dilapidated condition though, there were a lot of useful utensils lying about that she could clean up and put to good use.
"We would think that the doors to the left lead to the pantry or larder. Maybe we can find something in there that will calm the potato man?"
She kept glancing back over to the pot bubbling away on the cold stove. She didn't know what was in it, but the roiling boil and fact it had a lid on made her wonder. If it was something she had made, what would she want done with it in this circumstance?
"Or, We could have It go and tend to the pot? Maybe bring back a sample so we knew what was in it?" Broom waved vaguely at the air beside her. She didn't actually know where the servant was since she couldn't see it. She just had a vague notion that it was nearby somewhere.
John steps into the room to look for danger, concerned that Broom might wander into a trap.
(+1 for traps)
He stays outside of the area marked with stones for now.
While Broom pokes about, John will check the southeastern-most door for danger and then take a look at what's on the other side.
(+1 for traps)
Despite the earlier talk about leaving the potato man alone, John's non-committal shrug and the lack of response from anyone else was all the permission Broom needed to indulge her own curiosity.
She poked about in the cupboards until she found a ladle or spoon and then cleaned it up with her cantrip. Then, while John was examining the other doors she stood on the safe side of the line of rocks and held out the utensil.
"Go over there, give the pot a stir and then come back with a spoonful of whatever is in it." she commanded her helper.
Barring any interference, the spoon floated in the air as the mysterious force began to carry out its tasks.
While Broom pokes about, John will check the southeastern-most door for danger and then take a look at what's on the other side.
The southeastern door was unlocked and actually led into a room that was actually in use. Sizable cracks split the surface of the south wall of this room, allowing the smoke of several small cooking fires to escape. John could see a couple of people in yellow tending pots on the cook fires. To his right was a huge pile of potatoes, and from the smell that was what they were cooking.
He couldn't see around the far corner, but from what he could see from his place at the door, the southern side of the room was choked with rubble.
Despite the earlier talk about leaving the potato man alone, John's non-committal shrug and the lack of response from anyone else was all the permission Broom needed to indulge her own curiosity.
She poked about in the cupboards until she found a ladle or spoon and then cleaned it up with her cantrip. Then, while John was examining the other doors she stood on the safe side of the line of rocks and held out the utensil.
"Go over there, give the pot a stir and then come back with a spoonful of whatever is in it." she commanded her helper.
Barring any interference, the spoon floated in the air as the mysterious force began to carry out its tasks.
Nothing bothered her as she approached or It as it crossed the ring of stones, but the moment It started stirring the pot the clattering got even louder and the big cooking pot turned over onto its side. Instead of liquid pouring out, white mist oozed out, quickly swelling toward Broom.
But the mist stopped just inside the ring of stones, and the area around the pot and near the door was soon so misty it was hard to see. Broom could hear a man moaning in the mist, though, and could just make out the shape of a person moving around in it.
It came back a moment later, apparently ignored by the thing in the mist, with an empty ladle.
"Looks like I was right about the potatoes...." John mutters to himself.
He steps in, acting like he belongs and knows what he is doing and steps forward to see around the corner and if the door in the west wall looks like it might get them around the haunted cook-pot in the other room.
Reine, having been watching the rear, didn't realize what was going on until she got impatient and glanced into the room. By that time, Broom was standing by the stones, staring at the mist, and a floating ladle.
"What are you doing?" she muttered quietly, but not loud enough to be heard more than a foot or so away, as she didn't dare break Broom's concentration. So she simply shook her head and nudged Des (surprisingly gently), motioning for the smaller woman to lead the way into the kitchen before she followed.
Desdemona joined Broom, going perhaps a bit farther than Reine had intended.
"An interesting reaction," she agreed, turning to look for any clue of what the haunt might want, with the potatoes or cooking implements or whatever else she might spot.
It was too misty to venture a guess, though.
"Oh for-" Reine cut herself off and sighed. [b"When you're done over there,"[/b she said instead, "we should probably follow John." She pointed to where John had stepped through the door.
Desdemona nodded distractedly, and followed John, her habitual smile a bit vague as she thought. She was thinking so hard, she even forgot to keep an eye on her shadow... but it was behaving, for now.
Peeking quickly through the door, she then drew back, her brow furrowed.
"I expect there's murder on the menu if we progress that way," she whispered.
Broom watched as the pot started to bubble more violently, first with interested and then with growing concern as it tumbled over and began spewing mist. She took an uncertain step or two backwards, her curiosity faltering as the vapours approached.
She was just about to flee when the mist stopped at the line of stones. Broom smiled again as relief washed over her.
She waited some more as the magical miasma filled up the area just beyond the stones. She took a few more steps away from the fog once the figure could be seen within.
"Hello? Is there anything we can do to help you?" she called out to whoever was lurking in the fog while keeping a little distance between the roiling mist and herself.
The return of her invisible companion startled her as the spoon emerged from the fog. She examined what it had brought and was disappointed that the spoon was empty.
"Maybe that is why the haunt is angry, its pot is empty?"
As she pondered Broom became aware of the smell of boiling potatoes and smoke. She peeked around the corner into the room John had just entered and gasped. "How did you know this was all about potatoes? The ghost must want one!" she whispered in wonder to John as she though "John is just as smart as Xander!"
"Looks like I was right about the potatoes...." John mutters to himself.
He steps in, acting like he belongs and knows what he is doing and steps forward to see around the corner and if the door in the west wall looks like it might get them around the haunted cook-pot in the other room.
Neither the man nor the woman busy over the cook fires gave John any mind. As he rounded the corner, he saw that the southern side of the room wasn't just choked with rubble. The rubble had been pushed into waist high piles in front of two doors, and a pair of armed and armored guards sat chatting, not paying too much attention to the kitchen or the heavily barricaded doors.
She waited some more as the magical miasma filled up the area just beyond the stones. She took a few more steps away from the fog once the figure could be seen within.
"Hello? Is there anything we can do to help you?" she called out to whoever was lurking in the fog while keeping a little distance between the roiling mist and herself.
The figure in the mist had already been moaning, so it could have been coincidence that it happened to moan "...whyyyyy? Why did you kill me?"
John nods as if he had just been checking on the barricades and guards and turns around to walk back out to the others.
When he reaches Des and Reine he says: "Looks like they've barricaded all the doors here and they're guarding them. They might be worried about the corpse eaters the doc told us about."
"Looks like we've got two options. We either force our way through this room, meaning we probably either have to bluff or fight the guards, or we try to get past the haunted stew pot."
"If it comes to a fight back there, we'll probably have to take care of the cooks as well as the guards or they'll run and raise an alarm."
Broom was startled and unnerved at the accusation from the mist before she went to see what John was doing.
"Why don't we just talk with them and see where the doors go?"
The guards are just guarding the doors barricaded by the rubble, not the doors that lead into the interior of the building. It didn't look like they were paying too much attention to the kitchen itself or who was coming in and out so long as they weren't trying to enter from the courtyard.
So, not guarding the door in the west wall leading to unknown territory?
If not, John will walk back in, cross the room, and try that door to see if it opens.
The guards watched John as he crossed the kitchen but didn't get up. Apparently the group's nod in the Apostles direction with their yellow armbands was enough to mark them as belonging. They didn't even try to stop the stranger as he went to open the door, though one of them did snort when collapsed debris that had apparently just been shoved back by the door almost fell onto John.
"Can't go that way," said the amused guard. He was right- the passageway beyond the door was choked with rubble.
(+1 for traps)
Over his shoulder John grunts "Checking to make sure they still can't get in."
Still a little shaken by the ghost's accusation, Broom watched the cooks for a bit before speaking. "Hi, Our name is Broom. Is this all there is left to eat, just boiled potatoes?"
The woman looked over at Broom. She looked haggard and near exhaustion. "Near enough. We've got enough potatoes to last us 'til the end of days but most everything else ran out. I been makin' potato-leek soup but now even the leeks're gone." The female cook eyed Broom, who in spite of the group's adventures looked much healthier than any of the survivors back in the camp. "D'you have anything y'could share? We got a lot of mouths to feed."
John, while looking for traps, noticed a mound of rubble that looked deliberately placed, like someone had piled it up there on purpose in between the door where he was and the haunted kitchen.
John will pull out his old, spare dagger and flip over a few stones and other pieces of rubble to see if something was being concealed.
(+1 for traps)
It took a little while to shift the rubble out of the way, but John eventually found a man's body buried near the haunted kitchen. From the looks of it, he'd been beaten to death and then hastily buried in the debris from the collapsed ceiling.
John steps out of the little room, turns to the guards, and asks: "Are you guys burying dead bodies in this room? It seems like it's a little close to the food, and it might be what is attracting ghouls."
Broom rummaged through her pack. She had left all the food she had with the survivors in the chapel and thus had nothing of substance. She brightened up when she remembered the personal items she had found in the store room.
"We don't have any food left, but we do have these." she said as she pulled out some packets of spices from the collection. She chose ones that would go well with potatoes and gave the cook all she had. "These should at least give a little more variety in the dishes, even if they are all made from potatoes."
After handing over the spices she asked "Do you know anything about the ghost in the other room?"
John steps out of the little room, turns to the guards, and asks: "Are you guys burying dead bodies in this room? It seems like it's a little close to the food, and it might be what is attracting ghouls."
The guards stood up quickly, shaking their heads. "What? No! Who's dead? Was it ghouls?"
Broom rummaged through her pack. She had left all the food she had with the survivors in the chapel and thus had nothing of substance. She brightened up when she remembered the personal items she had found in the store room.
"We don't have any food left, but we do have these." she said as she pulled out some packets of spices from the collection. She chose ones that would go well with potatoes and gave the cook all she had. "These should at least give a little more variety in the dishes, even if they are all made from potatoes."
The woman's haggard face lit up and she went to give Broom an excited hug. "Thank Desna! You've made my dreams come true! This is fantastic, thank you! Everyone will be... well, maybe not happy, but they'll like supper better." She smiled warmly at Broom. "Thank you. Really, thank you."
After handing over the spices she asked "Do you know anything about the ghost in the other room?"
The woman's face fell and she sighed. "That's Calabren. He used to be head cook. He was doing the cooking here for us but one day he got on Aggra's bad side and she had her people... well, he's not too happy about it. You should avoid him. But if you just stay away from his pot you'll be fine. He doesn't move around."