"Seems like the owlbear family had a fight on its hands with the five grave robbers. They got one of them, but the other 4 killed Papa owlbear and 3 other babies. I guess Mama here drove them off, before we showed up. So they're most likely wounded and/or exhausted some spells, if any of them were mages or clerics. Speaking to Garavin would seem like the best choice."
Feres examines his companions' wounds following the battle with the owlbear. "By the Grace of Sarenrae, the Healing Flame, may your wounds be mended!" the stout priest intones as he raises his holy symbol, invoking the power of his goddess. A warm radiance flows outward from the symbol, washing over the wounded explorers and leaving them with a fleeting sensation of basking in the sunlight of a pleasant summer's day.
"Do you think Allustan would be interested in purchasing a baby owlbear?" Feres asks Bubba.
Valgrim:
Valgrim studies the tracks trying to determine boot size, weight, etc. He takes some dirt from the farm and the gravesite so he can identify it later if he sees it again.
After this, Valgrim comes back, picks up the baby owlbear, rubs his head and soothes him. "This beast, though cute and cuddly at this age, is feral at heart and will grow to a huge size, as we have sen. We will never be able to tame or domesticate him so he will always pose a danger to the community at large. It would be best to sell him to a conscientious buyer. Allustan is a good choice, Friar."
With that, Valgrim suggests the party head back to Wolfstone and speak to Garavin.
Chisora wrinkles her nose at the thought of feeding the Owlbear an arm, but doesn't stop the Half-Orc.
"Should we mayhap search the farmstead first at least for something to take back to the Ghost so that he can see that we were here but have other things to see to in case we need to tell him the story of his missing family?"
"Chisora, we can't negotiate with a ghost. Until we break the curse, he won't open the door for us and to do so, we need to bury his bones alongside his family's, which is a problem now that his family's bones are missing. At least, that's what I understood, so going back to the ghost now would be useless. We should follow the tattoo connection and find the people responsible."
On your way back to town I suspect your first stop will be to ask Allustan for help in disposing of the owlbear cub. Actually he is happy to take care of that for you. He promises to get in touch with Manzorian and is willing to give you a receipt for 3000 gp or the equivalent in magic items.
Your search for Garavin Vesst is met with condescending smiles though, since the man has been dead for over a year. Balabar Smenk, one of the most powerful mine owners in Wolfstone, drove him out of business and took over his crew.
Gather Information 15 or Knowledge (local) 15:
Gather Information 15 or Knowledge (local) 15: ** spoiler omitted **
Gather Information 15 or Knowledge (local) 15: ** spoiler omitted **
Valgrim will speak to Allustan and say, "Thank you for the assistance with the owlbear cub. Make sure he finds a good home. For me share of the 3000 gp (500 gp) and these additional 100 gp, I would appreciate if you could treat it as a down payment and look into acquiring some magical gloves for me that me hear improve the user's reflexes and coordination (). Of course, I do not expect the gloves until they are paid in full, but as soon as I come into more gold, I will come see you."
Vug says, "I have to stop by the lab, but I'll meet you at the F-f-feral Dog in about an hour."
She places the sample of brown mold in a jar and brews up a new dose of dexterity tonic.
After negotiating with Allustan, Valgrim kills some time crafting his axe and then heads to the Feral Dog to meet up with the party.
"I'm not in the market for magic items... at least, none that I could afford yet. But is there a good place where I could trade in my studded leather armor or greataxe for masterwork ones?"
(Urg neglects to mention that the last time he tried to trade up his old armor, the prospective traders refused to accept anything that "stinks of orc.")
Urg: Crommard the visiting sage has a nice orcish masterwork greataxe for sale and doesn't mind things reeking of orc, so you can trade in your stuff at the usual rates.
At the Feral Dog things are lively as they are wont to be. If you're looking for an opportunity to speak to Kullen or his gang (or just size them up), there should be ample opportunities. They match the tracks Valgrim found quite nicely. Apart from the towering albino half-orc that is Kullen, there is a wiry goon with long black hair that tends to hide his face, a burly one with close-cropped brown hair and a red scar across his face, and a bald, ill-tempered wizard (at least he looks and behaves like one).
Valgrim looks to Bub and says in a low tone, "I think you'd better handle this. See those fine folks over there in the corner booth, it's clear by their bootprints that they were the ones who stole the bones and if I go talk to them, me axe is going to do the talkin' for me, cause ain't nothin' worse than graverobbers! Well, maybe the undead themselves, but nothing else much worse and I will let me prejudicesss take over, so if we want a diplomatic solution, I ain't the one." Valgrim pauses, "Now if you want to jump them outside, when they're fine and drunk and beat the information out of them, I'm your guy!"
"Yes, I will talk to Kullen and see if I can convince him to give us the bones. Should I offer him gold?"
Valgrim grimaces. "Sorry to say, but I cannot out of good conscious reward/pay grave-robbers! Nope, will not give 1 copper toward that goal. You may offer them all your gold, if ye wish!"
"Valgrim's right -- why should we reward them for desecrating the dead? But I'll trust your judgment, Bub."
Vug grimaces and smacks her lips a few times, trying to get the aftertaste of drink #39 out of her mouth.
"I won't offer them gold at first and we'll see where it goes."
Bubba approaches Kullen and his gang.
"Kullen my brother, may I have a word with you?"
"I have word that you might know something about the remains of the Land family that were exhumed from their graves at the homestead. My friends and I are also interested in those bones and I was hoping we could work something out."
"Actually we are concerned that possession of those bones might not be, well, exactly safe. You see, we met with the ghost of one of the family members, and are hoping to to reunite him with the rest of his family so he will stop haunting us, and before those bones turn into ghosts as well."
"All we need to do is bury them all back at the homestead."
Kullen looks at Bubba for a moment, his eye roving as if he is looking for something to break in two. Then he suddenly guffaws and gives Bubba a friendly shove (or what passes for it among half-orcs):
"Bubba, old friend, it's been far too long. How's things up at that posh establishment of yours? Funny you should be after those old bones. They did cost us one of our own already, you know, even without the ghosts. I'd gladly give them to you just to be rid of them, but fact is that we don't have them."
His brow darkens: "You don't think we go digging up old dirt like that for fun, do you? That was a commission. A stinking rat of a guy named Filge, a necromancer or something. The skinny little bastard wanted some bones from us, dunno what for, some of that filthy business of theirs I guess, and was ordering us around like simple servants. Couldn't go to the cemetary, could we, so we ended up at this old farmstead. Slim pickings it was too, since one of the graves was empty." He clenches his pewter mug at the memory, hard enough for his fingers to make indentations in it. "You can find both him and the bones (as far as I know of) in the old observatory up on the hill."
As Bubba turns to leave he grabs his arm and adds one thing as an afterthought "Do me a personal favor," he says with a broken-toothed smile. "Bring me back that thin bastard’s eyes." You know Kullen well enough to know that he's not joking.
Valgrim congratulates Bubba after he finishes with the half-orc and reveals to us the information. "Excellent job, my friend, you have a way with words! This Filge, a necromancer? In town? Arrgh! This really boils me blood! We needs to stop his deseceration of the dead...right now!"
"Valgrim!" Vug chides her friend. "How narrow-minded of you! There's nothing wrong with studying death and dying. But to dig up a f-f-family's grave site, that's just disrespectful. The world is f-full of dead bodies that no one else is using."
"Bah, nothing to study from the dead, other than to wish their souls good luck in the afterlife! Besides, necromancers don't want the bones to study, they need them to create their skeletal armies! I'm going to put me axe in this Filge"
"Do me a personal favor," he says with a broken-toothed smile. "Bring me back that thin bastard’s eyes."
"Will do, and thanks for the information." Bubba buys Kullen and his gang a round.
The observatory that Kullen mentioned is situated just outside town.
What do you want to do next?
Head there right now is my vote.
Vug is ready to roll, now that she has her new Cat's Breath tonic prepared.
"I'm ready for anything," Urg boasts, forgetting the swarm. "Check out this weapon." He swings his new axe carelessly. "Just tell me who to fight."
Friar Feres meets his companions as they are leaving the Feral Dog. "Did you find the ones who took the Land family's remains?" he asks.
After Bubba tells him what Kullen revealed, Feres' expression darkens. "A necromancer you say, stealing the remains of innocents? I agree, Valgrim, this can lead to no good. Let's get Chisora and head to that observatory at once!"
You collect Chisora and head off at once.
Five minutes north of Diamond Lake, on a bluff overlooking an abandoned mine, a crumbling old observatory casts its gaze to the heavens. A wide slit bisects its domed tower, where surely a great telescope once peered into eternity. Now the place bears a dark character, like a sagging tenement broken under the weight of decades of inhabitants.
A slim stairway cut into the steep hillside leads to the structure’s only door, on the side of the tower’s attached one-story outbuilding. Flickering light filters through the observatory’s only windows, along the tower’s second and third floors.
The stairway rises to a wide landing and two huge wooden doors. Shot through with dark blue mold, the doors form an enormous round moon carved with a lunatic’s jabbering face. Beneath the landing, an unremarkable wooden door appears to lead to a tool closet under the stairs.
Valgrim approaches the huge wooden doors and whispers to the party before entering the necromancer's lair, "Remember, blunt weapons for skeletons and slashing for zombies. Anything else, you're on your own!" Valgrim smiles, pulls out his sling and loads a stone, as he quietly tries the front door and turns the handle with his left hand to see if it opens.
The door is locked (and so is the door to the closet under the stairs). Vug could probably get it open, but defers until you have cleared it for traps.
Vug drinks her Cat's Breath tonic and again assumes a somewhat furry aspect. She defers to Chisora in the trapfinding and lockpicking department, but assists as best she can.
Chisora examines the door, then declares it safe. In a few quick motions she deftly picks the lock, not without a look of contempt at its simple construction.
Valgrim looks at Chisora, impressed at her skill. He then moves her back in line, goes to the huge main door and opens it as quietly as he can, sling in hand with the other hand on the hilt of his waraxe in its sheath.
He then steps in, using his darkvision to look inside.
Furniture fragments, smashed planks, broken glass, and other detritus cram
thelarge antechamber that lies behind the door. At the west end of the room, several upended tables form a crude barricade. There is a closed door to your right.
Valgrim's training enables him to instantly spot the three skeletons crouching behind the tables with loaded heavy crossbows. Roll for initiative.
Valgrim whispers, "Skeletons in the damn doorway?! This Filge is one sick bastard, who needs to meet me axe!"
Despite Valgrim's instructions, Urg refuses to believe that anything could withstand his new axe.
"Mr. Filge has been busy."
Init:
"Oh, skeletons are pretty easy to blow up, I think. No problem!"
"Skeletons? Do you think this Filge used his fell powers to animate the remains of the poor Land family?" Feres muses aloud.
"Interesting point, Friar. If that is the case, how will we ever find the Land family's particular bones?"
As the door opens and Valgrim shouts his warning, Chisora leans around the corner and puts a crossbow bolt into the skull of the largest skeleton, shattering it and sending the skeleton crashing into a heap.
Then the skeletons fire. Valgrim is hit by a crossbow bolt for 10 points of damage. The discoloration of the wound speaks of poison.
You are up.
Vug rushes into the room and tosses her bomb at one of the skeletons.
with PBS: , 4 splash damage (Ref DC 14 for 1/2)
Valgrim will move to P25 and sling the skeleton who shot him with the crossbow.
Vug's bomb and Valgrim's slingstone finish off the last two skeletons. With that, the room is cleared of enemies.