Darius, seeing the others jump in to save Zoli, joins in the action and moves to get a better vantage point. Upon getting a good look at the ghoul-thing, he pulls a pinch of saltpeter out of his spell component pouch and casts another Burning Arc, hitting the both ghouls right in the face.
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"Drop your weapons, or this Little One dies!"
Morythine shares a despairing glance with Eugeni as their new companions rashly ignore Zoli’s plight and continue the battle irrespective of the warning.
Given little choice and desperate to save Zoli, he plunges into the farmhouse.
Eugeni shouts, "NO! NOT AGAIN!" and then runs forward to the doorway. As he does so he grabs one of his last four arrows, and pulls the fletching to his cheek. "Leave her alone! You want to chew on something, chew on..." His words are cut off as the stench of rotting flesh hits the aasimar's sensitive nose. He rolfs up his lunch as he involuntarily releases his arrow into the floor. Noooooooooo. It's going to happen again. WHY!?!?! Seeing Zoli about to get her throat torn out, Eugeni tosses down his bow. Not like that's gonna stop me from killing you.
Destrina moves around Eugeni and shouts, "Duck!" As the archer ducks, the paladin swings her hammer through the door, its head making a whistling sound. It crashes into the ghoul, smashing it into the wall, its body crumpling to the floor. The path clear, Destrina turns to Morythine and says "Morythine! Save the halfling!"
Darius, seeing the others jump in to save Zoli, joins in the action and moves to get a better vantage point. Upon getting a good look at the ghoul-thing, he pulls a pinch of saltpeter out of his spell component pouch and casts another Burning Arc, hitting the both ghouls right in the face. The one in the rear becomes wholly engulfed in flame, and screams in agony as the fire seems to work its way all over the thing's body, as well as inside the creature! In a matter of seconds, the thing is entirely charred, burned to a crisp under the assault of the flames.
Morythine shares a despairing glance with Eugeni as their new companions rashly ignore Zoli’s plight and continue the battle irrespective of the warning.
Given little choice and desperate to save Zoli, he plunges into the farmhouse. He manages to shove her away from the remaining ghoul, and into the room beyond.
The remaining ghoul lashes out at Morythine, but the dhampir is too agile and well trained to be hit by such a primitive method of attack.
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Eugeni steps back and fires two more arrows at the last ghoul. She didn't die! Wooohoo!
Zoli feels pride and excitement as her reckless-but-lovable companions rush to save her.
She examines the bedroom as carefully as someone who's frozen with paralysis can.
While the second arrow Jelani fires bounces off the wall of the house, the first one managed to strike true, and sends the ghoul reeling back into the house. It writhes around for a moment before becoming still.
Zoli finally regains control of her body, just as the fight resolves. She is standing in a bedroom just as frugally decorated as the living quarters.
Suddenly thawed, Zoli begins gasping for breath in a panic -- hhhhuuuh....hhhuuuuhh...hhhuuuhh.
Stumbling back into the main room of the house, she collapses against Morythene (too distraught to notice his awkward discomfort with the physical contact). As her breathing returns to normal, she says, "Thank you...all of you. That was -gasp- terrible."
The house has four rooms in all, the living area. Next, the master bedroom that contains a bed large enough for a couple and an infants crib, which is covered in blood. Very small, human shaped bones lie scattered about the floor here.
Next to the master bedroom is another small bedroom with a pair of bunk beds. Two mostly devoured corpses lie here, two young boys it would appear.
Finally, the larger room remaining off of the living area houses a kitchen and food preparation area. The body here is decaying and swarming with flies, but the Sihedron Rune is clearly visible carved upon his chest, as well as a piece of parchment with Eugeni's name written on it. In a pocket of the trousers is a rusted iron key.
The ghast's body has an ear missing, and around its neck hangs an iron key on a leather cord. The key bears a heraldic symbol, a strange flower surrounded by thorns.
"Don't mention it Zoli, I'm just glad that you're okay!" Eugeni says, clearly relieved. He gives the little halfling a tight hug. After the contents of the house become clear. He says, "What is this hellhole. Were our ancestors really so evil?"
Secretly, Morythine is so relieved at Zoli’s rescue that even tolerates the halfling’s awkward embrace for a few moments, before pulling back gently and doffing his tricorn. He can’t help tossing a scowl in Destrina’s direction.
“Where’s Leffie? he asks her, before stalking off to explore the farmhouse.
"I passed by this place on my way into Sandpoint. It seemed like a thriving farm then. Strange the house is so sparsely kept," he continues, moving to inspect the ghast's body with a sleeve held over his nose and mouth. Gingerly lifting the key, he exclaims "Isn't this the Foxglove family crest? Didn't we meet one of them?'
Morythine kneels done to more closely inspect the tiny bones of the devoured infant, noting with interest that unlike the semi-devoured boys in the bedroom, the baby’s bones have been meticulously licked clean.
I guess the younger they are the better they taste. Much like blood.
When he’s sure that no-one’s looking, Morythine slips a handful of the smaller bones into his pocket.
Morythine ignores Destrina's compliment and strides away, muttering under his breath as he does so.
"Paladins! Always looking at me like I was birthed by Lamashtu, but quite willing to endanger Zoli and forget about that farm girl. Still, Leffie's probably dead or gone ghoulish by now ... "
"Not that I'm aware of," Eugeni replies to Destrina. "I barely know the Foxgloves."
After the shock wears off, Zoli's halfling curiosity returns. Wondering what is up with this house and why it's inhabited by these terrible undead, she starts slowly and methodically poking about.
She gives an excited yelp when she finds the loose floorboard and pulls out the coffer.
"Eugeni! Where's that key you found?" When her furry friend hands it to her, she looks the coffer over for traps and then tries the key.
Within the coffer, meticulously organized, are 34 leather pouches, each of which contains 100 sp.
(Success)
(Success)
"Well, apparently they know you, Eugeni."
Seemingly as if waiting for Darius to make that statement, a rumbling of thunder can be heard in the sky. A glance towards the heavens reveals a bank of storm clouds rolling in from the west. In a couple of hours, the weather will be upon you.
A few moments later, Lettie returns cautiously to the farmstead, a weak looking man accompanying her, arms around each other. He appears just as sick as she does.
"A...are they all gone? This is my husband, Horran. Please, you have to help us..."
"We're not really healers, Miss Lettie. You should go into town and see Father Zanthus, he might be able to help you," Eugeni says to the distraught woman. Turning to Destrina he answers her as well, "Seems like our only lead at this point."
"We're not really healers, Miss Lettie. You should go into town and see Father Zanthus, he might be able to help you,"
Wincing slightly at Eugeni's comment and rather surprised to find himself the one to be concerned about the commonfolk, he addresses Lettie and Horran.
"Please ignore Rover's brusqueness. He's been getting some freaky love letters of late and they're putting him out of sorts. We can't be sure we've accounted for all the ghouls. You'd better stay with us till morning. We'll try and see you somewhere safer tomorrow."
Moving over to the coffer, he lifts a pouch of silver.
"Do these belong to you? he asks.
Horran shakes his head. "No...no, this isn't our home."
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"We will have to stay the night in this place. We will see you at least to the safety of the road in the morning." Destrina says to the frightened farmers. "I would suggest you confine yourselves to the entry hall. The rest of the place is not something you want haunting your dreams. As Eugeni said, when we part you should hurry to Father Zanthus and see if he can help you."
Once she has attended to the commoners, Destrina gathers her allies. There is no hesitation or malice in her voice as she speaks, only grim determination and an air of accepting that what has happened has happened. "We must keep watch this night. More ghouls could come upon us at any time. Also, though we aim to protect these two, the reality is that we have to be just as wary of them as anything else. They may go mad like the man at the sanitarium, or perhaps something even worse."
Later in the night, Morythine retreats into an unused room of the farmhouse. Having ensured none of his companions are following, he whispers prayers to a god he barely understands, and his wounds heal.
.
The storm arrives not an hour after the heroes have cleared out and secured the farmhouse for an overnight stay. As the night presses on, the storm's intensity grows, with lightning crashing very near, judging by the rapidity of the thunder behind it.
Lettie and Horran sit huddled together in a corner, their coughs only able to be drowned out by the roaring thunder outside. Despite their terribly high fevers, they draw blankets tight around their necks and cannot seem to stop shivering.
The storm shows no signs of letting up as the day progresses. At one point, the rain slows for a few minutes, but then quickly grows back in strength.
It is a couple hours after nightfall that Zoli notices that Horran and Lettie are no longer coughing, and a closer examination reveals that they passed on to the Boneyard.
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Upon hearing the news that Horran and Lettie are dead, Destrina feels an intense sadness. This sadness is quickly replaced by an even more intense feeling of anger and the need to bring vengeance to the perpetrators of these atrocities. Her rage burns cold and she eventually asks the halfling, "Do you bury or burn your dead here?"
Zoli's lower lip quivers as mention of 'your dead' sears her mind's eye with the unbidden image to of her father lying stabbed and cold on the town square.
"We...they should be buried, and Father Zantus will perform the rites...unless you can do them yourself?"
After a heavy breath she adds, "I don't know what is going on here. It seemed that Grayst Sevilla transformed directly from a man into one of those things...but who's to say that they won't rise again now that they're dead?" A shiver runs down her spine. "Perhaps we should bury them ourselves, tonight?
...Could you perform the rites?"
Cooped up all day, Zoli feels tension building, wondering what's at work here...and why on Golarion they are trying to implicate Eugeni.
She releases her stress by practicing her swordplay and -- if Destrina is interested -- will invite her to spar, if they can make the space.
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"I can perform the rites, at least Ragathiel's rites, and dig the graves if we can find a shovel." Destrina says. She thinks on it a moment and continues, "This disease could possibly spread if we bring it back to your town, we know nothing about it. Also, I suggest we build a bier and burn the bodies to prevent the possibility of undeath."
Destrina will accept Zoli's offer to spar, though she uses her bastard sword rather than the earth breaker, as the huge hammer is not intended for sparring.
"Do these belong to you? he asks.
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Horran shakes his head. "No...no, this isn't our home."
The rain has let up enough by this time that digging a decent grave isn't too unbearable of a task. At least the ground is soft thanks to the precipitation. As Destrina finishes the task of digging a hole, Zoli binds the corpses in rope. Just before they are lowered into the grave, however, Eugeni walks over and signals for them to wait.
Without explanation, he quickly brings a blade down across their necks, removing their heads from their bodies. As the group stares at him, stunned, he replies "Just in case," as he cleans off his blade. His voice is cold and numb.
Destrina performs the rights, as taught by her mentors within the Ragathiel clergy, and the group sets to covering the bodies. They manage to finish just before the next surge of the storm arrives, forcing them back into the house for another night.
Fortunately, however, it is about mid-evening when the storm abates in it's entirety, and the party is anxious to get to the bottom of whatever is going on at Foxglove Manor. They gather their things and promptly head out for the estate.
The route leading out to Foxglove Manor is a three mile hike along a narrow path that follows the Foxglove River from the covered bridge where it flows under the Lost Coast Road to the dark sea cliffs overlooking the Varisian Gulf. Here, wild sea birds call out to a roaring ocean that churns hundreds of feet below. As you near the estate, it almost seems as if nature herself has become sick and twisted. Nettles and thorns grow more prominent, trees are leafless and bent, and the wind seems unnaturally cold and shrill as it whistles through the cliffside crags. The path slowly rises, bending around a steep corner in the cliffs, and then Foxglove Manor looms at the edge of the world.
The strangely cold sea wind rises to a keening shriek as it comes into view. The place has earned its local nickname of the "Misgivings" well, for it almost appears to loathe its perch high above the ocean, as if the entire house were poised for a suicide leap. The roof sags in many places, and mold and mildew cake the crumbling walls. Vines of diseased-looking gray wisteria strangle the structure in several places, hanging down over the precipitous cliff edge almost like tangled braids of hair. The house is crooked, its gables angling sharply and breached in at least three places, hastily repaired by planks of sodden wood. Chimneys rise from various points among the rooftops, leaning like old men in a storm, and grinning gargoyle faces leer from under the eaves.
To your right, off the main path to the house, rests the remains of an old outbuilding. It's impossible to tell how many floors it once had, for all that remains are the sooty, scorched stones of its foundation, a few sickly looking ravens perched atop them. To the east, a four-foot-wide stone well sits, partially collapsed, in the corner of the ruins.
With Horran’s confirmation that the silver isn’t theirs, Morythine weighs a bag of coin in his hand and glances about at his companions.
The paladin’s not willing to get her armour wet to save those poor devils, but she but she’ll no doubt get sniffy about money. As if anyone here has survived the ghouls …
Anyway, if anyone wants to split the take later, I’ll be happy to share it out then …
With a glance to make sure the paladin’s not looking, Morythine ferrets away two bags of silver.
“Wow!” exclaims Morythine as the Misgivings looms into view. “I do declare, this is my kind of place.
He nods towards the old outbuilding. “Explore the smaller places first?” he suggests.
As you approach, the ravens fly clumsily away. The inside of the remaining structure is as barren as it's exterior, save for the well. None of you are able to see the bottom edges of it's depths, as it continues on beyond the limits of the vision of all those gathered.
Zoli holds a finger up for quiet. She inspects the door for traps (and to see if it's locked) and then listens at it.
Zoli then insists that all be gathered very closely together before letting Destrina open it.
Zoli will stay just behind the fearless Paladin of Ragathiel
The doors seem to be jammed at first, but a second good shove opens the large oak double doors, allowing the heroes of Sandpoint to be greeted by the stale air of the manor. The sound of the house straining and creaking gives this long, high-ceilinged room an additional sense of age and decay. The place smells damp, the unpleasant tinge of mold lacing the air as surely as it stains the wooden floor, walls, and furniture in pallid patches. Strangely, intermingled with this scent is the whiff of burning hair and flesh.
Moldering trophies hang on the wall to the northeast: a boar, a bear, a firepelt cougar, and a stag, yet they pale in comparison to the monster on display in the center of the room. Here crouches a twelve-foot-long creature with the body of a lion, a scorpion's tail fitted with dozens of razor barbs, huge batlike wings, and a deformed humanoid face.
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Zoli's eyes go wide. "Tha- that's a manticore. They're quite deadly when alive.
"That said...did you hear that sobbing, upstairs? Hold on, I'm going to go quietly a bit ahead. I'll holler if there's trouble!"
The manticore does appear to simply be a stuffed specimen.
Zoli comes back down after a few moments and says, "I found a door up there, but didn't hear anything...and would've needed to make Light if I was going to go any further. C'mon, let's go toghether!"
Assuming all are game, she'll cast Light this time on a ribbon tied loosely at the top of her hair, and lead the crew upstairs.
As Zoli reports her findings upstairs, she, Eugeni, and Destrina suddenly get the overwhelming stench of burning fur in their nostrils.
Suddenly, everyone sees the stuffed manticore's entire body burst into flame, and it's face shift to that of a beautiful woman, contorted in rage. "Burn!" she yells, then snaps her head towards Zoli and yells again, "BURN!"
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