I don't think its a good idea to separate. I'll go with Leon and we'll meet up later.
The familiar view of the Temple comes into sight as you approach it from the south. Though easily one of the largest buildings in Ravengro, the muted colors and lack of ostentation makes it seem smaller somehow, as if the builders intentionally constructed it so as to not draw attention to it.
An acolyte greets you as you enter, and nods as you request a meeting with Father Grimburrow. Several minutes pass before the old priest emerges from a door in the rear of the sanctuary. He beckons you forward as he stands by the open doorway.
"Greetings, friends. Be welcome in Pharasma's presence." he says in a formal style. He waves you into a large office with plenty of seating for all.
He moves to the right side of the room and seats himself beside a small writing desk. He looks the group over for a few seconds, "So, I do not notice the typical visages of sorrow or grief that visitors usually bring me, which means you are not here about my duties at Ravengro's mortician. And I know you were friends of the Professor, which means you likely have similar interests, shall we say? And from the expressions on some of your faces, the matter you bring to me is either delicate or distasteful... Assuming I am correct in my initial estimation, what can I help you with today?"
"We have reason to believe that Professor Lorrimer may have hidden some important objects in one of the crypts in our graveyard, Father. We wanted your permission before we started looking for them."
The old priest responds, "You have reason to believe the Professor hid something in one of the crypts? What exactly do you mean by that? I would be... disappointed... to learn that he violated the sanctity of The Restlands."
"He may have had a good reason to do, but we will not know unless we investigate further. We had no desire to trespass without leave and thought it best to bring the matter to you. "
"We don't know what's there. It was just something that was mentioned in his notes while we were researching what lead up to his death. We were hoping whatever he hid might be helpful in our investigation."
Grimburrow considers your responses, "I see. I appreciate your wisdom in bringing this to my attention. But I must also ask, what investigation are you conducting? I find it peculiar that Petros Lorrimor would have used The Restlands for anything of importance to him... I knew the man for many years, but we were not friends. Even so, I always regarded him as someone who moved deliberately. That is to say, I believe he always had a plan in place before he made any decisions or selected a course of action."
He brings his hands together and folds them in his lap, "So now you are here, friends of Petros who coincidentally appear in Ravengro so soon after his blessed passing. And now you are conducting an investigation and following in the good Professor's footsteps. I assume the matter is of some importance or else you would have simply left town after a period of mourning. With that, I suggest we speak plainly. What are you investigating, what do you hope to find in The Restlands, and what do you need from me?"
Leon nodded. "Honestly, we aren't sure what we are investigating. There were some things in his notes that led us to believe that his death may not have been an accident. We may be wrong, but for our own peice of mind we have decided to look into this. As a follower of Lady Pharasma, I am sure you can appriciate the need to find out as many details as possible on the deaths of those who lie in your tombs. You keep the records, don't you?"
"To be blunt, we have heard Whispers that lead us to believe the good Professor's death may not have been accidental. I know personally, I'm willing to look into that possibility because I feel that outing the truth is the least I could do to honor his memory." Taking a steadying breath, Girvin did his best to assess the clergyman's mood before continuing.
"Given the history of the Harrowstone, and the Way the professor's studies branched into unusual subjects, we thought it best to prepare ourselves for anything before looking into things personally. The Professor's journal mentioned that a false crypt was historically outfitted in the Restlands as a home of defenses against the... unnatural - so it seemed like something to look into before going forward."
"Everyone is going crazy with the play on words," Firavel mutters.
"Indeed, the professor had encountered ghostly dangers at the old prison during his investigation of those who we suspect killed him. His research here may have uncovered the cache and subsequently he moved to borrow some items to protect himself from these ghosts while trying to find out what these others were doing. As we desire to retrace his movements, a visit to this crypt seems to be in order."
"I know it must seem strange for strangers to come to your town and start investigating a man's death. But you must understand that to us he wasn't just a man. Personally, Professor Lorrimor was a mentor to me, he guided me and helped me become who I am today. Even if his last wishes did not include a request to stay for a while to aid his daughter I would still be here and still be trying to find out why he died. I am sorry if that makes you uncomfortable but nothing short of being sent to meet the gods will stop me and I would rather have your blessing than your ire."
Father Grimburrow listens intently as you all make your case. When Girvin mentions a false crypt, the priest's eyes widen slightly. After everyone finishes, he responds, "The false crypt... that rings a bell. In older times, when the undead scourge had finally been cleansed from our lands, our church was rumored to have laid away stores of equipment. But in the past few hundred years, those caches have become little more than stories."
"While I would not normally authorize anyone to disturb the peace of The Restlands, in this case, I will make an exception... with one condition. You may investigate this false crypt, but two of my acolytes will accompany you. Is that acceptable?"
"Of course." Leon said with a nod. "Thank you."
"Yes, thank you father."
Mithias goes to get his adventuring gear, before heading over to the Restlands.
Firavel joins Mithias in returning to the Lorrimor place. "Makes sense to grab our things and let Kendra know we may be out for a while. Assuming we're going to Harrowstone after we pick up the goods from the crypt."
if were going directly afterwards then Sethis will go as well to gather his gear.
"We will meet you at the gates to the Restlands, Father. Going into a long-sealed tomb is not an undertaking to be considered lightly."
The acolytes are waiting for you at the entrance to The Restlands. One tall and thin man introduces himself as Antoly, while a shorter man with a scar on his right cheek introduces himself as Bertram. Both are wearing leather armor and wearing daggers at their sides. The acolytes indicate that Father Grimburrow filled them in with the details you shared, and they are here to help you with whatever you need, assuring you they do not wish to interfere with your investigation.
Nobody else appears to be visiting The Restlands right now, and the acolytes quickly lead you to the area detailed in Professor Lorrimor's journal. After nearly 30 minutes of searching, a faint doorway is located on the rear side of an old tomb. Both acolytes seem shocked by the discovery. Antoly points out that the inscription on the tomb indicates it marks the burial location of a revered hero of Pharasma, while Bertram idly notes the coincidence of the location, given what is supposed to reside inside.
Firavel reaches around the side of the tomb to press the button and tries to peer into the darkness.
"Nice find on that button." Girvin cooed as he watched the elf's nearly instinctual performance. Their evidence for this particular crypt seemed a bit circumstantial, but it was certainly a better lead than they had on any other crypt checked. Stepping up to the now exposed maw, Girvin took a moment to closely inspect the area near the doorway, in the hopes of finding some recent sign of disturbance that they could connect to the Professor's earlier visit. Giving a brief nod of satisfaction to himself the gnome picks up a small pebble nearby, reaches into his pocket, and says a few muttered words to illuminate the stone. "Any objections to me tossing it in?"
never enter a crypt unarmed his uncle's words echoed in Leon's mind. Carry a weapon for cutting, a weapon for bashing, and a source of fire
Leon took off his fine velvet coat and pulled on a reinforced leather jack, then belted on a heavier harness dotted with pouches, weapons and tools. Taking the time to light an actual torch, the young knight stepped into the entry way next to Firavel.
"Why are secret crypts always so big? as he looks down the tunnel then to Leon arming himself for battle."Leon, do you really expect violence inside the Restlands? After all aren't these lands blessed by Pharasma to prevent undead or something?"
"I hope there won't be violence. I've seen the inside of a few crypts. The first was actually with Professor Lorrimer. It'll probably be pretty dirty in there. I figured leathers would be better suited than velvet.
The pebble bounces down the stone stairs, and skips across the floor. After a few seconds of waiting, you neither see nor hear anything out of the ordinary.
Girvin's light spell and Leon's torch provide enough illumination for everyone to see the bottom of the stairs and the stone sarcophagi lining the walls. The crypt itself continues farther than your vision permits you to see from the top of the stairs.
Girvin released a short, shrill whistle cueing a large snake to crawl out of a nearby bush and heel at his leg. Taking a look to all the others, the gnome took a single exaggerated step onto the descending staircase. "Well, let's do this. If, uh- someone a bit more durable wants to go in front of me I wouldn't object."
"Feel free to take point."
Leon nods and moves ahead and down the stairs, briefly testing his weight on each step before settling and moving to the next.
"Never know what might give way in these old tombs. Keep your eyes out for loose stones too. When I was younger, the professor told me that many masons use sub-par mortar on buildings no one will be living in, and after a few decades collapses become likely."
"Great, now we have to worry about this place buryig us alive? And my family wonders why I prefer the woods."
"I'm thinking that the building can't be too problematic. If this is truly the place, Lorrimor came and went without incident. Presuming he wouldn't have withheld such information from his diary. Nonetheless, keep an eye out for pitfalls and traps. One can never be too careful."
"I'm sure we have nothing to fear, but best safe than sorry."
The group cautiously makes its way down the stairs, arriving at the floor nearly twenty feet below the surface. The ground is covered in large flagstones, and the walls appear to be natural stone - obviously worked through arm or magic. The room extends eighty feet beyond you, and remains thirty feet wide until the far wall. Four stone caskets line each wall, each with imagery representing Pharasma and her worship.
The light from your torches and spells is enough to illuminate the entire room, though the stone caskets cast shadows all around you.
"Hear hear for preferring the woods."
Mithias enters the crypt cautiously, stooping to study the footprints in the dust.
Looking to the pair of acolytes, Leon asks "If we need to open a tomb, are there any rites that need be performed first?"
This looks just like an ordinary crypt. How are we supposed to find anything here?
"So where do we start looking? I doubt the priests would be happy if we just started opening caskets and it wouldn't be fair to anyone interred within either."
"Shall we follow the footsteps and see where they lead?"
"The footprints seem to visit each crypt. Perhaps if we go to what seems like the last crypt Lorrimor visited, assuming the footprints to be his, we'll find what he was looking for. Hopefully he didn't take it all."
Between the tracking skills of Girvin and Mithias, the group is able to follow the footprints well enough to trace the path. The trail leads to each of the first three caskets on each side (right, then left, then right, etc.), ending at the fourth on the right. The trail does not to to the last casket on the left.
As the group moves toward the back of the crypt, a loud chittering sound begins from the back wall on the left. A large segmented creature emerges from the shadows moving forward on hundreds of chitinous legs, its forcipules dripping with a sickly green liquid. Another creature emerges from the shadows, following the first, both of them head directly toward you.
Mithas moves forward to flank one of the creatures and stabs out with his spear.