Imperia and Bramwell return from their search and Cawthorne opens his beak to inquire as to their findings just as the loud *BANG!* sounds from deeper within the prison. The tengu half jumps out of his clothes at the sound while the other two rush to investigate. Without time to think, Cawthorne follows on their heels, only to pull up short behind Imperia just out of the entrance chamber. What's going on?!
Looking past Imperia (and over Filiana) he sees Lord Bramwell crouched and hissing at something out of view. Whatever is he doing? Cawthorne suddenly realizes he's standing, exposed, at the end of a forbidding hallway with a variety of suspicious doors. His eyes widen in fear at what might be hiding behind any one of them, and he clutches his steel-capped cane tight in both hands...
The spiders abruptly stop when Bramwell appears and hisses at them. They seem to pause, considering what's going on, and stop making moves to attack...
Filiana flattens herself back against the wall, uncertain whether to be more concerned by the enormous spiders or by Lord Bramwell hissing at them.
Gods above! What is he doing? Hissing at them? ... oh, ah... it does seem to have got them to stop though. How did he do that? Is the hissing actually talking to them? Is that what spider language sounds like?
Bramwell steps forward minding the spiders's reactions. To avoid startling the vermin any further, he moves with calm and patience. The dhampir reaches for the door and begins to close it slowly, attempting to lock the three spiders back into their lair. While doing so, he takes the time to peek into the room to look for signs of a passage to the floor below.
Khardan watches Lord Bramwell, fascinated and repulsed at the same time.
Imperia steps forward next to Lord Bramwell, but stays quiet as he deals with the spiders. Just like the rats. I wonder if they can tell us anything.
Only when he attempts to move the door does Bramwell notice that Khardan has thrown it off its hinges. He stops his course action, eyes still fixed on the spiders.
"We mean no harm", the dhampir grunts, communicating with the arachnids. His voice carries off much mroe than mere words; his mind somehow connected to the limited consciousness of the creatures before him, seeking an understanding, asking for safe passage. He steps into the room carefully avoiding the spiders's legs and heading to the cabinet on the other side of them.
"I say, is it safe up there?" the tengu asks in a hoarse whisper.
Filiana stands still, hand over her mouth as if to still a gasp at the sight of Lord Bramwell stepping in amongst the spiders. She is almost holding her breath when Doctor Cawthorne croaks out his question...
Spiders! she says, trying to keep her voice down and yet have it carry to the good doctor ...Huge, huge spiders!
The spiders give Lord Bramwell a cautious look before backing away from him. Whether it's out of respect or fear is unclear.
The cabinet is covered in spiderwebs, but they're easily brushed aside to reveal several items of interest:
--5 vials of holy water;
--1 scroll of lesser restoration;
--1 wand carved of aged oak.
Imperia stays very, very still as she waits for Lord Bramwell to leave the room. Her weapon is at the ready waiting to see if the spiders are going to change their minds and attack him.
When he shows her the wand she takes a close look at it. She can't quite identify it.
Bramwell picks up the vials, the scroll and the wand and walks back to the hallway. He turns around and bows to the spiders. Though he knows they cannot really understand him, he feels that at least he has shown that he and his allies pose no threat to the archnids' well-being. The nobleman signals for the group to move away from the room and, once they are further away down the corridor, he shows the items to Imperia. Upon her difficulty to decipher the wand's powers, the dhampir decides to make an attempt himself.
Bramwell raises the oak stick above his head and studies it carefully, his fingers tingling from the contact with the wand. "Hmmm. It is charged with positive energy. It can heal you all," he says gravely, looking at his comrades, "or injure me and the undead that linger on in this prison."
Filiana looks on in open astonishment as Lord Bramwell gathers up his discovery and makes his way back out into the hallway, all without further disturbing the spiders in the room.
That was amazing! I wonder if he can speak to all animals like that, or only spiders.... hmm... might be a bit rude to ask.
She follows him down the hallway as he examines the items.
"Can you use it, sir? " asks Khardan.
"I can indeed", Bramwell replies. "Perhaps I should hold on to it, in fact," he continues, stuffing the wand in the inner pocket of his dark, ragged robes. He then reaches for the door close to him opens it slowly. "Now let us move on."
Bramwell carefully opens the door to the west.
This stark room contains a low stone bench against the north wall and a ruined desk to the west that sits under three narrow, barred windows. An old brass brazier lies on its side to the south, surrounded by several rusty branding irons.
Filiana follows Bramwell and Khardan along the corridor, distracted by her musings...
So, what do they eat? Are there huge flies about here somewhere that they live on? Or do they eat something else? There doesn't seem much for them to live on in here... except us I suppose... but ... surely, they don't eat ... people ... do they? They were quite big, but were they big enough to eat people? Perhaps, if they were small people ... oh ... She gives a bit of a shudder and tries to distract herself from that uncomfortable train of thought. She looks back to Imperia...
So, you all came in here before? Was this building where you found that ghastly axe?
That smell can't be good.
"Do you smell that? Something or someone is burning. Be prepared." Imperia raises her mace in preparation for "something" happening.
Cawthorne follows behind Imperia, his cane still held tight in both hands. His nerves are somewhat steadied by the revelation of the wand's properties. That's something, at least - though I'd prefer not to need any healing at all. He raises his beak and tentatively sniffs the air at Imperia's prompting, catching the scent on the air. "You're quite right, Ms. Albus." He focuses himself back the way they came, guarding against assault from the rear.
Umm...what are they talking about?
Her brow furrowing in puzzlement at the comments from Imperia and Doctor Cawthorne, Filiana takes a deep breath in, testing the air for any odors she might have missed.
If anything, looking more puzzled than before. I don't... what are they smelling? "Something burning? Where?"
The smell of burning flesh rises to a truly repulsive miasma, and the branding irons in the room twitch and begin to rise up from the floor around the brazier!
Glancing around the others up the line, Cawthorne barely suppresses a squawk of distress at the sight of the haunted brands. His cane clatters to the ground, forgotten, as he fumbles with one of the delicate chains affixed to his suit. Finally he jerks a sturdy yet tasteful flask from his inside coat pocket.
"Certainly another haunt," Bramwell declares reaching for the brazier. His fingers touch the object just as he finishes casting a spell, and a blast of positive energy discharges out of his body and into the haunted brazier. Directed outwards, the surge does not really harm the dhampir, but stings enough to make him grimace in discomfort.
There's a loud *HISSING* noise as Bramwell grabs the brazier and floods it with positive energy, and the brands fall limp to the floor with a *clatter*.
Lord Bramwell looks around the room to make sure the haunt is gone. "Yes, yes. From our experience, they are easier to deal with before they fully manifest," he explains to Filiana and Dr. Cawthorne. He then turns his attention to the room itself, searching for anything unusual.
Filiana moves closer, peeking in the door to see what Lord Bramwell has been doing.
A... what? And, deal with it? How?
Sorry to be a bit ignorant here my Lord, but what was that thing? A haunt you said, is that some sort of ghost? And how did you deal with it?
As she speaks, her eyes dart around the room as if fearing that a ghost is going to spring out of every dark corner. Reflexively, she raises her glowing hand to shed light into those corners.
"Well done," says Khardan. "Where to next?"
Lord Bramwell keeps searching, his back still turned to his alies as he studies the room. It does not stop him from engaging in the conversation, though. "Indeed, little one: a haunt is somewhat like a ghost... only it is not always shaped as the deceased creature. There are those who cannot embrace death when it calls on them—sometimes ouf of fear of it, or anger, or because some other unnatural force anchors them to the world of the living. They come in many different types, these undead, and in the case of a haunt, it is often difficult to tell how it is going to look like. Usually, it has something to do with the way they died, which explains why many of the haunts in Harrowstone have something to do with the fire that destroyed the prison."
He stops talking, and it seems like he is done with the subject. Suddenly, he resumes the lecture. "I don't know much about it except for what both Professor Lorrimore and my mentor have brought up in our conversations over the years. The channeling of positive energy from the Creation's Forge can keep it at bay, but to really eliminate a haunt, one must understand what it is that keeps the spirit from crossing over to Pharasma's Boneyard, and act to remedy that. But it is hard to know what to do without knowing details about the life and death of a haunted spirit, yes?" The dhampir shakes his head in disapproval. "It is a shame, really, that the Pallid Princess has brought this curse to our world. Death is cleansing. Without it, everything would be withered and old like me, and there would be no room for the fresh and young like you", he says glancing over his shoulders to meet Filiana's eyes. "One who cannot die cannot truly live."
He remains silent again, and then reflects on Khardan's question. "There's and adacent room we have not yet explored, no?"
Filiana continues to look around nervously as Lord Bramwell casually talks of ghosts and haunts and their reasons for being. She listens in rapt attention as shares his thoughts, but then her eyes fall on the branding irons laying on the floor now that Dhampir's magic has robbed them of movement.
It seems that this was a pretty awful place even when it was still a prison for the living. Now it is a place of horror. All these spirits, bound here in memory of their final pain. Denied the judgment of the Lady of Graves and their just, final rest. It is no wonder that this place has such a feeling of ... sadness, to it. She sighs and hangs her head for a moment, slightly overwhelmed for a moment at the scale of the task that Lord Bramwell has just laid out. It is a shame then that the Professor is no longer with us. I'm sure he would have known more about the history of these haunts. He might have known how best to lay them to rest.
She stares down at her hands for a moment before looking up at Lord Bramwell. She looks nervous for a moment before continuing... That positive energy thing you were talking about, that's healing magic isn't it? The priest back in Redleaf used healing magic on .. uh.. when I ... that is, when people got hurt. In accidents I mean. Umm.. she pauses, slightly flustered for a moment before continuing...What I mean is, I can do a sort of healing magic too. Do you think I would be able to do what you just did there and lay a haunt to rest? Or does it take a particular kind of magic?
Imperia listens to Lord Bramwell's explanation. She gives the hafling a glance as she stumbles over her words. "Good aligned magic hurts them. Be careful of Lord Bramwell. Regular healing magic harms him. Infernal heals him."
She makes her way to the last door in the hallway. She listens carefully before opening the door.
"Ah, but that is not really it, no," the dhampir protests. "'Healing' magic, 'good-aligned' magic, 'infernal' magic... these are religious notions, not natural ones." He turns around to face Imperia and Filiana, and then hunches over bringing his hideous visage within an inch of the halfling's nose.
"You see, in the beginning of all, even before the gods, there was the plane of positive energy. The force of creation, if you will. It existed in the center of everything, surrounded by the elemental planes of fire, water, earth, and air. Somehow, one day it touched these planes, using these elements as raw materials for the material plane--which explains why these are the four fundamental forces of nature. With the material world, came all things living in this plane we find ourselves in, and it grew out of control," Bramwell says ominously. He raises a finger and widens his eyes, grinning over sharing a revelation.
"But nature always finds balance! And so the plane of negative energy slowly came into existence to limitate the extent and strenght of this new world. With it came death and destruction, so that the cycle could be complete. Ever since, there have been creatures who can channel energy--or magic, as we call it--from either of these sources: the positive or negative plane. What you can do, little one, is no more than tap into that force, harness it. By its very nature, it will restore life to those to whom life is natural, or destroy it in those to whom it is unnatural. The opposite goes with negative energy."
He sighs. "Me, I was touched by the curse of undeath. While still mortal, a quality that brings me no small relief, my existence defies the order of creation, and this is the reason positive energy harms me, as it does to haunts and ghosts. You can face them simply by doing the same thing I did--just use your 'healing magic'"
Bramwell turns away and resumes his search. "Anyway, that is just common knowledge among druids. Passed down since the dawn of time, mouth to ear."
Filiana flinches slightly as the Dhampir leans in close to her face but forces herself not to pull back. Soon however, she has lost her fear to a sudden interest in what he has to say. She holds up her hand and concentrates for a moment. There is a brief flicker of silver white fire dancing across her fingers. So... this would hurt you? As she says the words she suddenly realizes she is holding the flame a bit close to him and snatches her hands back behind her back.
Her expression shifts from interest to embarrassment at having been close to harming Lord Bramwell, and then just as quickly to puzzlement. The ... ah .. the first time I used the white fire, I didn't even know I could do it, but I killed a wolf with it. But a wolf wouldn't be affected by positive energy would it? I suppose it was a bit of an odd wolf, it had a big hump on its back. One of the hunters that came to haul it away called it a terror, but I thought he just meant that it was a fearsome looking thing. But then, by then people had already started accusing me of summoning it and all sorts of other horrible things besides, so I probably wasn't listening close enough.
A faint smile crosses her face as she considers the implications of the Dhampir's impromptu lesson. So, the healing is a thing of positive energy. Positive. That's a good thing. I like that Perhaps I will be able to learn to do other good things too, in time. Now her smile at the thought that her power might be a good thing is less tentative and more openly happy.
Thank you for explaining that to me, My Lord
The door opens slowly as Imperia tugs on the handle. The chamber beyond is in a shambles—old wooden benches lie in ruins along the walls, while rusty chains and bits of rotten rope lie scattered on the floor.
Imperia takes a step into the room, and looks around. Assuming nothing attacks her and she doesn't see stairs. She will step back and close the door.
Cawthorne nudges the manacles with his foot, flask still clutched in hand, as Lord Bramwell makes his exposition. It seems we are well-equipped to deal with such things! He resumes a more reserved manner, retrieving his cane and falling back into line as Bramwell and Filiana finish their exchange. What was that - he defies the order of creation? Harmed by positive energy..? Perhaps some sort of cellular reversal...
Imperia's opening of the next door startles the doctor back to reality. When a supernatural horror fails to manifest, he glances in the direction of the manacles in annoyance. "Have the people of Ravengro known this place is home to such spirits? If so, it seems quite an oversight - if not an abject dereliction of duty! - for the Pharasmans to let these 'haunts' fester here." Eyes darting about, the tengu inhales deeply through his nostrils, alert for any darting shadows or more burning flesh.
Filiana sighs gently to herself before replying to the Doctor.
It is fear Doctor, simply fear. Those folks not lucky enough to live in a city with walls and soldiers to keep them safe often live in fear. There is so much to be fearful of in our world and most folks are completely helpless in the face of it. The people of places like Ravengro are as like as not to ignore a place like this if it is not actively threatening them rather than risk drawing the ire of dark things that most of them barely understand.
Her voice as she speaks is soft and tinged with sadness, as if she is more lamenting the way of the world than directly disagreeing with the Doctor. She is not even looking at him as she speaks at first. But then she straightens slightly and looks directly at him.
Perhaps then, it falls to such as us to master our fears and stand for such people as cannot do it for themselves.
"I believe that this was the punishment for some, but not for the guards. Whomever killed the Professor stirred up the spirits. That's what I believe." She looks around the room.
As Filiana said they are scared. The would rather never approach this place and pretend nothing is here than face their fears and deal with the consequences."
Khardan stays on guard, watching the group's rear.
The room Imperia explores appears to be bereft of activity or life. There are no stairs or other means of ingress.
"I believe there's one room left to explore, at the end of the corridor to the left of the entrance hall. If we cannot find another way down, we might have to remove by hand the debris that is blocking the staircase." Bramwell makes his way to the room in question and opens the door, hoping that this final exploration can save them of the hard, menial labor of unblocking the passage to the lower levels.
The spacious room Bramwell finds smells of mildew and rot. A long desk and chair sit to the south, while to the northwest a narrow alcove contains a closed safe. Thick layers of dust cover everything in sight.
Bramwell searches the desk and tries to open the safe.
The desk appears to be empty, and the safe itself is locked.
"Hmph. Locked, of course," Bramwell complains. He makes a feeble attempt at picking the old lock and then throws his arms in the air in frustration, giving room for other people to try.
"I'm no burglar, but I do have a passing familiarity with mechanical devices." Cawthorne steps forward and peers at the safe and lock. He furrows his brow and lets out an irritated sigh. "I have no proper tools, but if this might contain some clue as to the cause or nature of these haunts, I suppose it's worth a try..."
He opens his doctor's bag and removes a large, flat leather wallet which proves to hold a variety of steel scalpels, forceps, and clamps. He removes the slimmest of scalpels and forceps, and begins to carefully insert them into the lock in an attempt to manipulate the tumblers within.
He begins to insert the talons of each of his index fingers into the lock in an attempt to manipulate the tumblers within.
"If someone might assist me just so.."
Imperia moves up next to Dr. Cawthorne, and drops her bag. "Let's see if I can help." She pulls out her lockpicks and goes to work.
Khardan stands watch while the subtler members of the team examine the safe.