As you walked through the streets Dr Munroe asked, "What was that you said about finding shock quartz up there Mike? Something about the witness marks of a big impact?"
Mike nodded, "Oh yes. We find that associated with asteroid craters. There's a theory that Cinder Crater is actually an impact crater not a Calder which is a collapsed volcano. Whatever the truth the place has a unique atmosphere, unlike anywhere I've ever been. There are also strange minerals there that I don't recognize... It'll take us a few days to get there but you'll see."
By now you were on the very outskirts of town about to follow the road up the mountain.
Currently it's late afternoon, it's cold but otherwise pleasant. The sun is shining and the wind is barely moving. You'll need to decide how far you want to go today. Mike was hoping to make it to Hut #15 on the Scarfell Slope.
An alternative is Tinscragg a hamlet with a single Inn. It's not on Mike's preferred path but the terrain makes it considerably easier and quicker to get to. From there you could set out at dawn to make up time.
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Still keeping a close eye on their backtrail, but also worried about being exposed to the coming weather AND a probable assassin, Zendara mentions
It feels nice, now, but look at those clouds on the horizon. Looks like we have a snowstorm coming. Do we want to modify our plans considering the weather that is coming? We need to be someplace warm and defensible come darkness.
Edwin commented, "It's going to be shallenging to make Hut 15 considering our late start. We could instead head for Tinscragg, which wouldn't depend so much on the weather holding."
He tried not to give away that he way aware that they were being followed, but kept looking back.
"I agree, better safe than sorry. Getting caught in a blizzard would be hard to get through. Who knows, our tail might even come in under some pretense."
Mike sighed heavily, "Yeah. I guess it is a little late, would suck to get caught out in a storm."
The decision was made to head for Tinscragg.
You turned off the trail towards the mountain hut, taking another smaller one that went far into the foot hills. Still you gradually ascended and witnessed a progression in the vegetation. Low down the ground was covered with grasses, verdant bushes and dense copses of trees. These gave way to hardy scrubs plants and mosses although there were still occasional trees clinging to boulders here and there.
Above a certain level the trees stopped and of course it got colder, it was perhaps a few degrees above freezing when the rain started and the wind picked up. You spent a few miserable hours tramping through this and Dr Munroe tried to keep everyone's spirits up by sharing amusing anecdotes about his previous adventures. You'd heard most of these before of course, but every so often he'd add something new.
After a while he pointed to something in the distance through the raid and asked Mile, "Is that Tinscragg?"
Mike nodded.
"How'd it get it's name anyway?" he asked.
As the sun started to set Mike replied, "Would it surprise you to know they found tin ore up in yonder crag? Stunning lack of originality I agree... Anyway the Inn is called the Dragon's Egg. No they didn't build it on a dragon's lair. The so called Dragon's Egg was a perfect fire agate about the size of a small boy, it was found in a stream having been washed down from somewhere high up in the mountains by the spring floods. I'm told it had the most wonderful translucent layers and it looked amazing in sunlight as if it was on fire."
The last few hundred feet where steep but there was a trail which wound its way up the hill nestled in font of some titanic cliffs known as Tinscragg Bluff. Just before you reached town the winding trail revealed a surprise, a mostly flat hanging valley that was invisible from below. This was sheltered on three sides and clearly had it's own microclimate because it was filled with a patchwork quilt of fields and stone walls, bursting with lush cereals and other crop plants.
Another couple of turns up the train and you where in Tinscragg. You carried on passing a few stout stone houses with high peaked roofs, clearly designed to prevent an accumulation of snow. From each of the handful of dwellings thin streams of coal smoke rose from the chimneys.
Nestled under the bluff, The Prospector's Inn was considerably bigger than the surrounding houses, none of which had a second story. It was made from large stone blocks mortared together with numerous small shuttered windows. The front door was unlocked and inside the air was warm, smelling of beer and roast beef.
There where not many patrons and many tables so you could have your pick of where to sit. There was however a welcome fire and the Inn Keep a middle age man with a salt and pepper beard nodded to you as you entered. The bar itself was meticulously clean, twenty feet of hardwood polished to a near mirror shine. He hailed you saying, "Staying over night I assume? You'll be no doubt glad to hear we're still serving dinner if you put your order in soon."
Many of the abandoned buildings in the area got torn down, their stones repurposed to make walls for the farm you passed in the hanging valley.
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Before they reach the inn, Zendara insists that Mike get a room with a group of people so that they can share the watch and make sure he doesn't get killed.
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Zendara orders some dinner thankfully, asking about meals and accommodations for the whole group.
Edwin commented, "The Prospector's Inn was one of the older buildings on Waiaki Island, and it once was much more important, being used as the starting point for many a prospector's journey into the volcanic peaks. But those days are in the past."
"I'm certainly up for some dinner."
The barkeep replied to Zendara, "The entire upper floor is empty. The rooms are in good order and come in various sizes so you can have your pick. That said they're reckoned to be haunted although I can't say I've ever been bothered when I've slept up there. Most folk sleep down here on the benches near the fire. I don't reckon we'll have many guests tonight so you're welcome to claim and area down here if you prefer. Price is the same a silver a person per night, breakfast provided. Hot bath is extra at 50 copper. Tonight we have roast beef and two veg or spiced chicken stew."
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"We're still being followed. Kudo's for the effort, but they can still be spotted."
"Hmm...haunting you say? That reminds me, wasn't there an old prospector who killed himself, after losing his big find, and unable to pay off debt? I'm sure i've heard of the tale at some point."
Specifics will come to her a minute later, and she will describe it to the team.
Zendara orders spiced chicken stew and a hot bath, and asks the group where they would prefer to sleep.
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Yukarii very much let the others guide things for the time being. The aftermath of fighting the vampire, then being scryed on, and followed, had left her rather shaken...especially the vampire. To this day she still had little more than scraps of her memory from her time imprisoned with the vampiress. She remembered pain, she remembered pleasure, and she remembered the terror of what she was going to become. She was rescued in time but it cost her parents their lives to do so. Being so close to another of the bloodsuckers had made her very introspective and withdrawn.
When they reached the inn Yukarii was greatly relieved to be off that steep trail and out of the cold. Her attention was caught when she heard that the rooms they would be in were considered by some to be haunted. This sounded like just the thing to distract her from her troubles. Yukari pondered the issue and asked, "What has supposedly happened with this haunt?"
The spiced chicken stew proves to be rather good, flavoured with unusual local spices and chilli. Hot but not too hot, just the thing to put some warmth back into you after a long hike in the rain.
One of the locals an old timer with a wispy beard the color of snow with piercing blue eyes was on his way back from the bar with a pitcher of the dark heavy ale that was popular with locals.
He spoke with a musical lilting voice, "Och ye're talking aboot ol'Jack's ghost, aye? When I were a lad, I spent the night up there. Thought it a load a nonsense I did, stayed in that big room up there, the one that used to be Jack's. It weren't nonsense though, Jack paid me a visit he did, near frightened the life out-a me! Been thinkin' about it on and off, poor ol'Jack's stuck, he can't cross over. Reckon he wanted justice, too late for that though, the thief is surely long in the grave after all these years." After that he started to wander off back to his table.
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Edwin mused, "I wonder if we should try sleeping upstairs, and try to figure out what's preventing Jack from moving on? Assuming that he appears, that is."
He addressed the old-timer, "Can you tell us more about Jack, and what happend to him?"
Zendara nods to Edwin, thinking that is a good idea.
She quietly adds for the party only
As long as we also stay on guard... have to be wary of the person that was following us.
The old timer turned round and grabbed a chair before telling Edwin, "Well now, let's see. Me gran-pappe knew Jack in passing. Jack was a celebrated prospector, found da seam for th' norwig gold mine he did, oh and th' seam for da union gold 'n' silver mine. It was jack that found da three trees diamond claim and th' eidercrag emerald mine. He had a nose for it I guess ye could say. Me gran-pappe said that Jack's downfall was on account of him being so full o' himself. Right boastful he was, attracted bad luck 'n' thieves you see."
The man took a sip of his stout before continuing, "The one they reckon stole Jacks diamonds was a strange un. A toothy drifter woman with strange shrunken looks known as Tinder. She had a tattoo or mebbe it were scars on her cheek of a circle with winglike arms. Me gran-pappe didn't like her, claimed t'was known she listened ta whispering things in da dark, claimed claimed t'was known she had nae shadow. Not sure I believe that, anywoo it's on record she'd been hanging around here for weeks and disappeared da same night Jack lost his diamonds and his mind. Seems ta me, she had a case ta answer for. An afore ye ask, I've got no clue what happened to Tinder - me gran-pappe never heard hide nor hair of her again. No one did, and it weren't fer lack o trying."
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Edwin didn't recognize the desription of the tatoo.
Yukarii was quite intrigued by what they were told of this ghost and knew that she had to at least try to do something about it. Given the look on her face it was obvious she, at least, was going to try and do something about the haunting. She seemed to feel like she had an obligation if the last few instances were anything to go on.
The emblem and lack of shadow told her nothing about the creature that stole from the man before his death but she figured that she could at least try and speak with it. She looked to her friends and said, "You do not need to come with me if you do not wish but I am going to go up and try to speak with the ghost."
Edwin replied to Yukarii, "I'll stay upstairs with you. Hopefully we can figure out what's preenting him from moving on."
He tried talking to the other guests to see if anyone else knew anything about the ghost. He was particularily interested to find out if there was any specific item of location that was associated with Jack, and might posibly have some leftover pychic emanations.
When talking with the man finished, Xindyra took the others aside before they'd wander off.
"That tattoo he spoke of, that's a mark of Nyarlathotep. And if she lacked a shadow, perhaps she's a vampire as well."
The second theory that was with her, was unwelcome.
"Haunts, to my knowledge, remain due to business unsolved. What if Tinder is still around?"
You rent the upstairs room from the inn keep who unironically wishes you pleasant dreams as he hands you the key, adding, "If it doesn't work out for you up there, you're welcome to sleep down here - going to be plenty of space."
You head up the steep and rather squeaky wooden staircase to the floor above. Upstairs the inn has different rather grander decor that the fairly plain tap room below, in a style a century or more out of date. Clearly this was once a rather fine inn that, like the rest of the town, fell on hard times. A singe long corridor stretches out with various rooms on either side. Your room, number 101 is at the end of the corridor.
Room 101 turns out to be a suite, with a large central room with four beds, a small wash room, and a smaller room with two large beds. The big room has a balcony with a gorgeous view down the valley toward the central mountains. The peaked ceiling is rather high at 14' with exposed rafters.
The door to room 101 is inch thick stout oak, and the windows have substantial shutters - necessary given the fury of winter storms. All in all this looks pretty defensible.
Zendara examines the room, and likes that the it seems defensible.
She also examines the rafters, glad that no table is present.
She tells the group about how Jack hanged himself, and then, belatedly answering Xindyra, Zendara says, And if Tinder is still around, then we'll be happy to stake her as well.
She tells Mike that he will have to sleep in the main room so that he has protection, and that he needs to sleep in the bed furthest from the window.
Zendara takes the bed closest to the balcony, and asks the professor to stay in the smaller room with two beds along with Xindyra, since Yukarii and Edwin likely wanted to be in the main room to try communicating with the ghost.
She volunteers for first watch, unless Yukarii and Edwin want to stay up to do ghost stuff... if they do, she is happy to take a later watch. Either way, she checks to make sure that all of the doors and windows are secure and makes sure that the smaller room has an open door so that anyone can see into both rooms as they are on watch.
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While Zendara knew it another way, Xindyra recalls a traveler telling a tale about this haunt. Whatever detail was missed, she added to it.
"Say, i have a theory on who our stalker is. I am guessing Red, that assassin. People want us dead, most likely? Recall it was mentioned she wears a bracelet that doesn't work with water? The weather's not been particularly fine, so far."
Ah, so perhaps that is why she hasn't made her move yet. I am expecting her tonight. Let's have some water on hand, just in case. Good thinking, Xindyra. I knew there was something I was overlooking.
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Edwin thought for a moment. "Hmm, if she does show up, I could summon a small water elemental to fight her."
Servitor (Sp): As a standard action, you can expend 1 point of mental focus to summon a servitor. This ability functions as summon monster I, but you can use it only to summon a single creature, and the effect lasts for 1 minute. At 4th level and every 3 levels thereafter, the level of the summon monster spell increases by 1, to a maximum of summon monster VII at 19th level. You can’t have more than one servitor in effect at a time. At any time, you can expend 1 point of mental focus as a free action to extend the duration of an active servitor by 1 minute.
Yukarii looked around the room when they entered and began to open her senses for the presence of trapped souls. She began to move around the area, holding her bare hand out above the various objects in the room as she tried to sense something that might help her figure out what she needed to do to help this supposed spirit to move on.
She had noted the sense of sadness and injustice as she walked through the door and decided to come back to that after she searched for anything further of significance. Once she finished checking the room for any other possible hot spots Yukarii went back to the door. She looked back to everyone and said, "I am going to try and get a reading from the door, I could sense emotions attached to it when we came inside." Her warning done Yukarii reached her hand out and touched the door as she tried to read what she could from it.
When the assassin was discussed, Mike said, "It's still raining out there and it'll be cold tonight, she'll have to seek shelter or risk hypothermia. I guess we'll get some action tonight, although I don't see how she can get inside without waking us all up."
With a flash you find yourself transported, it was a warm summer day. The room looked different, the windows had been thrown open and dappled sunlight streamed in. The air had the smell of polishing wax and wild flowers and the colors of everything were fresh and vibrant, not that you could tell through the thick dark glasses. Many thought the sunlight was certain death for your kind, they thought wrong, it was merely an inconvenience. The blessings of your dark master meant you could bathe in full sunlight and suffer only a mild headache.
The locked picked, you ghosted inside. You didn't have long, the mark would be back from lunch soon, but the three minutes you'd budgeted would be more than enough. You knew exactly where the safe was, hidden behind the mirror in the bedroom. You didn't even have to crack the safe, you knew the factory combination because your organisation had supplied it, and the mark was too stupid and lazy to change it. Moments later you felt an almost sexual thrill as you held the heavy red leather bag that had been secreted within. Carefully oh so carefully, you smoothed down the bed covers, leaving everything exactly how you found it...
The vision dimmed and shifted abruptly.
You awoke with a pounding headache, you scratched the days old stubble on your cheek as you flopped out of bed. It was time to think about slowing down on the gin, maybe only one bottle a night! Just enough to take the edge off things, it didn't matter that you owed the bank a great deal of money. It didn't matter that you owed loan sharks an even greater sum, you where rich. Two flawless diamonds each the size of hens eggs, colorless but with the fire of every color as they caught the light. More than enough collateral for loans that would beggar a small country. Still it was reassuring to hold them, to cradle them like a babe in the crook of your arm. To hold them to your cheek.
Bleary eyed you hauled yourself off the floor and you opened the safe, it was a very good idea to have that installed. It took several attempts to fumble the combination but you had it open and, wait! Where where they?! They where there earlier!?!
S*&$, you are a dead man if they can't be found! Relax, relax, think it though. Perhaps you'd taken them out while drinking, wouldn't be the first time. You cast around, looking for them. Nothing. The sock draw, check the sock draw! You yank the handle so hard it breaks and you shove the poxy draws into the floor so hard they splinter and break. You sift through the wreckage, nothing. Its Ok, it must be in the main room. The pattern repeats as you futilely smash various bits of furniture they might be hiding within.
After a while your manic energy ebbs and a low howl of despair escapes your lips as the incessant pounding on the door grows louder. You'll be damned if you're going to answer, there's only one way you're leaving this hotel and that's in a box. You've been had, and you think you know who it was too, that weird woman with the glasses and the strange tattoo on her cheek who insisted on buying you one last drink, for the road... You could have sworn behind those glasses she was gloating but at the time you couldn't figure out why and now it was too late. Far too late. You knew what happened to those who defaulted on Mr Evans, and you'd be damned if you'd let that weasel have the satisfaction!
The vision fades leaving you feeling deeply unsettled.
If you look the safe is still there, it was well hidden by the mirror. It's locked.
Yukarii finished reading the door frame and came out of it in far better shape than she usually did. She relayed the experience and then headed towards the mirror the safe was behind. It was there, just as in the memory, though she was leery of touching it without letting someone else make sure it hadn't been trapped after the events of the past. "Here it is, just where it should be. I doubt there is anything here but if someone would like to check this for traps I might be able to get a further reading from it."
Zendara checks the safe for traps.
Edwin checked the safe for traps.
Then he spent a minute handling the safe and did his beast to determine its properties.
Object Reading (Su): At 2nd level, an occultist learns how to read information from items he examines. Examining an item in this way requires him to spend 1 minute handling the item. If the item is a magic item, the occultist learns its properties and command word as if he had successfully examined the item using detect magic and succeeded at a Spellcraft check. This ability does not reveal whether the item is cursed unless the occultist’s class level is equal to or greater than the caster level of the item. If the item has any historical significance, the occultist learns one piece of information about its past (as determined by the GM). Finally, if the item was last used no longer than 1 day ago per the occultist’s class level, the occultist learns one piece of information about the last creature to use the item. This information might be a glimpse of the creature’s appearance, a brief vision of what it saw while using the item, or perhaps its emotional state when it last used the item. The GM determines what information is gained in this way. This functions like the psychometry occult skill unlock (see page 196), but doesn’t require a skill check and can be used at will.
Neither Zendara nor Edwin could find any traps, however after a few attempts they manage to open the Arlington Company standard No 2 safe. The combination was still set the the factory default of 0-20-60-80-0. Disappointingly the safe itself is empty but it's an interesting historical artefact.
Edwin examines the safe, running his fingers over it. Deep down he knows it's been a very long time since it was used. He examines the green felt inside and his eyes defocus and he goes very quiet for a few minutes before snapping back to his normal self.
Suddenly the vision vanished leaving you feeling uneasy about touching the safe.
A sleepy looking Dr Munroe asked, "Find anything Edwin?"
Coming back to his senses, Edwin spoke quietly, "I had a vision that I was in the Arlington copmany factory on Essex island. There were dozens of safes in various stages of construction. A cultist was killing a snake and flicking its blood on each one. He performed a strange dance muttering, 'In Nyarlathotep's name, take these and sow bitter seeds!' I now feel uneasy about touching the safe.
"The company went bust about sixty years ago under mysterious circumatances. I think we might want to visit the suposedly abandoned site and investigate when we get back to the island."
Interesting. Okay, so hands off the safe. I wonder if we can destroy it or remove whatever curse it on it somehow.
The safe looks rather heavy so doing much of anything with it would be a serious endeavour. If the curse still lingers after all these years, dealing with it would require research .
You talk for some more but it seems there's little to be done about anything tonight.
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The Inn Keeper gave you strange looks when you asked for any buckets/bowls, in the end he leant you a pair of old fashioned bed pans.
"Lights out is it?" asked Mike as he stifled a yawn, "Well I guess that makes sense. I won't be able to see anything if things go down, but I'm not much of a fighter anyway. I expect Xavier and Miriam will have a lantern handy in just case."
They nodded and everyone except Zendara turned in after all it had been a long day and everyone was tired.
Zendara's watch was tense yet boring, there were small sounds from the inn. She could hear the wind occasionally rattling the shutters outside and the inn keep and his wife cleaning downstairs before they eventually went to sleep. There was also occasional noise from the handful of other guests below as they talked before settling (the voices where too muffled to make anything out) but after a while that stopped and by then it was almost time for Edwin's watch.
Like Zendara's watch, Edwin's watch was boring, and in the small hours of the night the only noises was muffled snoring from Dr Munroe and Prof Dexter's room and even that stopped after a while.
Edwin crept over to Xindyra's bed and nudged her awake, whispering "Something's happening! I can't hear any sounds from near the suite entrance!"
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Getting woken up, Xindyra is pulled from a dream of a roof terrace, overlooking a beach & seaside view.
"Hmm....what?".....
"No sounds? Yes, that would be suspicious. Would you wake up Yukari, i'll wake Zendara."
Xindyra reaches for rapier, and gets up from bed.
She in turn nudges Zendara,
"Hey, wakey wakey. Something funny is going on, and it is not comedy."
Zendara has been sleeping fitfully, expecting an assassination attempt at any time, and she wakes up and gets her bow and a water balloon, guessing there is a silence spell cast on the other side of the door. She hopes that the assassin isn't killing everyone in here, but it could also just be covering up the sound of picking the lock, so she wants to be ready.
She stands in the dark between Mike and the door, but motions to the others to also be careful of the balcony door in case it was more than one person coming after them. If this safe had been cursed by that evil creature so long ago she hoped that was just a one-off thing and the whole town weren't cultists or something.