Hmm's Dark Archives Duology: 'Lady of the Harvest' & 'Tomorrow's Feast' [OUTPOST VI]

Game Master Hmm

"Both the house and the painting have been rumored to be cursed," Eando notes. "So I'm sure you will have plenty to investigate. Plus... the weather in Ustalav is lovely this time of year," Eando notes wistfully as he fans himself in the Thuvian heat.

"I've heard that Ustalav has some lovely regional pies - plum, cheese and even a savory cabbage." Tess says, hopefully. "Do you think you can bring a pie back with you? All the Thuvian rations taste of sand after a while."

"That's not their mission!" Eando scolds Tess.

With a brief flash of white on his eyebrows, Turiik says with a momentary deepening in the pitch of his voice, "I'll find you some pies."

And then the young Erutaki is again listening to the briefing and his colleagues insights into the location. "What kind of curse do we suspect?"

Dr. Lazarus respects Tess taking such good care of the Dark Archives book. When Eando isn't looking, Dr. Lazarus nods to the duskwalker. He pursues a lead on a regional pie!

When Eando scolds her, Tess asks, "Well, how about some ethically-sourced wheat? Too much of the flour around here hails from Geb. I hear that Ustalav grows wheat tended by living farmers." Tess sighs. "I haven't had so much as a muffin for weeks..."

Then Tess claps her hands, as both Turiik and Lazarus offer to find pie. "Thank you so much! You're the best colleagues a Pathfinder could hope for."

Eando shakes his head, and mutters under his breath, "..misuse of resources..."

Then Eando says in a normal voice, "I have no idea what sort of curse there is, but with disappearing people, there's bound to be something."

Meadow bursts into the tent, breathing heavily. She is closely followed by Silence. "Sorry we're late. We got stuck helping a friend in Aspenthar. You'd think helping to catch smugglers would be pretty exciting with dramatic accusations, a thrilling chase and a satisfying conclusion as the bad guys get caught. Stuff like that. All we ended up doing was sit around for a couple of days staking out a warehouse until some guys showed up. So boring."

She looks around and realizes she should be focused on the current mission. "So...uh...What'd we miss? I heard something about muffins...?"

“So if it is a curse, don’t we need specific magic to remove it? I can Dispel Magic but that doesn’t work on curses.”

All this talk of pie starts Jayma's mouth watering. Days of dull camp rations were starting to take their toll on her and the thought of eating a good pie only makes her more eager to get to their destination. "I could definitely go for a good pie right now. I'm concerned that my complexion is becoming a little paler than usual, and food with actual taste would probably put the pink back in my cheeks". As the talk turns to curses, Jayma starts getting impatient and a small scowl starts forming on her paler-than-usual face.

"It may also be the case that it is not a curse? That something more mundanely sinister is the cause, like kidnappings?" Turiik questions with a thoughtful expression.

Tarcog scratches at the scales on his cheek before replying “True, it might not be a curse. I think the point is that if it is a curse we better be ready for it.”

“It would be foolish to walk into a situation where we suspect there may be a curse without bringing something that has a chance of dealing with it.”

Meadow has a puzzled look on her face. "Wait, I'm confused. The muffins are cursed? Why would anyone want to curse muffins?"

Why indeed would anyone want to curse muffins? With this and other pressing questions on your mind, you prepare to traverse the somnalist bridge. With Tess preparing to anchor the bridge, you all take comfortable positions as the book opens once again.

Ustalav has been the source of a disproportionate number of our open cases. Large enough for strange phenomena to be noticed, small enough for them to remain unsolved, at the fringes. Lorres Manor, in Ravengro, is a nexus of such events—accidents befalling the workers who built it, objects moving, possibly some kind of haunting (or curse)? whatever the case, the mansion's relative obscurity is likely the only thing keeping the events contained.

— K.H.W.

You awake on a road. In one direction lies a cute little village, with banners that read, 'Celebrate the 500th Anniversary of Lady of the Harvest at the upcoming Ravengro Centenniel!' To the west are farms, some filled with gently waving stalks of wheat. To the east lies a stand of trees. And at the other end of the road and up the hill stands an old manor house.

The old manor looms above an overgrown, derelict garden. Now very little remains but blackberry brambles and a partially collapsed gazebo. Grand marble columns frame the manor's terrace entrance, the Taldan architecture out of place with the traditional Ustalavic architecture outside the manor's grounds. Tall windows framed by smaller, decorative columns outline most of the house, though a cursory look at the house's rear reveals the back half of the second floor is windowless. Jutting out from the second floor at the house's front, however, appears to be the wall-to-wall windows of a solarium, facing the west. Grime and decay cover nearly every visible surface of the house, though it looks structurally sound—at least from the outside.

Where do you go?

Upon waking, Dr. Lazarus looks for the magic book. Barring any objections, he retrieves it, strokes its spine, and places it safely in its familiar velvet pouch. "Stay safe, my learned friend."

While the Doctor would very much like to head to the village and find a local bookstore, explaining "You can find some real hidden treasures at remote booksellers." He muses fondly, "For instance, in Andoran, I stumbled onto a quaint establishment called The Arthfell Athenaeum ... specializing in hard-to-find ..." His voice trails off as he realizes no one is listening.

Gazing up the hill, he asks, "To the manor?"

Meadow quickly checks the brambles for blackberries. After gathering a few she looks up at the dilapidated manor and shudders. "It sure looks spooky."

Silence preens his feathers, unimpressed by the scary house.

Jayma fireballs the gazebo before it can attack them. :-)

Jayma gives the manor a good looking over and her knowledgeable eye picks out the odd architectural details. "How very interesting. Looks like it was built in the Neopostempire style dating back to the Age of Enthronement and popular in Taldor during the reign of Stavian II". She turns to Thurston and with a slight grin, adds playfully, "Wouldn't you agree, doctor?" Looking around at the other more traditional Ustalavic buildings. "It's not something I would have expected to find in a little village in the middle of Ustalav."

As they stand around deciding what to do and Thurston suggests heading to the manor, Jayma nods in agreement and adds, "Yes, I agree. First we take care of the curse and then we go pie shopping in town."

Mmm, pie.

”If we go pie shopping now, we’ll be distracted keeping them safe,” Turiik says, apparently serious. ”But we should go talk to the locals.”

“I like the idea of talking to people first!” Tarcog says as he summons Amvolwatt.

When others don't see an immediate sense of urgency to visit the manor, Dr. Lazarus jumps at the chance to head to town first. "I'd love to explore a new remote location!" He pauses and adds carefully, "For some odd reason, that I admit I don't completely fathom, I've been told my personality can be ... hmm ... off-putting." He shrugs and continues, "While you're off chatting with locals, you can find me browsing in a nearby establishment that has Booksellers or Curiosities in its name." With a bounce in the old elf's step, Dr. Lazarus leads the way.

The town of Ravengro has a City Council building, farmer's exchange, mill, general store, bars, a diner, schoolhouse, tailor shop, barbershop, churches of various denominations, alchemist's shop, bakery and a bookshop called the Musty Raven where Dr. Lazarus heads immediately.

The bookseller, a little gnome who has to climb a desk with a built in ladder to see over it, looks at Dr. Lazarus and readjusts her glasses. "Well, you're not a local. Are you with the Curse Removal team that Liro said was coming?"

★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★

Where are the rest of you headed?

Tarcog and Amvolwatt wait to see where others are going. “If one of you wants to be accompanied by Dragons, we are happy to do so.”

Jayma most likely doesn’t need the help.

You hear a churning sounds from Amvolwatt’s stomach.

“Especially if it is the diner! I haven’t eaten since getting here!”

Jayma watches as Thurston heads into the bookshop. "I'm not really in the mood for books. How about we see if we can find someone in charge around here." She points to the City Council building. "That official looking building looks promising." Then, flashing a smile at Tarcog and Amvolwatt, she beckons them to accompany her. "I'm pretty sure the diner can wait. We only just got here."

Turiik stays with Lazarus in the bookstore. Although he did suggest and agree to surveying the townsfolk, he seems more interested in browsing the books within the store while the elf speaks to the shopkeeper.

Meadow watches in confusion as half of the party goes to the bookseller and half head to the city council building. "But..."

Dr. Lazarus barely waves goodbye over his shoulder, almost dismissively, to Jayma and the others as he quickly heads into the Musty Raven with Turiik. "Glad to have your company, my boy. Nice to travel with another who values expanding the mind."

Perusing the section on Ustalavic Architecture, the Doctor looks up as the bookseller addresses him. "Ahh yes, Madam. Greetings. I'm Dr. Lazarus, renowned forensics professor at the University of Osirion, perhaps you've hea..." He shakes his head, "No, probably not this far north..."

Remembering his manners, he bows, and says sincerely, "You have a lovely shop." Then, finally, answering her question, he says, "Why yes, indeed. My colleagues and I are here to investigate the old manor on the hill. What do you know of the curse? Any bit of info, no matter how small, could be vital." The investigator retrieves his writing pad.

Diplomacy - Make an Impression: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28

Silence turns his head almost entirely upside down and hoots softly at his friend.

The young ranger shrugs. "Yeah, I don't know what they're doing either but while they're all goofing off you and I are going to get to the bottom of this." She motions for the owl to follow her as she turns and heads for the bakery.

"Hello? We're here about the muffins."

Tarcog watches as the group fragments. “Four people and an owl. Three different directions.”

He shrugs then looks over to Amvolwatt. “Will pie do?” he says with a smile.

“Yes!” Amvolwatt says as he rushes to follow Meadow.

Tarcog follows Amvolwatt into the bakery just in time to hear Meadow mentions muffins.

“We are also interested in the pies.” he says.

Tarcog's Diplomacy (T): 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (15) + 13 = 28 Make an impression

The bakery, Four and Twenty Black Birds, smells of dozens of freshly baked breads and pastries. A young brown-haired woman with a cascade of freckles across her nose, smiles at you. "Yes, we have muffins! Would cinnamon apple ones be to your liking? We also have a variety of tasty pies, though..." the woman pauses, "...perhaps not as good as ones as those made by my ma's gran. We occasionally have elven visitors who tell me that our crust, while tasty, is not as good as could be found here a hundred years ago." She sighs. "But it's still mighty fine pie."

Tarcog has figured out that Tess likes variety and new tastes. Unfortunately he isn’t quite sure what qualifies as that for an elven palette. Good thing Meadow is here!

He looks for the cabbage and the plum pies since Tess mentioned those. He also looks for a meat pie since that is something that Amvolwatt would enjoy. That or something with a strong citrus taste.

Once he has an idea, he asks Meadow “Do you think Tess would enjoy these pies?” indicating the ones for Tess.

As he is paying for the pies, he asks the clerk “Is there anything you can tell me about Lorres Manor, the festival, or current events in the area? As you might have guessed, we are from out of town.”

If this requires a Diplomacy check, go ahead and bot it. I will spend a hero point on a crit failure.

“We are also interested in the pies.” he says.

Meadow gives Tarcog a puzzled look. "Wait...the pies are cursed too?"

The bakery, Four and Twenty Black Birds, smells of dozens of freshly baked breads and pastries. A young brown-haired woman with a cascade of freckles across her nose, smiles at you. "Yes, we have muffins! Would cinnamon apple ones be to your liking? We also have a variety of tasty pies, though..." the woman pauses, "...perhaps not as good as ones as those made by my ma's gran. We occasionally have elven visitors who tell me that our crust, while tasty, is not as good as could be found here a hundred years ago." She sighs. "But it's still mighty fine pie."

"What? No. we're here about the..." Meadow leans close and gives the young woman a conspiratorial wink, "cursed muffins." She slyly taps the side of her nose.

Yet Another Avatar wrote:

“We are also interested in the pies.” he says.

Meadow gives Tarcog a puzzled look. "Wait...the pies are cursed too?"

Perplexed, Tarcog looks at Meadow and says “I certainly hope not! Tess asked us for some pies.”

“We don’t know if anything is cursed.”

"Cursed? Our pies? Our muffins?" The young woman looks indignant for a moment, then bursts out laughing. "Oh... wait. You must be the curse breakers Ms. Traventhal's expecting today. No wonder you think everything's cursed! Here... Have a muffin. I find if I get too jumpy, a little good solid food sets me straight again."

She points up the road. "Now, what is cursed is that manor on the hill. It swallowed up my ma's gran near a hundred years ago, and that's why I don't have her pie crust recipes. So why don't you all grab your lunch here, and then head up that hill? Ms. Traventhal said that was where she'd wait to meet you."

At hearing the invitation to eat, Amvolwatt takes the pies that Tarcog bought for him and starts eating them.

Chomp!
“The crust tastes”
Chomp!
“just fine to me!”
Chomp!

“Who is this Ms. Traventhal and how did she know when we would arrive?”

As he asks this, Tarcog carefully loads the pies for Tess into his bag. The size of the bag doesn’t change at all when the pies are added.
Bag of Holding Type I

"You have a lovely shop." Then, finally, answering her question, he says, "Why yes, indeed. My colleagues and I are here to investigate the old manor on the hill. What do you know of the curse? Any bit of info, no matter how small, could be vital." The investigator retrieves his writing pad.

"I'm Magda Lorebinder," the gnome nods courteously to the Doctor. "I don't know much about the curse, other than it's said that it was punishment on Count Lorres for the horrors of Harrostone Prison. There were strange accidents amongst the construction workers, and stories of his art going wandering, and people disappearing. Even after the Count was deposed, there were disappearances, including three children who supposedly wandered into the Manor on a dare."

Magda looks shrewdly at Lazarus and Turiik. "Now a truly haunted and cursed manor house is a liability, but a formerly haunted and cursed manor house could be a tourist attraction that could make this town money. There was some fella who came by a few years ago, and left a beacon that would let us call in curse breakers if we ever decided that we wanted to deal with the Manor once and for all. We hemmed and hawed... What if we brought the curse upon us all? But we don't want more missing kids, and maybe we could make something of the place. Show it off, and make this town the center of an art festival. But that only works if you can lift the curse."

When Magda introduces herself, Dr. Lazarus nods, "Well met, Lady Magda." As she tells her tale, the Doctor hastily, but neatly, takes down everything in his writing pad. "Excellent information, my dear lady. Clearly I've come to the right place. And yes, my colleagues are quite capable. I have no doubt that we'll get to the bottom of this and lift the curse plaguing your vibrant town."

As he's about to close his notebook, Lazarus asks, "Earlier you mentioned that someone named Liro sent for us? If I may, madam, who is Liro?"

When Tarcog and Amvolwatt decline her offer to escort her to the City Council building and opt for the bakery instead, Jayma pouts prettily and considers her options: Meeting with boring city councilors on her own, or pie. Not much of a choice really, especially after a waft of delicious baking smells hits her. Turning on her heels, she bustles after her colleagues. "Wait for me!"

”You’re certain it’s a curse and not Chelish slave takers?” Turiik asks in a non-accusatory tone.

Four-and-Twenty Black Birds

"Ms. Traventhal is the head of the City Council. She knew when you'd come because she'd gotten some sort of beacon from the other curse breaker who came through here. He was kind of cute, in a world-weary 'I'm too busy breaking curses to iron my clothes' kind of way." She pauses, and asks Jayma, "Hello, Ma'am. What would you like to have today? Most of my pies have just been bought out, but I still have muffins, rolls, and all sorts of sandwiches I can make you with fluffy potato bread."

Musty Raven

"I'm not certain of anything," Magda says to Turiik, adjusting the glasses on her nose. "But if it was Chelish slave takers, and we're near enough the border that it could be, they wouldn't only be operating in the manor house, would they?"

"As for whom Liro is, why her daughter was one of the children who disappeared, five years ago. Since then, she's gotten herself into politics and made it her personal campaign to get the manor house uncursed."

“Thank you so much for the pies and information.”

He waits for Jayma to get whatever she wants, using the time to clean up the area where Amvolwatt ate his pies and then clean the dragon.

“Well, seems the person we want to speak to is at the castle. Let’s find the others and go there.”

With the new information, Dr. Lazarus stows his writing pad. "My thanks, dear lady. You've been a big help. We'll let you know when we're done. And I'll be buying one of these fabulous books on Ustalav architecture upon my return." Looking to Turiik, "Ready to meet the others, my boy?"

The Doctor heads to the bakery and shares his information with the others.

Jayma reacts to the news of a reduced pie selection by feigning a greater degree of disappointment than she actually felt. "Oh no! I had my heart set on pie. Are there any pies left at all? I'm not particular, as long as they're sweet. Are you sure you don't have something for me? Anything?"

Turning on her full charm superpowers, she directs them at Magda. She looks pleadingly at the woman and puts on her best puppy dog eyes as Twyl emits a slight whimper in support.

Activity: Make an Impression with Diplomat's Badge, Group Impression and Ambassador vs Magda
Diplomacy (Make an Impression): 1d20 + 17 + 1 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 17 + 1 + 3 = 39 vs Magda Will DC

Boom! A nuclear charm explosion :)