Furrowing his brow Sariel watches the strange aura fade. Returning his attention to the fallen Gibs, he reflects, "I'm not sure he needs tied, whatever was controlling him has left." Looking towards Lady Shae he asks, "Maybe we could give him some of your healing candy and wake him. If he remembers what happened he may be willing to share some information." Sariel shrugs lightly, "If he waffles, we could use the threat of contacting the sheriff as leverage."
As he speaks, Sariel looks to the statue, wonders why the spirit is putting blood on the statue and if it will just possess someone else to finish what it had started.
"I...hmm." Sorsul said, hesitating. "Whatever was in him might well come back. If we are to talk to him, I'd feel much safer if it was in a cell until we can be certain that the spirit is not just hiding within him. That." She continued, with a slight pause "Turning him in to be held will prove to the sheriffs that we can be trusted. If it becomes known that we caught him and let him go, then we may well be the ones who end up in a cell."
Nodding in agreement with Sorsul, Sariel extends his hand for an end of the rope to help tie up Gibs. He looks towards Lady Shay, "I'd still like to speak to him, can we heal him a little?"
After you send word, Sherif Caeller and two deputies arrive shortly thereafter. "What happened?"
answering quickly, Sariel gestures towards the fallen Gibs, "We were attacked by Gibs." Pointing towards the razor, then the bucket of blood. "He appears to be who was defacing the statue."
Pausing for a moment he considers whether to share the rest of the information. Realizing it would do no good to keep even the 'difficult to explain' parts from the sherif he continues. "Gibs was possessed. Based on what was said, we believe it was the spirit of one of the prisoners who died in the fire."
Pausing again, he looks towards the ladies, then back towards the sherif, "We were headed to the prison to continue our investigation. I believe now it is even more important that we do so."
Sorsul nodded at Sariel's explanation. Feeling sympathy for the possessed man, she added "Please keep a careful eye on Gibs. We don't know how he came to be possessed, if the spirit might return to him, or if it will seek a new victim. But there is a very real chance that he is an innocent in all of this, so I wouldn't judge him too harshly until we can uncover what has led to this."
Sherif Caeller gives you a serious nod. "We'll lock him in a cell until you have more information. That way the town is protected - but so is he."
Satisfied with the sherif's answer Sariel gestures towards the edge of town and the general direction of the prison. "Shall we?"
As they walk he considers, "I assume we'll head in the front door as before and begin our search where we left off?"
”Thats seems prudent.” She replied. Remembering the horrors they had already seen, she steeled herself. Because if they didn’t do this, then who would? Furthermore, what happened to Gibbs could happen to anyone else in the town, and the thought of that was bad enough to spur action. She was just happy that she didn’t have to go in alone. She honestly did not think she had it in her to go that far.
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Lady Shae nods at Sariels question, gripping her staff tightly as she remembers the last time she was here. She wouldn't let it get the better of her this time, this time would be different.
"Lets do this then." she said with a gravitas appropriate to the situation.
Finding there way back to the prison, Sariel pauses for a moment, using some of his innate magic. Feeling more prepared he leads the way back into the foyers; this time approaching the double doors straight ahead. Carefully inspecting the doors.
Standing next to Sariel, Sorsul looked back at Lady Shae. "Well, here we are again. While I hope that I won't need any of your candy to keep me on my feet, I am glad to have it here." She said this as much to herself as to her friend. The idea of walking back into the ruins was scary enough as it is, but she knew that fear was only in her mind. It was a choice, and she was trying to choose to be brave.
The double doors open to a long hallway interspersed with multiple doors.
Chuckling at Sorsul's comment, Sariel knows her appreciation for Lady Shae's morsels are health based, whereas his own is strictly due to the sweetness, but that doesn't keep him from nodding his head in agreement, "Yes they are delicious aren't they."
As he speaks he steps through the doorway, not surprised when it slams shut. Waiting a moment he's relieved when, like the other doors, it is able to be opened. Moving towards the first door on the left, he adds, "May as well start with the first door, I hope they all don't slam shut like that."
Inspecting the door for traps, he opens the door waiting to see if it will slam shut before he passes the threshold. As he waits he peers into the room.
With an annoyed sigh Sorsul watched the door slam shut. Again. ”At least we know that some of the haunts reset.” She said as she waited for it to open. ”First door on the left?” She asked, trying to sound braver than she felt.
The door opens into another hallway interspersed with even more doors. As with the others, the door slams shut and locks shortly thereafter until the haunting spirit leaves a minute later.
Stepping towards the intersection, Sariel see's several doors. Gesturing towards the nearest door in the righthand hallway, he shrugs "May as well start there."
Moving towards the door, he inspects it for a moment, then proceeds to open it, first observing the room from the hallway.
This chamber 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.
You hear a faint sobbing and the clanking rattle of chains, while at the same time are filled with a momentary sensation of hopelessness and the strange feeling of heavy manacles clamping over your wrists.
As you enter, a pair of manacles rises from the ground and flies toward you!
"What the blazes?" Blurting out as the manacles rise from the ground and fly at them, Sariel sidesteps. Hoping the gauntlets are the work of some undead, he calls on his dark magic hoping to damage the potential undead.
In some ways, seeing something tangible lessened the horror. The unknown was almost always worse than the known, afterall. Turning her shadow to the chains, she sought to cut them before they could get through the darkness and to her.
Sariel believes the manacles are possessed by one of the countless spirits haunting the prison, but quickly realizes that (like with Gibbs) there isn't a viable way of targeting just the spirit.
Sorsul's feint manages to draw the manacles out of position , but the thick metal blunts the blow. The floating object retaliates by attempting to clamp onto Sorsul's wrists!
Sorsul managed to avoid the grasp of the manacles, but in doing so she lost her chance to feint the spirit. Focusing her powers through her shadow, she once more attempted to break through the floating object. It was proving to be difficult task.
Realizing his blood magic will have no effect on the manacles, Sariel draws his sickle and stepping near, slashes at the manacles as they attempt to capture Sorsul.
Sorsul's shadow barely manages to sever the manacle chain, but when it does, the object falls to the floor, motionless.
Watching as the manacles fall motionless to the ground Sariel breathes a sigh of relief. Stepping over the manacles he moves further into the room, quickly checking the shambled chamber.
”Noted. Everything could be possessed in here. Great. That’s just great.” Sorsul complained as she joined her companion in his search.
Aside from several sets of old manacles, you find nothing of interest.
Not really sure what he'd find other than manacles in a prison, Sariel gestures back the way they came. "Let's check across the hall before we search the outer rooms."
Moving out of the triangular shaped room, he pauses at the opposite door long enough for the ladies to join him, then attempts to open it.
"So...we work our way down this hall...take a right, and clear out any rooms? Then we work our way to the left?" Sorsul offered.
The door to this room has fallen from its hinges. The rectangular chamber beyond seems to have once been a chapel, but now thick sheets of what appear to be cobwebs drape everything within in gossamer threads.
Potential Loot
holy water x5
Scroll - lesser restoration
Potion - cure light wounds x5
Nodding his head in agreement with Sorsul, "That's a good idea."
Having dispatched the spiders and investigating the cabinet, he turns back to Sosul, "Let me collect the items in the cabinet and we can head to the right." Putting the water, scroll and potions in his pack, he heads down the hall, stopping at the first door on the left. Nodding to the ladies he opens the next door.
She wasn't sure which was worse. The infinitely more dangerous possessed chain, or the infinitely more disgusting spiders. She pondered this as she 'let' Sariel deal with the cobwebs while he looted the room. It felt like a relief when they moved on.
As you open the door, you notice the rising scent of burning flesh. 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.
Smelling the room, Sorsul cautiously entered. Each step was slow and carful as she walked towards the desk. ”This feels like a bad idea.” She muttered as she advanced.
Nodding in agreement with Sorsul, "A bad idea indeed, but we haven't found keys yet and they could be in the desk." Sighing Sariel begins to move into the room, hugging the northern wall to approach the desk from the opposite direction as the old brazier.
As you enter, the branding irons grow red-hot, rise into the air, and lance through the air toward you!
The irons then vanish, reappearing in their original location, once again cold and dark.
The ruined desk holds nothing of interest.
Taken completely by surprise, Sorsul cried out in pain. Stumbling backwards she collided with the wall, before looking at her seared skin with shock and horror. Cursing loudly, she pulled her arm close to herself to nurse the wound. Her face then turning to anger, she caused her shadow to lash out, seeking to break the branding irons asunder so that they could not rise again.
Only when done did she say "A candy would be most welcome."
Dodging as the red hot irons fly through the air, Sariel glances at Sorsul's burn. Shaking his head, "That looks like it will leave a mark."
As Sosul eats a couple of the Lady's candies, he continues moving towards the desk and begins opening drawers, eventually even taking the drawers of the the desk and inspecting them as well as the interior of the desk.
After a thorough search, you're sure that there are no hidden compartments in the desk or surrounding area, confirming that there's nothing of value to be found here. The branding irons (now destroyed by Sorsul's vengeful shadow) appear intended to be used to mark prisoners for identification purposes, so it's likely that this chamber was originally used as part of the admissions process.
Looking up from the desk, Sariel shakes his head. Moving from the 'identification room, he heads out into the hallway continuing the direction Sorsul had indicated and attempts to open the next door further up the hallway.
Despite not being at all hungry, Sorsul forced a candy down. Swallowing it, she could feel her bunt flesh healing at an unnaturally fast rate. Thankful to have Shae with them, she followed Sariel out so that they could continue their search.
This door is locked, but due to the extensive fire damage, it's easily smashed open with a firm kick. Tangled mounds of moth-eaten fabric sit on several wooden tables, each surrounded by workbenches. Various sewing tools—shears, needles, rolls of thread, boxes of chalk, and other objects lie scattered over the floor, while the arm of what appears to be a skeleton protrudes from a stained heap of fabric to the west.
Sariel also notices a secret door in the northeast wall. Of more immediate interest, however, is the ghostly woman that materializes from the heap of fabric to the west. "New guards from Ravengro, or escaped prisoners? Are your intentions foul or fair?"
Raising an eyebrow as the ghostly woman materializes, Sariel wonders who she may have been in life. The room seemed to be suited for a seamstress, but they knew from the story that the warden's wife had died in a fire. Answering carefully, "We are neither new guards nor escaped prisoners, but I assure you our intentions are fair. We are friends of Professor Lorrimor, our purpose here is two-fold, to find out who is responsible for his death and to put the spirits here to rest." He gestures to the burned room, "And if I may ask, were you a seamstress here?"
”Threefold.” Sorsul added. ”We spoke with Jorfa. He is interested in the whereabouts of the hammer he made Hawkran, the Warden. If you have knowledge about it, then it would put his heart at ease, given how he still cares for his old friend.”
The woman briefly looks offended. "A seamstress! I'm Vesorianna Hawkran, wife of the warden! Now that he's gone, I'm the only reason the spirits here haven't overrun the entire town!" The offended look quickly fades. "My husband held them back, too, but I haven't sensed him since the others came."
Having not intended to offend the warden's wife, Sariel apologizes. "My Apologies mistress Hawkran, I meant no offense. We thank you for protecting the town from the spirits here." As he considered his words carefully, he asks as he shows her the mark on his neck, "Though they have begun to enter the town and cause mischief. How can we aid you in holding them back? Or, better yet, do you know how they can be destroyed?" Pausing for a moment he considers what she said about her husband, "Who are the others that have come?"
"Men and women in dark robes who spoke only in whispers. They inscribed runes and began to work strange magic around the building's foundation. An old man interrupted them and was slain by the leader's foul magic. They then bashed his head with a fragment of gargoyle from the roof before resuming their work.
"I couldn't see what happened, but it felt like a horrific storm, yet one with no wind. It chilled my soul and felt as if my very being was being pulled apart. The sensation passed in an instant, but when it did, my husband's spirit was gone - along with the robed figures.
"Every day since, the spirits trapped within these walls grow more and more powerful. Most are minor and easily contained, but five of them are far stronger than the others. If they can be defeated - even briefly - and a symbol of my husband's authority over the prison is brought to me, I can banish them. Unfortunately, my own spirit is bound to this room."
”I believe that we could help with this.” Sorsul said, telling herself that she owed the professor as much. ”While you cannot leave, could you provide us with directions? Both as towards a symbol of authority, and where we might find these wayward spirits?”