Lady Shae sifted through the different wares as Sorsul asked her if she could see how the candies were made. Picking up a bunch of strawberries and a small helping of blueberries, along with sugar, honey, and tea leaves, the noblewoman nodded enthusiastically.
Of course you can! I was going to make some tomorrow morning. However, I do tend to get up early to make them. Before sunrise is the best time to imbue the candies with my magics, but you are welcome all the same." She smiled at Sorsul.
She quickly paid for the different ingredients and watched dreamily as Sariel asked about the armor. It was interesting, but she had no interest, so she took her time planning out tomorrow morning's tasks in order to make the magic candies. Turning to Sorsul, she lifted the bag of goodies.
"I hope strawberries and blueberries are to your liking. I make a special candy with these that I think you will love." She patted the bag as Tobi began to paw at it expectantly. She grabbed a small blueberry from the bag and fed it to her familiar, giggling at his antics.
Luthko grunts a bit at your question. "Belonged to Marta's mom." Clearly, he's a man of few words - although he doesn't seem to mind your presence.
Raising an eyebrow as the shop keeper explains the armor belonged to his mother in law, Sariel looks towards the 'bossy' Marta's nodding, "That explains a lot."
Thinking about the plans they had for later in the evening, Sariel asks, "Luthko, do you happen to sell 'holy symbols?' As he asks, tugs the leather cord around his neck revealing the symbol of Pharasma he carries.
Luthko grunts and shakes his head. "Temple."
Not really having anything else in mind to purchase, Sariel nods to the man, "Thank you."
He wanders back over to where the others were shopping. He asks, "Are you finding everything you need?'
He remembered she'd said she had a candy store near Lake Kavapesta. He pauses, wondering if it was in the holy city itself. Making a mental note to ask, he watches as the two ladies shop as they chat.
Holding her small gathering basket in her hand, Lady Shae nodded. "I think I have everything I need. Let us get back so we may go about our business this evening."
She patted her thigh, and Tobi followed the noblewoman as she returned to the Lorrimor house.
When she got there, she spoke with the kitchen staff about using the kitchen the next morning and put up her ingredients, humming a dreamy tune the whole time. After she was finished, she met back up with the group.
When they get back to the house, Sariel takes off his hat and cloak. Hanging them up he waits in the parlor for Lady Shae to finish speaking with the staff in the kitchen. As she finishes, he gestures towards the window. "the sun is going down, shall we head towards the cemetery?"
The 'false crypt' is located in the northeast corner of the Restlands, near the junction of two paths. The crypt itself is a freestanding granite mausoleum, the roof of which is decorated with a pair of leering gargoyle statues. A single stone door with a rusty-looking lock sits in the south facade.
You notice that the lock is broken, its clasp melted by acid and then put back into place so that it appears intact.
”Well that’s not good. The lock was melted and put back together so it looks intact. I’ve seen smugglers do this, as well as some groups or organized thieves. It’s generally a sign to take business elsewhere.” She said. ”And this town is too small to have either type of group.” To prove her point she walked over and took the lock off.
As Sorsul explains the condition of the lock and moves forwards, Sariel moves with her. Unconsciously reaching for one of the wooden stakes as she talks about the size of the town. As she removes the lock, he asks, "I do not require the assistance of artificial light, do either of you?"
Watching the scene unfold, Lady Shae frowns. "I dont like this. It could be a trap of some sort. We should be on our guard."
Grabbing Tobi, she moves to meet her companions. "Tobi and I can easily see in the dark. Sorsul, do you need light?" Lady Shae petted the small cat to ease her fears and said a prayer to Pharasma for protection. "Shall we go in?"
A flight of stone steps leads down into the cold earth to a large crypt lined with empty niches - no dead appear to be interred here.
Lady Shae notices shoeprints in the dust and dirt of the floor.
Lady Shae is able to follow the faint line of tracks to a single large sarcophagus that sits in the deepest part of the crypt.
Assuming from Sorsul's Fletchlng heritage she can see fine, Sariel continues moving keeping a keen eye out as he goes. Not seeing anything of note, he continues. As they near the single large sarcophagus he carefully inspects it, adding, "I wonder if the professor was able to get the crypt open."
Lady Shae was about to respond to Sariel when some shoe prints caught her eye. They were barely discernable, but they were there all the same. The noblewoman followed the trail to a large sarcophagus, looking it up and down.
"Footprints are leading to this sarcophagus. It may be the entrance. Give me a moment; I need to check something."
Lady Shae closed her eyes, focusing on her magic. As she did so, her eyes began to glow behind her eyelids, and tiny runes appeared all over her skin. She sent a question to her patron, hoping to receive a clear answer as to whether or not it was a good idea to open the sarcophagus.
Having immediately thought that the sarcophagus would contain some undead horror, she breathed a small sigh of relief at the much more realistic possibility that it was merely a concealed entrance.
Weal
Getting a good feeling from her magical query, Lady Shae nodded to her two companions.
"I feel as though we should proceed. It should lead us to something we need to know."
With a deep breath, Lady Shae opened the sarcophagus carefully, eyes half closed in anticipation. Tobi stayed at the ready, glistening fur on end.
Inside the sarcophagus, you find a large cache of items used for hunting undead. Several are rather obscure, but Sariel recognizes them due to his experience with the Church of Pharasma.
Potential Loot
spirit planchette (brass)
silver arrow x12
ghost touch arrow x5
undead-bane arrow x2
sunrod x4
haunt siphon x4
holy water x6
Potion - cure light wounds x5
Potion - lesser restoration x2
Scroll - detect undead
Scroll - hide from undead x2
Scroll - protection from evil
Helping Lady Shae move the lid of the sarcophagus, Sariel's eyes widen as he recognizes some of the elements held withing. He understood now why the professor would have planned to collect gear from here. As he looked at the items he wondered if the professor actually had or not. And if so, what had he taken while leaving the rest? Offhandedly he asks, "I wonder if the professor ever made it here, and if so, what did he take?"
Picking up the spirit Planchette, he offers it to Lady Shea, A brass Planchette, have you ever crafted a board?"
Seeing the Haunt siphons, he offers two to Lady Shae and two to Sorsul, "These will allow us to siphon the negative energy off of haunts, very useful."
Removing his pack, he collects the other items to divide later, musing, "I wonder if the town has a fletcher who may be able to adjust these arrows to use with crossbows."
As he shoulders his pack, he looks around the crypt quickly for anything they may have missed.
With an audible sigh of relief, the noblewoman stepped back and allowed Sariel to take stock of the inventory. When he handed her the planchette, she chuckled.
"Not in a few years, before I came into my powers. But perhaps I can try again if you think it may help." She turned the planchette over in her hands, feeling the cool metal and inspecting it closely. Then she held it up and looked through the small hole. "Great craftsmanship, though. What do you think, Tobi?"
She leaned down to let the strange cat sniff the object. His whiskers pulled back, and his ears folded with a light hiss. She giggled and patted the poor beast's head. "Nothing to worry about, little one."
She placed the planchette in her hip pouch and took the two haunt siphons. "I will need to be familiarized with this. I've never worked with one before." She stashed the two siphons in her pack, tying the tie tight so they wouldn't fall out.
Looking out at the quiet graveyard, Lady Shae took stock of her surroundings to see if there was anyone about, keeping a lookout for those men who had given them trouble earlier that day.
Satisfied there was no one out and about, she returned to the morbid building.
"Should we look about for anything else that may be hidden?"
As Lady Shae answers, Sariel leans into the sarcophagus lid, so that it would look unbothered. Nodding at her comment about it being a while, he remembers most folks consider a 'spirit board' a child's game, played at night to scare each other. Smiling as she shows it to her pet. Mentally correcting himself 'her familiar,' admittedly he did not understand the relationship between a witch and their familiar but he did know it existed. Resisting the urge to ask what Tobi thought, he nods towards the Planchette, "I believe you'll find this one works just fine." Knowing that talking with the dead was always a mixed bag, he adds, "Hopefully we will not need its aid."
Noticing Lady Shae pausing, Sariel also takes a quick look around. He was not unaccustomed to graveyards in the night, he actually preferred the night. So when the candy-maker asked if they should look about, he shrugs, and extends an elbow. "Why not?"
He turns looking towards Sorsul, knowing the fletching had no fear of shadows and believing it would be better if they stuck together. "Sorsul, care to join us?"
As they walk he wonders aloud, "The foot prints we found, I wonder if there is anyway to verify they were the professor's."
”Without his boots, no. But if there is only one set then I’d bet money on it.” She replied. ”What concerns me about this cache is how focused it is on the walking dead.” Looking at what they found, she took two potions of healing. ”In an alchemical store these would sell for quite abit. All of this was a substantial investment.”
Nodding in agreement with Sorsul's observation, Sariel kept a keen eye out as they walked in the darkness. He considered the value of the items from a mercantile standpoint, hoping that over the course of the next thirty days they have no reason to use them, but it had nothing to do with the possibility of selling the things.
As you begin making your way out of the crypt, Sariel hears the scuttling of many legs. You ready yourselves for combat as three man-sized centipedes emerge from cracks in the crypt walls.
Hearing the scuttling of legs, Sariel lifts a hand, "A moment please."
Looking towards the sound he sees the three centipedes crawling from the cracks in the crypts wall. Furrowing his brow, he hisses at the bugs, causing them to look his direction. His faces changes, becoming pale as his eyes turn black and his mouth turns almost muzzle like. When he opens his mouth to speak his reveals sharpened fangs. He stares at the nearest of the vermin, his gaze becoming hypnotic, his voice gravely, sounding like he's speaking in two separate registers, commanding the vermin in Necril >Go Away<
Sorsul turned her nose up at the centipedes. They were disgusting creatures to be sure, and were certainly not anything she wanted to touch. Dagger in hand she took a step towards the closest one and moved towards it, as if though in one of her performances. She slashed her dagger in it's direction, making no direct contact. However, in doing so, her shadow passed over it. A line appeared across it, ichor oozing out. Then, the oversized insect fell into two halves, cleanly bisected.
Sorsul cleaves one of the insects in twain as Sariel's eerie words cause another to rigidly turn around and begin marching away in a manner very akin to a construct.
Meanwhile, Lady Shae closes her eyes, and tiny runes appear on her skin. In the blink of an eye, a burst of fire has launched from the tip of her staff, charring the carapace of the third centipede - which promptly begins to scuttle back into the crack in the wall from whence it came.
Taking his eyes off the hypnotized centipede, Sariel catches Sorsul's attack from the corner of his eye. Did she cut the creature with her shadow? Making a mental comment to watch the dancers fighting techniques more closely, as Lady Shae sends fire from her staff. Pausing long enough to make sure his featured had returned to normal, he turns towards the lady, gesturing towards her staff. "Pray tell, is that how you bake your pastries?" Smiling at his own joke, he begins moving towards the door.
As they exit the crypt, the vermin reminding him there were other dangers in the night, Sariel asks, "Maybe we should return back to the Lorrimor home and save our energies for tomorrow?"
"Well done everyone." Sorsul beamed. Given her place of birth, Sariel's transformation was not a cause for concern, even though the technique was not something she had seen before. If anything, the people of Golarion were a superstitious group, and the powers of the pale Dhampir were comforting in that it made her feel less like an outsider. "I'm feeling quite abit more confident about our chances now." In response to Sariel she adds "A good idea. Those centipedes may be just the first amongst many, and we have what we came for."
Leaning on her staff, Lady Shae smiled. "It certainly makes lighting the oven easier." Tobi mewed at her feet, and she picked him up and situated him on her shoulders. "But yes. I feel it is time to leave. Who knows what else is lurking here? I dont wish to find out. Big bugs are enough for me."
Lady Shae took out a few candies and passed them out, smiling as she did so. "They dont do anything magical, but a sweet treat is always needed after a battle." She popped her own in her mouth, savoring the sweet, sugary taste before following the others out.
Nodding politely, acknowledging Sorsul's compliment Sariel does not enjoy relying on his baser nature, but it is effective. Chuckling at the Lady's response, he continues moving through the graveyard towards town.
Quickly accepting the candy, Sariel pops it in his mouth, sucking on the honey flavored toffee. Every time he uses the Recondite Stimuli he feels like he needs to wash his tongue, The candy was a gods send.
As they walk he asks, "So what is the plan for tomorrow?"
[ooc]That is a very good question.
"Harrowstone, I think." Sorsul said. "The Professor believed that the Whispering Way was after something here in Ravengro, and that their goal is connected to those ruins. Or...we could go to the Temple of Pharasma. The Professor believed that they had a list of everyone who died in the fire, and that the information could prove useful."
Lady Shae considered the suggestion, then shrugged. "I think we should wait to explore Harrowstone until we have more information. Tomorrow morning, I will be making my candies if you still want to join me, Sorsul. You, of course, are welcome to join us, Sariel. After that, we could go to the Temple and find out more. I also feel we should make a good impression on the locals, so maybe we could show ourselves so the townspeople can get accustomed to us. I am not very good with people; they find me untrustworthy due to my mask. I dont know why. But perhaps I can assist? Make extra candies to win over the locals?"
She grabbed Tobi, petting him gently on his sparkly head before popping her candy into her mouth.
Breathing in the night air, Sariel enjoyed the darkness and intentionally moved slowly. Nodding as Sorsul recommended Harrowstone, then the temple. She was right, the professor had spoken of those things in his journal. They had all heard the stories about the prison, there was clearly something there than needed dealt with. But what?
Pausing for a moment, he looked towards the fetchling, then back to Lady Shay. About to ask if they should gather more information, Lady Shay spoke first. Chuckling at the comment about candy he adds, "Folks may find my appearance unsettling, but I generally can appeal to their better nature."
There's tension in the air when you wake up the next morning. Over breakfast, Kendra tells you that the Harrowstone memorial in the town square was vandalized overnight. Apparently the area was covered in gore, and a "V" was painted in blood at the base of the memorial.
As Sariel deliberately sips his tea he considers the information Kendra had shared. He'd seen the Memorial while he was in town, curious as to why someone would cover the memorial with gore, and what the 'V' may possibly stand for. Gesturing towards the door, "I was considering going to the church to inquire about records."
He looks towards Sorsul and Lady Shae, as he places his teaspoon just so on the saucer. "Would either of you ladies like to accompany me? I think it would be worthwhile to investigate the vandalism before we head to the temple."
There were many things he wondered, from what type of 'gore' it may be or when the events took place. He shrugs lightly, "Perchance we can endear ourselves with the locals by assisting the constabulary."
”It makes sense to stick together.” She said, thoughtfully. ”We are outsiders here in every sense of the word, if we split up then angry locals will surely descend on us. And if we can work with the constable, it would give us a reason to explore the local ruins without warranting undue suspicion. In short…that is an excellent idea, Sariel.”
Lady Shae nodded. She had finished her candy-making and sat down at the table while Sariel and Sorsul spoke.
"I think it's a good idea to go see the constable. I am concerned about this vandalism and fear the populace will blame us. We need to act fast." She passed out her candies to the group, one each. "These will heal us if something goes wrong. I made them with strawberries and blueberries, as per Sorsul's fruit request. I hope you enjoy them." She reached into her pocket, pulled out two bags of candy, and gave one each to Sorsul and Sariel.
"These are just to bring you joy throughout the day. Sorsul, these have a crunchy honey exterior with a soft fruity interior. Sariel, these have a hard sugar coat and a green tea jam inside. I hope you enjoy." Having handed out the healing candies and agreed on where to go, Lady Shae picked up her familiar and readied herself to go out.
On your way to the town square, you pass five young children dressed in shawls and dresses. They're playing a skipping rope game at the side of the road. Each girl takes turns jumping in the rope while singing two lines of a song, then skips out of the rope to let the next girl take up the next two lines. It's quite well-choreographed, actually.
"Put her body on the bed.
Take a knife and lop her head.
Watch the blood come out the pipe.
Feeds the stirge, so nice and ripe.
Drops of red so sparkly bright.
Splatters spell her name just right.
With a hammer killed his wife.
Now he wants to claim your life.
Tricksy father tells a lie.
Listen close or you will die."
Sorsul paused mid-nibble. All thoughts of compliments fled as she was taken in by the strange children song. ”Lady Shae.” She began. ”Perhaps you could offer them some candy? Children trust strangers with candy. I would like to know more about that song. It is ominous enough that it might be relevant. Or at the very least it could inspire one of my stories.”
Relieved both Sorsul and Lady Shae saw the wisdom in staying together, Sariel considered Sorsul's idea. He'd not considered working with the constable, it was a good idea. Raising an eyebrow as the Lady explained the berry flavored candies would heal, he shakes his head, leaving the 'healing candies' on the table, but picking up the small bag of 'tea' flavored candies. "I believe it would be safer for me to abstain from the berry flavored candies, but I'll happily to try the 'green tea' sugar candies."
Having gathered his hat and cloak at the door, Sariel follows the ladies towards down. Hearing the Childrens' 'song' he remembered his days as a child at the orphanage. Those Childrens' songs, very similar to these. As he listened to the words, he wondered if these children, with parents and families, would be as cruel as those without. He listens as they repeat the song. Normally as song would be about one event or person. Their song seemed to be about more. at least two or three events, maybe one event per verse.
Nodding, Sariel thinks the idea of offering candy to unfamiliar children a good one, Sariel opens his bag of 'Green Tea.' Kneeling he puts one in his mouth and holds the back open so any of the children can take one. Smilng he asks, "Yes Children, can you tell us who your song is about?"
Lady Shae nods at Sariel apologetically, then takes the remaining fruity candy and places it in her bag, just in case she or Sorsul needs it.
Lady Shae smiles at the children, entertained by the morbid song they sang. When Sorsul asks her to give the children candies, she nods emphatically. "Of course! I made these myself, little ones. The yellow ones are lemon-flavored, and the red ones are raspberry. Take as many as you'd like!" She opens the bag and holds it out for the children to pick their fill.
As you approach, the children immediately stop playing and stand quietly and nervously. Clearly, they've been well-schooled to avoid talking to strangers. Unfortunately these lessons seem to have been incomplete, as they're all too happy to take candy from those very same strangers. In between crunching on fruit-flavored sweets and grabbing more from Lady Shae's bag, they tell you that the rhyme is just something that children have been singing "forever" around these parts.
Smiling as the children happily take the candy, Sariel was glad the kids accepted the gift, sugar wasn't much, but it was a start. As they left the children, he considered the lyrics of the song and the fact that 'forever' to a ten-year-old would not be all that long.
As they walk past the children he concludes, "I believe that went well, now if we can just get the adults to eat some candy."
As they continued into town he asks, realizing there were pros and cons to each answer he asks the ladies. "The statue first or the constable's office? any preference?"
”Constable.” She answered. ”I’d like to have the cover of the law on our side before we go poking around.”
Nodding at Sorsul's answer Sariel extended an arm to Lady Shae, "Shall we?"
Escorting the two women, Sariel heads towards the local constables office, hoping to learn more about the investigation and show the locals they could be of aid.
You find Sheriff Benjan Caeller in the town hall talking with four members of the council. From what you overhear, it seems like the vandalism involved butchered animals: a few large rats. The discussion stops as you approach. "Can we help you?"
Nodding politely to the sheriff and the council members, Sariel removes his hat as he gestures towards the ladies. ""I am Sariel servant of Pharasma, These Ladies are Sorsul and Lady Shae. We are friends of the recently deceased professor and have been asked to stay in town for a period of time to watch over his daughter."
Pausing he looks towards the sheriff, "We each have an area of expertise and we're wondering if we could be of service, specifically in the investigation of the vandalism of the statue."
He turns and smiles at the council members "Since we plan on being in town a bit, we want to be of what help we can."
Lady Shae bowed her head in greeting, letting Sariel and Sorsul do the talking. Adjusting her mask, she nodded along with Sariel's words.
She took out the candy bag and offered some to the constable and company, hoping to persuade them to allow them to help.
Seeing the looks on the face of the constables, Sorsul gently pushed the bag of candy down. ”Uhm. Yes. To reiterate, given that we will be in town for the near future, we would be of assistance.”