Theodore quickly halts sprinkling Quinn. Pointing to the Towers, the Roaming Exorcist states
Probably find the Haunts in those. Professor wanted information so the Warden's House, then?
Once that is settled, he continues to follow Quinn with suspicion....
Quinn walks slowly to the house, slowly opens the door, then ushers the others in. "It looks rather cramped really, go...go ahead."
Tiff looks longingly at the murky pond but enters when Quinn graciously opens the door. She looks around but is distracted by thoughts of junivile anatinae.
Ismene gives Quinn a bracing pat on the back, "Just remember that it is not your own sensory perception at all, merely the psychic resonance of this place." She says in what she hopes is a reassuring tone.
Adjusting her lenses, she follows Tiff inside and peers about.
This small brick manor house is overgrown with thick sheets of gray-green ivy. The roof sags ominously, and the front door hangs askew.
It shows no signs of fire damage, but the years have taken their toll. There doesn't seem to be anything of value. The place was thoroughly looted over the past 50 years.
Ismene notices that the building is unstable, and could collapse at any minute.
Towers (NW or SW), Warden's House, Prison, Cesspit, or Murky Pond?
Theodore ventures up to (but not into) the dilapidated house. The Cleric peers inside for a brief moment, before stepping off the porch and stepping in the direction of the Prison....
Prison sounds good to me too. That is where the interesting stuff will be
A two-story stone building looms in the center of the prison grounds. Ivy and moss cling tenaciously to the walls, while above the wooden shingles of the roof are often missing entirely, exposing the wooden rafters of the upper structure to the sky. Here and there, leering stone gargoyles perch on the eaves, once functioning as drainspouts and decorations but now seeming almost to serve a more ominous role of sentinels.
Many of these stone decorations have crumbled away and lie in ruined piles on the soggy ground below. Windows in the building’s facade are narrow and blocked by grills of rusty iron bars. Stone columns support a slumping wooden balcony over the building’s wooden front doors, both of which hang askew and reveal dark glimpses of chambers within.
Marill, Quinn, and Theodore notice something. The ivy and grass have been cleared along the edge of the building where the foundation meets the ground, and along this edge a series of sinuous runes has been etched and then smeared with blood. The runes go around the entire building’s foundation save for the northeast corner, where part of the building has flooded and the foundation has crumbled away.
The runes themselves are written in Varisian, and among numerous magical incantations, repeat the name Lyvar Hawkran dozens of times.
Ismene almost has it, the answer is on the tip of her tongue, but she can't quite divine the meaning of the runes. Marill, Theodore, and Tiff can each tell that the runes seem to have been part of a larger ritual that involved both abjuration and necromantic magic. You might be able to determine more about the runes with access to better resources.
Tiff wrinkles her nose once the runes are pointed out to her. ”See here! Necromancy! And abjuration?! Some sort of ritual magic. Necromancy and abjuration, hmmmm… protection against the living impaired? For the living impaired? I don’t know.” Tiff rubs her chin in thought, ”We’ll need to research the exact nature of the ritual more in depth. But there is a name repeated over and over, Lyvar Hawkran. Whoever that is.”
Tiff walks the edge of the foundation and takes meticulous notes on the runes.
On the off chance that I know anything about Lyvar Harkran (all knowledge skills count as trained so I can get higher than a 10)
Never mind :-).
"I really, really, really hope that is is protection AGAINST the undead. REALLY hope. I think that we should be VERY careful to not disturb them if we cross them. Maybe take a closer look at the North East corner first before crossing the runes?"
Literally stepping softly through the tulips, his blue eyes watching those crumbling gargoyles....statues depicting gargoyles with extreme prejudice, the Roaming Exorcist Raises aloft his Light Torch.
Tripping over his feet at the mentioning of runes, Theodore stumbles a bit, face planting a nose away from said runes.
Ah, yes. Those do seem to be a bit problematic.
Map of prison (squares are 10')
This was once a wide hall flanked by a pair of waiting rooms, but the foyer to Harrowstone now lies in ruins. With little left to hold up the ceiling, the wooden beams above sag dramatically. The wall to the north contains a large pair of oaken doors.
Even a casual observation of the roof here is enough to reveal that the balcony above is unstable.
Finding no traps on the oaken doors, you open them. Another room lies beyond.
Streaks of mold stain the walls of this room, and the floor below is a thick, gray carpet of fungal growth. Sturdy wooden doors beckon from every wall.
Quinn moves in tentatively, shield up, still clearly nervous about the space as his eyes dart around the confines. "Moisture from the pond, I suspect?" he postulates as his boots crunch through the layer of gray fungus. "Not from the runes at least, I trust."
Theodore's blue eyes warily watch the beckoning collapse of the ceiling as they circumvent the fungal growth through out the floors.
We got an Engineer in the house?
Not a bit nervous about only having a hat as protection, the Roaming Exorcist proceeds cautiously behind Quinn (barely even thinking about how it feels to be crushed)....
Marill tries to determine how stable this place is
Woo hoo, I might actually know something :-) :-)
There are balconies on the prison that can be accessed from exterior staircases (the northwest balcony) or by climbing the walls (the others).
The small balcony over the main entrance appears particularly unsound. Anybody walking up there could cause it to collapse.
However, once you get past the entrance foyer into the moldy room with all the doors, the interior of the building seems more structurally intact.
Tiff rubs her chin in thought, ”We’ll need to research the exact nature of the ritual more in depth. But there is a name repeated over and over, Lyvar Hawkran. Whoever that is.”
Tiff walks the edge of the foundation and takes meticulous notes on the runes.
"Warden Hawkran, I presume. Though I'm not sure I recorded his first name."
Tiff holds her nose at the dank musty smell of the building. She speaks nasally, ”Well the prison isn’t going to explore itself! That would imply some sort of weird sentience which I’d rather not explore the implications of!”
”Unless you think we should go back to the temple and research those sigils,” without waiting for a response Tiff opened the nearest door and peered inside.
"Miss Tiff, allow me, please."
Quinn will head in to the next room.
Theodore frowns at his sister's impetuous activities.
Haunts and ghost wait for the unaware to slime.
The Roaming Exorcist holds high his Light Torch and follows behind the two...
Tiff opens the door.
Nothing happens for a few seconds.
Quinn starts to move to the next room.
Suddenly, the badly-burnt faces of shrieking criminals rush out of all of the doors!
All of you realize that something is happening, but only Ismene and Marill are quick enough to react before the tormented spirits.
Surprise Round
Ismene
Marill
Haunt & Tiff
Theodore
Quinn
Marill will try and figure out what is going on
If that is sufficient to recognize this as a haunt
"Its a haunt!!!. We've got to put them to rest!"
Haunts can often be put to rest with a religion check. If he recognized this as a haunt and thinks that is a possibility he'll try to do that
"Desna, please help me in putting these spirits to rest. Please send them to Pharasma so she can correctly judge them"
Suspecting that throwing fire at the charred phantoms would be counter-productive, Ismene does what she can to aid Maril's efforts.
I don't think a Knowledge (Religion) check by itself can calm a haunt (though someone correct me if I am wrong), but it can indicate the course of action needed to do so. (There is also a feat that requires a rank in the skill and lets you fight haunts with normal weapons.)
Marill's initial check beats the Haunt's Knowledge DC by 5, and I'm going to say that is enough to know the means of destruction.
This is a Slamming Portal haunt. A flask of holy water sprinkled in the infested area permanently dismisses troublesome haunts that incessantly slam shutters and gates.
Marill can certainly shout out something quick to that effect.
@Ismene, there's not really a way in which you can Aid on this Knowledge check (nor is it necessary), so is there something else you would do? If you happen to have a flask of holy water you could use it based on Marill's advice.
Theodore seems to be salivating.....
Theodore casts Positive Pulse
I don't think a Knowledge (Religion) check by itself can calm a haunt (though someone correct me if I am wrong),
It varies by haunt. Some can be put to rest by a specific skill or set of skills with Religion and Occultism being the most common but by no means only choices (I've seen Performance, some Craft or Profession check, etc).
I wasn't meaning to imply that I was sure it would work or even thought it very likely, just trying to move things along IF it happened to be a haunt where this would work.
After calling out "If somebody has some Holy water, try using that" he retreats from the room as far as a double move will take him having nothing else useful to contribute he sees little reason to stay in the effect.
A bead of sweat trickles down Tiff's forehead as she is rushed by the formerly incarcerated and formerly deceased.
"They've burned in the fires of hell and they've come to drag us there with them! Ah!"
The doors all slam shut with loud bangs.
Pulling on them reveals that they are stuck fast.
You can try to force open the doors; damage the haunts with positive energy; wait; or, sprinkle holy water as Marill suggests.
Surprise Round
Ismene
Marill
Haunt
Tiff
Theodore
Quinn
Round 1
Ismene
Marill
Haunt
Tiff
Theodore
Quinn
"I fear my reagents are only alchemical." Ismene says, hoping the Pharasman may have a solution.
Not sure that I have much to contribute at this point so I think Marill just delays.
Was I able to get out of the room in my last action?
@Marill - no, the haunts manifested and shut the doors before you exited the room.
Theodore dispels the haunt. Marill knows that holy water will permanently quiet them; otherwise, Theodore's spell is only a temporary solution.
Doors open to the east, north, and west.
The southeast door leads to a corridor, off of which are several small offices. These were each dedicated to handling one of several key aspects of the prison’s operations, such as prisoner files, income, supplies, scheduling, repair requests, and so on. Some of the papers are still intact, so if you later find you need to do research this could be a resource.
The northern double doors lead to a 50' corridor with six other exits; two west, one north, and three east.
The northeast door leads to a large room of some kind.
The southeast door leads to another corridor, 30' long and ending in a heavy iron door.
Tiff excitedly exclaims, ”Wow! A class III focused apparition. And it's repeating?! We should document the event for posterity! Oh! Thanks for the peripeteia, Sammy.” She walks over to her brother and lovingly pats him on the head.
Tiff takes out an inkpen, quill, and a book that she feverishly makes notes and sketches from memory. She comments, ”When do you think it will remanifest? We should get the likeness accurately.”
Then she takes out the traps haunt siphons and hands them out to Quinn, Marill, Ismene, and takes one herself, ”Don’t be afraid to use them! Apparitions can be dangerous, even if they’re class I or II”
Theodore frowns at his sister's boisterous litany of scholastic sermon.
Haunts are a manifestation of evil. Souls corrupted by hate, envy, fear, or some rare haunts may even be fueled by joy, although I have yet to witness it. Usually the bad kind in my experience. Tiff, you shouldn't be so flippant, although your notes are excellent.
The Roaming Exorcist then nods at Merrill.
Yes. I can produce some Holy Water on the morrow. Probably best if we avoid this area until then.
The Cleric of Pharasma then begins to shuffle his feet a bit.
Probably should have thought of that...
Chucking it up to over exuberance, Theodore trails after the others.
Theodore frowns at his sister's boisterous litany of scholastic sermon.
Haunts are a manifestation of evil. Souls corrupted by hate, envy, fear, or some rare haunts may even be fueled by joy, although I have yet to witness it."
"Or love, even," Quinn says offhand. "Well done though, Theo. We'd have been cooked if not for your quick thinking."
Quinn will gather up papers and neatly place them in his pack.
He takes a hard look at the heavy iron door. "Don't like the look of that one, friends. Shall I?"
"Go ahead. We'll be right behind you"
Tiff retorts while following along, "I wasn't being flippant! Academic study of phenomenon like this is important to advancing the field of ectomancy even if it's only a case study. If we don't know what to look for, how these spirits are formed, or how to release them then we can't help other instances."
Quinn finds the door locked and very solid.
Disable Device to pick the lock?
Str to break it down?
Go another direction?
Theodore does actually nod at Tiff's retort.
Quite right. As a matter of fact, I have been studying and practicing how to not only identify Haunts, but also how to permanently disable them.
The Roaming Exorcist looks about their current situation.
Most likely not much longer before I make that breakthrough.....
Theodore absently glances at the strong looking door.
Anyone got a key?
"Hmm, perhaps..." Ismene pulls a hairpin from her updo and fiddles with the lock.
But she is stymied by the latch. "Then again, maybe not." She says with a sour twist on her lips as she replaces the pin.
"Don't look at me. I doubt that even MY singing will convince the door to open itself. So. another direction?"
Tiff suggests, "Maybe you could take your time with it?"
Ismene takes her time, but even then is unable to open the lock.
Theodore just stands there looking gentlemanly and distinguished....
Quinn will try once to force the door, but will back off and suggest trying elsewhere if that doesn't work.
Quinn is unable to force the door open. It doesn't even budge.
Where to now?
The northern double doors lead to a 50' corridor with six other exits; two west, one north, and three east.
The northeast door leads to a large room of some kind.
The southeast door leads to another corridor, 30' long and ending in a heavy iron door.
I vote for northeast
"That's is quite the door, it seems. Perhaps we can find another way in indeed."
Seeing Marill eying the Northeast, Quinn moves to open that door instead.