Father Grimburrow watches Jack rant and shakes his head. He was frowing enough from Quincey's attempt to persuade him, now he becomes the epitome of staid.
We at temple have a reputation to uphold. Non-Believers are not part of that reputation. Further, we have a ....*snort* must conduct ourselves in accordance with the towns spiritual guide.
Barek offers a bow to Alendru. "Master Ghoroven? I am Barek. I have been told that you are a historian as well as a teacher. My curiosity has been piqued by the structure nearby called...Harrowstone? I was wondering what you knew about it, or why it is considered haunted..."
Lady Applestar sighs. Maybe she should come back later without the boys.
As Barek begins to talk to the Wizard turned school teacher, Lawrence taps Carla's hand with his paw and looks up into her eyes.
She sees a vision of a calender turning back days as years go by and the year 1594 AR is shown and she sees workers building a prison south of town, and a town being erected to house the guards and their families.
A plaque naming it Harrowstone Prison is mounted by its front gate. A very stalwart holy warrier is named Warden with a beautiful wife, they move I to a house on the property. Guards sign up and man the building.
Years go by and more and more prisoners are sent here, most being executed on a balcony over looking the courtyard within a few months.
She sees signing of papers about 50 years ago naming it high security and a caot of the guard whose name tag says Vortch comes to work there.brutal man who was feared by the inmates and admired by the guards.
Within a week, a wagon pulls up with 5 prisoners drugged and carted inside. The faces of the guards and the warden said it all. These 5 were the worst of the worst. Images of crimes committed by serial killers all,
Then a mistake was made by vortch and one of them got free and released the prisoners in the basement cells, rioting and killing guards. The warden took a contingent downstairs to fight. They started to lose control of the prison and the Warden destroyed the stair way out, thinking to use the dumb waiter to gradually get the guards out. However the guards on the first floor were to frightened to do it. Fearing they would instead release the prisoners. The wardens wife came on.the scene and forced them to do it, but in the process the guards did lose control of it and warden Hawkran not wanting to set the most vile of prisoners free set fire to the prisons basement. And protected the fire until it couldn't be put out.
The warden, his wife, and all the guards downstairs as well as some upstairs and all the prisoners died that night.
A statue was erected in the wardens honor within a few months.
Carla shivers as the vision stops
She awakens to hear the school teacher say to Barek. you can use my library to research the prison, the warden, his wife, the guards, the history of ot, as well as the prisoners. I'm a Historian. But you must pay 10 gold per day, so I can use it to teach those who hold our future
Lady Briar Rose can't help but feel she might have better luck speaking as a follower of Pharasma then a non believer. ((DC 20 for a follower))
((Up to you if you convince the Priest of the crossconnect))
Quincey’s eyes widen with Jack’s response, clearly pained by it. The priest’s response is enough confirmation of the damage done. The questions Quincey has pondered for years flood his mind. What does it mean to be dhampir? Is he alive; is he undead? How does Pharasma see him? Can he redeem his undead heritage? Questions he thought he might get answers to before such a rift was created That’s what he gets for trusting humans.
Quincey’s normally cold demeanor changes to a panic. His shoulders slump as the weight of his undead heritage hang like an albatross around his neck.
Please - I am a believer. And this is the only path I have to walk. Desperation on his lips.
Father Grimburrow is surprised at Quincey's fervent plead. Why are you feeling this ...despair Child? I cannot believe it is because we arent of the mind to let strangers to our community read our records.
We at temple have a reputation to uphold. Non-Believers are not part of that reputation. Further, we have a ....*snort* must conduct ourselves in accordance with the towns spiritual guide.
"Well, your reputation is that of a loser, Mr. Clergy man. I wouldn't want to believe in your garbage anyway. I'm out. See you back at the place, Q." He throws up a peace sign and leaves.
Heading back to Kendra's, "This is all boring anyway. I got better things to do than deal with some stick-in-the-mud clergy. Oh yeah, the 'Jack Attack' shut down old man clergy," he mutters, feeling pretty proud of himself. " I've dealt with way worse than that guy. He was baby stuff comparatively. Hopefully, Q can find what he's looking for. I doubt 'Clergy Crotchety Joe' is gonna help him though." Jack chuckles at that. "'Crotchety Joe'. Good one, Jack."
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Carla wakes from her vision to see the two men still talking. It takes a moment to regain her composure. She looks Lawrence in the eyes and says "Did you do this, buddy? Did you want to show me this?" Lawrence puts his head sideways on her head, stroking it softly. She lets out a soft chuckle and says "Thank you, that was harrowing, I needed the comfort.".
She tells Barek "I... have something to go on. I mean, to look for in the library. Don't ask me how, but I know what happened in Harrowstone. There was a guard named Vortch who... well, seems to have made a mistake. That's how it started. I can tell you more, if I can get a glass of water."
She wanted to say this with the historian hearing her. This could mean the man would become interested and request some information sharing. She thought 10 gold pieces just to use the library was ludicrous, gatekeeping most people from knowledge.
Barek snorts hearing Alendru's clearly ridiculous offer, but not wanting to cause a scene, digs into his pouch and offers the gold to the man.
"I...have something to go on. I mean, to look for in the library. Don't ask me how, but I know what happened in Harrowstone. There was a guard named Vortch who... well, seems to have made a mistake. That's how it started. I can tell you more, if I can get a glass of water."
Hearing this, he quirks an eyebrow. "Interesting. Let's adjourn to the library and follow this thread of yours. Hopefully we won't have to stay too terribly long if we have a trail to follow."
Barek turns back to Alendru and gives a careful bow, "Thank you for letting us research through your books. I hope that gold goes to good use."
Saying as much, he takes Carla and Lawrence back to the library to conduct the research. Unfortunately the most he can offer to Carla is his waterskin, but hopefully it is enough.
29th Kuth 9:20 am The Unfurling Scroll
The bookish Alendru Ghoroven looked at Carla with a slight interest. He must be your familiar then? *hrump* he makes a sound then continues. I had not read that Gortch was the cause of anything. It was One of the 5, Hean Feramin he who was called The Splatterman that was behind the riot. A Wizard himself of course. Please use the Library as long as you need and if you find proof of what you say, Ill let you use it a second day, knocking your fee to 5 Gold per day.
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29th Kuth 1020 The road outside the Temple of Pharasma
Jack leaves the temple in a huff and starts back to the Lorimer Estate. He can see the town has found out about the writing on the statue, as there are a good many heading in that direction whispering to each other about it.
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29th of Kuth 1020 Temple of Pharasma
Lady Briar Rose stands near Quincey as the concerned father Grimburrow looks at the youth. A couple Acolytes have stopped their work, and are looking on as well.
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Carla takes the waterskin but doesn't drink from it. She says "Lawrence showed me a vision. The Harrowstone prison is old, very old... As in, more than three thousand years old. It was a big thing, they built a town for the guards to live in. But five decades ago, there was a decree that made the prison become 'high security'". She pauses, thinking.
Then continues "Whatever that means. Anyway, they brought in this guard called Vortch. A brute, really. Means the guards loved him and the inmates hated him. One day, 5 prisoners were brought in. They were the most vicious criminals of the time. It turns out, they were very smart criminals. They kept their cool, and waited for the brute to make a mistake."
At this point, Lawrence seems to be scared and runs into her pocket. Carla puts her hand on her dress, protecting her rat friend. She says "The second Vortch made a mistake, they used that opportunity, released a bunch of prisoners and started a riot. Well, the warden wasn't happy with the possibility to let these prisoners escape, so he came down with a small battalion of guards. The warden destroyed the way out, thinking he and his guards could get away through the dumbwaiter. In the end, the prisoners caught on and were about to get away in the same way, so the warden decided to start the fire. He, uh... ordered the guards to protect the fire until it was too big to contain." She let the silence speak.
She finished "Only a few guards survived. I think... we should find out who these prisoners were. But also why would the prison be haunted? I did notice that the warden's wife participated somehow, she was convincing some guards to use the dumbwaiter, but... Is she the source of the haunting? I don't know. Maybe we research about her too. She was called... Uhhhh, I don't remember. But the warden I do remember, he was called Hawkran."
She hands the waterskin back to Barek, apparently forgetting she was thirsty.
Barek listens, fascinated by the story, and absently takes his waterskin back. "A few leads then. Would you like to look for information about this guard, or the warden, and I start looking into these five prisoners? Especially this so-called, 'Splatterman'."
((Knowledge local or history untrained because of the library is possible. If your trained you get a +2 )) per topic. Name the topic first
((I already gave you the info from the nat 20 ;) ))
Barek begins the search, looking through the texts for information on these infamous five prisoners, and any information on the 'Splatterman'
Watching the people pass by and head in the direction of the statue, Jack keeps walking as he calls out, "Nothing but a bunch of names, folks! A bunch of names I've never heard! I guess you all might have, though. Which, would make sense. Ah well. Have a good time, folks!" He waves a hand as he just keeps walking. "Not really that interesting if you ask me, but, as is obvious, nobody is asking me. I wonder, is it weird to lose your own argument against yourself? I'm thinking I might want to keep that one to myself. I swear, living in Ustalav will drive you to drink. I think I need an ale." Jack just keeps walking.
Barek is impressed with how efficiently Carla begins utilizing the library, and quickly finds himself assisting rather than doing much research of his own.
29th Kuth until 4PM The Unfurling Scroll
Barek initially finds a book quickly and says after about an hour
It seems that Harrowstone was a prison where the worst from all across Ustilav were sent. The 5 prisoners were The very worst. Besides that though, at the time of the fire the number of violent offenders was at an all time high. Even violent offenders from other countries were sent there.
He glanced over and Carla was pulling books down and setting them in stacks according to varying topics and then started going through them quickly and efficiently.
He started trying to help her, less efficiently...less quickly. less helpful.
However Barek did help her find a list of the 5 nicknames of those 5 prisoners.
The five most notorious prisoners in Harrowstone at the time of the great fire were Father Charlatan, the Lopper, the Mosswater Marauder, the Piper of Illlmarsh, and the Splatter Man.
Carla points out that the Warden Lyvar Hawkran, was a very pious man, a knight. He was unrelenting in his desire to set the world right and felt it a solemn duty to see to it that violent criminals all paid for their crimes. However he was not overly hurtful. Just zealous. His wife Vesoriana Hawkran, shared in his fervor. Her dedication to her husband was unparalleled. Often she would be in the prison, getting to know the guards. and baking for them. She did not like Captain Gurtis Vortch, as he was a brutal man.
She reads about Vortch and found him to be someone who if he hadnt been a guard in the prison, may have been an inmate. Such was his violent tendencies.
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29th Kuth Until Noon heading to and at the Lorimer Estate.
Jack crosses the bridge and can see the crowd of people at the statue and can hear the murmurs of desecration. glances at him standing there watching. a few making connections with the newcomers in town and the desecration.
Then The Sherrif came up and walked past him with a nod. Jack scooted off heading to the Lorimer Estate. Kendra greeted him and said Cassandra had left shortly after they had saying she didnt sign up for what they were going to be doing.
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29th kuth until noon at the Temple.
Father Grimburrow brings both Lady Briar Rose and Quincey into a private study to talk and he begins sharing the tenents of Pharasma with them.
Carla's best guess, is the evil housed in the prison was palpable, and they were all trying to escape when they died. Perhaps the spirits are still trying to escape....
Barek nods, "I agree. Let's head back to the mansion to share what we've found so far. I would hate to think the others have been waiting this whole time."
Barek waves to Alendru on the way out, stating simply, "We have found out a lot about Harrowstone and how it was run. We appreciate the use of your library, and if we need it once more, we will return."
He then leads Carla and Lawrence south through the town and back to the Lorrimor estate, bringing up what brought them here. "How did you know the Professor? I have been in his debt for several years, and have only now had an opportunity to repay him upon his death..."
29th Kuth Until Noon heading to and at the Lorimer Estate.
Jack crosses the bridge and can see the crowd of people at the statue and can hear the murmurs of desecration. glances at him standing there watching. A few making connections with the newcomers in town and the desecration.
Furrowing his brow, "Oh man, those looks don't look good. Just keep walking, Jack. Just keep walking." Jack follows his own advice rather quickly.
Then the Sheriff came up and walked past him with a nod. Jack scooted off, heading to the Lorimer Estate. Kendra greeted him and said Cassandra had left shortly after they had saying she didn't sign up for what they were going to be doing.
"Really? Well, what are you gonna do, right? I guess it's not for everyone." He shrugs.
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Carla hears Barek and asks "Others?"
After they leave the library, she answers him "Well, I was just a simple healer, you know, bandages and herbs... My brother and I. Then one day Lawrence appeared to me and started to teach me things. That was really weird, you know? How would you feel if a rat started to talk to you? Saying things that make sense, even!"
She sighs and continues "Anyway, the professor found me before I went crazy. He and I talked a lot, and he taught me how to research. In the end, we concluded that Lawrence was sent to me by a powerful being. Somehow this being saw my struggle to keep up with all the healing I was trying to do. The professor called it a patron of healing. In any case, I felt indebted to him and... well, he never asked for anything in return, but he knew how I felt." Her eyes are a bit absent as she speaks.
When she returns to reality, she asks "How about you? How did you know him?"
"Others?"
"Ah, yes. Kendra has a small number of us from a list she found among her father's possessions. In his will, he asked that we stay with her for the duration of a month to ensure her safety having no on else around. She later brought up his own investigations and the group of us decided to follow through with it."
As Carla asks about his own encounters with Professor Lorrimor, he absently tugs on the glove on his left hand, casting his mind back several years. "An old friend of mine and I were stupid and impulsive." He lets loose a small grin, "hard to believe of a couple of teenagers, I know. Anyways, this friend, Gurog, and I wanted to learn more magic. So we lifted a scroll from a distracted wizard and ran off to see what it could teach us. It...was not a scroll for teaching, it was a standard spell scroll. Somehow Nethys was smiling on us that day, and we managed to activate it."
He lets loose a light shudder as what little sensation remains in his flesh is chased away. "The aftereffects were something of an accident, and I found my life in danger. The Professor was the one who found me, saved me, healed me. Then he did me a large favor, and got me in contact with several people at the Pathfinder Society."
He smiles again, though it is subdued this time. "I've spent the last few years in Absolom training, but when the call came that he had died...well, I had to come. I'm sure you understand."
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"That's very honorable of you." Carla says to Barek. She, of course, understand being young and impulsive. She made herself be more responsible after her newfound powers. She says "I'm sure he is happy you came, as he drifts through the river Styx." Looking up, for no particular reason, she says "I hope he's at peace."
Lawrence climbs to the top of her head for some fresh air.
29th Kuth 430PM Lorrimer Estate.
Jack, Quincey and Briar Rose sat eating some stew,
Helmund was no where to be seen.
Then Barek and a young lady with a Rat on her shoulder entered. Kendra was standing there smiling. asking if they wanted some stew?
((Quincey and Briar Rose, you can post what went on with the priest during the day like a memory thing. ))
When Barek and the new girl walk in, Jack pauses eating and rises, sporting a curious look. "Hey, Barek, find anything? Outside of this gal here? And her pet... rat, I guess? You know, Barek, you can't just go out and play and bring home people and their critters. There are boundaries, buddy. Boundaries." He winks, grinning. "So, who do we have here?" he asks, switching his focus between the two.
Barek rolls his eyes, grinning as well. He clears his throat and makes introductions, pointing at each person in turn. "Everyone, this is Carla, and the rat riding with her, her familiar, Lawrence. Carla, these fine folk are Jack, Quincey, Briar Rose, and Kendra.
Carla was coming for the Professor's funeral, and it seems like she might have been on the list of names you found, miss Kendra. She has already been a great help in discovering more about Harrowstone and its occupants."
Nodding, "Hello, Carla. Welcome to the team. We're here to win." He smiles, shooting her a wink. "So what did y'all find out? We had a crotchety old clergy man who helped us with nothing. Avoid that guy. He won't do anything for you."
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Carla walks in amazed at the magnitude of the mansion. She acknowledges each of the people she's introduced to, then says "Hi, I might have taken too many naps on the way here and... it seems I missed the funeral. But I guess the professor's will still lingers."
As Jack asks about what they found, she is unsure whether she should answer him, and waits for Barek to speak. However, the man seems to be searching for his words and she, impatiently just says "Well, we know how the fire started, we have the names of 5 inmates who seemed to have started it all, as well as a guard who was so dimwitted that made a mistake that allowed it to be set in motion. Oh, and we know a bit about the warden and his wife. Not only that, but it would be a fair guess to say that the place is haunted because the people there are still trying to escape the fire."
She waves her arms back and forth, proud of her telling of the story. To her, it was flawless. She looks at Lawrence and she swears he nodded at her.
Barek nods, following Carla's line of reasoning having been there himself. He does add a bit more detail as she pauses, "Harrowstone was built for the worst violent criminals in the land, and even some from other lands. Its prisoner population was at an all time high when 5 of the worst were incarcerated. Father Charlatan, the Lopper, the Mosswater Marauder, the Piper of Illmarsh, and the Splatter Man.
"The guard who made the mistake was Captain Gurtis Vortch. We were not able to figure out what it was he did, but it led to what I assume, is a riot and a breakout attempt. It was, in all likelihood, his brutality and violent tendencies that led to it.
"The Warden, Lyvar Hawkran, was a pious, and by all accounts just man, as was his wife, Vesoriana. They wanted to ensure each prisoner paid for their crimes, and were zealous, though not violent, in keeping that oath. By all accounts, the warden was the one that set the fire, and guarded it until it was too big to stop, leading to the deaths of so many..."
Barek pauses and clears his throat, "I don't know who or what the Whispering Way is after, but I can guess that it is one of the five, or the Guard Captain Vortch, with the warden being a very outside possibility."
Carla raises an eyebrow and asks "Whispering what? You've been holding out on me!"
"Whispering Way. An evil cult that wants to destroy the world. Or something like that." He shrugs.
"Anyway," he turns to Barek, "now that we know all this, I'm guessing we need to go back to Harrowstone and put all these spirits to rest? Is that right? If it is, how in all of Golarion do we beat a ghost? If they're already dead, you can't re-dead a spirit, can you? I get zombies and skeletons, they at least have a physical form. But a spirit? Who's like... insubstantial or whatever? I don't know. I sure hope we can find an answer to that one, because I've no idea."
"Whispering what? You've been holding out on me!"
Barek scratches at the back of his neck through the heavy cloth around it. "Truth be told, I didn't want to stir up the locals any more than necessary. At the funeral there were already accusations of Lorrimor being a necromancer, and discussion of evil cults would only foster bad feelings."
"...how in all of Golarion do we beat a ghost?"
Barek shrugs, "That, my large friend, I am unsure of. From my time with Pathfinders, there are a number of magical ways to beat ghosts and spirits, but I do not recall them, and my own magic is pointed a different way. Perhaps a cleric would be able to provide a better answer for us."
Barek addresses Kendra next, "Are there any clerics in the area that you would recommend? Or perhaps your father had a text or two that could give us some knowledge on how to combat the incorporeal?"
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Carla widens her eyes at the mention of the possibility that the professor was a necromancer. She shakes her head in disbelief and decides that these are lies. She just says "I don't know much about spirits. A visit to a temple would be very useful, clerics are known to have undeniable power against them."
She fumbles through her things to see if she has money to buy holy water and says "I can afford one flask of holy water, but I don't know how much that would be useful."
Barek asks Quincey for the note from the false crypt. He shows Carla what is written and explains, "We actually got some materials last night. A large number of these were hidden away in a fake crypt in the Restlands. Hopefully, we already have all we need to stop whatever is haunting Harrowstone."
Kendra says well met Carla. Would you like something to drink?
Then she turns to Jack and Barek. Helmund went out the back door about an hour ago. Didn't say where he was going
The town that day saw quite a sight-a very burly orc, with one massive beer belly, lumbering towards Doctor Lorrimor's estate. If anyone cried out in terror at his presence, he didn't pay any mind; he was simply singing a basic bar song, though he was quite off key. With tattered clothes that couldn't conceal his belly adorn with the most basic leather armor covering his shoulders, he would almost pass for a human-save for his shrunken, black eyes, bald head, pointed ears, and broad tusks jutting from his mouth. After taking out a parchment from his backpack and squinting for a bit longer than he probably should have, he deduced that he was at the right home, so he trotted over towards the door and gave three very solid knocks. Once someone opened the door, he smiled,
"I be Balurk. Friend of Doctor. Got letter, was held up by storm. Sorry for being day late."
Barek asks Quincey for the note from the false crypt. He shows Carla what is written and explains, "We actually got some materials last night. A large number of these were hidden away in a fake crypt in the Restlands. Hopefully, we already have all we need to stop whatever is haunting Harrowstone."
"Let's hope so," he responds, not sounding to positive about it.
Then she turns to Jack and Barek. Helmund went out the back door about an hour ago. Didn't say where he was going
"Really? That's odd for him to leave like that and tell no one. Well, hopefully he didn't go the way of Cassandra," he says, shrugging. He then realizes he's the only one who knows. "Oh, by the way, Cassandra decided this wasn't for her and left."
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The town that day saw quite a sight-a very burly orc, with one massive beer belly, lumbering towards Doctor Lorrimor's estate. If anyone cried out in terror at his presence, he didn't pay any mind; he was simply singing a basic bar song, though he was quite off key. With tattered clothes that couldn't conceal his belly adorn with the most basic leather armor covering his shoulders, he would almost pass for a human-save for his shrunken, black eyes, bald head, pointed ears, and broad tusks jutting from his mouth. After taking out a parchment from his backpack and squinting for a bit longer than he probably should have, he deduced that he was at the right home, so he trotted over towards the door and gave three very solid knocks. Once someone opened the door, he smiled,
"I be Balurk. Friend of Doctor. Got letter, was held up by storm. Sorry for being day late."
"I'll get it."
Answering the door, Jack gives a slight jump in fright at the horrific sight. Caught staring in shock terror at the massively beer-gutted orc, "By the gods," he mutters, still staring in awe.
Finally realizing he's been staring for too long, "Sorry, what I meant was... really? You? A friend of the Doctor's? I would really love to know how that's even possible, but, whatever," he mumbles before looking over at Kendra, confused and mouthing the word, *Really?* before looking back to Balurk. "Um, right. Okay. I guess. Won't you... won't you come in. I'm Jack, by the way." He gives a half-hearted smile and reluctantly steps aside, way aside, figuring this has GOT to be a mistake. Secretly hoping, anyway. But maybe not so secretly.
The six and a half foot tall orc wanders inside, heading to wherever the group is. He doesn’t seem to fully grasp how out of place he is. He was about to ask something, but one big sniff and his tiny black eyes almost popped out of his skull once he smelled stew.
“Did Doctor make delicious food for Balurk?” the orc asked with excitement.
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Eyes wide and finding this all unbelievable, Jack shuts the door as the orc wanders in asking for food immediately. Sighing, and with a slight smile as he scratches the back of his head, "What is this guy gonna do? Eat the Whispering Way? If that's what it takes to win, I guess. Man, this is gonna be interesting."
