**
There is always talk in Absalom and in Pathfinder Society circles about the supposed hauntings at Dacilane Academy, the school that educates the children of many Pathfinders and some gifted young aspiring Pathfinders.
Apparently, some kind of recent incident has led to the need for a full investigation, and so Pathfinder agents begin to gather in the waning hours of the day, waiting to meet the Academy's patron, J Dacilane, to get the briefing on what it is they are actually supposed to do.
As your group approaches the gates of the Dacilane Academy, a man in his early twenties, who you recognize as J Dacilane, the patron and now namesake of the academy, is gazing wistfully past the gate at the building, where students are bustling about. The iron gates shut the school away from the bustle of Absalom’s Foreign Quarter.
Dacilane is fiddling with a pocket watch as well as a key on a red ribbon, though he snaps to attention with the military posture of an Eagle Knight as he sees you approach.
“Welcome,” J says with a warm smile. “I appreciate that you took the time out of your schedule to meet me. This may seem like a strange request for field-trained agents, but I need you to investigate the school. There’s a rumor that Dacilane Academy is haunted.” He winces as he adds, “Or cursed.” Nodding specifically at Brother Dawnfriend he says, “I think you have experienced a little of that for yourself on our eventful field trip, nufriend.”
The Eagle Knight continues, “The pupils assembled a list of legends about the school for you. Apparently, there are seven secrets of Dacilane Academy. Honestly, most sound like urban legends that the students have picked up from their Pathfinder parents. But, when someone says that they’re in danger, it should be investigated. And a more formal report from the Society would be a great opportunity for the students to see Pathfinder skills in action!”
With a sigh, Dacilane further explains, “These hauntings began long before the supposed curse, so I’m sure they’re mostly mundane occurrences. You’ll probably find the foundation settling, old drafty windows, and the like. If there’s something more to it, try to excise any spirits or other beasts that stalk the halls. In addition to the transcribed legends, the pupils provided a ghost-hunting kit for your investigation.” J shakes his head as he hands over a leather bag and a thin folder.
“You’ll have this evening to do as you please. The school grounds are in use until sunset for extracurricular activities. I don’t want to incite more rumors or scare any of our more promising pupils with armored agents in the halls.”
Looking again towards the gate, he adds, “Do be careful. Oh, and one final thing. Please try to limit any damage to the facilities. Now, do you have any questions for me?”
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As you all join together, the short orange-furred creature with 6 arms runs around excitedly, introducing himself to all of the other Pathfinders. "Hello, nufriend Pathfinders! I am Brother Dawnfriend, and am very excited to be on a new adventure with you all. This is going to be so gree! And we get to meet see my friends at Dacilane Academy again! I hope it goes better than last time, you know." He runs around, shaking hands - he has 6 of them, after all, so can multitask - and offers hug ... which he won't necessarily ask for, but also won't force on anyone who obviously doesn't want one.
"This place is very different from where I come from, and I'm constantly meeting people who have powers that are very different from those who I'm used to, so I'm not always sure how to help ... except healing people. My friend Sarenrae helps with that! Do you know about Sarenrae? She's the best friend!"
As they get up to J. Dacilane, Brother Dawnfriend begins to hop excitedly from foot to foot, waving every few seconds with arms toward Dacilane. "Ooh, this sounds very exciting! Where are the students? Let's get started!" clearly, he doesn't have much in the way of questions.
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A Tengu woman walks up to J. Dacilane. With a beak where lips or teeth would be, she is unable to return the smile but shakes the patron's hand firmly.
"Mr Dacilane, good to see you. I'm Anya Showyourmoves, foreign correspondent at Absalom's premier monthly newsjournal, 'Anon and Afar'. You may have heard of us or read my work." She slips him a business card.
"Today I'm not here to report on any world-shattering events though. You called about a mystery and the Society sent me, one of their premier fact-finders to report the truth!" Anya puffs up her feathered chest with pride.
"I'm fine with working after hours, but what do we know about this curse? Can you or Brother Dawnfriend fill me in on this missing context?" Anya asks.
J Dacilane smiles at seeing Dawnfriend's excitement. "You were quite the talk of the school after that little field trip," he says. "The students who were too young to go were all jealous of getting to meet the skittermander." The academy's patron thinks for a moment. "Oh! You know, a few of the students you met on that trip are the ones who compiled the list of these supposed mysteries. If you'd like to say hello, I could go and get them after we're done here. They're only involved in clubs right now, not academics. They might be able to tell you more about this... haunting business."
Dacilane sighs before nodding in greeting to Anya. "Forgive my lack of knowledge about your publication. As for the curse, perhaps when you are finished, you might report to the city and the world that there is nothing to fear." His face contorts into a grimace. "There’s a rumor that the school is cursed. I’ve lived through some hard times and rumors get around. When the academy was renamed in honor of my family, some people said that the name itself was cursed.” He sighs again. “I would be obliged if you could clear my family’s otherwise pristine name.”
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A 6'2" tall athletic dark-haired Taldan mane and a 4'8" tall blonde Taldan woman approach, holding hands. A seagull flying 10 feet above the ground and to the woman's right. The woman says something to the seagull in a language that is not understood by anyone , raising the volume of her voice as she does. The seagull replies back at the woman in what sounds like the same language.
Brandy J "No, you need to be concealed. I am not having you scare children. You have frightened too many of them as it stands, you sea hag of a mother! Do not resist me. I am in control, not you!"
Brine "Do not speak to me with disrespect, child! Do not think you being my tether to keep my spirit around makes you the boss of me, daughter!"
As the seagull yells at the woman, a red-hued octopus tentacle appears out of thin air and attempts to wrap around the woman's face at the same time as a large splash of water flings from the seagull's wings and slams into the woman, causing her to slide backwards.
The Taldan man shouts in Taldane at the bird, "Why can't you be a good mother?!"
"Brad, darling, a little help with getting this off me." the woman tells the man.
Brad succeeds in shifting the tentacle away from being wrapped around the blonde woman's eyes, before the tentacle vanishes into thin air.
"Brad, go ahead and tell them I will be a minute while I deal with her."
Doing as he was instructed, he does so.
"Hi, everyone. I'm Brad, Brandy's boyfriend. She asked me to tag along with her."
Meanwhile in the backdrop view of Brad, the seagull seems to flap it wings to remain aloft but is pulled towards Brandy's extended left arm, and over the course of a minute, seems to merge into her hand?
She then walks over to join the others already gathered, as she gets nearer a small translucent shimmering of sea water can be seen surrounding her form . "Sorry about the spectacle, everyone. I thought it would be wise to put her in time out so she is not able to spook the students at the Academy."
She stands up on stretched feet to give Brad a kiss, who picks her up so she can, then sets her back down, as she looks at the others assembled, "Sorry, forgot pleasantries. I am Brandy J. Williams, daughter of Ashley J. Williams, sister to Ashleigh J. Williams and Candy J. Williams."
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A pale-skinned elf, with piercing, sea-green eyes, smiles warmly.
"A good mystery, and a good curse, are always welcome. I have fond memories of the 'stories' of my own alma mater, so this will be an interesting stride down memory lane..."
His grin then broadens.
"Of course, where are my manners? The is Kinkade. Marius Kinkade."
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Esmarelda strides up to the headmaster and shakes his hand. "Greetings, fair headmaster!" she states boldly. "Soon, there shall be legends of us in this school! An eighth legend of the strongest minotaur to grace the halls of this institution and her proud compatriots!"
With a quick glance and darting eyes, she glances over to the party. "Ah, yes. Brother Dawnfriend... Anya, Kinkade... and a pair of crazy humans with a bird..." she recounts. "Wait, I'm sure Sylvar mentioned two lovesick humans and a bird. He kept going on about sweets." Esmarelda's attention is clearly diverted from the headmaster and building her own legend. "Are you Dandy and Dave? Toffee and Ted? Something about dessert, I'm sure!" she asks, seeming to go through a mental checklist bereft of actual memory.
By the time that Brandy finishes and says 'Candy', Esmarelda shouts. "Ah, yes! Candy! Such a delightful thing. Perhaps these students have some for us."
Turning back to J Dacilane, Esmarelda seems to focus back on the legends. "What is the most dangerous or the most enduring legend? One truly etched in these hallowed halls for us to vanquish or overcome?" she asks.
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Dyesebel steps through the gates of Dacilane Academy alone, her eyes taking in the unfamiliar halls and surroundings. After a moment, she raises her hand. “Lolong. Come.”
Moments later, her crocodile companion emerges and makes his way toward her, staying close at her side. Dyesebel is about to greet him when Brother Dawnfriend suddenly shakes her hand. She pauses for a moment, slightly amused by his energy.
“Six arms and so much energy,” Dyesebel remarks. “You must be very useful when there is much work to be done.”
She then looks over the group and introduces herself. “I am Dyesebel, a druid of the deep waters. This is Lolong. He is my companion, and despite his appearance, he is quite gentle.”
As she listens to J. Dacilane explain the academy and its mysteries, Dyesebel thinks to herself, “I have explored the darkest depths of the ocean, but perhaps the surface has mysteries of its own.”
Once the Eagle Knight finishes speaking, Dyesebel gives a calm nod. “Very well. We will investigate these legends uncover the academy’s secrets.”
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Esmarelda and Dyesebel do not have any particular recollection of things involving Dacilane Academy.
The Academy was only recently renamed for Dacilane after he donated a portion of his inheritance to the institution. Rumors of the supposed hauntings and mysteries long predate Dacilane's involvement with the Academy. The oldest rumor says that the ghost of a halfling stalks the halls, wearing all white and trapping students who remain in the school after hours.
**
J gives a big smile at the enthusiastic greeting from the minotaur woman. "They're still telling stories about this one in the school," he says, indicating Dawnfriend. "If you can solve the mystery of these supposed curses, I bet they'll be telling stories about you as well."
The Eagle Knight continues, "As I said before, you will not see much of the students themselves. We neither wish for them to be alarmed nor to have them impeding your investigation. If you'll excuse me for a few minutes, I will go and fetch a few of our more... enterprising students who have been collecting all of the rumors. They will be able to tell you what people believe about these supposed hauntings."
He returns as promised after a few minutes with a trio of adolescents: A human boy, a kobold girl, and a nonbinary half-elf. "These are two of our best students, Geltra and Hari," he indicates the kobold and the half-elf, then nods to the human and adds, "and Alec here is familiar with ways to get in trouble in the school." The boy laughs and smiles, seeming to take pride rather than offense at the way he was described compared to his classmates.
These students are indeed excited to see the skittermander, Dawnfriend, who they have met before. The kobold Geltra and the half-elf Hari are impressed at the sight of the bona fide adult Pathfinders; Alec pretends to be too cool for that kind of hero worship.
"This is what we know," Geltra says. J clears his throat, prompting her to roll her eyes as she corrects herself, "This is what we think. There are seven urban legends about the school that might have something to them." She hands you a paper with neat handwriting listing a checklist with seven things on it:
- The Walking Statues: In the yard, they move the day after we take a run
- The Blank Books: In the library, books are moved around overnight, and sometimes the words in them disappear
- The Wailing Bathroom: Decades ago, a boy died in the northeast bathroom. His ghost still haunts!
- The Haunted Shack: Outside the main building is a shack no one ever enters or leaves, but you can always hear something moving in there
- The Cheater's Whisper: In lab, whisper a question and you'll hear the answer. Except it might be wrong.
- The Disappearing Door: Walk alone to the lab and you'll see a hidden door. Will NOT appear if you are with anyone else.
- Student #19: The school roster never has a student #19. Only appears after you've seen the other six mysteries, then scares you to death and takes you away!
- Collected by Alec, Geltra, and Hari, students of Dacilane Academy, 4720 AR
As you read over the paper, they all - even Alec - watch with interest to see how the real Pathfinders react to their work. You have the opportunity to ask these kids questions about any of the supposed hauntings. What would you like to know?
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Brad, "They tried to sell this place for centuries but there were no takers because of all the hauntings. The pathfinder society bought it at a discount, but spent a lot of money to cleanse the place of all the ghosts."
Brandy, "Apparently, they did not get rid of all of them."
Upon reading the list and seeing the entry regarding the haunted shack, Brandy J. involuntary shivers, which causes the tattooed rendering of seagull on the palm of her left hand to move along her skin to the back of her left hand. Though her father and grandfather had tried to keep the truth from her and her sisters about how her and her sisters' mothers died, her mother has told her multiple times, in explicit detail, of the day her father killed her in her father's shack.
Brad, not sure why Brandy just shivered, shifts to stand behind her and wrap his arms around her waist to comfort and provide his body heat to repel whatever caused her body to shiver.
Brine knows something caused her daughter to have some sort of fright, though does not yet know what caused her daughter to experience the sensation.
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Anya takes out some reading glasses and pushes them up the bridge of her beak as she speaks.
"Uhm, ackchyually, The Pathfinder Society purchased the mansion that serves as the school campus several decades ago, founding the school in 4643 AR, with the aim of educating the children of Pathfinder agents. At the time of the purchase, the sellers stated that the building was not haunted, a standard disclosure in Absalom real estate transactions." She pointedly corrects Brad.
Anya approaches Geltra. Bending down to her level, the reporter asks the young girl; "That's a rather comprehensive list. You might make a good journalist one day! Two questions though. One - have you all taken a run yesterday? Otherwise, the Walking Statues might not appear when we are looking around today. Two - does the Cheater's Whisper accept any question, or only those related to Alchemical tests?"
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Brad, "I didn't say the Pathfinders bought the place recently. The former owners finally had a potential buyer and probably lied about the place not being haunted so they could sell the place. The Pathfinder Society would have known about this place's centuries-long reputation for being haunted before deciding to purchase it."
Brandy whispers something to Brad, and Brad adds, "As none of us were present when the Pathfinders bought the place, none of us know for sure if the previous owners lied about the hauntings."
Brandy then asks the students, "Who was the last student to be scared to death and taken away? How long ago did this occur? What was the official reason that was given for the student's disappearance?"
"Have the missing words from the books ever reappeared in the books?"
"What is the name of the boy ghost in the washroom?"
"Has anyone ever went through the door that only appears when they are alone?"
"Would you mind going for a run today so we can investigate that mystery tomorrow?"
J does not directly take a side as Brad and Anya trade their conflicting pieces of information. "As you see, there are many wild rumors out there, even among Pathfinder circles."
Dacilane steps back and lets the students field the inquiries. Geltra looks clearly pleased at the praise from the tengu about the thoroughness of her information. "We always run on Wealday," she says, "and today is Oathday, so if the Walking Statues are going to do anything, they should do it today." She nods authoritatively.
With a pointed glance at Alec, the other excellent student Hari says, "He can tell you about the whispers. He's the one who'd try to cheat by asking."
Alec does not deny the charge. "What? A guy needs all the help he can get in this place." He grins, although it turns sheepish if there are signs of disapproval. "I've tried asking a lot of things in that lab, about a lot of subjects. The whispers are only ever about alchemy, though." He shrugs. "It sounds weird, but see for yourselves."
Brandy's flurry of inquiries about most of the other mysteries do not generate any specifics regarding supposed deaths, recent or long ago. It is clear that these kids, in compiling their list, have not gone into the archival records to confirm exactly when some of these things were supposed to take place and who might have been the victim. All three thought that one of the others was going to look it up and apparently nobody actually did so.
Once this is established, J puts in, "I can tell you that there are no mysterious student disappearances since the academy was renamed for my grandmother." Hearing Esmarelda's suggestion about being enrolled, he laughs. "Wouldn't that be a tidy solution? However, I would prefer to avoid having any... irregularities that might be misunderstood once they are inevitably discovered by someone curious who goes digging."
Regarding the disappearing door, each of Geltra and Hari swear that they have seen the phenomenon with their own eyes. They have not gone through this door. The half-elf says, "Maybe I'll go through strange disappearing doors when I'm a grown-up Pathfinder like you."
Hari is carrying more than one book with her just now. She holds one out for your inspection: The pages are blank. The writing on its front cover proclaims it to be a treatise on the differences between divine and arcane applications of defensive magic. "I don't think a blank book has ever gotten new writing again," they say. "But sometimes there are other books where they say something that's wrong, like the wrong year or month of an event that everyone knows exactly when it happened."
The students do not remark upon Brandy leaving out the shack from her inquiries.
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"Do not worry, Headmaster. I would not disparage the school. I happen to be the second-smartest minotaur in the Refuge." Esmarelda states with pride. "I will study diligently as your seventeenth student." she says with a flourish bow.
Curiously, Esmarelda feels like the list is quite easy to solve. "Well, let's venture off to the statues. Seems like they are the ones that everyone is interested in."
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Brandy nods at Esmeralda's words regarding the statues.
Brandy approaches J Dacilane and whispers into his ear, "I do not want to frighten the children, though they might enjoy the demonstration of my familiar detaching from my hand," Brandy shows the headmaster the back of her left hand, "But I should not if any of them speak Aklo, as my mother's words have been known to traumatize children, if the children comprehend them. Though be sure the children do not get within 15 feet of me during the minute it takes to have her transition from two dimensions to three."
J listens to Brandy's whispered suggestion. "Students, if you'll back up a bit, Ms. Williams here has offered to show a demonstration of, uh, one of the unique ways that a witch's familiar can manifest."
He also watches with a kind of morbid curiosity.
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"Statues sound like a good place to start." Anya says to the other Pathfinders.
To Geltra and Alec, Anya thanks the two for clearing things up, saying; "Kids, if you need a summer job writing articles, let me know and I can see what I can do."
To Hari, the Tengu gives him a stern look. "Word of advice - don't ever jump through strange doors, even as a grown-up. If you're lucky, it's a mimic. If you're unlucky, it leads to a fiendish plane of existence."
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"Uhm, ackchyually, The Pathfinder Society purchased the mansion that serves as the school campus several decades ago, founding the school in 4643 AR, with the aim of educating the children of Pathfinder agents. At the time of the purchase, the sellers stated that the building was not haunted, a standard disclosure in Absalom real estate transactions." She pointedly corrects Brad.
"Yes, nufriend reporter Anya Showyourmoves, but the reports of hauntings long predate J. Dacilane and his family's involvement with the school, even though they said it wasn't haunted. The oldest rumor is about a halfling dressed in white that stalks the halls and likes to trap students who are here too late. Sounds like a bleachling gnome. There aren't that many of them now, but there'll be a lot more in the future. I knew this one really cool bleachling gnome in the Starf... er, I mean, back where I came from." He becomes flustered, and quickly changes the subject, waving to the students.
"Hello Dacilane student friends! It is great to see you all." He runs around the room giving out hugs and being "helpful" in a variety of ways.
He nods to Anya. "Yes, if the statues are going to move today, we should investigate ... unless they have already moved!"
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Brandy walks past J Dacilane and the students so they are between her and the rest of the gathered pathfinders and her boyfriend.
"Students, know that not all witches' familiars that manifest in the way you are about to witness are not so...violent. Do not worry, I will be fine, it will take a minute or so. Are you ready for me to begin?"
Before the students start to answer, Brad rushes to Brandy's side, "If she is going to target someone aside you best to give her a target she prefers tormenting, hun."
Brandy starts to protest but Brad's charming smile disarms any attempt she was about to make to get him to head back over to safe distance the others are at.
Brandy and Brad walk create a greater gap of distance between themselves and the headmaster & students, so that they are bout 50 feet away from them.
Brandy once again asks the students, "Are you ready for the show to start?"
J has given the go-ahead for Brandy to proceed with the demonstration. The students are at a safe distance and do not object.
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Brandy holds her left arm out in front of her. Brad walks back towards the students twenty feet, the pivots to his right 90 degrees and walks an additional 20 feet.
Brad's position give the all headmaster, students and other pathfinders a clear view of both Brandy and Brad.
Water starts splashing out of from the back of Brandy's hand.
Brandy, "Students, you should respect your parents."
Brandy,
"You have Brad's permission to tentacle him, mother, but only once. More than once and you are going back into time out."
Brandy starts slowly spiraling her left arm in a counter-clockwise rotation, creating larger and larger circles with each rotation.
At the completion of the first arm circle, the spectators see the wing of of seagull emerge from the back of her hand, which flaps and causes a greater amount of water to splash out from it.
At the completion of the second arm circle, another seagull wing appears from the back of her hand, both water splashing out from both wings.
At the completions of the third arm circle, the seagull's head emerges and squawks something at the gathered spectators in a language the spectators do not recognize.
"New meat to eat!
As Brandy is halfway through the fourth arm rotation the bird's head looks towards Brad and the children see an octopus tentacle wrap around his head, covering his eyes.
Brad, "The things we do for love!"
Candy shouts something at the bird in the same foreign language.
"That's one and done. Don't press your luck, you sea hag of a mother!"
Brandy calls out to Brad, "Run towards the others, Brad!"
Brad more half-stumbles than runs, but does get closer to the others and further away from Brandy and the emerging seagull.
As Brandy completes her fourth arm circle, the rest of the seagull's body emerges from the back of her hand, and as it starts to flap it wings to fly towards Brad, Candy grabs it by its tail feathers to anchor it in place.
Brandy calls out to the students as she does so, "As I said, always respect your parents, unless they happen to be a hag who tried to mur," she catches herself and does not finish the word murder and covers by finishing with, "murks up your life up in a way no loving parent should."
She then whispers to the seagull in Aklo, which replies back to her Aklo.
Brandy, "Are you going to behave?"
Brine, "Fine, daughter....for now."
Brandy, "Behave, or I will really gave the children an explosive show of your feathers."
Brine remains silent and stews in her resentment and the sick sense of fate to have her be at her own whelp's mercy.
Brandy walks slowly back towards the others, still holding onto her familiar/mother's tail feathers for the first 20 feet, when the octopus tentacle around Brad's head vanishes, and then Brandy releases the seagull. The seagull flies over to the academy building and lands atop it.
Brad rushes to Brandy and swoops her up in his arms and carries her back towards the rest of the group.
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Brother Dawnfriend watches this exchange with wide eyes, for once speechless and unable to figure out how to help at all.
As Brad carries Brandy, he rushes over to them. "Does nufriend Brandy need medical help? I have a medkit ... er, I mean healing salves and bandages ... right here."
He looks around. "Do we have a towel somewhere? We don't want anyone to slip and fall in the water."
After watching the display with undisguised gawks, the three youths all look at one another.
"Are you learning how to do that?" Geltra the kobold asks, turning to Hari.
"No. Are you learning how to do that?" Hari the aiuvarin asks right back, receiving a prompt: "No." These two look at one another, then turn to Alec. "Are YOU learning how to do that?"
Alec frantically shakes his head.
Geltra turns back to the Pathfinders. "We're, um, we're going to get back to what we were doing with our clubs now, good luck with your investigation, don't forget to get our ghost hunting kit from Dacilane, Dawnfriend it was so lovely to see you!" Here the kobold girl does a waving gesture as if she's trying to wave six arms at once, like a skittermander could. "Okay, bye!"
Off they go, leaving you with Dacilane himself. "I wasn't expecting the octopus tentacle," he says. Blinking for a moment, he returns to the topic at hand. "Yes, as Geltra said, let me give you some things they put together."
J adds, "There's also this, the master key for the school. All of the doors should be locked at night, so you'll need it to get in and move around. Please do give a couple more hours for the school to clear out before you begin your search." He smiles and bows at you, then excuses himself through the gates as well.
In addition to the key and the items from the students, J also handed over to you a sheet of parchment with a pretty good sketch of the layout of the school. It'll be dark when you get in there, but at least you'll have an idea of where rooms are and things like that.
When you return, dusk is turning to dark. Using the key given by Dacilane, you let yourselves in through the main gate and step into the front entry of the school property. It is dim light except for the various magical light sources you may have brought with you. In particular, Brandy's everlight crystal casts everything you see in a reddish tint.
Even in this lighting, the brick walls and an ornately carved main door give the front entrance a stately appearance. You can see some manicured topiaries along the sides of the building, yet even with these scattered across the front lawn area, there is ample green and open space.
To your right as you face the main school building, you can see the outline of the supposedly haunted shack.
Based on your conversations with the students, several of you were interested in checking out the walking statues first. The schoolyard is on the opposite side of the building from where you are now. To get there, you would either have to squeeze between the school building and the wall along the exterior, or pass through the school's main hallway to exit the rear doors.
The front door, as J told you it would be, is locked. You do have what he told you would be a master key with you.
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"Does nufriend Brandy need medical help? I have a medkit ... er, I mean healing salves and bandages ... right here."
He looks around. "Do we have a towel somewhere? We don't want anyone to slip and fall in the water."
Brandy, "Thank you for your concern, Brother Dawnfriend. I am not hurt."
"The statues in the schoolyard first, correct? We should walk through so Esmarelda does not have to squeeze between the school and perimeter wall, or we could go back out the front entrance and walk around the wall and enter the yard from the other side."
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Esmarelda gives a bit of a moo. "To start from the beginning is to start at the beginning and we see one of the great mysteries to our left. Shall we not investigate it." Turning to Anya, she whispers. "How was that? Smart sounding? Learned that bit from Guide at the carnival. You just say things twice but with slightly different words and then everyone thinks you're smart!"
Hearing Brandy offer that the group presses towards the rear yard, Esmarelda waves her off. "We should not stray from that which is in front of us!"
She shrugs her shoulders and the beautiful Tian Xia embroidered scarf unwinds in her hands. The end of the scarf then hits the ground with a heavy clod before the minotauress hefts it back up over her other arm in a defensive position. "To arms!"
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"The oil of potency should go to someone who uses a weapon, I would think ... maybe like Esmerelda's scarf club? But if no one wants the holy water and the ghost charge, I can use them. I try to avoid fighting or hurting people, but throwing things at ghosts is fine!" He, of course, is happy to hand over any of these items - and, in fact, any item that he has, or that happens to be within easy reach, or uneasy reach - to anyone who asks for it.
Dawnfriend grabs the master key from J Dacilane and shouts, "This is way helpful! Thanks!" as he takes off running. Once Esmerelda indicates the shack, though, he aims toward the shack instead of the statutes. "Here, I have the key!" he calls, just as fully committed to the new plan that revealed itself five seconds ago as was to the plan in place 10 seconds ago.
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Marius shrugs.
"Ghosts are simple fact, the same way ants, sharks, and kobolds are. A healthy respect is one thing, but needless terror is another thing entirely. I am sure that there is a rational explanation for all of this... although I will be interested to see whatever the (possible) supernatural elements at work here are."
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Anya watches with some amusement as Esmeralda heads towards the shack. "Looks like we're going to the shack instead, then." She remarks, gripping her blades.
To Esmeralda, she whispers conspiratorially; "Not bad, but you've got to make your smart sayings shorter. People have short attention spans. Can you shorten it to ten to fifteen words?"
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To Esmeralda, she whispers conspiratorially; "Not bad, but you've got to make your smart sayings shorter. People have short attention spans. Can you shorten it to ten to fifteen words?"
Dawnfriend says to Anya as he is unlocking the door to the shack. "In the Pact Wor ... er, where I come from, people try to be smart in less than 140 characters ... or sometime in a 20 second infosphere holovid. They don't usually do a very good job of it."
Swept up by the boundless energy of Brother Dawnfriend, the group chooses to approach the supposedly-haunted shack rather than crossing through the school to get to the yard with the statues. You have been told that this shack is in fact a storage shed. The only noise in this empty yard is what you are making; it's eerily quiet otherwise.
Key in hand, the skittermander walks towards the door of the shed. As soon as he looks at the door, he realizes he's not going to need the key at all, because it's apparent that this door does not actually shut fully and is not latched. Its hinges squeak slightly at Dawnfriend's touch and this door swings open without much effort required.
Dawnfriend and Esmarelda, who are closest to the door of the shed, hear the sound of something - probably more than one something - scurrying to the back corner of the shed as the door opens, away from the door. What they can see without peeking their heads in is a dusty interior full of all manner of clutter, including fencing equipment, tools, and broken furniture.
As Brandy nears the shed, her detect magic cantrip alerts her to the presence of magic in the vicinity, a lingering, faint, but definitely present aura of conjuration.
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Hearing the sound through the door, Brother Dawnfriend opens it and calls into the shed, "Hello, nufriend! I am Brother Dawnfriend. We are Pathfinders, here to help sort out what is going on at Dacilane Academy. Do you need help?"
He makes note of the broken furniture. He is not a good repairman, but he will see about maybe what he can do to help repair that furniture for his friends at Dacilane academy when he gets the chance.
Dawnfriend's inquiry about whether any occupants of the shed require assistance does not receive a response, or at least not a verbal one. What he and anyone close to the shed hear is a hissing sound that probably comes from some kind of animal.
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To Esmeralda, she whispers conspiratorially; "Not bad, but you've got to make your smart sayings shorter. People have short attention spans. Can you shorten it to ten to fifteen words?"Dawnfriend says to Anya as he is unlocking the door to the shack. "In the Pact Wor ... er, where I come from, people try to be smart in less than 140 characters ... or sometime in a 20 second infosphere holovid. They don't usually do a very good job of it."
"Sounds like an excellent way to sell content to the masses!" Anya comments. "When we get out of this, please show me one of these infosphere holovids."
Hearing the danger but with no knowledge of its nature, Anya steps up to defend the party from the front.
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Brad remains by Brandy's right side and slides his left arm around her to quietly comfort and reassure her, as he is aware of the history her family has with sheds.
Brandy gets close enough to the shed that her detect magic emanation includes the entirety of the shed.
Brine flies down from the roof of the main building flies into the shed.
"A family of opossums, daughter."
Brandy, "A family of opossums are in the shed."
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To Esmeralda, she whispers conspiratorially; "Not bad, but you've got to make your smart sayings shorter. People have short attention spans. Can you shorten it to ten to fifteen words?"
Esmarelda nods along sagely. "Yes, this feel correct. Shorter is better..."
Hearing that opossums are in the shed, Esmarelda is a bit disappointed. "At least give me some feral raccoons or a knife-wielding rat."
"Anyone need me to check or are we good to move on?" asks the minotauress.
Brine the seagull has determined that it is a family of opossums in the shack. However, an investigation of the mystery behind this shack is going to require either calming down or clearing out the opossums in order to properly figure out whether there's just a mundane explanation for this or if something more cursed is going on.
As Brandy is asking if one of the others are going to go into the shed to try to calm the animals, the seagull flies out and squawks something in Aklo.
"Cowardly daughter! Get in there and calm the critters yourself!"
Brandy's reaction to whatever the bird just yelled at her seems to unnerve her slightly...
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Dyesebel notices the opossums nearby and slowly approaches the rattled animals, keeping her movements calm and gentle. She lowers herself to their level and uses her druidic connection with animals to soothe them.
“Be calm. We mean you no harm.”
She waits patiently until the opossums settle down, then gives them a small smile.
“There is no need to be afraid. We are only passing through.”