A few days later...
We headed out to Schloss Caromarc, and found some beastly creatures at the main gate. Strange dog like beasts with scaly skin that oozed vile fluids and looked infected. Gigantic humanoids with similar skin attributes. As we were fighting one of the dogs, rocks were being thrown at us from the towers, and Nicu was shot with a crossbow bolt. We managed to destroy the dog, in large part thanks to Vladimir's wand, which stopped the beasts wounds from healing at the astonishing rate they were before.
We charged up the tower, and managed to destroy a giant in it, the one who had shot Nicu with the crossbow. The other giants came out of the first tower, and threatened to burn the tower with us in it. Nicu called their bluff, as the tower was stone, but we still had to come out to face them one they retreated from our attacks in the tower.
While we were fighting them, several small humanoids with foul yellowish skin pelted us with rubbish, and even hit Nicu with something that I am quite sure was... bodily waste.
We defeated the giants, and Nicu was quite angry with the little men, and I must say I don't really blame him at all. However, he did manage to keep a cool head and not destroy them out of hand. The told us of creature on the bridge, another of those piecemeal houds we saw in the Chymic works.
They also gave us an amulet Vlad identified as bearing the symbol of the Whispering Way. A search of the courtyard turned up some suspicious looking pieces of meat, and bit of treasure, including an enchanted staff, and a damaged old uniform. Vladimir is apparently a fairly skilled tailor, and soon had it patched up to a semblance of its former appearance. Nicu advised him to wear it, seeing as how it was apparently a uniform, it might have belonged to some of the staff here. And while I don't know if that was true, the evidence seems to suggest so, as the hound left us alone to cross the bridge.
We rang the bell by the door, and it opened, apparently on its own. There was another very odd.. creature, I suppose under the stairs, made of metal, wire, and odd pieces of flesh, but it too left us alone.
We looked around the manor, and while all the fires were burning, we saw no one residence aside from the thing under the stairs.
In another building, we found odd creatures that I have no idea how to describe, they seemed part crustacean, but they were obviously land dwellers, and were the size of ponies. One of them destroyed the blade on Terezinya's Parthian Rapier, and she was most upset about that. Vladimir tried to calm her down, assuring her they would be able to repair it, with the proper spells. He promised that if he could not buy the necessary spell on a scroll when we returned to Lepidstadt, he would research it himself.
We came to a rope bridge, with Nicu crossing first, and managing to fall off the bridge into the waters below. We were terrified that he had died, but he managed to survive, though badly hurt. Nicu used his enchented rope to try to make the crossing of the rope bridge safer, and we were attacked by a most evil looking winged woman. Vladimir made her fall asleep, and she plummeted into the watery depths. Unfortunately, she also survived the fall, but was wounded enough that Sofya was able to finish her off. We came to what appeared to be a museum, and were attacked by a creature somewhat like the Beast. This one, however, had no eyes, barely having a face, actually, with only a mouth to indicate such. It had several small devils strapped to it, and Nicu bade us destroy them while he fought the golem himself. Every little devil killed seemed to weaken the golem, and it pummeled Nicu severely before finally falling.
Everywhere in the buildings we saw more evidence of the twisted experiments done by Count Caromarc. A sarcophagus expelled a foul undead woman, and another grew a vile maw and tried to eat Nicu. Some foul undead creatures tried to drown us, and vile animate mushrooms made us see horrifying visions. We found yet more flesh golems, and our friend, the Beast arrived to help us fight the worst, a towering monstrosity directly out of a nightmare.
Count Caromarc himself had been sealed in an iron coffin, I suppose I'd describe it, but luckily we managed to release him with the Beast's help.
Vladimir and Sofya insisted he return to Lepidstadt to stand trial, and Judge Daramid assured us he would receive a fair and just trial. Even so, he gave us a handsome sum for defending the Beast and saving his life.
I sorrow for the Beast, as he was so saddened by our imminent departure. He thanked us for defending him, and for being the only friend he has ever known.
The next day...
The final day of the trial showed the crowd still angry, but the Chief Justice assured them that such acts as happened last night would not be tolerated, and that any violence against us would be met with stiff penalty of law.
We presented the last of our evidence, and found, after the priestess spoke with the head of the slain doctor, that he had been involved in some shady activities with the proprietors of the Chymic Works and had tried to blackmail them. He was murderd by one of them, but the fire itself was an accident cause during the fight.
The next hour was, I think, the longest of my life, as the Justices adjourned to deliberate. They came back with a verdict of innocent of all charges. The Beast declared that we were his bestest friends in the world, and spoke of returning to visit his father.
Judge Daramid gave us our promised reward, and asked that we go to Schloss Caromarc to speak to the Beast's father, and to try to find a way of getting the Beast under better control. She also heard rumor that the mob was going to try again, and we must try to get there before them so as to help our friend once more.
The next day...
We brought our evidence to the court, and the crowd was both larger and louder in their insistence that the Beast be destroyed. Someone threw a rotten tomato at Nicu, but it missed.
We presented our evidence, and this time managed to get every bit of it accepted. The crowd roared when we asked the priestess who oversaw the court to ensure no magical trickery was employed to speak with the dead children. She managed to contact three of them, but three were unresponsive. Vlad suspects that this is due to the fact that they still roam as undead, and thus will be denied their peace until the wraiths they have become are put to rest. Nicu noted that the crowd seemed very angry, and he was sure that they would try to take matters into their own hands.
He reported his suspicions to Acting Sergeant Dun and the justices, but they blatantly refused to accept that anything was amiss. Well, except Judge Daramid, who asked that we stay the night in the courthouse and watch over the Beast just in case. Barrister Kaple adived us to go to Sanctuary to investigate the last crime, and I think we were all worried at how close that might be cutting things if the mob did try to harm the Beast.
Fortunately, Sanctuary was not far away from Lepidstadt, and we we able to complete our investigations there. Vladimir found an old lockbox, and it showed a connection to the Chymic Works, as did a glass vial we found in the lair of another group of the undead.
We got back to the city just after sunset, and stayed in the courthouse. As Nicu suspected, the mob attacked the courthouse. Vlad and I used spells and songs to put some of them to sleep, while Nicu and Sofya yelled threats at them, trying to frighten them into backing down. Some of them did, too, and the crowd finally dispersed without too much trouble. Nicu took a crossbow bolt, but was not seriously injured, and the courthouse door was cracked by the mob's rams before they finally fled.
The militia arrived well after the crowd had dispersed, and after questioning us for a time, allowed us to go on our way.
Barrister Kaple advised us to next look into the murders of six children in the town of Hergstag. When we arrived, Vladimir stepped in a bear trap, and there were two horrendously loud snaps. A first I thought Vladimir was killed, but he was fortunate as a fallen branch had gotten into the trap as well. He was knocked out, and we feared his leg might have been broken, but he just ended up with a massive bruise. After about an hour, he woke up and we were able to continue our investigations.
We found several phantasmal children, that Vladimir identified as wraith spawn. We managed to put three to rest, and we investigated the house of the girl who died two days after the Beast was driven off. We found that the house would have been nearly impossible to free climb, and the window had not been forced.
When we came out, we were attacked by a full wraith. The creature was horrid, with numerous red eyes, and making a sound like a swarm of hornets. We managed to destroy it, and saw more of the wraith spawn fleeing into the night. Vlad told us they had probably now become full wraiths. We did manage to recover the bodies of the four children who had not been buried, so hopefully that will give their families some closure at least.
We took our evidence back to town and actually managed to get a good night's sleep.
The next day...
We found the true culprits of the first crime, a foul skinless man, and a very violent gnome. We also found a large number of flayed skins in a cabinet in his room, but we unable to make the court accept that perhaps the most prominent skin could have been used to impersonate the Beast, as the prosecutor claimed it and the Beast really looked quite different.
We presented our evidence in court, and I think we managed to convince them of the Beast's innocence of the first crime, as save the aforementioned skin, we got all our other evidence accepted and they admitted it made sense. We also had to endure the insults of the crowd, who called us all manner of foul names for defending the Beast.
The next day...
We met the poor Beast, and I cleaned him up with the cantrip I learned at the dilettante's club. We questioned him, and though I freely admit he has a frightening presence, I could not help but believe his insistence of his innocence of the crimes for which he has been accused.
A few days later...
We made it to Lepidstadt, and delivered the last of Professor Lorimor's bequests. His friend, Judge Daramid, seemed a severe woman, but I could tell the loss of the professor hurt her much more than she let on. She enlisted our aid to see that the creature called the Beast of Lepidstadt got a fair trial, but assured us she would deny any involvement.
The next day...
We met a traveling carnival, and agreed to help them locate one of their number who had gone missing. Alas, we were too late to save the poor lass, but did manage to destroy the foul beast that had killed her, and enormous spider. We also agreed to travel with the carnival, and help scout the road for them and see them safely to Lepidstadt.
A little over two weeks later...
Kendra elected to stay in Ravengro, and assured us we were welcome in her home anytime. The trip to Lepidstadt has been relatively uneventful up to this point, with only one foul beast to contend with.
A couple days later...
We managed to eliminate the last of the haunting in the prison, and released Vesorianna's spirit. She was extremely grateful, and I hope she can now find the peace she's been denied so long. A part of her spirit inhabits the badge, and Vladimir has kept it as a reminder, and because it increases his spells' usefulness against ghosts and such. The villagers hailed us as heroes, and rewarded us for saving the town.
I forgot to add that the defacement of the monument continues, this time an R has been added to the other letters. Vlad and Sofya seem to share my concern about it, but Nicu has shown no interest in trying to stop it. It's very odd, though, as the man who was doing it before is still in the town's jail...
A few days later...
We learned much of the history of the prisoners Vesorianna said were behind the troubles in Ravengro. Such foul beings all.
Vlad has been having nightmares about the torture chamber we found under the prison building. Fortunately, Kendra has been able to use her magic to allow him some semblance of peaceful sleep.
We have managed to destroy four of the prisoner's ghosts. Vesorianna has the Splatter Man, The Mosswater Marauder, Father Charlatan, and The Lopper back under control. We also managed to find and return her husband's badge to her. I feel so sorry for her, to have spent so long so close to him, and yet so far away. Now, she does not even have that, as his spirit is missing from the prison.
I felt so helpless when Nicu was attacked by Father Charlatan's spirit. Ghostly chains wrapped him and were strangling the life out of him. In the end, we all tried what we could, but I have no idea if our efforts were of any use. I must assume so, as he did not die from the chains.
Vlad fell to his knees, and prayed to the Morninglord to protect Nicu, Sofya yelled at him, demanded he wake up and stop scaring us, and I simply tried to keep his injuries from getting worse.
Vlad has also taken up cooking, and has learned how to enchant food to carry spells. I think he has found a way to heal himself with it, but I fear for his soul, knowing what magic he is forced to use to accomplish it.
A couple days pass...
So much has happened. We met the ghost of the warden's wife, a beautiful woman named Vesorianna. She asked us to end the haunting of the prison, and gave us advice on how to go about it.
There has been more defacement of the monument, this time the letter O was added.
We also saved a little girl from an undead's attack, and in thanks the church offered us free healing so long as we were in town, and also granted us use of their library.
We learned much of some of the prisoners held in the prison, the three we were able to find information on were all quite horrific. I shudder to think what the other two are like.
I also nearly killed Vladimir. He had been wounded by some undead, and I sang the note of healing to try to get him back in fighting shape. However, it nearly took his life, with him letting out a cry of pain and falling unconscious to the ground.
Nicu carried him out of the prison after I used some of the mundane healing supplies to make sure he didn't bleed to death. While taking care of him back at Kendra's house, I asked for an explanation of what had happened.
He didn't seem to want to speak of it, but told me that I could learn for myself with the cantrip I learned at the Dilettante's Club back home. I cast the spell to learn of his ancestry, and what I found shook me to the core of my being. The blood of vampires runs in his veins, making him what I have heard called a dhampir. Further, he is a Von Zarovich, and I have heard of them in Kartakass. He quietly asked that I not spread that information around, but assured me he would neither try to compel me to obey, nor would he think less of me if I felt I could not keep that secret.
I assured him I would keep his secret, as I considered him a friend, and also a good man. I can see why he would want to keep those facts to himself, given all that I have heard of both Von Zarovichs and dhampirs. I cannot believe he would harm me or our other friends.
A bit later...
We found more undead out at the prison, and destroyed several of them. It was a most frightening experience for all of us, I myself have had no contact with undead creatures, and the stories I have heard of them fall far short of reality...
A bit later...
Kendra suggested we attend the meeting the town was having, and we agreed. Some vile undead creatures tried to burn the place to the ground, but we saved the building and all of the people who were in it. We also destroyed the undead creatures, which took the form of burning human skulls. The council hired us to put a stop to the odd events happening in town, and we are heading out to the prison to see what we can do.
A few more days...
Someone was defacing the monument left to commemorate those who died when the Ravengro prison burned all those years ago. They were writing on it in blood. They got the letters V-E-S written on it, before we apprehended the culprit, the leader of the farmers from the funeral. We knocked him out, but only after he slashed at us horribly with a razor.
A few days later...
The people here are quite mistrustful of us, though we are trying to show them we are good people. Nicu became quite angry with Sofya, as she revealed to the moneylenders that a gem they were selling was magical and worth far more than they were asking. Vladimir explained that showing the people our honesty would help them to trust us more, and Nicu finally agreed. I don't understand how he would even have to be told such.
May
We buried dear Professor Lorimor today. I'll miss the many debates we had of the world's history, and how that affected modern times and thinking.
Poor Kendra, the professor's daughter, was quite upset when several uncouth farmers tried to prevent us from burying him in the church-yard. Thankfully, I was able to talk to them and get them to see the error of their thoughts and actions.
After the funeral, we went to the professor's home, now Kendra's and she graciously extended and invitation for us to stay with her as long as we are in Ravengro.
One of the councilmen read the will for us, and Professor Lorimor asked us a couple of favors. One, to look after Kendra for a month, to see that she gets on her feet and to help her decide what she wishes to do. Second, to deliver some books to colleagues of his in Lepidstadt. He bequeathed us a handsome sum of money for doing this for him, but I would have done so even had he not.
I met the professor's other friends, and found them quite varied.
First, Nicu, a monk of an Ezran order, who is of Half-Vistani descent. He seems a bit forbidding, and overly serious. He told us of having a debt to repay Professor Lorimor, one that now I suppose he has been released from. He readily agreed to the Professor's requests.
Second, Sofya Sherwood, an extraordinarily, almost inhumanly, beautiful woman. She spoke at his funeral of how he had inspired her in her studies. She is a spellcaster of some sort, but has chosen not to explain any further than that. She also carries a Parthian rapier. I have heard it referred to as a quite dishonorable weapon, but I have not seen such behavior from Sofya.
And last, but by no means least, Vladimir Geistlinger, a wizard from Barovia. He told tale of how he had once been in a position to save the Professor's life, and was saddened he had not been able to do so once more. He is quite handsome, though quiet, and seems to have much weighing heavily on his mind. He has also shown some odd behaviors, talking to his quarterstaff on occasion.
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