Carrion Crown AP: The Haunting of Harrowstone

[Starscream]

Although Nadya's attack fails to connect and she loses some of her life's blood to the stirge, it doesn't get to keep it for very long. Norda and Umana swiftly slice it to ribbons and as it hits the floor the music stops. The three pipers suddenly start as if awakened from a deep sleep, and look around in fear and confusion at the armed adventurers, dead monsters, and fallen priest, who is emitting a low groan.

Spoiler: OOC

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Combat ends. You can now act out of initiative.

Nadya takes 1 Con damage and must make a fort save if the results of this roll are below 10 or under: (1d100)[55].

[Kish]

Norda moves to forcibly take the pipes from the pipers, but stops when she sees that they've woken up. "What happened here?" she asks. Anticipating a reply along the lines of "that's what we were going to ask you!" she rephrases, "What's the last thing you remember?"

She moves around the corner back to the priest and touches him, channeling healing energy.

Spoiler

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Using Lay On Hands on the priest; if it proves ineffective (i.e., all his damage is ability damage which Norda can't heal), she'll only spend one point to find that out.

[Starscream]

The piper stammers: "I...I don't know. I've never even heard that song before. I just felt like I remembered playing it long ago. Then there was this...buzzing."

Father Grimburrow doesn't respond to Norda's healing touch, as it is unable to replace several pints of blood all in one go. Nonetheless, he stirs and is able to push himself up on his elbows.

Father Grimburrow

"At least it was in tune for once." "I thank you for the assist, friends. They caught me by surprise, and I was out from blood loss before I knew what was happening. What a humiliating way to go, taken out by a few pests in broad daylight." He pulls himself to his feet. "Perhaps Pharasma is sending me a sign that I was too dismissive of the tales of ghosts, because that was clearly some sort of haunting event. Something IS going on in this town, and we must discover what. The last conversation I ever had with your friend Lorrimor, he asked me some questions about a crypt in the Restlands. There's nothing in my records of anyone interred within, but it was clearly commissioned by the church. I could not give him permission to look within, disturbing the dead is a sacrilege, but I promised to investigate for him. Never got the chance to fulfill that promise, he died the next day. Since it seems he was right about there being something rotten at Harrowstone, he may have been right about something odd within that crypt as well." "Under the circumstances, it would be the least I can do to give you permission to investigate it. I would gladly heal the injuries you received rescuing me as well, but I haven't the spell prepared to restore injuries of this type, and if you came back tomorrow you would probably be well in any case, especially if you get in a good meal and a night's sleep. You young people recover so fast. Nevertheless, a debt is owed. Here." Grimburrow takes two vials from his belt and hands them over to Norda. "Healing potions. I wish I could spare more, but if more events like this are on the way, I had better start stockpiling for the town's safety."

Spoiler: OOC

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You receive two potions of Cure Light Wounds.

[Tacobob]

Umana tried to figure out what just happened. Cursed pipes? Cursed Pipers? The young warrior made sure to clean her sword before she slid it back into its scabbard before she made it over to the others. She glanced at her little group with a slight frown on her face. Looks like they were going to be checking out a creepy, creaky crypt.

[kinem]

Daron says "Thank you sir. But how can we be safe that it's safe here for now? Perhaps we shouldn't leave yet."

[Starscream]

Father Grimburrow

"You may stick around if you wish, while I examine our musicians here for any more signs of supernatural affliction. Doubt I'll find any, whatever seized them had no reason to stick around after its monsters had been slain, and if it had the ability to control them entirely they would have attacked as well. Instead they simply stood there, trance-like. Probably more akin to hypnosis than possession. If you can think of anything to assist, feel free, I know a couple of you are learned in magic. Feel free to look over those files as well."

[Kish]

"Thank you," Norda says, taking the healing potions. "Unfortunately, I doubt I have useful insight into what malign influence was here." She goes to examine the files.

[Tacobob]

"Still trying to figure out how those pipes were able to even summon those bug things.", Umana mumbled as she helped the others go through the files. "Magic bug summoning song?" She had heard about bards who could do wonders with their music, was that the same?

[kinem]

Daron tries his usual checks for magic and for psychic significance.

[Starscream]

Daron does spy a slight aura of psychic significance on the pipers, a sense of hate similar to the one that was on the monument.

Norda begins going through the documents. They are something of a mess, having been intended simply to give a monthly report to the town council that things were proceeding normally at the prison. There is indeed a list of prisoner names, over a hundred and twenty of them, but some are referred to only by initials or aliases. The report describing goings on at the prison is similarly haphazard, sometimes using prisoner names or cell numbers, or referring to events of previous months under the assumption that the reader was already familiar with them. Getting a clear picture of who on the manifest was involved in what could prove tricky.

Spoiler: Gameplay

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Norda and anyone else wishing to study the documents can make an intelligence check to correctly decipher them.

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri looks around for anything odd and searches him mind for any undead connection.

Spoiler: Crunch

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Perception (1d20+9)[21] +2 if undead related.
Knowledge (Religion) (1d20+5)[6] +2 if undead related.

[Starscream]

Neither Norda nor Dimitri notice anything in particular.

[Madmal]

"It's no problem father" Nadya said, recovering her breath "Darnest pest, always marauding around these zone, and I can't ever remember how are they called."

She stares at the files with some aprehension. "Yesh, last time I saw this amount of paper was when serving for an overnight research session. And at least some of those topics seemed interesting enough..." She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, her hair taking on a shimmering deep blue hue again as she give an encouraging pat on the back to Daron. "How about trying on the opposite side this time? ".

(Using Bit of Luck on Daron, to give him 2 d20 roll on his next check; If somebody else makes the roll instead, i'll change the text)

[Tacobob]

"Is there anything I could do?", Umana asked the others, "Would be wasteful for me just to stand about." she had doubts that she would be useful with any of the temple's paperwork, but there had to be something she could do.

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri stands silently. Baffled by the events and unsure what to do.

[Starscream]

Father Grimburrow

"Not finding anything in the documents, eh? A week ago I would have recommended you seek out Professor Lorrimor and ask him to take a look. Good man when it came to research. Alas, no longer an option. His daughter might be able to do it, she's got a good head on her shoulders as well."

[kinem]

"Ah ... Thanks Nadya."

Daron continues his scans of the place, and tries to remember his studies about the undead.

ooc: Knowledge (religion) (1d20+8)[9], (1d20+8)[23]

[Tacobob]

Umana perked up a little. She might be of some use!

"Would you like me to retrieve Miss Kendra?", she glanced at the others with an over eager smile on her fuzzy face.

[Starscream]

A thought occurs to Daron; if whatever foul force that took control of the musicians was able to put them in a trance and make them act according to its wishes without them being aware of it, then there might be others affected in a similar manner...like whoever desecrated the monument.

[kinem]

Daron says "I detected some of the same hateful psychic impression on the pipers as I had at the monument. Perhaps the same vengeful spirit, whatever it is, took control of somebody and made them make the mark we saw there. I certainly hope it doesn't take control of any of us."

[Madmal]

"That's... still not much." Nadya pinches the bridge of her nose. "Let see... we have the list of those fallen on the fire, and maybe the hidden caché Petros mentioned to the Father. Check another place in town, or go ahead and check the prision..."

[Tacobob]

The black cat let out a little 'huff' as she was ignored once again. "Is there any other place here where we could learn more about the prison?", she glanced over at Father Grimburrow, "Maybe building plans? I'm sure most of its changed because of the fire, but it would be nice to know the layout before going."

[Starscream]

Father Grimburrow

"Don't know if they'll let outsiders into the archives, the the town hall might know a thing or two about that."

[Tacobob]

"I'm sure if we ask nicely and are honest with our intentions, they'll let us in.", a smile returned to the warrior's face. "So, should we go there next?", she asked the others.

[Kish]

"Sure. Though for my part, I still favor the direct approach. Especially with dangerous supernatural forces attacking people here." Norda shrugs.

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

Dimitri stands quietly by. He was a man of action and tended to work alone.He simply wished to go and check out the prison, but he was also patient and there were new friends to learn from.

[Tacobob]

The cat glanced over at the others, “I’m not dead set on hanging around the town hall, so if you guys want to go directly to the creepy prison, we’ll go.”, Umana added, “I just want to be as prepared as possible.”

[HappyMerecat]

Dimitri

"No. If we have a chance to learn more, lets do that."

[Starscream]

Spoiler: OOC

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Sounds like the consensus is to go to the town hall next.

Approaching Ravengro's town hall, you see two familiar figures outside, in front of a monument commemorating the founding of the town. It has been rather crudely covered with a sheet to hide it from sight, and Councilman Hearthmount is arguing with Sheriff Caeller in front of it.

Vashian Hearthmount	"You should have told me straight out! If there's been a threat upon my life, I want to know about it!"
Benjan Caeller	"I said it was just a theory, and one we can now discount. If the vandal is spelling a name, it's not yours. V-E, not V-A. And I also thought it might be Grimburrow, but his name is Vauran, so he's out too. I checked the town records, we have Vashians, and Vaurans, and Vincents, and Victors, and even a Viridian because gnomes are weird, but no one with a name that starts with V-E."
Vashian Hearthmount	"That doesn't prove anything! You know half the town can barely read and write! And here it is in front of my place of business, of course it pertains to me! I want you-" He sees you coming and stops short. "Clean it up, Caeller, and post a bloody guard. I'll be in my office."

[Tacobob]

Oh crap. This did not look good. The cat glanced at the others to gauge their reactions. "I'm curious what's under the sheet. Maybe you should ask Lady Nadya? People tend to react to you ever so positively." Umana kept her voice down low so only the others could hear.