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Faria's brows furrow at the reading of the will and the rather burdensome requests made by the Professor. Not one to shirk duty, however, she nods her acceptance, if a bit forlornly.
Afterwards, she cocks her head inquisitively at the curious tome on top of the small stack of books, and instinctively reaches down, grasping the cover and turning to the first page.
After Faria removes the first book Poshment will look through the other books in the chest.
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Just looking at the books in the chest, you can see:
The "Read me now!" book looks like it might be a journal of some kind. The other tomes have notes tucked into them.
Posh meant will detect evil and if any of them detect then he will warn the group. He will also chech out the journal. "for safety sake I will check these"
"Before we do anything else, let's follow the professor's instructions and read the book that says 'read me now' on it. I'm sure there will be instructions on how to handle the other books in there."
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The books themselves are not evil. Poshment detects no overt malice.
Faria picks up Petros' journal. The majority of the entries are relatively bland, accounting for day-to-day activities in a small town. The professor has circled several entries in the book with red ink, though. The final entry, dated 17 days ago, was written on the same day the Professor's body was found.
The Whispering Way is more than just a cabal of necromancers. I see that now. Undeath is their fountain of youth. Uncovering their motivation does not place me at ease as I thought it might. Their desire to be eternal simply makes them more dangerous.
TWO MONTHS AGO:
It is as I had feared. The Way is interested in something here in Ravengro. But what could it be?
ONE MONTH AGO:
Whatever the Way seeks, I am now convinced their goal is connected to Harrowstone. In retrospect, I suppose it all makes sense—the stories they tell about the ruins in town are certainly chilling enough. It may be time to investigate the ruins, but with everyone in town already being so worked up about them, I’d rather not let the others know about my curiosity—there’s plenty of folks hereabouts who already think I’m a demonologist or a witch or something. Ignorant fools.
TWENTY DAYS AGO:
It is confirmed. The Way seems quite interested in something—no, strike that—someone who was held in Harrowstone. But who, specifically, is the Way after? I need a list of everyone who died the night of the fire. Everyone. The Temple of Pharasma must have such a list.
EIGHTEEN DAYS AGO:
I see now just how ill prepared I was when I last set out for the Harrowstone. I am lucky to have returned at all. The ghosts, if indeed they were ghosts (for I did not find it prudent to investigate further) prevented me from transcribing the strange symbols I found etched along the foundation—hopefully on my next visit I will be more prepared. Thankfully, the necessary tools to defend against spirits are already here in Ravengro. I know that the church of Pharasma used to store them in a false crypt in the Restlands at the intersection between Eversleep and the Black Path. I am not certain if the current clergy even know of what their predecessors have hidden down below. If my luck holds, I should be able to slip in and out with a few borrowed items.
SEVENTEEN DAYS AGO:
Tomorrow evening I return to the prison. It is imperative the Way does not finish. My caution has already cost me too much time. I am not sure what will happen if I am too late, but if my theory is right, the entire town could be at risk. I don’t have time to update my will, so I’ll leave this in the chest where it’ll be sure to be found, should the worst come to pass.
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The purple book is locked. How would you like to investigate it and/or the other books?
"Oh my... it sounds as if the professor was investigating this 'Whispering way' and may have gotten himself in over his head. And ghosts in Harrowstone? While I am no fan of ghosts, we should investigate this. It sounds as if the town may be in danger. My lady Faria, as a cleric of Pharasma, you must surely have some way of dealing with ghosts, yes?"
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Faria frowns as she scans over the circled entries in the Professor's journal. Necromancers and the undead? No wonder the Professor had enlisted the help of relative outsiders.
"I wonder if the Professor's death was no accident, at this point. Do you all think he found what he sought in the crypts? I will inquire at the Temple to garner the list of those who died in the Harrowstone fire, as the Professor suggests in his journal."
Turning to Sharien, Faria nods her head in agreement. "I do have a bit of power I can use to banish the undead. Perhaps these artifacts the professor sought will be of use, as well. Maybe Kendra can tell us more?"
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Petros' daughter Kendra, is a 25-year-old woman who has lived in Ravengro for nearly 15 years (having moved here with her family as a child from Lepidstadt after her father retired from full-time teaching). She is dressed in dark, conservative clothes. Trim and attractive, Kendra carries a mixture of curiosity, sadness, and relief—no one else has come to pay their respects to her father, and "with things the way they are in town these days," very few folks from Ravengro have come out for the funeral as well.
Especially with the local thugs at the graveyard, Kendra is (without hesitation) your "champion and supporter" in town. The citizens of Ravengro are slow to extend trust to outsiders, but with Kendra vouching for you, you'll at least have some initial support. (This is despite Poshment and Sharien's prior ties to the town and the Lorrimor family.)
Here's a picture of Kendra Lorrimor.
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Kendra is as surprised about her father's journal as the rest of you. "I..." She begins. "I'm sorry, but I had no idea about this either. Perhaps father sought to protect me from this... unpleasantness." Tears fall from her eyes.
"Oh, daddy." She sobs.
She coughs, clears her throat, and gathers herself together. "You're very welcome to peruse his... I mean our... that is... my library here at Lorrimor Place."
Sharian puts an arm around the young woman. "There there, my friend. We will find out what happened to your father. I'm sure he had nothing but the best intentions. Can you show us to the library?"
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Faria hands the journal to Sharien, putting a hand on Kendra's shoulder. "Grieving for your father is right and proper, there is no shame in it. We shall talk later, if you like."
To the others, "While you all peruse the library, I think it prudent that I go to the Temple and gather the list of those who died in the fire at Harrowstone. I shall join you later."
She flashes a quick smile to Kendra before gathering her few items and heading towards the temple with a determined stride.
Poshment's eyes grow wide as the journal entries are brought to light. why didn't he ask for my help in this...what have I done to displease him...had I moved home instead of going to university I could have saved him...
Poshment gets lost in thought until his sister speaks and seeing that she needs comfort he will put his emotions aside and give her a tight hug. "There there sis its like Sharien said...we'll get to the bottom of this. I have some questions for you but I'm sure we can talk later. Is there anything you need from us right now?"
If Kendra doesn't need anything Poshment will head to the library with Sharien and start researching the whipsering way. He will also try to remember if there was any mention of the prison being haunted by the townsfolk when he lived in Ravengro before.
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Faria heads to the local temple dedicated to Pharasma, the Lady of Graves. Ravengro's only religious structure, the temple is also the town's most elaborate building. Its eastern facade displays an intricate stained-glass mural depicting a stern Pharasma judging Count Andachi, one of Tamrivena's most infamous previous rulers.
Vauran Grimburrow is officially in charge of the temple, but the day-to-day tending of the flock and maintenance of the temple and the Restlands are largely seen to by a dozen acolytes. The sale of minor magic items (particularly potions of cure light wounds, potions of lesser restoration, and holy water) is also the acolytes' responsibility.
This is a picture of Vauran Grimburrow, head priest of the temple.
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In the library at Lorrimor Place, Poshment finds some disturbing information about Harrowstone.
Harrowstone was built in 4594. Ravengro was founded at the same time as a place where guards and their families could live and that would produce food and other supplies used by the prison. The fire that killed all of the prisoners and most of the guards destroyed a large portion of the prison’s underground eastern wing, but left most of the stone structure above relatively intact. The prison’s warden perished in the fire, along with his wife, although no one knows why she was in the prison when the fire occurred. A statue commemorating the warden and the guards who lost their lives was built in the months after the tragedy—that statue still stands on the riverbank just outside of town.
It occurs to Poshment and Sharien that they could ask some of the locals about Harrowstone.
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Ravengro at a glance:
"Hey Sharien come take a look at what I found here" Poshment will share the information he just found on the prison with her.
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Faria, never one to shirk duty, heads straight to Grimburrow. The man's appearance takes her aback for but a moment before she plunges ahead, "Sir, I am Faria Quorothe, minor priestess of the Lady of Graves, come from Caliphas. Would you be so kind to point me to the record containing those who died in the fire at Harrowstone?"
"Interesting. Given such a violent death of a large number of individuals, I would not be at all surprised to find that Harrowstone was haunted. I hope that Faria is able to come up with ways of dealing with ghosts..."
"Yes, as a paladin I should have ways to deal with them as well but unfortunately my training had to be cut short due to the...well you know. It feels so weird to be here with out him..."
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Faria, never one to shirk duty, heads straight to Grimburrow. The man's appearance takes her aback for but a moment before she plunges ahead, "Sir, I am Faria Quorothe, minor priestess of the Lady of Graves, come from Caliphas. Would you be so kind to point me to the record containing those who died in the fire at Harrowstone?"
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
Father Grimburrow looks every one of his many, many, many long years of age. He walks with a bit of a hunch. Some people say that he "smells kinda funny." But, when he gets "riled up," he comes to life with an energy that those half his age wish they had.
"I know who ye are, missy! Think I don' know 'bout one of our acolytes come into my diocese!?! Hmph!" He visibly bristles.
"Ye and yer friends were part o' that trouble in the Restlands, weren't ye? Are ye one of those Pharasmins who finds greater affinity with death than life? Hm?" He eyes Faria with suspicion. She can feel divine energy around her.
Faria thinks: "He didn't move. Or speak. Or present his holy symbol! Pharasma is with him!" She can tell: He's evaluating her. She remembers instructors like him in the temple where she trained. Outwardly, they appear to be impossibly strict, but, once you get past their prickly exteriors, they're actually very sweet inside. The problem is cracking that exterior...
"Well, no matter. Ye're here now. But I have ta tell ye, we have no more openings in this temple! I'm already up to my armpits in acolytes! What would I do with ye?" He throws up his arms in exasperation. He clearly doesn't trust her, yet.
"Go do the work o' yer god, and don' ye come back till ye've learned the meaning of service to both life and death! Now, good day!" He finishes with a tone that Faria has heard before--a tone of finality. This conversation is over. For now...
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Faria resists the urge to narrow her eyes as the old man passes judgment on her, then rambles on about openings in the temple and her personal preferences in her faith. She says stiffly, "I've no desire to serve in this temple, sir, I merely sought some information. However, I can see that you are busy, so good day." The priestess dips him a shallow curtsy, showing cold courtesy, before heading out to find the Lorrimor estates.
After arriving, she takes a few moments to rest, the long travel to Ravengro threatening to fatigue her. When she feels a bit more rested, she goes to seek the remainder of her party.
Poshment looks at Zorra with a hurt look on his face. "It doesn't really surprise me he was protecting his home but it distresses me greatly that he didn't request help from me. I wonder what I did to displease him..." his words trail off and he gets the same "i'm surpressing my emotions" look on his face that he had at the funeral.
Once Faria returns Poshment will approach her. "Faria is it? I see from your holy symbol that you are a follower of the lord of graves, as am I. I was wondering what your take on all this is. I also what to share with you something I've found."
"We will obviously have to investigate these tomes, as well."
Sharien will attempt to CAUTIOUSLY inspect the tomes, starting with the jet-black book.
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Sharien picks up the jet black book. She finds a note sticking out of it indicating that it should be delivered to one Montagnie Crowl, a professor of antiquities at Lepidstadt University.
The title of this book is: On Verified Madness.
Sharien flips it open and skims through a few pages. As she reads, her eyes widen with horror. She drops the book and covers her eyes and ears and shakes her head as thoughts of The Infinite run rampant through her mind for a moment. She has discovered that this black book is a treatise on aberrations and other entities found on Golarion that possess ties to the Dark Tapestry--the name given to the dark places between the stars in the night sky.
"Oh gods, this is horrible! Get out of my head! AAAHHHH!!!"
Sharien takes a few moments to compose herself, breathing heavily. "I would suggest that we do not open these tomes. They truly are dangerous."
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Three of the books (including the jet black on that Sharien already examined) have notes tucked into them indicating that they should be delivered to one Montagnie Crowl, a professor of antiquities at Lepidstadt University.
The fourth, the rich purple book with the lock on it, has a note indicating it should be delivered to Embreth Daramid, a judge at the Lepidstadt Courthouse (although the note asks for this delivery in particular to be handled discreetly, and includes the address of Embreth's home so that the party can deliver it there).
Sharien shakes the cobwebs out of her head. "I agree. Let's investigate the prison."
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Faria nods to Poshment. "You are a holy warrior of our Lady, correct? It will be a pleasure to spend this next month with you, I think. As for information, I am glad you found out something. I was flatly refused at the temple when I inquired into the list of the dead from the fire at Harrowstone."
She then addresses them all before they strike out into the town for information, "Should we travel to the crossroads in the Restlands the Professor mentioned? See if we can find this secret cache the Lady of Graves possesses in a cleverly hidden tomb or something similar? Perhaps that might bring other enlightenment, as well."
She stays at the Lorrimor estates, intending to talk with Kendra when the woman becomes available.
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Kendra is always available to the party.
The bartender let's out a laugh and pours Zorra an ale. "I should warn you: Consumption of this particular brand of alcohol is a major factor in dancing like an idiot." He beams with pride.
Sharien, are you researching the prison in the library at Lorrimor place or elsehwere?
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Faria seeks out Kendra Lorrimor in the large manor. She smiles when she finds her, approaching slowly. "My Lady, I hope I am not disturbing you?" Assuming the woman allows her in, the priestess comes closer, her smile more subdued. "Your father left us with quite the mystery, my Lady. I know your grief is still raw, but would you care to discuss what you think he might have been working on? What was he doing in his last days of life, that you know of? Any places he visited, any items he brought back, anything like that could help."
"Ladies if you wouldn't mind excusing me I have a feeling that Zorra might need some watching so I'm going to head out to the bar to make sure she returns safely and with out embarrasing herself to much. I will lend my hand tomorrow in figuring out this mess." Poshemnt will excuse himself from the ladies at the house and then head down to the bar. He brings with him his holy symbol and his longsword just in case but the longsword will stay at his side and scheethed until needed. Once he finds Zorra he approaches her carefully.
"Excuse me Mrs...Zorra is it? Mind if I join you? Its been a hard day and I think I need some help forgetting it." He will then call the bartender over and whisper in his ear "Can you bring me some water please, I'm trying to keep an eye on my companion here but don't want her knowing what I'm doing."
My appologizes Zorra. So what do you make of this mess we find ourselves in?