After a fruitless night watching the statue Mahan returns at dawn and has a kip while the others decide administrative tasks are the order of the day.
Nailen goes to Prayer School
Rufus goes flower picking with the wise woman.
Olsen rummages through Kendra’s washing…
Mahan awakes in time for elevenses, finds Olsen emerging from the scullery with a innocent looking face. After an awkward silence they agree that some combat practice is the manly order of the day and they spend the afternoon sparring in the yard. Olsen’s time with domestic chores had obviously dulled his sharpness as Mahan got more out of the session.
That evening, which they had deduced was 4 nights the last daubing, Mahan and Olsen (they being the stealthiest of the party) staked out the memorial.
As the Half Moon was dipping towards the horizon (about 1 ish) they hear a shuffling through the bushes and a figure emerges and begins to daub on the memorial. Mahan and Olsen make an attempt to sneak up on the artist. The hunter was making a successful prowl when the athlete stood on a twig!! The figure turned, cried “The woman will perish again” and fled. The chase was on!
What Olsen lacked in light feet he made up for in athletic ability as soon caught the quarry, while Mahan seemed out of sorts with the bushes. Bringing the cloaked figure to the ground in a flying tackle, they wrestled on the ground; the mystery man(?) was wielding a blade and had a wineskin of sticky fluid. Mahan came across the scene and after picking his moment, knocked out the figure. Blood was everywhere. Olsen had suffered a cut to his arm that thanks to magic was already healing. Who was it? Pulling back the hood revealed one of the older members of the group that had goaded the younger ones on to confront us at the funeral.
After a brief discussion on methods of tying up a prisoner, Mahan and Olsen took there prisoner back to Kendra’s.
After awakening the household, Kendra informed us it was (old Man) Gibs. Halvenstrom went to call Sheriff Caellan and while he was gone we attempted to question Gibs. He was disorientated and seemed shocked he wasn’t at home in bed. Olsen detected he was talking in a different tone of voice now.
Sheriff Caellan arrived and while not best pleased at being woken in the night, knew that when things were afoot, he was the man to investigate. We relayed our tale, Gibs denied everything, Olsen pointed out that he may have been under the influence of some other force which the Sheriff seemed to accept (well didn’t reject the idea at least). We went to Gib’s shack to investigate – other than the body of headless rat (neatly cut – it would match the razor Gibs had been brandishing) there was nothing else of obvious concern. Searching the area outside didn’t reveal any other tracks or clues – or mysterious globes/hypnosis vectors.
In the end the Sheriff thanks us for our efforts, agrees to lock Gibs up for his own safety and grudgingly accepts that maybe we’re not his № 1 Suspects anymore. Not to say we’ve dropped out of the Top 3.
The rest of the evening passes without further event.
Morning breaks and armed with Nailen’s re-learnt Soul Sight prayer/spell, Olsen, Mahan and Nailen head off to the prison to try it out in the ‘Nice Room’ – Rufus was a dirty stop out with the Wise Woman and their daisy chains (will lacking the first aider prove a problem later on?? I’m sure he’ll appear when we need him – like a shopkeeper I once knew).
Once in the room – Nailen’s prayer school practice pays off by successful repeating the words first time. The room isn’t strongly ‘soulful’ but whereas the rest of prison appears grey and sad, this appears pink and warm.
Nothing presents itself, so they move on to the branding room, Opening the door, tongs rise, glow with a spirit ‘echo’ but nothing strong in here and move towards them. Nothing else strong so they close the door, and move on to the room with Vesorianna. She appears (looks as strong and clear in the Spirit plane as in the ghostly plane.
We talk with her; update her on the daubing of her name by the Splatterman in the memorial, She says she can feel the ‘attacks’ as each letter is daubed and thanks us for stopping last night’s. She tells us that the possessions of the 5 that we found could well prove to be potent weapons against them, but take care. And reiterates finding her husband’s badge of office is a key plot point – I mean, will help us in defeating the bad spirits.
For want of anything else to fill the morning before lunch (A-pie-‘n’-a-pint special today), we decide to venture into the basement and make for the lift shaft. We secure ropes and Olsen repels down – an earlier dropped torch shows the floor to be covered in water.
On reaching the floor/water – which was only shin deep – he appears to trigger some guardians. Two shapes rise from the water and terrible noise of wailing drowns out all communication. Olsen and the watery forms engage in battle – magical sword vs watery ectoplasm. Mahan, seeing Olsen react on reaching the floor, descends to assist and on reaching the floor joins battle. Take that, and that – oof that hurt. Have It! The water spirits are overcome and descend back into the puddle as Nailen arrives ready to deploy a spirit bottle. The noise stops.
Collecting themselves the party moves towards the only available exit – and dry land – to the west. After a short cave-like corridor they reach a square-ish room into which the staircase from above descends – blocked by fallen masonry. Four exits to the room (of which they are in one) Above each is a plaque – The Oubliette, Reaper’s Hole, The Nevermore and Hell’s Basement.
As they take this all in the flickering torch light, the skeletal bodies of (presumably prisoners), lying on the floor, start to rise…