Mists over the Musarde, Chapter Four

[JMaytr]

"I'll do it Wat. " Jonathan says to the man. "You have been through an ordeal. Let me help."

[Lord Skybolt]

"As to my eyes they feel just find, except for the little thing about being magically blind . And Jon I don't blame you for my lack vision . I blame the lack wits in are party with the exception of Cirdan . " With that he ask's for another two mug's to pour some watered wine if Jon wants some from his magic mug or would he prefer some cheap ale .

Thinking to himself:Especially Norzak and his restraint of Jon instead of fighting the witch during all that time of restraining him .

[ewancummins]

The Keep


Dorgio, Benn, and Cirdan leave the dungeon after searching it, via a set of stairs that lead to the rubble choked floor of the partially collapsed southwestern tower. [These stairs are partly surrounded by rubble, and the rocks show signs of having been moved in the last couple of days or so- as if someone had come along and cleared the entry to the dungeon] Searching the walls, towers, and courtyard of the square castle, they find it much as they'd left it: a decrepit ruin. Of the four corner towers, only the northeastern tower is intact. [It was in this tower that they had first confronted Wolutha]. To the south, the crumbling wall of the castle is pierced by an arched gateway, but the gates have long since decayed or rusted away to scraps. Within the rock strewn yard, they spot the sacrificial pit where Benn had his chilling encounter with the child-ghosts. Looking across the yard, they can see the cairn that marks the site where they'd re-buried the remains of the dead children.

A thorough search of the courtyard and walls, as well as the three broken towers, yields little. The party finds a few rusted spearpoints of antique style, some scraps of wood, mixed bones [mostly animals], and other trash.

The northeast tower is a different matter altogether. There are four floors, all intact. A partially enclosed spiral staircase in the middle of the tower runs all the way up to the fourth floor. At each floor, a door opens to the stairs.

The first floor is a collection of small rooms, mostly closets and storerooms. The goods stored here are largely decayed to uselessness. A few salvagable tools and supplies might be found here, if one took the time to sift through the rooms. Most of the rooms are windowless and dark, but a few of the ouwtard facing rooms have arrow holes.

The second floor might be a kitchen or a wizard's laboratory. It contains a great rusted iron cauldron atop a shallow firepit, wooden tables, distillation gear [all of hand greenish, beaten copper and very archaic in style], racks of mouldered ingredients in clay bottles with faded labels [mostly illegible],etc. The windows here are arrow slits.


The third floor is taken up almost wholly by a single large room: a great library. Dorgio can find many, many written items here: scrolls and books, even tablets of wood. Narrow windows allow light,


The 4th floor , the uppermost level [aside from the featureless roof platform] is dominated by what must have once been a grand bedchamber. The room is old and dusty, but shows signs of recent cleaning. The luxurious pelts and tapestries are rather moth-eaten and faded. Still, the high quality of the craftsmanship is evident in just about everything in the bedchamber. Narrow windows in each side of the room admit light from outside. The iron faced wooden shutters are dry rotted and rusted, but serviceable.

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio marks the location of the skeleton, wondering who it could have been in life. An Incabulite, perhaps? Some unfortunate villager? When the search is done, Dorgio hopes to find some more dignified resting place for the remains.

After they've explored the keep, Dorgio decides to search the library. He checks the tomes for any books related to Incabulos, the history of the region, and most importantly, any kind of journals or family records.

[steveflam]

Norzak will search whathe thinks was Violette's bedroom, taking a good look.

OOC: Taking 20 on her bedroom search.

[Adam]

Bennedict, to no one's great surprise, takes off for the racks of books the minute the library is discovered. When Dorgio returns, he finds the archivist with his nose buried in a number of interesting tomes.

Seeing the cleric enter, he looks up. "A thought has occurred to me, by the way." He holds out his hand towards Dorgio. "Might I examine the mirror? I have an experiment in mind."

[ewancummins]

Wat's cabin

Jon goes and comes back from the stream without incident. The water he brings back is fresh and cool.

Wat lays down to rest on a pile of old pelts and hides. He's soon fast asleep. The dog comes over and curls up next to Wat, falling asleep at its master's side.

the Keep- NE tower , level 3, in the library with Benn and Dorgio

The two of you scour the stacks, but find that most of the books and scrolls are worm eaten or else too faded to be legible. Still, there are a several works that have survived basically intact down the long years: a primer on the cult of Incabulos, a court chronicle, an illuminated bestiary, a travelogue , a book of hours, a catalog of medicinal herbs, a lexcion of old languages, and a wooden portrait book.


the Keep- NE tower, level 4, bedchamber, Norzak

Norzak searches the bedchamber, taking his time. The furnishings here were no doubt once luxurious and elegant, but age has decayed the finery to a mere shadow of what must have been. Cobwebs hang thick in the dusty corners of the chamber, and dozens of piebald mice scurry out of the canopy bed, scattering in all directions, when Norzak disturbs the yellow linen. In a decoratively carved hornwood case, Norzak finds some tarnished silver jewelry. Resting on a small wooden table near the bed is a music box of modern design, free of the effects of age and decay seen on most of this castle and the artifacts within it.

[steveflam]

Norzak will pocket the silver for later. Who knows, maybe he could attack a ghost with a silver spoon? Moving to the musical box, he observes it first and wonders what a box not in the same state ar everything else here was doing here. He looks for a booby trap and hidden compartment first, before opening it.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2176324/

Search check, I am doing it at take 20 so add 20 for hidden compartments. 15+20?

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2176326/

16 + 20?

Disable device is the same, trying to disarm any trap if there is one.

[Le Noir Faineant]

Cirdan, still somewhat shaky, will follow the others, using every option to lean on the wall, or sit on the ground to get his wits back together.

If he finds any weapons, even a club, that has a wider range than his broken sword, he will take it up, in hope of being less defenseless than the last time...

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio hands Benn the mirror. "You are planning to see what happens when you are gazing into it now, yes?"

After searching the books, he says, "Maybe there is something we can be learning here." Pointing to the court chronicle, the travelogue, the book of hours, and the portrait book. "Perhaps we can be learning more of this realm and what caused these tragedies. And this book of languages, maybe we can be learning more of this dialect they are speaking." Finally, he points to the bestiary and the herbology book and mutters, "And maybe these, maybe these will help us find a cure for Jon."

Then, in a low whisper, he says, "We must speak of him soon. I am fearing the boy is harboring a worse evil than lycanthropy."

[Adam]

Bennedict is already eying the bestiary greedily. "Yes...perhaps there is more to him than we know. Herr Jon has seemed somewhat out of sorts of late."

He's eying each of the books with a critical eye, seeing the profits already tallying in his head. However, survival was going to be required before any sale would be possible, and the tomes could contain some more information that would be of help to them.

"The problem, I fear, is that ghosts tend to not be destroyed for long. The texts are littered with examples of these spirits and the extremely elaborate rituals required to finally move one of these last spirits off to their afterlife."

"Speaking of which," he lifts the mirror, about to gaze into it, but pauses. "Keep an eye on me, Herr Dorgio. If my behavior changes...feel free to intercede."

With that he gazes into the mirror's face, a hint of trepidation coloring his actions.

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio keep eyes trained on Benn, ready to try to snatch the mirror from his friend's hand should anything appear amiss.

[ewancummins]

Benn's vision in the mirror-


Benn stares into the mirror, and sees his own face looking back at him. The background around his reflected image is not the same as the room in which Benn is physically present. Instead, Benn sees this room as it must have been centuries ago- clean, decorated with tapestries- and inhabited! There are men and women in fine clothing of antique mode, all of them moving about behind Benn's image in the mirror-world. These folk are speaking, and Benn can hear an indistinct blur of conversation, but reading lips is too hard.

[Dorgio hears nothing unusual. Nor does he see anything if he peers over Benn's shoulder- and Benn won't see Dorgio in the mirror, either!]

On image among the several strange people stands out in Benn's eye- a girl of perhaps twelve or thirteen, lovely and graceful, with golden hair and violet-blue eyes. The fair girl laughs, a silver tinkling that cuts through the murmur of the crowd. She is attending a powerfully built, gray haired man who bears a certain resemblance to her in his features. The man is dressed in an ermine robe, and a silver circlet adorns his lofty brow. He gently pats the girl on the shoulder, and says something to her- but, again, Benn cannot make out the words.

[Dorgio, watching Benn, sees the Lamordian staring at the hand mirror with a look of fascination.]

[ewancummins]

NE tower, first floor

Cirdan, still somewhat shaky, will follow the others, using every option to lean on the wall, or sit on the ground to get his wits back together.

If he finds any weapons, even a club, that has a wider range than his broken sword, he will take it up, in hope of being less defenseless than the last time...

Searching the storerooms on the ground floor of the northeast tower, Cirdan uncovers a closet with a balky door [the wood is warped, so that it takes a good hard shove to open it]. Inside the closet is a small armory: a bronze helm carved like a gryphon's head [verdigrised but wearable], a dry rotted oak shield , and a rust pitted iron broadsword [still sharp enough to draw blood, and not rusted clean through, though]. In addition to these, the knight finds several arrows [the heads are flaked with rust and the shafts are warped and unsuitable for shooting]. A harness of re-inforced leather hangs on the back wall of the closet, but it is so corroded and rotten as to be altogether useless.

[ewancummins]

the bedchamber, fourth floor, NE tower

Norzak will pocket the silver for later. Who knows, maybe he could attack a ghost with a silver spoon? Moving to the musical box, he observes it first and wonders what a box not in the same state ar everything else here was doing here. He looks for a booby trap and hidden compartment first, before opening it.

[color]

Norzak finds no traps or hidden compartments. He can see that the box is a complex clockwork mechanism. It isn't wound up at the moment.