The Fall of House Pancrazio Chapter Three

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Harold will follow after Tristan, muttering darkly under his breath as he looks left and right, and also up and down constantly. "Ghost may be hiding anywhere," he says at one point. "In any solid surface. Keep 'em peeled, boys."

[Lord Skybolt]

Tahl is going with Tristan to watch out for baddies .

[Varrus the Ethical]

In the Kitchen, Sebastian takes a couple of slices from a fresh loaf. He tops the bread slices with thin strips of dried meat from his own rations.

[Varrus the Ethical]

Listen Check to see if Sebastian hears the carriage accident.


http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2249639/

[Griselda]

Agna can barely watch the poor horses struggle. Normally, being outdoors always refreshed and cheered her, but the morning's events have killed a lot of that. Even the rain's approach and discharge does not carry its usual pleasure for her. Still, once past the gates and out of sight of the house, she does do something she's been looking forward to -- she takes off the ugly cap Gianna insists on and loosens her hair from its knot, letting a cascade of black-coffee waves pour down her back and over her shoulders.

She nods somewhat distractedly in response to Emilio's declaration of the week's woes, as last night's events bubble to the surface., and what the errand is almost certainly about. "The work will still be there when I get back, but...." She shrugs. "Maybe I'll be in a better frame of mind for it." Maybe Miss Phebe has no memory of what happened last night -- maybe Tristan and the rest found some leftover treasure down below and we can bury Mariabella and pull ourselves up a bit -- and maybe we're just so deep in the hole that we've forgotten what daylight looks like.

As the majordomo voices his suspicions, confirming something of her own, she adds, "When you came to say we were off to town and there was somehow money for a dress for me, I had a feeling it would be less about how it looked on me and more about how it would look crumpled on the floor." It sounds crude and she winces to think how it sounds. These are the times she finds herself wishing Luisa had left her to starve. Glancing at Emilio, though, she remembers there are times when she's glad Luisa didn't.

Emilio's tears pain her unexpectedly deeply and Agna feels her own eyes growing raw as she gently rests her hand atop one of his. She remembers a few servants here and there who simply "went away" when she was much younger -- a pretty nursery maid who seemed especially fond of her, an energetic young footman who was always up for a race to the end of the garden. She's heard too much about Dilisnya not to be unconcerned, but surely, if she had to, she could do what needed doing, if it meant taking care of Emilio, Tristan and the rest of the downstairs, right? A shiver runs through her -- is it her damp clothes or her worry?

Before she can reconsider it, Agna takes out the locket Emilio gave her earlier, having hidden it for safety. Taking a deep breath, she plunges in, "Would you... tell me about her? Helen, I mean. Please?"

The carriage abruptly jerks, and suddenly the world is upending. If they try to stay with the carriage they'll be crushed for certain. Agna grabs Emilio's arm with all her meager strength, hoping he is not hanging onto the reins, and tries to fling herself out of the seat and take Emilio with her. "Let go!!" she screams. Oh, Ezra, please...! (1)




(1) I think what Agna's trying to do is manage being thrown from the carriage top. Tumble isn't part of the Ravenloft skill set, so this is a straight Dex check. http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2249834/

[ewancummins]

Tristan continues walking up the central passageway. He keeps his eyes peeled for signs of danger- or an exit/vent.

[PathOfDreams]

As before the ghastly fright, Goran again follows lastly. "I suppose that little boy wasn't the last we'll see down here." the ranger pauses for a moment, closes his eyes and inhales the thick air of the subterranean passage, how he already desires to take into his lungs the sweet Borcan breath. "Let us move quickly and get this over with. And keep in mind that whatever else is waiting for us knows where we now tread, we must stay alert."

[ewancummins]

Tristan continues walking in silence. For now, he keeps his thoughts to himself.

Surely this strange dungeon has a purpose? What could that be? Smuggling? A hide-out, a treasure vault, an escape route?

[JMaytr]

IN THE TUNNELS-

As Tristan, Tahl, Sir Julian, Harold, and Goran resume walking down the central passage, past the stairs where the boy had been, the hall begins to widen out. Soon they are walking in a broad hallway. After a few dozen feet there are shelves against both sides of the hall. large jars are on the shelves containing pickled fruits and vegetables. Some jars are dark and hard to see through. The hall continues for another hundred feet before abruptly ending. An iron ladder has been bolted into the wall there.

IN THE KITCHEN AT PANCRAZIO MANOR-


Sebastian looks about the kitchen of the old manor for things to eat. There are some breads and various cuts of cheese, along with some fruits; apples and pears, that were ripe but less than appetizing. In the rear of the kitchen, in the larder, Sebastian finds no meat hanging just empty hooks and dry shelves. A wooden grate on the floor is dark from some earlier spill now soaked into the grain.

As Sebastian turns away from the larder, back to his choice of the kitchen food he hears a whisper. It is close and on his ear. The breath is hot and humid.

"Hurts."

Whirling about, Sebastian sees blood bubbling up out of the wooden grate. the crimson fluid is roiling in a hot boil. Steam comes off of the blood engulfing the area in a noxious fume (1).


(1) Fortitude save

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Food storage?" Harold wonders out loud, pausing for a moment to lean on his quarterstaff and scrutinize the preserved fruits and vegetables. "Young Pancrazio gentlemen, if this stuff is still good, it may be a more immediately rewarding treasure than whatever is locked in that chest back along our way.

It begs the question, however: who has been storing food down here? And even more importantly: why?"

[ewancummins]

"Food storage?" Harold wonders out loud, pausing for a moment to lean on his quarterstaff and scrutinize the preserved fruits and vegetables. "Young Pancrazio gentlemen, if this stuff is still good, it may be a more immediately rewarding treasure than whatever is locked in that chest back along our way.

It begs the question, however: who has been storing food down here? And even more importantly: why?"

'' Well, ghosts don't need beds, right? They don't eat food, either, unless I'm much mistaken. Someone has been living down here at least part-time. My guess is that it was Luisa. One of you said that the lock on that chest reminded him of the shape of one of Luisa's rings. Luisa was just about the only one who ever went into the greenhouse, wasn't she? She was in charge of the family's money, too, was she not? I think we've found her storehouse. What worries me is that ghost-boy. Where the hell did he come from, and why is he down here? What happened to him to make him a haunt? ''

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"I have another question for you," Harold notes, pointing out one of the jars. "Why is this one painted black? What is in it?"

[PathOfDreams]

"It makes more than enough sense Tristan that all this is here, the food I mean, perhaps stock meant for some hard times to come. Seems best to gather most of this before returning to the house."

[ewancummins]

"It makes more than enough sense Tristan that all this is here, the food I mean, perhaps stock meant for some hard times to come. Seems best to gather most of this before returning to the house."

''Yes, I'll help. Agna will be happy to see a full pantry again, I'll bet. Shouldn't we check out the rest of this cellar first, though? Or are we taking a break?''

[RocEter]

" Don't be so hasty as to gather the food, to take back to the manor, what if the food is poisoned or worse?" Julian says to Tristan and Goran.

He looks around some more and tests to see how well the ladder is bolted to the wall.

"Tristan is right, we should explore the rest of place before packing our bags full of breakable jars. I would take caution with the darker ones, they could be a jam of some sort or something far worse then that."

Julian starts walking back down the hall towards the hall with stairs.