HLoM: The Firebird, Chapter 2

[NeoTiamat]

"My familiar was following Avard when the time-shift occurred and she found herself stuck." Lena said, sniffing the air. Then she blew out a breath. "Though Anchoress Kolyana has a point. Let's check the last two tombs while we're here, and I'll see if I can get some more directions."

Lena took a few steps to the side and raised her voice in a howl. Still slightly odd to see.

Getting directions from Ushka
Perception +10, do I smell anything?
[dice]0[/dice]

[Nathan of the FoS]

Whatever Rojan is detecting on the air, it's not perceptible to the Baroness. Ushka might have better luck, of course, but as she is sharing durance vile with one of the locals she can't be consulted. Her directions to Lena are rather general but at least communicate that the right staircase should be near the base of the collapsed tower (the one on the left, when facing the towers from the courtyard).

"Right," Renhalt says, a bit grimly. "On we go."

Richard and Rojan emoving the lid of Gilan's coffin to reveal shockingly few bones--the skull and most of the ribcage, but none of the limbs. Renhalt purses his lips in a soundless whistle, and Tara shivers. "Wolves," she says flatly. "That's what that man Colin said. They must not have found him quickly."

"Dog's teeth," Rojan notes, pointing to a jawbone, his face hard. "They mixed the bones. Must have been torn summat horrible."

[NeoTiamat]

"Luckless child." Lena murmured. She frowned then, looking at the tomb's walls in hopes she could find a date or some such. "They seem not to die of natural causes here too often."

[Isabella]

"Given the-the state of this castle, it-it likely could not be so," Richard replied to Lena. He pressed his lips as he frowned. "The wounds on the poor spirit were--did-did not seem to me lethal, unless he died of shock first. There may be some-some small mercy in that he was dead before... this... happened."

"But I see nothing-nothing worth disturbing his rest for any longer, and I-I-I doubt such few bones are hiding it from our sight." He looked to Renhalt or Lena, or anyone else with better senses for confirmation. "We-we ought to move on."

It's possible there's a secret switch or something if you guys want to search, but otherwise, time's a wasting.

[Nathan of the FoS]

Tara explores the coffin gingerly but carefully, then shakes her head. "We'd better try the next," she says.

Throwing open the door of the last tomb reveals another marble coffin, inscribed with the name "ISOLT AP BLANC", and another mural--one that makes Lena catch her breath. It shows a woman--the Lady ApBlanc, whom you met an hour or some hundreds of years ago--seated in a summer garden, a daisy in one hand and a basket of herbs in the other, clad in the green-and-white of the ApBlancs. Apart from the differences in skin color and form of dress, she is the very image of the Grand Duchess of the Vistani tarokka.

[NeoTiamat]

"The Grand Duchess is the first key to achieving what you have been sent to do."

Lena looked at the image without saying a word. It could, of course, be a coincidence. Coincidences did happen, indeed, Lena knew that looking for links where none were to be found was a good way to convince yourself of the validity of a prophecy. Still, better safe than sorry.

"When we next come across the Lady ApBlanc, I would very much like to speak with her, post-haste." Lena said quietly.

[Isabella]

"We've a great many people we-we wish to meet, and it-it seems no way of finding them," Richard replied, approaching the coffin to open it. "Let us do this quickly, and move to rescue your-your dear fox and her unfortunate companion. I-I-I like not the thought of leaving them long."

[Nathan of the FoS]

"Agreed," Tara says. "Now, gudman...Gudman Rojan?"

A quick count of the group reveals that the burly Rashemani has disappeared.

"I...don't...like...this at all," Tara mutters as she and Renhalt quickly move to help Richard with the coffin lid.

"I'll be astonished if everyone leaves who entered this place," Renhalt replies. "I hope our two lost souls find each other."

The coffin lid slides aside to reveal a woman's skeleton, both legs, the ribs, and the skull broken. A pillow of white, silken cloth, quite uncorrupted, lies at her head; something heavy and perhaps eight by ten inches, an irregular near-rectangle, has left an indentation there. Tara draws her breath in sharply.

"It was here," she says quietly, reaching out to not quite touch the cloth.

[Isabella]

"Then we know where it-where it was. But it isn't-it isn't here now," Richard said, face stern. "Perhaps, perhaps it is still nearby, but I-I-I think it more likely we will only-only find it in the past. And since we've no-no means of shifting through time of-of our own will, we had best attend to the things that-that are here now. Namely Ushka, and her new companion."

"I-I-I can only hope the Goodman recalls what we said, to-to meet either in the courtyard or outside the castle. Else it will-it will be very hard to find him again. It seems sticking together is-is of little matter to us here."

[NeoTiamat]

Lena muttered something distinctly un-Baroness-ish upon discovering Rojan's disappearance. Things were going from bad to worse... which, Lena supposed, was appropriate for Castle Tristenoira. After all, had this dementedly haunted ruin been easy to plunder, someone would have done so by now. "I can't say I'm terribly fond of it either, Anchoress. Right then." Lena clapped her hands sharply together. "Announcement! Good folks, if you should happen to be separated from us, hide till the present period, then make for the courtyard, and if it looks safe, outside the castle. Leave chalk messages if possible."

"Also, I concur with Sir Richard in every particular. I have a gloomy feeling we'll have an opportunity to procure the Shard soon enough." Lena said. "I would like my fox back, however, and I'm curious as to the prisoner. So! Let us be off."

[DeepShadow of FoS]

While all the others have been looking for the shard, Vasili has followed along, his lips drawn together as if sewn shut, quietly intent upon the environment; from time to time he takes out the piece of cheese he took from the table and prods it. As the group travels, he fidgets with his robe, slowly and continuously unraveling the hem, wrapping the cord around his hand to gather it.

When the latest shift returns them all to the present, Leila darted out to sniff the ground around the courtyard, confirming that they have indeed returned to their original day, an hour or so after their encounter with Gilan's ghost. Vasili let out an explosive sigh of relief.

"Summat smells nice," Rojan remarks, apropos of nothing. "Roast lamb."

Leila sniffed the air and shared a look with her master. She smelled nothing of the sort.

"Agreed," Tara says. "Now, gudman...Gudman Rojan?"

A quick count of the group reveals that the burly Rashemani has disappeared.

Returning to the group, Leila sniffed around where the ranger had been moments before, seeking some clue as to his disappearance. How close had he been standing to the rest of them? Vasili's stomach was in knots; was there any safe distance they could expect to not get separated? Was some intelligent force able to direct these shifts?*

"It was here," she says quietly, reaching out to not quite touch the cloth.

"Yes, but for how long, and when was it removed?" Vasili croaks, his voice dry from disuse. "These shifts may be to discrete time periods; if we can figure out approximately when the shard was placed, or when it was removed, that might help us find it on another trip to the past."

On a hunch, Vasili scans the open crypt for magical auras; if a future version of himself had been among the removing party in the past, he might have had the chance to leave a note for himself....

* Perception +16 for Leila to track Rojan's last moments before disappearing.
[dice]0[/dice]
**Arcane mark is permanent unless dispelled, and would be invisible until detected for. Any such luck? In addition, the presence of an overwhelming magical aura for a long period of time might leave a lingering trace after it's removed.

[Nerit]

Nuray spun around. So, Rojan was gone... And she didn't think it likely the fool had tried to run off on his own. Thedread crawling down her spine told her she wouldn't see him again. There goes her mission... Despite having insisted she could do it alone, Nuray truly was at a loss. Still, there was little they could do now.

She eyed the remains of Lady Isolt. "What is it you wanted to tell us, Freyn?" Nuray whispered, half to the corpse, half to herself. Her gaze trailed up to the indentation on the silk pillow.



Perception +18
[dice]0[/dice]
How old is that indentation? Is there dust or mold on it, or does it look like the object was freshly removed?

[Nathan of the FoS]

The cloth is clearly unusual--most organic fibers would last a matter of years, and the clothing of the corpse has disintegrated entirely. It appears spotlessly clean, both where the Shield was laid and where it wasn't.

"He went inside," Leila says. "Through the door there at the front where we went in with Captain Avard."

"So let's follow," Renhalt says, "and see where his trail and the path to the dungeons diverge. If they do diverge."

They do, in fact, diverge, just after passing through the door; by Ushka's directions, the path to the dungeon lies through the north tower, which would require you to leave through the double doors at the north of the hall, whereas Rojan went through the great dining hall and exited through the matching double doors at the south end.

This is where having a scan of the map would be reallllly useful. Basically, the north tower is right where y'all came in; the piper seems to be up there, someone with a sword attacked one of the elementals sent to explore its upper levels, and you've been past the door that must lead into it several times as you've been working on closing the gates and drawbridge. Soooo...somebody's home, if you go up. Or maybe s/he's coming down to meet you. If you go down in that tower you should come to where Ushka is.

The great dining hall is where you were talking to Colin, Avard and the other mercenaries before leaving to investigate the tombs. Rojan has taken the pat Colin did to leave--at the double doors at the south end of the hall. You guys came in and then left through doors on the east--entering through one which lead directly into the courtyard and leaving through one that goes into the gatehouse, which you then left to go into the courtyard.

Long story short--follow Rojan south, or look for Ushka north?

I will see what I can do about maps.

[The Whistler]

"Announcement! Good folks, if you should happen to be separated from us, hide till the present period, then make for the courtyard, and if it looks safe, outside the castle. Leave chalk messages if possible."

“Agreed.” Avram gave a short bow, then visibly realized that he was reacting to the fact that service staff were mysteriously disappearing one by one as if he had been verifying a minor change in some lord’s schedule. It was a short, self-conscious start, really — difficult to see — but it was clear that the old hetman did not appreciate this being the new normal.

“I would — ahem — also search in the dungeons, for Ushka. If we are to pursue someone first.” And now he was agreeing to prioritize a fox over a Rashemani, because at least the fox was not several hundred years away. No, Avram did not like this one bit.

[NeoTiamat]

"Marvelous. In that case gentlemen, let's be off." Lena said, turning sharply towards the dungeons. "The faster we collect our unknown druid and my familiar, the faster we can look for Rojan."