Ghosts of Gauntcliff: Chapter Six

[ewancummins]

THE DUNES NOT FAR FROM THE CHATEAU


The teenage girl on the mule coughs loudly. She kicks the animal with her heels, guiding it closer to the men. She leans over the horn to peer at Dorgio with wide eyes.

''I don't understand what you three are talking about- but it sounds scary! The chateau is not safe? What's going on, Dorgio? "

[ewancummins]

A BOY AND HIS SHADOW

The boy sighs, scratching his head. "Well, I do not know anything about magic or my teeth. What or who would you suggest I see or do? Just look at the reaction I got from Primeiro. He was so afraid of me."

He paces some, unsure of what to do. "I think a healer or a magician could help. But is these more magic or divine. I do not know of one here on the island except for maybe Benn or Dorgio but they will react the same as Primeiro did. I need to decide what to do and quickly before I get into trouble, Dark One."

''You must think of leaving this place, boy. The mists hold dangers, but so does this island. Not only Dodds is your enemy. The people here will never accept you. You are different, changed. They will hate you. They will hunt you. You are one of us now--a night-thing. Accept it."

Gruz and Smezel caper about the floor, singing ''One of us, one of us!"

[Adam]

"I think most of the medical crises have been resolved. We need to search the shore for Juergin and any missing men. Will you accompany me?"

He turns to walk down the shore, hopefully with Everline following. When they are out of earshot, his expression turns to confusion. "Herr Denys said that the ship was nowhere near where the signal was being set up. I know most of you are suspicious of him, but he has been nothing but generous to my family since we entered his service. I can see a situation where he may be driven to hurt Dorgio and I for not saving his girl from Jonathon Maytr, but to be honest it seems just as likely that he is simply naive and didn't see the warning signs before it was too late." He signs. "In any case, this is far too coincidental to the stories we found where the original settlers couldn't escape because their ships were wrecking. Whatever the shadow creature is, I don't think it is going to let us leave. We need to gather the others, find this thing, and finish the job you started. Agreed?"

[steveflam]

A BOY AND HIS SHADOW

The boy sighs, scratching his head. "Well, I do not know anything about magic or my teeth. What or who would you suggest I see or do? Just look at the reaction I got from Primeiro. He was so afraid of me."

He paces some, unsure of what to do. "I think a healer or a magician could help. But is these more magic or divine. I do not know of one here on the island except for maybe Benn or Dorgio but they will react the same as Primeiro did. I need to decide what to do and quickly before I get into trouble, Dark One."

''You must think of leaving this place, boy. The mists hold dangers, but so does this island. Not only Dodds is your enemy. The people here will never accept you. You are different, changed. They will hate you. They will hunt you. You are one of us now--a night-thing. Accept it."

Gruz and Smezel caper about the floor, singing ''One of us, one of us!"

Jürgen rubs his eyes ans stops pacing. "Ok. We leave now. But we need to get out of here without being seen. Gruz, Smezel, can we get back to the Chief? From there can you take us anywhere?"

[steveflam]

A BOY AND HIS SHADOW

The boy sighs, scratching his head. "Well, I do not know anything about magic or my teeth. What or who would you suggest I see or do? Just look at the reaction I got from Primeiro. He was so afraid of me."

He paces some, unsure of what to do. "I think a healer or a magician could help. But is these more magic or divine. I do not know of one here on the island except for maybe Benn or Dorgio but they will react the same as Primeiro did. I need to decide what to do and quickly before I get into trouble, Dark One."

''You must think of leaving this place, boy. The mists hold dangers, but so does this island. Not only Dodds is your enemy. The people here will never accept you. You are different, changed. They will hate you. They will hunt you. You are one of us now--a night-thing. Accept it."

Gruz and Smezel caper about the floor, singing ''One of us, one of us!"

LOL those two are worth every penny HAHAHAHH!

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Ar," Everline says, nodding her agreement as she matches Benn's pace. "Let's find the others an' make some decent plans fer killin' that shadow-bastard. That'll be one less concern, an' hopefully gi' us some breathin'-space ta get everyone offa this'ere rock."

The girl kicks a harmless pebble away, venting some of her displeasure.

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio is about to nod in relief when Lorna tells him she is fine, but then he feels the impact and he goes crashing into the sand. He comes up in a fighter's crouch, brandishing a knife he pulled from his boot, but when he sees that it's Primeiro the priest looks almost sheepish and he quickly sheaths his blade.

Despite Primeiro's protests, he still checks the man to make sure there is nothing physically wrong with him. "You must be slowing down, please tell me what happened. Juergin, corrupted?" He shakes his head. "Strange news indeed, and yet..."

He turns to Lorna, his face now blushing, though whether it's with embarrassment, anger, or even a trace of lust, it is unclear. "I'm afraid you've found this island at a bad time. There's no use lying to you--dark spirits are about."

"What to be doing..." he mutters, then looks up at Eustace. "Benn, Everline, and Denys are helping the other shipwreck victims. Eustace, can you go to them and bring them to the chateau? Primeiro, be coming with me. I'll need your help keeping the young woman safe, and getting everyone in the chateau to safety."

Then he turns to Lorna. "I wish I could be telling you what is going on, but I am not quite knowing myself. But I am trying to keep you safe, be assured of that."

[Ail]

"Yes, Dorgio, I'll look for them cause we fully must regroup now. But if you go into the Chateau, start joining the people together. And let's mark a place where we can all meet. Remember, light it as much as you can, disperse the shadows!"

Eustace then follows to the shore, in the direction Dorgio points to the last known place of Denys, Benn and Everline.

[ewancummins]

(TIME SHIFT IN NEXT POST, PLEASE READ THOROUGHLY)

[ewancummins]

The searchers on the north shore do not find the missing sailor.

The searchers at the chateau do not find Jürgen, or any monsters.

After the party regroups, the investigators can combine efforts to search the chateau and the area around it.

The boy’s room has been mostly cleared out; his kit is missing. Only a few loose bits of dirty clothing remain. The bed sheets are tangled and tossed and the window hangs open.

They discover the missing mules wandering the dunes near the wharf. Jürgen’s rowboat is not there, nor was it found at the North Shore.

Questioning the staff reveals nothing about Jürgen’s whereabouts—but it does reveal that the servants have heard of his terrifying alteration! Several servants encountered him, and all fled after seeing his mouth open. They don’t seem to know much else.

There are mundane shadows a plenty in such a large building, especially so with so many light sources burning. A few servants describe seeing shadows seeming to move of their own accord, in the back areas of the chateau. Pursuing those leads turns up nothing solid.

very late in the afternoon, the château, the private bar

The party-- what is left of it-- has assembled in the private bar adjacent to the dining hall and the ballroom. Candles mounted in wall sconces and lanterns hanging from hooks provide plenty of light. Muffled conversation trickles through the wall opposite the counter and shelves.
Denys speaks as Melmoth pours drinks for everyone.

‘’I want to explain a few things, so that we all have the same information. The guests and the sailors, along with non-essential staff, are dining next door. Of course it is most improper to ask persons of quality to eat with servants and common sailors, but at least we have separate tables. Given the circumstances….”Denys turns to examine his russet sideburns in the little mirror behind the bar counter. Turning back, he says,
“It’s the best way to get most of the folk here in one well lit room. That’s based on Eustace’s advice. Don’t worry; I have all servants whose duties take them elsewhere in the chateau working in pairs. No one is alone. My servants have been instructed to keep an eye out for Jürgen, as well. So, that is all I have for you in regards to operations. What information have you found? What are your plans?“

[Ail]

"Well, I think the first thing to be done once is to consecrate the gathering place and have the people stay there. It's not going to be easy at all, but that at least will give us a ground where we may have advntage against the shadow. Then, I don't have any other advice safe wait for it to turn up and chase it somehow... and in here, of course, the advantage is all on the shadow's side."

Then he turns to Benn

"Benn, while you were gone, we felt the need to reread the papers we found at the Abbey. Do you still have them? It might be useful to go over them again and see what the monks did, what they missed and what errors we could try to avoid. They talked of 5 or 6 monsters, but we have no evidence for more than one up to now."

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Got a question fer ye, Eustace," Everline says. "ye ha' ta pray fer a spell ta consecrate a space, yeah? 'Ow many did ye prey fer, today? An' cin any'a our other spellslingers cast it? 'Cos if'n the enemy's 'ere, 'e's gonna try 'is 'ardest ta interrupt ye once ye start, I'd bet."

[Adam]

Benndict stands with Charlotte and Jonas in the room, a comforting hand resting on his son's shoulder before going to stand with the others.

"I have the journal in my pack. Be careful with it, please, they are quite delicate."

He hands it over, but then perks up. "Does one of you have the scroll with that shadow ritual? I would like to transcribe it and perhaps master the spell. It could be of use to defeating the creature, I'm thinking."

[Ken of Ghastria]

"The guests and the sailors, along with non-essential staff, are dining next door."

Primeiro nearly drops his glass.

"Of course it is most improper to ask persons of quality to eat with servants and common sailors, but at least we have separate tables."

"Desperate times indeed..." he mutters with feigned (?) horror.

"So, that is all I have for you in regards to operations. What information have you found? What are your plans?“

"Everline is correct," he says after the others speak. "We injured the creature last night -- I'm sure of it. It will likely seek to preempt or interrupt our strongest attacks, especially those from the spellcasters and priests among us. The rest of us must be ready to defend them when that happens.

"I'm more concerned about the enemy we don't know. Something tied up Jonas and stole the pitch from the mules, and I doubt it's our portrait-loving shadow friend. It has an accomplice, a material one. It could be a servant or one of the guests -- I admit, I did think it was Juergin for a moment after seeing... well. And I know that one of the guests in the adjoining room was wandering out alone last night, at the same time that the rest of us were at the ruins.

"Or the ally could be something else, too. This morning, I glimpsed something the size of a child or perhaps a dwarf skulking about in the bushes outside the chateau. With the rain at the time, I couldn't get a better look at it. Regardless, there is another foe we'll have to deal with. Fortunately, this one seems made of flesh and blood!" He smiles slightly, as one hand holds a glass of wine and the other rests on the hilt of his rapier.

[Ail]

Eustace nods at Everline's question, and then at Primeiro's remark.

"And someone entered my room today, from the window it seems, and broke everything he could see. My lab is wrecked, but they couldn't get to the silver dust. But also I won't be able to do any more of it.

To address your question, Everline, I prepared only one of those, but yes, I'd love it to come and interrupt us. Then we'd have an immediate target. I can do the ritual now, it will last almost until morning. But I have to make a few prayers first. Just in case."

He turns to Dorgio, with a musing look

"There is one thing I have never tried, Dorgio, but maybe we have the chance for it tonight. If we coordinate our efforts in simultaneously trying to banish the creature, do you think the potency of our prayers would be added?"

OOC: this is a question for the DM, actually. What happens if two priests coordinate a Turn Undead? Does it in any way increase the chance of turning?