The Devil's Dreams___Chapter Two

[JMaytr]

Zandor hums a merry tune, drinking wine, assisting Karim in his search of the crates.

[ewancummins]

Karim and his friends search the boxes and find:

• A portfolio of sketches, mostly landscapes and building exteriors but also some portraits
  
  A thick valise stuffed with maps
  
  A lovely old hardwood cabinet, three feet high and two and a half feet wide,
  with brass fittings- it is shut and locked
  
  A wooden case that is easily opened- it contains art supplies
  
  Another wooden case- this one contains rock hammers, small flies, strips or
  bars of various metals, and sharps flints
  
  A leather folder holding maps of the estate
  
  A set of bills or inventories
  
  A ring of small brass keys
  
  A plain leather-bound manuscript book that contains pages of writing and drawings
  
  An old, well-broken-in haversack
  
  A canvas satchel
  
  Spelunking supplies- a large and very complete kit- it fills two whole crates
  
  Three pair of boots- nothing fancy, just practical footgear
  
  an old brown cloak, stained and torn

[ewancummins]

Thom- apart from the main body of the party, outside the manor house

Thom will leave main hall and go to the tree outside Delapor's office to continue his investigation.

The tall elm grows almost high enough to over-top the highest peaks of the house's gabled roof.



On the side facing the manor, the tree's reaching branches nearly touch the glass panes of Ferenc's office window.

[ewancummins]

The hall, searching the crates-

As Alain looks through the crate's he is looking for a map or any writing that have to do with their current situation. Also maybe writings on possible denizens of the caverns below the manor.

Alain finds a map of the estate grounds with a cave mouth noted in the SW corner, about a quarter-mile from the manor house. A little stream is depicted coming out of the cave mouth and flowing off the map edge.

The leather-bound manuscript contains numerous detailed drawings of landforms, subterranean features, plants, animals, etc. Some of the drawings have been tinted in various natural hues. Looking through the book, Alain finds an illustration of a 'heat-drinking fungus'- a sort of brown moldy growth. The illustration and description closely match the stuff that extinguished Dorgio's torch. The notes mention that –

'’Fire causes it to grow, because it drinks heat from its environment by some means I do not understand. Even a lamp held close will induce visible expansion, and the body heat of a human may cause spores to appear. I suspect that a rapid exposure to intense cold, perhaps magical chill, would kill it by disrupting its metabolism .''

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Well, here we are, then," Everline says as she starts to pace around and around the elm, looking for... something. (Search check: 17. A bit disappointing.) "So, what's the story with you and those gentlemen we left behind?" the girl asks while she continues to pace. "You travel together or something?"

[Adam]

Bennedict, observing the papers with Alain, rests a hand on his shoulder when they reach the section on the brown mold. He pulls the book up and quickly devours the text. "We need to keep an eye out for these things," he says, handing him back the text, "Some of those fire spells of yours, I fear, could lead to some pretty serious consequences if any of it is nearby."

Benn then turns and starts looking through the maps and illustrations for anything pertaining to the caves below the estate.

[ewancummins]

the great hall-

Benn then turns and starts looking through the maps and illustrations for anything pertaining to the caves below the estate.

Benn finds several maps of caverns with accompanying topographical maps of the surface. All of the maps have little notes, some rubbed almost to illegibility, written on the reverse side. A careful examination reveals that several of the maps show areas outside the estate, but within a few days' walk.

More than one map bears a note along the lines of ' good finds, but still a dead end.'


Among the drawings Benn finds a sketch of a cave mouth. A stream is depicted as flowing from the opening in the rocks. Mounds of tumbled dirt are piled about the sides of the cave and the earth above it is largely bare of plants.

A note on the back reads-

''earth slide- SW margin- possible connection?"

[ewancummins]

The elm-

"Well, here we are, then," Everline says as she starts to pace around and around the elm, looking for... something. (Search check: 17. A bit disappointing.) "So, what's the story with you and those gentlemen we left behind?" the girl asks while she continues to pace. "You travel together or something?"

Everline finds a few muddy footpints near the base of the tree, but she doesn't get a clear sense of where the trail begins and ends.

[Adam]

Bennedict tugs thoughtfully at the corners of his mustache. "Did your Uncle Theophile happen to mention anything specific he was searching for in the caverns around the manner house?" Benn says to Gauderic, showing him some of the drawings. "Some of the notes on these sketches seem to indicate that he was searching the caverns towards a greater purpose."

He points at the sheet mentioning an earth-slide. "Also, gentlemen, you'll notice this. There appears to be a history of tectonic disturbance here."

[ewancummins]

Gauderic answers-


''Well, he often wandered the countryside, looked into caves, drew things that he saw, and gathered objects for his collection of curiousities. So far as I know, he didn't have a greater purpose in mind- he just liked to explore and to study. Although...he did once mention something about how underground rivers carried the dreams of the land- whatever that meant. Perhaps he was just making a poetic allegory. I don't know.''

[VAN]

"The tectonic disturbance might mean that something is underground and provokes it."

Then he points at the bills and the old hardwood cabinet, three feet high and two and a half feet wide with brass fittings- it is shut and locked.

"Do you mind if I check these bills and I open this cabinet Mr Gauderic?"

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

"Dreams of the land?" It seemed an odd choice of words to Dorgio. He'd suspected that the rivers in the caverns had something do to with the problems, but he'd thought they were simply an avenue for the rat-demons. But was it something worse? Any dreams a land like this could produce would surely be strange, disturbing visions indeed.

"Yes, let us be having a look in that cabinet."

[ewancummins]

Gauderic replies-

''Yes, of course you may do so, Karim. Do you have the keys for that lock, though?''

[Adam]

At Gauderic's question, Benn gestures towards Alain. "I have a feeling there are some amongst us who can get around the need for one."

[ewancummins]

At Gauderic's question, Benn gestures towards Alain. "I have a feeling there are some amongst us who can get around the need for one."

''Very well- but please don't smash it. It's something old and valuable- and more than that, it belonged to my dear uncle. I had rather it be preserved."