Quillary-spider goes bump against the door. ;)

When the door doesn't open, Hildigrim looks again at the sign: "Andras – Apothecary. Enter Freely." He furrows his halfling brow, looks over his shoulder, then rummages in his pack for his thieves' tools, leaving the mirror in their place.

DEX to unlock the door: 22

Before opening the door, he puts away his tools and grabs the mirror again. Now he opens the door slowly, using the mirror to look at as much of the room as possible before opening the door too much or entering.

After the door is unlocked, Drusk will handle opening the door a crack, so that Hildi has his hands free for the mirror.

The last room in the hall is occupied by shelves and tables covered in parchments, tomes, and potion bottles. The room looks like it has been ransacked. There are two full-length mirrors in the room, each positioned in a corner. After a moment angling his hand mirror to check the entire room, Hildi does not see any skulks.

Drusk (in a quiet voice): "You still have that key from the farmhouse around your neck. Have you tried to use it yet?"

At Drusk's question, Hildigrim places his palm against his chest and then reaches down his neck and extracts the key still tied around his neck. He grins up at the human. "Forgot about it," he says in an equally hushed voice. He gives a little shrug and drops the key back down his shirt, then tiptoes into the room, still looking everywhere with the mirror.

If he still doesn't find any skulks, he'll start looking around the room for anything of interest. Investigation: 17

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

Hildigrim grins up at the human.

Drusk the half-orc nods at the quarterling.

Seren looks around the room, but does not consider the mess long before commenting, “It would seem his method of housekeeping has not changed since moving here.”

(Hildigrim has the Investigation roll covered. Perception rolls from anyone else, if they are looking around.)

All you bigs look the same to Hildi, as is evidenced by his continual mixing up the races of Drusk and Jorin.

Quillary-spider perceives: 7

Jorin enters the room and takes a few seconds to study the mirrors, "By the eight, I see now.  The townsfolk must have sniffed out the Skulks and then positioned these mirrors to stand sentry.  Truely, the last of them would have endured dark days."

Jorin perceives around with the others 1

Edit: excellent

Despite Spider-Quillary's extra eyes, the room is enough of a mess to be confusing.

Jorin is able to perceive the big picture, but is missing the details of this room.

Drusk perception: 13

(OOC: 13 wasn't high enough. It is up to Pascal to notice what this roll is for. This isn't a vital piece of information, but it might be helpful.)

OOC > Go big n' scaly! You got this!

(1) There is a chest with a potion of healing. (Someone claim it. Seren won't let you loot his set of fine clothes, but the healing potion might be needed in the fight against these shadowy creatures.

(2) There is a letter half-written by Andras to the captain of the outpost. He states  that the creatures follow the schedules of their past selves. If they act quickly, they can destroy the curse before it leaves Dynnegall. The letter is half scratched out, with the closing statement scribbled, They found you.

(3) There is a parchment pinned to the back of the door.

(4) Hildigrim is able to deduce that Andras was testing samples of flesh against a variety of unlabeled potions. They appear to have spoiled, as if abandoned for some time.

Can I roll a perception as well?

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

Can I roll a perception as well?

(OOC: Nope, you got the Investigation result. Have to spread the wealth, so to speak.)

(1) There is a chest with a potion of healing. (Someone claim it. Seren won't let you loot his set of fine clothes, but the healing potion might be needed in the fight against these shadowy creatures.

Hildigrim lets everyone know he found the potion and will hold onto it unless someone else wants to.

(2) There is a letter half-written by Andras to the captain of the outpost. He states that the creatures follow the schedules of their past selves. If they act quickly, they can destroy the curse before it leaves Dynnegall. The letter is half scratched out, with the closing statement scribbled, They found you.

Does the "They found you" look like Andras's handwriting or someone else's?

(3) There is a parchment pinned to the back of the door.

Hildi reads the parchment aloud, but then also lays it out for everyone to see on their own.

(4) Hildigrim is able to deduce that Andras was testing samples of flesh against a variety of unlabeled potions. They appear to have spoiled, as if abandoned for some time.

The potions have spoiled? I'm guessing since you didn't elaborate that there is nothing to be learned from what's left.

("They found you" is in the same handwriting as the rest of the letter.

The samples of flesh and the various unlabeled potions are spoiled. What they were is not as important as what was being done.)

Quote from Quasimodal >>

Despite Spider-Quillary's extra eyes, the room is enough of a mess to be confusing.

Jorin is able to perceive the big picture, but is missing the details of this room.

 

Drusk perception: 13

(OOC: 13 wasn't high enough. It is up to Pascal to notice what this roll is for. This isn't a vital piece of information, but it might be helpful.)

 Whoops! Been occupied with things, we’re rolling Perception, yes? 16

Both he and I do not realize anything.

With the party done upstairs, they finish checking the main floor.

The kitchen and cellar appear untouched as if a meal hasn’t been prepared for some time. The bread has turned stone-like, but the barrels of fruit are hardly spoiled. There is a stockpile of root vegetables and a collection of ale in the cellar that are both in excellent form.

(OOC: That is it for the old inn... If you remember the layout of the outpost, the remaining areas are the library w/bell tower and the kryne harvesting area near the waters.)

"Friends," Hildigrim says to the room, "I am of three minds. First of all, I'm confused why Andras worried the 'curse' would leave Dynnegall when we and he as well witnessed that the skulks continue the tasks they performed in their past lives. However, since the spirits — if you'll allow me to call them that — arrived here by some means, which would indicate that they do travel to some extent. But if these creatures are in any sense the remains of those who used to dwell here, my inclination is to vacate, cordon off the area, and leave them to their fates. Secondly, if we do decide to continue to free these souls from whatever prison they might find themselves, we seem to be equipped to dispatch them fairly readily. Thirdly, if we are able to dispatch them so readily, why this strange message about searching for four tomes?"

Quillary-spider starts to shudder, then appears to, cough? As it continues to convulse, it crawls into a dark corner and the sounds continue until the dark shape reveals itself as the half-elf, returned to her normal form. She uncurls her body and stands, stretching. Then she grabs an apple and begins to eat. Between mouthfuls, she adds to the conversation.

"I can take that shape again, if need be, one more time."

and...

"From what I know, these skulks are not the spirits of the townspeople. They are spirits, yes, and undead, but they are creatures that have lost themselves in the Shadowfell, and lost their grasp on reality alongside. They live, as it were, between worlds. They are drawn to the living, and kill, then take the place of those they have killed, scratching a meager meaning from their pantomime. This town is not haunted by the spirits of those who lived here, but rather by invaders."

and...

"Perhaps there is some malevolence drawing the skulks here, something to be defeated by the congruence of these four tomes? I think the library is our next stop."

Drusk: "We were hired to deal with any trouble that was holding up the cargo boats on the river. Having his outpost manned is necessary for travel... It may end up being too much work for us to reclaim this village, but we don't know that yet.

"It would send a mixed message to say 'we are able to dispatch them so readily', and then say we ran away from the outpost before completing the investigation."