(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown

“Basic security,” he answers to Rohuzar.  “Our guardsmen quit rather than stay in the house.  Father paid a pretty penny to have the grounds ensorcelled to prevent anyone slipping in and stealing the silverware or paintings.  Without that keystone, the doors lock themselves and a screeching alarm will sound if you breach the home.  With the keystone… you can walk right in.”

Rohuzar nods and takes the keystone.

Would rohuzar know if this behavior sounds like a ghost vs something else? 

[Does Rohuzar have a lot of experience with ghosts?]

I don't think he would, but I don't always know what's normal, or what soldiers here might run into

Grugga looks to his companions. "I think things will only start coming together once we get there. Shall we?"

Once his group is ready, he bids farewell to the young lord and makes the trek to the manor.

Your destination is easy to find.   A 3-foot stone wall surrounds the grounds... about 2 acres altogether.  The house shows signs of fresh masonry repairs and paint, but the grounds are still wild.  The property looks to have been poorly maintained for years.

The architecture of Flamewatch Hall stands apart from all its neighboring buildings.  It is built in the style of old Umbridge, with large stained glass windows, an attached carriage garage, and a large rear deck overlooking neglected gardens.  It is two stories, with a glass conservatory visible in the back.  From where you stand there are several entrances visible.  A front door that opens off a small porch at the end of the main cobblestone walkway; a narrow door opening off of the carriagehouse; and a set of double doors entering off the deck in the back.

"I fear Furvus might be susceptible to attacks from whatever haunts this house but I suppose he could still do some light reconnaissance if we'd like that." Aubrey suggests as they approach the Flamewatch Hall.

"I think I'd prefer to trust our own senses at this point. Furvus may be useful yet, best not risk unnecessarily. Let us simply walk the grounds, and then the house."

Rohuzar starts walking the property, looking for anything unusual or out of place.

The 3 foot stone wall that lines the property has a line of tall shrubs just behind it.  These look like the only plants here that have seen any maintenance at all over the years... likely maintained by the neighbors to hide the eyesore that was the rest of the grounds.  Still, not all of the shrubs survived.  You can see sections where some have recently been cut down, and there is a bundle of new shrubs still in pots, ready to replace them.

Walking the ground you find that there are four entrances into Flamewatch Hall.  The main front door; a side door approaching from the carriage house; double doors off of the deck in the back; and a metal door in the back of the glass conservatory.  That last door is held shut with a rusted chain.  All the glass of the conservatory looks brand new, and from what you can see inside it looks clean.  There are only a couple of plants inside and it is otherwise empty.

The back deck has been completely rebuilt and is stained a rich deep brown.  One of the rooms that faces the back deck must have a large fireplace, judging by the enormous fieldstone chimney.

The only other structure on the grounds is a low roofed building that looks like an old wooden gardeners shed.  It hasn't see the repairs the rest of the manor has received and it looks like it might collapse if you breathe on it too hard.

There is an ornamental pond though the water level is low.  In the center stands a marble statue of a woman holding a chalice and a sword.  The low water leaves the unfinished and rough base of the statue visible.

There is a neglected and unkempt flower garden behind the back deck.  It looks like rose bushes had been planted here, but they are nothing more than brittle husks now.

A copse of trees stands in one corner of the grounds.  Inside there is a clay sporting court.  After decades of baking in the sun, the surface is cracked and broken.

Rohuzar heads for the shed. Going to take a look inside

Aubrey follows Rohuzar, figuring sticking together would be a good idea when hunting ghosts, keeping a good look out for threats and things moving around on their own accord.
Perception: 16

The wooden shed door is unlocked but it is swollen and stuck.  A good tug and it opens, with the creak of a rusted hinge and some dust.  Light from outside is enough to give you a a decent look at the interior.  The only items in the shed are a pair of enormous saw blades hanging on the back wall - possibly used for cutting down trees or shrubs?  They don't look to have seen any use in ages and are corroded beyond repair.  

The floor is a tangle of twigs and branches along with tufts of fur.  It appears some creatures have nested in here over the years.  The ceiling also holds a few old birds nests as well.

Rohuzar and Aubrey: Make a WIS save.

Aubrey WIS  save: 18

Rohuzar wis save 24 

Aubrey, you step back as the structure suddenly collapses with a loud groan.  The hard tug on the door seems to have been the 'straw that broke the camel's back' and this ancient and forgotten old shed topples down on itself.  The front wall falls outward causing you to step backward and then the roof falls, pancaking the other sides.  There is a dry cloud of dust and dander that rises up from the heap.

Rohuzar:

 The rest of you see the building collapse but you aren't quite so close as the other two.  It looks like they must have gotten a little too rough with the old shed.

With the loud sound of the shed crashing down, Leelan runs over to the Rohuzar and Aubrey.

"Is everyone alright?", he ask worriedly.

Aubrey steps back towards Leelan and the others, swiftly cleaning himself up from the dust and dander (Prestidigitation). "Yes, alright I think. Let's hope the main building is in better shape."

Seeing the building suddenly collapse, Guilim draws his halberd. He holds it at the ready, starting to move closer to the others so that they are within a few feet of him.

Grugga had been checking around the front of the building when he heard the shed collapse. He peeks his head around the corner of the building and watches the plume of dust rise over the corpse of the old building. He's about to ask if everyone was ok when Aubrey gives the all clear.

He tosses Zip into the air and asks his homunculus to fly around the perimeter of the first and second story of the building, looking in all the windows. When the whirlygig returns, he asks if it saw any living humanoids or ghosts (two separate questions).
Zip perception: 14

Zip circles the perimeter of the manor, first around the ground floor and then around the upper floor.  It returns and blinks the response for 'no' to both questions.  Though you can see that most of the upstairs windows and a few of the downstairs windows have drawn curtains.