(Heh, spectacular, using the luck feat for more rolls,  Int check: 4 Arcana with advantage: 11 Medicine: 9 )

(That's more like it. To be clear I didn't roll the second Arcana with advantage, just one more roll)

Fembris smiles at Triäsa, "It's not this application but rather the implications and what could be done with it. It works off a modified scrying spell, rather than watching one person it watches an area continually. As you said this is just like a window but what if we placed this same spell somewhere else... like the women's bathhouse..." Fembris gets a little pale and her voice trails off.

At the mention of going in her room she launches into a panic "No No NO! Not today we can't go in there it's a mess.... We'll clean it up and have you all over for apple pie and milk... just not today... maybe next week... yes, that sounds better.... Ok Let's get to work... quick quick... Davy, DAVY we need books! Lots and lots of books!"

Ludolf chuckles a bit more but follows along, taking Davy's help with getting a lot of books and tomes on the Far Realm filling his bookshelves.

(Forgot to say but Ludolf would also try to find someone in Candlekeep to help him communicate in the most efficient way possible wth his uncle Malcer in Luskan)

You all see a change in Daventry's demeanour as the tour begins with her room. With the first breath of ocean air, the breeze through her hair and the warmth of the (illusionary) sun on her face, it's like a thousand troubles melt away instantly. She inhales and closes her eyes, and lets her hair loose from its ponytail. She pours a finger of the dark liquid into one of the glasses, swirling it around and giving it a taste, taking a look at the sea. She offers a beverage to any of her friends who want an treat for the remainder of the tour.

"This... is perfect. Gods, I needed something like this after our travels."

She oohs and ahhs at the other's equally fitting rooms. At Fembris's, she chuckles. "Embrace the disaster, Fembris! It's always a bit of fun that way. Though should we be surprised for a half-naked Davy kitchen run in the middle of the night when a snack and water are required?"

As the group breaks to enjoy their new rooms for the night, Daventry pulls Triäsa aside. "Tomorrow, I could use your help, if you're willing. I... well... I'm not very good at the finer things. I think I can pull off the behatted duelist alright, just like the chatbooks. But maybe you can help me pick out something more... long and flowy? Girly? I'm feeling inspired by my 'tropical vacation', and corsets and crevattes don't mix as well with that" She glances down to arms, where the edges of her runic brands are. "I'm tired of hiding who I am. At least when it's not practical. Hells, maybe in a catelogue we'll find some fancy designer armor, give me the next thing to throw my coin at." 

That night, Daventry removes the tome from its casing, after having pulled the table and chair to the center of her ocean balcony. She prepares herself to delve once again into the book's pages, though she has had so little success recently. Still, though, she fortifies herself. She dips a finger into the vial of holy water, tracing out the rune of protection on her chest, before empowering it with her magic. She briefly wondered if using the tome's magic to protect herself against it was an exercise in folly, or if it was really just opening herself to the forces even further. But she had to find out more.

She opens the tome, diving in to whatever may come of the decision.

Wisdom Save: 1, if adv from spell 12

You all rest and recover peacefully in your new accommodations. As morning rises you find yourselves refreshed with a new vigor to tackle the problems before you. There is an air of cautious optimism as you all go about your work over the ensuing days. 

(I will assume you all meet and regularly share information and since you all are doubling up on most activities I am going to post the results of your work here in the main thread rather than in DMs.)

Pardot and Ludolf you find the return of intellectual work cathartic. You breeze through tome after tome devouring their contents as you work at astonishing speeds. Daventry and Triäsa find the work more challenging, maybe you are distracted but whatever the reason you find it very hard to make significant progress. 

Prophecies Regarding Stars and the Stars falling -- You find nothing. Clearly it is bad omen but any more meaning is lost on you. 

The Funky Symbol of Death -- Pardot's lack of understanding of the stars might be attributed to tremendous effort and discoveries he makes looking into this symbol. It does not take you long to discover the name of the shape, Trapezohedron. You find references to this shape in a simple, black untitled tome. The book appears to be a holy text of some long lost and obscure cult. The symbol is drawn endlessly in the margins. Much of the book is scribbled and marked over as if someone was redacting the contents in fits of madness. What you can make out is the symbol has some connection to peering through or perhaps traveling through space and time. There are also references made to something called the Haunter which sounds like the object or being of worship. 

The Man in Black -- You actually find a lot legends referencing a vague "Man in Black" Perhaps this description is general enough that every village uses it as a way to scare children. You find reports of shadowy black figures being used as proxies for demons and devils. There are also stories of shadows as the embodiments of fear that terrorizes children in their dreams. You also read a handful of legends of shadowy black figures that travel the planes and precede calamites. Some scholars say these figures are the cause of disaster while others interpret their presence as warnings. The texts you read do not refence a singular Man in Black. It seems to refer to them as a group.

Fistandia -- You learn that Fistandia's condition is some sort of corruption of the soul or her inner being. It goes beyond a curse but the prolonged exposure to the Far Realm has seeped into her aether. Reversing this is no trivial task. It would require incredibly strong magic, such as a wish spell or some sort of divine intervention. You also learn that as long as she is not exposed to the Far Realm again she should be safe and her condition will not progress.

After six days of research you all decide to take a night off and have an extravagant dinner and drink in the mansion to unwind. Cumin and Coriander go out of their way to prepare the finest meats, cheeses and vegetables. Wine and ale flow freely for those of you who drink. The cat army is pacing the table happy to have some life returned to mansion. Pocket's is not there she has barely left Fistandia's side. You can also see small puffs of colored smoke as the pixie dragons put on a show in the arboretum Fembris and Davy have not returned home and you were expecting them for dinner. 

You eat your fill and are preparing for a dessert of cherry pie when Fembris comes bursting into the dining room, "Oh, hey. Sorry for being late. Bad news everyone. Crinkle, remember her? Well we found her dead... Brain exploded it looks like. Really quite a mess. Not entirely sure what happened."

As they share the details of their research Pardot says to the others, "That symbol seems to be around, and has affected a number of people. My next step is to see if I can find something about this Haunter which often seems connected with it..."

He then quite enjoys the meal, in the way that only a halfling can, asking seconds, and more seconds, and yet more seconds, only leaning back into his chair to unbutton his trousers with a happy sigh.

Once Fembris runs in with the news, he leans forward, "Her brain... exploded? Is this similar to the body that was found in the walls? Whatever the issue was last week... may not be quite finished."

Fembris gets her classic million mile stare, "It... does seem similar... I mean she wasn't crammed into a wall or anything but big ol' hole there in the back of her head..." She shivers grabs a big piece of pie and takes a bite. "Cumin, could I get some milk" She asks as she collapses into a chair.

When Daventry pulls her aside after the tour of her room, Triäsa agrees to help. "Tomorrow? Of course! Meet you here in your tropical resort?"  She gives the other woman a smile. "You really want my sister, I am not all that fashionable really. But I think between the two of us we can figure it out."

When Fembris returns with the new, Triäsa is surprised. "Crinkle? Of course we remember her! Wasn't she in Candlekeep's custody or something? Wasn't anyone watching her?"  She listens to Pardot's comment and can't help but agree. "This is remarkably similar to that other body. Fembris? Has there been any more information about the body we found?" 

Daventry listens attentively as Fembris explains the situation. You all have noticed that she has been burning the midnight oil most nights since your return, oftentimes sleeping in very late into the morning. While she seems relaxed and content with her life, there is still a bit of underlying frustration in that whatever she is seeking, she has not found it yet.

Regardless, this evening she is in good spirits, and has been sharing a fine Elvish vintage with Triasa (and maybe Ludolf, though Dav thinks of him more a brandy snifter type).

She looks to Fembris, then glances at Ludolf.

"Has anyone been interrogating Crinkle? Or visiting her, even if just to observe her through the bars?"

She leans forward, again looking at Ludolf. "Don't suppose the mib's got head-explodin' powers too?" 

"Yes, I agree Pardot, this Haunter might be what is ultimately behind all of this." Ludolf says with a nod as they share their findings.

As Daventry joins them for dinner Ludolf raises his eyebrows slightly, at first smiling approvingly, then glancing over at Triäsa and quickly returning to his book. He looks up at Daventry a couple of times though, wondering if her change of hair colour was of her own making or not, but he decides not to mention it.

Waiting on his cherry pie Ludolf looks up from the book he is reading as Fembris enters the dining room and he listens to the others comments before speaking. "I cannot rule out that the Man in Black was the cause of this. I haven't seen Crinkle since we fought the ShemShine. When we first confronted her I tried to access her mind while we were interrogating her if you remember. I fear I only saw an abyss, a void. I realize now that she might already have been infected with whatever made her head burst, but it seems unlikely there would be a cure for such a horrible fate." Ludolf says grimly. "Let us hope we won't share her fate." 

Fembris looks embarrassed as you discuss the prisoner, "Well you see we aren't used to having captives here. I mean it's a library, we just imprison books. Until you all got here we didn't have police or anything. So we put her in one of the buildings way up high on the 25th floor and locked the door. There was a guard outside but he was just one of the stronger avowed. He heard a crash and thud but by the time he got in there, boom, head exploded." Fembris makes a dramatic motion with her hands.

"We have been trying to interrogate her but she just won't talk, tough nut to crack that one... well I guess she cracked now... I mean... uh... anyways... Only other weird thing was the window in the room was broken... it was broken outward not inward..." Fembris shrugs takes a deep drink of milk. "Anyways I am very tired and it's getting late..."

Ludolf chuckles at Fembris' unintentional joke but then quickly turns serious again. "Yes, as I suspected, Crinkle was infected with something that outgrew her narrow mind and is now roaming free." He says grimly. "This is however another important topic of study for us I believe."

(Klin, are you sharing that passage with the others at dinner? I'm assuming so)

Daventry nods at Ludolf. "'Spose we should add head exploding parasites to the list o' unanswered questions, huh?"

She thinks briefly on that, be it sourced from folklore, stories, or something else she's heard before.

Generic Int: 17 (+3 more if Arcana applies)

As Klin later lays out his story, Daventry ponders it. "So this girl from a squalid swamp town wants more in life, and inspired by forbidden knowledge, seeks out the capability to influence the world at large no matter the cost?"

She chuckles and leans in. "Call me intrigued, Klin. Hopefully this lass has a good ending in the works! Romance and challenges to overcome!" 

Fembris again looks embarrassed as she realize she did not answer Triäsa's question, "Sorry Tri got distracted by the milk. The other body was identified. He was a visiting scholar from the far west. He came with a cookbook, nothing exciting but contained a lot of floral based foods and claims to be able to make meat out of a bean. Gross. He gained admittance about 6 weeks ago. Strange thing is he never made a request for books, never checked into his room at the House of Rest or spent any time at the Pillars. Gave his name as Jack Walters."

(Feel free to do or ask anything of Fembris. When you finish with this scene I'll move you all along to the last bit of down time and on to the next hook. No rush just wanted to let you know there is more downtime ahead.)

Daventry -- There are a number of spells that can cause peoples heads to explode in a variety of fun and amusing ways. They vary from rather common to highly difficult and powerful. In terms of parasites or creatures. You have heard of some sort of horrible sea slug that can crawl in the ear, slowly growing and reproducing as it feeds on the host. Eventually the creatures become so numerous they break free from the skull. The wounds you saw in the Cellar would not be consistent with this maritime legend as you have heard it. Otherwise, I don't think you would know any given your backstory though if you have something in mind and a reason Daventry would know about it feel free to propose it.

Daventry would likely relay the maritime legend, embellished even further,and probably wrapped in a tale like "My old boatswain once encountered..." But would acknowledge they probably don't have a brainslug problem 

"So not a brainslug," Triäsa says, thinking over the situation. "But it just feels like it could be something like that. Something in this Jack Walter's head, came into Candlekeep with him, bursts out, somehow gets to Crinkle, then bursts out of her head. And now...  hmm.  The theory needs some work."