Sorry for delays, for before the long rest Elsara will have sent a quick message to update back to HQ via the sending stones. If she needs another casting, she had sending prepared and a spell slot to cast it with.

"Hi Miss Darkwing, just a quick update. We found a farmhouse with lots of Affectus Uti, and some extra information. Anything to update us with?"

Catherine would send a response: "No update. Once you get back, Horace wants to talk."

Elsara will attempt to have quietly meditated during their rest, using the spare time after her trance to relook over the diary entries. There's a lot they could try and work with if the group pursues the avenue of trying to research Affectus Uti. Once everyone is well rested, Elsara straps her three blades to her side, fixing her hair as she gets ready for travel the next day.

"So Mr. Sweetcane would like to talk to us when we get back. I guess heading straight there would be best then, if everyone's ready to go."

Valwaryn nods to Elsara once they all are reunited.

"As soon as we put this house to the fire we should go right there" 

"Oh, we should check for any last minute supplies." Elsara suggests. "Also were there any stables? There might still be some animals alive nearby, I don't want them to get hurt."

Elsara would like to do a last sweep before the party gets pyro-friendly.

If required: Investigation 5

As Devarus never rejoined the others that morning wherever they decided to meet up at. Rather, since completing his usual gear maintenance routine in the morning, the determined old half-drow again went exploring the house, confident now having slept in it that the most major dangers were behind them. There was more to it of course. But even in his most private thoughts, he avoids thinking of 'those' reasons for long. Eventually however, he makes it back to the Grandfather's study, intending grabbing what papers and writing utensils could yet be used to aid in his mapping out the interior of it.  His hope being to was to narrow down potential locations for sealed off extensions.

Even without said utensils, he kept to a firm map in mind, and pooled what little he remembered of the exterior in his search for inconsistencies. He didn't even need a faded wallpaper or too obvious signs this go around to not try follow-up his anticipations by knocking pieces of the wall loose with the aid of his trusty hammer and old man grit. Breakfast had been skipped to ensure the completion of his goal. So, short of the place being set ablaze with him inside or someone coming to get him, he kept at it.

(To DM: Don't know if you want another check, or if one is even needed. But if you do, see spoiler:)

((Sorry I thought I posted this a day ago. Guess it never went through))

Deva investigated the walls, breaking a few of them down to find new parts of the mansion but the ritual room remains illusive. Finally, near the silo, in a hallway, he finds a wall that leads to what he assumes to be the right room. A corpse which is nothing but a skeleton right now sits in the middle of a ritual circle. There is a blood-red scimitar that's stands upright, sticking out of the corpse's chest. Various old books on various subjects line the shelves and some books are scattered on the ground. The floor is carpeted by red carpet that has gone moldy. The walls are made of wood that has swollen up. There is a fireplace but it is clogged up with soot.

Devarus shook his head. "Foolish woman... Foolish man." He muttered as he approached the ritual circle, but took care not to enter it. Unless he could confirm the body belonged to a child, he would look around for signs confirming the body having crawled her way into the circle, having not been quite as dead as one long dead geezer once thought.

Survival: 11.

He then turned his attention towards examining the fallen books in hopes of discerning some clue that might suggest the original purpose of the circle. At least, what may have been it before Farmer Boy became the end results of it.

Investigation: 5.

Once done with the preliminary search, he goes looking for the others to notify him of the findings, and confirm no other latent magic might go off in the process of trying to destroy the study. 

DM: To investigate the circle, you need Arcana proficiency. Does Deva have it? If so, then what is the modifier? I'll let you keep the 15 you rolled on the d20.

(To Zulk: He's not investigating the circle himself. He was looking for marks to see if the stabbed person had moved themselves there as they're dying act, or if it was coincidence. The following investigation was I guess you could say him trying to piece together from the fallen books for relevance regarding the magic circle's creation or her meeting with the Dark Paladin.)

((Yeah I was talking about the following investigation. As for trying to figure out whether the body was moved or it just died there as a coincidence, It was coincidence. The body did not move to the circle, it fell on it upon death.))

(Does Elsara find Devarus on her last sweep through so we don't accidentally ignite the house with him in it?)

(Yeah, let's say Elsara found Deva on her sweep.)

Elsara smiles as she sees the familiar face of Devarus. "There you are!" She says aloud. "We were wondering where you'd gone!  I was just about to do one last look around for things, glad I found you before the others lit the fuse."

The corner of Devarus twitch upward in a smile, yet his gaze stayed glued upon whatever book happened to be in hand at the time. "That is rather fortunate, and I do apologize for my absence. I might have been a midgen too eager to get back to the search." At that exact moment, his stomach gurgles. "Okay, maybe very eager." He chuckles. "Since you're here, do you think you can figure out what that was for?" He gestures to the circle.

Elsara follows Devarus to the scene, a little trepidation setting in as she sees it all. "I'll see what I can work out." She tells Devarus, looking over the area. "Give me a few minutes and I can try and work out its full functions."

Elsara puts her bag down at the entrance to the room, checking over the room's ritual pieces before (if required) ritual casting Identify to attempt to garner any further information.

Arcana: 18

 Elsara checks the place, the circle and what's written on the books. From it she realizes a few thing. The circle itself is not a summoning circle in the traditional sense. Instead it is more used as a communication device. Casting a ritual written down on the book summons an apparition of the Paladin. It cannot attack but it does act as a link to communicate with the Paladin himself. Additionally, the crimson scimitar that's stuck to the skeleton seems to have warped into a magic item. Finally there is a 10th level Affectus Uti spell written on the book.

Weapon:

Blood Saber (Requires Attunement)
This Scimitar has a +2 to hit and +2 to damage. This weapon does 1d6 extra poison damage. If you score a critical hit then it does an additional 12 poison damage on that hit.

Spell:

Siphon Luck
Range: Self School:Affetus Ut Level 10 Casting Time: 10 Minutes. Duration: 7 Days. Components: S V M

When cast, the caster drains the luck from all those within 100 ft of them. For the duration, the caster becomes very lucky while those around them become very unlucky. Changing of a person's luck requires extensive processing by Aeos, sometimes even requiring the overwriting of fate itself.

Material components: 10 Units of feeling of Euphoria or Revelry and 1 Unit of hazy and slow despair from someone losing everything in a bet.
Alternatively it requires 1 Soul of type: HG5 (Humanoid Soul)

Elsara looks over the items in the room. "We should take them with us. It's better he keep an eye on them than leave them here to potentially be found by someone else." Elsara points out the blade and spellbook. She stows them both away into the extradimensional pocket within her backpack in hopes that it will also block any potential scrying on the items, should others be looking for such things.

When they are done finishing checking over the room, Elsara will opt to return to the others with Devarus to fill them in on what they found.

For clarification: If you wanted to summon the Paladin apparition for questioning, you would need to do it while inside the house. Casting the spell without the circle is impossible and replicating the circle elsewhere is very difficult. So do you wish to leave without casting that spell?

(Life has been kind of hectic for me this past week, and it seems the thread has also been pretty active. I'll try to get caught up later today and post for Gendan.)