Jared returns and finds a seat. He is brooding because Aoufie let Tom off and wouldn't push the man to answer. Jared decided not to as well because he wasn't sure that his more bestial side wouldn't show its face and he was not sure he could control it. Sitting and saying nothing, Jared keeps his anger in check, for now.
You all have a few more hours until dinner, so you find some sort of activity to pass the time. Some of you might pass this time by chatting with your siblings, catching up on each of your exploits over the past several years. Others might stroll around the house, reliving memories that were made in these halls. On more than one occasion, a group of children interrupt whatever you are doing with their youthful and earnest playing. They chase each other around the house, screaming and laughing as they do. Other times, you catch them reenacting dramatic scenes such as a prince saving a princess from a fearsome dragon. You're happy to see that the oppressive environment they currently are in doesn't affect them in the slightest, even when the raging tempest finally arrives. You distinctly notice that Tom is not here; apparently he was too rattled by your earlier conversation to show up. You can hear the winds moaning and groaning outside as cutting rain drops slam into the roof and walls. You catch an occasional flicker of lightning sneak between the gap in the storm shutters, weakly illuminating the interior of Grymhearth. The booming clap of thunder that comes after is not so weak however.
Regardless of how you pass the hours, the time finally comes for the much-anticipated dinner. The six of you, the employees of Grymhearth, and the swarms of children begin filtering into the spacious dining hall towards the back of Grymhearth. The dining hall is probably the largest room in Grymhearth. This is not only the room where meals are consumed, but also where various performances and other social functions were held. The long walls are all painted to resemble forest scenes: deer frolicking in grassy meadows, hawks swooping through towering evergreens, bears splashing around in sparkling rivers for elusive salmon, and other similar scenes. Three crystalline chandeliers hang over head, filling the room with warm candlelight. Hansome brass lanterns with flickering flames hang from the walls as well, helping maintain the brightness of the room. Several circular wooden tables are scattered throughout the room. Each of them, except for the ones set aside for the children, is covered a fine silk cloth the color of blood. Fine china and silverware only used for special occasions' rest on the tablecloth. A cluster of lit candles and various colorful flowers and other ornamental plants make a fine centerpiece for each of the tables. A rectangular table set against one of walls bares all sorts of delectable foods: the steaming stew, buttery biscuits, bowls of glistening fruit, a menagerie of salads, sizzling hams, and all sorts of other masterfully-prepared foods are on this table. Rhea and the kitchen staff went all out for the occasion.
Somewhat informal in style, you need to serve yourself at this feast. After heaping your plate with food, you find your way to one of the tables. The room quickly fills with the sound of conversation, silverware on china, and distant rain and thunder. The feast is rather somber; even the laughter that rang out occasionally seemed reserved.
After everyone has filled their stomachs with delicous food, Rhea, wearing a black dress, climbs atop her chair and gently strikes a crystal goblet with her spoon. The crystalline ring cuts through the conversations throughout the room, and within seconds, they only sound to be heard was the furious staccato of rain pelting on the roof overhead. All eyes turn to her, and seeing that everyone's attention is on her, she begins to speak.
"Thank you all for taking time to be here to celebrate Lady Aoelwyn Grymhart's passing. Her death took us all by surprise, but she would have wanted us to stay happy and not focus on mourning. After all, one of her favorite sayings was 'Choose to be happy. Your happiness isn't determined by what happens to you during life, but what you choose to focus on during life.'"
She pauses a moment to skillfully use a handkerchief dab away an errant tear that managed to escape her eye before continuing. "That being said, she was always straightforward and to-the-point, so to honor her, we'll dive right into business."
"First order of business is the topic of her burial. Tomorrow morning when the sun rises, she will be burried in the graveyard at the Sanctuary in Leafbrook. It will be a short ceremony. Secondly, for any workers that wish to stay on, it has been arranged for you to recieve 500 gold for each year you stay on, for a maximum of ten years." This draws shocked gasps and bewildered whispers amongst the crowd. That was quite the generous amount to pay workers such as they. As the whispers begin to die down, she continues, "Furthermore, Aoewlyn has granted me the deed to Grymhearth and its property, and I intend to keep running it as an orphanage and shelter for all that need it. All of her children are to receive a sum of 2,500 gold to spend as they see fit. Finally, for her oldest six children: Jared, Aoufie, Akyan, Kora, Anthony, and Zathon," she looks at each of you individually as she says your name, "Aoelwyn leaves behind some final advice. 'Look to the sun for guidance; perhaps it can shed some light on your situation.' " She looks around at the sea of sparkling eyes around the room, smiling warmly at each of you as anothe tears slips unbidden down her face.
"May we all honor her memory this day." Raises her goblet filled with a clear liquid above her head in a toast. "For Aoelwyn!"
Throughout the room, people follow her toast by raising their goblet and reverently saying, "For Aoelwyn," before taking a deep drink from their cup. Almost as soon as the toast is over, an excited buzzing fills the air as people begin jabbering at each other about what was just said by Rhea.
Anthony holds a glass of water up to toast, but he's distracted, on edge. Some odd juxtapositions of imagery and turns of phrase. He wasn't normally one to read too much into that sort of thing, not being suspicious my nature. But being out of his element combined with no one seeming to take the danger of remaining here seriously, it all combined to have him watching people, especially Rhea, more closely than he otherwise might.
And a riddle on top of it. Follow the sun.. Like one of the solar gods? There were plenty of those. Light in general against undead. Or had she left a clue behind in the house for them. He shook his head, this was for smarter people than him, that's for sure.
It was difficult to put his finger on it, but something seemed off. He had the feeling of having been herded into a pen. No one thing seemed out of place, but on the whole, everything felt surreal.
Kora grins as Jared addresses her. "Pudge? man... I haven't heard that one well.. since the last time I saw you."
Kora follows the rest into the living room with Tom and finds a decently comfortable place to sit, brushing herself off a bit more before sitting. She lets the others start in on their questions, unsure if she wants to tell him what she overheard in the diner. As talk shifts to the mists, her ears perk up but then is a disconcerted to see Tom's visceral reaction to the topic.
Before dinner, she wanders the house, not really engaging in conversation with anyone unless cornered, letting the memories rush back to her. Looking out the window, she hopes this storm isn't going to last forever. She aches to run outside and check out the land to see how it has changed.
Kora enjoys the dinner as much as she can, mainly listening to others rather then leading conversations. As Rhea gives her speech, she's happy to hear that the halfling will take ownership of estate and continue the work of Aeolwyn. But as she gives the hint to them, she wonders aloud, "Would this be as literal as checking the ceiling in the living room? Or there was the sun on Tom's medallion, but I don't think he wants us following him."
Akyan raises the toast, but like Anthony. He is also on edge. Even more so than usual and seeing Anthony, who is usually pretty laid back, on edge only heightens that feeling. While Rhea isn't the one he's the most suspicious of, he does be sure to watch everyone in the room. With all the workers around, it seems odd that absolutely no one saw anything suspicious before Aoelwyn's death.
Insight: 4
Perception: 7
He glances at Kora when she speaks up. "The living room was what I was thinking." He replies. Though he is still clearly distracted. They are burying her tomorrow morning as soon as the sun rises. That doesn't give them much time...as much as he dreads the idea, he feels like they need to see her before the ceremony. Not to mention seeing her body would give him closure, a privilege he hadn't had with his brother....though that could wait until the ceremony.
He nods absentmindedly to their comments. "A painting, a book, a rug... something like that? A room that faces east if she was being especially vague. Her private quarters maybe."
Zathonspent a lot of time with Aoelwyn, effectively her shadow when he first arrived here as he wasn't sure how to interact with others yet and she was the only one he rightly trusted, so he's going to trust her now, even if he doesn't quite grasp the meaning of her parting words to them all. That being thought, something has gone wrong here and he still isn't sure what exactly.
Look to the sun for guidance. Aoufie mulls these words in his mind as they could mean anything. He expected Rhea to take the reins, but the very generous divvying of gold seems out of place. I am sure the workers would have stayed on if they were continued to pay their current wages and should she not keep some for a rainy day.
He is used to doubting people as he maneuvered himself among the nobles of Neverwinter and examines everyone's body language for any signs of deceit. Outwardly he drinks from his cup with a neutral expression.
Jared smiles and nods at Kora's remarks but says nothing. His mind is on Tom and what he is not telling everyone. After Rhea's statement at the end of the feast, Jared sits and ponders over Mum's last words. Not a great thinker, it will take him a while to process and decide what their meaning is for him. He hates these grand gatherings, especially ones with some significance. This is Mum's wake and to his mind folks should be more somber about the passing of someone who touched so many lives. But, he learned long ago how he sees things is definitely not the way the others do. So he will sit quietly and reminisce on his early life and his days as one of Mum's children.
By paying attention to the environment of room and conversations around you, you all notice a few things.
-As Rhea takes her seat, she suddenly seems exhausted. She's been doing a lot recently, and she's been under a lot of pressure. You can tell she's looking forward to when this is all over.
-The workers are very surprised about the pay raise. While they were being paid well before, they were not expecting this. You guess this shows that Aoelwyn had accumulated a lot more wealth than you originally thought. They still are saddened by the situation by which the raise came, but they're happy about it none the less.
-The children are being children. Not quite understanding all that is going on, they are getting pretty antsy with all they sitting they've been doing.
-A few extra workers start cleaning up now that the feast is nearing the end. They begin clearing the food off serving table and disappear with it into the kitchen.
In addition, Zathon notices the following:
Zathon has been quite put off by the whole situation ever since he arrived at Grymhearth. Everyone and everything had seemed normal for the most part, but he just couldn't get over the fact that nobody here really seemed put off by the malfunctioning monoliths or the fact that someone literally died due to unknown causes just outside the house. He's had a long few hours to mull over it before dinner, and he doesn't really make any headway until now.
As he is watching the mannerisms of the people around him, from his current vantage point, he notices that nearly everyone in room twitches ever so slightly. It's barely noticeable, and everyone continues on like nothing happened. He notices after the synchronized spasm, several of the workers helping clear up look slightly off. Maybe their faces are a little too blank or their eyes a bit too glassy, but something is off. He watches them as they silently take platters of food through the kitchen doors, their gait a little too mechanical for your liking.
As dinner starts being cleared, Anthony, seeing nothing that bears out his discomfort, stands to help,with a slight shake of his head and mumbling to himself as he does. "Celebrate her passing?" Not celebrate her life or mourn her passing. Probably just nerves or a halfling thing, Anthony. She's got a lot on her shoulders. True as his those words to reassure himself were, they didn't help him shake the nerves.
As he watches everyone in the hall with a far away look, a dreadful feeling swirls in is his body. The strange visitors, the raven, the mists, the monoliths, and now the off demeanor of the workers... something is very wrong here and he fears none of them are safe. Could it be mind control of a sort? Or they've been replaced? In an odd turn he wishes he could access his abilities, even the odd feeling in his head is better than being left in the dark. He helps clean up, trying to garner any other strange behavior of the staff. He makes an attempt to grasp for the powers of his oath, even if it is for nothing. Then he will join his siblings in the living room to look at the sun. _____________
Trying to do divine sense, if the monoliths allow.
The only sun I saw was Tom's amulet. It looks like I will have to ask him those hard questions after all. First, I should confer with my siblings. Seeing nothing out of place he helps clear the dishes and waits for the others in the living room.
Aoufie will wait till they are alone, and the children have gone to bed. "There is only one Sun I saw, and Kora mentioned it as well. Tom's amulet. Shall we find him again and question him further. I know it brings back nightmarish memories for him or we can check Aunty Grym's room. Unless someone has some other idea what the sun in her last message meant"
Later, returning back to the group after some basic pleasantries with the staff while helping to clean up dinner, Anthony shrugs at Aoufie's question. "We haven't really looked around much to be fair, and he's been spooked pretty bad. We also don't know what to ask except the same questions he already said he can't answer." She'd said follow the sun though, not talk to it, and he be might just be freaked out enough to run."Maybe someone can tail him, and chat him up if there's an opportunity. Rest of us can give a careful look around the rest of the house, especially her private rooms. See if they'll let us view the body." Something told him excuses would be made in that regard, but they should ask all the same.
"Was there not a sun painted in the living room? Although I'm sure Tom does have more information but the man seemed terrified, he likely has good reason if the mist is as dangerous as he thinks. Which at this point, I wouldn't discount."
Hearing Anthony's compassionate statement towards Tom, Jared walks out of the room. He means to find Tom and get the answers Tom was too scared to tell them.
As the others help clean up or leave the dining hall, Kora finds Rhea and decides to have a little chat.
"I haven't had a chance to say hi since I've arrived, I can see why, this was quite an affair you put on. Aeolwyn would have been proud of you and your speech." She smiles at the halfling woman. She was as almost close to Rhea as she had been with Aeolwyn when she lived here, even if it wasn't as close as most that lived in the house. It was what she knew at the time.
"I'm sure you know we all have questions, we would love to hear any thoughts you have on the matter when you're up to it? I do have one that is really tearing at me if you don't mind? I know you have a bit of magic.." she smirks at her a little as she says this, "probably more than you ever let on.. but when I crossed into Grymhearth, past those stones that surround the place... it was like something was ripped from my core.. I can't explain it, do you have any idea what I'm talking about?"
Anthony suspects Jared isn't going to get anything useful out of bullying an old man besides chasing him off for good, but he leaves it to someone else to intervene and focuses something he considers more useful, looking for solar imagery around the house. Strained glass windows, paintings. But first, he starts with the one they know is there. The living room as others suggested.
Well past pretending things aren't strange, he hauls something over to stand on to get a good look. If anyone follows, he suggests, "Want to give me a hand up here. I'm not sure what I'm looking for."
Akyan doubts Tom's amulet is the answer to Aoelwyn's last words. It just doesn't make sense for her to place something like her last wishes on another person's belongings. Right now, the main thing he's thinking about is the sun on the living room ceiling.
Following Anthony and Zathon into the room, he walks around eyeing the carving. He's looking for any inconsistencies or blemishes that could hint at some kind of hidden compartment, or any kind of pattern that could be writing.
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Jared returns and finds a seat. He is brooding because Aoufie let Tom off and wouldn't push the man to answer. Jared decided not to as well because he wasn't sure that his more bestial side wouldn't show its face and he was not sure he could control it.
Sitting and saying nothing, Jared keeps his anger in check, for now.
You all have a few more hours until dinner, so you find some sort of activity to pass the time. Some of you might pass this time by chatting with your siblings, catching up on each of your exploits over the past several years. Others might stroll around the house, reliving memories that were made in these halls. On more than one occasion, a group of children interrupt whatever you are doing with their youthful and earnest playing. They chase each other around the house, screaming and laughing as they do. Other times, you catch them reenacting dramatic scenes such as a prince saving a princess from a fearsome dragon. You're happy to see that the oppressive environment they currently are in doesn't affect them in the slightest, even when the raging tempest finally arrives. You distinctly notice that Tom is not here; apparently he was too rattled by your earlier conversation to show up. You can hear the winds moaning and groaning outside as cutting rain drops slam into the roof and walls. You catch an occasional flicker of lightning sneak between the gap in the storm shutters, weakly illuminating the interior of Grymhearth. The booming clap of thunder that comes after is not so weak however.
Regardless of how you pass the hours, the time finally comes for the much-anticipated dinner. The six of you, the employees of Grymhearth, and the swarms of children begin filtering into the spacious dining hall towards the back of Grymhearth. The dining hall is probably the largest room in Grymhearth. This is not only the room where meals are consumed, but also where various performances and other social functions were held. The long walls are all painted to resemble forest scenes: deer frolicking in grassy meadows, hawks swooping through towering evergreens, bears splashing around in sparkling rivers for elusive salmon, and other similar scenes. Three crystalline chandeliers hang over head, filling the room with warm candlelight. Hansome brass lanterns with flickering flames hang from the walls as well, helping maintain the brightness of the room. Several circular wooden tables are scattered throughout the room. Each of them, except for the ones set aside for the children, is covered a fine silk cloth the color of blood. Fine china and silverware only used for special occasions' rest on the tablecloth. A cluster of lit candles and various colorful flowers and other ornamental plants make a fine centerpiece for each of the tables. A rectangular table set against one of walls bares all sorts of delectable foods: the steaming stew, buttery biscuits, bowls of glistening fruit, a menagerie of salads, sizzling hams, and all sorts of other masterfully-prepared foods are on this table. Rhea and the kitchen staff went all out for the occasion.
Somewhat informal in style, you need to serve yourself at this feast. After heaping your plate with food, you find your way to one of the tables. The room quickly fills with the sound of conversation, silverware on china, and distant rain and thunder. The feast is rather somber; even the laughter that rang out occasionally seemed reserved.
After everyone has filled their stomachs with delicous food, Rhea, wearing a black dress, climbs atop her chair and gently strikes a crystal goblet with her spoon. The crystalline ring cuts through the conversations throughout the room, and within seconds, they only sound to be heard was the furious staccato of rain pelting on the roof overhead. All eyes turn to her, and seeing that everyone's attention is on her, she begins to speak.
"Thank you all for taking time to be here to celebrate Lady Aoelwyn Grymhart's passing. Her death took us all by surprise, but she would have wanted us to stay happy and not focus on mourning. After all, one of her favorite sayings was 'Choose to be happy. Your happiness isn't determined by what happens to you during life, but what you choose to focus on during life.'"
She pauses a moment to skillfully use a handkerchief dab away an errant tear that managed to escape her eye before continuing. "That being said, she was always straightforward and to-the-point, so to honor her, we'll dive right into business."
"First order of business is the topic of her burial. Tomorrow morning when the sun rises, she will be burried in the graveyard at the Sanctuary in Leafbrook. It will be a short ceremony. Secondly, for any workers that wish to stay on, it has been arranged for you to recieve 500 gold for each year you stay on, for a maximum of ten years." This draws shocked gasps and bewildered whispers amongst the crowd. That was quite the generous amount to pay workers such as they. As the whispers begin to die down, she continues, "Furthermore, Aoewlyn has granted me the deed to Grymhearth and its property, and I intend to keep running it as an orphanage and shelter for all that need it. All of her children are to receive a sum of 2,500 gold to spend as they see fit. Finally, for her oldest six children: Jared, Aoufie, Akyan, Kora, Anthony, and Zathon," she looks at each of you individually as she says your name, "Aoelwyn leaves behind some final advice. 'Look to the sun for guidance; perhaps it can shed some light on your situation.' " She looks around at the sea of sparkling eyes around the room, smiling warmly at each of you as anothe tears slips unbidden down her face.
"May we all honor her memory this day." Raises her goblet filled with a clear liquid above her head in a toast. "For Aoelwyn!"
Throughout the room, people follow her toast by raising their goblet and reverently saying, "For Aoelwyn," before taking a deep drink from their cup. Almost as soon as the toast is over, an excited buzzing fills the air as people begin jabbering at each other about what was just said by Rhea.
DM- Azalin's Doom
DM- Surviving the Unsurvivable
Anthony holds a glass of water up to toast, but he's distracted, on edge. Some odd juxtapositions of imagery and turns of phrase. He wasn't normally one to read too much into that sort of thing, not being suspicious my nature. But being out of his element combined with no one seeming to take the danger of remaining here seriously, it all combined to have him watching people, especially Rhea, more closely than he otherwise might.
And a riddle on top of it. Follow the sun.. Like one of the solar gods? There were plenty of those. Light in general against undead. Or had she left a clue behind in the house for them. He shook his head, this was for smarter people than him, that's for sure.
It was difficult to put his finger on it, but something seemed off. He had the feeling of having been herded into a pen. No one thing seemed out of place, but on the whole, everything felt surreal.
insight 9; perception 13
Kora grins as Jared addresses her. "Pudge? man... I haven't heard that one well.. since the last time I saw you."
Kora follows the rest into the living room with Tom and finds a decently comfortable place to sit, brushing herself off a bit more before sitting. She lets the others start in on their questions, unsure if she wants to tell him what she overheard in the diner. As talk shifts to the mists, her ears perk up but then is a disconcerted to see Tom's visceral reaction to the topic.
Before dinner, she wanders the house, not really engaging in conversation with anyone unless cornered, letting the memories rush back to her. Looking out the window, she hopes this storm isn't going to last forever. She aches to run outside and check out the land to see how it has changed.
Kora enjoys the dinner as much as she can, mainly listening to others rather then leading conversations. As Rhea gives her speech, she's happy to hear that the halfling will take ownership of estate and continue the work of Aeolwyn. But as she gives the hint to them, she wonders aloud, "Would this be as literal as checking the ceiling in the living room? Or there was the sun on Tom's medallion, but I don't think he wants us following him."
Akyan raises the toast, but like Anthony. He is also on edge. Even more so than usual and seeing Anthony, who is usually pretty laid back, on edge only heightens that feeling. While Rhea isn't the one he's the most suspicious of, he does be sure to watch everyone in the room. With all the workers around, it seems odd that absolutely no one saw anything suspicious before Aoelwyn's death.
Insight: 4
Perception: 7
He glances at Kora when she speaks up. "The living room was what I was thinking." He replies. Though he is still clearly distracted. They are burying her tomorrow morning as soon as the sun rises. That doesn't give them much time...as much as he dreads the idea, he feels like they need to see her before the ceremony. Not to mention seeing her body would give him closure, a privilege he hadn't had with his brother....though that could wait until the ceremony.
He nods absentmindedly to their comments. "A painting, a book, a rug... something like that? A room that faces east if she was being especially vague. Her private quarters maybe."
Zathon spent a lot of time with Aoelwyn, effectively her shadow when he first arrived here as he wasn't sure how to interact with others yet and she was the only one he rightly trusted, so he's going to trust her now, even if he doesn't quite grasp the meaning of her parting words to them all. That being thought, something has gone wrong here and he still isn't sure what exactly.
Perception: 6
Insight: 15
"That is as good a lead as any right now."
Look to the sun for guidance. Aoufie mulls these words in his mind as they could mean anything. He expected Rhea to take the reins, but the very generous divvying of gold seems out of place. I am sure the workers would have stayed on if they were continued to pay their current wages and should she not keep some for a rainy day.
He is used to doubting people as he maneuvered himself among the nobles of Neverwinter and examines everyone's body language for any signs of deceit. Outwardly he drinks from his cup with a neutral expression.
Insight
8
Perception
9
Jared smiles and nods at Kora's remarks but says nothing.
His mind is on Tom and what he is not telling everyone.
After Rhea's statement at the end of the feast, Jared sits and ponders over Mum's last words. Not a great thinker, it will take him a while to process and decide what their meaning is for him.
He hates these grand gatherings, especially ones with some significance. This is Mum's wake and to his mind folks should be more somber about the passing of someone who touched so many lives. But, he learned long ago how he sees things is definitely not the way the others do. So he will sit quietly and reminisce on his early life and his days as one of Mum's children.
By paying attention to the environment of room and conversations around you, you all notice a few things.
-As Rhea takes her seat, she suddenly seems exhausted. She's been doing a lot recently, and she's been under a lot of pressure. You can tell she's looking forward to when this is all over.
-The workers are very surprised about the pay raise. While they were being paid well before, they were not expecting this. You guess this shows that Aoelwyn had accumulated a lot more wealth than you originally thought. They still are saddened by the situation by which the raise came, but they're happy about it none the less.
-The children are being children. Not quite understanding all that is going on, they are getting pretty antsy with all they sitting they've been doing.
-A few extra workers start cleaning up now that the feast is nearing the end. They begin clearing the food off serving table and disappear with it into the kitchen.
In addition, Zathon notices the following:
Zathon has been quite put off by the whole situation ever since he arrived at Grymhearth. Everyone and everything had seemed normal for the most part, but he just couldn't get over the fact that nobody here really seemed put off by the malfunctioning monoliths or the fact that someone literally died due to unknown causes just outside the house. He's had a long few hours to mull over it before dinner, and he doesn't really make any headway until now.
As he is watching the mannerisms of the people around him, from his current vantage point, he notices that nearly everyone in room twitches ever so slightly. It's barely noticeable, and everyone continues on like nothing happened. He notices after the synchronized spasm, several of the workers helping clear up look slightly off. Maybe their faces are a little too blank or their eyes a bit too glassy, but something is off. He watches them as they silently take platters of food through the kitchen doors, their gait a little too mechanical for your liking.
DM- Azalin's Doom
DM- Surviving the Unsurvivable
As dinner starts being cleared, Anthony, seeing nothing that bears out his discomfort, stands to help,with a slight shake of his head and mumbling to himself as he does. "Celebrate her passing?" Not celebrate her life or mourn her passing. Probably just nerves or a halfling thing, Anthony. She's got a lot on her shoulders. True as his those words to reassure himself were, they didn't help him shake the nerves.
As he watches everyone in the hall with a far away look, a dreadful feeling swirls in is his body. The strange visitors, the raven, the mists, the monoliths, and now the off demeanor of the workers... something is very wrong here and he fears none of them are safe. Could it be mind control of a sort? Or they've been replaced? In an odd turn he wishes he could access his abilities, even the odd feeling in his head is better than being left in the dark. He helps clean up, trying to garner any other strange behavior of the staff. He makes an attempt to grasp for the powers of his oath, even if it is for nothing. Then he will join his siblings in the living room to look at the sun.
_____________
Trying to do divine sense, if the monoliths allow.
The only sun I saw was Tom's amulet. It looks like I will have to ask him those hard questions after all. First, I should confer with my siblings. Seeing nothing out of place he helps clear the dishes and waits for the others in the living room.
Aoufie will wait till they are alone, and the children have gone to bed. "There is only one Sun I saw, and Kora mentioned it as well. Tom's amulet. Shall we find him again and question him further. I know it brings back nightmarish memories for him or we can check Aunty Grym's room. Unless someone has some other idea what the sun in her last message meant"
Later, returning back to the group after some basic pleasantries with the staff while helping to clean up dinner, Anthony shrugs at Aoufie's question. "We haven't really looked around much to be fair, and he's been spooked pretty bad. We also don't know what to ask except the same questions he already said he can't answer." She'd said follow the sun though, not talk to it, and he be might just be freaked out enough to run. "Maybe someone can tail him, and chat him up if there's an opportunity. Rest of us can give a careful look around the rest of the house, especially her private rooms. See if they'll let us view the body." Something told him excuses would be made in that regard, but they should ask all the same.
"Was there not a sun painted in the living room? Although I'm sure Tom does have more information but the man seemed terrified, he likely has good reason if the mist is as dangerous as he thinks. Which at this point, I wouldn't discount."
Hearing Anthony's compassionate statement towards Tom, Jared walks out of the room. He means to find Tom and get the answers Tom was too scared to tell them.
As the others help clean up or leave the dining hall, Kora finds Rhea and decides to have a little chat.
"I haven't had a chance to say hi since I've arrived, I can see why, this was quite an affair you put on. Aeolwyn would have been proud of you and your speech." She smiles at the halfling woman. She was as almost close to Rhea as she had been with Aeolwyn when she lived here, even if it wasn't as close as most that lived in the house. It was what she knew at the time.
"I'm sure you know we all have questions, we would love to hear any thoughts you have on the matter when you're up to it? I do have one that is really tearing at me if you don't mind? I know you have a bit of magic.." she smirks at her a little as she says this, "probably more than you ever let on.. but when I crossed into Grymhearth, past those stones that surround the place... it was like something was ripped from my core.. I can't explain it, do you have any idea what I'm talking about?"
Anthony suspects Jared isn't going to get anything useful out of bullying an old man besides chasing him off for good, but he leaves it to someone else to intervene and focuses something he considers more useful, looking for solar imagery around the house. Strained glass windows, paintings. But first, he starts with the one they know is there. The living room as others suggested.
Well past pretending things aren't strange, he hauls something over to stand on to get a good look. If anyone follows, he suggests, "Want to give me a hand up here. I'm not sure what I'm looking for."
perception 5
Zathon is of similar mind to Anthony, following him to the living room. "We're looking for sun stuff, she wasn't specific, Anthony."
He takes a good look around in any case.
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Perception: 21
Akyan doubts Tom's amulet is the answer to Aoelwyn's last words. It just doesn't make sense for her to place something like her last wishes on another person's belongings. Right now, the main thing he's thinking about is the sun on the living room ceiling.
Following Anthony and Zathon into the room, he walks around eyeing the carving. He's looking for any inconsistencies or blemishes that could hint at some kind of hidden compartment, or any kind of pattern that could be writing.