Yam starts by checking the perimeter of the room, randomly pulling out books and sconces to check for hidden door triggers as he's heard eccentric rich people love those kinds of things and The Professor fit the profile perfectly. He checks under the desk and in the drawers for hidden compartments or just items of interest concealed within the drawers. He looks under the rug for a trapdoor or loose floorboards.

Investigation: 14

Once he's satisfied, he'll settle in and find a few tomes that seem like they were recently handled which deal specifically with cults, seeing as it might be pertinent. He'll sit at the desk and start reading.

Religion: 13

"Sorry, I am not good at the actual learning of stuff..."  Telantha says as she looks at the daunting amount of material in the study.  "I was more just hoping to get to snoop around and see if I could find any secret hideyholes and such..."

She would look around the room, trying to see if there were any hidden places in the area.

Perception: 21

(Telantha is not proficient in any knowledge-based skills, nor investigation.)

Second roll for advantage:

Religion: 13

Eks

Hearing that there were tomes on monsters, Eks takes the opportunity to learn more about potential foes.

Following Yam and Telantha to the study, he searches the room for books about undead or fiends.

Arcana 13

Weird...that is a whole lot of 8s.  

Yam: You get the feeling that you are barely scratching the surface and you haven't really been able to find much more than what Applebough was already able to share with you.

In the hour that you spent you skimmed over three books that seemed hopeful but were only able to find out that "the Whispering Way is a sinister organization of necromancers that has been active in the Inner Sea region for thousands of years."  Something in you says there is more to learn about them in this library, but if there is you did not find it yet.

Eks: The breadth of information found in this library astounds you.  You end up picking up a primer on undead, and while it provides you with a lot of information that you are already aware or, it is interesting to see from an academic angle how undead are classified.

"The undead were once-living creatures that have been animated by spiritual or supernatural forces.  Undead are extremely resilient to a number of effects and substances that are normally harmful to the living.  Undead are categorized into three primary types: Skeletal - such as Skeletons, Fossils, and Liches; Corporeal - including Zombies, Mummies, Vampires, and many others; and Incorporeal.  Many layman think all incorporeal undead to be ghosts, but there are various kinds including Specters, Shadows, Wraiths and others that all have their own unique properties."

As with Yam, you feel you could learn more if you spent more time in this library, but for the time being that is what you have found.

Yam grimaces and slams the last book closed. "Well... That wasn't much help. Maybe we can while away some of our month here digging more but for now I'm bored and hungry. You two interested in some potentially terrible food and drink? Somewhere there's a demon laughing at our efforts and I plan to head down the road and laugh back."

After the group disperses, Dragutin will make his way back inside the manor, careful to knock the mud off his boots before crossing the threshold.  He will then seek out the Lady of the House.

"Miss Kendra, I'm afraid I have to take you up on your generosity.  Is there anything of dinner left, and is that room still available?"

Yam & Telantha: I forgot to give you guys the result of you searching the room...so a quick retcon before you head to the laughing demon.

Your search of the room does not turn up any hidden compartments, and for the most part you find the expected supplies in the desk.  About a half dozen sheets of parchment.  An inkwell and quill.  A stick of sealing wax and a simple seal with a stylized L in the design.  A quill knife. 

In one of the drawers you do find an item of curiosity.  A glass vial held within stylized cold-iron casing etched with strange runes, necromantic designs, or other eldritch markings. Within the vial roils a small wisp of white vapor, churning as if caught in a miniature vortex of air.  The vial is surprisingly heavy for something that fits in the palm of your hand, probably about a pound in weight.  It is a unique design that you haven't come across before.

(An identify spell or a DC 16 Arcana check will reveal what this item is and its purpose.  If the Arcana check fails you will not be able to make it again without doing research in a library that might shed some light on it.)

As you pick it up it does enter your mind that since it was not part of your bequest in the will, technically this would belong to Kendra.

"Thank you for you kindness Lady Kendra, I will certainly find a nice patch in your yard to take up residence later tonight. But first, I may do a bit of research on some of the goings on in this town though a bit of an alternative path. "

He bows slightly, excusing himself from the group.

As Applebough leaves the manor, he makes his way to the south end of town, towards the road leading to Harrowstone. He finds a secluded area, searching for creatures that might have wandered into town from the ruins. 

Investigation: 18

Yam turns the vial over and inspects it, wondering what its purpose could be. He scratches it, sniffs it, tastes it. Not knowing much about magic, barring some stroke of inspiration he might have to just ask Kendra if she knows anything about it.

Arcana: 20 (if Telantha's assistance would help/grant advantage: 9)

Yam:  You actually saw one of these depicted in a book just a moment ago...going back to the book and leafing through quickly you find the entry.

"A haunt is an area or item affected by unquiet spirits.  It is an area where the line between trap and undead creature blurs.  The exact conditions that cause a haunt to manifest vary from case to case—but haunts always arise from a source of terrific mental or physical anguish endured by living, tormented creatures. A single source of suffering can create multiple haunts, or multiple sources could consolidate into a single haunt. The relative power of the source has little bearing on the strength of the resulting haunt—it’s the magnitude of the suffering or despair that created the haunt that decides its power. Often, undead inhabit regions infested with haunts—it’s even possible for a person who dies to rise as a ghost (or other undead) and trigger the creation of numerous haunts. A haunt infuses a specific area, and often multiple haunted areas exist within a single structure. 

One tool used to destroy or temporarily disable haunts is a Haunt Siphon.  When activated in the area of an active haunt the siphon pulls away some of the necrotic energy giving the haunt its power.  Such siphons can capture the full essence of the haunt, becoming small grenades of necrotic energy in and of themselves..."

The book goes on to detail the effects of a Haunt Siphon, how it is used, and even discusses a little bit about how to create one, although the arcane formulas contained there in are well beyond your understanding.

*I have created a custom homebrew magic item called Haunt Siphon that you may add to your character sheet if you choose to pocket the device.  You may also want to take a look at Haunt Siphon - Charged as a reference point should you reduce a haunt to 0 hp with a Haunt Siphon*

Dragutin: Kendra is happy to have you join her at the table.  "The house seems so quiet now sometimes.  I am glad at least one of you agreed to stay here instead of at an inn."

For dinner she serves you a bowl of vegetable and barley soup.  "I hope you don't mind simple cooking.  I've never been much of a cook.  Honestly more often than not I go over to the tavern myself, but I felt like I wanted to stay in tonight."

The soup is warming and surprisingly hearty despite the absence of meat.  As you eat she makes polite conversation.  "So, how did you know my father?  I assume by your...appearance, that he helped you at one time try to understand yourself better?"

Applebough:  I need a d20 roll for you...response in a post in a moment.  11

Applebough: The night is quiet as you head out of town.  As you reach the converging fork at the south of the village you see Mirta Straelock entering a home to the east of the road (M2).  Apparently she lives here closest to the south end of town.  Heading further south in search of a clearing, you hear the clopping of horse hooves behind you and the creak of a wagon.  You step to one side of the road and look back, but the road behind you is empty.  You stand and stare for a moment...confused...convinced you had heard horses.  

As you go to step back into the road you notice wheel tracks, being freshly formed in the rain sodden road directly infront of you.  Based on their width and depth the tracks are made by a wagon or coach being drawn by a team of horses...as if some unseen spectral caravan was passing by in this very moment.  You blink in disbelief...uncertain what to do on the road by yourself, and as you lean forward to investigate the tracks further you find that they are gone.  Not gone on or passed, but gone all together; as if they were never there to begin with.

Uncertain how to respond to this fleet of fancy, you continue on your way, finding a quiet place away from the road after about a hundred more feet.  You stand quietly for a moment, waiting for nature to come to you.  The field is surprisingly bereft of life.  You sink your taproots in deeply into the soil to get a feel of the land...there is almost an adrenal feeling of flight permeating the soil and air.  Like the hint of a predator scent carried by a shifting wind.  You find no creatures of nature to converse with this night.

Bowser:  As you sit quietly nursing your ale and watching the herbalist in your periphery a pair of farmers enter the dining basement and sit down to play cards at a table near you.  From your vantage point you notice they are playing with a different kind of deck than normal, these are tarot cards that they are using to play a popular game called Towers.

As the pair play and drink you continue to sit and watch.  

Within about 5 minutes one of the pair seemingly has acquired a winning hand.  With a celebratory exclamation he lays down the cards infront of him, but as he does so the cards and the table suddenly burst alight in bright hot flame, flaring nearly 2 feet up towards the ceiling!  The sudden brightness in the otherwise darkened room causes you to squint.  (You need a fortitude save to avoid being temporarily blinded.  I will roll it and then continue this scene when I see the result.)

13

Bowser Continued:  The bright light blinds your eyes, and as your sight is taken from you you hear the faint muffled sounds of numerous people screaming.  It sounds like it is coming from underneath you, as if there was yet another basement under this one filled with people in anguish!

As your sight returns to you within a minute; the flare dies down as suddenly as it began leaving the cards and the table strangely unmarred.  But the smell of smoke lingers in the air still.  Unnerved by the eerie display, the music from the corner comes to a dismembered and halting stop as to a person all the patrons head nervously towards the exit.  As they leave they mutter about strange tidings; curses; and ghosts.

Dragutin is relatively quiet while he sits down for dinner.  Polite conversation was not a natural skill for him, and he was a guest here.  He is halfway through his bowl before he notes the absence of meat.  Having survived on small game and a generally carnivorous diet, the vegetables are almost a refreshing change for his palette.  When Kendra broaches the subject of his appearance, he sets his bowl down with a wry smile.

"Ah.  I had hoped to pass as normal, especially compared to the others, but you've a keen eye, Miss Kendra," he admits.  He sets his spoon down, and rolls up the left sleeve of his tunic.  Beneath the simple garmet, his skin is hardened in places, scarred in others.  Here and there, the hard epidermis of his skin is a deathly ivory color, similar in appearance and feel to bleached bone.

"When I was much younger, I was kidnapped, of a sort.  I'd rather not speak of the specifics, but when I came out on the other side, I had been altered.  Changed.  Not entirely for the worse, but it took me many years to come to terms with what had happened.  Your father helped me out of. . . a dark time.  Perhaps it was just academic interest, but he helped me nonetheless.  Almost as importantly, he taught me how to do research for myself.  I'm not much closer to knowing what I am now, but I'm nonetheless better off for knowing him."

He rolls the sleeve back down, and picks up his spoon again.  A simple, homecooked meal.  It did not remind him of a fond childhood, but it was comforting in a way that was rare to him.

"I must say, you're taking all of this rather well.  Us, I mean.  We're quite the bizarre assortment.  Can I assume your father encouraged your. . . openminded perspective?"

Telantha would return to the inn for the night.  She is planning on staying for the night she purchased already, then taking up the offer to stay at the house from then onward.

Bowser shakes his head. "That's enough drinking for tonight." He is going to watch each of the people leave the basement before he starts searching the floor for any loose bricks or any type of trap door.

Investigation - 7

On his way out, Yam stops by the dining room and pokes his head in. "Excuse me, Kendra, dear. I'm on my way out but I found this in your father's desk and was wondering if you knew anything about what his plans for it were? If it isn't otherwise earmarked for a specific use, would you mind if we took it with us? These kinds of things tend to be quite useful for the kind of work we have ahead of us."

Either way, Yam continues on to the Laughing Demon after this conversation.

Eks

Feeling not much more enlightened now than when he entered, Eks returns the tomes to their place and heads out of the house. "I'm heading to the Demon, if anyone cares to join. See if we can't find out more the old fashioned way" he says while wringing his fist in his other scaly palm. A grin forms at the corner of his mouth. Without waiting for an answer, he steps out into the night, raising his cloaks hood as he goes.