"Certainly unnatural..." Applebough opines to himself. He briefly takes in his surroundings before returning to Kendra's yard to retire for the evening.

Bowser:  As the room clears you begin searching for a way to inspect for another lower sub-basement.  The wood paneling that makes up the floor is fairly solid,  but you do manage to find some of the boards are more loose as you approach the fireplace against the far wall.  Regular expansion and contraction has caused more wear over time.  As you pull back on one likely board you manage to dislodge a section of the flooring.  The smell of smoke in the room increases and is also tinged by the smell of burning flesh, but all you reveal is a stone foundational footing underneath.  Unless there is a hidden doorway you are not seeing, it seems there is no subbasement to the Outward Inn.

As you begin replacing the section of flooring you removed, Sarianna comes into the room.  "What has cleared out my dining space right in the middle of rush?  People were shouting about a fire as they were running up the stairs.  I certainly smell smoke, but I don't see any signs of an inferno?"

Dragutin:  Kendra smiles and nods.  "My first and longest teacher growing up was my father.  Under his tutelage one of the prime lessons is evil is rarely obvious to the naked eye.  History lessons of dashing and handsome kings that were despots and tormentors.  Epic poems about the poor disfigured orphan that ultimately became the hero of the land.  Stories of his own travels and how some of the most beguiling figures he would encounter often had the most nefarious purposes.  Dark Fey, evil undead with an unnatural allure, fiends offering great riches and pleasures for the paltry cost of one's soul."

Her smile turns slightly sad in remembering her father, there is a fondness mixed with grief.  A sweet but bitter mixture.

"My father taught and I continue to hold to the lesson that you cannot judge by appearance, and must instead see character through the interpretation of action.  With my father to vouch for each of you I am content to watch for actions to interpret your characters."

With that Yam comes in and shows what he has found before excusing himself for the evening.  "I've not seen such a device before, but my father did teach me a spell for determine the purpose of unknown objects.  I can go get my materials and tell you of its specific use if you would like?  Without knowing what it does I could not speak to it being earmarked for anything in particular.  I have no objection to you using it if it would be useful to you."

Unexplained GM Roll: 1

Okay...wasn't expecting a natural 1 on that.  Definitely pings Applebough's passive perception then.

Applebough:  As you turn and head back to Kendra's for a night's rest in her yard, your eye catches the glint of light in the distance.  You are at the forking of the road at the south of town, near the posting poles (B) and near Councilwoman Straelock's home M2.  The light came from the west, across a field of wheat to a farmhouse in the distance.  The momentary light is gone now, but it was too white to be from a flame.  It was almost like the glint of moonlight off of a metal blade.  You look up to survey the sky and the clouds have indeed parted in some areas to let faint peaks of the moon come through here and there.  Perhaps it was just a piece of farm equipment that someone left out in the field?

Bowser turns to Sarianna. "There was something but only for a moment. If there was a fire, it might be underneath the building, but I didn't find anything."

"Underneath the building?  There is nothing underneath the building.  This is the basement."

She looks around, trying to determine the source of the commotion, but isn't able to find anything.  

Seeing the glint out of the corner of his eye, Applebough's curiosity gets the best of him and he diverts west to investigate the flash, approaching cautiously, not wanting to get too close.

Rolls if needed: 

More unexplained GM Rolls:

20

2

Applebough: Dipping down low you insinuate yourself into the wheat field on the south side of the road heading west.  Creeping along you come to the end of the field to see a ramshackle looking farmhouse with a barn in the back (Q).  The night is quiet and the home is dark.  Perhaps the resident is not currently at home...or they have gone to an early bed?  (It would be about 8pm in the realworld).  

Squatting quietly at the edge of the field for a moment scanning over the homestead you see no sign of the glint of light that caught your attention from the previous forking; or anyone out and about.  You are about 300' closer now than you were then.  Maybe before was just a trick of your imagination?  It has been an evening for strange occurrences already.

Applebough shake his head, Perhaps just a trick of the light? He makes a mental note of the location of the farm before returning to Kendra's yard.

Dragutin listens as Kendra explains some more of her history, and of the Professor's.  After Yam departs, he continues.

"Well-traveled and wise as the Professor is, why did the two of you put down roots here in Ravengro?  Surely there are better towns and cities with a more enlightened population, that would be more amenable to leaving you in peace?"

He glances down.  Only broth left in the bowl now.  Awkwardly, he begins spooning it out and drinking it, one spoonful at a time..

Quote from Bounces >>

 

With that Yam comes in and shows what he has found before excusing himself for the evening.  "I've not seen such a device before, but my father did teach me a spell for determine the purpose of unknown objects.  I can go get my materials and tell you of its specific use if you would like?  Without knowing what it does I could not speak to it being earmarked for anything in particular.  I have no objection to you using it if it would be useful to you."

"I *am* passingly familiar with such vile phials so I'm not sure if spells from the 'determination' school of magics (I've tried to pick up a bit of the hocus pocus mumbo jumbo over the years) would tell me much beyond what I already know. But I'm quite appreciative of the offer! Besides, I wouldn't want to interrupt your meal any more than I have already. But if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to hang on to this one for a while as I have a sneaking suspicion it will come in handy when we start poking around out there." He tucks the haunt siphon into a pocket in his bandolier unless Kendra objects. "Dragutin, if you're going to be spending some time here, you might want to poke around the library as well. I know there must be more to this puzzle of The Professor's than we've been able to glean so far and something tells me you have a creepily unsettling knack for the...well...creepy and unsettling."

With that, Yam bids them a good evening and sees himself out to head over to the Laughing Demon.

Bowser is going to walk upstairs and go to bed.

As Bowser walks by the table where the fateful game had been played, he notices the cards are still on the table, strangely unmarred by the flare of flames.  Sitting at the top of the fanned out winning hand is the Tower Card, with The Hanged Man and the Judgement Cards directly below them.  In the game of Towers it is a hand known alternatingly as "Justice for the Wicked" or "Justice to the Wicked" ; it is one of the highest scoring hands in the game.

The opposing hand has only one card of any points value, Death.

Dragutin:  Seeing her guest spooning bits of broth, Kendra starts.  "Goodness, I am so sorry, I didn't realize...there is more of course if you would like it."  Without awaiting a reply she takes his bowl from him and quickly but elegantly walks into the kitchen that adjoins the dinning room.  She calls back from there.  "My father was well known in Lepidstadt and the surrounding areas.  In fact, to hear him tell it his name was had for good and evil as far as Osirion and even across the seas to Hermea, though somehow I doubt even he was that widely traveled."

She returns to the room with another bowl of steaming soup and a pitcher of water that she sets on the table to refill glasses from.  "When he retired, what he wanted most was anonymity and privacy.  Add to that the opportunity to study the reports of hauntings at Harrowstone and how that study could help prevent the creation of undead elsewhere and Ravengro seemed the perfect community for him to buy a home in.  I sometimes blamed him for bringing me to such a provincial kind of living, how much nicer it would be to live in the big city where there is culture and company.  But now that the decision of where to be is my own, I find myself wishing I could hear his council on whether to stay or leave."

Dragutin smiles again when the bowl is set down.  He was hungry, still, but he was a guest nonetheless.  He measures himself a little bit more with this bowl, not wanting to appear hungry still at the end of this one .

"I don't know him as well as you did, of course.  But he seemed the type to know that people walk their own paths.  Once we complete this favor for him, I imagine he'd want you to live your own life."

He takes a long draught of water, pausing in the middle of the sentiment.  

"But I would hope that once his books are gone and we move on, things would quiet down around here."

A smile plays across her lips as she takes a sip of her own water.  "That, is exactly what I fear most.  Quiet and uneventful.  Its very near to torture.  Perhaps once everything is settled I will travel with you all to Lepidstadt.  It would be nice to see the big city again.  And it being so far away would hardly be a concern if I was travelling in a well armed and prepared troop."

"Lepidstadt, huh?"

He had never been, but a big city would be a nice place to live if he could afford it someday. At the least, maybe he could find somebody who could help him cope better with his nature. Another professor of sorts.  Maybe Harrowstone would contain some wealth he could scavenge when they checked it out. . . 

"I would be happy to accompany you. But that's a month away. Plenty of time to think on it."

His bowl and glass are now empty, and his stomach more full than usual. He stands, rubs the back of his neck.

"It's early but I think the others will be up and at it early tomorrow. Where can I find that bed, and your father's study?  I would like to look around a little before I turn in."

Bowser glances back at the cards for one moment, wondering their meaning, particularly Death. He wasn't much of a fortune person, but did believe in omens. He continued toward his room, hoping a night of sleep would help all of this make sense in the morning.