(Ready!)

((Are you interested in progressing if we only have 3? This is end of semester crunch time for me, so I likely won't be caught up until next week some time and able to dive into your back log here. So gives the others a bit more time to re-emerge.))

((I'm ready too, won't be on much but I'll post when I can!))

((Just to not keep you fine folks in the dark after getting your hopes up... Semester ends the 30th with the final, have stuff that needs to be finished before then, but hoping to be able to wrap that up in the next few days and be able to pick this up by Weds or Thurs. If things run away from me, may not be until the 1st.))

((Final was yesterday, still catching up on a few things, but I'll start reading over the thread this weekend and hope to get a post up for you all soon!))

The door has a simple looking latch with a padlock passed through the loop.

What is the door made of? Is it made of wood?

Yes wooden, but newer, and seemingly well made.

(Hey guys, sorry for being gone so long. I'm happy to see Spiderwrangler picked up the game since my absence. Now that I'm back, would you be guys be alright if we continued the story?) 

((Yes. Fine by me))

(OOC: Yep!)

(Indeed.)

@Slurb

As Slurb examines the safe, the golden sigil begins to glow a little. The steel safe, already quite sturdy, seems impossibly dense and would require quite a lot of strength to break open. As for the lock itself, it's almost as if the mechanisms and gears inside it are turning and changing, making it a challenging lock for even a master lockpicker. What could possibly be inside that requires so much security? 

Nonetheless, if he or anyone else in the party wants to try to open it, make either a Athletics or Thieves Tool check. 

Vadania crashes open the hut's simple wooden door. Inside is a small desk containing stacks and stacks of papers- journals, drawings, and lists of a scientific nature. 

Investigation check to examine the papers. 

Vadania steps back from where the door used to be, brushing the wood dust off the blade of her oversized logging axe with the side of her furry hand. She was not very smart when it came academic things since most of her childhood was spent battling with her lycanthropy. She decides to stay out of the way of those better suited to studying the papers inside the hut and just stand outside to make sure nothing sneaks up on the party while they investigate the premises.

Limine follows Vadania into the hut. When the other one leaves the hut, she takes a closer look at the papers. 'Help me', she thinks, 'these may hold information that could interest you.'

Investigation: 19. (I can't see Limine's sheet at the moment, so I'm not sure whether she has proficiency in Investigation or not. I doubt she does, so I didn't add it. If she does, that would be +2 to the roll.)

Sulskan follows Vadania and Limine into the hut, trying to help Limine sort through the papers. However, he quickly realizes that she has the papers under control, so he looks around the hut for when it looks to have been most recently inhabited.

Investigation: 18

The whispers in her ears intensify as Limine reaches for the papers, beckoning her dig for whatever perverse knowledge they may contain. They first date back to seven months ago, where their author began research into resurrection of the dead. 

"The field of arcane study of this topic is already quite well-trodden. There are several tried-and true methods where a humanoid cadaver can be reanimated without a semblance of personality and free will, puppets of their conjurer. But my ambitions run far deeper than my master could ever know."

After rejecting such arcane methods, the author began a frantic study into the nature of death and life, seeking more methods for overcoming the vast abyss. 

Several chemical solutions are proving to be effective in exciting the electrical nervous system of the human body. Preliminary tests on animals have shown much promise, though it has presented the unfortunate issue of the storage of prodigious amounts of carrion. Perhaps a relocation is necessary

In the following diagrams of dissected human bodies, the author appears to be grave-digging for fresh cadavers for experimentation. However, the results seemed disappointing, as even the slightest decomposition proved the resurrection serum ineffective. A new solution was necessary. 

The serum works! All that remains is a vessel fresh enough to hold it. The Rutherford family shall provide. Though master wishes for me to focus on the child, I find great promise in the father...

Limine notices that the page containing the actual formula for the serum is ripped out. Still, several clues in the journals reveal the author to be a junior doctor at the Sanitarium in Trishdale, evidenced by several disparaging remarks regarding the professionalism of the head doctor Swanson. 

Sulskan would see that from the fresh coals in the fireplace, to the recently disturbed dust on the chair, whoever inhabits this small hut had been here very recently. 

Limine reads the papers, taking the knowledge in and trying to make sense of it. Eventually, she summerizes for the others. "From what I can understand, one of the newer doctors in the sanitarium had tried to find a way to bring back the dead. I'm... not exactly sure, but he stated being interested of Rutherford as a test subject. My hypothesis is that he..." she gulps, the idea was cruel. Limine may have had little concerns for others if they didn't benefit her, but she wasn't evil. She didn't think of herself so, at least. This... just cruel. "He may have killes Rutherford, just to bring him back. If that creature really was the farmer, we can conclude that the experiment did not succeed, right? We might want to investigate the doctors in the sanitarium next. Although... umm... one of them doesn't like me much already."

Vadania pulls up her hood and wears the mask again, appearing similar to a slightly off-shaped goliath. She admits, "My understanding of such necromancy is limited. However breaking up a family for the sake of experimentation is unforgivable." She asks, "If we drop these files off with the guards, would it nudge them to storm the sanitarium and apprehend whoever is responsible for all this?"

Sulskan looks over Limine's shoulder at the papers that she was reading, "I agree that it is wrong to let this injustice go unpunished. Stealing someone away from their family for such an experiment is tragic." He pauses for a moment and he glares off into the distance, before continuing, "Regardless, I think we might be able to track whoever was here. It looks like they didn't leave until recently, so we might even find fresh tracks." Now grinning, he adds, "However, I have no problem handing it off to the guard. In fact, I think they might be better at solving this than we would." As he says this, he winces as his grin shifts to a frown and he turns around and walks back outside muttering, "Ow! Ow! OW!"

(Spoiler is for DM regarding what is happening in Sulskan's mind)