Around mid-day...

The Village of Ravengro

Kendra has been asked to visit with Councilor Hearthmount in an attempt to seek the support of the town authorities. Many of the common folk in the village seem suspicious of the newcomers, but the hope is to alleviate concerns among the council members and open up further avenues of investigation. Meanwhile, Wilhem will post his correspondence to the Order of the Dragon in Vigil letting them know of the possible dire circumstances in Ravengro.

Valamir heals himself (using inflict light wounds) and accompanies Tatyanza to the Temple of Pharasma. Their purpose is to make another attempt to access the archives and also gain permission to investigate the crypt mentioned in the Professor's journal. Zooglub and Yala remain at Lorrimor Manor to continue their research.

Tatyanza tries to gain the priests' trust while Valamir assists her (Diplomacy check = 16 with assist), but they still not permit access to the records within the temple. When she mentions the hidden cache, the priests are skeptical, but admit that it is possible that a previous hierarchy may have secreted away certain resources in an inconspicuous place. There is no record of such a cache, however. When Tatyanza requests permission to search for it, the priests forbid her (Diplomacy = 15). She and Valamir leave the Temple empty handed.

Kendra has much more luck in speaking with Hearthmount (Diplomacy = 20). The councilman is well-respected in the town and always had a positive opinion of the Professor. Though he offers Kendra his support to broaden their investigations, he warns her to tread carefully. His voice only can carry so much weight in Ravengro -- particularly in light if recent disturbing events. He advises her to gain the other council members support as well before proceeding too far. She meets with Wilhem after he has posted his letter to report her progress. The knight offers to accompany her as she visits with the other members of the town council.

Frustrated, but undeterred, Tatyanza suggests that she and Valamir try the town hall to see if they can get better results. Unfortunately, they meet with the same reaction (Diplomacy = 15). The villagers are clearly nervous about outsiders and have been made even more uncomfortable after the Harrowstone Memorial was desecrated.

Kendra & Wilhem visit Gharen Muricar next as he attended the Professor's funeral and has a good relationship with Kendra. Wilhem lets him know about the possible danger facing Ravengro, but that he and his companions need more information to confront it adequately. Much to Kendra's surprise, Councilman Muricar is polite, but ultimately unsupportive. "The people here are frightened, Kendra... the last thing they need are strangers coming here and stirring things up."

When they visit Mirta Straelock, however, she eagerly gives her full support (Diplomacy = 28 with assist). As a woman born in Ravengro and the most public face of the council, gaining her trust is a major victory. Wilhem gives her his thanks and asks if she can help them access the records within the Temple of Pharasma. Mirta assures him that she will do all she can. "I've lived here all my life, and the people here are good-hearted folk... they just remember stories of times when things were not so peaceful here. But to maintain peace, often one cannot sit and simply hope things stay the same... for they never will."

Afterwards, they visit Shanda Faravan, the last member of the village council. She also strongly commits her support (Diplomacy = 26). She has a sinking feeling that all is not right in Ravengro and that things will get worse before they get better. She is convinced that the bloody letter on Hawkran's statue is not the end of the strange occurrences. She hopes that the Wilhem and the other visitors can solve these problems before they grow out of control.

The companions meet at Lorrimor Manor as suppertime approaches. Tatyanza & Valamir express their disappointment, while Wilhem reports the success he & Kendra had with the council members. Kendra also suggests that the group attempt to research at The Unfurling Scroll, "though it may cost a coin or several." The place is a small academy and has a respectable library. Yala says that she & Zooglub found quite a bit of information on The Whispering Way in the Professor's collection, but they didn't learn anything that the group did not already suspect.

As Kendra begins to prepare that evening's repast, the others gather in the parlor around the Professor's chest to discuss what path to take next. Everyone agrees that they should pool their money and visit the academy on the morrow. Where diplomacy has failed elsewhere in town, perhaps gold would serve better. Zooglub and Yala believe that the false crypt should be investigated, and on this very night. The others vehemently disagree.

Wilhem says, "while that is something we need to pursue at some point, to risk being seen skulking in the Restlands after dark will undo all the progress we've made thus far. We need to gain the priests' trust first. We may find something useful at the academy, and then we must depend on the council members we've won to our cause. Knowledge is still our priority. Though I would feel better prepared to acquire whatever we can find there before returning to the prison."

Kendra prepares a simple but delicious meal, and the companions make final plans for the next day. Valamir & Tatyanza will attempt to gain use of the libraries at The Unfurling Scroll (and will have the coin on hand in case it is needed). Wilhem & Kendra will visit the temple armed with the enthusiastic support they gained from council members Straelock and Faravan. Hopefully, they can gain permission to access the archives and even visit the crypt. While Zooglub is content to continue his studies (it isn't often he has such interesting reading so readily available), Yala is upset with being "swept under the rug." Before any can stop her, she excuses herself graciously from the table, and leaves the house. Before slamming the door, she can be heard to say, "I'm going out for a drink."

Wilhem sighs and rises to follow her. The others volunteer to help, but the knight says, "no, please, sit. Hearthmount asked that we all remain here until further notice. We've already stretched that edict much more than we should have during our investigations. The fewer of us wandering about after nightfall the better."

The knight follows Yala through town with her raven, Storm, visible flapping from rooftop to rooftop high above. The witch enters the local tavern -- cheerily named "The Laughing Demon" -- and she bellies up to the bar. It is not very busy. Since the disturbing events of the other night, most folk are content to stay home at night. But there are a handful of customers, and a small group of musicians playing a flute, fiddle, and mandolin near the fire. All of them give Yala a suspicious look. Used to such reactions, the witch ignores them and asks for a Liquid Ghost -- one of the tavern's specialty drinks. It is a sweet pale ale that seems to glow slightly green. She takes a sip, reaches into her purse, and pulls out a handful of gold coins which she stacks on the counter. She loudly sorts through them with her fingers so they make a pleasant sharp clinking that competes with the musicians. The barkeep (a warm, friendly fellow named Zokar, who was at the funeral) smiles and says, "is there anything else I can help you with, ma'am?"

Wilhem enters just as Yala turns to face the roomful of patrons gathered in the tavern. "Yes, you can help me... perhaps you all can." She briefly glances at Wilhem, but then continues with hardly a pause. "I am new to this town, and I am so interested in the great ruin on the hill to the south of here. Can anyone tell me something about it?"
One of the men seated by the window grumbles and says, "you're a friend of Petros Lorrimor. I saw you carrying his casket. He was interested in that old place, too. Best to leave such things alone, miss. Likely to end up like him."
"Is that a threat?" Yala replies coldly.
Wilhem interrupts, "no, of course not. It is simply a piece of friendly advice, isn't it, mister...?"
"My name ain't your business, sir knight, if you'll beg my pardon," the man snorts. "And neither is the old place up on the hill."
"A monument was defaced with blood not far from here," Yala says, as she turns back to her drink. "Finding who did it might be everyone's business, am I correct? I mean, unless that sort of thing is normal around here." The music stops suddenly. The man stands up from his chair.
"That is enough," Wilhem scolds her.
The barkeep chuckles and tries to calm everyone down, "ha-ha, mi'lady, there is no need for such a fuss. Surely you've heard stories about Harrowstone? It is an old prison that burned down many years ago. As you can certainly understand, tales about such a place can play on a person's mind over time, stir up their imagination. Well, over the years, lots of spooky things have been told about Harrowstone, and I guess the incident at the memorial just has the folk around here a bit nervous. It will pass, as all things do. But these days, most people don't enjoy speaking of things with such a grim reputation. That's all. Now, everyone, enjoy your drinks -- this round is on the house -- and please," he motions to the musicians by the crackling fire, "play on, play on!"

The tension dissipates somewhat, that is until the music starts up again. Suddenly, two large, black, flapping shapes fly out from the hearth and begin to dart about the room. They seem like moths or bats at first, though they are as big as housecats. A insectile buzzing accompanies them. One flies at the man by the window, while the other dives toward Zokar. Wilhem draws his sword and attacks the one nearest him, while Yala tries to protect the barkeep.

The knight thrusts at the buzzing horror and pins it to the wall with the point of his blade. The thing continues to flap about a bit, but soon dies. The other one attaches itself to Zokar like a flying leech, its many clawed legs gripping his flesh with terrible ferocity. The barkeep falls to the ground screaming and tries to swat at the creature. Yala leaps over the bar and then opens her mouth wide as if in a ear-piercing scream, but no sound seems to issue forth. The creature shudders as if in pain, but manages to hang on. It buries a long proboscis into Zokar's neck. As Wilhem races across the room to help, Yala reaches down and yanks the thing off impaled on the point of her dagger. It convulses on the floor for a bit, but is soon still.

The witch treats Zokar's wound, and except for the shock of the ordeal, he seems that he will pull through fine. Yala says that the creatures were stirges. "They sometimes dwell in dark woods or underground. Rarely to they enter civilized areas for feeding. Have you seen those things in town before?" People around the tavern shake their heads, horrified.

When things have calmed down a bit, and Zokar is back on his feet, the two adventurers take their leave (Yala leaves 5 gold coins for all the trouble). They soon return to Lorrimor Manor to report what they have encountered.

DM Notes:

XP = 200 each for Wilhem & Yala.

Wilhem rolls two consecutive natural 20's for Diplomacy. Yala got a 23 on Knowledge (Arcana).

Going directly to the council is beyond the scope of the written module, but since they weren't getting the rolls they needed to move the story forward, I figured the PC's needed to seek out methods to getting more rolls. This presented some excellent role-playing opportunities (and produced some much better rolls).