A
very short summary of what we know so far.
Since last time relatively little has changed. We are still in the dark about the whole Whispering Way deal, still we don't know anything substantial about the Harrowstone prison, we don't know anything about the prisoners. I blame 'dem rolls.
We do have the new set of questions, however. Firstly, who was the mysterious individual who has set stirges on us. My bet is it was some agent of the Whispering Way using some magical trick or device to lure the bloodsuckers to us. From OOC knowledge we could assume it was the shopkeeper-wizard, but it's just a conjecture that our characters have no way of knowing, and it might as well prove completely wrong lead.
Secondly, there's the matter of the madman scribbling some letters on the Harrowstone memorial. Exactly to what end did he do that, we have no idea... yet, From his words:
: You shall not prevent our escape! The woman will die again!
we can infer the following: we are dealing with multiple spectral undead with ability to possess human beings. From this update we know that:
Originally, Harrowstone housed only local criminals, but as the prison’s fame spread, other counties and distant lands began paying to have more 16 dangerous criminals housed within this prison’s walls. At the time of the great Harrowstone Fire, the number of particularly violent or dangerous criminals imprisoned within the dungeons below was at an all-time high.
So we can assume those ghosts or whatever they are the spirits of the prisoners, somehow magically bound to the ruined jail. What deserves particular attention is who bound them, or rather, who plays some part in locking them for good. Again:
: You shall not prevent our escape!
The woman will die again!
Who on earth is that woman that evil being was talking about? This is a far-fetched guess but so far we know of only one woman that might have been in the prison:
Harrowstone is a ruined prison— partially destroyed by a fire in 4661, the building has stood vacant ever since. The locals suspect that it’s haunted, and don’t enjoy speaking of the place.
Harrowstone was built in 4594. Ravengro was founded at the same time as a place where guards and their families could live and that would produce food and other supplies used by the prison. The fire that killed all of the prisoners and most of the guards destroyed a large portion of the prison’s underground eastern wing, but left most of the stone structure above relatively intact.
The prison’s warden perished in the fire, along with his wife, although no one knows why she was in the prison when the fire occurred. A statue commemorating the warden and the guards who lost their lives was built in the months after the tragedy—that statue still stands on the riverbank just outside of town.
There you go, mates. We have practically no tangible proof that the woman in question was the warden’s wife, but then again common sense dictates that it couldn’t have been anyone other than her.
Let’s try to infer what might have happened. One day the fire broke out in Harrowstone prison. Whether it was caused by accident or due to prisoners’ rebellion (more likely) is insignificant for now. In the ensuing commotion the prisoners tried to escape, but someone - a woman - prevented them. This is purely OOC but probably she sacrificed herself in the process - as far a real world folklore and ghost stories (aka. narrativium) go only such act could have ramifications in another life. Now she is the only thing that stops the ghosts of prisoners from… running away?
Anyway, if what I wrote there is remotely true then, lads we’ve got to make haste. Why, you ask? Because Grotak happened to ask the right question:
so which were the letters we got now btw?
you got the letters 'V', 'E' and 'S'
This coupled with…
The woman will die again!
… leads me to believe the clock is ticking. This was some kind of ritual to “kill” the spirit of a woman. If the scribble was complete the wrights will be let lose. In other words, if we dawdle too long the shit is bound to hit the fan. Somehow I don’t believe arresting Gibbs helped much to remedy this situation. The specter can always possess someone else.
And yet we have still a lot to learn… For one thing what is the nature of the ritual performed by those spirits? Who was the woman who the ghosts want to “kill” (was it really the warden’s wife)? Who is the mysterious stirge attacker? How Gibbs came in contact with the evil wright who possessed him? Plus, all the questions from the first paragraph of this writeup.
What we should do now? As much as I would like to go head on to the prison, there’s still stuff that needs finishing. First and foremost, we need to question Gibbs. He may point us somehow to the source of all this mess, or at least give us a lead about the nature of the spectre that possessed him. That won’t be easy considering that we have to go past the sheriff, who’d be unwilling to allow strangers pester his prisoner. Father Grimburrow could offer some help here, if we approached him nicely. Plus, if the man were still possessed he could aid us in determining what the hell this spectre is.
Secondly, there’s the list of prisoners. My guess is, once we obtain it we will know a lot about the ghost we are dealing with. Another lead is the woman - what she did and how we may help (?) her… with whatever she is doing. Then there’s the issue of the ritual Gibbs performed. Come to think of it, it may be worth questioning him about it. We may also find some clues in the temple library.
Thirdly, there’s that shady merchant Edgar kind of unmasked. This is just a hunch but he may be responsible for that stirge attack on us. We should investigate him carefully, perhaps even shadow him. That would be an ideal job for Ulzir.
My plan for the next session is simple. Let us spend 3 more days max for research and interrogation. Vanessa and Grotak could
diplomatically force their way to the jail, preferably with Grimburrow’s assistance. Meanwhile Alais will bunker herself in the library and hope Tzeentch will stop hating her guts. She will investigate the prisoners, the woman and the ritual Gibbs performed or the phenomena that is keeping spirits sealed in the prison. Ulzir and Edward/Isaac could sniff around that shady wizard merchant. We all ought to pay close attention to what happens at the Harrowstone Memorial. Should one more letter appear, we go into the prison immediately.
Naturally, all of this is how I view things. As you’ve seen a lot of this is purely a guesswork and may be totally wrong. That’s why I insist on further research. If we hurry up and boil the research down to a few roll checks (I don’t see how I could larp that), those three days would go past fairly fast. Still, we need to interrogate Gibbs first, and a solid plan and the strong powers of LARP will be required for that. Whatever we obtain in those three days will have to suffice. After that we head to the prison and
scream like witless virgins and die in agony kick some arse. Oh, and let’s not forget to ask father Grimburrow to heal Ulzir.
Again, is there anything I missed? Is my perspective logical, or convoluted as hell? Do you agree on this course of things, or would you prefer to do something else (perhaps going straight to the prison)?