Ghosts of Gauntcliff, Chapter Seven

[Adam]

Bennedict delicately picks up the splinter of wood to examine it more closely.

[ewancummins]

Bennedict delicately picks up the splinter of wood to examine it more closely.

It looks old and dry. It appears to be pine or maybe cedar-something like that.

Benn has not seen any pine trees on this island, only mullberries, dwarf oaks, and some shrubs of various types.

[Adam]

Benn reaches for his spyglass and begins moving the dirt out of the way, carefully setting the splinter of wood off to the side.

[ewancummins]

Benn reaches for his spyglass and begins moving the dirt out of the way, carefully setting the splinter of wood off to the side.

Benn uncovers the edge of a long, broad, wooden board. The wood is warped and splintered, sagging under the weight of several inches of sand piled on top. His digging shifts the board just a little. He notices some of the sand pouring through a crack in the edge of the board, as if falling into a hollow below...

[Adam]

Benn arches an eyebrow and tries to reach around the board edge with his fingers, trying to pry it up.

[ewancummins]

Benn arches an eyebrow and tries to reach around the board edge with his fingers, trying to pry it up.

The board breaks in his grip, collapsing into a pit below. Sand pours in with the falling fragments of wood. Looking down when the grit has cleared, Benn sees a pit about six feet square and ten feet deep. The walls are earth with timber supports and the floor is crudely paved with stones and crushed seashells. The room is partially filled with sand, uneven piles that conceal half of the floor and some sections of the walls.

[Ail]

After a good while thinking, Eustace says

"This is an Ape! I had never thought these to be real, but I have read some reports of travellers to distant isles. I wouldn't picture them on this side of the world, though. I've heard rumours they are sometimes carried by sailors and taken with them from port to port, but this one might be a bit big for that already."

[Adam]

"I found a basement of some kind," Benn says to the people nearby. He then drops to the seat of his pants and slides down into the hole.

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio cocks his head to one side as Benn searches the ground. "What is it you are seeing?"

[Ken of Ghastria]

After a good while thinking, Eustace says

"This is an Ape! I had never thought these to be real, but I have read some reports of travellers to distant isles. I wouldn't picture them on this side of the world, though. I've heard rumours they are sometimes carried by sailors and taken with them from port to port, but this one might be a bit big for that already."

Primeiro arches an eyebrow. "An ape...? I've read only sketchy reports in one or two books.... Wouldn't one of this size be very strong?" He again places his hand on the hilt of his sword. "If not for our much more immediate concerns, I'd suggest we--

"I found a basement of some kind," Benn says to the people nearby. He then drops to the seat of his pants and slides down into the hole.

"What...? Did Benn just say something about a basement? I told you, Eustace! Let's see!" Primeiro starts to walk toward the other group.

_________________
OOC: If it would strain credulity too much for Primeiro to hear Benn's comment, I'll revise the post.

[Ail]

Eustace also hears Benn's exclamation and follows Primeiro, but careful to avoid any misstep.

"It will do very good to at least warn the others that there is a large and potentially dangerous creature around here."

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio waves Primeiro and Eustace over. "Yes, Benn found something, a basement or a cellar, he's looking now."

The priest leans down to call to Benn. "What are you seeing? Is there room for others?"

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Before looking for room for others, look for ways out," Everline suggests, somewhat tartly, and she brings out a coil of rope.

[ewancummins]

THE RUINED SETTLEMENT, AS THE SUN MOVES EVER LOWER IN THE WESTERN SKIES..
A search of the cellar reveals:

• sprigs of some sort of berry bush or weed, now dried and brittle
  the letters A, R, Z, and E carved in the main support posts; one letter per post
  a few scattered, unglazed potsherds
  a scrap of moldy parchment with Ghastrian (a dialect of Mordentish) writing on it.

Once Benn cleans up the paper, he is able to make out part of the original writing-

…caught him in the ruins…. grievous wounds…sealed...risen in dreams… the terror by night…our children are in peril again…forgive and protect, Blessed Lady….

The rest has been destroyed by mold or effaced by sand.


Eustace remains topside, attempting to track the ‘ape.’ He soon loses the tracks in the sand.

The sun is sinking ever closer to the mists that hide the sea.

Melmoth declares-
‘’Be dark soon. Fog’s coming in, too…”

...


Your party returns to the chateau to make hasty preparations for the night—and the terror you all expect to come for Everline.
…

A SHORT TIME LATER, AT THE CHATEAU---



The Ballroom-


Benn stands just without the doorway to the private bar, talking with Charlotte.
“Benn, I—oh!”
Charlotte goes white as chalk and waves her hand at a spot behind her husband.
Turning to look, Benn sees a shadowy thing standing near him. For a horrible second, he thinks of Dodds; but then he recognizes Norzak’s shadow-brother.
“Benn…the boy has found the scepter. He wants to help. Friends? Make peace? He helped you, you help him, and he helps your party now. Fair is fair. Yes?”

The Private Bar
The candles in the bar-room gutter, almost dying, and then flare bright again as Dorgio finishes his incantation. The withered, maimed body inside the open chest stirs. A dry hiss sounds from the puckered lips as breath enters the dead thing.
A quavering voice leaks from the corpse-
‘’No! Let me go! I only wanted to paint her! Such purity, such innocence—how could I not paint her?”

[steveflam]

VIEW CONTENT:

Jürgen wonders where the rat came from and stands. "Okay everyone. The rat he ate came from somehwere. Let us all look around the cave and see what we find. Chief and Smezel, I think there maybe a passage or door somewhere."

Searching the back of the cave, Jürgen finds a rubble-choked neck or alcove. It could be a deeper passage....

Not a big hole, maybe large enough for you to crawl through if the rubbel were cleared. Of course, until it's clear, you can't say how deep it goes.

"Okay. Guys. Come here. We need to remove all the debris and rocks here so we can see where this goes, ok? Help me clear away all if this." Jürgen expressedly shows them what he wants to move out of the way.

Doing most of the work himself (Gruz and Smezel help a bit), Jürgen finds that the tunnel runs out of sight and down. Jürgen's beard' tingles.[/quote]

Jürgen looks in his belongings and removes a candle and lights it, before holding it out before him. His hand rests on his rapier as he unsheathes it.