Mists over the Musarde, Chapter Two

[Lord Skybolt]

Alain moves to the door to listen at as suggested, and if there is no noise try the door if Norzak agrees .

[steveflam]

Norzak nods at Alain. Standing ready for trouble he places himself so he can see past the door once Alain opens it.

[ewancummins]

"Guten tag, brother," Bennedict says, reaching for the priest's hand and giving it a shake. "Pardon me for taking you form your scribe work. I'm sure you are very busy. I am Bennedict Gehrman, a historian from Lamordia. I am interested in your grand cathedral here. It is truly a marvel to see."

He turns back towards the drawings. "I am curious, however, as to the meaning of this symbol." He gestures with the butt end of his walking stick towards one of the owls. "I see it prominently displayed on many of the works of art, here, and I'm not familiar with it being a typical piece of Ezran iconography. I do know, however, that in many cultures the owl is a symbol of wisdom and knowledge. It is mentioned quite frequently in the Ezran prayer for Wisdom, if I am not too mistaken. Is it possible that the artist was attempting to indicate that there is some exceptional knowledge to be found here? If so, I, as a scholar, would be most interested to learn of it."

The elderly gentleman seems pleased by Benn's speech. He smiles and nods approvingly, then says-


''Ah, very pleasent to make your acquaintance, Monsieur Gehrman. My name is Albert Van Willen. I'm the chief archivist here at the cathedral. The owls, as you say, symbolize wisdom and knowledge. We do, in fact, have quite an exceptional store of knowledge here. Would you care to see for yourself?''

[ewancummins]

in the cellar-


Alain doesn't hear any noise through the door.

Trying it, he finds that it isn't locked. Slowly opening the door reveals a room about as large as the larder you've just left. This room is lined with stacks of various sorts of non-food dry goods. There are stacks of spades, rope, wooden poles, lanterns, etc. Hanging from the celiling by an iron hook is an oil lamp. It's set low, so the light is dim and soft. Not far from the lamp is a desk with a heavy leatherbound book and an open writing kit laying on top of it. Across the room is a single wooden door, closed.

You can hear faint sounds coming from beyond the far door, but you cannot really make out what it might be. Someone or something moving about....

[Lord Skybolt]

Alain gives a listens at that door before giving this room the once over.

[steveflam]

Norzak trusts in Alain's abilities for now, so he moves near him and motions to the door with an inquisitive shrug.

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio’s eyes widen for a moment in genuine surprise as he hears the language of his oppressors. At least she believes I’m Barovian filth, he thinks. If she’d spoken to him in Luktar, he would have been less convinced that his attempt at misinformation had been successful.

“My lady, I thank you,” he responds in Balok. “I am Balki of Immol, an acolyte of Our Lady’s church in my homeland.

“Your accent, you are from Borca, yes? I had not known if this temple was dedicated to the Home Faith,” he says, referencing the Borcan sect, “or one of the …Mordentish temples I’d heard about.” He says the last part with a quizzical look on his face, as if skeptical of the sect from Mordent. In reality, he preferred their noble-if-pompous tendencies to the cynical political maneuverings that (in his mind) tend to dominate the Borcan faith, but, he hopes, this woman is a devotee of the home faith.

[Adam]

"In a moment perhaps I might," Ben says. There's no way it could be that easy. "But a few more questions first. I understand many of the buildings in this city were whole and fully constructed by the city's original founders. Was this building one of these, or was it's construction entirely a work of the church."

Fascinating as a trip through their library would be, I have to stall for time. Hurry up, Norzak and Alain.

[ewancummins]

Dorgio’s eyes widen for a moment in genuine surprise as he hears the language of his oppressors. At least she believes I’m Barovian filth, he thinks. If she’d spoken to him in Luktar, he would have been less convinced that his attempt at misinformation had been successful.

“My lady, I thank you,” he responds in Balok. “I am Balki of Immol, an acolyte of Our Lady’s church in my homeland.

“Your accent, you are from Borca, yes? I had not known if this temple was dedicated to the Home Faith,” he says, referencing the Borcan sect, “or one of the …Mordentish temples I’d heard about.” He says the last part with a quizzical look on his face, as if skeptical of the sect from Mordent. In reality, he preferred their noble-if-pompous tendencies to the cynical political maneuverings that (in his mind) tend to dominate the Borcan faith, but, he hopes, this woman is a devotee of the home faith.

''You are most welcome here, Balki. My name is Irena. To answer your questions: Yes, I am Borcan- I was born and raised in Levkarest. And yes, we are of the Home Faith here. ''

Irena pauses a monent , then continues,

'' We haven't had any word from from our brothers and sisters in Barovia for several weeks. The mountain passes shouldn't be closed for months yet, so naturally, we are a bit worried. Any news for us?"

[ewancummins]

"In a moment perhaps I might," Ben says. There's no way it could be that easy. "But a few more questions first. I understand many of the buildings in this city were whole and fully constructed by the city's original founders. Was this building one of these, or was it's construction entirely a work of the church."

Fascinating as a trip through their library would be, I have to stall for time. Hurry up, Norzak and Alain.

Van Willen answers-

''Well the cathedral was only finished seven years ago, but nearly all of the building materials are local. The ruins in this city are a wonderful source of stone, so there's little need to pay to have it quarried and transported.

Now, the lower levels and foundation- those were already present when we moved in. We just built directly on top of what was here before us.''

[ewancummins]

in the dry goods cellar.....


Alain hears a muffled conversation on the other side of the door. It's impossible to make it out clearly, but he does recognize a few words:

Book

Heavy

Key

A quick search of the storage room in which they stand shows Alain and Norzak nothing unusual or of great value. It's just mundane tools and supplies.

[Adam]

Van Willen answers-

''Well the cathedral was only finished seven years ago, but nearly all of the building materials are local. The ruins in this city are a wonderful source of stone, so there's little need to pay to have it quarried and transported.

Now, the lower levels and foundation- those were already present when we moved in. We just built directly on top of what was here before us.''

"That's very interesting," the archivist says, despite the fact that he couldn't care less. "Was this originally a holy site, then? I suppose I'm asking, was there any indication of exactly what building belonged to the lower levels and foundations prior to the church's construction?"

[Lord Skybolt]

While searching/casing the rooms Alain is mapping/noting of rooms/passages and access points for future night explorations/excursions .

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

"Ah, Levkarest! I have heard much of the Great Cathedral." He says this with genuine interest. Though ethically he opposes such buildings as wastes of wealth, he cannot deny the sweeping beauty of the vaulted and buttressed creations of the Ezrans.

"Sadly though, things fair no better in the Old Country than they are ever. Strahd's boyars keep their thumbs over us, afraid of Our Lady's message." My cousin Giorgi, he moved here some time back, and he says, 'Balki, you should come here, they understand us.' And now I see what he means! Our 'Lady must indeed be prominent here to enjoy such a beautiful place of worship.

"And such learning! 'So many books,' Giorgi says, 'you could build houses from them!' Indeed, the holy texts that seem to be everywhere here, it is almost too much for me to comprehend."

[ewancummins]

"That's very interesting," the archivist says, despite the fact that he couldn't care less. "Was this originally a holy site, then? I suppose I'm asking, was there any indication of exactly what building belonged to the lower levels and foundations prior to the church's construction?"

''This place was a vacant lot before we began construction of the cathedral. From the artifacts we occasionaly find in the soil, it appears to have once been the site of a very large workshop producing glassware. Our gardener still occasionally finds fragments of green glass in the soil.''