PrP: The Ghosttower

Log Info

• Title: The Ghosttower
• Emitter: Solace
• Characters: Auk Level 2, Eligar Level 4, Tatyannah Level 4,
• NPCs: -
• Place: Outside Alexandria - Cor's Nook
• Time: July 9th, 2013
• Summary: Three adventurers from Alexandria find a missing girl, impress a great many children, and almost get hit on the head by a great many rocks
• APL: 1
• Encounter 1: Falling Rock Trap, CR 2

The three adventurers have been hired by the Explorer's Guild to investigate the disappearance of Aeri Carter, a human girl of about twelve years of age. She's been missing for four days from the village of Cor's Nook, a small farming hamlet of very little repute. The day is overcast, with the clouds appearing to hang so heavy that they seem to skim the tops of the trees. It's also hot, and humid, and as the village appears around a bend of the road, clouds of gnats rise up from the fields on either side, eager to make themselves a pest of the adventurers. Eligar has a writ from the Guild, verifying that they're certified Explorers, and a crude map of the village itself, all eight or ten buildings of it, with the Carter family's home marked.

Eligar is riding on his horse Kindroth and he's got the writ and map of the area. He hmmms softly as he looks around for some of the crudely drawn landmarks. "I think that we are on the right path." He will of course offer to anyone that has some knowledge of geography to take a look at the map.

Luckily, it's not a hard map to follow. Fields, fields, fields, and a little cluster of buildings. There's a lodgeish-looking one that must be the headwoman's house and the gathering place for the village, and it LOOKS like this little cottage with the shabby herb garden out front is the Carter home. There are villagers about, working in the fields, as well as a group of village children wrestling in a pile not far from the village center. They all start to take notice as the adventurers approach, a couple waving, while others just look curious.

Tatyannah waves a hand, mostly just to avoid swallowing gnats. She regards the village, before remarking, "This - is depressing. Why are all the villages around Alexandria so damn depressing. It's like they're that way on purpose." Still, she does reach in a pocket and comes up with candy that she tosses to the kids. She learns to stock a lot of it for the halfling kids back home.

Beside the mounted Eligar walks perhaps one of the ugliest Egalrin to be hatched into the world. Step, clomp, hiss. Step, clomp, hiss. With every other step Auk's artifice peg-leg lets out a faint spout of glowing mist. The scarred bird cocks his head to one side to glance at Eligar's map with his one good eye, the other hidden behind an eyepatch. "Can't tell boyo. Easier to see the lay from up top," he says with a tip of his wing pointing skyward. Tatyannah may pull out candy, but the swashbuckling Egalrin pulls out pipeweed to stuff a pipe with.

The kids instantly decide that Tatyannah is the most awesome thing ever. Five of them, ranging in age from about six to thirteen, squabble over the candy, and then fall in behind the adventuring crew. "Are you here to kill someone?" one asks.

"Are you here to kill us?" the littlest one calls out.

His older sister punches him in the arm. "Don't be stupid. Why would they give us candy if they were going to kill us?"

"Maybe it's evil candy..."

Eligar gives a wave to the children and other villagers as they pass by. He doesn't have candy on him to give out to the children. He shrugs a little bit, "The things humans do are very strange to me sometimes." He looks back at the map and then over at Aru, "Well it appears that we are here anyway." He puts the map away and he looks towards the children as he reins in his horse for a moment, "We are here to find your friend Aeri Carter. Do any of you remember the last time that you saw her?"

<OOC> Solace says, "Everyone give me Sense Motive checks!"

Tatyannah gives the kids an offended look, with her best scowl and frown, "Arrrr! If I was going to be killin' you, I wouldn't waste my candy on you." As an ex-pirate, she gives very good pirate. She bares her teeth and pulls out her very wicked knife, as she says, "I would stab you with my knife, right across the neck so you couldn't talk." Then she winks, very subtly, at the youngest one.

GAME: Tatyannah rolls sense motive: (17)+11: 28 GAME: Auk rolls sense motive: (17)+1: 18 GAME: Eligar rolls sense motive: (8)+11: 19

The kids gasp, wide eyed at the pirate imitation. "She's a pirate!"

"She's got /candy/, so I don't care if she's a pirate," the smaller one says, again. The oldest, a boy who's just hit that awkward part of puberty where arms and legs all start growing and making one look terribly goofy, rolls his eyes. "They're adventuers. They don't kill people. Just monsters," he says, superior.

When Eligar asks his question, a little bit of silence ebbs through the group. The oldest one takes the lead again. "We haven't seen her in days. I heard bandits took her!"

"Or ghosts," a girl chimes in.

"Ghosty bandits," the youngest one says. "I heard her momma say so," he says, with a solemn nod. All of the children, however, seem to not be able to meet the adventurer's eyes, and there's a flash of...unease? Guilt? on a couple of the faces. The oldest says, "You should talk to her momma. We don't know nothing."

You paged Tatyannah with 'You notice that all of the children looked to the oldest before saying anything, as if waiting to see what he wanted before talking.'

Stepping up next to Tayannah, Auk pulls aside his coat to reveal the metal of his cutlass, and bolas made from old cannonballs. "I nah even kill ye," Auk rasps in the slang of low-common. "Tie ya oop tigh', n'sell ye hides in Charn." Leaning forward to look at the children with his one good eye he stared them down momentarily before pulling his head back and letting out a barrel-bellied laugh. "Nah, ye is safe from de likes of I." Pulling out a small metal ball he click at it repeatedly with his claw until the spark lit his pipe. After a few puffs he returned to a more eloquent common language. "That is of course unless I hear any of you had something to do with this. Then I will be back, and I might feel a bit less kind."

Eligar hmmms as he looks at the children and he gives them all a look trying to meet their eyes, "Now you children know that no one will get in trouble, we just want to know what happened to her so we can find her. If she's lost or hurt or if someone took her you can tell us and we'll do our best to make sure that she gets home safely."

GAME: Eligar rolls diplomacy: (20)+9: 29

<OOC> Solace says, "NICE." <OOC> Eligar says, "Now sew me up some nike's."

Tatyannah watches the crowd of kids, feeding them more candy before she eyes the oldest one and says as she tucks the dagger away, saying absently to the others in her party, "I dunno, boys, I think this one," she points to the oldest, "might be able to help us." She nods in agreement with what Eligar says.

<OOC> Tatyannah grins, "Good job!"

The kids all gasp and step back away from Auk. Guilt flashes in a few more faces, although the oldest boy just looks sullen and stubborn. Then Eligar's gaze sweeps the little group, and his words clearly penetrate deep. One of the middle kids, a girl, says in a sad little voice, "The ghosts took her, and it's our fault."

"Shut UP, Tori," the oldest says.

Only to be overridden by another of the middles, who rolls his eyes. "YOU shut up, Tam. It was your idea to lock her in the Ghosttower, anyway. This is all your fault!"

"All our faults," the girl says, with a sniffle. "None of us helped her, and now she's gone!" The kids fall to squabbling and blaming each other, with a couple starting to cry.

A few swirls of thick smoke rises up around Auk's face, his head bobbing in appreciation of the knight's skills, even himself wanting to helphim all over again. "Ghosts ah?" The Egalrin queries. "Heard some tall ones about ships that fly with ghostly crews. Never found one." The bird bobs his head and looks between the children. "This could be interesting." Looking at the one that told specifically he asks as kind heartly has his ugly face could convey. "Well sweety. You can do something about it now. Why not help our crew fix this?"

Eligar hmms, "The Ghosttower? What's that?" He gets down all his horse and he keeps his weapons there. "That's enough. No arguing. Let's just calm down and you can each tell me what happened slowly and one at a time. There is no need to cry we will go and get her back."

"Shhhhh, shhhh," Tatyannah kneels down so she can be eye level to the kids, "Just someone," here, she looks to Tam, trying to give the boy a little respect as leader, then to Tori, "should tell us what happened and we'll get her back." Oh dear, she's kind of a bad pirate, with such a soft heart for kids. And making promises she can't keep. "If you do, I have chocolate." She is not above bribery.

Weeping and arguing trails off to sniffles. Tori lip-wobbles at Auk, but dries her eyes with the back of one grimy hand and says, "It was just supposed to be a joke. We dared her to go into the Ghosttower, and then piled up stuff in front of the door so she couldn't get out. It was only supposed to be for the night, but when we went back, she was gone."

"And there was a ghost. We could /hear/ it, inside," one of the other kids says, barely above a whisper.

Tam looks at Tatyannah, shoves his hands in his pockets, and looks down at the ground. "It weren't supposed to hurt nobody. She's just always going on about how /smart/ she is. Just wanted to scare her a bit," he mutters.

Tori looks at Eligar. "The Ghosttower is a ruin in the dell. It's haunted. There are ghosts there at night, and they make the most awful sounds. We're not supposed to go there," she adds. Which, of course, means that all of them have been. "We can take you there..."

The littlest one wanders up to Tatyannah, and thrusts out one hand. "Choc'lt?" he says, hopefully.

Eligar shakes his head, "No we aren't going to take you there, but thank you for the information. We'll get her back for you and find out what happened." He tries to comfort the children so they don't cry any more.

SUCKER. Tatyannah digs back into ye old candy bag and comes up with wrapped bits of chocolate. She makes sure to toss the first piece to Tam, with a quick heads up, before placing the second piece in the little one's hand. The rest gets distributed with no one getting any extra, before she says sternly, "No more barricading other kids in the tower or we'll be back and we won't have candy, understand me? We will come back with knives and rope." No winking this time.

The children prove to be fairly easy for Eligar to comfort - friend in danger or not, this is the most attention they've gotten from exciting strangers in their lives. Especially once Tatyannah starts passing out the candy. There's a ragged (and somewhat muffled, owing to the mouths stuffed with candy) chorus of "Yes'm"s. Tam doesn't devour his immediately, but says, "The Ghosttower is down the Herald's Path. It's near the graveyard. Just follow the stones, and you'll get there pretty quick."

The ugly pirate pats Tori affectionately on top of the head. "Good lass," he squacks. "We'll find the girl." Auk doesn't coddle the children further like his companions, but instead clomps himself over to Tam, his peg leg hissing as it hits the ground. "Listen here boyo," he says sternly. "You're the captain of this here crew. Good or bad, it is your job to keep yer crew together." Rummaging in his pocket the old bird pulls out a small metal bauble on a bit of string. Holding it out to Tam he explains. "Put it tween your lips and blow. Tis called a whistle. Will call yer crew where ever you be. Keep the wind at your back and sail true boyo." With that Auk steps away to the side to puff his pipe and wait for his companions to completely spoil the children.

Eligar smiles brightly as he moves to get back onto his horse, "Now you children be good we'll have to have a quick talk with the Aeri's Carter's parents and see if we can help them." He waves again to the kids as he sets off towards the house.

Tam sort of freezes at Auk approaches, caught between his pride and his want to flinch away. But when Auk gives over the whistle, with its stern advice, his eyes go round as saucers. "...yessir. Thankee sir!" With that, he blows the whistle loud enough to pierce eardrums, and yells at the others, "You heard 'em. You listen to me! C'mon, get out of their way, you lot!" With backward glances, the kids run off, chivvied by Tam.

The little house has an open door, and the scent of turnip stew drifting out the window. The adventurers' conversation with the children of the village did not go unnoticed, so there's a plump woman who looks like she hasn't slept in days, standing on the stoop, looking worried.

Mother Carter blinks as Eligar introduces himself. "Oh, my. A knight. I didn't know they'd send a knight for my little Aeri. Please, come in," she says, stepping back into the little cottage, her hands fluttering. "I don't have any tea made..."

The inside of the house is poor, but homey, and a bit unusual. Along the walls hang snares and animal traps of varying levels of crudity, from very poorly made to something that a professional trapper might use. There's also a few dolls stacked neatly in one corner. "Oh, I suppose you're not here for tea, are you? I don't know what to say," she says, dabbing at her eyes with her apron. "Aeri was a good girl. A little wild, but good. She just went out one day, and didn't come back home. Nobody's seen or heard from her!" So, clearly, the children had been able to keep their guilty secret this long.

Auk's beak clacks loudly in between puffs if his smoke as if he was tasting the smoke before spewing a cloud up around his head. "Glad we go this tin-can here," he says side long to Tatyannah. "Makes us look right respectable." His arms cross in front of his chest as he tries to learn from Eligar's fancy manners. Spying one of the dolls, Auk staggers over to pick it up. His other hand rummages in his pocket to pull out a small glowing block of metal. Holding it up to he makes several harrumphing noises.

From afar, Auk has keen senses as one of my artifice spells. "Just looking for tell tale stuff about the girl."

You paged Auk with 'Give me a Perception roll at +2' GAME: Auk rolls perception+2: (8)+7+2: 17

"Yes," Tatyannah agrees. She sort of looms while clearly letting Eligar take the lead with the mother, as she peers around the cabin.

GAME: Tatyannah rolls perception: (2)+13: 15

From afar, Tatyannah is just looking at things generally in the cabin, not anything in specific.

You paged Auk with 'The doll is a crude thing, clearly home made out of scraps - probably of clothing that was already well used. The stuffing is cotton tailings. Some of the patches show some skill - /someone/ has added a small pair of goggles to the doll, using chips of discarded glass and wire, and it's holding a snare.'

Eligar ahs a little bit, "And what do you know of the Ghost Tower?" He asks and shakes his head, "Thank you, but no we don't need any tea."

You paged Tatyannah with 'One thing that you notice is that these traps were likely made by two people. One, clearly a professional with experience, and one much less experienced, who is clearly trying to imitate the better.'

"The Ghosttower?" Mother Carter shudders. "That terrible place. Someone should have torn down that old ruin years ago. It's strictly off-limits, of course. We stay--" She pauses, and her eyes widen. "You don't think Aeri went there, do you?"

Auk pages: Sorta artificy looking this doll? Or more rangery?

You paged Auk with 'Sort of more rangery, but maybe with someone who's also heard of artificers, too, and thinks they're Cool.'

Eligar hmms, "Well we would like to check it out. Is there any other place that you think that she might have gone that she shouldn't have?"

Tatyannah tilts her head and frowns as she eyes the traps on the wall, asking absently, "Does - Is Aeri - is your husband teaching her how to trap things, or do you have any other children?" She was trying for delicate, but couldn't figure out how to frame it. Then to explain why she asked, she adds, "There are signs of there being two trappers." She says further, "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

Mother Carter's brow furrows. "No...there's not a lot around here," she admits, a touch ruefully. "Just the woods, and the dell, and the tower. But I didn't think she'd go out there." She jumps a little, and smiles a sad little smile at Tatyannah. "Her father was the village trapper, yes. He passed away three years ago, winter. She's been trying to be his 'apprentice', teaching herself how to make the traps." She dabs at her eyes again. "My girl is very smart."

Placing the doll back down, Auk lifts his head and cocks it to the side so he can look at the girl's mother. "Did she have a bolt hole?" He asks. After a pause he tries to correct himself. "Ah.. I mean. Did she have a favorite hiding spot? A place to be alone?" His head turns to look again at the rest of the room, looking for anything that might point to something or a place a young trapper might run to. Eligar nods, "I'm sure she is." He nods to Auk as he lets her answer the question. He can't think of any more to ask her.

Tatyannah turns to look at the woman, "I'm sorry for your loss." She steps up to examine the more rudimentary traps, saying, "She is. Most people - well, it can be hard to do the subtle ones."

Mother Carter turns and blinks at Auk. "N-no, nothing like that. She's always home promptly, unless she's checking her traps, and I don't...didn't...don't let her go farther than just the treeline for that. She's too young to go tramping around in the woods. Things can h-h-happen to children lost in the w-woods." Her breath starts to hitch, and she nods at Tatyannah.

Eligar nods a little bit as he moves to get up, "Thank you for your help. We won't rest until we find your daughter." He looks towards the other, "Any other questions?"

Tatyannah steps away from the wall, "No," then, "We will find her." She gives a little nod and moves to step outside.

The ugly pirate bird shakes his head no. "Let's go find the lass. Maybe she is just scared and hiding," his big shoulders rise and fall in a shrug as he turns to head outside.

The tears spill over the plump woman's eyes, although she hastily clears them away. "Thank you. Thank you all. Gods of Light be with you. Please find her," she says, meeting their eyes with raw hope.

Eligar nods, "You are welcome. And may Gods of Light bless you." He moves out to get onto his horse and he looks around to find the path to take them to the ghost tower.

Tatyannah waits until she gets outside and away from the cabin, before she shifts her shoulders, shrugging uncomfortably, before stating, "We have to find her. I don't - like that. I'm not used to being good."

Auk gives Tatyannah the hard eye, his beak shifting in the Egalrin version of a frown. "Don't be crackin on me now lass. Good or ill, no one wants a parcel of hen-pecked numbskulls on the job." He taps out his pipe and the uses it to point at the giantborn's feet. "Now pick yeself up by the bootstraps. Tis guild work, and good or no, tat means pay. The shiny bits. And if nuttin' makes you do nuttin, it should be gold."

The Herald's Path mentioned by the kids isn't that hard to find, or follow. The village's small graveyard is well kept - the markers are wooden, but the carvings suggest that someone in the village has both the skill, and the respect, to properly honor the dead. Villagers wave as they pass, but none impede them. The path itself is marked by a lichen-covered stone in a curious shape. It rises about hip-high on a human, and indents suggest that something is written or carved somewhere under the thick coating of greenery. Just at the edge of sight, down an overgrown path is another. And then another beyond that, leading downward into a heavily forested valley.

The valley itself is remarkably steep, like a gouge cut out of the earth that has had hundreds of years to fill in with trees and living things. The air is hot and oppressive, with the droning of insects louder than the cries of birds, which are rare and fleeting. Moss, damp and thick, hangs from some of the trees, swaying in the faint breezes. The path eventually opens into a clearing. And at the center of the clearing lies what must be the Ghosttower: a round tower of three or four stories, clearly ancient, and so heavily blanketed in vines and moss that it almost seems like a peculiarly shaped hill. There are arrow slits here and there, and a lichen-covered but still sturdy door of antique ironwood at the very bottom. There is no wonder people think this place is haunted: it looks like JUST the sort of place one would expect to find the ghosts of soldiers, fighting some long-forgotten war, over and over again.

<OOC> Solace says, "Also, Perception checks, if you would be so kind." GAME: Auk rolls perception: (11)+7: 18 GAME: Tatyannah rolls perception: (15)+13: 28 GAME: Eligar rolls perception: (18)+11: 29

Tatyannah asides to Auk, "I will stab you." She scowls as she notes, "It was the expression on her face, and - " She waves her hand impatiently, "I am not going to burst into tears about it. Just said I'm not used to it." Then, "I like smart girls. And I'll bet it isn't a ghost. I'd guess she was probably trying to do something clever and it went astray." This may be the voice of experience of being a clever girl run wild as a kid.

You paged (Tatyannah, Eligar) with 'For a moment, as you emerge into the clearing, you see a hunched, twisted shape - barely humanoid - in one of the topmost arrow slits of the tower. It moves quickly away, into the darkness.'

Just after Tatyannah's words, a sound starts in the tower. It is high-pitched and inhuman, a whistle rising to an unearthly wailing.

Eligar looks over towards Tatyannah, "It will be worth it in the end." He looks around, "Hopefully we'll be able to find her alive and well." He says a bit quietly as they head out. He keeps a good look out and carefully leads his horse down towards the Ghost Tower. He hmms, "Certainly looks haunted." He narrowed his eyes, "Did you see that. Some kind of twisted figure up in the tower." He'll go to point it out.

Auk gives a sharp bird's cry of a laugh at Tatyannah's threat, his four fingered hand motioning at her. "Any time love," he says a hand patting his cutlass. The sound from the tower though draws his attention away from the good fun. Following Eligar's finger he gives a nod. "Aye, but is it the girl, or are there real ghosts?" Straightening his back he begins a steady path forward. "Might as well find out."

"Or I could be wrong," the giantborn woman says. Still, Tatyannah answers Eligar, "Yes, I saw it," as tilts her head back, eyeing the tower speculatively, as she asks, "You can both climb, right?" See? Clever! Climb it rather than go in the door like conventional people do. PLEASE.

There are certainly enough handholds on the tower; the vines are at /least/ a foot thick against the walls in places, and they're old and tough. The arrow slits don't look wide enough for someone to get into, though. The door is closed - but surely, if kids could get it open, adventurers shouldn't have a problem. The wailing dies off, gradually.

Auk spreads his wings to relieve a bit of stress before pulling them back in. "Not exactly designed for the climbing lass," he explains. He eyeballs one of the windows and then pulls his wings in tight. "Nor am I as slim as I was in my younger days." Reaching into his coat he pulls out a tube made of wood, paper, and plaster, with a metal ring on a string attached to the top. "Course dis would fit in that window. If it is a girl, she'll be scared stiff, and if it be ghosts, well... they'll probably just be mad."

Eligar hmms, "I don't really climb in my gear. It's too heavy." He gets off and leaves his lance as he takes his sword and shield. He hmms, "How about we start to move those rocks?" He reaches down to pull off the stones.

GAME: Eligar rolls strength: (17)+3: 20

The rocks are not hard to move; most of them already have been. The door is soon quite clear. Well, still covered in lichen, with beetles running over the surface as the door is disturbed.

Tatyannah is a little sulky about the climbing, because well, she likes it. But still, she helps with the rocks, tossing them away before eyeing that door dubiously. "Well, I think the man in the tin can should go first." Ah, the way of the pirate. Someone else can go first.

You paged Tatyannah with 'Give me a Perception check, would you kindly?'

GAME: Tatyannah rolls perception: (10)+13: 23

Eligar moves over towards the door and gives it a good look over. He reaches to open up the door as he keeps his shield ready.

You paged Tatyannah with 'As you're clearing out the last of the rocks, you notice a slight gap in the door and frame, and more, a quicksilver glimmer of a tripwire.'

Auk tucks away his invention, and gives an affirmative nod to Tatyannah's decision. "Agreed," he says. Drawing out a slightly curved club of wood and metal Auk fiddles around around with it, a small bit of glowing liquid, and a heavy metal dart. When he's done he pulls back a lever on it, and clutches it in one hand. "I be ready too."

Tatyannah swears, "STOP!"

Tatyannah pages: Disable device.

GAME: Tatyannah rolls disable device: (7)+13: 20

You paged Tatyannah with 'You can't...quite reach that damned wire, with that attempt. It's on the other side of the door. At least you don't set whatever it is off.'

Tatyannah steps up to the door and begins studying it closely. She pulls out her dagger and points to the gap between the door and frame, "I think she was getting them back. Or was going to. So, she was alive long enough wire the door. I can't quite get it." Exhaling, "I think I need to go first, just in case." She is not happy about this state of affair. NOT HAPPY.

"Alive long enough to wire?" Auk asked incredulously. "Already expect her to be in the last sleep, lass?" The Egalrin shrugged and set himself to the side of the door, stacking up to follow Tatyanna in. "Well, you'll be first, and I'll keep this poncy tin-can in back. Nice and safe there I hopes." Auk cackled ill-temperedly as he prepares. "I'm more the blow it up kind of swasher. Its all yours lass.

Eligar stops as he lets Tatyannah look at the door and he nods, "We should have been ready for that." He looks over at Auk and shrugs, "Fine I'll bring up the rear."

Tatyannah reaches for her spear, setting herself just to the side of the door, then pushes it open with her spear slowly, just in case.

In order to push it open with her spear, she has to wedge the blade in, and pry it open, for it opens outwards. When she does, there's a barely-audible 'twang', and then a much louder rumble. About fifteen stones, bits of rubble and debris, fall just inside the doorway with a CRASH. Several rocks bounce out to land near the adventurers' feet.

Beyond the dust raised by the falling rock trap, the open door reveals a large, round room, and the edge of a spiraling staircase. The vines have made inroads here, too, but don't cover as thickly in the dark. There's the suggestion of ancient stonework and mosaics that were probably beautiful, once.

"Auck," Auk squacks at the falling rubble. "This girl is playing for keeps," the pirate notes. "Would have done a bit of damage to a child." He lowers his dragonspitter, not wishing to accidentally shoot the obviously skilled little girl. At least not as long as his own feathers remain unplucked by her traps.

Eligar hmms, "It might not be her exactly. I've heard that ghosts can possess people. That is what we might be dealing with. If so I need to get my lance."

"Aeri?" Tatyannah calls out. "Tam told us what happened. Are you here?" She holds still, trying to listen for some sort of answer.

In response to Tatyannah's call, there's...whispers, coming from different places within the tower. "Go away," and "Begone," and "Fear this place," in low hisses, as if echoing off the walls.

Auk looks at Eligar with a raised brow over his good eye. "Plan on skewering the lass cause she got a spook in her?" The bird shook his head. "At least give her a chance." His head turns to yell back into the tower and its whispers. "Shut your gobs you chuckle-headed fools. We're comin' in, we want the girl, and we gunna stomp around your house 'til we get her."

Eligar looks towards Auk, "No I don't plan on spearing her, but spearing the ghost. I've had to fight one before and without magical objects we won't be able to touch it."

Tatyannah starts to answer, but then Auk speaks up and she can't add to that, so just ends up shrugging.

The 'chuckle-headed fools', whatever they might be, inside the tower have fallen silent. Dust motes dance in the overcast light, and all is silent within the Ghosttower.

"W'ever works boyo," Auk says with a nod of approval. "We ready lass?" He says with a motion of his wing towards the door. "You got the good feet." He chuckled and stepped so that his peg-leg lets out a soft hiss.

Eligar hmms as he follows along, "Lance won't fit. Hopefully it's not a ghost." He brings up the back as he holds up his shield.

Tatyannah gives a little nod, "All right." She sets out to start searching the tower, starting with the bottom floor first.

The tower was not hollow, originally, but centuries of time and neglect have made many of the interior floor stones fall away. There are gaps in which you can see up all three stories, although only shadows and flickers of light. The walls have an odd gleam to them; there's pipes attached. Most are broken, but a few still seem intact. There's a curving staircase that rises to the left to the second floor. As the adventurers enter, all of them can see, for a moment, that inhuman figure at the top of the stairs. It's slight, but bulky, covered in hair and strange protrusions. A huge, gnarled face with black holes for eyes stares at them. There's no mouth, but a high-pitched voice screams, "GO AWAY! OR ELSE!" And then the figure is gone, disappeared onto the second floor.

<OOC> Solace says, "Perception checks, or Knowledge (Nature). Whichever is better for each of you."

GAME: Eligar rolls perception: (6)+11: 17 GAME: Auk rolls perception: (20)+7: 27 GAME: Tatyannah rolls perception: (16)+13: 29

You paged (Eligar, Auk, Tatyannah) with 'That is TOTALLY a costume or disguise of some sort. Old animal pelts, twigs, a mask of bark and hair.' Auk pages: About how far away is this thing? You paged (Eligar, Auk, Tatyannah) with 'Now it's on the second floor. It was just at the top of the stairs.' Auk pages: So what? 9 foot ceiling? 18 ft for 2 floors? Auk pages: Or much higher? You paged Auk with 'About 18 ft, yup, although now there's a floor between you and it.' From afar, Auk nods. "I don't want to hurt it or nothing. Just want to know if the distance was within spell range to scare the bejebus out of the place." You paged Auk with 'Hee! Depends on the spell! Also, if you want, you can make a Craft(Artifice) check.' Auk pages: Flare Burst. And sure.

GAME: Auk rolls craft/artifice+1: (9)+7+1: 17

Eligar holds up his shield as he sees the bulky figure and the hmms as he notices it, "Amys Carter! This is Sir Eligar, Knight of Peace. We have come to take you home. We have talked to all the children and they are very sorry and your mother misses you alot. She has called out the Explorer's Guild to come get you. If you can hear me we are here to help you get home."

You paged Auk with 'Those pipes on the walls appear to be the remnants of a speaking-tube system. Someone at the top of the tower could speak to someone at the bottom, and vice versa. Good construction, even if most of them are ruined now.'

<OOC> Solace says, "Eligar, Diplomacy?" GAME: Eligar rolls diplomacy: (14)+9: 23 <OOC> Solace says, "Niice. Talky knight." <OOC> Eligar says, "You should see me as a paladin"

"She's fast," Tatyannah comments, "But I'm faster." She takes advantage of those long legs of hers as she bolts for the stairs. For someone who was being cautious about having Eligar go first into the Tower, she's showing a remarkable lack of caution as she takes off after the creature.

"Well lass, boyo, did you two see what my old eye saw?" He clacked his beak in thoughtfully and walked over to a series of pipes that lined the wall of the tower. He waits a moment to see if Eligar's ploy works. Reaching into his jacket he pulls forth some scraps of old cloth and starts pugging up the open bells at the bottom of the pipes.

A voice comes out of the walls around the three adventurers, echoing in slightly different versions from slightly different places. "You're lying! Nobody wants me...I mean, her! No one even noticed she was gone, the whole night long! She's a ghost now! Go away!" But there's a sniffle to that voice, and a shuffling sound from the second floor that suggests she hasn't fled all the way up to the top of the tower. Dust filters down from the old stones.

When Tatyannah takes off running up the stairs, she gets the picture of the costumed - let's face it, the costumed Aeri standing by one of the pipes on the walls. When she sees Tayannah, she jumps away and tries to run for the third floor. The rogue isn't going to have trouble catching a 13 year old, though.

Eligar follows Tatyannah up and he frowns, "Aeri Carter. Everyone misses you. Your friends were crying and so was your mother. She misses you so much. She's been frantic about it. She called the Explorer's Guild all the way from Alexandria to come get you and if you come with us...I'll let you ride on my horse on the way home."

Auk chuckles to himself and actually starts making his way back to the door of the tower. "Hey tin-man," he calls over his shoulder. "Mind if try something? Maybe show da little lass something." Tatyannah reaches out to yoink the girl towards her, "You shut your mouth. Your mother is at home, /crying/. Who is going to take care of her, if you're not there to do it? Who is going to trap for her? Besides, how will you use the traps I'm going to teach you to trap animals, hmmm? Besides, I have candy, you don't want to miss out on that, do you? I mean, ghosts don't eat candy, but little girls do." When in doubt, go for the candy. Then when Auk speaks, she advises Aeri, "He's a /real/ pirate. I bet it's going to be /amazing/."

Aeri is yoinked! As she is, the mask falls off to the floor, revealing a grimy, defiant, tear-streaked face that is tanned and freckled. Suspicious brown eyes stare at the three adventurers, although she doesn't struggle in Tatyannah's grip, clearly smart enough to realize she can't fight off three adults. Instead, she pokes out her lip and says, "I'm not a /baby/. I don't need /candy/." She sniffles. "And I can make traps. Nobody believes it, and mamma won't let me go anywhere to use 'em because she thinks I'm useless, but I can make them, I can!" She glares at Tatyannah, then at Eligar. Her expression as it turns to Auk is reluctantly curious. She's clearly never seen one of the eaglefolk before, and besides, she was promised AMAZING.

Take it away, Auk! Eligar sighs softly, "Well let's get out of here before it collapses around us." He starts back down, "We can talk about this outside." He looks to Tatyannah to make sure she's got a good hold on the girl before he starts down.

Stepping completely outside Auk throws his head back and lets out a piercing screech that almost perfectly mimics the same note of the whistle he gave to the boy and his crew earlier. The note is long and clear to travel quite a fair distance. "Where the crew?" He yells. "I know dern well you all followed us up here to see what was going on! You ain't in trouble, but I needs be talking to the crew!" The pirate crosses his arms over his chest, waiting patiently for what he hopes will prove him right.

Tatyannah gives Auk a look of surprise, as she hadn't actually anticipated this. Still, she nods in approval to him, and before she hands the candy over to Aeri anyway, "I know you can. I'll teach you a few tricks and then we'll talk to your mother about it, hmmm?"

The sound of the shriek echoes off the walls. Aeri claps her hands over her ears, her eyes as round as saucers. She tries to scramble to hide behind Tatyannah. For a long, long moment, it seems as if Auk's gamble isn't going to pay off.

Then, Eligar, descending the stairs, sees long shadows falling across the door, and hears the shuffling of sheepish feet. One, two, then three of the children peek around the door. Not all of them, not the youngest, but Tam and Tori and another boy. "Is it safe? Did you find her?" Tam asks the knight, anxiously.

Aeri looks bewildered at Tatyannah. Then at Auk. Then towards the stairs. As if she can't believe the echoy sounds of Tam's voice.

Auk gave his peg leg a stomp on the ground and pointed to he palce before him. "Common crew, front and center!" His claws clap together and he gives Tam a look of his one good eye. Turning to Aeri he motioned to the other children. "Think they wouldn't have come if they weren't a little bit worried lass?" Then he turns on Tam. "Come on up Captain. I gave ya da whistle, but that isn't what makes a crew. Gunna teach ya what does."

Eligar nods, "Yes we found her. She is safe. Let's all go down and talk about this outside." He starts to move down again.

Everyone eventually gets shuffled outside, and probably a good thing - the ancient stone of the tower's floors probably really isn't safe for anyone who weighs more than a skinny teenager with no armor. Aeri is still lurking behind Tatyannah, and the 'crew' seems to cluster up near Auk. Tam looks at at Aeri. "We thought you were et by ghosts."

The girl rolls her eyes. "There ain't no /ghosts/ in there. Just old machinery that makes a lot of noise, and other old stuff." Then she glares. "Not that you care. There could have been ghosts! I could have been et!"

"We didn't mean it! We didn't want to hurt you," Tori says, starting to cry again.

Eligar is glad to get down and he moves back to his horse. "Let's get headed back to the village I'm sure Aeri's mother wants to see her." He looks to the children, "Now no more locking up people anywhere. You shouldn't be mean to someone else because they are different then you. Aeri's smarts and her trap making could save your life one day."

Tatyannah nudges Aeri as they head outside, "See, I told you," as she reaches out to put an arm around the girl. "They care, otherwise, they wouldn't have sneaked up after us." Then, "Hey, let the kids settle this first. And let them do it themselves." She just looks at Eligar with the 'don't be so ELFY' about it.

Auk lets the girl say her piece before looking to Tam himself. "I told you boyo that a captain keeps his crew together," Auk said as he extended one of his big wings towards Tatyannah, as Aeri was behind her. "Crew takes all kinds. But guess what boyo? Captains ain't smart as a rule. They are charismatic. Keep everyone together. Whatcha need is a smart one to make your plans for you. make 'em work." Auk taps the boy's chest. "You need heart boyo, but your first mate? First mate is da brains." He then motions to Aeri. "You all live in dis village. You stuck together. Work together and make it work. Like a right proper crew." He motioned for Tam to step forward and say his own piece. Auk steps back himself so as not to be in the way.

Tam toes the ground, looking to be somewhere between shame and confusion. "I dunno what charis...carrots...what that means," he mutters under his breath.

Aeri says, "It means you're pretty and you push people around and they let you. And that /I/ should come up with the plans."

Tori says, "She's got good plans. Like the time we were able to sneak in and get our pick of the harvest pies." The third kid nods, and licks his lips. Tori says to Aeri, "We're really sorry. We are. It was stupid of us, and everyone's been really worried. Even Tam!"

Tam flushes, but he doesn't deny it. Aeri steps up within arms reach of the boy, and peers at him. "You were worried?"

"...yes..." It's barely audible. But he raises his eyes and looks at her. "C'mon. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. Can't we go home and be evens?"

Aeri looks at him. Then she pulls her fist back and gives him one hell of a pop in the nose, sending the boy to the ground. "I was SCARED." She shakes her hand. "NOW we're evens."

Eligar can't help but laugh as Aeri pops Tam in the nose and he moves to help Tam get up. "All right lets get home." He looks over to Aeri, "Would you like to ride back on Kindroth?" Tatyannah crows with laughter as she pops him, and gives Aeri a nod, "Nice job." Cheerfully, to Eligar, she says, "We can go now." She digs out the last of her bag to Tori, "You're the peacemaker. Hand that out, and you save some for the little ones."

Auk starts laughing heartily, a hand pounding on his leg firmly. "That's how its down boyos. Say your sorry, knock each other around a bit, and den leave it in the past." He points a finger at Aeri. "An charismatic means girly, that people want to follow the boy, so he's in charge. But you're da smart one so you make his plans work." To Tam he looks and laughs again. "What a wallup! Took it like a champ ya did boyo. Now dust yourself off, shake your first mate's hand and we'll all go home." Leaning in he whispered to the boy. "She tinks your pretty boyo. Don't mess it up." When Auk stood again he motioned at Tori. "While the Quartermaster hands out 'supplies'," the candy, "Da fearless leader gunna give our lass a pony ride."

Aeri's face lights up at Eligar, trauma forgotten. At least for the moment. "Boy, do I!"

Tori takes the candies with a solemnity a little older than her age. "Yes'm. I will. Thank you!"

Tam has one hand clamped to his face, but still managed to mumble a thanks to Eligar for the hand up. He pauses at Auk's words, and then nods. He even looks a little proud of himself.

Once everyone is sorted out, the adventurers and the children head back to the village, to make a mother and several friends /very/ happy.