The Manor

Blornvid has seen and heard enough. "Right then. Back to the Manor. C'mon lads." He backs away several feet before turning around and returning along the path they came from.

Once they're far enough away, he asks Skeeve, "What was that you did back there?"

Skeeve is happy. He got to have a little fun and definitively find out about the Kennels.

He laughs a bit, then replies, "Remember Raggy and Ro? And how I could talk with Ro? Well, I can do it with any animal. I just haven't been able to show that because we keep finding goblins, undead, aberrations, and other beasts that can already talk. So ... it was kinda fun to be able to exercise that muscle again, at least for a little bit.

As for the other bit, well, I can turn on the charm when I have to." He breaks a bigger smile and continues, "That's probably why the fey sent me back, to be honest." "Anyway, I got to have a little fun, and we all got what we came for from the kennels. We now know the situation and can make sure everyone knows it. Plus, we made contact, so if we ever need to talk to them in an emergency, we now have a chance to succeed."

Well that guy could use a lesson in manors. I thought I was rough around the edges. I look like a High Lord next to that guy. Ealdwig makes a "High Lord" gesture as he believes they act.

We're going to have to come back here again aren't we?

"I don't plan to. We found what we needed to and it's 'under new management'. I think we should be good for a while."

Skeeve feels a bit of an obligation to at least identify and possibly neutralize any threats first. (For example he considers the kennel, Keeper and hounds neutralized.)

He would like to check the gatehouse and basement before moving on. That way she'll at least be relatively safe from immediate threats. He is more than willing to check out all of the areas, if Blornvid and Ealdwig want to. It is probably as cushy of an assignment as they are gonna get!After that he is very interested in going back to the mountain valley and see if they can solve the night terror problem.

After that, he's wide open to anything, though checking out other points would be cool, too. Maybe the library and/or the Seer have some patterns they can check out?Finally, all of the above is purely Skeeve's preferences. He is completely open to Blornvid's and Ealdwig's preferences, too.

Oh! One more thing.

When the signets are made, he wants to test them out at the fieldhouse. Once we know it works, he wants to see what those final two rooms are, and wants to see if those two god rooms are still there, or just part of the "training".

Blornvid says, "I'm all for finishing up checking on these parts of the manor's grounds and reporting our findings to the lady of the house. After that, she can decide what to do about it. Like those two we just dealt with. Magian seems like a stand-up guy, errr griffon or whatever he is exactly. And the Kennel Keeper was gruff but seems like if they leave him alone, he'll do likewise. Doesn't appeal to my sense of justice to evict someone who's been keeping up their end of things just because they offend someone's sensibilities. Let 'em negotiate."

Ealdwig, pointing at the Mew anyone know what that is?

Agree, we should clear things out while we are here. Seems like a good place to stay and good allies to have.

Skeeve says, "Eh, don't get too down on yourself. I probably just got lucky. Besides, his 'speaking' was pretty growl-like.

"If you don't mind, I do have two broad areas I would like to ask you about, though. First is, what were the nature of the previous masters of the Manor? Were they elves, humans, something else? What were they like? What was their greater family like? You picked Sylfir for a reason over any others. Are there others that might come calling as word about her 'return' gets out? I feel like there is something else going on, but I can't figure it out. I just want to make sure Sylfir and Danoll have the best chance for success.

"Second, are there any other hidden things we need to know about? The 'hounds' are death-dogs. The Keeper is most likely some kind of hill giant. The 'mounts' are griffons, and the Stablemaster is, uh, a sphynx? What should we expect in the gatehouse? Are there hangman trees in the orchard? How extensive is the 'basement'? Is it a full-blown dungeon?

"This whole place seems to be permeated and flowing with magic. I would like a better understanding of what that actually means."

Thinking Ealdwig will wonder around the manor, probably heading to the kitchen for some food and the library for a new book, while Skeeve speaks with Wittic.

Skeeve responds, "Thank you for the explanations. Yes, you did mention the griffons before, so that was my mistake, not yours." With a small smile, he says, "I don't know what could have made me forget ..." His smile grows and he adds, "and I am self-aware enough to not criticize any mortal with a touch of fey magic!"

He thinks for a couple minutes and says, "Well, I think the new Lady will have to just accept that the size of the Manor's holdings have been reduced somewhat and that it is now a neighborhood, not a purely private estate. But that doesn't have to be bad. I imagine that having a pack of friendly death dogs on one side, and a family of griffons on the other will help keep outside problems at bay. We will need to check out the orchard to see what has grown there over time. And I am curious to see what is in the Mews. Hopefully, there isn't a fully established mini-town of goblins or something there."Before finishing he adds, "One more thing: What are the chances of some other potential heir showing up and trying to claim rights? If one did, how would it be handled?"

Ealdwig is sitting in the library with a book open on his lap. Wow this place is big. Can't get over how big this place is. Why did they make it so large? Did a 100 people live here in the past.

Ealdwig after leaving the library is carrying a bunch of books back to his room to consume as he rests and recharges.

Skeeve considers all she told him and replies, "Thank you again for answering my questions. I greatly appreciate it.

"You have done a pretty remarkable job holding things together so you could have a chance to find Lady Sylfir. It could not have been an easy task, but you made it work.