Stable
The Thornwick Stables
The heavy double doors of the village stables stand barred from the outside with a heavy oak beam, though the frantic, muffled thud of hooves kicking against wooden stall walls rings out from within. The smell of sweet hay and leather is overridden by the sharp, pungent scent of fear-sweat and ozone.
Outside the doors, Elia Vane—the young stablehand—kneels in the dirt with a lantern, trying desperately to soothe two panicked workhorses through a high shuttered window. Her eyes are red-rimmed, and her hands tremble as she holds out a handful of oats.
"Don't open the main doors! Please! The draft from the road sets them off. Ever since the cold static started coming up through the floorboards, the horses have been trying to kick their way out. Animals know when the ground itself is sick."
Calming the Stables
The animals inside are terrified by the planar static seeping through the dirt floors. Without intervention, the horses risk breaking their legs or busting through their stalls, causing chaos in the village square.
| Skill & DC | Practical Approach | Effect & Tactical Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Nature DC 17 or Medicine DC 16 |
Enter a stall calmly, apply soothing poultices, or use grounding techniques to quiet the mounts. | Soothes the horses. Elia gratefully offers the party full use of a sturdy **Draft Horse and Riding Cart** for travel to the Ossuary. |
| Crafting DC 16 | Lay down thick straw beds, line stall boards with heavy blankets, or isolate the dirt floor from planar cold. | Insulates the stalls against subterranean static. Elia hands over a **Leather Saddlebag** containing **2 Rations** and a **Healer's Toolkit**. |
| Religion DC 18 or Occultism DC 17 |
Inspect the floorboards to trace the precise angle of the subterranean planar shockwave. | Confirms the static is radiating directly outward from the church crypts (Area T3) in concentric rings toward the northern ridge. |
Elia's Observation
If calmed, Elia mentions that the horses first panicked three weeks ago, on the exact night Old Varla saw the hooded stranger. She noticed that the rats and barn cats vanished entirely that same evening, fleeing toward the high woods as if running from a flood.