Lucian raises his eyes high, looking at where the sky should be.
"Blessed Desna, raise our hope in these times of trouble! Let your starlight shine, blind our foes and guide our way!"
Rissi's spell is off-target but Seal easily cleaves through two of the goblins! Kufieno gets a hit off on one of the goblins and Lucian hits them with a blast of light!
Miana takes down another goblin! The remaining goblin goes for Kufieno!
And then the final goblin ghast is quickly taken care of!
After Seal calms down, he investigates the mold to see if anybody else has passed through here besides these goblin ghasts. Unless he is directed in a different direction, he'll check out the passage to the west.
Lucian heals the wounded before helping to search these ghasts.
The first cavernous offshoot is heaped with bones scarred by the scraping of teeth but nothing of interest is found within the chamber and Seal notes that most of the footprints are heading to the door to the northwest.
As Seal opens the door, the party finds that the air reeks of a horrific stench-a foul combination of decay, brine, and mold.
Heading further in, you note a rickety table, its damp surface cluttered with all manner of what appears to be garbage: empty bottles, bits of clothing, crumpled bits of paper, and more. However, this trash lies in neatly organized rows.
A painting leans against the far side of the table, facing a large leather chair that sits nearby. This chair's high back and cushion are horribly stained by smears of rotten meat and its arms are sticky with blood.
A smaller table sits against the southern wall, its surface heaped with platters and platters of rotten, maggot-infested meat. The horrific stench of the room seems strongest to the west, wehre the cave's wall has been overtaken by a horrific growth of dark green mold and dripping fungi.
At the center of the wall, a patch of black tumescent fungus grows, its horny ridges and tumorlike bulbs forming what could almost be taken to be a humanoid outline. What appears to have once been an exquisite puzzle box the size of a man's fist lies smashed on the ground at the fungoid shape's feet.
But most disturbing of all is the creature who sits in the chair, turning and standing as you enter the chamber. His eyes widen in a mixture of fear and delight until he sees Miana. "You! You've come to me! I knew my letters would sway your heart, my love! let us consummate our... our... hunger!"
Aldern Foxglove, once a handsome and cultured nobleman who had a way with the ladies, is now condemned to an unlife of unending hunger, driven to eat the flesh of those he once might have called friends or lovers.
The creature formerly known as Aldern seems to be struggling against some force from within which slowly takes over as he reaches for a large and bloody war razor!
Lucian's eyes glower with anger. "So it was you... don't worry Miana, we have your back. We won't let that monstrosity hurt you!"
Chanting to Desna, Lucian conjures the same spell he used earlier, a sudden flash of light blinding the Skinsaw man!
Kufieno darts into the room, and casts a spell, charging his hand with electricity.
Rissi summons a ball of flame underneath the fallen noble.
Lucian's burst of light does not seem to harm him! Miana moves in and deals him a blow, as does Kufieno! Rissi's flame burns Aldern.
Although Aldern was in the process of raising his war razer, the loathsome look that had overcome him suddenly vanishes as he takes wounds. He drops to his knees, sobs, and begs, "Please! It's me, Your Lordship! Help me! Save me! Don't let the Hurter come back! Please help me!"
35 dmg, dazzled 3 rnds
Lucian chooses not to listen to his inner voice begging him to show mercy to the undead monstrosity. Extending his burnt hands, he simply speaks words of malédiction.
"As I was once burnt for my foolishness, you shall also know the pain."
Rissi hesitates for moment and directs the fire to the side, readying to roll the fire back onto the ghast if he resumes hostilities.
"I imagine your victims asked for a similar mercy. Why do you think you deserve better then them?" Rissi ask angrily.
Seal is completely confused at the situation, almost frightened. He will walk up next to his companions, ready to protect them if needed.
Lucian's curse does not seem to affect this strange creature(s) and Rissi hesitates in her actions, not sure what to make of this development. The creature does not react when Seal knocks the weapon from his hand.
35 dmg, dazzled 3 rnds, disarmed
Kufieno steps to the south of Aldern and readies another spell, charging his hand with electricity again. He watches the man warily for the hint of aggression. "Is it some sort of possession? "
"I am His Lordship! I am His Lordship! Please forgive me! I didn't mean to kill her. . . her and the carpenter. . . stupid jealousy. . . and the Brothers of the Seven, the told me they would take care of it, moved in. . . they'd made an ancient pact with Vorel, he was their founder."
Aldern closes his eyes for a second and strains against some internal force, "I am His Lordship! I am. . . " He suddenly breaks into a wide grin, stands slowly, bows before you and says, "the Skinsaw Man. I wonder how your deaths shall affect your friends. What things might you have done that will go unfinsihed? What will those broken promises spawn? How will your murders shape the world?"
Realizing this is not the same Aldern, Miana, Kufieno, and Rissi finish their attacks! Miana misses but Kufieno and Rissi hurt the crazed nobleman!
The Skinsaw Man tries to lurch forward and attack but is still dazed by Lucian's spell!
71 dmg, dazzled 2 rnds, disarmed
The Skinsaw Man claws at Seal!
Rissi makes sure her flaming sphere continues to burn at the monster's feat.
She also pulls out her wand and launches a magic missile.
Lucian blesses his companions, asking Desna to guide their sword arm in battle.
Having had success with his shocking spell, Kufieno quickly casts it again, and reaches out to touch Aldern.
The Skinsaw Man leaps away from Rissi's fire but is hit by her missiles! Lucian calls down a blessing, which helps Miana gain her focus and land a blow against her stalker, bringing him down in a heap of rotten flesh.
"Watch out, the floor! It is responding to his death!"
Rissi lashes out with ray of positive energy from her fingertips, striking the floorboards.
Seal stands there bewildered as the Skinsaw Man swings and bites at him. Confused, he pauses as his companions drops the loon before him.
+2 Stonework
Noticing the floor begin to rattle, Seal grabs the fallen noble by the ankles and drags him out of the room.
"A haunt indeed! By Desna, begone!" shouts Lucian, applying his benevolent touch to the haunt.
Lucian and Rissi easily prevent the haunt from manifesting!
Although the portrait has been befouled, some work in cleaning it off could restore it to its original value, which was likely 200 gp. A small silver key ring worth 10 gp sits on the table amid the rotten meat, with two keys on the ring. The larger of these two is a tarnished iron key set with a round opal worth 100 gp. The smaller key is made of bronze and has an unusually long tang ending in a set of three notched blades. The head of this key resembles a roaring lion.
Finally, looking around the fungus south of the mysterious black splotch you find a mold-encrusted but still functional chime of opening (5 charges).
Aldern, or what he became, carried +1 leather armor, a +1 war razor, a ring of jumping, a ring of protection +1, stalker's mask, an extravagant noble's outfit worth 200 gp, a small portrait of Miana, and a key.
You also find a note on his person:
Aldern,
You have served us quite well. The delivery you harvested from the caverns far exceeds what I had hoped for. You may consider you debt to the Brothers paid in full. Yet I still have need of you, and when you awaken from your death, you should find you mind clear and able to understand this task more than in the state you lie in as I write this.
You shall remember the workings of the Sihedron ritual, I trust. You seemed quite lucid at the time, but if you find after your rebirth that you have forgotten, return to your townhouse in Magnimar. My agents shall contact you there soon-o need for you to bother the Brothers further. I will provide the list of proper victims for the Sihedron ritual in two days' time. Commit that list to memory and then destroy it before you begin your work. The ones I have selected must be marked before they die; otherwise they do my master no good and the greed in their souls will go to waste.
If others get in your way, though, you may do with them as you please. Eat them, savage them, or turn them in to pawns-it matters not to me.
-Xanesha, Mistress of the Seven
Lucian lets out a sigh, relieved that this madness is over. However, he gets tense again after the letter is read out loud. "Will this never end? If that Xanesha was Aldern's mentor and has a connection with the sihedron, we should investigate her dealings. The letter mentions a townhouse in Magnimar, maybe it is time for us to go there and see if that cult's hiding there as well, don't you think?"
"What an unfortunate end. I would have never *chhh* guessed at some of the *squeak* allegiances." Rissis paws at some of the items, scrutinizing them with magical senses.
As she holds up the mask she muses. "Norgorbites, and the Sihedron, but something more too: Thassilonian Sin Magic. You *chhhh* read that letter: greed in their souls. If I may *chhh* venture to say, those rituals are the mark of someone attempting to connect metaphysical and magical energies together. This "master" of theirs seems to be emulating the ancient runelords. It is not clear to me if this "mistress of the seven" is a servant of Blackfingers - it sounds like she was counseling against Aldern's further interaction with them, so. "no need for you to bother the Brother's further". Perhaps she is an independent agent. Rissi tosses the mask down.
"Well fought all. After we finish *chhhh* exploring this place, perhaps we should burn down the estate and seal the caverns. There may be some knowledge to be had here, but there is also much pain and loss."
"Not only should this place be burnt to the ground, but we could hire someone to consacrate it, for much evil remains bound to the place and not its dweller."
"This portrait has been altered to look like Miana, but it was originally Iesha Foxglove, Aldern 's late wife."
-Posted with Wayfinder
"That is spooky. How late of a wife and how did she die, do you know?
"There was probably 7 names on the list. How many murders are tied to him so far? I hope he didn't reach his body count."
Seal will be ready to explore the upper levels of the manor once the party is prepared to go.
Both sets of stairs up lead to an irregularly shaped hallway with several doors to choose from.
Seal opens the first door on the right.
Seal opens the door on what appears to be a small boy's bedroom. As Aldern never had any children, you can guess that it might have been his.
|
As Aldern falls, Miana finds little relief in his destruction. Nonetheless, with a threat to the populace removed, things should return to normal peacefully... until the letter was read. "I see, the evil that plagued Sandpoint originated from up north. I agree Lucian, we should pay the townhouse a visit and know more about a cult that requires ritualized sacrifices.".
Miana ponders a bit about the second to last part of the letter. "I do wonder about who were the intended victims and what the markings mean. Do you happen to have an idea?", the paladin asks Lucian and Rissi.
Upon seeing the painting and the other portrait in her honor, Miana willfully tunes it out, seeing them as the obsessions of a pour soul lost to whatever evil the party now seeks out.
"More restless evil lurks here! Close your ears to the sobbing!", Miana cries out to the others!
Charging her hand with positive energy, she blasts the haunt with Irori's grace!
Lucian is unable to locate the haunt Miana is talking about.
Miana hits the room with a blast of positive energy and the tell-tale signs of the manifestation fade away....
Kufieno moves to the next door to the northeast. "This one?" He says as he checks the door. "I have a hunch that won't be the last haunt we encounter..."
This large room features two padded chairs and a long couch facing a wide alcove lined with stained-glass windows. These windows depict a diverse array of animals and plants-from north to south are a large pale and ghostly scorpion, a gaunt man holding out his arms as a dozen bats hang from him, a moth with a strange skull-like pattern on its wings, a tangle of dull green plants with bell-shaped flowers, and a young maiden sitting astride a well in a forest while a spindly spider the size of a dog descends along a string of webbing above her.
Kufieno glances at Rissi. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking Miss Rissi? Those things represent classic, necromantic spell components, scorpion venom, vampire's breath, the tongues of deathwing moths, belladonna, and the heart of a maiden slain by poison/"