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You remember Drandle Dreng dragging you out of bed at midnight and telling you that he had passage booked for you, on a ship and barges that would eventually take you to the dread nation of Ustalav. There you were to seek out his friend Dr. Quolorum. Dr. Quolorum soon finds you and gives you a message. It tells you to seek out the village of Dunhob. You arrive in the village after a few weeks of travel, one fog soaked morning to see the houses all marked by iron horseshoes. Seeing you a group of townsfolk heads your way through the fog.
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It was good to be back in Ustalav... or was it? The masked half-elf sniffed at the familiar, mist-laden air as they disembark from their vessel. He immediately spots the horseshoes and inwardly chuckles at the local superstitions that he knows all too well. He also notices the group of townsfolk approaching, clearly wanting to get a better understanding of this group's intentions in their town. "Well met!" he calls out towards the approaching group. "We are seeking out the Lucky Lantern, perhaps one of you could direct us to the appropriate building?"
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Galdaric Torvalov, as you have come to know him, is a man who usually has a serious and even dour aspect. He tends to speak in a voice that suggests that there is much gravitas with everything he says.
He will have informed you all that he is a Dhampir, that his ancestry is touched by the curse of vampirism. As such, normal healing energy actually hurts him, as it does undead -- though Galdaric is not undead himself. "People of my blood are not as uncommon in Ustalav, whence I hail, as they are in many other places."
He stands back and waits to see if Wyldyrn has any response to his queries.
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One of the townsfolk a middle aged human man screams in anger "The Lucky Lantern! It's closed. Evil has infested it! You new comers have brought evil!" the townspeople surrounding him shout in agreement. "Yes! They bring evil!" a elderly human woman steps forward and the crowd gives way. She has a horse shoe in her withered hand. One of them shouts Maricella cast out the evil spirits in the new comers!" She nods in agreement and fling the horseshoe. "Cold iron is potent against EVIL!"
She flings it at____________.
Galdaric takes a point of damage. The horse shoe clangs into the dirt.
Maricella shouts "Be gone! I cast you out!" The crowd raises their fists in support. They appear angry.
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Flavias, having been fortunate enough to duck spends a moment to make sure Galdaric isn't serious injured before looking to the crowd and making up a story
"Come now, if we are newcomers, how could we be related to the evil that is already here? Nay I say, we have instead heard the tales of your tainted inn and come to purify it so that it may be of use once more."
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Galdaric sighs. As ever, his heritage is seen by the ignorant to be a sign of evil. Although, it does seem these people are angry at the whole group.
He tries to ameliorate the situation. Pulling his hood a bit closer around himself, he says, "In contrast, we are here in an attempt to quell the evil that has taken the Lantern. Please allow us to continue."
Aiding Flavius' bluff:
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"B**+@#$s"! Common sense and brass knuckles are is potent against barmies, but you don't see me throwing them at your lot. Now go throw a paddy somewhere else while the Black Crow finds sane folk to entertain."
The Black Crow begins playing a mournful dirge to drown out the mob from inciting itself further.
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Wyldyrn keeps his irritation with the small-minded superstitions of the townsfolk to himself. Having grown up in Ustalav he knew such things would do nothing against the actual monsters that stalked the mist-shrouded lands of his homeland. Once inside the inn he looks around, curious as to why the Inn would have closed and boarded. "Be on your guard, obviously something is amiss here."
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You enter the common room.
This musty common room is coated with thick layers of dust.
Dozens of black candles, animal skulls, and occult idols are
arranged as decorations through the room. One table near the
center of the room is decorated with human skulls and a crystal
ball. A spread of harrow cards lies face down on the table and
two chairs are pulled up to it. One chair sits empty and the other
holds a skeletal corpse.
Then suddenly all the candles light up...and a robed figure appears.
“Welcome, travelers. Have you come to seek the wisdom
of my harrow reading? These are strange times and those
without guidance risk great peril. Stand before my table and
learn your fate.”
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Wyldyrn turns towards the figure that suddenly appears and watches with interest, his Varisian decent sparks with curiosity when he notices the Harrow deck. "Are you sure this is an illusion, Etham?" Regardless, he approaches the table and examines the skeletal remains. He directs his attention to the robed figure. "I will learn from you. Read my Harrow, but first can you tell me what occurred to this poor person?" He indicates the skeleton.
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"I can respond gather close...I will read your Harrow" It ignorses other questions and begins to flip the cards and places nine Harrow cards in three rows on the table.
The Queen Mother, The Publican, The Eclipse: “The
Eclipse is strong in the past. This card represents loss of
purpose. I see a curious creature that fell from its original
path. Now it wanders blindly, far afield under shadows of
the mind.”
The Owl, The Lost, The Midwife: “Ahhhh, The Midwife.
She is a conduit of creation, but she does not create alone. I
see a creature in the present that also creates many things.
It dreams of strange places and uses its mind to make these
places real. But The Midwife is misaligned. The world will
not like what this creature makes.”
The Winged Serpent, The Carnival, The Mute Hag:
“The Carnival is a card of illusions and false dreams.
Danger lies in your future, but it is not the danger you
expect. The Carnival is the most important card for you
because it is a card for fools. It was foolish to come here…”
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"And this is Scarlet. It represents what I'm going to use to cleave your head in if you don't stop this silly banter and tell us where Lady Illirigarde is," as the Black Crowe extends Scarlet straight out to the cloaked figure, using it to lift the hood.
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Galdaric gives the Black Crow a withering glance. "It is possible that there is information hidden within what is said. Let us think a space before resorting to mindless violence."
Turning back to the illusion, he says, "The Queen Mother, the Publican, the Eclipse. Something has lost its purpose. Do you know any more than that?"
To the others, he says, "We should talk to people in the town. Find out if there is a local town leader who now lives as a hobo, or something similar to that. It may be that these harrow messages are very direct. at least, we should rule that possibility out."
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As the Mute Hag is placed down and the illusion finishes the reading it suddenly vanishes...ignoring your questions..A mere instant later an evil glow appears in the eye sockets in the skulls and they fly off the table.