Once introductions are complete, you set out for Sombrefell Hall. The manor is located about 25 miles northeast of Rozenport across mostly flat terrain. Though the surroundings become more remote the further one ventures, the house is situated at the end of a fairly well demarcated road abutting Lantern Lake. The journey to Sombrefell Hall is uneventful and takes the better part of a day--it is late afternoon when you arrive.
Like the smoky exhalation of a mighty beast, a billowing haze blankets the lake. A massive mansion rises from the mist, with sweeping roofs topping two-and-a-half vaulted stories. The manor's grand entrance consists of mahogany double doors, a white-marble knocker fashioned in the likeness of an angel-shaped ankh, and a tarnished bronze placard that reads "Sombrefell Hall." Both Esrian and Godfrey automatically recognize the ankh as the symbol of Sarenrae, and much of the other iconography on the manor is Sarenite in nature.
William steps forward with confidence and, using the knocker, announces the groups presence.
"Hope someone's home," he says with a half-smile.
There are several moments of silence. Then, one ancient door creaks open, revealing a carpeted entryway lit with dozens of weeping candles in floor sconces. Standing in the doorway is a grim-faced woman with several loose scrolls still in one hand. Unimpressed, she says, "Well, yes?"
William dials up his warmest smile.
"Good evening, Madam. We're here to have a word with Dr. Oscilar regarding no small matter. If you would be so kind as to let him know we're here?"
The woman clucks her tongue. "The professor is very busy and is not to be disturbed," she explains. "Come to think of it, so am I. Excuse me while I get back to work." She moves to close the door.
"We must see the doctor, it is urgent. Quickly, quickly, there's only seven years left, y'know, no time to be wasted, go, go," says Nibiru, fiddling with the mask on the back of her head.
The woman takes a step back when she sees Nibiru's pale countenance and strange garb. Something about the tone of her voice leaves her shaken. "Seven years? Wh-who are you? What are you going on about?"
"Doomsday, my dear," William says, his smile not fading in the least. "I did say it was no small matter."
The woman frowns. "This world has been threatened with many days of doom in the past. Could you be a little more specific?"
Esrian sighs at her more poetic companions, "We've been sent by an order that oversees many things. In this case, they are trying to determine what exactly the mysterious devices known as 'countdown clocks' are counting down to. The Order has a suspicion that it has something to do with the Dominion of the Black, which Dr. Oscilar is something of an expert on, is he not? I realize that he's probably not in the best state of mind at the moment, but we wouldn't be bothering you if it weren't truly desperate."
"Well spoken, Lady Mystery," William says with a look of admiration.
Lucvi sighs, but she opens the double door and waves you into the receiving room. The entry hall is oppressively gloomy, though an unlit chandelier glitters twenty feet overhead. Dusty red carpeting runs down its center, flanked with rows of six-foot-tall iron floor sconces with a few lit candles. At the end of the hall are staircases leading to a second-floor balcony. "Wait here. I'll bring the professor to you." She disappears through a door to the east.
After several minutes, she returns, accompanied by a disheveled-looking man in his forties. His eyes are bleary and his clothes are rumpled, but he still strides up to you with vigor and extends his hand. "I'm Dr. Verid Oscilar," he says, looking each of you in the eye. "But you knew that, didn't you? Lucvi says you're here for a matter of great importance. Please, explain to me why you've come."
Nibiru bows and, without words, hands the Professor her copy of the letter.
"The woorld is ending," she starts as he finishes reading. "Aare you saved?"
Oscilar adjusts his spectacles and studies the offered letter. He furrows his brow before handing it back to the gnome. "I see. I am sensitive to the Order's needs. And to its worries. No one wishes to understand and thwart the Dominion more than I, and I will help you learn more about your countdown clock. But trust me when I say I'm very close to solving a problem of my own. It's why I've come to Sombrefell Hall, to perform my research uninterrupted. Once that's handled, I'll help you."
Godfrey shook the professor's hand. "I'm Godfrey, servant of Sarenrae. I'm pleased to meet you, Dr. Osciar.
"We are here on behalf of the Order of the Palantine Eye, to seek your assistance. As the letter explains, the order has retrieved an artifact of significance, which seems to be connected to your area of expertise: a Countdown Clock."
Nibiru grabs the professor's other hand in both her own thin bony ones. "Nibiru Jones, Pharasman. Know now that you are mortal, doctor, death comes for us all in the end."
Oscilar nods to Godfrey and Nibiru. "Yes, well, as I said, I am willing to help you with your request. But if I don't solve the problem facing me now, I may be of no use to anyone. I can't say more, but I need only a little more time. A few days, perhaps, maybe even just the rest of the night, if we're fortunate. You've had a long journey—perhaps you'd like to rest in the bedrooms upstairs, and I'll update you with my progress once you're refreshed?"
"Of course. Is there anything we can help you with? If not, we will leave you to your studies." Esrian tells the professor.
Oscilar shakes his head. "Nothing at the moment, thank you. Lucvi will show you to your rooms."
Lucvi leads you up the curving stairway to a set of richly appointed guest rooms, clearly unused for some time, but tidy and clean.
"You are welcome to the house's amenities. There's some food in the kitchen and you may take your meal in the dining room. The only place I'd ask you to avoid is the parlor, so as not to disturb our research." With a nod, she departs.
It's late afternoon; the red sun hangs low in the sky, obscured by the fog from the lake.
The receiving hall is oppressively gloomy, though an unlit chandelier glitters 20 feet overhead. Dust red carpet runs down its center, with lit candles blazing in iron sconces on each side. Staircases at each side lead up to a balcony/mezzanine level.
2. LIBRARY
The library's centerpiece is an enormous marble column set with towering bookshelves. Dusty divans and tables are arranged for groups to sit and study or read.
3. KITCHEN
The kitchen contains large food preparation counters as well as small fire pits and built-in ovens.
4. DINING ROOM
Floor to ceiling glass panes (a luxury that must have cost a fortune) make up the entire western wall. A solid mahogany dining table is covered in a thick layer of dust. Smaller serving trays and firmware arranged neatly around the room in clusters.
5. PANTRY
This small room contains two shelves loaded with preserves and cooking supplies.
6 & 7 SERVANTS' LODGINGS
This is where the two younger students accompanying the professor are staying.
8. RECREATION HALL
This small dining area and break room features a table and a few chairs.
9. CLOSET
This unremarkable storage room contains a few scattered, empty trunks that look to have been untouched for years.
10. PROFESSOR'S ROOM
This room is tidy, with bed made and clothes folded on the dresser, as if it hasn't been used in some time.
11. LUCVI'S QUARTERS
These are sparse, but much tidier than the students' rooms.
12. SALON
Once a salon, this is now a fantastically messy study. You catch a glimpse of Lucvi, the professor and two students (both around 5 years younger than Lucvi) before the Varisian woman sharply orders you away.
13. STORAGE
This old store room is filled with trunks of old moth eaten clothes, damaged painting, broken furniture, and so on.
14. UPPER HALLWAY
This balcony has a banister to prevent accidental falls.
15 to 17 GUEST ROOMS
Iron and glass doors open onto expansive balconies with amazing views of the lake.
Godfrey followed Lucvi to the guest rooms. He removed his armor and gear, keeping only his scimitar with him. He walked out onto the balcony, and took in the view of the lake.
He washed up, then headed downstairs for a quick tour of the house before dinner.
The northern side of the bedroom sports large, Chelish-style iron-and-glass doors that open onto expansive balconies overlooking the lake. The drop to the ground is 10 feet, though the ivy overgrowing the trellis would make climbing down relatively simple. The house's foundation is only about 10 feet away from the lakeshore, and the balcony juts over the shoreline.
Esrian likewise takes off her armor and stashes it in the next room over from Godfrey, then wanders the grounds, exploring the library and paging through a couple of the books.
The leather-bound books on the center pillar concern scholarly subjects that seem of little interest to the professor's studies—histories of the Inner Sea region, tomes on ancient civilizations, language-translation aids, and the like. A cursory inspection of these books reveals that a few contain general information about the Dark Tapestry, but nothing beyond the basics.
Esrian pages through a few of the histories, and re-familiarizes herself with the basics of the Dark Tapestry (having been a while since her last encounter with anything of that nature).
Nibiru, as ever, does not take off her armor, nor does she find a room for herself. First, she makes sure the doctor and three assistants are hard at work in the salon, and then, confident she will not be disturbed, she rummages through their rooms and personal belongings.
Further perusing the books, Esrian discovers a loose leaf of paper with handwriting tucked into one tome. the following is legible: Transformation? Mental cage? Remote connection? Investigate how!
In the assistants' bedrooms, Nibiru finds only a few changes of mundane clothes, small toiletry items, rumpled bedclothes, and class notes from Dr. Oscilar's previous lectures about the Dark Tapestry. The professor's room only has a few personal effects, nothing that seems interesting.
Nibiru finshes snooping by investigating Lucvi's room before dropping herself into the kitchen. If there are servants, she talks to them about the perils of being caught unawares by the apocalypse, otherwise she rumagges in the pantry for cheeses and salted meats.
Seeing that the other two rooms have already been claimed, William deposits his bag in the easternmost room. He checks his violin to verify that it survived the journey with a minimum of wear and tear. He plays a few bars of a light tune before setting it on the bed and heading downstairs.
He sees Esrian perusing the books, but doesn't stay to chat.
Finding Godfrey in the dining room, he attempts to make casual conversation.
"So, rifling through our host's silver, Sir?" he says with a smile, clearly not intending any real insult.
There are no servants in the manor. It's just you, the professor, and his assistants.
Nibiru doesn't find anything interesting in Lucvi's room beyond a few somewhat daring undergarments. The pantry is sparsely stocked, but she finds a bit of meat and cheese. There are also several cloves of garlic and a few flasks of lantern oil.
Godfrey looked through the pantry and made himself some dinner, since it didn't look like the host was likely to do so. When William talked to him in the dining room, he replied, "It seemed like a more attractive option than eating with my hands."
After a minute, he asked, "Does it seem strange to you that five experienced people were sent here to ask the professor's aid, rather than one or two? It would seem to me that the Order is anticipating some difficulty."
Nibiru takes the garlic, "just in case of vaampires," she says to herself, depositing it in her pack. With a knife from the kitchen, she takes some cuts from the meats and cheeses and eats it there in the pantry, before finding a nice comfy corner or gnome-sized cabinet somewhere in the house to spend the night in.
"Point well made, Sir. May I join you?" William asks, his smile widening.
Without waiting for a answer, William moves through the pantry himself before joining Godfrey again in the dining room.
"So, you're a follower of the Dawnflower, eh?" William says, tearing off a piece of bread and a small wedge of cheese. "How's that pay?"
Elis puts her things away and heads outside to the lakeshore. She looks around to see the health of the plants.
She has no real interest in books or snooping.
All of the plants seem to be in good health. They are flourishing, especially the ivy growing on the trellises.
Elis makes particular note of the Ivy, and heads back into the building.
Eventually she finds her way into the dining room. "Did you find anything intersting?" Elis asks as she takes a seat at the table.
Nibiru pokes her head out from under the table and offers Elis a slice of cheese. "Lucvi loves lingerie," she answers. "Oil in the pantry."
Godfrey finished chewing and swallowed, before replying to William, "Well, it's good for the soul. It's not something I do to get rich, if that's what you mean."
When Elis joined them, he said, "The smoked ham is pretty good; I'd call that interesting!"
He shook his head at Nibiru's announcement. "That's not very polite, you know! We don't want to antagonize our host; we need the professor's cooperation."
Nibiru sniffs and clambers back under the table. "I wanted to see if they were hiding anything from us.Their fault for leaving all their doors unlocked. Not that it would have mattered much."
After dinner, Godfrey went to the library and read a bit about the Dominion of the Black. After an hour or so, he got bored of that; after going to the kitchen to make some tea, he returned and looked at a couple of histories (Cheliax and Osirion), and looked briefly at a book on ancient Thassilon.
By that point it was getting late, and he was tired of reading. He bid the others good night and went upstairs to bed.
Esrian joins the others in the kitchen with her note, ”What do you all make of this?” she asks.
Godfrey read the note several times, trying to guess at the meaning. "My guess is that the professor came across an account of something that he might want to attempt himself. I don't know what this 'transformation' might be, but implication seems to be that it is not natural.
"Do you think we should ask him about this in the morning? I worry about offending him, making it more difficult for the Order to secure his cooperation. On the other hand, there is something about these words that I find... disquieting."
We did offer to help him with whatever he is doing. He declined. I'm sure it's just fine. If not clerics are good at taking care of evil creatures." Elis gives a small smile at her really bad joke.
"You are right Godfey this doesn't sound like something that isn't natural."
"Whaat book did you find it in?" Nibiru asks from under the table, messily eating a sausage.
"Does anyone know anything about the Cosmic Caravan?" Elis eats her food carefully. "If it doesn't involve our befactors or nature, I don't know much."
Nibiru nods sagely. "Well, a constellaation is a bunch of stars what make a pretty picture in the sky. Surely, this Cosmic Caravan is haulin a celestial wagon bearin nothin but our destruction."
If she knows more, she reveals that she's joking (but only a little bit joking, she's still mostly serious).
Godfrey replied, "Those form the signs of the zodiac," Godfrey replied to Elis.
Night has fallen by the time you finish dinner. You have just cleaned up all the dishes when a slow, rhythmic pounding on the manor’s front door echoes through the house.
Godfrey heard the sound at the front door. "Do you hear that? Someone's at the door; I'll go and see who it is."
He made his way to the front door, and looked to see who was there.