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You see a petite girl entering gracefully into the room. Her lustrous mahagony black hair is held in place by a few laquered hairpins the same hue of vibrant green of her emerald eyes. Her creamy skin suggests a live without hardship, supported by the softness of her hands. But the one thing that is even more noticeable are her beautiful emerald eyes full of mischief suggesting a prankful nature and a flexible mind.
If someone would see her bare back one would see a beautiful ise zumi of a young girl dancing on an orchid.
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Dana walks with dignity and slow steps.
"Greetings to you all." says the young woman with a shy smile.
She looks a little scrawny but quite agile. Her black hair and her headscarf have an exotic appeal and she is wearing a long red dress.
Resting on top of her chest, an amulet showing the holy symbol of Sarenrae is visible.
She has a natural presence that only few can project at such a young age although she does not come across aloof or arrogant at all.
Below her dress light leather armor is visible and she carries a Scimitar at her hip that is attached to her wrist with a very fine chain.
Facing you all she bows.
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Reginald picks himself up off the floor, dusts off his robes, and chuckles at himself as he stuffs a few pieces of paper back into his pack. "It's a pleasure to meet you all!" he says once he's back upright. He looks around, and his expression suddenly becomes worried. "Oh, has anyone seen Casovir? He was here just a moment ago..."
A grey and black raven glides through the open window, landing on a scroll that had fallen out of Reginald's pack and rolled under a chair. He caws loudly, trying to get someone's attention. "Hey! Ya missed something here!"
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Regis lifts his head from the table, glancing at those around him. His gruff exterior shows through his entire being, from his choice of weapons and armor, his backpack loaded with tools, and the slight touch of age on his face. "Pleasure to have your backs in our future endeavors friends. Hope the sentiment is shared."
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"I hope I am in the right place. I am Orst Tilboar, servant of Iomadae. May she ever guide our path in justice."
Orst is a tall muscular man in his early twenties. He is clad in full plate of good quality. He has a large sword in a scabbard across his back the hilt of which has an Iomadae symbol adorning it. A light shield also covers an area of this back. His face is tanned and rimmed with a chain mail hood but has brown hair peaking out in places.
"I am pleased to meet you all."
Moonlight streams through the stained glass windows in the old Cathedral of Aroden, now serving as the Almas Lodge of the Pathfinder Society. Venture-Captain Brackett’s ornate desk is covered in neatly stacked bundles of documents. It is around midnight, and the venture-captain has called you here for a mission of great import.
“I need you to investigate the Irrica family of central Isger,” Brackett begins without looking up. “The Eagle Knights have finally released their documents from the early days of the Goblinblood Wars, when they fought alongside Hellknights and Druman mercenaries to contain the goblin invasion up north.”
He nods curtly at a young man across the room, who wears the golden epaulets of an Eagle Knight. “Captain Bascomb?”
The officer steps forward smartly. “The Irricas were supporters of House Thrune during the Chelish Civil War. After the Thrune family came to power, the Irricas stood up to a Thrune official’s extortion attempts. The Thrune agent apparently disappeared, and rumor was that the Irricas killed him using some sort of supernatural aid. The Irricas were not punished for their transgression; on the contrary, the family received several lucrative contracts from House Thrune and became quite influential regionally.”
Brackett’s eyes narrow. “Anything that could scare House Thrune into inaction is not something we want left lying around. Go to the Irricas’ summer estate and find out what sort of supernatural aid the Irricas had. Be here and ready to leave before dawn tomorrow. Any questions?”
The Irricas were an influential Isgeri family allied with House Thrune of Cheliax. They were based out of Elidir but often traveled the countryside in their dealings as merchants.
The Irrica family had a summer home on the south shore of the Conerica River, where they conducted business and entertained guests from across Isger and Cheliax. The last of them died defending this estate, which was more exposed to goblin attacks than their other holdings.
Rutillo Irrica’s will was fled in Elidir in 4680 ar, but few of the people named in it survived the Goblinblood Wars, and no more recent will has been found. Other than a few personal items, none of the Irrica estate has been distributed.
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Dana bows to show her respect to the Venture-Captain which is rather common in Tian culture ... although she rather looks like the typical stylish priest of Sarenrae hailing from Qadira.
”Thank you Venture-Captain. May Sarenrae‘s light shine on us during this mission! I have heard that the Irricas were an influential Isgeri family allied with House Thrune of Cheliax. They were based out of Elidir but often traveled the countryside in their dealings as merchants. They had a summer home on the south shore of the Conerica River, where they conducted business and entertained guests from across Isger and Cheliax. The last of them died defending this estate, which was more exposed to goblin attacks than their other holdings. is that correct?“ she says with a sign respect to all of you.
"That is an accurate summary," says Bracket, "The estate you mention is where we'll be heading tomorrow morning. It will take us about two weeks to get there on horseback."
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"Ooo!" says Reginald, his gaze on Bracket as he bends down and gropes fruitlessly under the chair for his fallen scroll. "Did you hear that, Casovir? We could be on the cusp of another magical discovery!"
As Reginald's fingers finally catch the wayward parchment, Casovir hops up his arm and takes his customary place on his shoulder. Reginald straightens up and stuffs the scroll haphazardly back into his backpack, his eyes (full of wonder and excitement) never leaving the Venture-Captain.
Rutillo Irrica’s will was filed in Elidir in 4680 AR, but few of the people named in it survived the Goblinblood Wars, and no more recent will has been found. Other than a few personal items, none of the Irrica estate has been distributed.
The venture-captain shakes his head as he looks at Regis, "I don't know what it could have been, but it must have been powerful. The Irricas’ liaison with Cheliax was Vegoran Thrune, a distant cousin of the queen and a callous brute who abused his authority for personal gain. As the story goes, the family put up with it for a year or so… then, Vegoran suddenly disappeared. That’s when rumors of the Irricas’ ‘supernatural aid’ began."
"We’ll travel together until we reach the estate. Then I'm riding on to Elidir to follow leads of my own. It is up to you to get into the estate and conduct your investigation."
The venture captain dismisses you, and the next morning you meet up once more outside the old Temple of Aroden. Travel to the Irrica estate from Almas takes 14 days by horse; the Venture-Captain is willing to lend you horses if you do not have mounts.
Two weeks into the journey, Venture-Captain Brackett points out a dark silhouette on the horizon. "There’s the old Irrica estate. Check it out, and then meet me in Elidir to report. I’ll be staying at the Short Sorcerer Tavern, near the Druma Road gate."
The Irrica summer estate is a two-story gothic structure. The few narrow windows have been boarded up from inside, and the main doors are scorched and scarred but appear intact. The upper floor appears to have collapsed completely.
Broad stone steps lead to an open-air veranda and small vestibule. Sturdy wooden doors bar your entrance.
No ones detects the presence of any traps or hazards on the main doors, but on attempting to open them they seem to be not only locked from the inside, but also barred shut. There are also two windows present on the exterior of this side of the house, both boarded shut.
As you make your way around the house, you find that the door on the northwestern corner of the manor lies in splinters, providing easy access up the steps and into the house.
The group finds themselves in a once-grand hall, now ruined. Marble pillars support a painted ceiling above an ornately tiled but bloodstained floor. Broken glass and debris cover the floor. Stern portraits of Irrica family members look down from gilded frames hung above the reach of goblin vandals. A wrought-iron spiral staircase, its railings evoking the fires of Hell, leads to the collapsed upper floor, and a pair of sweeping staircases are choked with debris. The exterior doors are ornately carved and barred from within, save the one in the northwestern corner. There are several closed interior doors as well.
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Reginald's mouth is agape as he takes in the decor. He walks slowly through the room, observing as many details as he can. As he gently bumps into a pillar, he uses his hands to guide him around to the other side, his eyes never leaving the portraits above.
"By Elysium's holy cats, these were wealthy people," he whispers to himself.
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"Excellent thinking Orst! I'll take the West, you take the East."
Regis begins making his way to the western rooms door, scoffing at the portraits.
"Would be nobles, always thinking they are better than everyone else. They forget we all start from the some place in life."
He scans the door before opening it.
The group begins to disperse and search the room. Regis checks one of the southern doors, and finds it to be a strong wooden door, but unlocked and untrapped, he opens it to reveal a room containing nothing only fallen plaster, dust, and old cobwebs. On the southern wall above the doors hangs a large portrait of what he can assume to be the entire extended Irrica family at the time of the fall of their house, a large assembly of Chelish nobles, with one notably wearing the armor of a Hell Knight
Orst walks along the northern wall, where hangs a massive portrait of a Chelish man with a smug look on his face holding a black rod inlaid with silver Abyssal script that curves slightly, resembling an unstrung bow. This must be Rutillo Irrica, the last patriarch of the Irrica family. He is also pictured in the larger, group portrait.
Dana, Woodthorne, and Reginald all get the strong feelings that they are being watched. In fact, they are able to pinpoint the source of their feeling: as they walk about the room, some of the figures in the family portrait turn to watch them. The painted Irricas make no other movement, but a few of them certainly seem to be following the movements of those moving about the room.
Dana walks down the middle of the room. The floor is covered in brown splotches of old, dried blood, likely shed during the raid, but in places it is disturbed, as is the dust, as if other creatures had been in and out much more recently. As she comes towards the eastern end of the house and the front doors, several things happen at once.
She notices that there is soft light coming from down a hallway south of the main doors, like that from a lantern. But then she seems to pass into an area where the air draws particularly cold, giving her goosebumps, and sending a shiver down her spine. Then something draws the attention of everyone in the room.
The portrait of Rutillo Irrica animates and scowls at the intruders, shouting, “Vegoran Thrune, your time has come!" A dark-winged, female figure appears in front of the portrait. She could almost be mistaken for an angel, except she seems stained, dirty, bruised, and scarred. Rutillo mouths a four-syllable word or phrase that is both too soft and too loud to be understood, and the winged creature raises its sword to attack, flying forward towards Dana at breakneck speed!
Meanwhile, Dana is sure she hears movement from down the lantern lit hallway, as if doors were being flung open, followed by footsteps.
You recognize the winged woman as an erinyes, a powerful devil.
You are fairly certain that this manifestation of a vengeful fiend is a haunt, and is largely illusory, though still dangerous. It could be temporarily neutralized by the application of positive energy, such as channeling energy or cure light wounds, to the haunt as it manifests.
If neutralized, the haunt will return in 1 hour, unless certain conditions are met. Often it involves parties admitting their guilt in a crime they, or perhaps their family, committed.
Surprise Round Haunt triggers
Round One Orst (up), Xiao (up), Bandits (not yet up), Dana (not yet up), Reginald (not yet up), Regis (not yet up), Woodthorne (not yet up), Bandit leader (not yet up)
Orst tries to remember his religion lessons from his crusader days.
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Casovir flees for the rafters while Reginald watches in wonder as the painting comes to life.
"It might take several applications of positive energy to dispel the haunt!" he calls out. "And it's likely to still return in... wait, is that an erinyes?" His eyes widen in excitement and perhaps fear, but his attention has been caught by the sound of more footsteps coming down the hall. His mind races. "Is this really the time for puns?" he thinks. And then he remembers - it's always a good time for a pun.
As the illusory fury devil rushes towards Dana, Orst sending out a wave of positive energy in a circle around him. As the ripple of healing reaches the manifested haunt, it evaporates, just before it can bring down its blade on Dana, who stood ready to cast her own spell just in case. The haunt shouldn't trouble you for another hour.
Xiao eyes the far corridor where footsteps approach, and prepares to cast a spell, a solid plan since two men dressed like bandits soon come rushing out. One of the bandits seems to fall asleep as soon as he turns the corner, and drops to the ground snoozing. The other stops and looses an arrow at Dana, the closest enemy to him, which sticks painfully into her shoulder.
Surprise Round Haunt triggers
Round One Orst (channels energy, destroying haunt), Bandits (not yet up), Xiao (casts sleep), Dana (up), Reginald (up), Regis (up), Woodthorne (up), Bandit leader (not yet up)