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You spend sometime collecting yourselves and then proceed to the Mannor in question.
The Mavedarus estate was built generations ago, and the series of disappearances and deaths in and around the house began before it was even completed. Despite the perpetual incidents, the house remained in the possession of the original Chelaxian family, passing down through the generations until it was abandoned after the earthquake that shook Absalom in 4698 ar, sending most of Beldrin’s Bluff into the sea. The couple in residence at the time both went missing in the quake. While rescue workers never found their bodies, they found many others within its walls—until a series of accidents eventually killed enough rescue workers that they simply boarded up the site and left it.
The Mavedarus home was once a grand, three-story structure with a rooftop veranda and manicured grounds. Now, only the first floor remains standing, the second and third stories having collapsed during the earthquake, and in the years of neglect since, the grounds have grown into a wild disarray.
Along your way their you pick up rumors that the previous owners were known for their very radical alchemical experiments and were trying to create a type of elixir of youth.
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You make your way to the Entry:
This old home might have once commanded the respect and envy of its neighbors, but the remaining story is cracked and crumbling. Whatever upper stories it might have once had have long collapsed, scattering stone and debris across gardens grown wild and weedy. Two curving staircases lead to a broad veranda bereft of its railings. Two openings that might have once been doors lead into the faint remnants of a solarium, while two more doors lead further into the creaking house itself. A whiff of rot and decay seeps from the structure.
And look in to the main hall:
The tiled floor, ornate columns, and sweeping staircases of this once-grant hall evoke a distinctly Taldan aesthetic, though the finery has suffered greatly over the past years. The marble floor tiles are cracked and filthy, and the statuary lining the walls has been smashed. None of the three staircases climbs beyond head level before ending abruptly, debris from their fallen upper reaches scattered across the floor.
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"Probably nothing but myths and rumors." Vanak scoffs and looks at the ruined building in front of them.
"Folk tend to exaggerate stories over time,though often there is a true core,so I wouldn't be too surprised to find an alchemical laboratory...or the remains of one. Keep your eyes peeled for instable floor boards once we're inside."
Vanak hangs a bit back when the party enters the estate. He grimaces after getting a whiff of the lingering smell of decay.
"Alright let's see if we can find a spot to rest. The estate is big, I doubt we'll get out of here before night falls."
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Everything this room once held now lies jumbled over the floor in a soggy mess: torn pages, scraps of fabric, and splintered remnants of furniture. Doors hang askew in the north and east walls, but the door to the south has been smashed from its hinges.
Mikaela notices a broken compartment that was hidden. Inside is some old papers still legible. They contain partial recipes that include pieces of sapient creatures as ingredients.
Mirtha notices a vial discarded in the corner. It is a lesser healing potion
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"Aye, the library seems a good place to start" Vanak agrees with the rest and joins digging through the old documents. Unfortunately the few pieces he's scanning crumble to dust under his fingers or he can't make any sense of them.
Luckily Mikaela is able to find some clues here. Gruesome, but still clues.
"What a lovely place." Vanak comments, and joins the black-haired woman in the what he can only guess, once has been the study. Orel hops by his side, pecking at a few scraps of leather.
Let's see if we can find a few more clues to unravel this mystery. I gotta say, I'm enjoying this more than I thought I ever would he thinks by himself and a quick smile is crossing his face, while he's scanning the shambled room with squinted eyes.
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From the library you make your way to the Study behind it.
Ivy has overgrown the empty window frame, casting this room into cool shadow. A low shelf, its wood warped and cracked, stands against the south wall, and a desk has been overturned and smashed in the eastern part of the room.
Mikaela begins to hear whispers of from a distance in time to react as spirits reliving their last moments crying out frantic claims of not wanting to live forever anymore.
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With some blind luck, Mikaela manages to suppress the spirits in the room for now. They still linger but won't be a problem again for a while.
With these currently held at bay you move though the kitchen.
Only a single, aged worktable still stands in one corner of this room, though the clay fragments of an oven and rusted metal suggest it was once a kitchen. The ceiling has completely fallen in, leaving this room open to the sky above. Doors stand in the east and west walls.
Seeing what happened here, Keemul knows that there is a similar haunt lingering in the Main Hall. The scratching hands sounds become louder to him.
But no one else hears it.
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"Whatever you did, Mikaela, it seemed to have worked. Nicely done." Vanak commends Mikaela while he steps into the utterly ruined kitchen to have a look around.
There's not muched to be found unfortunately and after Vanak scavenges a bit through the rubble, he visibly shakes his head. After a few moments he opens the door in the east to step back into the main hall.
"Shall we see what's left in the other wing of the building?" he asks his fellow Pathfinders, while he carefully scans the main hall.
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Mirtha raises her holy symbol, but Mikaela beats her to the punch, somehow dispelling the haunt before she can assist. Mirtha shakes her head in disbelief and continues scanning the area for magical auras.
Mirtha answers Vanak, saying "Yes, let's see if there is anything on the other side of this cursed house."
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As Vanak and Mirthra make their way across the main hall, hands come up from the floorboards and tear at their legs. A chemical scent overpowers the rot, and precise surgical cuts can be seen on the arms.
The disembodied hands cut in to their legs dealing
slashing (basic will save)
And you are both bleeding and the injuries hobble your movement (
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What the...? Vanak thinks as his feet miss a step. Looking down he sees the rotten claws and hands slashing into his feet, calves and thighs.
Vanak stumbles back, fresh red blood glistening in deep cuts all over his lower body. A grunted scream escapes his mouth while he falls down on the ground, leaning against the wall behind him. Some of the hands are still clawing at his boots, disappearing only after he shakes his head a couple of times and rubs his eyes hard enough to see white spots.
"Are those...real?" he just mumbles and absently takes the vial Arvax offers him. "Thanks friend. You've all seen these, right?" he asks his fellows, before he pulls out the cork with his teeth and downs the elixir.
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"Thanks Mirtha", Vanak hisses while Mirtha is patching up some of the nasty scratches on his legs.
Though some of the wounds are taken care of the cloth Mirtha used on Vanak's legs is soaked with fresh blood almost immediately.
"Hold on, let's try some of this to start the clotting." he grunts through grinding teeth, obviously still in pain. His bloodied fingers fiddle with one of the belt pouches and produce eventually some dried leaves that give off a very musky scent.
"This will burn.", he says - almost out of routine, usually he is not on the receiving end of his treatments however.
Whatever Vanak tried to do did not work. "Well maybe we'll just have to wait a little?" he says and gives Mirtha a wry smile.
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They had to wait a little, but Vanak got worse first before he got better. After he made his cynical comment to Mirtha he almost immediately falls unconscious due to the blood loss.
A gasping breath, a wide-eyed stare and a sudden yank into a sitting position later, Vanak is back with the living thanks to Mirtha's divine powers and her skilled hands.
"Thank you Mirtha," Vanka whispers out of breath, "Again." He looks at his legs and tries to move them.
"Seems like I'm in working condition again.", he says and another boyish smile runs across his face. "Let me see if I can return the favor for once."
He scooches over to Mirtha, still sitting on the ground and produces a small pot with a reddish-brown paste that he liberally applies to Mirtha's wounds.
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After spending some time tending to your wounds, you then examine the rest of the floor:
Dining Room
The furniture in this once-fine dining room was crushed by the debris falling from the floors above. What remains is sodden and mostly unidentifiable.
Parlor
A large, long-cold fireplace stands in the east wall of this expansive parlor, but the furnishings are all rotted. A dank stench of mold lingers in the air. The ceiling overhead has collapsed, leaving the room open to the sky. The floor in the room’s southern end has followed suit, leaving a gaping hole into darkness.
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"Can you see down there Keemul? To my eyes this hole is pitch-black." Vanak asks Keemul just before he is ready to descent. He knows that some Gnomes can see perfectly fine in the darkness, but not all of them.
Better come off a bit rude than having one of us trapped below in utter darkness He thinks while he steps a bit closer to join the rest of the group.
"I'm sure Sarenrae can help us out, if you want her light." Vanak continues and looks to Mirtha if she would be willing to help out.