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After taking a moment to revise the door, Wymarc confirms its not trapped or locked. He opens it, revealing a small hallway and another door... this one opens to further stairs.
B30
Leaving the arcane laboratory behind, you enter this dark area.
Piles of broken stone, dirt, and a few ruined pickaxes line the edges of this room. The floor in the middle of the room has been torn up to reveal an ancient set of stone spiral stairs that go down, obviously of much older construction than the surrounding basement, winding deep into the bedrock below. A foul stink, like that of rotten meat, wafts up on a cold breeze from the darkness.
Surprise Round
Haunt 10
As soon as she steps into this room, Lasciel gets a vision of a young noble man, who she can assume is Aldern Foxglove, working to break the stone with a pickaxe.
"I'll get those rats! They are under the floor!" he swings at the floor wild eyed. He looks dirty and desperate, with unhinged look on his face.
Aldern finally breaks an opening revealing older spiral stairs going down. He is transfixed, as if the darkness itself was reaching for him. Lasciel could swear there's someone or something else watching from the other side. At that moment, a horde of diseased rats, like the ones you fought before, spring forward like a fountain, engulfing Alder, leaving nothing behind and then following after you to attack you.
Surprise Round
Initiatives
Wymarc 24
Mina 23
Shamus 15
Lasciel 10
HAUNT 10
White Rose 4
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"Rats...... more Rats..... Rats.... Rats....Rats...." with another haunt in the area though this time affecting her she starts to panic some while reaching for her wand of CLW, while shaking and stuttering "kill the rats, kill the rats... must kill the rats.... before hurting anyone else"
she's usually calm with the haunts and even with the rats before hand she has been able to be level headed, but this happening to her has shaken something loose
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Without being able to neutralize in time, the Haunt manifests fully, almost as if it was feeding in Lasciel's fears to make it even stronger.
Lasciel, DC 16 Will save to shake off the haunt's influence on your mind!
If that fails...
Lasciel sees the rats crashing against her like a wave, and a blink later she realizes to her horror that they have morphed into ghouls... shrieking ghouls that want to eat her alive. They grab her and begin to tear and bite at her flesh.
The rest of the party watch Lasciel jerk and thrash in the air as if she were being shaken by a mob, and suddenly deep red claw and bite wounds appear on her skin.
Fort Save DC16 for half damage
Fort Save DC16 vs Ghoul Fever
Her body collapses back to the stone floor a second later... having spent the haunt's power.
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Thankfully, Lasciel slips free from the haunt's influence, leaving her with the unsettling sensation of rats scurrying away over her skin.
The smell of rotten meat is strong and quite real though. It's coming from the dark depths of the spiral staircase.
You have finished exploring the basement. Do you want to explore the second floor+attic were you heard the wails of a woman or do you continue to descend into the darkness towards the stench of death?
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After a brief consideration amongst themselves, the party votes to track back and finish exploring the upper floors before heading into the darkness below.
Getting back to the first floor is uneventful. You take the other door up and traverse this flight of stairs, your footsteps in the creaking wood echo loudly around you...
Just as you are about to reach the top of the staircase, you hear the rushing of small feet crossing the hallway in front of you. Could almost see the shadow of little figures running into the room to the south (b11), children perhaps, whimpering in fear.
When you reach the top, you see the door to B11 open ajar.
What do you do?
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Shamus is cautious as ever as he moves to the upper floor with the others.
*Creak*
*Creak*
Hearing the patter of childrens' feet above as they approach the upper floor, he frowns in sadness at the thought of the children that once lived in this manor in happiness, yet are possibly now malevolent spirits cursed by the deeds done by those in the past.
Shamus shuffles to a halt on the creaky wooden steps as he holds out his haunt siphon. His eyes wide, he turns to face his companions.
"If I'm quick enough with this siphon, I can trap their poor souls within."
He moves slowly into the room, ready with the siphon.
"Come out, children. We're here to help you."
He calls out in a calm and sincere tone.
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Shamus enters to investigate...
This bedroom features a child-sized bed, a chair next to a toy box, and a looming stone fireplace. There's the echo of childrens' sobbing coming from under the bed. Suddenly, a small hand reaches from under it at his ankles trying to grab him. "Quick! Hide!" he hears a frightened girl's voice pleading to him.
Shamus is convinced that "your parents" are trying to kill each other. You see 'your mother', a woman with red hair, rushing through the hallway carrying a torch wild eyed. "I'll burn it all down! I'll burn this dammed house down!" she yells. You see the servant's quarter aflame from outside the window. Your father appears on the opposite side of the hallway then, his face is covered with festering tumors and his eyes appear to have an unnatural glow to them. He brandishes a knife and attacks his wife. You and your sister rush into your little's brother room to hide in panic. You grab little Aldern and hide under the bed, fearing whoever wins will come for you next!
But before the vision can overwhelm his mind's defenses he activates his readied Siphon and the images dissolve in front of him.
These memories must have been of Sendeli, Zeeva and Aldern. At least he knows the kids survived and were taken to Korvosa with extended family... Aldern's fate is still on the air, having returned to live in this cursed place not so long ago.
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Shamus reels in fear at the sight of the terrible images he sees:
You see 'your mother', a woman with red hair, rushing through the hallway carrying a torch wild eyed. "I'll burn it all down! I'll burn this dammed house down!" she yells. The servant's quarter aflame from outside the window. Your father appears on the opposite side of the hallway then, his face is covered with festering tumors and his eyes appear to have an unnatural glow to them. He brandishes a knife and attacks his wife.
"G-g-good heavens. Those poor children."
He mutters softly in shock.Shamus regains his composure and quickly jams the cap on the haunt siphon.
He holds it up in front of his face and squints to examine the swirling green mist of negative energy within the glass container. He then holds it out for his companions to have a look.
"Their souls are free to pass on to the Realm of Pharasma now. Within this ghost-catcher is the negative energy that caused their spirits to manifest."
He taps a finger on the siphon.
"It makes for a quite diabolical weapon now."
He says with a proud grin.
"Similar to a vial of alchemists' fire, except it does negative energy damage to those caught in the blast."
He tucks the filled siphon into a pocket, then pulls out a fresh siphon.
"Let's put some more lost souls to rest, shall we?"
He shuffles out of the room with a chuckle as he pats the pocket with the filled siphon.
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The doors to the east are not trapped (neither the doors to the west).
This large musician gallery features two padded chairs and a long couch facing a wide alcove lined with stained glass windows. A couple of lutes, harps and a drum lie to the east. The windows here 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.
K.Arcana DC20
After a brief moment expecting a haunt... nothing happens. Surprisingly, this is perhaps the most renovated area of the house. It would appear Aldern started his efforts to fix the place here.
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Without finding anything else of interest here, the party checks the other set of double doors.
B17
A stone fireplace sits in the northwestern portion of this chamber. Paintings hang on the walls to the north and south, three and five respectively, each covered over with a thick sheet of dusty cobwebs that obscures its subject from view. They also have plaque's with the names on it but the webs also cover it from reading it easily. You would need to clean them to read them.
There's a second set of double doors on the other side of the room.
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Shamus starts cleaning the paintings revealing the faces and names of each person behind the cobwebs and dust.
White Rose and Wymarc check the other door, not finding it trapped. Feeling safe, they open the door to what is the second floor's bath room.
An iron tub sits in the middle of this room, the floorboards around it sagging with the tub’s weight.
By this time, Shamus has finished cleaning all the portraits...
Wiping away the dusty cobwebs over the paintings reveals portraits of the previous tenants of Foxglove Manor. The three to the north depict Vorel and Kasanda Foxglove and their daughter Lorey. Vorel is a tall, middleaged man with long dark hair, a clean-shaven face, and dark blue noble’s clothes, while Kasanda is a stern-faced brunette woman with wisps of gray in her short hair and flowing blue dress. The five to the south show Traver and Cyralie Foxglove, their son Aldern, no more than five in this picture, and their two daughters Sendeli and Zeeva. Traver, like Vorel, is tall and thin, but with an even narrower face and a thin mustache. Cyralie is a young woman with long red hair and an impish smile.
Surprise Round
Haunt 10
The temperature in the room drops dramatically. Breath frosts in the air and fingers of rime slither across the walls. The figures depicted in the portraits suddenly shift from paintings of living people to those of dead folk. Kasanda and Lorey slump into misshapen, tumor-ridden corpses. Traver grows pale as a long cut opens in his throat and blood washes down over his chest. Cyralie blackens and chars, and her arms, legs, and back twist as if broken in dozens of places. Aldern’s flesh darkens with rot, his hair falls out, and he deforms into a ghoul-like monster. Both Sendeli’s and Zeeva’s portraits frost over but otherwise remain unchanged. Vorel’s entire portrait, frame and all, erupts into a hideous fungus and tumorous growth and it seems it's about to burst! His face twists in anger, almost as if he was trying to reach you with his hate!
Initiative
Mina 25
Shamus 19
Wymarc 23
White Rose 13
HAUNT 10
Lasciel 8
No one was able to notice the haunt until it was too late! A wave of fungus and disease washes over the entire room. Rot and fungal decay stick to anything and everyone in here. A heartbeat later, the room returns to normal as if nothing had happened.
Shamus make a DC 15 Fortitude save. If you fail,
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Wymarc notices just in time... the floor is rotten and unstable under the iron bathtub! Any additional weight will make the floor of this room collapse.
On the other room, Shamus is thankfully alright and manages not to be affected by the diseased spores. All the portraits look normal again, even though Shamus could swear Vorel's face wasn't scowling originally.
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B13
This could have been a guest room years ago, but now is caked with a thick, spongy layer of dark green, blue, and black mold. Although disgusting and foul-smelling, the mold in this room is harmless in the short term... but as soon as Shamus enters this room...
Surprise Round
Haunt 10
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Not being close enough to strike at the haunt with his wand, it manifests fully...
Shamus feels an itching on his face. Although to his companions nothing seems amiss, Shamus is convinced his face had suddenly erupted into a tangled mess of tumors and boils, giving him the urge to desperately attempt to claw the offending sickness from his skull.
Surprise Round
Mina 23
Shamus 18 [DC14 Will save]
Wymarc 17
Lasciel 10
Haunt 10
White Rose 5
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Shamus resists the haunt's influence, activating the siphon. The energy flares up and it's not enough to sever the connection the haunt has with the realm of the living. Shamus doesn't stay around to find out more though. He exits the room and as soon as he does, the compulsion fades.
Wymarc attempts to tap the haunt with his wand... but he's unsure if that was enough to destroy it now that there's no obvious effects on Shamus. Wymarc himself seems to be perfectly ok. It would seem the echoes of the energies on this room had keyed into Shamus' particular living force...
Round 1
Mina 23
Shamus 18
Wymarc 17
Lasciel 10
Haunt 10
White Rose 5
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Mina enters the room and waves her wand widely, hoping to strike at the core of the negative emotions of the haunted room... but she doesn't think she actually hit anything. The room remains quiet and just has a very overwhelming mold odor.
A search of the room yields nothing of particular importance. This room had been left in this sorry state for decades.
If you decide to continue by room number, the door to B15 is not trapped and you also notice the door to B16 is slightly ajar, revealing the stairs that lead to the attic. Opening the door to B15 you see what once was a fine chamber that has been completely trashed. The bed is smashed, mattress torn apart, walls gouged as if by knives, chairs hacked apart, and paintings on the walls torn to pieces—with one exception. A portrait hanging on the northwest wall seems to be untouched, although it hangs backward, its unseen subject facing the wall.
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Lasciel and Wymarc stays just outside the door while Shamus, Mina and White Rose enter the room to investigate.
All seems well. Nothing bad appears to happen with the people who entered the room.
You proceed to search around but almost everything here has been completely destroyed beyond repair, except for the one painting turned around facing the wall... checking it reveals a portrait of a beautiful young Varisian woman. The name on the small plaque reads "Iesha Foxglove" and the date is from a few of months ago.
White Rose recognizes Iesha as the dancing woman from the piano haunt and Mina gets a melancholy feeling washing over here, a sense of loss and betrayal, remnants of her vision of Aldern Foxglove strangling her with a scarf.
Until now, you were not aware she was another Foxglove, perhaps Aldern's wife...
The painting is intact, a huge contrast with the rest of the room. Whoever did this took care of keeping it that way. Do you wish to bring it with you?
Confirmed position:
Wymarc - ?
Lasciel - ?
Shamus - ?
Mina - ?
White Rose - ?
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Shamus studies the painting for a few moments as he rubs his chin with his fingers.
"You know... This painting may be of some worth to a historian. Possibly one of my colleagues in my department at the Grand Lodge."
Shamus takes the painting off the wall and gets to work. He pops the painting out from the back of the frame, then carefully pries the canvas from the stretcher bars, using a dagger to pull out the tacks holding the canvas taught over the bars. He rolls up the canvas painting and tucks it into his backpack.
"That oughta do it."
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You all enter the room following marching order...
The furniture in this bedroom, while dusty and unkempt, does not exhibit any major signs of water or mold damage. The one exception is a dark stain on the desk near the northern window.
As soon as Lasciel gets close to the desk, she shudders and is suddenly overwhelmed with a vision... she sees herself standing in front of a broken window, somewhere in the attic. She's filled with horror at the conviction that she has just killed the person she loves most. Overwhelmed with despair, she moves to the desk, retrieves what appears to be a silver-handled dagger from it in an attempt to cut her own throat.
Surprise Round
Haunt 10