Misgivings, part 4 (Friday, Neth (XI) 2, 4707 AR)
The Vent. The goblin ghasts fought to the death. The stone door leading to Vorel's laboratory was untrapped, but was locked. Fen picked the lock and the heroes continued the manor's exploration.
Vorel's Laboratory. The air in this damp cavern reeked of a horrific stench - a foul combination of decay, brine, and mold. The cave contained a rickety table, its damp surface cluttered with all manner of what appeared to be garbage: empty bottles, bits of clothing, crumpled bits of paper, and more, lying in neatly organized rows. A painting leaned against the far side of the table, facing a large leather chair that sat nearby. This chair's high back and cushion were horribly stained by smears of rotten meat and its arms were sticky with blood. A smaller table sat against the southern wall, its surface heaped with plates and platters of rotten, maggot-infested meat. The horrific stench of the room seemed strongest to the west, where the cave's wall had been overtaken by a horrific growth of dark green mold and dripping fungi. At the center, a patch of black tumescent fungus grew, its horny ridges and tumorlike bulbs forming what could almost be taken to be a humanoid outline. What appeared to have once been an exquisite puzzle box the size of a man's fist lay smashed on the ground at the fungoid shape's feet.
A closer inspection of the collection on the table was enough to worry Bruthien, for this was Aldern's collection of relics from Bruthien's life. The list of things found here ranged from mundane like used potion bottles and scrolls up to objects as personal as a lock of hair and even small personal objects that had gone missing earlier in the week. The only objects here that weren't taken from Bruthien were a stack of charcoal drawings on water-damaged parchment depicting Bruthien. The nature of the drawings varied (from heroic poses to pictures of Bruthien killed in numerous manners), but the subject remained the same throughout the collection of several dozen pages. Mixed in with these drawings was a letter written in a graceful hand. Addressed to Aldern at his Magnimar townhouse address, the letter read:
Aldern,
You have served us quite well. The delivery you harvested from the caverns far exceeded what I had hoped for. You may consider your debt to the Brothers paid in full. Yet I still have need of you, and when you awaken from your death, you should find your mind clear and able to understand this task more than in the state you lie as I write this.
You shall remember the workings of the Sihedron ritual, I trust. You seemed quite lucid at the time, but if you find after your rebirth that you have forgotten, return to your townhouse in Magnimar. My agents shall contact you there soon - no need for you to bother the Brothers further. I will provide the list of proper victims for the Sihedron ritual in two days' time. Commit that list to memory and then destroy it before beginning your work. The ones I have selected must be marked before they die; otherwise they do my master no good as the greed in their souls will go to waste.
If others get in your way, though, you may do with them as you please. Eat them, savage them, or turn them into pawns - it matters not to me.
Aldern Foxglove, once a handsome and cultured nobleman, was now condemned to an unlife of unending hunger, driven to eat the flesh of those he once might have called friends. Aldern sat in his chair as the heroes arrived.
The heroes had released Iesha's revenant from her attic prison and allowed her to work her way down into these caverns, and her confrontation with Aldern was an exciting climax. Confronted by Iesha, Foxglove shrieked out in grief and fell to his knees to beg forgiveness. For a brief moment, as Iesha caressed Aldern's sallow cheek, it appeared that she may be willing to forgive - yet a moment later, she shrieked in rage and attempted to destroy him. Her first attack on Aldern took the ghast by surprise, after which the combat resolved normally, with the heroes taking part in the battle as well. Aldern fought to the death. Iesha and the heroes destroyed Aldern in less than a minute. After the heroes released Iesha, she achieved peace by taking part in Aldern Foxglove's destruction.
Ruined Servant's Quarters. The second time the heroes passed by (on their way out of the manor), hundreds upon thousands of ravens sat quietly in this area, covering every square foot of the ruins. These ravens were disturbingly silent and still.
Vorel's Laboratory. The air in this damp cavern reeked of a horrific stench - a foul combination of decay, brine, and mold. The cave contained a rickety table, its damp surface cluttered with all manner of what appeared to be garbage: empty bottles, bits of clothing, crumpled bits of paper, and more, lying in neatly organized rows. A painting leaned against the far side of the table, facing a large leather chair that sat nearby. This chair's high back and cushion were horribly stained by smears of rotten meat and its arms were sticky with blood. A smaller table sat against the southern wall, its surface heaped with plates and platters of rotten, maggot-infested meat. The horrific stench of the room seemed strongest to the west, where the cave's wall had been overtaken by a horrific growth of dark green mold and dripping fungi. At the center, a patch of black tumescent fungus grew, its horny ridges and tumorlike bulbs forming what could almost be taken to be a humanoid outline. What appeared to have once been an exquisite puzzle box the size of a man's fist lay smashed on the ground at the fungoid shape's feet.
A closer inspection of the collection on the table was enough to worry Bruthien, for this was Aldern's collection of relics from Bruthien's life. The list of things found here ranged from mundane like used potion bottles and scrolls up to objects as personal as a lock of hair and even small personal objects that had gone missing earlier in the week. The only objects here that weren't taken from Bruthien were a stack of charcoal drawings on water-damaged parchment depicting Bruthien. The nature of the drawings varied (from heroic poses to pictures of Bruthien killed in numerous manners), but the subject remained the same throughout the collection of several dozen pages. Mixed in with these drawings was a letter written in a graceful hand. Addressed to Aldern at his Magnimar townhouse address, the letter read:
Aldern,
You have served us quite well. The delivery you harvested from the caverns far exceeded what I had hoped for. You may consider your debt to the Brothers paid in full. Yet I still have need of you, and when you awaken from your death, you should find your mind clear and able to understand this task more than in the state you lie as I write this.
You shall remember the workings of the Sihedron ritual, I trust. You seemed quite lucid at the time, but if you find after your rebirth that you have forgotten, return to your townhouse in Magnimar. My agents shall contact you there soon - no need for you to bother the Brothers further. I will provide the list of proper victims for the Sihedron ritual in two days' time. Commit that list to memory and then destroy it before beginning your work. The ones I have selected must be marked before they die; otherwise they do my master no good as the greed in their souls will go to waste.
If others get in your way, though, you may do with them as you please. Eat them, savage them, or turn them into pawns - it matters not to me.
- Xanesha, Mistress of the Seven
This letter provided the heroes with the strongest link to Magnimar they found in Foxglove Manor. The portrait that leaned against the table's far side was painted with blood and bits of runny rotten flesh into a caricature of Bruthien.
Tsela identified the shattered box on the ground as being associated with necromancy; he also realized it was an incomplete and ruined lich phylactery. In addition, the heroes recognized the box as the one depicted in some of the stained-glass windows in the manor above.
The heroes had released Iesha's revenant from her attic prison and allowed her to work her way down into these caverns, and her confrontation with Aldern was an exciting climax. Confronted by Iesha, Foxglove shrieked out in grief and fell to his knees to beg forgiveness. For a brief moment, as Iesha caressed Aldern's sallow cheek, it appeared that she may be willing to forgive - yet a moment later, she shrieked in rage and attempted to destroy him. Her first attack on Aldern took the ghast by surprise, after which the combat resolved normally, with the heroes taking part in the battle as well. Aldern fought to the death. Iesha and the heroes destroyed Aldern in less than a minute. After the heroes released Iesha, she achieved peace by taking part in Aldern Foxglove's destruction.
The patch of fungus on the wall presented an additional hazard to Tsela, who noticed the phylactery shards rattle. When he saw the strangely humanoid shape on the wall, he realized the shape matched that of his own shadow exactly, and suddenly experienced a sensation of vertigo as he felt compelled to feed on the fungus to reclaim his stolen shadow. He resisted the compulsion.
A small silver key ring worth 10 gp sat on the table amid the rotten meat, with two keys on the ring. The larger of these two was a tarnished iron key set with a round opal worth 50 gp. The smaller key was made of bronze and had an unusually long tang ending in a set of three notched blades. The head of this key resembled a roaring lion. Finally, Bruthien searched the fungus south of the dangerous black patch to uncover a mold-encrusted but magic mithral hollow tube about 1 foot long.
Dining Room. A mahogany table surrounded by chairs sat in this room. Twin fireplaces loomed to the west, while to the east, stained-glass windows obscured what could have been a breathtaking view of the Lost Coast. Each window depicted a monster rising out of smoke pouring from a seven-sided box. From north to south were depicted a gnarled tree with an enraged face, an immense hook-beaked bird with sky-blue and gold plumage, a winged centaurlike creature with a lion's lower body and a snarling woman's upper torso, and a deep blue squidlike creature with evil red eyes.
Here, as in the musician's gallery, the observatory, and Vorel's workshop, stained-glass windows looked over the Varisian Gulf. The heroes noted that it was an unusual design choice to fit the rooms with arguably the best view of the Lost Coast with windows one could not see through - this hint spoke to the importance of the images, constituting a set of hidden clues left by Lord Vorel Foxglove.
Lounge. This dusty room featured a long couch caked with white sheets of wispy fungus. Eddies of dust skittered along the warped floorboards as if caught up by a slight breeze, yet no wind was noticeable in the air.
Most of the heroes noticed that the dust was being disturbed, almost as if an invisible person were pacing violently back and forth before the fireplace. When the heroes attempted to pass through this path they heard a woman's voice whisper - "Lorey" - this was the name of Vorel's and Kasanda's daughter. They then were exposed to a brief flash of memory - a woman's memory filled with worry about what her husband might be doing on those late nights spent in the basement. An instant later, Bruthien and Fen were suddenly convinced that each other were their children and developed a powerful urge to escape the house with each other before something horrible happened.
Washroom. This was a simple washroom. An ancient metal washtub stood to the north, a ring of mildew crusting its inner surface. A strange, furtive scratching came from inside the tub.
Dancing Parlor. This oak-paneled chamber must have once been breathtaking - but was a sad sight now - the floorboards were warped with moisture and the paneling scratched and spotted with mold. A grand piano, its surface splotchy and keys warped, leaned tiredly in the southeast corner.
Drawing Room. This cozy-looking drawing room was marred by the unnatural dampness and the thick sheets of mold that cling to the curtains closed over the southern window.
Library. This library featured two chairs, one of which lay on its side, before a stone fireplace. A scarf, its reds and golds contrasting with the drab palette of the room, was draped over the side of the fallen chair. A book sat facedown on the floor between the chairs. A stone bookend, carved to look like a praying angel with butterfly wings, lay on its side in the fireplace itself.
A splash of dried blood stained the back of the northenmost chair, and an examination of the bookend revealed more blood, clots of hair, and bits of skull and flesh - in addition, part of one wing had been broken off.
This room's haunt activated as soon as Shalelu approached within 5 feet of the scarf, when she noticed the scarf moving on its own. At this point, a horrific shriek filled the room as the scarf flew into the air to wrap around Shalelu's throat.
Once the haunt was over, the scarf settled to the ground, lifeless. It was a work of art worth 100 gp.
Once the haunt was over, the scarf settled to the ground, lifeless. It was a work of art worth 100 gp.
Guest Bedchamber. When Tsela entered the room, he heard a child's voice, quivering with fear, ask, "What's on your face, mommy?" He then suddenly felt an itching on his face.
Observatory. A desk and a chair sat in the middle of this drafty room. Chimneys rose to the west, while to the east, two intricate stained-glass windows were set into the wall. The northern window depicted a dark-haired woman with pale skin, large green eyes, and a black-and-red gown; with both hands she wielded a jagged iron staff. The southern window's lower half had been broken and patched with canvas; what remained of its upper half depicted a handsome man dressed in regal finery and a crown of ivory and jade. Small scorch marks marred the wood near the broken window. A battered and ruined telescope lay on its side near the desk and a large trap door in the roof had been tied shut by several lengths of rope.
The broken telescope on the floor was once a magnificent piece of equipment but was now beyond repair. Tsela identified the figure in the northern window as Arazni, the Harlot Queen of Geb.
When Fen entered this room, he suddenly felt uncomfortably hot and noticed the stink of burning flesh. A second later, he believed he had suddenly caught on fire, and that the only way to put the flames out before he burned to death was to throw himself through the unbroken window and, hopefully, into the sea below. Fen attempted this self-destructive act only once. He hurled himself through the unbroken window of Arazni, taking damage from the shattering glass. A weather vane on the roof ended his fall.
Kitchen. A large oaken table, its surface covered with moldy stains and rat droppings, sat in the center of this large kitchen. Shelves lined the walls, and an oversized fireplace dominated the northeast portion of the room. The shelves in the southwest wall were in a much greater state of disarray, and two one-foot-wide cracks in the wall near the floor led south into the earth beyond the basement walls.
In a cupboard near the oven sat a very fine silver dinner set, with an exceptionally large silver salver and a dozen crystal decanters. The set as a whole was worth 1,000 gp. Shalelu found a small clay urn hidden in a nook behind a loose brick on the chimney. The urn was stuffed with some dried pine cones and three small violet garnets worth 50 gp each.
Kitchen Staff's Quarters. Two bunks stood in this room, relatively free of dust and mold. A single chair lay on its side between them.
Pantry. Once a pantry, this room had become a filthy, reeking lair of what must have been hundreds, if not thousands, of rats. Swaths of fur clung to everything, and mounds of rat droppings covered the floor. The heroes encountered and dispersed a rat swarm here.
Wine Cellar. Two wine racks lined the walls here, their shelves empty and dusty. Mounds of broken glass bottles cluttered the floor.
Shalelu found something interesting on the top shelf of the western rack - a hinged and hidden compartment in the back wall. Beyond was a narrow nook in which were hidden eight fine vintages of wine from the famed Vigardeis vineyard in distant Cheliax. Each bottle was worth 50 gp.
Vorel's Workshop. The door to this room was locked and made of iron, and while patches of rust marred its surface, it remained quite stout. Aldern Foxglove carried the key.
This room looked to have once been some sort of arcane workshop, although it now lay in ruin. A row of soggy books sat on the northern end of a workbench along the western wall. At the other end of the workbench, what looked like three iron birdcages sat, each containing a dead diseased rat. To the east, two stained-glass windows loomed. The northern window depicted a thin man with gaunt features drinking a foul-looking brew of green fluid, while the southern one showed the same man but in an advanced state of decay, as if he had been dead for several weeks. His arms raised and head thrown back in triumph, his rotting body turned to smoke and spiraled into a seven-sided box.
The stained-glass windows looked out over the Varisian Gulf; although the basement itself was underground, the curved eastern wall of this room extended beyond the side of the cliff face. These final windows depicted Vorel Foxglove.
The books were in sorry shape, but a look through them revealed that they all covered various arts of necromancy and the creation of undeath. Worm-eaten and crumbling, they didn't stand up to much investigation.
The iron cages each contained a dead rat. Close examination of any of these cages revealed a small symbol of a pig with a mouthful of locks peering at a keyhole; under the pig was a guildsign that said "Pug's Contraptions - Magnimar".
The heroes noticed subtle movement in the stained-glass windows, as if the man depicted therein were sneering at the observer. They then experienced a sudden urge to read the books on the workbench as soon as they came within 5 feet of the center of the room. When they touched them, they froze in place as a flood of information flowed through their mind. They experienced a series of visions chronicling the carious stages Vorel went through in his quest to become a lich, from researching the works of previous liches, to gathering the components for the lich transformation potion, to building his phylactery, finally culminating in a vision of Vorel taking his potion and doubling over in agony as his body begun to rot away. All of these visions took place as if in a realm of animated stained-glass windows, which should obviously explain the true nature of the windows in Foxglove Manor. As Vorel doubled over, the heroes were filled with blinding shame that a loved one would do this to himself, followed by a burning rage that he was stopped before he finished his ritual. These visions took only a few seconds to occur; once they ended, the heroes doubled over in an agony of anger. Once the heroes received the visions described above, Bruthien was suddenly filled with terror at the knowledge that Vorel had already succeeded in transforming himself into a lich, and must flee at top speed upstairs to find his "child" and rescue her. When Thurden got in his way and tried to stop him he suddenly seemed to transform into Vorel, and Bruthien attacked Thurden to the best of his ability until he could continue on his flight to the guest bedchamber. Upon seeing no child there, he recovered from the effect.
Dangerous Mold. The mold seemed to grow particularly thick in this portion of the tunnel. Several pickaxes had been tossed into the corner of the room - one of them looked particularly well made.
The southern two 5-feet-squares here were thick with fungus, much of it yellow mold which the heroes destroyed. Of the six picks abandoned here, five were ruined form the mold and the damp. The sixth, however, happened to be a +1 heavy pick that had weathered the conditions rather well.
The Grave. The western half of this foul-smelling cavern was heaped with bones, each scarred by the scraping of teeth. Most of the bones had been cracked open for the marrow within.
Wine Cellar. Two wine racks lined the walls here, their shelves empty and dusty. Mounds of broken glass bottles cluttered the floor.
Shalelu found something interesting on the top shelf of the western rack - a hinged and hidden compartment in the back wall. Beyond was a narrow nook in which were hidden eight fine vintages of wine from the famed Vigardeis vineyard in distant Cheliax. Each bottle was worth 50 gp.
Vorel's Workshop. The door to this room was locked and made of iron, and while patches of rust marred its surface, it remained quite stout. Aldern Foxglove carried the key.
This room looked to have once been some sort of arcane workshop, although it now lay in ruin. A row of soggy books sat on the northern end of a workbench along the western wall. At the other end of the workbench, what looked like three iron birdcages sat, each containing a dead diseased rat. To the east, two stained-glass windows loomed. The northern window depicted a thin man with gaunt features drinking a foul-looking brew of green fluid, while the southern one showed the same man but in an advanced state of decay, as if he had been dead for several weeks. His arms raised and head thrown back in triumph, his rotting body turned to smoke and spiraled into a seven-sided box.
The stained-glass windows looked out over the Varisian Gulf; although the basement itself was underground, the curved eastern wall of this room extended beyond the side of the cliff face. These final windows depicted Vorel Foxglove.
The books were in sorry shape, but a look through them revealed that they all covered various arts of necromancy and the creation of undeath. Worm-eaten and crumbling, they didn't stand up to much investigation.
The iron cages each contained a dead rat. Close examination of any of these cages revealed a small symbol of a pig with a mouthful of locks peering at a keyhole; under the pig was a guildsign that said "Pug's Contraptions - Magnimar".
The heroes noticed subtle movement in the stained-glass windows, as if the man depicted therein were sneering at the observer. They then experienced a sudden urge to read the books on the workbench as soon as they came within 5 feet of the center of the room. When they touched them, they froze in place as a flood of information flowed through their mind. They experienced a series of visions chronicling the carious stages Vorel went through in his quest to become a lich, from researching the works of previous liches, to gathering the components for the lich transformation potion, to building his phylactery, finally culminating in a vision of Vorel taking his potion and doubling over in agony as his body begun to rot away. All of these visions took place as if in a realm of animated stained-glass windows, which should obviously explain the true nature of the windows in Foxglove Manor. As Vorel doubled over, the heroes were filled with blinding shame that a loved one would do this to himself, followed by a burning rage that he was stopped before he finished his ritual. These visions took only a few seconds to occur; once they ended, the heroes doubled over in an agony of anger. Once the heroes received the visions described above, Bruthien was suddenly filled with terror at the knowledge that Vorel had already succeeded in transforming himself into a lich, and must flee at top speed upstairs to find his "child" and rescue her. When Thurden got in his way and tried to stop him he suddenly seemed to transform into Vorel, and Bruthien attacked Thurden to the best of his ability until he could continue on his flight to the guest bedchamber. Upon seeing no child there, he recovered from the effect.
Dangerous Mold. The mold seemed to grow particularly thick in this portion of the tunnel. Several pickaxes had been tossed into the corner of the room - one of them looked particularly well made.
The southern two 5-feet-squares here were thick with fungus, much of it yellow mold which the heroes destroyed. Of the six picks abandoned here, five were ruined form the mold and the damp. The sixth, however, happened to be a +1 heavy pick that had weathered the conditions rather well.
The Grave. The western half of this foul-smelling cavern was heaped with bones, each scarred by the scraping of teeth. Most of the bones had been cracked open for the marrow within.
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