The band leave Adaven and head North West towards Serylim.
Lemmog flies high on his new trusty steed, taking in the land and pondering if and when all of this can be his.
As he approaches the town, he spots in the far west a large dust cloud....
The band have been traveling for about a week now when they enter the town of Serylim. It is a bleak and dreadful little down. As they step into the town square they are presented with the smell of rotting meat, thick overgrown weeds, and the sound of loudly buzzing insects. They are immediately assaulted by mosquitos. Many of the houses they pass seem to be abandoned.
The band see a lone tavern in the town - The Copper Mug - and as they pass it a man throws open the front door and looks over to them with wide, excited eyes. “Heroes!” he cries out, revealing a set of yellow, decaying teeth as he speaks. “Please, come inside! Drinks on the house!” he shouts and beckons them into the taven.
Ekam mutters to the rest of the band, "Heroes! he defiantly has not heard of us then"
But the band does follow him into the tavern.
A Plea for Help
The man introduces himself as Torvaln Thompson, owner of The Copper Mug. He was once a hulking man with a thick black beard, but now he has shriveled to a scrawny husk of his former self.
He tells them to have a seat and opens up a bottle of wine, one of the last unspoiled bottles in the entire town, and pours them each a glass.
He explains to them the situation - Helen Nerastrim and her murderous rampage, the town slowly decaying, Father Oswyn’s attempt to cleanse the Manor, and that their current desperation.
"There are only a few dozen people who still live here and they all live in terror of the haunting spirit that still occupies the Nerastrim Manor that overlooks the town.
Three years ago, the perfect housewife that was Helen Nerastrim could no longer stand a life of subservience to her husband; could no longer be a slave to outlandish social standards. She slowly descended into madness before finally making a deal with a fiend who promised to free her from this life . . . in exchange for a small favor.
It was a trap.
The fiend magnified her hatred tenfold.
Helen murdered her husband, her son, her daughter, and the family's two servants with a cleaver before taking her own life with the same weapon.
Since then, her spirit has been bound to the house and the hatred that festers within its walls has attracted a multitude of evil entities.
A month ago, half a dozen brave souls attempted to cleanse the property with the help of a priest by the name of Father Oswyn. They never returned.
Before they departed, Oswyn informed the town that the only way to force her spirit to move on from this world is to completely destroy her physical body within the manor.
Now the townsfolk are desperate for someone to help them- to cleanse the manor once and for all and hopefully retrieve the bodies of those who died in that nightmarish place.
The reward will be any items that remain in the manor. This includes the family’s wealth, rare paintings, and perhaps even a few magic items.
Before Father Oswyn and his group left, he created a set of candles that would keep Helen’s spirit at bay while they searched for her body. He called them Repulsion Candles and they were crafted with strands of Helen’s hair, producing a light source that repels her ethereal form.
Father Oswyn took three with the group but left one behind in case they were not successful, and now this is all the party will have for protection against her unbounded rage. Unfortunately, the candle only burns for a single hour.
The town of Serylim has been in a state of doom and gloom for the past year. For a while, simply leaving the Nerastrim Manor alone seemed to be enough, but over the past year there has been notable effects on the town itself.
The animals refuse to eat, sometimes starving themselves to death. The crops don’t seem to grow nearly as plentiful as they did before and entire crops are blighted. Swarms of mosquitoes and locusts have visited the town, eating even more of their dwindling food supply and making the townsfolk miserable.
We suffer from horrible nightmares when we manage to overcome their insomnia and find sleep. These people are malnourished, covered in bites, and their skin is pale and cracked. They look as if they could fall over dead at any moment.
Many people have already left town, and now less than half of the townsfolk remain - the ones too poor to be able to pick up their life and go or too stubborn to leave their family’s legacy behind.
My friends and family have all left and my supply of alcohol is going sour. The children have all disappeared. Those that remain still cling to hope of a group of heroes coming through and freeing them from this curse that seems to be infesting their once quiet, peaceful town.
For many, hope is the only thing that gets them out of bed in the morning . . . but hope is dwindling."
When Torvaln’s story is done, he goes behind the bar and moves away some of the floorboards, pulling out a black candle. He walks it over to the party and explains that this was the Repulsion Candle that Father Oswyn left behind when he went to destroy Helen’s body. He slides it over to the band and tells them that the manor contains wealth and magical items that are theirs for the keeping should they succeed in cleansing the town of this malevolent spirit. “Please, please help us . . . or there will be nothing left to be saved by the time someone else capable comes along.”
The band reluctantly agree, as well
- They are not being paid
- But there is wealth to be taken as reward
- Not our fight, not our town
- But Lemmog could try to annex the town as part of Richmond
Repulsion Candle
Wondrous item, uncommonThis candle burns for one hour, during which time, the creature whose essence was used to craft this item cannot pass through the light it produces. The candle produces bright light in a 5 foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet.
Into the Manor
The Nerastrim Manor sits at the top of a large hill that overlooks the town. As usual in the town as of late, the sky is dark and overcast. A light breeze rolls through and causes dead leaves to dance across the party’s path as they make their way up to the iron gates that surround the structure. Fortunately, these wrought-iron gates hang broken off of their hinges.
Despite being unattended for three years, the manor itself appears to be in excellent condition. The beautiful gardens that used to line the property were not so lucky. They are now black with rot and produce a foul stench. The flowers have long since wilted and the hedges are nothing but thick tangles of dead wood. The windows of the manor have all been boarded up by the townsfolk to prevent anyone from entering and it seems the only way into the structure is the front door which has a sign hanging on the front that reads: Danger - Turn Back
Lemmog contemplates heading backwards into the house, you know cause "turn back", when Yomi notices movement at one of the windows on the second floor of the manor. Just a few moments later, the thick wooden door that leads into the house swings open ever so slightly on its own. They hear a whisper rush past their ears as the wood creaks loudly. It is a woman’s voice, low and haggard, but clearly a woman’s voice. With each line, the voice grows angrier and angrier until the final line when she is all but snarling the words:
Ladies don't speak that way, Helen
You need to learn your place, Helen
Don't you dare speak back to me, Helen
What are you doing with that cleaver, Helen?
The moment she finished speaking, the door swings wide open, smashing loudly against the side of the house.
The Entryway
Peeking in through the front door, the party sees that the interior of the house is coated in dust. From outside, nothing seems to be suspicious . . . at least at first.
As Lemmog starts to approach the doorway, a translucent head pokes out from around the corner. It is Helen's spirit - a middle-aged woman with hair up in a messy bun and wearing a tattered evening gown. She would be quite beautiful if not for the huge, terrifying grin spread across her face.
"I'm afraid we aren't ready for guests right now. As you can see the house is a mess! If you don't feel like waiting, you can always throw yourself on top of one of the fence spikes out front and save us both some time." She gives a small wave of her hand to shoo them away before she disappears back around the corner.
Ekam exclaims, "Sod this for a game of soldiers, lets looks about first"
The band find on the grounds a backdoor to the manor which has been liberally boarded up. and also a woodshed.
Off to the Woodshed
The Workshed
There is also a workshed in the backyard. It is quite well crafted and kept shut via an old lock that has started to rust a bit. Yomi casts Knock on the Lock to unlock it, creating a loud noise.
Within the shed are a number of tools that are used for groundskeeping shovels, hedge clippers, rakes, etc... as well as a large workbench off in the back of the spacious shed. In the center of the room is a thick black rug that has turned deep brown from years of dirt and dust collecting atop it.
Ekam pulls back the rug and can see the subtle outlines of a trap door in the wooden floor, but there does not appear to be any latch or handle to open it. These outlines are too thin for fingers to fit.
Lemmog gets to work on the trap door with his axe as the band look about the shed and find that the mounted vice grip on the workbench has a strange mechanism attached to it that runs into the floor.
Ekam spins the device to the left to loosen the vice as Lemmog puts his axe into the trap door for the second time, there is a subtle click and the trap door pops up half an inch, and then opens as Lemmog pulls his Axes up with the trap door stuck on his axe.
There is a ladder that descends ten feet into a five foot wide tunnel that leads towards the house. It is pitch black within the tunnel and a number of spiders have taken up residence here. Numerous roots protrude through the sides of the tunnel, the result of many years of neglect on the pathway and of the plants above. The tunnel continues for eighty feet before reaching a fine stone wall with a handle on it.
The door is not locked and the band nominate Gribble to open it.
The Basement
There are two finely crafted poker tables in this room as well as two additional large wooden tables designed for dice games or general drinking. Off to the right is a full sized bar that is still stocked with every sort of liquor. Next to the bar is a wine rack that extends from floor to ceiling and is six feet wide. Over half of this is still stocked with wine, each bottle being worth anywhere from 1 gold to 25 gold. Scattered about the room are also half a dozen taxidermied animals, ranging from a badger all the way up to a bear.
As soon as Gribble steps in Helen appears screaming, flying through one of the walls, screeching loudly as she swings an ethereal cleaver at Gribble. "I . . . told . . . you . . . no . . . guests!" she screams, managing one word between each swipe of the blade.
Silme traps her in a Force Cage.
Lemmog rushes through the basement to try the door opposite, as the rest of the band enters the room.
They are overwhelmed by the feeling they are being watched. It persists no matter where they go, just a feeling that makes the hair on the back of their neck stand up.
Just as Lemmog gets to the door, Ekam notices that the bear's head has definitely moved from when they first entered the room!
The animals in the room all spring to life to attack the party, their eyes glowing light blue in the darkness.
As the Band fight the Taxidermized animated animals, Lemmog moves into the other room
The Basement Storage
The room contains barrels and crates to restock the house. Just as Lemmog is about to look through it, Helen dematerlises from the Force Cage and Rematerlises infront of the Lemmog attacking him, screeching "Get out"
Lemmog hits Helen with his Magical Axe, but the blade just passes through her, but her Cleaver does not just pass through Lemmog!
As Lemmog pulls out the Repulsion Candle, Helen states "Oh, another of these candles. Didn't go so well for the last bunch. They are still busy rotting away in my beautiful home!"
Lemmog thrusts his hand into Helen and lights the candle, Helen vanishes back into the shadows, Lemmog extinguishes the candle (to save the burn duration), Helen instantly reapears and attacks Lemmog, so Lemmog Lights and keeps it lit the candle.
The Band despatch the animated animals, and they head up the stairs together....
The Den
This comfortable living space is coated in dust after years of neglect. A large fireplace on the far side of the room comes to life as you step through the threshold of the entryway. There is seating for a dozen people, but the main attraction is a large comfortable armchair that sits directly in front of the fireplace. On a small table next to the chair is a still open bottle of wine and an empty glass. On the carpet around the chair are deep red stains. There are also four bookshelves in the room as well as an assortment of still sealed bottles of alcohol.
Though it is obscured from the hallway entrance, the skeletal remains of Helen’s husband, Nathaniel, still sits in his favorite chair in front of the fire. He is dressed in fine garments, though they hang a bit loose without flesh on the body. When Ekam goes to investigate it, a blue shimmer sweeps over it and Nathaniel’s skeleton lashes out. As he does so, Helen’s voice whispers through the room, “He had no trouble laying hands on his own wife, so I’m sure he will have no issue ripping the flesh from your body.”
The band jump into action, but not necessarily the same action!
Silme heads into the Study
Yomi into Joshuas Room
Gribble heads into the Dining Room
Lemmog into Noras Room
Leaving Ekam to fend for himself with the wight of Nathaniel
The Study
On the far side of the room is large oak desk. It is finely crafted and seems to be holding up wonderfully through the years. There are six large bookshelves and they are completely packed with various writings. In between some of these books are carved animal statues, decorative candles, and intricate metalworks. There is a small table in the center of the room with a candelabra and a few empty glasses. One item in particular is more prominent than others - a large iron safe that rests embedded into the stone wall directly behind the desk.
When Silme enters the room, Helen’s voice whispers through the air, but this time it is filled with sadness more than hate. “He loved his books more than he loved his wife.”
On searching the room she finds:
- In one of the drawers of the desk is a note that reads: “Helen has been acting strange as of late. She is less obedient than normal, less than a proper wife should be. She’s spending abnormally long amounts of time in the basement, but refuses to tell me what she is doing down there. I worry for her sanity.”
- In another one of the drawers of the oak desk is a collection of coloured marbles. The safe itself has a 3x3 grid on the front that is made to hold these marbles.
The colours of these marbles are as follows: Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Orange, Violet, White, and Black. There are 8 marbles in total for the 9 slots.
Joshua’s Bedroom (Son’s room)
On every single surface in this room is some sort of decoration related to adventuring and heroism. On the stand next to the bed is a finely carved wooden knight. Fake weaponry is scattered across the room - from sword to battle axe to flail. Paintings hang on the wall of dragons and of great, far-off cities. This is clearly the room of a young child who dreams of being an adventurer someday. There is a closet in the room that is ever so slightly opened, but it is impossible to tell what lies beyond without getting closer. Resting on the bed is a large book with a knight fighting a green dragon on the cover and large text that reads - ‘Slaying Shyldaran’.
A Lingering Spirit
When Yomi walks into the room, a voice calls out from the corner near the bed. “Be careful, there’s a monster in the closet.” It is a meek voice, and when Yomi looks over they see the ghost of Joshua huddled in the corner. “It killed the other man. I tried to warn him.”
Yomi talks to Joshua to get information about what happened.
He speaks without much emotion, even when talking about his own murder. “My mom chased me with a big knife. I jumped off the balcony to get away and hurt my legs real bad. She came and cut me up until I died and then took me down to the basement.”
Whenever Joshua stops talking to Yomi, he starts muttering over and over again, “Knock knock . . . knock . . . knock.” The first two knocks are swift and then a long break between the third and fourth.
- The Blade of Nerastrim is in the attic.
- The man dead in the closet had robes and a funny candle
- The creature in the closet can go invisible, but it has glowing orange eyes and flies around!
- There is a secret part of the basement that he isn’t supposed to know about.
- His sister left but he is still stuck here.
- Sometimes a bigger monster shows up and he feels dizzy afterwards.
- Fathers book has clues to his safe
Nora’s Room (Daughter’s room)
This room has a strong sky blue theme with the curtains, bed, and walls all being this color. The far wall has been painted with a mural of the outdoors complete with a beautiful field of multi-colored flowers and adorable wildlife. There are shelves mounted all along the walls and resting upon these are beautifully crafted dolls. These are clearly expensive, hand crafted from fine fabrics and rare wood. On the floor, at the foot of the bed, is a dead body. The man is wearing a white shirt, but it has turned mostly red from blood stains. The smell of the exposed corpse is awful.
One of These Things is not like the Others
There are at least thirty dolls on the various shelves and stands in the room, but one of these dolls is a bit different than the others. While the other dolls have smiles on their faces and bright inviting eyes, this particular doll has a curved, terrifying grin on her face with sinister eyes. Her white dress still has blood stains upon it and hiding behind her back is a large pair of sewing scissors.
The Body
This body has had an accelerated rate of decay due to the necrotic attacks.
The Dining Room
This elegant dining room can seat sixteen guests comfortably. Plates, silverware (made of actual silver), and cloth napkins are all prepared neatly on the table as if someone were about to sit down for dinner. A large cupboard on the left side of the room is empty, but is clearly used to store all of these lovely dishes. A rancid smell quickly strikes your nostrils, the smell of rotting flesh. Scanning the room it is obvious what is to blame. Off in the far corner of the room is the still decaying corpse of one of the townsfolk who came here with Father Oswyn. He has a dozen knives and half a dozen forks sticking out of his body. On the ground next to him is a brass candle holder with the wax melted down all the way to the base.
Just as Gribble is taking all of this in he is set up by Helen, so runs screaming out of the Dining Room into the Den.
Where the Wight that Ekam destroyed is reforming to attack again!
Lemmog returns from looking into Noras room.
Just then Silme screams and runs out of the Study into the light from Lemmogs candle. Yes she also was then attacked by Helen.
Yomi is next to be attacked by Helen and they all regroup together in the Den within the light of the candle....
Lemmog puts some of the wights bones into the bag of holding, but they then seem to be being pulled towards the rest of the body, so Ekam throws the body into the fireplace, as the bones and clothes burn a golden key falls out of the pocket. Lemmog throws the rest of the bones into the fireplace and a beautiful silver wedding ring clatters to the floor.
Sitting on the ground near the chair is a book that he was reading. The bookmark seems to be some sort of code.
- Orange is below Blue
- Blue is right of White
- Black is right of Green
- Green is right of Violet
- Violet is below Black
- Red is left of Yellow an above White
- Yellow is left of Orange and below Violet
- White is below Green and above Yellow
Silme mentions the safe in the study and the coloured marbles, and the band get down to cracking the code.
The Study
Yomi is the first to crack the code
Novelty Protectors
When the safe is opened, a glyph on the inside triggers and sends light shimmering throughout the room. This causes a few books along the shelves to begin to glow. They float out of their positions on the shelf and the sound of paper tearing fills the room. Moments later, these books all open simultaneously and small paper figures leap out and take a fighting stance.
With the paper foes are dealt with, the band look within the safe where they find 500 gold in coins and jewelry. They also find a note that reads "The Perfect Wife by Ronan Stewart".
Basement Passage
The bookshelves in this room seem unsuspecting from a distance, but a closer inspection revealed a book that has a bit more wear and tear around the edges than the others. It is clear this book is moved with more regular frequency. The name of this book is The Perfect Wife.
Ekam removes this book from its spot on the shelf and the bookcase swings open to reveal a stairwell that leads down.
When the band reaches the bottom of the stairs to this secret room, Helen begins to panic. *“Get out of my home!” she shrieks. Loose documents fly into the air, paintings falls off the wall, and the candle the Lemmog holds even gives a small flicker, casting them in darkness for just a moment. She continues to ramble on about how she is going to kill them, tear them slowly limb from limb as soon as that pesky candle finally burns out.
Hidden Basement Room
Scattered across this room are various wooden cabinets, each with a combination lock keeping them shut. On the walls are a dozen paintings, some of these risque and others of foreign leaders. These paintings would not do well in polite company. Sitting out in the open are a few books dedicated to topics that also don’t belong in your ordinary library - Taking Advantage of the Poor, The Basics of Blackmail, Counterfeiting Currency, among others.
The locks to these cabinets can be easily broken with a blunt weapon as they are quite old. Some are already falling apart. The Nerastrim family thought that these being hidden away in a secret room was security enough. Within these cabinets are additional works of stolen art, documents of bribery of powerful figures, and other such items that could have easily taken down the family as well as others.
Ekam and Silme find the Book of Vile Darkness
On the far wall of this room is a single brick that is slightly darker than the rest of them. The band identify there is something off about this stone, but it is Yomi who figures out the kncking pattern the Joshua kept repeating opens the passage - two swift knocks and then a long break between the next two. When these actions are performed, the stone begins to fold and slide away, making a three foot tall doorway appear in the wall.
As soon as the stone slides away and this room is revealed, a red light pours out into the basement. Looking inside you see a set of glowing runes on the floor eight feet in diameter. Lying at the center of these runes are both Helen’s and Joshua’s bodies. Both of them are deceased, but there doesn’t appear to be any decay or rot, as if they had only just been killed - not left here years ago. The ceiling in this room is much shorter than the rest of the house at only four feet high, so some of you will have to duck if you wish to enter.
Shortly after the doorway has been opened, the crawl space begins to fill with black smoke and a voice cries out in Infernal, “Leave this place or be destroyed.” This is a guttural, horrifying language that is offensive to the ears regardless of the message. Even without knowing the language it is clear it belongs to a creature beyond this world and that it is angry.
The smoke fills the entire room.
The band back out.
Lemmog drops 3 sticks of dynamite into the centre of the the runic ring.
As he backs out he is assaulted by a bearded devil
But as soon as Lemmog is clear, Silme sends in a fireball, which torches the Bearded Devel to no effect, but together with the dynamite disintigrates the bodies within the runes.
With Helens final words ringing out sorrowfully
You killed your own family, Helen
You will never be happy, Helen
You are a monster, Helen
You deserve this, Helen
The band then set about sending the devil back to hell.
Once this is done, the house falls silent. Many of the evil creatures that have taken refuge in this house still remain, so the bands job may not be done just yet, but they will no longer have to worry about Helen’s vengeful spirit hunting them down. The magic preventing light from being cast is lifted so they can use torches once again as they search the rest of the house for bodies, treasures, and threats.
So below is the descriptions of the rooms the band skipped by or through, which now without pressure of time they explored.
These would have had a few more things that go bump in the night had the big bad not been defeated.
The Kitchen
Standing in the kitchen are skeletal versions of of the former servants of the Nerastrim family. There is a fire burning in the range and the smell of cooked meat fills the air. It actually smells quite nice, but glancing over and you see that it is slices of large rats being seared at the moment. The door to a pantry hangs open and is filled with rotted perishable goods. The floor is a fine natural wood, but it has been almost entirely stained red with blood.
The band take a look at the amulet around her neck. It contains a sketch of her (with a bit more flesh) and a younger version of the man lying dead in the kitchen filled with cutlery. It reads Gwen and Edgar in a ribbon beneath and it is clear she was his mother.
Joshua’s Bedroom (Son’s room)
Monster in the Closet
When the band peers into the closet, they find Father Oswyn’s surprisingly undecayed dead body. He is curled up in the corner with his hands up in a defensive posture and appears to be frozen in this position. The eyes has been plucked from his head and the expression on his face make it seem as if he were literally scared to death. On the ground next to him is a small bag and within is a single half-used Repulsion Candle, two healing potions, and a brass key which opens the Master Bedroom.
The creature that lurks here is a Terror Spirit. It is invisible and waiting patiently near the top of the closet for someone to come into its domain. As soon the band touch Father Oswyn’s body or any of his supplies, it attacks but is quickly killed by the band.
Gwen’s Room
This room is bright and happy. The style clashes with the rest of the house with its bright yellow curtains, its painted white walls, and collection of assorted tea cups. These tea cups cover an entire table in the room and it seems that they were the occupant’s most prized possessions. There is a small twin sized bed, also with yellow sheets, and covered with a dozen throw pillows. Sitting on this bed is a small silver mirror.
Lemmog picks up the mirror and looks in it and sees a set of smiling razor sharp teeth and glowing red eyes over their shoulder in the reflection. As he turns to look for the creature, there is nothing there and when they look back into the mirror the image has disappeared. As Lemmog sweeps the room to look to see where it has gone, they will see this same set of terrifying, demonic eyes looking out from just behind another member of the band.
Lemmog then Pockets the Mirror into the bag of holding.
Marcy’s Bedroom
This room is muted in color with whites, grays, and faded pink dominating the furniture and paint. Even the walls, which are covered in paintings, all seem to be from the same artist who has a conservative style with no vibrant colors to be seen. There is a twin sized bed and a rocking chair in the corner. Sitting on the dresser is an urn, the only thing that is decorated with any sort of color in the entire room. On the wall, directly behind the urn is a piece of framed canvas with the words ‘Without you, the world has lost its color’ written upon it.
On the stand next to the bed is a diary that describes the following:
Marcy was an older woman whose husband died a few years ago and she was never the same afterwards. After his death, she moved into the Nerastrim Manor permanently, as the thought of being in her home without Louis (her husband) was unbearable. She began to paint in her spare time, making displays of the world as she saw it after his death.
Also noted is:
“I saw Josh coming down from the attic yesterday. He had a guilty look on his face and I made him confess to me what he had done. Turns out the Nerastrim family sword wasn’t stolen after all, Josh has been using it to pretend he is a great hero. The poor boy is too afraid of what his father will do if he ever finds out where it really went (for good reason!) and so he keeps it hidden beneath the box of maps in the attic. His secret is safe with me!"
Guest Bedroom
This room is elegantly decorated and has anything a guest might want when staying at a place of such luxury. There is a king-sized bed with royal purple blankets and large, fluffy pillows filled to the brim with feathers. Next to each side of the bed is a stand with a pitcher and glasses for water, an assortment of books, and a candle. There is a large window in the room that would ordinarily fill the space with natural light, but the boards on the outside of the manor prevent that. It would all be quite lovely if not for the dead body lying on the floor near the bed.
This body belongs to one of the young men who entered the home with Father Oswyn. His body is covered in deep, vicious cuts and the carpet around in him stained red with dried blood.
Lying on the floor next to his body is half of a candle. It has a strange slime on it that makes it sticky to the touch, likely the cause of it being snuffed out. The candle can be burned for another thirty minutes. On the walls near the window and on the glass itself are deep cuts. The man is still holding a hatchet clenched tightly in his hand long after death. He tried to cut his way out of the manor, but clearly his efforts were in vain. Beyond the body on the ground and the candle, there is nothing else of note in this room.
The Master Bedroom
The door to the Master Bedroom is locked. so Yomi casts Knock, as lets not sort through keys or anything.
The jewel of the manor is the master bedroom of Nathaniel and Helen Nerastrim. Their bed cost as much as some smaller homes with an astounding frame hand carved from wood that can only be obtained overseas. Each piece of furniture was custom made by a master craftsman and it shows in the quality of the work. Colours that are not commonly used in fabrics cover the entire room - royal purple, an electric blue, and a beautiful red the colour of a blooming rose. Off to the right is a massive window that would pour light over the couple first thing in the morning, but the shutters currently prevent this. A fifteen square foot rug is at the centre of the room and on its own would cost 75 gold. This is the sort of room any commoner would hope to one day even be able to visit.
Sliding a hidden panel beneath the bed reveals a steel lockbox. Before anyone can looks for keys or picks, Yomi Casts Knock again.
Inside of this box is an old family heirloom - a sapphire necklace that belonged to Nathaniel’s grandmother. It is worth 300 gold.
In the top drawer of Helen’s dresser is a small black diary. She was using it for multiple years and examining the texts her slow descent into madness is reflected in the writings. She can no longer handle being a “proper” lady and wants to break free from this life but sees no way out. On some of the last few pages the text becomes jagged and scribbled, barely legible. It is almost as if another person were writing it.
In these final pages, Helen mentions a book she found in town from a shady looking fellow. It was called “Demons and Devils - A Summoner’s Guide.”
The diary details her efforts, first summoning an imp that nearly got loose before she managed to beat it to death with the book itself. Taking a life awoken something within her, and the demon’s blood awoke something in the book. The book spoke to her and told her of a special crawl space off the Hidden Basement Room.
Within this hidden space, she constructed a runic circle and made a deal with a demon to give herself the strength needed to put an end to all of the things holding her back. To finally find the courage to leave or kill her abusive, ungrateful husband. It was an easy deal to take, but she did not realize how deep her hatred ran . .
On the final page of the diary is a strange runic glyph that appears to be written in blood.
When Gribble touches it, his vision turns black. Moments later they see Helen’s body lying within a similar glyph in a small stone room, writhing in agony with blood pouring from the sides of her mouth. After a few second of watching her struggle and scream, she freezes and falls to the ground. After 5 seconds of motionlessness, her eyes snap open once again, staring directly at Gribble having the vision. There are blood red and glowing slightly. A manic smile crosses her face as she seems to float from her feet, being lifted right off the floor without needing to use her hands to push herself up. This is where the vision ends.
Gribble now has a headache.
Main Floor Storage Room
The Attic
Climbing up the ladder, the edges of the room are still cast in darkness as it is quite a large room. There are numerous boxes stacked up, most of which are covered in sheets and all of which are coated in dust. Along with these boxes are some old paintings, broken furniture, and other such sundries. Off to the left is set of beautiful double doors that leads to the balcony that extends out over the front door. A tiny bit of light manages to bleed into the room.
Behind a loose panel at the back of the attic beneath a box of old maps, the band find The Blade of Nerastrim (a +1 Longsword)
The Basement
Items found
- amulet worth 1 Silver
- single half-used Repulsion Candle
- two healing potions
- The Blade of Nerastrim is a +1 Longsword.
- small silver mirror - Shadow Mirror
- x10 OK Wine - 1 Gold each
- x5 Good Wine - 5 Gold each
- x 1 Great Wine - 10 Gold each
- x1 Fine Wine - 15 Gold each
- x 2 Exquisite Wine - 20 Gold each
- x 2 Elegant Wine - 25 Gold each
- an incredibly old and valuable bottle of whiskey. Worth 100 gold to the right buyer.
- a set of golden dice with diamond gemstones for the pips. Worth 150 gold to the right buyer.
- clothing and shoes, worth a total of over one hundred gold for the lot
- beautiful silver wedding ring worth 75 gold
- A fifteen square foot rug worth 75 gold
- a sapphire necklace Worth 300 gold.
- Books
- Taking Advantage of the Poor,
- The Basics of Blackmail,
- Counterfeiting Currency
- Book of Vile Darkness
Shadow Mirror
If a player picks up the mirror and looks in it, they see a set of smiling razor sharp teeth and glowing red eyes over their shoulder in the reflection.
If they turn to look for the creature, there is nothing there and when they look back into the mirror the image has disappeared.
If they sweep the room to look to see where it has gone, they will see this same set of terrifying, demonic eyes looking out from just behind another member of the party.
As long as the mirror remains intact, the creature within the mirror cannot actually hurt players. They may feel something tickling near their ear as it runs a black claw along their throat or their vision might go dark for a moment as it waves an invisible hand in front of their face that still somehow obstructs the light of the candle. This creature will follow them for the rest of the time.
If they smash the mirror, a black smoke rises up from the mirror and the eyes and teeth of creature take form.
If the glass of the mirror is broken the shadow is released and will attack the nearest creature (which could be you).
Amorphous. The shadow can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.
Shadow Stealth. While in dim light or darkness, the shadow can take the Hide action as a bonus action.
Sunlight Weakness. While in sunlight, the shadow has disadvantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws.
Strength Drain. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) necrotic damage, and the target's Strength score is reduced by 1d4. The target dies if this reduces its Strength to 0. Otherwise, the reduction lasts until the target finishes a short or long rest.
If a non-evil humanoid dies from this attack, a new shadow rises from the corpse 1d4 hours later.
Legendary Actions The shadow can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The shadow regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Barrage. The shadow launches a barrage of items lying around at a creature within 15 feet. That creature must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 2d4 slashing damage as the items explode.
Strength Drain (Costs 2 Actions). The shadow uses its Strength Drain attack
Book of Vile Darkness
Wondrous item, artifact (requires attunement)
The contents of this foul manuscript of ineffable wickedness
are the meat and drink of those in evil's thrall. No mortal was meant to know
the secrets it contains, knowledge so horrid that to even glimpse the scrawled
pages invites madness.
Most believe the lich-god Vecna authored the Book of
Vile Darkness. He recorded in its pages every diseased idea, every unhinged
thought, and every example of blackest magic he came across or devised. Vecna
covered every vile topic he could, making the book a gruesome catalog of all
mortal wrongs.
Other practitioners of evil have held the book and added
their own input to its catalog of vile knowledge. Their additions are clear,
for the writers of later works stitched whatever they were writing into the
tome or, in some cases, made notations and additions to existing text. There
are places where pages are missing, torn. or covered so completely with ink,
blood, and scratches that the original text can't be divined.
Nature can't abide the book's presence. Ordinary plants
wither in its presence, animals are unwilling to approach it, and the book
gradually destroys whatever it touches. Even stone cracks and turns to powder
if the book rests on it long enough.
A creature attuned to the book must spend 80 hours reading
and studying it to digest its contents and reap its benefits. The creature can
then freely modify the book's contents, provided that those modifications
advance evil and expand the lore already contained within.
Whenever a non-evil creature attunes to the Book of
Vile Darkness, that creature must make a DC 17 Charisma saving throw. On a
failed save, the creature's alignment changes to neutral evil.
The Book of Vile Darkness remains with you
only as long as you strive to work evil in the world. If you fail to perform at
least one evil act within the span of 10 days, or if you willingly perform a
good act, the book disappears. If you die while attuned to the book, an entity
of great evil claims your soul. You can't be restored to life by any means
while your soul remains imprisoned.
Random Properties. The Book of
Vile Darkness has the following random properties:
- 3
minor beneficial properties
- While
attuned to the artifact, you are immune to disease.
- While
attuned to the artifact, you can't be charmed or frightened.
- While
attuned to the artifact, you gain a +1 bonus to Armor Class.
- 1
major beneficial property
- While
attuned to the artifact, you regain 1d6 hit points at the start of your
turn if you have at least 1 hit point.
- 3
minor detrimental properties
- While
attuned to the artifact, you are deafened when you are more than 10 feet
away from it.
- While
attuned to the artifact, you are blinded when you are more than 10 feet
away from it.
- While
attuned to the artifact, your weight drops by 1d4 x 5 pounds.
- 2
major detrimental properties
- Before
using one of the artifact's properties as an action, you must use a bonus
action to draw blood, either from yourself or from a willing or
incapacitated creature within your reach, using a piercing or slashing
melee weapon. The subject takes 1d4 damage of the appropriate type.
- When
you become attuned to the artifact, there is a 10 percent chance that you
attract the attention of a god that sends an avatar to wrest the artifact
from you. The avatar has the same alignment as its creator and the
statistics of an Empyrean (see
the Monster Manual). Once it obtains the artifact, the avatar vanishes.
Adjusted Ability Scores. After you spend
the requisite amount of time reading and studying the book, one ability score
of your choice increases by 2, to a maximum of 24. Another ability score of
your choice decreases by 2, to a minimum of 3. The book can't adjust your ability
scores again.
Mark of Darkness. After you spend the
requisite amount of time reading and studying the book, you acquire a physical
disfigurement as a hideous sign of your devotion to vile darkness. An evil rune
might appear on your face, your eyes might become glossy black, or horns might
sprout from your forehead. Or you might become wizened and hideous, lose all
facial features, gain a forked tongue, or some other feature the DM chooses.
The mark of darkness grants you advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks made
to interact with evil creatures and Charisma (Intimidation) checks made to
interact with non-evil creatures.
Command Evil. While you are attuned to
the book and holding it, you can use an action to cast the Dominate Monster spell
on an evil target (save DC 18). You can't use this property again until the
next dawn.
Dark Lore. You can reference the Book
of Vile Darkness whenever you make an Intelligence check to recall
information about some aspect of evil, such as lore about demons. When you do
so, double your proficiency bonus on that check.
Dark Speech. While you carry the Book
of Vile Darkness and are attuned to it, you can use an action to
recite word from its pages in a foul language known as Dark Speech. Each time
you do so, you take 1d12 psychic damage, and each non-evil creature within 15
feet of you takes 3d6 psychic damage.
Destroying the Book. The Book of
Vile Darkness allows pages to be torn from it, but any evil lore
contained on those pages finds its way back into the book eventually, usually
when a new author adds pages to the tome.
If a solar tears the book in two, the book is destroyed for
1d100 years, after which it reforms in some dark corner of the multiverse.
A creature attuned to the book for one hundred years can
unearth a phrase hidden in the original text that, when translated to Celestial
and spoken aloud, destroys both the speaker and the book in a blinding flash of
radiance. However, as long as evil exists in the multiverse, the book reforms
1d10 x 100 years later.
If all evil in the multiverse is wiped out, the book turns to dust and is forever destroyed.
The Aftermath
With the town free of the curse of Helen, things return to normal over the next few weeks.
With all of the rightful heirs to the family dead, the band is free to use the Nerastrim Manor as a base of operations for the rest of their adventures.
Regardless, the town will be rejoiced with the bands accomplishments and celebrate them as heroes for generations to come.
To Be Continued........
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