Posts
[8
Neth 4707 continued]
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| Goblin Ghasts |
The exploration of the caverns under Foxglove Manor continues. After navigating some twisting passageways, a
choice of directions presents itself.
The adventurers proceed down one branch in single-file and emerge into a
foul-smelling cavern heaped with bones.
But Arnald, in the rear of the marching order, doesn’t hear that the
adventurers are being stalked. From out
of the darkness behind him, a ghoul-tainted goblin emerges and attacks! The creature carries with it such an
overpowering stench that both Arnald and Kang become physically ill, and the
merest touch of the creature’s claw paralyzes Arnald! Kang hurls a makeshift firebomb at the
creature, but his throw goes awry and both he, Arnald, and the creature are
burned by the resulting blast. But the
situation escalates from bad to worse when the adventurers realize that the
creature, known to Kang as a goblin ghast, is not alone: three others emerge
from the shadows with saliva dripping from their mouths.
Briza
heroically runs to stand in front of the paralyzed Arnald and, although trying
to trip the ghast, she ends up crushing its legs and destroying it. Artemis lets loose with an arrow and destroys
one of the ghasts attacking the front of their formation. Briza, after dropping another one, charges
back to the front to deal with the final ghast—but she ends up paralyzed and
several yards away from her allies! Kang
shouts “death from above!” as he drinks from a vial and flies into the air to
protect his “assistant” from having her throat ripped out. Kang is clawed multiple times for his
troubles, but he still has the strength to drop a bomb on the creature and
destroy it.
The
adventurers rest for several minutes before continuing their explorations. They find their way to a massive chamber with
a cathedral-like vaulted ceiling and a spiralling stone ledge that leads down
into a surging pool of water below.
Discussion is had about investigating the pool, but Artemis is intent on
picking the sophisticated lock barring passage through a stout stone door
nearby. When, after some minutes, he
hears the tell-tale click of success, he summons his allies to take up
formation and ready themselves for danger.
Arnald takes point this time, with Bey close behind him. Arnald throws the door open and is treated to
a sight he never would have imagined.
Inside
a damp cave reeking with a horrific stench is a small oak table and a large
leather chair stained by smears of rotten meat and blood; and sitting in the
chair is Aldern Foxglove, his stylish and expensive clothes now torn and
covered in the putrescence of death.
Aldern is busy clumsily using bits of blood and runny, rotten flesh to
cover over a painting with a face that looks like a ghastly image of Bey! Aldern expresses his delight in having
visitors, and welcomes Arnald in for tea or punch. Bey utters an incantation to
bless her friends and, upon hearing her voice, Aldern realizes the object of
his twisted love is present. He rushes
over to Bey, drops to his knees and proclaims that from the moment she saved
his life at the Swallowtail Festival he knew they were meant to be together,
and that when their eyes met as he bandaged her wound at the boar hunt he knew
she felt the same way. He finishes his
declaration of love by saying that once the others are dead, they can be
together for eternity!
Bey, nonplussed,
tells Aldern that she’s here to assist him in finding a true end to his
life. Artemis fires an arrow that grazes
Aldern’s arm, and suddenly Aldern starts to sob. “I’m sorry Bey, I tried to resist. But I can’t keep him from coming. He’s here . . . THE HURTER!” Aldern suddenly jumps to his feet and draws a
wicked-looking war razor from his belt.
Bey moves past him to make room for the others to enter the room and
Aldern seems to be fighting with himself to resist slashing at her, with the
result that he slashes himself instead.
Bey spirals into her apocalyptic mystery and suddenly bursts into
flames. As his flesh turns red and
starts to crackle, Aldern drops to his knees again. He begs for Bey to save him as he sobs. “They made me do it! The Brothers of the Seven! I had borrowed money to rebuild the manor. And collecting the rats
and the fungus. I didn’t mean to kill
Iesha—I saw her with that tradesman and just got so angry! Please understand, our love is pure. No . . . .
no . . . . he’s coming! Worse than the
Hurter. The Skinsaw Man! Run!”
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| The Skinsaw Man |
Aldern
raises his arms over his head and pulls down a mask made from overlapping
layers of human skin. It transforms into
a hideous visage of Bey as he bows and quiet calmly explains that he will
murder Bey and all of her friends, one by one, but that he’ll take his time as
they plead for an end to the pain. The
battle is well and truly-joined as the adventurers crowd into the room to
surround Aldern. The fighting is bloody
and brutal but ends when Artemis shoots an arrow through the back of Aldern’s
throat. The burning, blood-soaked corpse
falls forward onto Bey as a last whisper leaves its throat: “All . . . For . . . You.”
Briza
rushes up next to Bey to offer her support, but she brushes up against
something that, in the heat of battle, no one had time to observe: the western
wall of the cave has been overtaken by a horrific growth of dark green mold and
dripping fungi, and in the center a patch of black tumescent fungus grows in a
shape that appears almost humanoid in outline.
On the floor near the patch are the broken pieces of some kind of puzzle
box. Briza is overcome by a feeling of
vertigo as the others notice the pieces of the box start to rattle, and then she
feels a powerful compulsion to turn towards the wall and begin devouring the
fungus! But somehow, her willpower is
strong enough that she manages to resist the compulsion and she pulls herself
away.
Kang
moves up to examine the fungus and realizes that it’s extremely rare, extremely
deadly, and only recently discovered.
It’s been given the name “Vorel’s Phage” and certain nefarious
organizations have been known to covet it.
As the patch on the wall has been infused with necromantic energy, Kang
speculates that it will grow back unless powerful divine magicks are used to
cleanse it. Artemis speculates that the
strange shape is the outcome of Vorel Foxglove’s failed attempt to become a
lich, and that his soul could still be trapped within the house. He also surmises that Aldern’s reference to the
Brothers of the Seven could refer to a “secret” society of foppish aristocrats
in Magnimar. A search of Aldern’s body
leads to the discovery of several valuable magical items, such as an enchanted
signet ring. Meanwhile, a search of a
nearby table reveals a disturbing collection of items related to Aldern’s
obsession with Bey. Mixed in with a
stack of erotic drawings is a letter written in a graceful hand addressed to
Aldern’s townhouse in the Grand Arch District in Magnimar. The letter thanks Aldern for a mysterious
delivery “harvested from the caverns” and says his debt to the Brothers is
paid. It continues on that, after
Aldern’s “rebirth”, he should begin to carry out something called the “Sihedron
ritual” on a particular list of victims so that “the greed in their souls will
not go to waste.” Finally, it notes that
agents will be waiting at his townhouse to contact him should he need
assistance. The letter is signed
“Xanesha, Mistress of the Seven.”
The
revelation that Aldern was operating on orders from someone else leads the
adventurers to agree that a trip to Magnimar is in order. Artemis notes he’ll need to get special
permission from Sheriff Hemlock in order to leave his post. Kang, operating on a hunch that something
might be hidden within the humanoid-shaped fungus on the wall, clears the room
and hurls a firebomb at it. A mithral
tube about a foot-long, covered in the fungus, falls to the ground. Bey identifies it as a chime of opening, but, after much back and forth, it’s determined
to be too dangerous to use given the toxicity of the fungus. The adventurers make a cursory search of the
pool in the adjoining room before deciding it’s time to leave the cavern, and
Foxglove Manor, behind for good.
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| Letter from Xanesha to Aldern |
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Director's Commentary
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