Foxglove's Secrets

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Rise of the Runelords episode
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Episode no.	Episode 31
Date	2009
Game Master	Abbe
Characters	Nathaniel Nell Velicia
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Right after Honeypot left to help the others I rose from the body of Aldern and started to follow her, but I noted that my shadow cast from Honeypots scarf moved in ways I didn't. It wasn't even on the right wall. I was drawn towards it and really wanted to embrace it, but I got hold of myself realizing that it was dark mold and spores. Nathaniel came back in and told me they had killed all enemies out in the large cavern.

I went back to my dead brother I never new. I looked at his hideous appearance. Good thing I saw him before he became a ghoul so I have a better image in my mind of my brother. His clothes had been very beautiful but was now covered in old blood stains and even had little pieces of rotten flesh sticking to them. I noted that he had a cameo hanging from his neck. I opened it and saw it had a picture of Honeypot in it. It wasn't that good a match, but it was her, probably painted from a description. He had an awful mask made from flimsy strips of skin stained by blood. In his pockets I found three keys. One was an iron key with an opal. The next one was long and made of brass. It had a very complex head. The last one looked like the one I already had to this house. He had dropped a strange oversized razor he had been fighting with next to where he fell.

Looking around in the room there were a letter on a table next to some beautiful crystal glasses and silver plates. Sadly enough those were covered in old blood and rotten, maggot infested flesh from animals and humans. I felt ill and bringing the letter left for the bigger cavern. After a few deep breaths I returned, but stayed near the tunnel avoiding to look at the tables. Standing there I read the letter aloud.

Aldern —

You have served us quite well. The delivery you harvested from the caverns far exceeds 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 in 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 you begin your work. The ones I have selected must be marked before they die, otherwise they do my master no good and 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.

— Your Mistress, Wanton of Nature’s Pagan Forms

Velicia found lots of pornographic drawings of Honeypot. She said "At least these aren't drawn from model... but this one probably is..."

Doro found a key

Note to self; buy perfume.

At last we left that awful room where Aldern lay slain. Honeypot stayed behind. She wanted to clean him up. We thought that then someone more should stay. It was no good idea to be alone in this haunted house. Dorothea kept her company. I, Nathaniel and Velicia went back to the big cavern. We decided to take a better look at the pool. Even though the ghoul goblins had hid in the water it was quite clean so I washed my hands. I was happy to get rid of the dark mold and blood from Aldern. Velicia looked at the water for some time and then said that she thought it was seawater. There was a small heaving of the surface that she thought was created by currents from the waves. We talked about one person swimming and one holding on to a rope and while I took out the rope Nathaniel and Velicia undressed and dove in. That was when I realized that they brought all the light with them.

When they eventually returned I had lit my own lantern. They told me that they had swam out through a underwater tunnel out into the sea. From there they had seen the high cliffs up to the house and high above the huge bat circling. They had also heard the ravens ominous sounds.

When they had dressed we returned up the slope and looked into another cave we had passed on the way down. It was filled with the remains of lot of people that had fallen victims to the ghouls. It was just bones, and even those had been cracked open and gnawed on. There was a smell equal to that of Alderns cave.

Continuing to another cave there were more mold and I thought it wiser to leave it alone, but Nathaniel and Velicia wanted to search it. Even with handkerchiefs over their nose and mouth they couldn't enter it but Velicia used her magic hand to bring out a pickaxe that had been left in there. Nathaniel thought it might come in handy and brought it along.

Returning to where the stairs came down, we went into the last passage we hadn't searched. It smelled as bad as the worst places so far. It turned out to be where the ghouls lived. There were three corpses that hadn't been eaten. I recognized the wanted pirate Shadz "Rodshaw" Bilgar. We searched the body and found that he had some interesting things. He had a hat of disguise, a pearl necklace, 56 gold and a magical dagger. another of the corpses had been killed by a blow to the head rather than a ghoul bite. in the other end of the cave there was a shaft that turned out to be the well. From above we could hear the sound of an unkindness of ravens, but all you could see was a dark and foggy sky and below was the water.

We continued up the stairs to the arcane laboratory. It was filled with soggy books about necromancy. Velicia said hat they were in a bad state and would probably not survive being transported out of there. The paintings on the windows pictured someone we could recognize as Vorel turning into dust and getting sucked into a seven sided box. He looked up and raised his arms in triumph. There were also a lot of broken glass containers and three cages with dead rats in them. Nathaniel noted an inscription on them. Pugs contraptions Magnimar. There also was a picture of a small pig holding a key next to the keyhole. I know of him. He was kind of an opponent to us street kids. He makes cages, locks and traps.

We moved on to the kitchen. There were still many rats alive but now most of them was eating other rats. We sneaked past them and looked into the doors that was further in in this very repelling kitchen. One was a store room with nothing useful in but the other turned out to be a wine cellar where we found wine bottles still intact. A total of eight of them. They were from the Great Kingdoms and would probably catch a good price if sold. Next to the stair there was a room that had been a bed room and was in quite a good shape, but the furniture had been turned over and rearranged as if to block rats. Returning out into the kitchen Nathaniel looked around with a puzzled look on his face until he stopped across from the door towards the laboratory and cellar. There he took out the pickaxe and suddenly attacked the wall. Hacking away at it he revealed a secret room with no entrance. It only contained some garbage from when the house was originally built.

Returning up into the entrance room I felt a little better. No more awful stench of rotten flesh and no more diseased rats. There was just the manticore, the animal heads on the wall and the monkey head. From it's mouth a rope hung down. We pulled the rope and the monkey screamed. Nathaniel pulled it again and again and it screamed every time. We thought it was quite funny and had several ideas on what to do with it. We then took a closer look at the manticore. I thought it started smoking. I took a few steps over to get the drapes drapes from window to dowse the flames but it didn't catch fire, Velicia did. Nathaniel ran over to her, but the fire seamed to have just been one of those strange things that happen in this house.

Dining room Ent + Roc + Sfinx + Kraken painted on windows.

seven edged box draws in the monsters.

Library, Scarf in red and gold + book on floor and a book end of angel with butterfly wings with dark smudge on.

I pick up scarf and notice it moved. I gave to Nathaniel who got strangled by it.

Lounge with birds carved into fireplace. dust moves as if someone walked through the room. Even footprints. Lorelei

Bathroom...

The last door in the corridor is a dance room where a crystal chandelier lies smashed in the middle of the room and a grand piano stands in a corner. I went up to it and push the keys. It started playing. I shouted out and retreated out into the hallway, but Aldern appeared and pulled me back into the room. He looked as when we met him in Sandpoint. He took hold of me and started dancing. While we were dancing his tung grew out of his mouth, his hair fell off and his skin turned greenish gray. He turned into a ghoul in my arms. I broke out of his grip and ran out through double doors opened by Velicia who had avoided the dancing. Nathaniel on the other hand was still dancing around in the room with some invisible partner. He later told us that it had been Iesha who was strangled while dancing. When he also broke the trance I looked around and could vaguely see ravens further out in the fog. When we came there had been a few. Now there were more than thirty all watching me. I quicly retreated into the dance room and closed the door behind me.

We use other stairs - servants? Steps follow us

When we got to the second floor I went straight to my old room. In there I looked around to see if I could recognize something. I searched thoroughly. I found a cat doll I remembered I had, but most toys were wooden swords and had been Aldern's. I remembered hiding in the big fire place, when I was afraid. I searched it too, but didn't find anything.

Music room Painted windows. Velicia said Lich components for making

Dining room I gather the eight paintings of my family. I will keep those. Broken cont light

Master bedroom. Dark stain on desk two kits, one with shaving utensils and one with brushes and stuff

In broken room there is a dress with embroideries of peacock feathers that is whole.

Upstairs in the observatory start stinking of burning flesh Velicia scream and towards window but stop before throwing herself out. The other window broken. Cyralee - We note that the lenses are undamaged.

The last room was a gentleman's room pages rustling as if someone was browsing through a book

Nathaniel told us he had felt some anger over all the adventures that he had missed because of his wife

Books from the seekers

There was a painting of a bullfight It was named The throwdown in swynetown signed by the artist Andaluso

We think about everything. Vorel tried to become lich and failed. Mold in cellar probably him. We decide that we will try to exorcise him.

Velicia study in the arcane laboratory.

I and Nathaniel return down to cellar and tell others. I nearly throw up.

We start to bury the remains. I dig next to tree outside of house. Ravens study me. Nathaniel bring corpses and help digging or rather do most.

In evening Velicia finished and we return down.

We start big ritual.

I talk to the mold and say that I am the last of the family and we will perform a ritual.

Velicia does magic

Nathaniel burns moss and mold.

Vorel attacks us with spores I get Vorel's phage (same as Velicia and Dorothea)

I tell Vorel "But we are trying to correct and complete your ritual."

Velicia tries to burn but returns to magic.

Nathaniel hacks down part of the wall with pickaxe we found earlier and burn the last.

We succeed!

We only take valuables we can carry or take in Velicias bag of holding. Rest we leave.

We return to the sanatorium