The Sanatorium

“The Sanatorium”
Rise of the Runelords episode
Episode no.	Episode 26
Date	2009
Game Master	Abbe
Characters	Dorothea Honeypot Nathaniel Nell Velicia
Episode chronology ← Previous Next → "The fortune telling" "The Countryside"
Rise of the Runelords chapter list

In this chapter the heroes ride to the sanatorium to question Sevilla.

The Sanatorium

It was late morning when we rode out of Sandpoint. The summer heat was fading and fog lingered in the valleys. I like the autumn and in a month or two the trees will paint the landscape in beautiful colors. On the way to the sanatorium we passed Cougars Creek, so we went to Bradley's barn to see if there were any clues that the guards had missed.

It was a barn that had been used with the mill, but when that burned down, the barn was abandoned. Afraid of seeing more gruesome sights I volunteer to look for tracks on the outside. The others looked inside and said that there were patches of dried blood and still a faint smell of that corpse stench. Velicia told us that the murderer might have used the stench as a weapon to stun it's victims as the three victims were killed by a single murderer in a barn with several exits. They would have been able to escape otherwise. I didn't find any tracks.

We continued on to the sanatorium. It was well after noon when we arrived. It was a large square stone house with very few and small windows. It almost looked like a keep. We knocked on the door but there was no answer. We kept knocking and after a while a busy man in a white coat opened the door and said that they didn't have time for visitors.

We told him that we were there to talk about Sevilla on orders from the Sandpoint sheriff. Hesitantly he let us in and asked us to wait for the doctor. I ate a piece of bread with cheese and sausage while waiting. An elder man also wearing a white coat appeared and we followed him upstairs. He showed us to an examination room that I thought looked more like a torture chamber. There Graist Sevilla were waiting. He was in a strait jacket and looked pale as if he was sick and not just mad. We all entered the room but I stayed near the door remembering what the old rhenne woman had told us about sickness.

Nathaniel asked him "What happened in the barn?"
He answered mostly with strange mumblings "The barn?... No... I shouldn't talk about the barn... Master told me to talk of other things... Wait... I recognize you..." He said turning to Honeypot. "You must be the one... Master gave me a message to you... master should want me... I should be... "
"The message!"
"Yes, yes... If you come to his misgivings and join the pack, he will stop the harvest, his lordship said... only wants you... I will make him want me..."

"Did you hear that?" Nathaniel said.
"Hear what?" I stopped staring at the strange man and listened to the door.
"There's strange footsteps outside, kind of dragging..."
"That's what I meant." Nathaniel said and moved up next to me and the door.

It was suddenly ripped opened by one of the patients who stared at me with crazy eyes and open mouth showing his yellow teeth as preparing to bite me. I drew my dagger and stabbed him, felling him. I retreated further into the room but suddenly stopped and staggered back when I saw Sevilla. His eyes had a sick light in them and his skin was decidedly more yellow than before. His mouth was casually open wider than I ever could open mine and his strangely looking tongue hung out of his mouth down to his chest. That was definitely not normal.

Grayst Sevilla turning into a ghoul.

Sevilla struggled in his straightjacket but it held him. He said "I will kill you so master will love me instead." and lashed out with his tongue at Honeypot. It was incredibly long and struck her, wrapping around her. He dragged her close and bit her. She struggled to resist him, but his bite seemed to daze her. Nathaniel drew his sword stepped out of the room and took position just outside keeping the rest of the patients out. Dorothea cast one of her weird spells on Sevilla and moved up to Nathaniel. I poured a healing potion into Honeypot's mouth as her struggles was loosing strength. Then I stepped up to the awful monster Sevilla had turned into and stabbed him making him loose his balance. The straightjacket was almost like an armor, protecting him rater than hindering him in his attacks, but I had found a gap in his defenses.

Nathaniel was swarmed by patients and even a few caretakers, but he fought them off using his sword and shield. Velicia teleported out into the big room outside and a big ball of fire erupted around her burning patients.

Sevilla tried to attack Honeypot again with his tongue but, being unbalanced he missed wildly. I stabbed him in his side making him turn and with a crouching move I stabbed him hard in the belly burying the entire blade beneath the coarse fabric. He fell to the floor and was out of the fight. Honeypot gave me a hug and ran out into the other room next to Nathaniel to fight the other patients. I heard Dorothea shouting at the patients and the fight died down. I stood there shaking from both fear and a excitement, looking at the body of what had been Graist Sevilla

Velicia thought that we should try to help the patients and I dutifully helped Nathaniel treat the wounds and sort out which patients were further gone in what now was called ghoul rot. I told them that I knew of ghouls. That's awful creatures with red gleaming eyes that come out at night and eat street urchins. Nathaniel wasn't completely convinced that I was right. All 25 patients survived the fight but they and another six caretakers were infected.

Nathaniel, Honeypot and Dorothea had been bitten and we guessed that would make them infected too, but dr. Habe said that they were not necessarily infected and even if they were it wasn't sure they were going to turn into ghouls if they were treated. He thinks it's possible to prevent ghoul rot from spreading or the patient from turning into a ghoul with modern medicine. Dorothea said that the stars would heal her.

We talked about the message from his lordship and I thought that we should make sure he didn't stop the farmers from harvesting. The other didn't think that was what was meant even though it is the right time of the year. Velicia thought about misgivings and said that she had heard that some people called a haunted house a couple of miles to the south "the misgivings". Nathaniel said that it was the Foxglove manor. I think he really don't like him. I remembered that the letter from Cougars Creek had mentioned property and gold and the papers I and Dorothea found in Aldern Foxgloves room was about properties. Even the card reading that Madame Mvashti did told us that a young member of a powerful family that had been at a hand-to-hand combat in the past would be part of this.

Nathaniel and Velicia helped dr. Habe to treat the patients while I rode back to Sandpoint. I brought a letter that Nathaniel had written to the sheriff. Trusty Creampuff carried me back there swiftly. I thought of how Aldern Foxglove had given him to me. Why would he, who had been so nice become so bad and do such horrible things? When I reached Sandpoint I went straight to the garrison and told Hemlock of the ghoul infection and that we suspected Foxglove to be behind it. We both went to the temple to convince Zanthus to join us in a trip to the sanatorium and was joined by mayor Kendra Deverin. Zanthus was reluctant but agreed. The mayor suggested that we would pass Hanna's and bring some potions and herbs. I also made sure to pass the Rusty Dragon to bring a good dinner. As we left Sandpoint sheriff Hemlock told the town guards to close Sandpoint and not let anyone in except on his order, to keep ghoul rot from spreading into town.

We arrived at the sanatorium and sat down in the entrance to discuss how to proceed. The ritual that could cure the disease was quite expensive. Feeling guilty Honeypot donated 1500 gold to cover the cost. Dr. Habe told us it would take a week to know who would turn into a ghoul and who had been successfully treated. Velicia thought we should stay and help all that time, but I thought that we had to stop Foxglove from spreading the disease even more and that he might kill ten times as many as we could save here during that week. The sheriff suggested him returning to Sandpoint and recruiting some unskilled workers that could help out while we stop Aldern Foxglove.