In attendance for these sessions were
Kumak Morudall: Half-Orc Bloodrager
Tiberius Lionheart: Human Paladin of Sarenrae
Susan: Human Universalist Wizard
Thaddeus Whisperheart: Gnome Trickster
7 days pass with little excitement. Susan busies herself with scribing and crafting. Tiberius asks Kumak to help him hunt goblins in the area to ensure the threat is over. Thaddeus talks around town, getting the lay of the land and making a few contacts. The morning of the 8th day Sheriff Hemlock arrives at the Rusty Dragon and asks that the group join him to take a look at a murder.
Taking the Redeemers to the nearby sawmill the group walks in to a grisly scene. Blood is everywhere, a young woman, Katrine Vinder, has been fed through the saw mill and a man, Banny Harker, has been partly carved up and hung up on a hook. The group finds foot prints and a rancid meat smell throughout the building. Some sharp eyes finds a solid foot print in the mud across the river, Susan recommends Hemlock find a Ranger that could use some magic to determine the suspect, while Thaddeus and Kumak volunteer to interrogate the 2 persons of interest, the girls father Ven Vinder, the same father to the young woman who had tired to seduce Kumak so many days ago, and the coworker of the dead man.
Thaddeus and Kumak start with Ibor Thorn, the coworker who claims to have discovered them. Thaddeus presses him while Kumak leans on him, the man is in distress, covered in blood and while he does finally relent that Harker had probably been stealing from the Scarnettis. Thaddeus advises Thorn to keep that last bit to himself and the two move to interrogate Ven. The man is built like a brick house and is looking for a problem to hit. Thaddeus begins to tear him down and as Ven comes to terms to what has happened to his daughter his powerful shoulders slump as his eyes take on a glazed look. Concluding that Ven probably wasn't responsible for the deaths Thaddeus tries to lessen the blow somewhat which draws an offer from Ven. Give him a few hours alone with whoever did this to his girl and he will pay thousands.
Tiberius and Susan confer with the Villister and father Zantus and determine that the stench of rotten meat was probably from a ghoul. Sheriff Hemlock tells them that the murder is reminiscent of another bloody scene they found a few days ago. There was one survivor who was babbling incoherently that was taken to a nearby asylum. Worried about potential ghoul fever Tiberus and Susan collect the Thaddeus and Kumak, mounting their horses the 4 ride for the asylum arriving near dusk. Tiberius begins banging the door with his fist demanding to be let in in the name of Sarenrae, that his station as a Paladin commands authority to enter. A mousy man named Habe hesitantly opens the door a crack and after a quick introduction and explanation he allows the Redeemers into the reception area but refuses to allow anyone into the asylum proper to visit the madman, Grast. The group counter that Grast be brought to them to determine if the man is indeed sick with the affliction and after a few minutes of waiting a clearly ill, both mentally and physically man is brought forth. He mumbles to himself until his eyes fall on Susan, then he stops all shaking and speech.
Giving a short speech about how she has been selected by his master Grast begins thrashing against his bonds and lunges at Susan. Kumak brings the butt end of his Ranseur up and jabs the man in the head knocking him unconscious. A cursory check confirms that Grast is suffering from ghoul fever and has only a short time left before he will succumb. Claiming the unconscious man against the protests of Habe the Redeemers take off for Sandpoint to find healing for Grast but with full dark out the trip is slower than before and soon Grast comes to consciousness and begins giggling from the back of Tiberius's horse. When asked whats so funny he replies.
"The pack, the pack, the pack is here. Here to take you away" and looks right at Susan, "Take you to him"
The group has a moment to take that in when 6 ghouls appear from the darkness and attack. None of the Redeemers are skilled in mounted combat, some dismount of their own volition, others forcibly so by their startled horses. Kumak accounts for one ghoul with each stab of his ranseur and thankfully the ghouls are made short work of. However the group finds themselves without their horses. Picking up Grast they try to reach Sandpoint while the man still has time but luck again fails them and they witness him expire shortly afterwards. Finding themselves about an hours walk from the asylum or about 6 hours hike to Sandpoint the group ensure Grast stays dead and return to Habes.
Habe is disappointed to see them again, more so without Grast and almost refuses to give them shelter for the night claiming the well being of his patients before finally relenting and offering to let them bunk in the reception area. With some pressure he "upgrades" his offer to just inside the building proper, they can sleep in the common room and are allowed to use a privy in another room but that is the extent of their leash. They find as cozy quarters as they can in the situation save Tiberius who stays up and patrols the area and immediate perimeter of the building. It is after one of his perimeter walks that he returns to find a door ajar in the common room leading downstairs. Waking Kumak and asking him to join the 2 descend to what appears to be an operating room with a black robed figure examining a body. Kumak asks what the man is doing, and suddenly both Kumak and Tiberius find themselves standing inside a foul smelling cloud. Flying into a rage Kumak moves to get in range but the man now has multiple copies of himself and even when a strike lands true it seems to hit nothing. The man fires spell after spell into Kumak but the half Orcs constitution is too great and he just shrugs them off. Tiberius finds himself tied up with several zombies. Kumak finally connects one hit against the robed figure who flees up the stairs. Susan, having been woken up by her owl Suzanne, has just finished waking Thaddeus. The two see the edge of a foul smelling cloud at the top of the stairs and a robed figure stumble out of it retching, between mouthfuls of vomit he claims that their friends are below and need their assistance. Thaddeus looks to Susan, then the man, the gnome doesn't quite know what it wrong but the story smells as bad as the cloud. Tapping into his magic Thaddeus suggests that the man go down below and help the two then. As the spell finishes Thaddeus feels the suggestion take hold, and with a mournful look he returns below where Kumak and Tiberius have finished off the undead save one, who the man commands to return to the closet. Kumak and Tiberius move to intercept the man but he is still near impossible to grasp and he pulls a potion and downs it, transforming into a cloud himself. Kumak braves the stinking cloud once more to close the door and tell the others to wedge some clothes under the cracks to prevent his escape then returns down. The cloud moves very slowly towards the far door in the basement and Tiberius lands a few blows causing drops of water to fall until the entire cloud suddenly turns to drops of liquid and falls to the floor. Habe and his two muscle men appear hearing the commotion, take one look towards the open door to the basement and make a run for it. Susan attempts to bar their exit with a magical web but they deftly dodge it and she only succeeds in trapping herself and Thaddeus. The robed mans body soon reforms from the liquid and a search of the building provides a spell book, some small money, 2 wands and a potion. There are 3 patients on the 3rd floor and in the morning Kumak ensures he leaves ample food and water in reach for the men and the group returns to Sandpoint.
Kumak enlists the sheriff and some deputies to return to the asylum and recover the patients. Susan spends time crafting for Thaddeus, while Thaddeus and Tiberius pursue their own agendas for the day. The following day Kumak provides security to Susan, who has been receiving unpleasant gifts like dead animals nailed to her bed frame while she is out. Once she finishes her crafting for Thaddeus, Kumak leaves her in the care of the rest of the Redeemers and catches some sleep, hoping to catch her erstwhile lover in the act during the night. Darkness falls and finds Kumak hidden outside Susans window at the Rusty Dragon. He catches a whiff of rotten meat before a scream rings out somewhere in town. A rustle above confirms what he suspects, ghouls. Flying into a rage Kumak engages 3 ghouls in the alleyway dispatching them all in quick succession however two manage to climb the wall and force their way into Susan's room. One is swiftly blasted back through the window landing in a heap with its neck at an impossible angle. The other is soon sent to its final rest but not before it gets a solid bite out of Susan's shoulder. The redeemers regroup and split off to secure the town. Tiberius and his new dog companion following tracks while Kumak, Susan and Thaddeus move towards the screams. Over the course of the next few hours they account for all the ghouls and find another disturbing note, this one carved into the flesh of one of the ghouls. All signs point towards Aldern Foxglove, the noble they had saved during the Swallowtail Festival, as being the one behind the ghouls and leaving these disturbing gifts for Susan.
Talking to the Mayor Thaddeus determines that there is Foxglove manor to the south where Aldern may have fled to, as well as an old caretaker that could provide clues at a nearby farm to the south. The Redeemers decide to investigate the farm on their way to the manor. Several hours on horseback bring the group to a branching path through a high corn field. Using Susan's owl to get a sense of the maze of trails the group moves through the maze of paths until they reach a cluster of scarecrows who start flailing against their bonds and launch themselves at the party revealing themselves as ghouls. Tiberius, his dog, and Kumak make short work of their attackers and prepared against such ambush tactics the group is able to dispatch several more ghouls before finding a still living girl infected with ghoul fever also strung up. She is far too weak to move and at deaths door but manages to weakly ask about her brother and father. Kumak is conflicted between rushing the girl to Sandpoint for aid and searching for any more survivors but deciding that the hour or so he will spend scouring the area could very well save more lives deems the risk to her life worth the risk. Finding the farmhouse and out building finally Kumak walks through the front door, and into 8 or so ghouls. Quickly surrounded Kumak begins slowly backing through the door, stabbing at the ghouls as he does so. The ones that cant quite reach the half orc smash through the windows where Tiberius and his dog meet them with teeth and blade. Finding what must be the half eaten remains of the father, as well as the manors old custodian the group searches the rest of the corn fields and luck is with them for now, the girls brother still lives, though also infected and in worse shape than she is. Riding as fast as they dare back to Sandpoint, during the nights ride the boy holds steady but the girls already shallow breathing takes on a dangerous raspy note to it. Riding hard into town Kumak dismounts at the temple and wakes Villister and father Zantus, explaining the situation to the clerics they explain they are tapped out but will be able to replenish their spells come dawn, and knowing the danger can prepare accordingly. Each casting a lesser restoration on the children then attempting to remove the disease leaves the children looking healthier but still infected for now. Villister assures them that he will devote a lesser restoration to each of them and will attempt to cure one of their diseases each day while providing care, which should given enough time be sufficient to save the kids. The Redeemers return to the inn to rest up and then depart for Foxglove Manor.
Foxglove manor sits surrounded by ocean cliffs on three sides, its massive size made all the more depressing by the state of the manor. A crumbling ruin sits 50 feet or so from the entrance. Tiberius and Susan with Thaddeus doubled up, move their horses to the ruin to tie their mounts while Kumak rides straight to the front door. A handful of crows dart away from the ruins and fly east. The 3 join Kumak at the door which he had just finished unlocking with a key from the old caretakers, and forcing open. The wood bulges and sags. The manor has a persistent creak, the smell of rot and mildew permeates the building. Kumak notices the scent of burnt hair but no one else makes any mention of it. Moving past the stuffed manticore statue the group fans out. It soon becomes apparent that Foxglove manor is haunted and each Redeemer begins to encounter things that the others don't see but still feels real enough to harm them. Clearing the first floor and second the Redeemers are preparing to move up to the 3rd floor where they have been hearing soft sobs from when an unfortunate haunt takes hold of Thaddeus's mind and convinces him that Susan must die. Since Thaddeus isn't much of a combatant he uses his magic wiles to convince Susan she must leap off the cliff to save herself. Tiberius is unable to reach her in time but Kumak manages to catch up and knock her unconscious just before she walks off the edge. However looking up Kumak sees what was previously a handful of crows is now hundreds upon thousands of them, all staring silently at them before swooping down and attacking them.
Thaddeus having regained his wits leaps out after Kumak, who has Susan's unconscious form in his arms and is battering at a side door to get her inside before the birds can finish her off. Thaddeus holds his torch above his head waving it and succeeds in drawing some of the crows attention but finds he is becoming nauseated by them. Kumak bursts through the door and running into a back room pours a healing potion down Susan's throat, she is in bad shape, but will live. Thaddeus manages to re-enter the manor and the birds disperse, their task of keeping the group in the house completed they show no interest in pursing the Redeemers into the manor.
Thoughts: Some small bickering from the Paladin towards the Bard, the player seemed to want to attack the bard for the perceived attempted murder, ignoring the fact that his own character had already acted against his will earlier in the house. I felt that it was well within reasonable assumptions to think that an ally, who up until that moment had never made any move against the party might have been under duress or mental control from an outside force before drawing their sword. But we will see. I rather enjoyed how the story of the house is playing out. As each character experiences a haunt a new piece of the history falls into place. I kind of wish the GM had the text preprinted on cards and when a character experienced something they read the card, rolled whatever check was required and acted accordingly all without the rest of the group knowing what happened but maybe that wouldn't work as well as I think it would.
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