The Return: Session #10
General Summary
The heroes listened to Sheriff Hemlocks request to help with the murders and agreed. They questioned him as they went to lumbermill. They learned the murders from last night were of Banny Harker, the manager of the lumbermill, and Katrine Vinder, the daughter of the owner of the general store. They had been having a not-so-secret affair for some time. Katrine's father is an overprotective man with a short temper, and Harker was well disliked in Barrowmista as being a cheap man that ran the mill at night.
They also learned that another murder had happened a couple of nights before. Some guards had come across a mad man, a local thug named Grayst, covered in blood near a long abandoned barn that contained three bodies. The sheriff, at the time, thought the Grayst was clearly the murderer-- and had him locked up in a local sanatorium. The murder scene was a gory sight. Harker was pinned to the wall by hooks and had his chin and tongue removed. A seven pointed star was carved into his chest. Katrine had been pushed down into a chute containing a large circular used to cut logs. Searching the room, they found signs that the murder was barefoot and had climbed up the building from the river. Investigating, they found the murder likely watched the lumbermill for the past few nights from some brush across the river, but had been moving by the river. They suspected this is the same person that had broken into their new home. The heroes decided to go to the sanatorium to question Grayst, and the sheriff wrote them a letter of introduction to the sanatorium's doctor and founder, Erin Habe. A couple hours from town, the sanatorium was a solid stone building in the middle of a well managed field. Tiny Tymm used his Felicia to scout the area, and noted that there was a cellar door in the back which seemed to have a lot of traffic to and from that entrance. Going to the front door, a gruff person told them through a slot that whatever wares they were selling were not wanted and that they should leave. After some debate, the heroes decided to enter through the cellar doors. The cellar contained a necromancers lab and a very sleep necromancer with some animated zombies. Demanding to know who the heroes were, they handed him the man their letter from the sheriff. He nervously read the letter and said he wasn't Habe, but he would get the man. A few minutes later they met Habe and his twin tiefling orderlies. Everyone was acting very nervous about the heroes being there, but Habe agreed to allow the heroes to question Grayst. Upstairs in a sitting/work room, the heroes waited for Grayst to be brought to them by one of the orderlies. They found a man who had been clearly infected with Ghoul Fever, a nasty disease that would eventually kill a person and turn them into an undead beast. Grayst was lost to distant thoughts and muttering to himself until he saw Kurdan. Grayst was filled with energy and delivered a cryptic message to Kurdan about his master waiting at a place named "Misgivings", and then gave into the disease. Showing supernatural strength, he broken out of his straight jacket and concentrated on killing Kurdan. During the battle, the orderlies grabbed Erin Habe and attempted to get him out of the room. Tiny Tymm used magic to seal them in the room while Bartuk and Kurdan concentrated on defeating the ghoul Grayst. The ghastly battle ended with Grayst's head being blown off by a magical spell. A tense standoff unfolded with the tiefling twins trying to protect Habe. Tiny Tymm, not realizing that the people of the sanatorium were nervous about their secret crimes being exposed, made some threats in the infernal language to the twins. The twins underestimated the heroes and how hurt they were, and they attacked. Bartuk killed one of the twins as Habe ran screaming for help from the necromancer. Bartuk knocked out the other twin as Tiny Tymm put Habe magically asleep. Taking a moment to heal themselves, they were ambushed by the necromancer and his group of zombies. The necromancer animated the bodies of the dead tiefling and Grayst to attack Bartuk while his initial zombies swarmed Kurdan. Tiny Tymm slung spells back and forth in the battle until the the necromancer realized he too was outmatched and tried to flee. He met the same fate as Habe, and was put to sleep. Tying up the surviving tiefling, Habe, and the necromancer; the heroes read through the necromancer's spellbook/journal and discovered that Habe could not afford to run the sanatorium. Habe had made a deal with the necromancer that the necromancer would help fund the sanatorium in exchange for access to the bodies of any patients that died. When they decided to bring their prisoners back to Barrowmista and Sheriff Hemlock, Habe begged the heroes to look after the existing patients still in the building. He also warned them that one of them was suffering form the curse of lycanthropy. Tiny Tymm suggested the heroes have Vulnademus attempt to cure the were-person, and shared his suspicions that Vulnademus wasn't a simple hedge wizard... but someone much more powerful. Returning to town, the heroes found another problem unfolding. A raving old man, Master Grump, dressed like a farmer was describing how a neighbor's farm had been taken over by scarecrows. When he and others had gone to check in on the Hambley family, they were ambushed by the scarecrows and slaughtered. Grump had run into the jungle and had made his way to Barrowmista for help. The heroes questioned Grump, and discerned that the scarecrows were likely disguised ghouls. They agreed to go investigate after they got a good night's sleep.
But, before they rested. Tiny Tymm used his growing skill with divination to find the right moment to perform the drinking challenge at the Hagfish. Seeing the right day, time, and circumstances, Tiny Tymm lead the heroes and bravely chugged the foul viscous liquid without a moments hesitation. Winning the challenge lead to cheers from throughout the bar. Tiny Tymm was lifted to the ceiling to carve his name among the other champions. "Tiny Tymm loves Felician and Leon" is now forever a part of Barrowmista lore.
Early the next morning, the took some ponies and rode to the distant farm. Along the way they saw the farms close to their destination appeared to be abandoned or the farmers were hiding from the strangers. At the farm, they were met with a scarecrow at the edge of the field. Nervously approaching it, they discovered it was a normal scarecrow. They cut it down and dragged it behind them. As they navigated the fields, following Grump's directions, they found another scarecrow. Tiny Tymm went to cut this one down, and was horrified to discover it was a ghoul. It began to eat at the wizard, but was quickly cut down by the Kurdan and Bartuk. The heroes found the Hambley farmhouse and barn in the middle of the fields. Investigating the barn, they found recent corpses in the process of becoming ghouls. They pulled the bodies out and burned them. Entering the farmhouse, Kurdan and Tiny Tymm found a dead old man tied to a table. A seven pointed star was carved into his chest and a note from the murderer to Kurdan was on the corpse's face. As they read the note, Bartuk and Grump discovered that scarecrows had silently surrounded the field house as they hear noises of something moving upstairs.
They also learned that another murder had happened a couple of nights before. Some guards had come across a mad man, a local thug named Grayst, covered in blood near a long abandoned barn that contained three bodies. The sheriff, at the time, thought the Grayst was clearly the murderer-- and had him locked up in a local sanatorium. The murder scene was a gory sight. Harker was pinned to the wall by hooks and had his chin and tongue removed. A seven pointed star was carved into his chest. Katrine had been pushed down into a chute containing a large circular used to cut logs. Searching the room, they found signs that the murder was barefoot and had climbed up the building from the river. Investigating, they found the murder likely watched the lumbermill for the past few nights from some brush across the river, but had been moving by the river. They suspected this is the same person that had broken into their new home. The heroes decided to go to the sanatorium to question Grayst, and the sheriff wrote them a letter of introduction to the sanatorium's doctor and founder, Erin Habe. A couple hours from town, the sanatorium was a solid stone building in the middle of a well managed field. Tiny Tymm used his Felicia to scout the area, and noted that there was a cellar door in the back which seemed to have a lot of traffic to and from that entrance. Going to the front door, a gruff person told them through a slot that whatever wares they were selling were not wanted and that they should leave. After some debate, the heroes decided to enter through the cellar doors. The cellar contained a necromancers lab and a very sleep necromancer with some animated zombies. Demanding to know who the heroes were, they handed him the man their letter from the sheriff. He nervously read the letter and said he wasn't Habe, but he would get the man. A few minutes later they met Habe and his twin tiefling orderlies. Everyone was acting very nervous about the heroes being there, but Habe agreed to allow the heroes to question Grayst. Upstairs in a sitting/work room, the heroes waited for Grayst to be brought to them by one of the orderlies. They found a man who had been clearly infected with Ghoul Fever, a nasty disease that would eventually kill a person and turn them into an undead beast. Grayst was lost to distant thoughts and muttering to himself until he saw Kurdan. Grayst was filled with energy and delivered a cryptic message to Kurdan about his master waiting at a place named "Misgivings", and then gave into the disease. Showing supernatural strength, he broken out of his straight jacket and concentrated on killing Kurdan. During the battle, the orderlies grabbed Erin Habe and attempted to get him out of the room. Tiny Tymm used magic to seal them in the room while Bartuk and Kurdan concentrated on defeating the ghoul Grayst. The ghastly battle ended with Grayst's head being blown off by a magical spell. A tense standoff unfolded with the tiefling twins trying to protect Habe. Tiny Tymm, not realizing that the people of the sanatorium were nervous about their secret crimes being exposed, made some threats in the infernal language to the twins. The twins underestimated the heroes and how hurt they were, and they attacked. Bartuk killed one of the twins as Habe ran screaming for help from the necromancer. Bartuk knocked out the other twin as Tiny Tymm put Habe magically asleep. Taking a moment to heal themselves, they were ambushed by the necromancer and his group of zombies. The necromancer animated the bodies of the dead tiefling and Grayst to attack Bartuk while his initial zombies swarmed Kurdan. Tiny Tymm slung spells back and forth in the battle until the the necromancer realized he too was outmatched and tried to flee. He met the same fate as Habe, and was put to sleep. Tying up the surviving tiefling, Habe, and the necromancer; the heroes read through the necromancer's spellbook/journal and discovered that Habe could not afford to run the sanatorium. Habe had made a deal with the necromancer that the necromancer would help fund the sanatorium in exchange for access to the bodies of any patients that died. When they decided to bring their prisoners back to Barrowmista and Sheriff Hemlock, Habe begged the heroes to look after the existing patients still in the building. He also warned them that one of them was suffering form the curse of lycanthropy. Tiny Tymm suggested the heroes have Vulnademus attempt to cure the were-person, and shared his suspicions that Vulnademus wasn't a simple hedge wizard... but someone much more powerful. Returning to town, the heroes found another problem unfolding. A raving old man, Master Grump, dressed like a farmer was describing how a neighbor's farm had been taken over by scarecrows. When he and others had gone to check in on the Hambley family, they were ambushed by the scarecrows and slaughtered. Grump had run into the jungle and had made his way to Barrowmista for help. The heroes questioned Grump, and discerned that the scarecrows were likely disguised ghouls. They agreed to go investigate after they got a good night's sleep.
But, before they rested. Tiny Tymm used his growing skill with divination to find the right moment to perform the drinking challenge at the Hagfish. Seeing the right day, time, and circumstances, Tiny Tymm lead the heroes and bravely chugged the foul viscous liquid without a moments hesitation. Winning the challenge lead to cheers from throughout the bar. Tiny Tymm was lifted to the ceiling to carve his name among the other champions. "Tiny Tymm loves Felician and Leon" is now forever a part of Barrowmista lore.
Early the next morning, the took some ponies and rode to the distant farm. Along the way they saw the farms close to their destination appeared to be abandoned or the farmers were hiding from the strangers. At the farm, they were met with a scarecrow at the edge of the field. Nervously approaching it, they discovered it was a normal scarecrow. They cut it down and dragged it behind them. As they navigated the fields, following Grump's directions, they found another scarecrow. Tiny Tymm went to cut this one down, and was horrified to discover it was a ghoul. It began to eat at the wizard, but was quickly cut down by the Kurdan and Bartuk. The heroes found the Hambley farmhouse and barn in the middle of the fields. Investigating the barn, they found recent corpses in the process of becoming ghouls. They pulled the bodies out and burned them. Entering the farmhouse, Kurdan and Tiny Tymm found a dead old man tied to a table. A seven pointed star was carved into his chest and a note from the murderer to Kurdan was on the corpse's face. As they read the note, Bartuk and Grump discovered that scarecrows had silently surrounded the field house as they hear noises of something moving upstairs.
Rewards Granted
Wand of False Life
Wand of Identify
Each gets a fresh 1d4 charges every morning
If you expend the wand's last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the wand crumbles into ashes and is destroyed.
Wand of Identify
Each gets a fresh 1d4 charges every morning
If you expend the wand's last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the wand crumbles into ashes and is destroyed.
Character(s) interacted with
Report Date
23 Jan 2021
Primary Location
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