The Return: Session #11
General Summary
The heroes, having found another murder victim, were surrounded in the farm house by a circle of scarecrow clad ghouls. As the ghouls moved in to attack, the heroes quickly barricaded the doors and retreated to the dark sleeping area that made up the attic.
Kurdan and Bartuk entered first, and found another ghoulish like creature dressed in the fine clothes of a servant for the rich. The undead butler charged Kurdan with a singular desire to kill him alone. At the same time, Tiny Tymm and Master Grump climbed the stairs chased by ghouls. Master Grump slammed the hatch to the room shut, and Tiny Tymm magically locked the door. Even though the butler was easily defeated, the ghouls began to climb up the outside of the building and try to enter through the window as others were attempting to break down the magically sealed hatch. But with Kurdan and Bartuk holding the window while Tiny Tymm blasted the ghouls at the hatch with magical fire, the bloody battle came to an end with the heroes' victory. They searched the area and found a key, which had a carving of foxglove flowers, on the butler and the Hambley family fortune. It turns out that Master Hambley was a greedy man that was hogging gold unearned through unethical means while denying his family simple comforts. Master Grump invited the heroes to his humble home so they could eat and rest. They took the time to ask him about local area, and they discovered "The Misgivings" is a local nickname for the allegedly accursed Foxglove manor. The family home to a person the heroes had already met, Aldern Foxglove! The history of the manor was one of tragedy. Aldern's grandfather, Vorel, built the manor house. It lead to tragedy as a fire killed his wife and possible his death. It is rumored Vorel was a powerful magic-user. Aldern had shown up in the past year with the money and ambition to rebuild the manor, but found the locals were not willing to work at the estate. After a good night of rest, they went to The Misgivings. They found a rundown manor house in an area of blight. The building had creepy black mold patches growing outside of it. Entering, they found a building haunted by ghosts and traumatic memories. Each experienced direct assaults and visions that left them battered and burned. A black mold that expressed with necromantic energies was growing throughout the building. In the attic, they found the body of a woman they had seen murdered in haunting scenes. She was weeping and hiding away from her reflection. Bartuk destroyed the mirror, and the undead woman rose and stormed off through the building looking for Aldern. The heroes followed her, and found a secret basement containing a wizards laboratory. They found some diseased rats in cages and Vorel's notes. A quick pause suggested that Vorel was attempting to become a lich, a powerful undead that allowed a wizard to become immortal. Without much delay, the continued to follow the undead woman deeper in the earth. They caught up with her to find she was once again tormented by a visage of herself--- a large painting nearly covered in black mold. Inside the room was a table covered with items of Kurdan. The source of the black mold covered most of the chamber. The heroes could barely make out a humanoid shape within them mold on the wall. A twisted ghoulish Aldern was also present and called for a horde of ghouls to attack the heroes. As Kurdan ran to close the stone door to the chamber, Bartuk and Tiny Tymm engaged the undead noble. The presence of the black mold appeared to be empowering and healing Aldern. The heroes split their efforts between fighting Aldern, attacking the mold, and attemping to destroy the giant painting. The battle came to abrupt end when the heroes were able to tear down the painting. The undead woman stood before Aldern as he dropped to his knees and begged for forgiveness for killing her. For a brief moment, there was love in her eyes... until they turned back into rage and she pulled his head from his shoulders. As his body fell to the ground, the heroes could hear the ghouls falling back to an inanimate corpses once more. Searching the room, they found Aldern's journal which contained a letter from someone called named Xanesha. What they learned from the journal and letter: Vorel Foxglove was indeed trying to become a lich. He wasone of the few apprentices of Emirikol that survived his education. Vorel's wife found out about it and tried to stop him by burning the place down. While their young son (Aldern's father) escaped, Vorel murdered his wife. In his anger, he messed up the ritual and became bonded with the black mold growing under the manor. Aldern with his new wife, Iesha, decided to work on the manor. Some group called "The Brotherhood" and a person named Xanesha appear to have helped him get the money, but they were asking for mold samples in return. Vorel's influence pushed Aldern down a dark path, and Aldern murdered Iesha in the middle of a jealous rage. She rose as an undead creature of revenge, but was imprisoned in the attic and by her own visage of what she had become. Aldern, during his descent into madness made him obsessed with Kurdan, but it was his broken leg from the boar hunt that did him in. An infection was killing him, and Xanesha offered to "help" him by turning him into an undead creature as long he helped harvest greedy souls through ritualistic murder.
Kurdan and Bartuk entered first, and found another ghoulish like creature dressed in the fine clothes of a servant for the rich. The undead butler charged Kurdan with a singular desire to kill him alone. At the same time, Tiny Tymm and Master Grump climbed the stairs chased by ghouls. Master Grump slammed the hatch to the room shut, and Tiny Tymm magically locked the door. Even though the butler was easily defeated, the ghouls began to climb up the outside of the building and try to enter through the window as others were attempting to break down the magically sealed hatch. But with Kurdan and Bartuk holding the window while Tiny Tymm blasted the ghouls at the hatch with magical fire, the bloody battle came to an end with the heroes' victory. They searched the area and found a key, which had a carving of foxglove flowers, on the butler and the Hambley family fortune. It turns out that Master Hambley was a greedy man that was hogging gold unearned through unethical means while denying his family simple comforts. Master Grump invited the heroes to his humble home so they could eat and rest. They took the time to ask him about local area, and they discovered "The Misgivings" is a local nickname for the allegedly accursed Foxglove manor. The family home to a person the heroes had already met, Aldern Foxglove! The history of the manor was one of tragedy. Aldern's grandfather, Vorel, built the manor house. It lead to tragedy as a fire killed his wife and possible his death. It is rumored Vorel was a powerful magic-user. Aldern had shown up in the past year with the money and ambition to rebuild the manor, but found the locals were not willing to work at the estate. After a good night of rest, they went to The Misgivings. They found a rundown manor house in an area of blight. The building had creepy black mold patches growing outside of it. Entering, they found a building haunted by ghosts and traumatic memories. Each experienced direct assaults and visions that left them battered and burned. A black mold that expressed with necromantic energies was growing throughout the building. In the attic, they found the body of a woman they had seen murdered in haunting scenes. She was weeping and hiding away from her reflection. Bartuk destroyed the mirror, and the undead woman rose and stormed off through the building looking for Aldern. The heroes followed her, and found a secret basement containing a wizards laboratory. They found some diseased rats in cages and Vorel's notes. A quick pause suggested that Vorel was attempting to become a lich, a powerful undead that allowed a wizard to become immortal. Without much delay, the continued to follow the undead woman deeper in the earth. They caught up with her to find she was once again tormented by a visage of herself--- a large painting nearly covered in black mold. Inside the room was a table covered with items of Kurdan. The source of the black mold covered most of the chamber. The heroes could barely make out a humanoid shape within them mold on the wall. A twisted ghoulish Aldern was also present and called for a horde of ghouls to attack the heroes. As Kurdan ran to close the stone door to the chamber, Bartuk and Tiny Tymm engaged the undead noble. The presence of the black mold appeared to be empowering and healing Aldern. The heroes split their efforts between fighting Aldern, attacking the mold, and attemping to destroy the giant painting. The battle came to abrupt end when the heroes were able to tear down the painting. The undead woman stood before Aldern as he dropped to his knees and begged for forgiveness for killing her. For a brief moment, there was love in her eyes... until they turned back into rage and she pulled his head from his shoulders. As his body fell to the ground, the heroes could hear the ghouls falling back to an inanimate corpses once more. Searching the room, they found Aldern's journal which contained a letter from someone called named Xanesha. What they learned from the journal and letter: Vorel Foxglove was indeed trying to become a lich. He wasone of the few apprentices of Emirikol that survived his education. Vorel's wife found out about it and tried to stop him by burning the place down. While their young son (Aldern's father) escaped, Vorel murdered his wife. In his anger, he messed up the ritual and became bonded with the black mold growing under the manor. Aldern with his new wife, Iesha, decided to work on the manor. Some group called "The Brotherhood" and a person named Xanesha appear to have helped him get the money, but they were asking for mold samples in return. Vorel's influence pushed Aldern down a dark path, and Aldern murdered Iesha in the middle of a jealous rage. She rose as an undead creature of revenge, but was imprisoned in the attic and by her own visage of what she had become. Aldern, during his descent into madness made him obsessed with Kurdan, but it was his broken leg from the boar hunt that did him in. An infection was killing him, and Xanesha offered to "help" him by turning him into an undead creature as long he helped harvest greedy souls through ritualistic murder.
Rewards Granted
Treasure:
Leather armor +1
War razor +1 (that giant razor that Aldern was wielding)
Ring of Jumping
Ring of Protection +1
The Mask (it radiates strong evil magic, let me know if anyone is putting it on)
He also had:
800 gold
a simple brass key (looks like a standard door key, but doesn't match anything in the manor)
a small silver key (it is engraved with a lion's head, there is no apparent use for it in the manor)
Leather armor +1
War razor +1 (that giant razor that Aldern was wielding)
Ring of Jumping
Ring of Protection +1
The Mask (it radiates strong evil magic, let me know if anyone is putting it on)
He also had:
800 gold
a simple brass key (looks like a standard door key, but doesn't match anything in the manor)
a small silver key (it is engraved with a lion's head, there is no apparent use for it in the manor)
Character(s) interacted with
Master Grump
Report Date
08 Feb 2021
Primary Location
Comments