The Investigation of the Feyport Killings

“There is something wrong in our town. We’ve always had bizarre occurrences, being on the edge of the Feywild, but this is something different. We are terrified, as are the citizens - or whats left of them anyway.”

— Lord Ignatius

The Job

You are hired by the three Duchesses, Aristocrats of a port town on the edge of the Feywild to help rid them of something terrible plaguing their people. These Duchesses ruling Feyport sent retainers into every nearby city and port to find heroes, offering anything they could promise for help; large rewards of gold, magical items, professional help of divination and oracle experts, and even possible favor with the Archfey they coexist with, just to get capable hands to come help their poor peoples.

Information From The Duchessess:

• The town has a large rodent problem
• Abnormally gaunt shadows that occasionally move on their own and strange disembodied laughter, whispers, etc.
• A curfew has been installed; people out after dark by themselves are being murdered, their corpses ripped open and feasted upon. Always left with terrified expressions, and no one hears or sees anything, even if they were nearby.
• Terrible night terrors; victims wake with a feeling of terror or dread, difficulty breathing because of a perceived heavy invisible weight on their chest, and are unable to move i.e., experience sleep paralysis.
• Due to this mysterious force picking off the town guard, there is not enough manpower to investigate it, and the guards and townsfolk that have tried end up scarred or dead.

Lord Ignatius then left you with a full map of the territory, their leads, an Official Business Dossier that you can show off to gain full cooperation and privileges, and two small parchments each with a detailed rune circle drawn on them in glittering purple ink. These are teleportation spells that bring you to the manor kitchen where the healer/poison checker is.

Your Investigation:

• You now know it was a mix of both fiend and fey, as the only option for the culprit is a coven of night hags.
• You think it might be invisible to some degree, and seems to have the help of the shadows it creates.
• The vermin are drawn to the negative energy caused by whatever it is, and the shadows are actually physical conglomerations of that palpable negative magic sticking to and building off of the souls it is trapping on the mortal realm.
• These night hags have been trapping souls for a LONG time before the town started noticing it, as the greater shadow gave off 1,000 souls, way more than what has died in feyport over the last year or so of their documented grievances. Either these hags have been doing this slowly and secretly for hundreds of years and have only come out of the woodwork now, or they brought the shadows with them when they moved in.
• You cannot place your finger on why, but you grow more and more suspicious of the Duchesses that hired you.
• It seems someone might be trying to either revive Vecna, the Dread King of Oerth, or use the amulet containing him to some other end.

Locations:

• Feyport: While scouting at night the group encountered a small group of shadows as well as a fresh corpse. Due to the party not seeing or hearing anything, the conclusion is that the creature responsible is invisible and aided by the shadows. The shadows seem to be made up of corrupted trapped souls and harnessed negative energy, such as fear and rage. The black market, while ominous at best, does not seem to have any links to the murders or shadows. Its small pocket dimension does seem to be safe from them, though.
• The Seer's Tower : The tower has been scaled and cleared of threats, and each floor documented. There are portals that lead to various places of great importance near the top, an observatory that can magically show you anywhere in the world if you can focus in on it, and an apartment at the top with the Elven Seer in a coma. The Seer put herself into a coma because she couldn't find her lover that had gone missing on a mission. It is not relevant to the investigation, however, the ladies looked into Gaelira, the Hero of Rhode Hill, the Seer's missing lover, and found she went missing on a routine trip to the Faewild. You can revisit the tower and look around more, use the one-way portals, or study, and a Greater Restoration spell can wake up the Seer.
• The Abandoned Abbey of Helm: You’ve investigated the refugees staying here, who are all runaways from the feywild, hiding from the Unseelie that wish them harm. Some of them seem extremely suspicious, but they don't seem to be the cause of what is happening in Feyport. The crypts below it still house numerous cursed artifacts, though the party doesn't know what exactly is down there. The two remaining monks are willing to give you a tour of the cursed objects hall if you come back. Nothing here seemed to be causing the issues in town, though.
• The Enchanted Forests: The 'monster' was nothing more than a young elven man named Finmiel Whitlow that was being devoured by shadows and had been fighting back against them. The same strange fey boy that tricked Naomi had tried to trick Finmiel just before the shadows appeared. You've saved Finmiel Whitlow from the shadows, which you think was the issue in the forest, and you’ve seen firsthand the ton of floating will-o-wisps throughout the surrounding forest at night. The close proximity to the Abbey could mean these were casualties of the Relic Incident of ~20 years ago.
• The Oubliette Carnivale: You've inspected the carnival, and couldn't find any immediate proof of its involvement in the issue, and you disproved the rumor that unruly guests are being fed to the siren tank. An ominous large creature in a trenchcoat and hat can be seen wandering the carnival, but you don't think it's relevant.
• Satyr Camp: Elder Magpie's suspicions that the Korreds were behind it were correct, but the Korreds were under the control of a mysterious amulet. Now freed, the Korreds made peace and explained the situation, and the two camps are friendly again.
• Korred Camp: Chief Bracken was found to be an illusion holding the korreds under his sway by convincing them that their god wished them to start new practices. This was furthered by tainted food that was messing with their heads and making them more susceptible to influence. The real Bracken Meadowdale was paralyzed and stuffed into a chest in their crypts. The Sealing Amulet of Vecna he was wearing was the cause of all this, and he said it was a gift from a hooded stranger. He didn't remember anything after that, but the villagers said the other cursed objects, and the Satyr's chalice, were items they were instructed to steal by the false Chief Bracken. Chief Bracken and his people returned to the satyrs with the party to make amends and explain. The group took the cursed items and amulet with them but were robbed of them the following night.
• The Old Nobles' Quarter: The massacre here was brutal. You've found information on Vecna, the Dread King of Oerth in the Virnai Manor, you know there is a survivor of both the Whitlow and Brandlei houses, and Rory, the Brandlei survivor, is harboring fey refugees in his old family home. You've investigated three of the five houses and don't see any reason to check the other two.
• Old Hag Hut: You've cleared the hag hut, finding Zuggtmoy's Kiss and an Anthropophagi, clear signs of something using corpses for magical means. You've also gotten proof here to further your newfound idea that a coven of night hags might be the culprit you're looking for. You've been told a group of hags is supposed to live out here, though no one has actually seen them in a long time, and you found no signs of anything but the anthropophagi being out here any time recently. The forest nearest here is worse than anywhere else as far as how thick the shadows are and includes an awful warding spell that scared the shit out of you.

Related Organizations

• The Lords of Feyport
• The Noble's Alliance