Session 303 - The Maid of Vareth

General Summary

1^st of Agrazhar 726TR

The Story So Far

The heroes have traveled to Vareth Manor to check up on Griffen's Diggers, a band of scavengers who loot burial mounds for Narvo of the House of Wonders. The leader of the Diggers Altaar of Griffen has not reported in, and Narvo is concerned something may be amiss.

This is the continuation of Session 302 - The Twilight Calamity.

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Location - Vareth Manor near the Town of Kiban in the Kingdom of Kaldor.

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Part 1 – The Maid of Vareth

Early morning the heroes arrive at Vareth Manor, a small river village not far from the Town of Kiban. On the other side of the river are the marshlands known as the Fens. They make their way immediately to a small tavern and can’t help but note the unfriendly glares from the patrons breaking their fast. Dryueh discreetly inquires about the reason for the animosity and offers his medical services to the village to break the ice. The villagers warm to his efforts and tell him that the Maid of Vareth, a holy relic, was stolen last night, and most blame outsiders, specifically Griffin’s Diggers, for the despicable crime. A few villagers accuse the witch Morgwen, who lives in the bog and has made no secret that she wants to study and dissect the relic.

The Maid of Vareth is an ancient artifact and holy relic of the Church of Peoni and is revered by the locals. It is also something of a tourist attraction.
The Maid is a mummified ancient Jarinese woman preserved in reasonably good condition discovered over 200 years ago in a peat bog. When the Red Death struck the village in 560TR, most of the diseased villagers miraculously survived, and the mummy was reported to have cried tears of blood. This healing phenomenon was attributed to the Maid, as were many other miracles over the years. The Maid wears an amber necklace with white daisies, a symbol associated with the goddess Peoni.
The bog mummy is preserved in a casket with an expensive glass lid.

Dryueh volunteers to find and return the relic. The mention of the so-called witch Morgwen intrigues Valeria, who grabs her sketchbook, enters a trance, and begins to draw randomly. Soon the local spirits take control of her hands, and a drawing of a vaguely female form appears, surrounded by flying insects, possibly moths.

Part 2 - The Crime

The party investigates the crime scene, a small chapel with an attached hut used by the shrine’s caretakers and their families. They find a trail from the shrine past the old witch’s house in a small marsh to the river and find a discarded Skeleton key in the mud. The Maid must have been put on a boat.

Ederni, art by Artflow

Questioning the caretaker’s family, Valeria, and Dryueh identify that they have been poisoned with a sleeping draught. Alfrun and Roes of Waida, the parents and head of the family, are mildly sick; as their daughter Haliki (Priestess) Ederni of Waidea, scholarly-looking priestess of Save K’Nor, the god of sages, although she is in a much better condition. They remember a fisherman, Otto, delivered the food they ate last night. Haliki Ederni remarks that Griffen’s Diggers and his gang of scavengers showed unusual interest in the Maid.

Morgwen, art by Artflow

The Witch Morgwen is visited. Her hut is filled with jars of all manner of insects and many moths. She is of little help, claiming she was not home when the crime occurred. She was off hunting the Violet Butter Moths larvae, a moth indigenous to the Fens that glow strangely in moonlight. She seems obsessed with these nocturnal insects, which she believes have magical properties.

Campaign

Legacy of the Foulspawner

Protagonists

Rycon

Dryueh

Valeria

Report Date

06 Aug 2023

Primary Location

The Fens

Violet Butter Moth

Violet Butter Moth, art by Playground AI

The Violet Butter Moth is indigenous to the Fens.

In the moonlight, suits mustard-colored wings strangely glow magenta or violet. They are attracted to the strange magical monument known as the Rude Fingers. 

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Location - The Fens near the Town of Kiban in the Kingdom of Kaldor.

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Part 3 - Skeletons in the Fens

Asking the locals, Otto hasn’t been seen this morning, and the party decides to hire a boat, cross over the river, and explore the fen looking for Griffen’s Diggers and possibly Otto.

Valeria’s Shadow Bird soon spots humans, and the party approach and finds evidence of a massacre. Four men are dead, all members of Griffen’s Diggers. A peat farmer, Russelin, is hiding nearby and witnessed the attack. He describes the Diggers being attacked by bog monsters, "Skeletons like you find in the old burial mounds." Several of the diggers survived and ran off, closely followed by the horrors. The party follows the tracks, and not far away, on a rocky outcrop, they spot three men fighting off skeletal figures. Before they can assist, they are ambushed by four more of these undead. The skeletons are dispatched, although one particularly robust undead appeared party covered in what looks like metallic lead.

Altaar, art by Artflow

Altaar of Griffen is saved and grateful for the timely assistance. He has been acquiring artifacts for Narvo for the last five days in the Fens and opened a burial mound that was better left untouched. Horrifically the skeletons animated. He was unaware that the Maid has disappeared and is adamant that he had no plans to steal it. The party warns him not to return to Vareth; the locals blame him for the robbery and may lynch him and his gang.

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Location - Vareth Manor near the Town of Kiban in the Kingdom of Kaldor.

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Part 4 - The Mystery Wagon

Returning to Vareth, the heroes find the villagers are once again riled up. A man from out of town arrived on a wagon while the party was away. He was questioned, and he was to pick up an important package. The locals suspect he is involved in the robbery.

The party follows the wagon tracks along a side road upriver and finds Gilbot, the wagon driver, just off the roadway servicing his vehicle. He seems to be expecting the characters, thinking one of them is Otto. He tells them that, as instructed, he is to wait until after sundown, then travel to the nearby ruins of an old farm to pick up a special package. He has no idea what the package is.

Something is amiss; sinister patches of what looks like smoldering compost emerge from the trees and attack. Whatever strange spirits possessed, the rotting vegetation, the Flaming Moss Monsters were short-lived. They were quickly dispatched.

Part 5 - The Maid's Blood

The party sneaks up on this farm after leaving the Gilbot to finish his repairs. They find the casket containing the Maid and the fisherman Otto. But they are also surprised to discover Haliki Ederni, the scholarly priestess of Save K’Nor and daughter of the caretakers. When confronted, Haliki Ederni tries to persuade the characters that the "Maid’s healing properties need to be studied, and it is doing no good for the world in a wretched little village like Vareth."

As the party approaches, Otto panics and backs off, accidentally knocking the casket, which falls to the ground, and its glass lid breaks. The bog mummy begins to bleed. The blood swirls and vaporizes into a thick red mist that drains the hero’s lifeblood. As they fight off the Crimson Vampire Mists, another undead spirit arrives, a Will-o’-wisp. Rycon is almost killed by the malicious ball of light’s electric attack, and frustratingly it extinguishes its light to hide Invisibly and avoid counterattacks. Eventually, the party destroys the undead but requires Valeria to unleash an impressive display of the magic of the occult.

Part 6 - Penance

Haliki Ederni and Otto surrender and beg for mercy. The Maid is returned to the village, and Valeria and the Witch Morgwen devise a cleansing ritual to remove residual evil spirits from the relic. Haliki Ederni and Otto are assigned hash penance from the local priestess of Peoni, Sister Beatrace, and must spend the next three months caring for and helping the poor in the area. As ever, the opportunist Dryueh invests some time offering his considerable medical experience to the locals boosting his reputation; they now hold him in high regard bordering on the Folk Hero status.

To be continued.

NPC Interactions

Alfrun and Roes of Waide - Caretakers of the Shrine of the Maid of Vareth.

Haliki (Priestess) Ederni of Waide.

Morgwen - the Moth Witch.

Altaar of Griffen - Leader of Griffen's Diggers.

Gilbot - the cart driver.

Challenges

4 x Tough Skeletons.

2 x Flaming Moss Monster.

3 x Crimson Vampire Mists and 1 x Will-o'-wisp.

Rewards

Nothing this week.

Created Content

The Fens.

Related Reports

The Rude Fingers - updated.

Player Characters

Valeria - Human Magical Experiment - L6 Shadow Sorcerer - Beastmaster.

Rycon - Human Rebel Knight - L6 Fighter - Liberator Champion.

Dryueh - 1/2 Elf Scout - L6 Thief Rogue - Vigilante/Medic.

Next Session

Session 304 - The Evil Physician.