The Eschbach Terror
Rge team get a surprise. Someone, or some thing, has started t oterrorize the town of Eschbach. Who is another thing. They may have to investigate as there is a possible connection to a certain mirror.
Plot points/Scenes
The team get up in the morning and go about their business only to be informed (whether in The Eschach Shields or the council) that three murders have happened. These have happened over the past 3 nights and have occurred near their houses. The bodies have been cut open and it seems that the killer took parts of the bodies. The bodies have been cut open from shoulder to groin, along with them being found in the alleyways & backstreets. Also, no footprints have been found & no-one seen directly. A few thought they saw someone or thing entering & exiting Arhi & Arne's house by the top of the tree.
Locals will also state that they are unsure exactly what it looked like, and that they have seen someone in the gloom looking out the windows at night of the house. Those still in the house will find that minor things have moved around with the odd trinket gone. Small other trinkets are noticed in some places too.
A few neighbours will report the same thing and the feeling they are being watched. Both of these seem to have been happening over the past few days, about the length of time the teams has been away.
Archi will get a shock with the mirror when he finds a few small stones thrown through it from the other side of a greasy slightly cool black material. A vellum page wrote in faded black ink will be lying there too showing similar stones being placed in freshly hharvested boiling fat. And a not saying that the house has an extra visitor.
The three that were killed was a 57 year old widow called Margarette, 22 year old carpenter Jacques, and 11 year old Melinda. They ahve no connection to each other, no enemies and no reason to be killed. All 3 appear well-nourished and were known for just being average people.
Ruk has found that a few of his rough notes and bits & pieces have been moved or taken, and some replaced with notes wrote in complete gibberish, or strange worthless items that have no intrinsic value. Also Turtle will be wary of the Bags of Holding.
Alternative / Preferred Bagman votive offerings:
Quite a few of this stuff turns out to be sowing kits, stuffing material, hair, and coloured cloth. All can be combined to make dolls. There is also a couple of scrolls wrote in different languages with the same phrase to be read aloud to activate. It says: "I call upon the Dark Gods of Shadow & Death to bestow me life in their service".
At night they can start to investigate and the mirror shimmers a bit and the temperature drops significantly near it and to a degree outside Archi's room. A lowlying mist (ankle deep) forms. Anyone looking at it will see a man in dark clothing holding a strange stone look through as if checking that no-one is there, and if not, will step through and try t omake his way up the tree and out onto the roof before clambering down.
If followed they will see him try to get a local into an alleyway and attempt to kimm them. He can be fought off, attacked, killed or held. Turns out to be The Merchant and he's looking for human fat to use in experiments, preferrably fat from innocent people. He will disappear in the morning and mist is left afterwards as if spirited away.
An unvestigation with some of the key people round town may reveal that le Marchand is a striking image of him. At least of his uncle who used to be the leader of the family in question. He vanished under mysterious circumstances while out hunting on Fitzsimons lands. All suspect he was involved in a murder about 10 years ago and never brought to justice, partly through bribes t okeep it quiet and his disappearance.
The church and the grove request the mirror be placed with one of them to prevent him coming through, and to hold onto any of the strange stones. They also whisper that the stones are made from Leviathan's Flesh and is highly dangerous especially to mortals. As well as being highly magical.
The team also find that during this a few of the remaining locals still around at night report that they wern't sure but thought they seen someone return to the house carrying something over it's shoulder. Nothing is found around or in the house.
Next morning there is a report that Gerhart, a 33 uear old ngihtsoil worker, has disappeared and can't be found.
If left, the next night or two a couple more disappear, another nightsoil worker and one of the town's brasier lighters have gone.
After a short while, a ttwisted creature, humanoid in shape slips into the house or house opposite and tries to abduct one of the characters. it can be fought off but if it surprises & abducts one of them it tries to flee into one of the two Bags of Holding. Turns out Ruk's Bag of Holding had been talked over and the dreaded Bagman has appeared.
It will try to use either bag to get in and out off, and is escalating by abducting people now. Only by being directed by the church or grove can it be stopped, and the team has to cleanse the bags while finding Gerhart in one accidentally.
A ritual has to be performed over the Bags to try to stop the Bagman from using them while owned. It will work on a DC 18 Arcana saving throw, without destroying the bags in the process. For those gone, and the trinkets there is no way of bringing it back.
They may try to do the same with the mirror with the same saving throw.
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