Post by gavmeister on Aug 31, 2017 16:01:41 GMT
The adventurers debate what to do with the dead cultists. They decide to leave things as they are for now and travel to St Andral’s consult with Father Lucian. The priest goes back to the Markov House with them and confirms that they have broken up a diabolical cult. He offers to report the event to the Baron when visiting his sister, the Baroness, first thing next morning. They return to the Blue Water Inn for a nightcap.
None of them have a particularly settled night. Ismark has a particularly unsettling dream in which he imagines Sasha Ivliskova is sitting at the foot of his bed whilst a large raven taps at the window pane, wanting to be let in. In the morning Ireena tells Ismark that Sasha had called at the Inn the day before looking for Theo. Ireena is sure Sasha has something against her.
Ernst Larnak arrives at the Inn to invite the party to lunch with Lady Wachter.
Bran is summoned to see Baron Vallakovich. The paladin is ushered into the Baron’s den, and told that he had been spotted standing by while Giselle and the others gave food and drink to the errant townsfolk in the village square stocks. As a result the Baron has sacked Bran from the leading role he was intended to play in the forthcoming Festival of the Blazing Sun. The Baron still expects Bran to turn up in his sunny tabard but there will no longer be a special place for him. With that, Bran is dismissed. He shrugs. Nothing is said about the dead cultists.
The adventurers turn up for lunch at the Wachterhaus and are admitted by the maids. Lady Wachter, a wealthy woman, is very pleasant and the meal goes well. She apologises for the plainness of the fare. Things just haven’t been the same since her husband, Lord Nikolia, died three years ago. She gestures at the portrait above the fireplace. At one point their host disappears to check on the progress of dessert. The family’s insane daughter, Stella, pokes her head round the door mewling like a cat. She scuttles off before Lady Wachter returns.
After the meal, Lady Wachter turns the conversation in an unexpected direction. She tells them their opposition to the Baron’s rule has been widely noticed and appreciated, and asks them to join her in rebelling against his petty dictatorship. She asks them to start by getting rid of Izek Strazni, at which point Lady Wachter and her ‘book club’ will lead a general revolt and topple the burgomaster. She is sure this would meet with approval of Herr von Holtz, the absentee landlord of the town. The adventurers have a fairly good idea of who this von Holtz might be, and what Lady Wachter’s book club is really about. They reject the offer. Lady Wachter is very disappointed, but tells them she is sure they will change their mind.
After returning to the Blue Water Inn, Muriel tells them that Stella had been married to the Baron’s son, Victor, but there was some kind of falling out and she had gone back to live in the Wachterhaus.
A small delegation of townsfolk and mutinous guards lobby Ismark privately. Dissatisfaction with the Baron is growing. They ask Ismark and his friends to step in. Everyone is too afraid of Izek Strazni to do anything about it themselves.
The adventurers decide to investigate Lady Wachter and her mysterious book club.
They find Karl and Nikolai in the Blood-Red Rose tavern, and bribe the innkeeper to ensure the boys are supplied with a stupefying amount of alcohol. Then, under cover of darkness, they case the Wachter joint. They discover a cellar entrance which unfortunately turns out to be locked and bolted from the inside. Giselle sneaks round to the back door and picks the lock. They carefully avoid the servants’ quarters and walk through instead via the kitchen and pantry. They notice a lot of the stored items would normally be found in the cellar and wonder why the area is unused.
Giselle is convinced that the more noisy party members will risk the enterprise, so she sneaks upstairs alone. The boys’ bedrooms are gratifyingly empty. Cats can be heard mewling behind a locked door which she purposefully avoids. Hearing a scratching behind another door, Giselle calls out for Stella who responds, “Can little kitty come out to play? Little kitty is sad and lonely and promises to be good this time, really she does”. Giselle takes pity and leads Stella downstairs. The girl is beyond reason, however, and after giving her a bowl of milk they let her return to her room.
Giselle and Pankas sneak back upstairs and enter the master bedroom. Stretched out on the bed they find the corpse of Lord Nikolai, dressed in black and in a remarkably good condition. Bran is summoned and pronounces that the body has been magically preserved. Lady Wachter’s cult robes are found in the closet along with a large collection of fashionable shoes. Giselle examines a locked chest and carefully disarms a needle trap in the lock. The chest is lead lined and contains a set of human bones. They are reminded of the tarokka reading: “You meet a wealthy woman. A staunch ally of the devil, she keeps the bones of an ancient enemy under lock and key.” They bag the bones and return downstairs.
They uncover a concealed door leading down to the cellar. Ricken cast Light, revealing an earthen floor criss-crossed by footprints. They stride on towards the west wall of the cellar and are set upon by eight skeletons which emerge from the ground. The adventurers fight back. When Ricken casts Turn Undead, most of the skeletons clatter off. Bran smashes the rest up one after the other with his warhammer.
They push a rotating panel in the wall and reveal the book club’s final meeting. Four cult leaders in black robes are chanting over a pentacle; battle is joined. Bran and Pankas steam in, but are attacked by glowing pitchforks conjured by the cultists Spiritual Weapon spells. Sensing a hidden presence in the room, Ricken casts Faerie Fire but with no effect. A cult leader cast Inflict Wounds on Bran, causing a grievous wound. As in the Markov House, Giselle counter-attacks immediately and takes the cultist down. Ricken blasts another with a Guiding Bolt. At this point a furious Lady Wachter appears in person – she paralyses Ismark with Hold Person but her enchanted dagger is turned by the splint armour on his chest. Her imp familiar, Majesto, materialises and tries to sting Giselle. Pankas gets round Lady Wachter’s blind side and knocks her out with a mighty blow from the flat of his blade. Majesto disappears; the last cult leader dies under Bran’s blade.
None of them have a particularly settled night. Ismark has a particularly unsettling dream in which he imagines Sasha Ivliskova is sitting at the foot of his bed whilst a large raven taps at the window pane, wanting to be let in. In the morning Ireena tells Ismark that Sasha had called at the Inn the day before looking for Theo. Ireena is sure Sasha has something against her.
Ernst Larnak arrives at the Inn to invite the party to lunch with Lady Wachter.
Bran is summoned to see Baron Vallakovich. The paladin is ushered into the Baron’s den, and told that he had been spotted standing by while Giselle and the others gave food and drink to the errant townsfolk in the village square stocks. As a result the Baron has sacked Bran from the leading role he was intended to play in the forthcoming Festival of the Blazing Sun. The Baron still expects Bran to turn up in his sunny tabard but there will no longer be a special place for him. With that, Bran is dismissed. He shrugs. Nothing is said about the dead cultists.
The adventurers turn up for lunch at the Wachterhaus and are admitted by the maids. Lady Wachter, a wealthy woman, is very pleasant and the meal goes well. She apologises for the plainness of the fare. Things just haven’t been the same since her husband, Lord Nikolia, died three years ago. She gestures at the portrait above the fireplace. At one point their host disappears to check on the progress of dessert. The family’s insane daughter, Stella, pokes her head round the door mewling like a cat. She scuttles off before Lady Wachter returns.
After the meal, Lady Wachter turns the conversation in an unexpected direction. She tells them their opposition to the Baron’s rule has been widely noticed and appreciated, and asks them to join her in rebelling against his petty dictatorship. She asks them to start by getting rid of Izek Strazni, at which point Lady Wachter and her ‘book club’ will lead a general revolt and topple the burgomaster. She is sure this would meet with approval of Herr von Holtz, the absentee landlord of the town. The adventurers have a fairly good idea of who this von Holtz might be, and what Lady Wachter’s book club is really about. They reject the offer. Lady Wachter is very disappointed, but tells them she is sure they will change their mind.
After returning to the Blue Water Inn, Muriel tells them that Stella had been married to the Baron’s son, Victor, but there was some kind of falling out and she had gone back to live in the Wachterhaus.
A small delegation of townsfolk and mutinous guards lobby Ismark privately. Dissatisfaction with the Baron is growing. They ask Ismark and his friends to step in. Everyone is too afraid of Izek Strazni to do anything about it themselves.
The adventurers decide to investigate Lady Wachter and her mysterious book club.
They find Karl and Nikolai in the Blood-Red Rose tavern, and bribe the innkeeper to ensure the boys are supplied with a stupefying amount of alcohol. Then, under cover of darkness, they case the Wachter joint. They discover a cellar entrance which unfortunately turns out to be locked and bolted from the inside. Giselle sneaks round to the back door and picks the lock. They carefully avoid the servants’ quarters and walk through instead via the kitchen and pantry. They notice a lot of the stored items would normally be found in the cellar and wonder why the area is unused.
Giselle is convinced that the more noisy party members will risk the enterprise, so she sneaks upstairs alone. The boys’ bedrooms are gratifyingly empty. Cats can be heard mewling behind a locked door which she purposefully avoids. Hearing a scratching behind another door, Giselle calls out for Stella who responds, “Can little kitty come out to play? Little kitty is sad and lonely and promises to be good this time, really she does”. Giselle takes pity and leads Stella downstairs. The girl is beyond reason, however, and after giving her a bowl of milk they let her return to her room.
Giselle and Pankas sneak back upstairs and enter the master bedroom. Stretched out on the bed they find the corpse of Lord Nikolai, dressed in black and in a remarkably good condition. Bran is summoned and pronounces that the body has been magically preserved. Lady Wachter’s cult robes are found in the closet along with a large collection of fashionable shoes. Giselle examines a locked chest and carefully disarms a needle trap in the lock. The chest is lead lined and contains a set of human bones. They are reminded of the tarokka reading: “You meet a wealthy woman. A staunch ally of the devil, she keeps the bones of an ancient enemy under lock and key.” They bag the bones and return downstairs.
They uncover a concealed door leading down to the cellar. Ricken cast Light, revealing an earthen floor criss-crossed by footprints. They stride on towards the west wall of the cellar and are set upon by eight skeletons which emerge from the ground. The adventurers fight back. When Ricken casts Turn Undead, most of the skeletons clatter off. Bran smashes the rest up one after the other with his warhammer.
They push a rotating panel in the wall and reveal the book club’s final meeting. Four cult leaders in black robes are chanting over a pentacle; battle is joined. Bran and Pankas steam in, but are attacked by glowing pitchforks conjured by the cultists Spiritual Weapon spells. Sensing a hidden presence in the room, Ricken casts Faerie Fire but with no effect. A cult leader cast Inflict Wounds on Bran, causing a grievous wound. As in the Markov House, Giselle counter-attacks immediately and takes the cultist down. Ricken blasts another with a Guiding Bolt. At this point a furious Lady Wachter appears in person – she paralyses Ismark with Hold Person but her enchanted dagger is turned by the splint armour on his chest. Her imp familiar, Majesto, materialises and tries to sting Giselle. Pankas gets round Lady Wachter’s blind side and knocks her out with a mighty blow from the flat of his blade. Majesto disappears; the last cult leader dies under Bran’s blade.