Archived: The Lake People

[SpankyTaz]

Adventure Introduction

Many years ago, an eccentric Dolmvay baron named Crandall Apperson built a lavish manor home on the shores of a lake that he later named Lake Onzetta, after his late mother.

A handful of years after the mansion was complete, Apperson was found drowned on the shore of the lake under somewhat mysterious circumstances, and (since he was no mere commoner) the Church of Law and Order quickly launched an inquiry into his death. Although the investigation turned up nothing, the remaining household grew fearful and decided to vacate the mansion. Apperson’s manor home soon fell into ruin and for years the locals have been using the stones to supplement their own housing and outdoor structures.

Skip ahead a few more years and some unusual, almost tribal jewellery was discovered on the black market. One of these pieces ended up in the hands of an esteemed archaeologist named Jerol Atarin.

After locating and questioning the sullen seller (a somewhat down-at-heel dandy named Jospeh Laurents), Atarin determined that the jewellery had been discovered near Lake Onzetta. Taking a small team of apprentices, he began exploring the lake’s shores and questioning the close-mouthed residents of the nearby town of Renneton about knowledge of what he called, the “Lake People” - a race he believed to have existed long ago in the surrounding region.

Atarin eventually discovered a cave entrance to what he believed to be the sacred caves of the Lake People. Quickly, realising he had stumbled upon a major find, he sent an apprentice back to Dolmvay to obtain authorisation to continue his excavation. Atarin also felt that something was ‘not quite right’ about the cave complex and, having only the foppish Laurents and a handful of young scholars in tow, Atarin decided to hire a few adventurers to protect his team.

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Message from the Adventurer's Guild (Dolmvay)

The Adventurers Guild received Jerol Atarin’s letter, assessed the threat as minimal, and chose the characters to respond. They are to act as guards and offer whatever assistance is required and in return, Atarin will pay each party member a flat rate of 50 gold with a share of whatever other profits are raised by the expedition. Guided by Jerol’s notes and the description of the journey provided by his injured and exhausted apprentice, the characters set off in search of the elderly scholar and his dig team.

After several days of travel, the party arrives at the shores of Lake Onzetta to find Atarin’s camp near the base of the cliffs. The fire pit is cold, personal effects are strewn about, and the ground is churned up in several places from signs of a struggle. There is no sign of Atarin or his team, but the high cave mentioned in Atarin’s letter is clearly marked with a red flag on the cliffs above.

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Jerol Atarin

A young Dolmvay dandy named Joseph Laurents recently fenced several pieces of jewellery on the black market. One of these pieces ended up in the hands of an esteemed archaeologist named Jerol Atarin who determined that it was from an ancient tribal society that worshipped the water goddess Makil (Pannas).

After locating and questioning the sullen Laurents, Atarin determined that the jewellery had been discovered near Lake Onzetta. Taking a small team of apprentices (along with Laurents), he began exploring the lake’s shores and questioning the close-mouthed residents of the nearby settlement of Renneton about knowledge of what he called the “Lake People”.

Atarin eventually discovered the cliff face entrance to the sacred caves. Quickly, realising he had stumbled upon a major find, he sent an apprentice back to Dolmvay to obtain authorisation to continue his excavation. Atarin also realised that something was not quite right about the cave complex and, having received several veiled threats from some of the lake’s residents to 'leave well enough alone', Atarin decided to hire a few adventurers to protect his team.

In the meantime, Atarin began excavating and exploring the chambers, during one such exploration his team accidentally disturbed what turned out to be a clutch of lake people 'eggs'. This caused the lake people (who are not humans as Atarin had at first thought, but rather a race of aquatic humanoids) to suddenly materialise out of the water pools and kill half of Atarin’s apprentices. Atarin barely managed to escape along with a handful of his assistants and the foppish Laurents. Fleeing back to their campsite by the lake they encountered a group of three well-to-do people - Lord Delemvar Miles, his niece Lena and the Lady Matilda Winnow. Lord Miles demands to know what they are doing in the area. He is an entitled and difficult man to deal with and his abrasive manner immediately put him at odds with the scholar and his helpers - with the exception of Laurents who seemed to be able to tolerate his attitude, although that may have had something to do with the lovely Lena who had instantly set about administering healing aid to the wounded, much to the obvious disapproval of Lady Matilda.

After Lena's healing, there were only two of the apprentices left unable to walk, the other three were more or less unharmed. Although he is an old man, he was concerned about the fate of the students he had left behind so Atarin decided to venture back into the caves and try and locate any other possible wounded. Lena volunteered to stay and look after the two wounded in the camp (to further reproach from both Lady Matilda and Lord Miles) and, realising that he needed urgent help and knowing that any aid from Dolmvay could be weeks away, Atarin reluctantly agreed but not before ordering his last three able-bodied assistants off to get whatever help they could. The smarmy coward Laurents 'volunteered' to stay in the camp and 'keep an eye on things' while the old scholar went back alone.

No sooner had Atarin managed to make his way back to the cave area where the attack took place than he was attacked once again, this time his assailants managed to cut off his retreat and so he fled the only way he could - deeper into the unexplored caves. After what seemed like an eternity of running and one very close call where one of the lake people actually burst out of his very own waterskin and very nearly caught him, Atarin eventually found himself in a set of chambers with a solid iron-bound door he could barricade. Which is where the party found him after a week, dehydrated and on the verge of starvation.

He has no idea what became of anyone he left behind. There are no traces of anyone having been in the campsite for many days and the group suspects that the three dead bodies they found on the way to the lake were the three assistants sent for help.

Atarin is an elderly scholar, explorer, and one of the heads of the Archaeologists Guild. He is an expert on ancient cultures and has spent countless hours in the field. Atarin is a tough, no-nonsense kind of man who is passionate about his work.

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Joseph Laurents

Joseph Laurents is the small, foppish son of a local nobleman and renowned former adventurer named Lord Rigel Laurents. Joseph is a lazy young man who prefers to dress in bright colours and extravagant finery. He is a huge disappointment to his father. After Lord Rigel denied his allowance, Joseph sold several cult ritual items on the black market. One of these items is what led Atarin to Lake Onzetta.

He stayed behind at the campsite with Lord Miles, Lady Matilda, Lena and the two badly injured scholars. He is now missing, along with the others.

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Lord Apperson's Journal

Discovered in a locked chest within a secret room in the caves where Lord Apperson stored his collection of recovered 'Lake People' artefacts.

In addition to the journal, the locked chest held assorted lake people bones, shards of broken pottery, crude stone weapons, a flutelike instrument that has been carved into the form of a scaly water serpent, and a remarkable three-foot-tall silver statue of the true goddess Makil (1,500gp).

Apperson’s journal details his finding of the caves, his unhealthy obsession with the goddess Makil, descriptions of a number of bizarre rituals, and the names of every known cultist from his time (including Lord Miles and Lady Matilda) and the information contained within could be damaging to the reputation of the surviving cult members.

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Lord Crandall Apperson

This is the information the party have managed to piece together from the study of Lord Crandall Apperson's private journal.

Many years ago, an eccentric Dolmvay baron named Crandall Apperson built a lavish manor home on the shores of the lake that he named Lake Onzetta after his late mother. During construction of his family tomb, workers unearthed the 'lake people’s' sacred cave system. Apperson became obsessed with their civilisation, collecting numerous artefacts for study and developing a particularly unhealthy fixation on their water goddess Makil.

Apperson turned the sacred caves into a hidden temple to what he called the “Blue Lady of Onzetta Mere” and secretly recruited members of his new cult from other noble and wealthy families in the area. One of the first things Apperson did was redesign the likeness of Makil to make her more appealing to his followers. Instead of a female lake person, the Blue Lady appears in their mythology as a buxom human woman with blue skin, gills, and webbed hands and feet. Under Apperson’s guidance, the cult met once every month to revel in drunkenness and debauchery and conduct bizarre rituals he hoped would entice Makil to take mortal form.

Apperson drowned during one of these occult celebrations, and the Church of Law and Order quickly launched an inquiry into the strange circumstances surrounding his death, although the investigation turned up nothing. Apperson’s manor home soon fell into ruin and the area around the lake gradually began to return to the wilderness.

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POI: Apperson Manor

Apperson Manor is a ruined manor home on the cliffs above Lake Onzetta. After Apperson’s death, Lord Delemvar Miles emptied the house of its contents and allowed it to fall into disrepair. The manor’s expansive gardens are now overgrown with weeds and creeper vines.

The party found a pair of ogres had taken up residence there and with the timely use of Elsa's Sleep spell, dispatched one as the fighters hacked the other to pieces.

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POI: Lake Onzetta

Lake Onzetta is a wide, peaceful lake surrounded by forests on three sides and a line of steep cliffs on the fourth. Apperson Manor can be seen atop the highest cliff. Atarin's abandoned campsite is on the lakeshore.

Situated a day and a half away from the town of Renneton.

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POI: The Apperson Cemetery

Located in the gardens behind the manor, this family cemetery consists of a crumbling mausoleum and over two-dozen headstones. The mausoleum is marked as the tomb of Lord Crandall Apperson.

There is a hidden way down into the caves inside the sarcophagus of Lord Apperson. His body is not entombed here, it was apparently moved down into the caves and set up in a pool of water. He appears to have become some form of water-based undead and the party was forced to put him down after accidentally setting him free.

There are zombies and skeletons roaming the cemetery at night.

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POI: The High Cave

The High Cave is located in the side of the bluff about thirty feet above the water of Lake Onzetta. The cave entrance is hidden by rocky outcroppings, but a red flag waves at its mouth and the narrow trail leading up to it is marked by white chalk. Inside the cave, a staircase cut from stone winds downwards.

These caves used to belong to a strange race of aquatic humanoids. The Dolmvay historian Jerol Atarin has named them 'the Lake People' and recently led a fated delve into their depths.

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POI: The Crypt of Lord Crandall Apperson

One of the two crypts located in the old Apperson cemetery. This mausoleum is supposed to be the final resting place of Lord Crandall Apperson. A stone staircase inside one of the sarcophagus' leads downwards.