Chapter 33: Nightmare House

[Inferno]

The Abandoned Manor, Blackchapel, Hookhill, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Three. Nightfall. Monday, December 26th, 576 CY







In the devastation of lost elegance and opulence, the doomed heroes carefully descend on ropes through a gaping maw in the floor's collapse, and reach the ground level alive.

With humble invocations to her god, Ingrid heals the wounds of Long Bo and Telkis. (+7hp, +9hp respectively)

The grey druid confirms that the grand entrance is as they left it before their strange shift into the unearthly Dreamlands.

The shadows grow long and deep as they confer on next steps. They talk of hot meals, cold ale and warm baths. They wish to wash the blood, and the filth of the sewers, from their clothes. Urdur wants to find a market. Jerome desires only to leave, and Long Bo and Mouser wish to spend the night in the ruined house of nightmares.

No consensus emerges yet.


Actions and plans for tonight?




PC Status:

Faron, Human Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 18/22
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 4/5: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 19/21, Spells: 1/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 13/25, Spells: 0/5 1st lvl, 1/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 4: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 19/23, Laying Hands: 0/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 6: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 38/41, Spells: 6/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl, 1/1 4th lvl
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 5: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 37/37
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 5: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 14/15, Spells: 3/4 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl, 1/1 3rd lvl

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)

Player Resources:

Tale of Terror (the story so far)
A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[jemmus]

I don't know what I was thinking, Faron says. Fantasizing about, really. There's no good food, hot baths, and cold ale for us out there in that slum.
Just desperate people who would kill for our boots, if they thought they could get away with it. As much as I'd like to get out of this place, it's probably the safest place we got for now.

He checks in his pack and pulls out a jerky, hardtack, and a hard white cheese. I've got four days of rations after this. And the next holy day is five days away, I think.
How about you all? Can we make it with what we have here in the luxurious villa? Until it goes back into... you know, Dreamland?

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome snarls when Faron says this, desperate for a little wine to help make the horror go away. By the Gods, I should.... he stops, visibly getting control of himself. *sigh* You're right. I have a few day's worth of trail rations. I can share with anyone who needs it.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo looks around for a intact sink, trough, or pail of some kind, anything that looks like it might hold water.

"We have the means to magically create food and water ourselves, no? I can heat water for bathing, laundry, and hopefully even for some nice tea. We got nothing but hassle out in that gods forsaken slum so far, so I am going to continue suggesting we stay right here somewhere."

We have checked the place over diligently already, and haven't found anything that poses a threat to us in this....... I dont know......real world?"

"If others wish to try their luck amongst the paupers and robbers, I wont stop you, but I believe our mission lies within these very walls."

[SocraticLawyer]

Urdur nods at the others' suggestions that the group remain here. Its getting late, so we should stay here for the night at least. As Bo said, we can clean up here if left undisturbed. We should consider getting additional supplies before venturing back into the Dreamlands, but I'd just as soon try the market in the morning, in the light of day. Fewer robbers about then, or so I hope anyways.

Urdur helps Bo look for a sink or trough. Then he settles in for the night, eating from his rations and sharing with any who need. He opens the books from the Dreamlands library and begins reading them.

EDIT: 1 days rations removed. Also, when is the next holy day after new years?

[ravenn4544]

Mouser prefers to stay also “when do we think the dream world would open up again?”

[jemmus]

Faron
The next holy day is New Year's, I think. Five days from now.

I think that's what Inferno said.

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

I think staying here, for the night at least, is our best course of action. We can go into town to conduct business in the morning, but I do not like the idea of heading back out at night.

Seeing others begin pulling rations from their pack, she counsels them to hold off. Bo is correct. We can create food and water, so I would suggest not using our rations unless necessary.

She then casts Create Food and Water, providing sustenance for the group.

When finished with that, she uses her last spell slots to heal the party while they eat.

Cure Faron:
Cure Light Wounds [1d8]=3
Cure Mouser:
Cure Light Wounds [1d8]=8
Cure Jerome:
Cure Light Wounds [1d8]=6
Cure Bo:
Cure Light Wounds [1d8]=1
I said, Cure Bo:
Cure Light Wounds [1d8]=1

[Inferno]

The Abandoned Manor, Blackchapel, Hookhill, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Three. Nightfall. Monday, December 26th, 576 CY







Freely and of their own volition, the doomed heroes spend the night in the haunted house. They are more comfortable amongst the horrors they oppose, than amongst the people they wish to save. Have they stared too long into the abyss? Were they growing apart from humanity, becoming something entirely other?

Long Bo finds a large rusty cauldron in the wreck of the kitchen and, with divine blessings, Ingrid miraculously provides healing, food, and water that they may clean themselves.

All around them looms the great empty darkness of the ominous, otherworldly mansion. Creaking can be heard in the distance; no doubt the wind.

Alone in the night, Urdur the sorcerer studies blasphemous secrets from the arcane tomes he willingly brought into this world from the frightful Dreamlands. The inhuman occultist discovers...

-A family tree of the House of Blackchapel and how its branches are interwoven amongst the nobility of Hookhill for generations.



-A dream journal of one Lord Blackchapel, filled with vivid descriptions of his otherworldly voyages through wonder and beauty...



...and his ruminations upon those fantastic visions:

"I have always believed that such strange, inaccessible worlds exist at our very elbows, and now I believe I have found a way to break down the barriers.”

The hair on Urdur's neck stands up. This notion of an unseen world, coexisting closely alongside our own, is something he once heard amongst the rantings of a madman in the doomed village of Vicar's Head.

-Lord Blackchapel also writes that he believes the Dreamlands are slowly changing the waking world, subtly invading it like an infectious contagion of reality; something he is thankful for. Urdur's leg jumps involuntarily. This too was frighteningly familiar. Urdur remembers:

"The Oerth is changing. This is not how Greyhawk is supposed to be..." Mouser and Urdur read from one of the heinous tomes of forbidden secrets they found in the lair of the Wolf Pack to the Dark Mother.

-Finally, in another tome, Urdur finds writings of a dark ritual of black magic that he does not fully comprehend.



He gleans the unholy spell is aligned with the Old Feast Days, culminating with New Year's Day which now lies but four days hence, and that this mysterious, unspeakable rite involves multiple human sacrifices.

Urdur looks up from the alarming manuscripts from another world. Outside, dawn is upon the miserable city, a dull grey splotch that slowly infests the smoke-clogged sky.

He shares his discoveries with his wakening friends.

Four days until the Hookhill Ripper strikes again.


Plans for the day?





PC Status:

Faron, Human Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 22/22
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 4/5: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 21/21, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 14/25, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 4: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 23/23, Laying Hands: 1/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 6: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 41/41, Spells: 6/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl, 1/1 4th lvl
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 5: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 37/37
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 5: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 15/15, Spells: 4/4 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl, 1/1 3rd lvl

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)

Player Resources:

Tale of Terror (the story so far)
A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[Scott308]

Ingrid Esthof

I do not know what everyone else wishes to do today, although I believe there was mention of getting supplies, says the cleric as she looks at Urdur.

As for me, I need to speak with the senior priest at the temple to Tritherion so I may detail my transgressions and receive what penance he deems necessary. Hopefully, I will be able to meet back here later today or perhaps tomorrow.

I don't know what form that penance may take, so I don't know when...or even if...I will be able to return. I will make every effort to be back in time to return to the Dreamworld, but do not let my absence keep you from doing what must be done.

[jemmus]

Faron
Thank you and thanks to your god for my healing, Ingrid. He unconsciously rubs his ripped out and restored throat. If you can come back with a holy symbol, that might be good. Please be very, very careful along the way.

[SocraticLawyer]

I don't like the idea of splitting up, says Urdur but a quick trip to the market would be useful. Some of us should stay here to protect this place.


Urdur doesnt go by himself, but will try to find a market if at least one other member of the party joins him.
He leaves his pack and most of his supplies with the group. He takes his silver pieces and the short sword he hopes to sell.

[OGRE MAGE]

Unsure what to make of the latest findings, but certainly agreeing that these clues are all tied together, Bo agrees to wait and stand guard over their makeshift urban campsite if the others wish to scout and shop.

“Hopefully in the next few days we learn a bit more about the lay of nearest streets and shops.”

[ravenn4544]

Mouser offers to reluctantly stay in the house if others are going to head back to the town. "Splitting up is a bad idea around here. I don't like it. If others do stay we could explore this house a bit more and understand the layout before we go back into the dream world"

[Inferno]

The Abandoned Manor, Blackchapel, Hookhill, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Four. Morning. Tuesday, December 27th, 576 CY







Ingrid, Telkis and Urdur leave the ruined grandeur of the abandoned mansion to venture out into Hookhill.(See below.)

Some time later in the crumbling manor, Faron, Mouser, Jerome and Long Bo hear a noise... like something moving.

It's coming from the cellar.


Actions?!







Half the doomed heroes leave the abandoned manor and reenter the rank, filthy streets of Blackchapel, Hookhill's largest slum.

Ingrid follows the directions that the barmaid gave her, but not the advice.



She crosses the dark, polluted river and enters the center of the sprawling, labyrinthine city. With every step, poverty falls away and opulence rises.

Venturing far above her humble station, the presumptuous peasant is soon amongst the aristocracy of Hookhill,...



...attracting much contemptuous attention.

Finally, a constable approaches her, "Here now, miss. What's your business here?"


Actions?





Meanwhile, Urdur and Telkis find an outdoor market, causing a stir amongst the human denizens of the slums, most of whom have never seen a gnome before.

There, they find new notices posted about the latest murder by the nefarious Hookhill Ripper.



Their eyes widen. The handbill includes an accurate description of the doomed heroes and labels them as suspects in these unspeakable crimes. A reward is offered for information of their whereabouts.

Urdur and Telkis feel every eye upon them. There is a growing commotion of murmurs in the marketplace. Someone points right at them. Suddenly, men move toward them with ill intent.


Actions?!




PC Status:

Faron, Human Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 22/22
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 4/5: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 21/21, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 14/25, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 4: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 23/23, Laying Hands: 1/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 6: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 41/41, Spells: 6/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl, 1/1 4th lvl
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 5: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 37/37
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 5: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 15/15, Spells: 4/4 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl, 1/1 3rd lvl

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)

Player Resources:

Tale of Terror (the story so far)
A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)

[Urson]

Jerome
Jerome has been praying and meditating, trying to fend off his need for wine, and the calm it brings. He stands, loosening his blade in its sheath. Be ready, brothers. I'd suggest we wait here, rather than chasing the sound.

[OGRE MAGE]

Bo cocks his head and strains his ears, trying to determine what exactly they are hearing.

“I will follow that advice from someone such as yourself, sir knight. But I think we should devise an escape plan, all the same.”

Remembering the pile of dead bodies they found down there, and horrified by what it may have become, Long Bo makes sure there is a openable door or window nearby in case they need to run from this place.

He leans in close to the obviously distressing Jerome. “I would conjure up some wine for both of us sir, if I only had the power.”

[ravenn4544]

Mouser nods at the idea of waiting for it to come to them. He looks for a dark and defensible position to fall back to if it gets too close.

[Inferno]

The Abandoned Manor, Blackchapel, Hookhill, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Four. Midday. Tuesday, December 27th, 576 CY







Realizing she'll go not further thus adorned, Ingrid returns to the ruins of the mansion in the hopes of finding appropriate attire somewhere within. (Continued below)

Urdur whispers to Telkis, foogst heimdr alvir* as they back away down the nearest alley.

If they can make it to an alley and remain unseen, Urdur casts Invisibility on Telkis, then Change Selfon himself, taking the form of a human child. If that is not feasible, he runs as fast as possible back to the cursed mansion, looking for hiding places as he runs.

*Gnomish for, Lets get out of here!

Unable to stop for fear of being captured, Urdur and Telkis flee back to the abandoned manor with a bloodthirsty mob pursuing them! (Continued below)







The investigators are reunited within the lost grandeur of the forsaken mansion.



An angry mob who believe the adventurers are the Hookhill Ripper is descending upon them!

And unnatural sounds emanate ominously from the cellar! Could something be bleeding through from the Dreamlands?!

The doomed heroes gird themselves once more for what ghastly horrors fate has in store for them.

To be continued in... Chapter 34: Nightmare World





PC Status:

Faron, Human Thief 5: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 22/22
Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 4/5: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 21/21, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl
Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 5: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 14/25, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 5/5 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl
Jerome, Human Paladin 4: Move: 9", AC: 3(1), HP: 23/23, Laying Hands: 1/1
Long Bo, Human Druid 6: Move: 9", AC: 2(1), HP: 41/41, Spells: 6/6 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl, 2/2 3rd lvl, 1/1 4th lvl
Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 5: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 37/37
Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 5: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 15/15, Spells: 4/4 1st lvl, 2/2 2nd lvl, 1/1 3rd lvl

PC Magic:

Protection From Evil, 10' Radius (Jerome)

Player Resources:

Tale of Terror (the story so far)
A Dark and Terrible World (maps)
Blasphemous Iconography (the story so far in images)
Desperate Struggles (clues and player notes)