Characters
Grongor, human fighter, played by Aos
Jupiter de Montmort, human rogue, played by me
Events
Grongor and Jupiter were hired by Baron Rennet to seek out his wife, who had traveled to stay with her brother but had not yet returned as expected. Our protagonists both had something of a reputation, though whether they were truly earned was another matter. Grongor was said to be a folk hero, rumored to be responsible for slaying a fearsome beast--an act of heroism he denied. Jupiter passed himself off as a helpful duke's son, but in fact he was nothing of the sort; he was simply a charlatan hoping to ingratiate himself with the aristocracy.
The duo arrived at the brother's mansion and found it eerily quiet. After knocking loudly, the door was answered by a dirty-looking young woman who was wearing a dress that seemed to be fashioned from a curtain. After inquiring after the Baroness, they were ushered into a dining room that was filthy with dirty dishes. When she left to fetch the Count, whom she disturbingly called "Papa," the pair peeked under a cloche only to discover meat that was crawling with worms.
"Papa" arrived and explained his sisters absence as due to illness. The youths that accompanied him were all wearing impromptu clothing and seemed out of it. Jupiter and Grongor were beginning to suspect cult activity, which was more or less confirmed when "Papa" used magic to compel Grongor and Jupiter to eat the tainted meat. This was the straw that broke the camel's back; as soon as they had regained control over their actions, Jupiter and Grongor slew Papa and his young followers.
Following up on a stray comment from "Papa" that his sister was somewhere in the basement, the duo explored the kitchen and found stairs leading down into the cellar. What they discovered in the cellar was evidence that some sort of large creature had burrowed up from the depths and was now roaming freely in the mansion's basement.
At this point, the adventurers decided to explore the grounds instead. They found one building that functioned as servant's quarters, but everyone who had sought shelter there had been killed. A second building had the butler holed up inside. He helpfully explained that drinking alcohol helped prevent the worms from the tainted meat taking root, so both Jupiter and Grongor were happy to take a few slugs from the bottle he offered.
Grongor and Jupiter escorted the butler to the barn, hoping to put him on a horse and send him in search of the authorities. Unfortunately, the horses had been devoured by a monstrosity. Time for the butler to hoof it on foot. There were more tunnels bored up from below. The earth began to shake and a giant worm burst from the ground. It took a massive bite out of Grongor, but Jupiter and Grongor's combined strikes brought the creature down.
Once the creature was dead, the pair ventured into the tunnels and found a section of masonry that looked sloppy and new. Grongor put his back into demolishing the wall; trapped within was Baroness Eleanor Rennet. She explained that her brother had fallen under the sway of the "Conqueror Worm" and formed an orgiastic, rotten-meat-eating cult around it. When she refused to eat the tainted and mind-altering meat, her brother had imprisoned her within the depths under the mansion.
The Baroness was escorted back to her husband, a reward was freely given, and Jupiter suggested that the baron hire the now unemployed butler.
