A few bits of Ravenloft stuff I've come across in my internet travels that are worth your time:
7 Ways To Get More From Secret Societies in Ravenloft
- High Level Games
Kranev Investigative Guild: a group patron for one’s Ravenloft campaign
- Githyanki Diaspora
- Lunch Break Heroes
I love the layout and art that accompanies my article, particularly this perfectly Gothic piece by Enric Torres Prat:
More interior pages:
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I've been running the adventures in Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel as part of an open table campaign on my Discord. Without further ado, here's how "Trail of Destruction," the eight adventure, went for my group.
Dramatis Personae
Captain Horatio Gurthus, human barbarian
Brother Albany, human monk
Gnargar, kobold monk
Wave of Mutilation
Pushed into adventure once more by horrific dreams, the trio found themselves venturing to the war-torn jungles of Kalakeri, where they hoped to prevent the partisans of three river towns from engaging each other in bloody conflict. They arrived in the town of Sagorpur, just in time to view the final contest of the Trials, a series of events in which contestants from the three towns competed yearly for the honor of bringing a gilded conch shell back to their town until the next Trials.
The final competition of the Trials was narrative dance. The contestants were all obviously skilled, but the final contestant--a small woman in a red sari and golden headdress--was phenomenal. Even though the party was untutored in the art of dance, they caught the gist of her performance: her dance told the story of a town destroyed by a wild wave that arose the river. The group noticed that some people in the crowd had been moved to tears by her performance; each of the affected wore a red armband matching the woman's sari.
When questioned, one of the spectators explained that the woman's dance told a real story. There were once four towns in the region, but Manivarsha was destroyed by an uncanny wave that erupted from the river. He also told them that the dancer in the red sari was Amanisha Manivarshi, a descendent of the survivors of that cataclysm.
When the time came for the judges to award the gilded conch shell to this year's winner, it was no surprise that the trophy was presented to Amanisha. Unfortunately, the roar of the crowd was suddenly cut off when a pillar of water arose from the river behind the stage and crashed down on the town of Sagorpur. When the water receded, the immediate area was left cluttered with debris and injured townsfolk. The adventurers also noticed a strange green glimmer in the river's current, lending a suggestion of fell magic afoot. They also saw several people trying to enter the temple standing next to the stage, but the door was being guarded by two creatures that looked like spouts of water topped with giant, cobra-like heads.
Down the River
After dispatching the watery creatures, the party entered the temple and consulted with Plabon, the High Riversinger and one of the judges of the Trials. Plabon informed them that each of the three towns of the region worshipped the river god they believed inhabited the river that provided the livelihoods of the townsfolk. Plabon also stressed that he did not believe that Iravati, the god of Sagorpur's river, was behind the wave that had just caused so much destruction.
Plabon was able to explain part of the party's shared dream: the loss of the sacred conch trophy could lead to violence, particularly against the Sagorpuri who might be blamed for its loss. When the green glimmer that they had observed in the river was mentioned, Plabon told them to seek out Dukha, a small-time river trader who had also reported seeing a similar glimmer in his travels across the region's rivers.
They found Dukha drinking in a tavern. The river trader explained that he had seen the strange green glimmer the party had noted in several tributaries in the region; in fact, he had followed the glimmer to a river called the Tinjhorna--where he claimed to have met the god of the river itself! The river spirit accused mortals of using foul magic to interfere with the region's waterways, though it could lay the blame on no particular folk. The party then hired Dukha to pilot them to the area where he had met the river god.
Setting off in Dukha's skiff, the group navigated the rivers cutting through the area's swampy forests. On their journey, the travelers encountered a mangrove treant who attempted to warn them off; the treant also noted that the "river gods" were not actually divinities--they merely posed as gods because they loved the adulation of the region's peoples.
After the encounter with the treant, Dukha moored the skiff on a small island near a series of parallel waterfalls. The isle turned out to be the hunting ground of a group of weretigers, but some quick-talking on the part of the adventurers successfully dispelled the weretigers' hostility. The weretigers pointed out a pool that fed the waterfalls and told them that it was the most likely spot to encounter the "river god."
Bad Sportsmanship
The group managed to sneak up on the "river god" as it attempted to placate two water elementals that glowed with an eerie green phosphorescence. The party was divided in how to approach the "river god": Horatio and Brother Albany strongly suspected the river god was responsible for the wave that caused havoc in Sagorpur, but Gnargar (correctly) intuited that if the river god was trying to calm two elementals he must also have a vested interest in de-escalating the situation.
Calmer heads did not prevail. The group engaged the river god, who was surprised that mortals would dare attack him, and the water elementals sped to his defense at the first sign of violence. Gnargar and Brother Albany dealt with the elementals while Horatio entered a rage and tore at the river god. The river god proved to be a formidable foe; even though both Brother Albany and Horatio are seasoned combatants, the river god was able to fell both of them. A nearly dead Gnargar landed a killing blow against the river god and managed to revive his two companions before death could claim them.
After some much needed rest and healing, the group spotted glimmering ghosts in spectral boats rowing down the river. Following the direction they came from brought the party to another island. The isle was strewn with ruins that matched the temple back in Sagopur, and there was also a huge rotten tree stump upon which slumped an inert figure--an unconscious Amanisha! Once Amanisha was revived, she revealed that she had been brought by the magical wave in Sagorpur to this place--and that the river god was not responsible as her captor was a woman with gray skin and a rusted sword!
This woman soon made her presence known. Her gray skin was cracked and weeping a thick, sticky-looking red fluid; her mouth had sealed over, but when she spoke the skin of her face ruptured, sending a cascade of the red fluid over her rotten flesh. This woman called herself Jibisha; she was a competitor in the Trials from long ago; desperate to win the Trials she had made a pact with a demonic entity in return for supernatural skill. The Trials were held in Manivarsha the year she competed--her attempt to cheat resulted in the destruction of Manivarsha! Unwilling to see another Manivarshi win the trophy that she believed was her due, Jibishi had stolen both Amanisha and the conch.
Gnargar wisely rushed forward and ripped the sacred conch from Jibisha's grasp, greatly weakening her. Brother Albany then managed to stun her by manipulating her ki. Unable to defend herself, the group thrashed her soundly before she could recover.
Once Jibisha had been dispatched, the group heard a voice from beneath the rotten tree stump. The voice belonged to the "river god" of Manivarsha; he had been trapped and enslaved by Jibisha--she used his control over the waters of the region to create the wave that brought Amanisha to the island. However, since he was responsible for the destruction of Manivarsha, the group declined his request to free him from beneath the stump. Amanisha, a loyal daughter of Manivarsha, was pleased with their decision. She was escorted back to Sagopur with the conch, to much rejoicing.
Captain Horatio Gurthus, human barbarian
Brother Albany, human monk
Dreams of Fire and Ash
The current dream that was afflicting Horatio and Brother Albany was fairly simple, as far as visions granted by a strange angel go: they dreamed of a isle on which all the volcanoes were erupting at once, resulting in a flood of lava destined to wipe out the entire population. They awoke certain that this was no natural disaster; with their intervention, the catastrophe could be averted. And so they traveled to the isle of Telepec in Valachan.
As they traveled the road to one of Telepec's towns, they began to smell smoke. Rounding a bend in the path revealed a horrific sight: the rain forest was smoking due to the flames emanating from a creature with a humanoid body and a long, snake-like tail. The creature was accompanied by two giant snakes, each also wreathed in flame. The creatures had overturned a cart full of food, flowers, and gilded items belonging to three figures in priestly vestments. Now that the wagon was upset, the creatures were attacking the clerics. Unwilling to merely watch the carnage, Brother Albany and Horatio entered the fray and dealt with the attacking monstrosities.
After helping right their wagon, Horatio and Brother Albany spoke to Sister Amelia, the leader of this pious expedition. She explained that they had set out to leave offerings to the goddess Ezra at a shrine known as the Gate of Illumination, in hopes that the offering would cause the goddess to intervene and end both the earthquakes and the attacks by monsters that had been plaguing their town. The attack by the snake-like creature had convinced them to turn back.
When Horatio and Brother Albany expressed their willingness to look into the matter further, Sister Amelia drew them a map of the vicinity, pointing out the Two Gods Observatory, a town called Xotol, and the location of the Gate of Illumination. On the chance that they went to the observatory, she asked that they inquire about the whereabouts of four templars she had sent to the scholars therein to gain information about the recent increased spate of volcanic and seismic activity.
A Horned Friend and a Large Friend
The pair were most interested in the Gate of Illumination, but since it looked like it would take them a full day to reach the shrine, they decided to explore Xotol on the way and gather more information about the unfolding situation. When they reached Xotol, they found many of the businesses there closed; the townsfolk were instead pitching in to repair the town's stone walls and other damage caused by the earthquakes. They also noticed that the residents of the town seemed to be of a different ethnicity than the priests they had encountered earlier, a fact that would become important later on.
Brother Albany and Horatio booked rooms at the Jolly Parrot, the only inn still open in town. The only other guest, a tiefling Vistana named Ollin, bought them drinks, so they sat down in the common room to enjoy his company and generosity. Ollin proved to be a font of information about Telepec. As a Vistana wanderer, he had made it his business to collect folk tales and local history.
Prompted by speculation that something monstrous was behind the volcanic activity, Ollin told them that in the days before the Church of Ezra's missionaries had arrived in Telepec, the native population had worshipped the "gods who lived in the volcanos," and had used offerings not unlike the ones they had seen in the priests' wagon earlier to placate their gods. As is often the case, the Ezra-ites had appropriated the ancient shrines and re-dedicated them to their goddess, which the pair began to suspect was behind the awakening volcanoes and the incursions of the snake-like, fiery monsters.
Ollin practically invited himself along on the rest of their journey; he was eager to add more lore to his store of knowledge about Telepec. The group set out in the morning for the Gate of Illumination. On the way, they encountered another overturned wagon surrounded by corpses, but this time the wagon had been stripped of offerings. Once healed, the sole survivor told them that fire-wreathed snake creatures had made off with the goods.
The group also encountered a red-bearded giant who forcefully warned them to turn back from "the maw of doom." However, by expressing an interest in saving their fellow humanoids from the coming apocalypse, they managed to get the giant, who introduced himself as Copal, on their side! To speed their haste in reaching the Gate of Illumination, Copal scooped them up, set them on his shoulder, and make quick strides to the shrine.
Izel, Lord of the Inferno
The Gate of Illumination proved to be an ancient shrine built into the base of a clearly active volcano. A red light pulsed from within--the interior walls of the shrine were laced with magical veins that looked like molten magma. A red haze hung in the air; the interior was hot, but not as hot as a building connected to a volcano ought to be. Of course, as a giant, Copal was too large to enter with them, so he waited for them outside.
The interior of the shrine confirmed their suspicious: the placement of statues of Ezra in front of murals depicting lizard-like volcano gods made it obvious that the Gate of Illumination was formerly a "pagan" shrine devoted to the creatures living within the volcanoes and that it had been appropriated by the Church of Ezra to aid their missionary efforts.
Exploring further, they found a trio of statues--two of which were holding urns. When the third urn was found and replaced, a miraculous thing happened: a red, peppery liquid appeared in the central urn. The trio took a chance and quaffed it; a little experimentation revealed that it had made them resistant to fire and heat. They also found a wounded snakeman and healed him.
They found themselves on a rocky "shore" that terminated in a lake of lava further in the shrine. They also found the four missing templars manacled to the wall, presumably left as sacrifices for whatever was moving beneath the flow of the lava. Brother Albany freed the templars and sent them outside to shelter with the giant. The group then watched in horror as a massive, lizard-like being of immense size and power pulled itself from the lava and stood erect on the rocky causeway. The creature was covered in black scales, but blindingly bright light began to pour from the seems between them.
The trio engaged the ancient "god" in combat, but it proved to be a worthy adversary. It belched gouts of super-heated, liquidized rock that both pummeled and burned them. Ollin was killed outright by the pyroclasm. Although Horatio and Brother Albany managed to wound the creature greatly, it beat Brother Albany into unconsciousness and Horatio also found himself near death. Before the monster could attack again, Horatio pulled Brother Albany to safety and exited the shrine. The "god of volcano" mockingly laughed as the pair retreated from its lair.
A Different Tack
Outside, the pair healed themselves as best they could and hatched a plan. Although Copal was too big to enter the shrine through the door, they figured that he could climb the volcano, dive down into its heart, and make his way to the lake of lava that the volcano-god had emerged from. Brother Albany and Horatio again entered the creature's chamber to engage the monster while Copal got into position. The plan worked; Horatio and Brother Albany further wounded the creature--and then Copal emerged from the lava to deal the creature two massive blows with his maul. With the monster knocked down, Brother Albany finished it off.
With the death of the "god," Brother Albany and Horatio were fairly confident that the island's volcanoes would now resume dormancy, but they returned to town and stayed long enough to make sure. When no more earthquakes rocked the area, they were assured that they had done their duty and saved the people of Telepec. Before leaving, they suggested that the Ezra-ites build their own churches instead of repurposing older shrines--they believed that this is what had awoken one of the "ancient gods" of the isle. Also, they requested that all the offerings that were going to be brought to various shrines be given to Copal instead.
Contentious Beginnings
Horatio dreamed of a boy, destined to lead a revolution against tyranny, who was trapped underground. Fearing that the lad would never grow up to strike a blow against oppression, Horatio followed the hints provided by his dream to the mining town of Anisa, in Hazlan, where he discovered that the local gold mine had suffered a collapse and several miners were thought to be still trapped inside.
When Horatio arrived in Anisa, he was just in time to witness two Mulan noblemen, each with their supporters in the crowd, arguing in the town square over who would lead the expedition to free the trapped miners. The crowd was a mix of upper-class Mulan and Rashemi workers; each of the noblemen seemed favored by one of those groups. Horatio also met Uzoma, the dwarf overseer of the mine. She informed him that the two young noblemen had long been at each other's throats, particularly as both had been maneuvered by their respective families to marry Duchess Inaya--so they were both competing for her hand. Uzoma also told him that a survivor of the mine collapse claimed to have seen golden-furred monsters with multiple legs burrowing through the tunnels.
The nobles' squabbling was interrupted when a giant scorpion tore out of an alleyway, sending the assembled crowd into terrified flight. The two noblemen leapt down from their platform to fight off the beast, but Horatio was faster on the draw--he was soon hacking at the creature with his claws and deftly avoiding its stinging tail.
This combat was instructive regarding the two noblemen. Lord Kirina, a hulking, axe-wielding noble clad in surprisingly utilitarian Rashemi clothing, was tall, imposing, and clearly a seasoned warrior. Lord Simbon, the smaller of the two who was dressed in the height of fashion, was clearly out of his element as he engaged the giant scorpion with his scimitar. Of course, neither could hold a candle to Horatio, who ripped the scorpion's head off and dashed it to the ground.
Extinct Monsters?
As soon as the creature was slain, Lord Simbon and Lord Kirina began arguing again--this time over who had acquitted himself the best against the beast. Uzoma stepped forward and interrupted their argument before it came to blows; she sent Lord Simbon with Horatio to consult with Father Kendrik, a priest of the Lawgiver, about the nature of the creatures that might await them in the mines, while she and Lord Kirina would head to the mines to supervise the excavation efforts.
On the way to see Father Kendrik, Horatio learned more about Lord Simbon. It was Lord Simbon's family's desire to see him wed to the wealthy and powerful Duchess Inaya, though he rued having to give up his decadent, womanizing lifestyle.
Once ushered into Father Kendrik's study in the Anisa Academy, a site of occult scholarship founded by Hazlik, they found the priest surrounded by a number of heavy tomes, scrolls, and papers--utterly engrossed in his work. He clearly regarded their visit as an intrusion. He dismissed talk of the monsters supposedly spotted in the mines; naming the creatures "aurumvoraxes," he informed them that the species had been hunted to extinction in ages long past. Father Kendrik also evidenced an obvious dislike for Lord Simbon.
Into the Dark
Their consultation with Father Kendrik now over, Simbon and Horatio arrived at the mine. Uzoma and the miners were too afraid of what might lay beneath, so it was left to Horatio, Simbon, and Kirina to venture into the dark in search of trapped miners.
The bickering and sniping between Simbon and Kirina continued inside the mine, punctuated with violent encounters with the supposedly extinct aurumvoraxes. Eventually, Horatio discovered two things of note: a half-buried stone covered with script in the tongue of goblins that glowed with a rust-colored aura and a hasty bolthole in which the miners were hiding! Horatio and the two noblemen led the miners to safety, fending off one last attack by the aurumvoraxes.
Into the Light
Despite having saved the miners, Horatio was unsatisfied with the way things had turned out: he felt that he had treaded the symptoms, but not the disease afflicting the mines of Anisa. After presenting the stone to Father Kendrik, the priest confirmed that the markings on it were in goblin script, and that the stone's purpose was to summon monsters. However, Father Kendrik noted that the stone itself wouldn't be enough to summon the monsters that Horatio had encountered--other, sympathetic, runes would have needed to be etched at the sites where the monsters had taken root.
Early the next morning, Horatio set off for the mine once more. With the monsters plaguing the mine now dead, he made a more leisurely exploration of the mines and discovered markings resembling those on the stone drawn on the walls in white chalk. Horatio rubbed out each of the markings, rendering them powerless.
Figuring that whoever might be responsible for summoning the monsters would return to the scene of the crime, Horatio hid in a bunkhouse tent and was unsurprised when he spotted Father Kendrik approach and enter the mines. Horatio stealthily shadowed the priest, and observed that Father Kendrik made his way to each place he had found summoning markings. Father Kendrik carried a rag that he intended to use to destroy the evidence of his involvement.
Horatio confronted Father Kendrik, who admitted his part in the plot. He had engineered the mine collapse to provide an opportunity for Lord Kirina to prove his valor--and thereby increase his appeal in the eyes of Duchess Inaya. Of course, Father Kendrik had hoped to use Kirina to gain influence over the Duchess. Believing that Horatio now knew too much to live, the priest attacked, imbuing his staff with radiant power and summoning a sword of spiritual power. But it was not enough; Horatio killed him within the mines and hid his body among the rubble.
This left Lord Kirina to deal with. Horatio found Lord Kirina regaling the common folk of a tavern with tales of his own valor in the mines. Horatio brazenly challenged him to a fight. The commoners circled around the pair as they sized each other up. Lord Kirina struck mighty blows with his axe, but even his great strength was no match for Horatio, who knocked him unconscious with ease.
Once Lord Kirina was imprisoned in a storage room beneath the tavern, Horatio explained all to the town guard. Horatio's allegations were confirmed both by Kirina's admission of guilt and papers found in the office of Father Kendrik.
Dramatis Personae
Captain Horatio Gurthus, human barbarian
Dwalin Codbiter, dwarf artificer
Through a Haze of Nightingale Bell
After the tragic events of the last adventure, Captain Horatio Gurthus was searching for a way to bring his comrade Brother Albany back to life. To that end, he teamed up with Dwalin Codbiter, who was looking for a way to send his departed uncle past the veil of death, as he was currently stuck in a half-life as a floating skull with many opinions on the doings of the living. The duo made their way to the fabled city of I'Cath, but upon arrival at the docks they were surprised to see that instead of a metropolis of endless wonders, they were instead in a squalid, poverty-stricken port of call.
They headed to the Yeonido ward, where they had heard the boundary between the land of the living and the land of the dead was particularly thin. Unfortunately, all they discovered was the run-down remains of a park in which homeless people were huddling around the base of a worn statue. When asked for directions, one of the homeless, an obviously diseased man with a wooden prosthetic nose strapped to his face, offered to taken them to the "Nightside" of the city--if they were willing to pay the price of his admission as well.
They were surprised when the man took them to a sordid drug den, where the proprietor brought them each a wooden pipe packed with a substance called nightingale bell. As they smoked, they felt their bodies relax, then grow numb. As they begin to drift away into the intoxicant's revery, each of them closed their eyes. When they opened them, they found themselves standing again in the Yeonido ward, but instead of the squalor they had experienced prior, the city was now a bustling, glamorous metropolis filled with beautiful, decadent citizens.
Memory Holes, Government Work
Now in the Nightside of I'Cath, Dwalin and Horatio began to explore the mysteriously altered form of the domain. They were on a busy street, teeming with people, when a strange fog began to rise from the cobblestones. Out of the fog emerged a jade gargoyle with the contorted face of an angry human woman. The creature slew a passerby with its claws, but was soon slain in turn by our heroes. However, as the fog retreated and the gargoyle's remains melted into mist, a strange thing happened: the people who had witnessed the creature's attack looked bewildered for a moment and then went about their business as if nothing strange had occurred!
Seeking answers, the duo met with Kun Ahn-Jun, a local magistrate. The harried Ahn-Jun bluntly asked them if they had had an unusual experience in the Yeonido ward and was relieved to hear that they remembered the gargoyle's attack. She told them that the strange fog and the monsters it brings was a regular occurrence, as was the people of the city immediately forgetting these bizarre incursions as soon as they were over. Until meeting Horatio and Dwalin, Kun Ahn-Jun seemed to be the only person in the city who could remember the murderous oddity plaguing the ward.
Since they had the ability to remember the mists and their horrors, Ahn-Jun offered them a few leads that might intersect with their own interests: she told them of a construction site that had suffered multiple attacks, a royal park that had witnessed several attacks, and a tea house when two nobles had been found grievously wounded.
A Light in the Woods, a Cup of Tea
The pair decided to investigate the construction site first, and found it to be an area of the city that was expanding into the surrounding forest. Laborers were hard at work felling trees, while an overseer and two guards stood watch. While looking around the site, they found a cobblestone path leading into the woods; following it brought them to a moss-covered monument and a stone lamp whose flame shone with a strange blue light. Brushing the moss from the marble slab revealed it to be a memorial to a woman named Dae Won-Ha, a "Warrior of the People." Below her name was a long list of the civic accomplishments she had achieved as a magistrate of the ward.
Taking the stone lantern with them, the pair found that the strange fog had returned and that the workers at the construction site were under attack by huge tigers with the faces of an angry woman--the same face that had encountered previously on the jade gargoyle! With the aid of the overseer and the guards, they managed to kill both creatures, but not before casualties were inflicted on the workers. However, as the fog receded, no one present save Dwalin and Horatio remembered the attack; the workers assumed their comrades had had "an accident."
Their next stop was the Phoenix Tea Shop. When they arrived, they were perplexed to discover that its proprietor was the same man who had taken them to the drug den in the squalid version of the city, but here in the Nightside he was a kindly and healthy man. The tea shop was decorated with a number of cups that had been signed by local celebrities and people of importance. When asked if he had a cup signed by Dae Won-Ha, he brought forth a matching pair of cups: one signed by Won-Ha and another signed by Young-Gi.
The proprietor helpfully explained that Young-Gi had been a close friend of Won-Ha, that he was formerly an advisor to Tsien Chiang, the ruler of I'Cath, but that he was quite old now and lived in retirement in his mansion in the Estate Gardens area of the ward. He also revealed that although Won-Ha was once regarded as the savior of the Yeonido ward, she had died largely forgotten. Interestingly, when the teacup was brought into proximity with the stone lantern they had found earlier, it shone with a similar blue light. They took the teacup with them.
The Guilty and the Grand Guignol
Horatio and Dwalin used a letter from Kun Ahn-Jun to gain an audience with Young-Gi. Young-Gi was an elderly dragonborn gentleman whose red scales had faded to a rusty color. In contrast to the bustle and noise of the city, his house was a bastion of tranquility and serenity. Dwalin was initially suspicious that Young-Gi was summoning the monsters to preserve the memory of his departed friend, but Young-Gi was much more sanguine about the situation; as he reached the end of his own life, he had come around to the perspective that legacies are fragile things that cannot always be preserved.
When presented with the teacup, a soft glow came from within Young-Gi's silk robes. He produced a gold amulet--Dae Won-Ha's badge of office as a magistrate, which she had given him as a token of their friendship. Young-Gi gave them the amulet in hopes that they might be able to use it to solve the mystery of the attacks on the city.
In the Park of the Elders, the pair decided to get a closer look at the statue of Tsien Chiang that a local drunken teenager had described as "creepy." The statue depicted Tsien Chiang as a beautiful paragon of wisdom; however, closer inspection of the legend inscribed at the base of the statue revealed that all of Dae Won-Ha's accomplishments had been ascribed to Tsien Chiang! The unnerving fog once again rose from the ground, and with it arrived the ghost of Dae Won-Ha, accompanied by two more jade gargoyles who bore her face.
The ghost of Dae Won-Ha complained of being forgotten by the people of ward; she threatened to take everything form the populace that she had poured her life into fostering. When presented with the lantern, the teacup, and the amulet, she began to believe that she had not been wholly forgotten. However, it wasn't quite enough to sate her. She offered Horatio and Dwalin a bargain: if they would find a way to bring her name back into public prominence and expose Young-Gi's role in Tsien Chiang getting the credit for her good works (because despite their deep friendship, Young-Gi was too loyal to the vile ruler of I'Cath), she would cease her attacks on the Yeonido ward, help negotiate for the return of Brother Albany's spirit, and usher Dwalin's uncle's spirit into the afterlife.
The pair settled on an ingenious solution: they commissioned a playwright to pen a play that cast the spirit of Dae Won-Ha as a boogeyman haunting the Yeonido district. This pleased Won-Ha as it reimagined her role, gave her prominence, and included Young-Gi's treachery as part of her villainous origin story. By the time the play premiered in the endless night of I'Cath's Nightside, it had become a thrilling Grand Guignol-style production with special effects overseen by Dwalin's keen eye for artifice. The play was a success; Won-Ha's terrifying name was now back on the lips of the people of her district.
She also kept her word. As Dwalin and Horatio dozed in their private box at the premier as the dose of nightingale bell wore off, they awoke in the city's squalid true self again--but the skull of Dwalin's uncle was now gone and Brother Albany's eyes shot open and he gasped with living breath!
Lurid Locations explores four locations you can add to your games: Maximilian's Waxworks, Briarhurst, Wildeacre, and the tower of Eisengraz.
Seeds of Evil details adventure seeds you can use to craft scenarios set in Ravenloft.
Portraits of the Damned details nonplayer characters such as an apothecary with a dark past, a vampire pugilist, a miner’s specter, a member of the Kargat, and Strahd’s bastard son.
Forged in Shadow adds three magical items to your potential arsenal of rewards.
Grim Phantasmagoria explains my goals, principles, and best practices for running adventures in Ravenloft.
Fatal Frames focuses on frameworks to unite your players’ characters into a cohesive group.
Cryptic Alliances revises the Ba’al Verzi cabal of assassins for use in your Ravenloft campaigns.
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Also, if you're looking to fill in a gap in your Strahd Loves, Man Kills collection? Look no further! Here's a Big Cartel listing for the back issues that have been out of print until just recently. Please specify which issue you want a copy of in the comments when you order.
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Dramatis Personae
Captain Horatio Gurthus, human barbarian
Brother Albany Palmer, human monk
A Cry for Help in a Dark Alley Leads to a Job
Brother Albany and Captain Horatio dreamed of vibrant pink flowers growing in an orchard near a steaming jungle; the flowers began to rot before their eyes. The dream segued into a vision of the people of a town making a desolate exodus--with the flowers dead, there was no reason for them to stay in their home. Both awoke knowing that if they did not intervene, an entire town would suffer. And so they set off to a destination unknown, traveling into a bank of thick mist--emerging out of a jungle, with a town of gleaming white stone in view.
After taking their toll, the two guards at the gates of Zinda welcomed the pair to the town's March of Vice festival. Inside the town's walls, they found themselves on a wide street whose cobblestones have been painted gold. Even at an early hour, the streets were filled with revelers, vendors, and street performers. However, as they passed an alley they heard a cry for help. Investigating the sounds of distress, they found a dwarf slumped against a wall in the act of expiring.
Two guards, each wearing a gold-chased breastplate, entered the alley and accused the duo of killing the dwarf. Once they had examined the body and were subjected to some exculpatory quick-talking, their suspicions were allayed. The guards were joined by a tall elf woman in a sumptuous orange gown, her hair pulled back into dreadlocks. She introduced herself as Samira Arah, one of Zinda's "Kings of Coin," a consortium of guild leaders who are the de facto rulers of the town.
Sizing them up as experienced adventurers, Samira wished to hire Horatio and Brother Albany. Although she was the leader of the jeweler's guild she commanded the guards of the Silent Verse (the soldiers with fancy breastplates they had spotted throughout Zinda), she had need of agents who were unknown to her compatriot Kings of Coin. In particular, she wanted the pair to investigate a recent spate of attacks on the children of the Kings of Coin. She explained that the dead dwarf was Jacopo Ain, the son of Massimo Ain--the leader of the smith's guild. Indeed, on the previous day Zenia Ruba, the daughter of Nargis Ruba, the King of Coin who oversees taverns and entertainment in the town, had been attacked in the street.
Fearing that a conspiracy was afoot, Samira wanted the duo to talk to Zenia and find out what exactly had happened. Believing that the girl was being kept under her father's watchful eye at a tavern called the Thornapple, Samira sent them in search of an audience with her.
Death by Pestle
On the way to the Thornapple, a stout women in yellow and green jostled Brother Albany as she quickly made her way through the crowd. Immediately after, they heard a cry of pain from behind them. They saw a man from a herbalist's stall bludgeoning a fallen teenager with a pestle; the herbalist had a crazed look in his eye and swung the pestle with a madman's strength. Intervening, the pair managed to subdue the herbalist, but not before he brought the pestle down with fatal finality on the prone man's head.
After the brief brawl, they learned that the victim was Arel Avim, son of Solenn Avim, the King of Coin overseeing the weaver's guild. During this sad episode, they also made the acquaintance of Captain Adann, a self-proclaimed "Bloodletter," a member of a political faction that wishes to see the overthrow of the Kings of Coin and the imposition of a more egalitarian economic system in Zinda. Furthermore, a girl informed them that she had seen a stout woman in green and yellow talking to the herbalist just prior to the attack.
Near Death by Stiletto
When they arrived at the Thornapple, they found it to be a well-appointed tavern already crowded with patrons. They were greeted by Nargis Ruba, the King of Coin responsible for entertainments and drinking establishments throughout Zinda. The Thornapple's stage was being set for a performance; as Brother Albany engaged Nargis in conversation to distract him while Horatio approached Zenia, Nargis told him that his tavern was proud to host a series of performances by Diva Luma, a famous singer from Kartakass.
Horatio flashed the insignia that Samira had given him, causing the two members of the Silent Verse flanking the girl to depart. Zenia was impressed that Horatio was an adventurer, an interest he parlayed into getting her story. She told him that she had been shopping when she suddenly felt quite ill, and then suddenly her servants began attacking her and each other. She recalled seeing a cloud of pink ash around them when the melee broke out, and that a woman in green and yellow had bumped against her just before her servants went mad!
Just then, Diva Luma took to the stage with a cohort of dancers and musicians. The singer reached into a pouch by her side and threw a handful of pink glitter into the air. As it descended upon her, her stage-bright smile turned into a look of malice; she removed her stiletto heels, brandished one as a weapon, and began to run toward Zenia! Horatio positioned himself between the girl and the diva; he, Brother Albany, and eventually the two Silent Verse guards, managed to subdue the crazed singer, but only after being stabbed repeatedly by her heeled shoe.
Once Diva Luma had been knocked out, Nargis rushed to his daughter's side. Clasping her to him, Nargis began to weep only. When pressed, he admitted that the attacks on the children of the Kings of Coin were "his fault." He confessed that the six Kings had made a pact with a witch from the jungle known as Proud Edun. Proud Edun had brought them prosperity, but of course there was a price to be paid: the six Kings were meant to bring the witch their firstborn as payment. To avoid paying their debt, Nargis hatched a plan to lure Proud Edun into a "meeting" that was actually an assassination.
One of Diva Luma's entourage reported that the bag of glitter, which was found to be tainted with pink ash, was given to her outside by a woman wearing yellow and green. The woman even gave her name, Kala Marbarin, which Nargis recognized as the name of Proud Edun's daughter who was presumed lost to the jungle years earlier. Apparently she was back and looking to avenge her mother.
A Side Trek, A Parade, Death Rears Its Ugly Head
Brother Albany and Horatio decided to venture into the jungle to find Proud Edun's hut to see if it would reveal any clues to Kala's plan. The hut had been recently inhabited, and the cauldron evidenced pink residue from whatever substance Kala had cooked up to turn innocent people into violent madmen. Also, they found a list of names (each of the Kings of Coin, save for Samira Arah) scratched into the dirt floor of the hut.
When they returned to Zinda, they discovered that a parade down the golden road was now underway. Revelers were begging for beads and sweets from the Prince of Vice, a masked man who they quickly figured out was Azra Nir--son of Amos Nir, one of the Kings of Coin. Spotting a flash of yellow and green in the crowd, it was apparent that Azra was to be the next victim.
Kala emerged from the crowd and ensnared the Prince of Vice's parade float with vines conjured from the pavement. Horatio and Brother Albany rushed to engage her and protect the Prince of Vice. However, Kala threw a fistful of pink powder into the faces of Azra's guards, turning them into insanely violent allies.
When Kala was taken down, a smokey substance issued from her nose and mouth--it coalesced into the spectral form of her mother, the witch Proud Edun! Proud Edun's wraith attacked Brother Albany with a fury--killing him outright. She then raised his shade as a specter under her control. Horatio had no recourse save destroying both hateful spirits.
The danger to the children of the Kings of Coin now dealt with, Horatio collected his reward, bought a horse and wagon, and had Brother Albany's body safely ensconced in a coffin. Consulting with the Kings of Coin set him on a possible path to Brother Albany's resurrection: he was told to seek out the fabled land of I'Cath, which will be the basis of the next adventure.
Dramatis Personae
Captain Horatio Gurthus, human barbarian
Brother Albany Palmer, human monk
Kill-sin, aasimar warlock
A Dream of Plague, Vile Bounty Hunters
Horatio and Brother Albany were joined by a new companion, Kill-sin, who shared their prophetic dreams. In the third dream granted by the angel, it broke the seal of one of its thirteen scrolls, revealing disturbing images of plague-stricken bodies being thrown into a mass burial pit. Each awoke feeling that if they intervened, the plague's progress could be halted. Unlike the previous dreams that possessed more specificity of location, this one merely pointed them to the vicinity of Strega Hollow.
The party arrived at a town called Millpool that was encircled by a low stone wall. A man in a long leather duster and a tricorne hat sat astride a horse near the entrance to the town; as soon as he spotted their approach, he spurred his horse and disappeared into the town, out of sight. As they came nearer, they heard the crack of a whip and a cry of pain. Once they passed within the stone wall, a number of men in leather coats bearing longbows sprang out of hiding and bid them to leave, immediately. The men were bounty hunters, and they assumed that the party were also manhunters after the same prey--a bandit leader named Paloma.
The bounty hunters were a little too insistent that the adventurers not enter any farther into the town, particularly as they self-described as "meddlers," so the two groups soon came to violence. The bounty hunters were hopelessly outmatched; once three of their number were slain, the rest ran to warn their companions, mount their horses, and flee. Easier said then done with a monk, barbarian, and warlock on your heels. More fell by the wayside, one was knocked unconscious by Brother Albany for later questioning, but some managed to get to their mounts and ride away.
The Corpse Bride and the Bandit Queen
The bounty hunters left behind a wounded townsman, whom they had been torturing for information. Once the bounty hunters were gone, the townspeople began to trickle out of the homes where they had taken shelter. Among those who now emerged was a skeletal woman in a red lace dress. The skin of her hands was desiccated, her nails black and broken. She examined the wound the man had taken from one of the bounty hunters' whips, sent him on his way, and asked the trio if they fancied drinks, on the house, at her tavern.
As she poured them ale at the tavern, the woman pulled back her red lace veil, revealing a corpse-like visage; the skin of her face had pulled back from her teeth and her sockets were devoid of eyes. Introducing herself as Rufina, the woman explained that Paloma was a local hero to the people of the town; she robbed wealthy caravans coming to and from Strega Hollow and distributed the gains to help the poor people of towns like Millpool.
Brother Albany fetched the bounty hunter he had knocked out and tied up for questioning. Bringing him into Rufina's tavern prompted two dwarf patrons to shift the table they had been sitting at and open a trap door that was hidden beneath; from the depths of the tavern emerged Paloma, a middle-aged woman with an eyepatch. Paloma was clearly afflicted by the plague of which they had all dreamed. She explained that her group of brigands had been investigating the cause of the plague. She reported that they had been attacked by an owl-like man whose wings brought a cold wind that carried the disease. One of Paloma's companions, a druid named Lope, believed that killing the creature could end the plague. She believed that the owl-fiend may be nesting in an abandoned mine to the north.
The Catastrophe in the Mine
The group traveled north to the mine, but were surprised to find that it wasn't exactly abandoned. Although the town around the mine had long been derelict, the site was swarming with soldiers in uniforms. A fancy, baroque carriage also looked distinctly out of place amid the squalor. A tiefling with a jade prosthetic horn emerged from the carriage and greeted them. Introducing himself as Itsahn, the man told them that he had bought up the mine and the town around it; he planned to restart the mining operation in the future. He gave them his permission to explore the mine if they wanted to, but cautioned them that it could be dangerous.
The first chamber of the mine featured a elevator platform suspended above the mineshaft. The trio stood atop the elevator; it shuttered with their weight, rust raining down upon them from the chain mechanism above. The elevator began to slowly descend...and then the chains snapped, causing them to plummet into the depths of the mine. A horrible crash at the bottom knocked Kill-sin and Brother Albany unconscious, but the resilient Horatio managed to pull himself and his companions from the rubble.
After everyone was revived, they explored the chamber they now found themselves in. The walls were etched with blasphemous runes; Kill-sin was able to translate them--the words formed the Prophecies of Pazuzu, a demon lord of disease. The Prophecies concerned turning cultists into bird-like avatars of the demon lord in order to spread a supernatural plague. Additionally, they heard an explosion far above then and correctly deduced that Itsahn had detonated something in hopes of burying them alive in the mine.
The chamber also featured a tunnel leading into darkness and an altar carved from stone. Wrapped around the altar was the skeleton of a four-legged beast that no one in the party could identify. Brother Albany mounted the steps of the altar and determined that its blood-stained surface had been used for a recent sacrifice. Of course, as he examined the altar, the skeleton began to detach itself from the altar, readying itself to attack. However, despite being a fearsome beast, it was quickly felled by a combination of a guiding bolt from Kill-sin and a savage attack by Horatio.
After the monster was slain, the group explored the tunnel, which was similarly decorated with Abyssal writings about Pazuzu. However, the walls had also been scratched by claws and they found large feathers scattered throughout. The tunnel culminated in a wall braced with wooden scaffolding. People stricken with the plague were living down in this abandoned mine after being chased from their homes by the folk above. Climbing the scaffolding led to an exit from the cavern; strangely, despite walking not nearly long enough down the tunnel to reach a different town, the group found themselves in the witch-ruled town of Strega Hollow after a festival.
Returning back to the altar chamber, Kill-sin summoned her angelic wings and secured rope at the top of the mine shaft so they could all climb up and explore the mine passages they had passed in their fall. They found a makeshift bedchamber with many drawings of a specific manor house in Strega Hollow, a portrait of Itsahn, and a locket containing a picture of a middle-aged woman with dark hair. Further exploration uncovered a pit of stinking remains--both human and animal--and a laboratory in which three undead abominations writhed on operating tables. According to the scattered notes they found, someone was trying to weaponing the plague by creating zombies infected with the disease. The experimental zombies were destroyed before they left the chamber.
A Distraught Mother, Back Alley Murder, The Cure
Back in Strega Hollow, the group showed the charcoal drawings of the house they had found in the mine to passersby until they were given directions to it. The manor stood on a quiet street in a once-prosperous neighborhood. The dark-haired woman who answered the door was the same as the picture in the locket; she took one look at the group and asked, "Are you here to kill my son?"
Ushering them inside, Rosaria dispelled some of the mysteries of this situation. The owl-creature they were hunting was her son, Seraphio. The previous day, Seraphio had confessed that he had been transforming into a monstrous owl that was causing death and destruction throughout the area. Afterward, he had fled the house. She also revealed that before Seraphio's birth, she had discovered that Orencio (Seraphio's father) was a cultist devoted to the demon lord Pazuzu. She turned Orencio in to the Graymalk family; as diabolic witches, they would not countenance demon worshippers in their domain--Orencio was burned in a pyre in the town square.
Rosaria believed that Orencio, or his fellow cult members who were not apprehended, were responsible for her son's transformation. She also mentioned that Seraphio had been taken under the wing of Itsahn, the wealthy owner of a local ironworks. Since the group wanted revenge on Itsahn for attempting to bury them in the mine, they got the address of his ironworks and set off.
Itsahn was closer at hand than they suspected; they encountered him outside of Rosaria's manor. (He was headed to murder Rosaria, thinking that after Seraphio's confession she knew too much.) Kill-sin cast hold person on Itsahn; he was then dragged into an alley by the group and killed while helpless!
The group continue to the ironworks and were surprised to find it inactive. Using a key they had taken from Itsahn, they ventured inside. Up on the catwalk they saw the hideous owl-demon that Seraphio had become. A combination of entreating him to atone and intimidation caused Seraphio to fight against the transformation; he reverted to his human form. Convinced that the party could help him, he allowed himself to be restrained with rope.
The party debated what to do to effect his cure, and it was decided that they should take him to a bastion of the Church particularly adept at dealing with monstrous transformations. The group found a branch of the Church that was happy to take Seraphio into their care. He was released two weeks later, cured of demonic taint and the plague thus thwarted. However, it was clear that the Church's agents had more or less brainwashed the youth--he now had the zealous demeanor and paranoia of a forced convert.
Dramatis Personae
Captain Horatio Gurthus, human barbarian
Brother Albany Palmer, human monk
A Dream of Hands, Eyes of Blood, Unlikely Companions
Horatio and Brother Albany again dreamed of the angel, but after the previous adventure the angel only bore twelve scrolls. When the angel broke the seal of the second scroll, both characters had visions of farm-folk being pulled back into a lake by a multitude of hands that emerged from the water. Both awoke knowing that a series of murders were occurring in and around a farming community in Godsbreath called New Promise.
The duo were soon on the road, headed to New Promise. They arrived in the morning and found that the town was in the midst of a celebration. The farming folk were joined in singing a song that told of the town's founding and its history; however, the song was interrupted by a scream when four farmers emerged from the crowd, their eyes turned red and blood flowing down their cheeks. These strange farmers raised their farming implements and began to attack their fellow townsfolk. As the townsfolk fled this sudden burst of violence, Horatio and Brother Albany entered the fray. One woman tried to reason with the rampaging farmers while Albany and Horatio cut them down.
The final farmer was knocked unconscious and restrained. Searching the bodies of the other farmers uncovered a crumpled piece of parchment with a charcoal drawing of a child swimming in dark water while hands from below tried to pull him under. The woman who had tried to reason with the murderous farmers identified the drawing as the work of her goddaughter Kianna. She explained that Kianna had a farmstead outside of New Promise, in an area called the Rattle. Since she was clearly concerned with Kianna's welfare, and the drawing roughly matched the contents of their shared dream, Brother Albany and Horatio decided they needed to pay her a visit.
As they prepared to leave, they were approached by a flamboyant trader calling herself Lady Dre. Lady Dre feigned concern as well, and offered to drive the duo to the Rattle in a wagon, sparing them a long walk. They quickly discerned that Lady Dre's motives weren't wholly altruistic; she had made a business deal with the farmers of the Rattle and wanted to check on her investment amid all these strange goings-on. The group was also joined by Proclaimer Ward, an androgynous cleric devoted to Saint Solna, the patron of learning and knowledge seekers. Proclaimer Ward felt that the rampaging farmers and the blight afflicting the red grain grown by the farmers of New Promise were connected to a supernatural occurrence they were duty-bound to investigate.
A Series of Calamities
The newly formed group set off toward the Rattle, but a series of perils stood between them and their destination. They encountered a giant coyote chasing a old farmer named Uncle Polder; after rescuing him, he confirmed that he had seen Kianna a few weeks ago and that she was looking forward to the arrival of her friend Culley. Proclaimer Ward recognized the name and explained that Culley was one of her childhood friends, but that he had drowned in Cradlelace Lake. Polder insisted that Kianna spoke of Culley in the present tense and seemed to be excited to see him again.
Further along the path, the group felt the shock of a tremor underneath them. Ten minutes later, another tremor opened up a sinkhole beneath their wagon, sending it crashing into a pit. Brother Albany and Proclaimer Ward managed to throw themselves clear, but Horatio and Lady Dre plummeted into the pit. Lady Dre broke her arm in the bargain.
As Lady Dre was hoisted from the pit with a rope, Horatio noticed a number of holes being bored in the sides of the pit; four disembodied hands emerged from the holes and attacked Horatio! Horatio fought back, aided by Brother Albany throwing darts down at the claws from the rim of the pit. Horatio survived the encounter, but everyone was shaken by the attack. Lady Dre decided to return to Uncle Polder's house rather than press on, leaving Albany, Horatio, and Ward to continue on to Kianna's farmhouse.
The Horror at the Farmhouse
The group briefly explored the first few farmhouses they found in the cluster, but each was a house of horrors. Someone had painted a red X on the front doors in mud, but each hinted at other unheralded terrors: one had a painting of a tangle of arms on a wall, another's interior was carpeted with human bones that had been gnawed upon, and another showed evidence of the occupants fleeing by throwing themselves out of the windows--cutting themselves on the jagged glass.
Kianna's farmhouse turned out to be a larger building, unmarked by an X on the door. Proclaimer Ward went behind the house to examine the blighted crops while Brother Albany and Horatio explored the interior. They discovered more disturbing drawings of hands, lakes, and staring eyes, a hidden cache of rings in multiple sizes, and two more blood-eyed farmers. The farmers did not react to their presence in the house; instead, they stood stock still, only locking eyes with each other. Also uncovered was a trap door leading down into the root cellar. The smell of decay was strong from below, and they could hear a woman singing down in the depths.
Down in the root cellar, one wall had collapsed, forming a tunnel. As they traversed the tunnel, both the rotting stench and sound of a woman singing increased until the tunnel opened into a cavern. In the center of the chamber stood Kianna, clutching a knife and singing. She was surrounded by a pile of putrefying corpses, each of which was missing at least one hand. Attempts to reason with Kianna proved fruitless; she alternated between telling the pair that they should leave for their own safety and entreating them to stay to meet her friend Culley. Brother Albany knocked her unconscious with his quarterstaff and they began to drag her back down the tunnel. However, something began to stir from beneath the pile of corpses, causing them to make haste to get out of the basement. Something was following them as they fled!
Final Confrontations
The blood-eyed farmers attacked Horatio and Brother Albany as they emerged back into the farmhouse's kitchen, but they were quickly dispatched. Horatio attempted to stand on the trapdoor to prevent their pursuer from gaining entry into the farmhouse, but he was thrown aside as the creature emerged; it proved to be a tangle of limbs, bound together by dark magic. The duo bravely strived against it, but it managed to gather Horatio into it's crushing embrace, which knocked him unconscious with a surge of necrotic energy.
Brother Albany called for help from Proclaimer Ward and could hear them quickly approaching. He leapt behind the kitchen's table for cover. Proclaimer Ward ran into the kitchen, but they too were swept up by the creature; Ward's broken form fell from its grasp. Brother Albany leapt from the table, smashed the creature with his staff, and followed that strike with a fierce knee that sent it crashing into the kitchen's window--where it promptly exploded into seven disembodied hands that fled through the broken casement. Horatio was revived, and the duo took the still-unconscious Kianna to one of the other farmhouses, where they barricaded themselves in to rest until morning.
Come morning, they took Kianna to Uncle Polder's house. While explaining what had transpired at the farmhouse to Polder and Lady Dre, they heard a scratching sound coming from inside Polder's home. The seven clawed hands burst from the unlit fireplace and attacked! Each of the claws was dealt with, but Lady Dre was killed in the chaotic melee. After the destruction of the final hand, Kianna awoke and proclaimed that "Culley has gone." She had no memory of her own actions, but Horatio and Albany were convinced that whatever had taken hold of her had now departed.
Feeling that their actions in this strange saga could be misconstrued as a murder spree, the pair left Polder with instructions to take Kianna to New Promise, explain their version of what had happened, and inform the town of the deaths of Proclaimer Ward and Lady Dre. While Polder set out for New Promise, they left in the opposite direction.
Dramatis Personae
Captain Horatio Gurthus, human barbarian
Assistant Professor Alice Kregmire, human artificer
Brother Albany Palmer, human monk
Visions, the Heat of Anger, and Cold Shoulders
Horatio, Alice, and Brother Albany are very different folk, from wildly different backgrounds, but they are united in one thing: all three dream of a horrific, multi-armed angel bearing thirteen scrolls fastened with wax seals. In their recurring dream, the angel presents the first scroll, breaks its seal, and shows them a revelation of familial strife between two rival "noble families" that threatens to spill over into bloody violence. They know that if it is not checked, this violence will take innocent lives, and they know that the blood opera will begin in the Night Market of Dunmouth, a port town on Saragoss. All three decided to travel to Dunmouth to attempt to stop the bloodshed from blooming; they met each other on the road and banded together.
They arrived at the Night Market just as dusk was falling. The market was in a sunken plaza near the town's wharfs; a number of market stalls, tents, and vendor's carts were arranged around three larger, golden tents. The market was already busy with browsing customers, and the aroma of unusual foods from abroad filled the air. The bustle of the Night Market was interrupted when a teenage tiefling carrying a large bundle of spring onions under his arm burst from the crowd and promptly ran headfirst into Horatio. A middle-aged woman with wild hair and a wide mouth quickly followed the tiefling, accusing him of stealing the onions from her food stall. For his part, the boy claimed that he was merely taking back property that was stolen from his family's food stall by the woman.
When the party intervened in this rapidly deteriorating situation, it was revealed that the boy, Gammon Montegrey, and the woman, Lamai Kaspian, belonged to families with a long professional and personal rivalry in the Night Market. Their squabbling was soon joined by Kusa Montegrey, Gammon's mother. The argument became much more intense, with each side accusing the other of attempting to sabotage their business in a myriad of ways. The argument became so heated that Kusa reached several times for the dagger at her belt and Lamai brought forth a butcher's cleaver--it seemed as though the women might make their disagreement violent and bloody at any moment. These, then, were the two "noble" families of which the characters had dreamed.
Both families offered the party money (and a lifelong supply of food from their stalls) to prove that the other side was the belligerent responsible for rekindling the feud between their families. The party took no sides, but promised to look into the matter. However, attempts to gather information from other vendors in the Night Market proved fruitless. Alice tried to pry a few secrets from the proprietor of Va's Lucky Amulets, a shop peddling fraudulent charms, but found the woman extremely tight-lipped about doings in the Night Market--she said that the people of the Night Market keep their business to themselves. While Horatio made a distraction by knocking over displays of amulets, Alice was pulled aside by Petra, the proprietor's niece who was working in the shop for summer. Petra told her that if they wanted to get information from the sellers of the Night Market, they should consider increasing their social capital by participating in the games held in the three golden tents at the center of the market.
Fun and Games
At this point, the party split up to tackle the games in the center of the Night Market. Horatio entered himself in a hot pepper eating competition hosted by vendors in the market calling themselves the Spice Brothers. The name was something of a misnomer, as the proprietors were a brother and sister pair called Kasem and Vi Aroon. Horatio was sat at a table with two other contestants: a fat halfling and a ship's captain named Vanessa Redmayne. Each round, the contestants would reach into a wicker basket in front of them and randomly pull out a pepper to eat. Anyone who reached for the glass of goat's milk set before them was out of the competition. The halfling tapped out after the first pepper. Horatio nearly bailed at the second pepper, but he and the ship's captain managed to stick it out until the end, to the applause of the audience.
Brother Albany and Alice tried their hands at the hide and seek game in another tent. The tent was run by an ancient gnome woman named Madame Kulpa. She explained that below the tent was a series of cluttered chambers in which a number of disturbing large grubs had been hidden. In the chambers below the tent, the duo raced against an hourglass as they scurried from room to room attempting to uncover grubs and scoop them up. They literally succeeded just as the final grains ran out in the hourglass. Madame Kulpa took them outside, blew a bugle, and pronounced them victors to the Night Market's patrons.
All three reconvened to attempt the third contest, a cooking competition hosted by Sid the Squid, a former adventurer who had grown a faceful of tentacles after coming into contact with a horrible eldritch statue. The contest involved chopping a large quantity of green beans and...killing a giant, rampaging prawn drawn from a tank of murky water. Alice summoned an unseen servant to help with the chopping and also launched a bolt of fire against the monstrous prawn. Horatio ran at the prawn and decapitated it in one swing. The group turned to chopping the veg and set a new record--they had all the ingredients in the giant pan in under twelve seconds!
A Villainous Third Party
Having successfully completed all three tasks, the group found the people of the Night Market treating them with more openness and even a bit of deference. They also discovered that more sabotage had been afoot while they were competing; a fire had broken out at Montegrey Family Seafood and Kaspian's Noodles had been pelted with unusual orange fruit that seemed to originate from the thin air. The group spoke to Sid the Squid again and learned that the rivalry between the Montegrey and Kaspian families had been going on so long that no one really knew its origins. He also let slip that Kasem Aroon, one of the "Spice Brothers," had been sniffing around, looking to buy a more established vendor stall in the Night Market, which is considered something of a taboo among the vendors.
They also spoke to Madame Kulpa again, who claimed to have seen Kasem feeding an orange fruit to a small creature that resembled a bipedal, bat-like monstrosity with big green eyes--though she did concede that her distance vision is not so great. With a number of signs pointing to Kasem Aroon, the Spice Brothers tent was their next stop. Kasem and his sister Vi were busy talking to customers, but the group managed to pull Kasem aside into the Aroon's private tent on the pretense of wanting to buy peppers in bulk.
Kasem's private quarters were a bit incriminating: he had two large birdcages, under which was a box of persimmons--the strange orange fruit that pelted Kaspian's Noodles and that Madame Kulpa had spotted him feeding a bat-like creature. The group confronted Kasem with their hypothesis that he was using an invisible creature to destabilize the Kaspian and Montegrey businesses so that he might swoop in and buy their interests cheaply. Kasem reacted by snapping his fingers and saying "They know too much. Kill them." The doors of the birdcages opened and the group heard the flapping of wings.
Kasem drew a sword blade from his cane while his invisible minions bit at the party. When they attacked, the invisible creatures became visible. Ultimately slain by Alice's crossbow bolt, Kasem lay dead amongst his vicious "pets." Alerted by the commotion, Vi entered the tent and found her brother dead. She admitted that she had been turning a blind eye toward Kasem's plan, and she blamed herself for his villainous turn. She was leaving their business to get married to a man in Strega Hollow, and Kasem's scheme was his misguided attempt to find some stability without his sister.
Vi bribed the group to keep silent about Kasem's wrongdoing. Her plan was to sell the pepper business to both families as a joint venture, a move she hoped would get them working together. However, the group also accepted payment from the Kaspians and the Montegreys after giving proof of Kasem's attempts to pit them against each other. They had both averted the bloody crisis they dreamed of and managed to enrich themselves by exploiting a grieving sister! Of course, they left Dunmouth before their treachery could be revealed. It would be a shame if that caught up with them someday...