Session 2

General Summary

The Unknown Lamentation

As the group walks up to the third floor of the house, a suit of black and silver armor animates itself and rushes at the group. Gio and Nova quickly get into flanking positions to lay into the metallic puppet, dealing a moderate amount of damage before being punished in kind with a heavy metal fist. Adriade takes but a moment to concentrate before launching a beam of radiant energy at the armor causing a delayed burst to originate from the center of the chest piece and scatter the bits of armor all across the balcony. Before looking into any of the rooms, Nova asks Pot a few questions, realizing that she can talk to small animals. Pot revealed that he was the dog of a child named Gertruda who went missing. He went off to find her, and got lost, wandering his way into the house. Pot was then asked if he knows what might be in the rooms. Pot relayed that he did a full sweep of the house, but unfortunately he cannot open any of the doors as he has no hands. Almost immediately, Ahrieya took a quick look around and found a secret door which led to a set of dusty stairs which led upstairs. With the doors being locked, they decided to come back to it later. Nova opened the door to a nice looking bedroom. Instead of looking into it herself, she sent in Pot to find anything interested and report back. Finding a nice looking jewelry box, Pot brought it back to Nova only to have her dump out the contents and keep the box for herself, adding an old canine from a rotten tiger carpet to a new collection. The contents of the box were split, though not intentionally. Idris casually swiped an expensive looking necklace, everyone's lost jewelry was distributed back, and Gio took the note and read it off...

My Dear Mrs. Petrovna,
Your advice on dealing with the unwanted fiend in my home is indeed very good advice. Tonight's ceremony will proceed as planned when the moon is at its highest peak - without, of course, the attendance of Mr. Durst. I must agree with you that, yes, with such an innocent sacrifice our proceedings may have better results. Although, "innocent" is not quite the term I would use.

My Thanks, Mrs. Elisabeth Durst

Moving across the hallway, the group entered into an old room with toys and storybooks. Everything seemed relatively normal up until Idris noticed a ghostly woman covering her face in the corner of the room. After some worried glances were exchanged with Gio, Idris snuck past into a side room, opening it to find a crib covered with a black cloth. Turning back to let the group know what he found, Idris noticed the ghostly figure was gone. Returning his vision to the room, the ghost appeared right in front of his face, hushing him and telling him not to wake the child. Asking where Walter was, she turned to the crib, telling him not to wake the baby, exclaiming that all three children are so kind and sweet. Idris took the opportunity to move towards the crib under the very watchful eye of the ghost, until he saw swaddled cloth resting there. Unwrapping the cloth revealed nothing resting inside, and turning around the ghost had vanished. Ariadne and Ahrieya investigated the room adjacent to the nursery. Inside, they found a nice looking bed with a multitude of candles that had already been long burned through as well as many old and crunchy rose pedals on the ground. The scene itself seemed odd taking into account the rooms it attached to, as well as the general decor of the rest of the house. Peeking into the other rooms and finding nothing of true note, the group decided to go upstairs. An attempt to pick the lock was made, but when that failed Nova resorted to what Nova does best and bashed in the door with an axe, echoing through the house. Moving towards one of the rooms, the door appeared to be locked. A swift display of lockpicking skills opened the room to reveal a set of child skeletons, one of which hold a very familiar stuffed animal. The other contents of the room included a large toy chest and a beautifully crafted dollhouse. As Ariadne and the other ladies entered the room, Gio and Idris noticed that the two children from outside, Rose and Thorne, apparated at the doorway of the room. They then seemed to remember more about their life and their apparent deaths, being locked in their room whenever their parents went downstairs to "deal with monsters." The last time they went downstairs, they never came back up, and the two children grew cold and hungry before passing. Rose believed that Walter was brought downstairs by her mother, and after agreeing to help find Walter and save him, the two children began to fade away. With a well placed Detect Magic spell by Ariadne, as well as some guidance from the two children, it was revealed that the dollhouse was slightly magical, appearing to be a replica of the house down to every detail. Looking at the replica, it revealed a secret door that led to a set of stairs leading to the basement from the attic. When asking where everyone's equipment is, the vision of the home seemed to shift and fade and remaining unclear, which the party interpreted as it being in the basement.

Occultism, Now History

With Pot leading the way down the stairs, he picks up the scent of decay and rot as they near closer towards the basement. Ghostly chanting can be heard constantly echoing through the halls, though the words are difficult to discern. Moving north, the group enters a dining hall and living quarters. Spoiled food litters the tables and floors, and the base of most of the straw bedrolls which litter the alcoves had each a single wooden chest. The contents of which were...

11 gp and 60 sp in a pouch made of human skin

three moss agates worth 10 gp each

black leather eyepatch with a carnelian sewn into it

an ivory hairbrush with silver bristles

a silvered shortsword

a ledger

Additionally, Ahrieya found her bag with all of her belongings in it in one of the chests, as well as a strange, decorated looking satchel. Not needing an additional bag, he gave the newly acquired bag to Ariadne who promptly put a sock in the bag only to lose track of it once it went in. Gio recognizing the type of bag revealed it to be a bag of holding, and in order to find out what was inside, Ariadne turned it inside out to find the scattered bones of 6 complete humanoid skeletons inside.
Gio investigated the ledger to find that it has names, descriptions, and relevant torture practices performed on particular individuals. One such name seemed familiar to him, someone named Far, causing his face to drop.
Idris led the charge moving into another room, seeing a set of feet peaking out from a darkened room. Inching his way up, he looked inside to see a set of skeletons in gruesome poses, one of which bore a yellow necklace with a peculiar symbol on it. A circle flanked diagonally by jagged arrows, of which are wrapped with fraying, serpentine lines, meeting in the center to create an eye. Ahrieya recalled some information on what the symbol might mean, but was overall relatively unsure.
Moving into a hallway, Idris found a set of corpses. Upon getting closer to investigate, they rose from the ground, hissed, and lunged at the tiefling. Moving in and out of the hallway, Gio, Nova, and Idris ran circles around the creatures and Pot stuck close to his gnome friend to take out one of them. Ahrieya and Ariadne took the battle from afar and slowly helped widdle down the creatures from a distance.
Feeling hurt for sure, the group wanted to rest. Ahrieya sent Viggo off to explore the other rooms, finding a large chamber with a statue of a man with a wolf holding a weird glass orb, as well as a fancier looking dining hall. Deciding to take a rest in the fancy dining hall, the group moved through and set up camp. Ariadne and Ahrieya, curious about the orb in the statue's hand, entered the previous room and tried to discern if the orb has magical properties. Finding nothing particular of note on its surface, besides the familiar green and grey colored mist which swirled within the glass, Ariadne took the orb and placed it in her bag. When she laid her hands on the orb, everyone in the group felt a cold chill run down their spine.
Back in the dining hall, a note was set on the table next to some silverware and fine china. The note read...

Madam Durst,
The lycans far to the west beyond Krezk are fickle ones indeed. Shame we couldn’t have them lair any closer. Initiating them into our ranks might further draw the favor of the Darklord. Though, it might be more successful were we to draw out their strength from the eclipse itself. Perhaps searching for Redinella might be the best move.

Curiously, the note was not signed by anyone in particular.
After resting, the room explored a room adjacent to their camp. Inside, Gio and Ahrieya saw an elegant bedroom, as well as a hanging body in the center, dried and desiccated, a footlocker resting near his feet. Looking into the footlocker, the group found...

a folded cloak

a small wooden coffer

a chain shirt

a mess kit

a flask of alchemist’s fire

a bullseye lantern

a set of thieves’ tools

a small book with very few entries with a yellow leather cover

Gathering the goods from the footlocker, the two noticed a note in the hanging body's hand. Though it was read much later in the basement, it read...

My Beloved Children,
I wish I could do what all fathers do and tell you that monsters aren’t real. But it wouldn’t be true.

Life can create things of exquisite beauty. But it can also twist them into hideous beings. Selfish. Violent. Grotesque. Monstrous. It hurts me to say that your mother has turned into one such monster, inside and out. And I’m afraid the disease that afflicted her mind has taken hold of me as well.

It sickens me to think what we’ve put you through. There is no excuse. I only ask of you, though I know I do not have the right to do so, to try and forgive us. I despise what your mother has become, but I love and pity her all the same.

Rose, I wish I could see you blossom into a strong, beautiful woman. Thorne, Walter, I wish I could be there for you. But I can’t. This is the only way. Goodbye.

Returning to the dining room to report their findings, footsteps could be heard from back in the bedroom, coming closer down the hall. The party took up positions around the room as a withered, pale looking noblewoman walked into the room. In a raspy voice, the woman rudely began berating the party as to why they are there. When Ariadne spoke up, the creature promptly told her to "Shut the fuck up!" The party recognized the woman from the portrait upstairs, Lady Durst. Upon being asked where Walter was, she told them to go down the stairs and find out. Lady Durst began belittling Nova for not moving from her position, when Gio walked up and calmly asked if the two children from upstairs were hers. Confirming the statement, Gio plunged his sword into her chest, quickly followed by Pot pulling Lady Durst off her feet and getting cleaved in two by Nova's axe.
With nothing left on the floor, the group went further downstairs where the chanting could be heard much more clearly.

He is the Ancient. He is the Land.

The stairwell emptied into what looked to be a strange reliquary filled with interesting items and trinkets. Down the hall, a series of jail cells with skeletons chained remained locked and undisturbed. Though, directly ahead, a large chamber filled to one's ankles with water lied behind an iron portcullis. Nova lifted the gate with the aid of Idris' sound advice, and from inside the chamber an alter could be seen with a mass of flesh upon it, and strange carvings along the stone. An alcove in the corner seemed out of place in the chamber, though upon searching through, Gio found his armor along with other refuse and miscellaneous items.
With everyone entering the chamber, Ahrieya sent Viggo to the alter to investigate. Landing on the alter, the portcullis slammed shut and appeared to be firmly in place. Thirteen shadows revealed themselves, repeating time after time that "One must die!"
Attacks and spells went through the shadows; they appeared not to be corporeal in any sense. Trying to find a way out, Nova moved closer to the gate only to have the chamber shake and the chanting increase in volume. After much debate on what they should do, Idris surprisingly offered himself up to be the sacrifice. Quickly brushing that notion off, the group was curious about the nature of Viggo, and Gio suggested, since he can come back, that they try to sacrifice Viggo to appease the specters. Ahrieya initially refused, but eventually agreed under the condition that she do it herself. Commanding her familiar to land on the alter, Ahrieya shot a bolt at him with tears in her eyes. Finding that the blow, while hitting Viggo, did not kill him, and thus a burst of radiant flame reduced her little companion to dust. However, this did not appease the specters, as the chanting continued; a sacrifice in vain.
Realizing they were out of options, the party turned towards Pot. Reluctantly, Gio brought Pot up to the alter; the command which Pot took with excitement and pride. Sitting on the alter, Gio ran his sword through the small dog as a yelp escaped their newly acquired friend. As blood seeped out of the dog, the mass of flesh quivered and enveloped Pot's corpse. Rapidly, the mass began to grow and grow, and it let out a twisted screech at it rushed the party.
Ariadne did was Ariadne does best and started blasting the mass with radiant energy. Nova tried to lift the gate, as Gio, Ahrieya, and Idris tried to keep the entity at bay. The gate seemed firmly in place, and when Nova turned back to the fight to look, a fleshy appendage slammed into Gio and consumed him. However, while inside the mass, Gio could make out the semblance of a small child's foot before we escaped. Laying into the party, the entity consumed Nova, Ahrieya, and nearly Idris if not for a well placed spell.
While inside the creature, Ahrieya saw a small baby child, grey and connected to the mound of flesh through bleeding sinews. Trying to cut one of the connective tissues away to release the child, another one quickly took its place. Meanwhile on the outside, Ariadne continued to pummel the creature as Gio was reabsorbed by it, this time losing conciousness.
Ahrieya took the opportunity as a memory flashed before her eyes, to stab the small child. A gurgling cry left its lips, before the rest of the flesh slowly sloughed away. Gio was stabilized, and Ahrieya laid there, a small pale child in her arms. Looking at it, identifying it as the young child Walter, they could tell the child has been dead for a long time.
Idris took the opportunity to leave the newfound hell hole he found himself in. Going outside, leaning against the house that now looks much more dilapidated, Idris lit a cigarette and waiting outside. One by one, his companions came out of the home carrying bodies: Ahrieya carrying Walter, Nova carrying the dog "Pot" Patcha, Gio carrying Rose, and Ariadne carrying Thorne. Each of them moving towards a spot with soft soil, slowly digging shallow graves.
Reflecting on what's happened, Idris surveys the area. While nothing stands out among the sorrow, the scarecrow previously in the garden appears to be missing...

Rewards Granted

Many things were found within the basement of the house, including...

11 gp and 60 sp in a pouch made of human skin

three moss agates worth 10 gp each

black leather eyepatch with a carnelian sewn into it

an ivory hairbrush with silver bristles

a silvered shortsword

a ledger

a bag of holding

a folded cloak

a small wooden coffer

a chain shirt

a mess kit

a flask of alchemist’s fire

a bullseye lantern

a set of thieves’ tools

a small book with very few entries with a yellow leather cover

Additionally, many notes were found within the basement.

Missions/Quests Completed

The group found Walter in the basement, and laid the Durst children as well as Patcha to rest outside the house. The house appears more dilapidated than before, like the spirits held there finally let go...

Report Date

10 Jul 2022

Primary Location

Durst Manor

Related Characters

• Patcha "Pot"
• Rose and Thorne