Book 4: The Beast; The Ambrose Compound

General Summary

At the Ambrose Compound

Casimir informs the group that the compound they’re heading to is a group of mage hunters, so do not display any obvious magic around them.
Before the group is allowed within the Ambrose Compound, they are asked to touch their skin against a silver dagger. They later learn from Jonathan’s adopted daughter, Elain, that this test is meant to discover if one is a werewolf. She doesn’t believe it actually works as you would have to cut and individual with a non-silver blade to see if it does any damage but she does admit silver is a favored weapon against werewolves. Another test they perform is to have each individual eat a bit of wolfsbane, which would cause an allergic reaction in a werewolf, but they rarely administer that test as the herb is difficult to find.
After passing this odd test, the group is escorted to the main lodge where they meet Jonathan Ambrose and some of his followers in the Brotherhood of Broken Blades. Jonathan mostly talks about how horrible mages are and how they captured one recently.
Jonathan also mentions how a brother and sister pair were there a few weeks ago speaking of Ezra and the woman, claims to be Ezra reborn. Jonathan did not put much thought on that “worship nonsense” and said they’d have a tough time in Kartakass who’s people believe in the Ancestral Choir, but only ‘those fools in Harmonia’ pay much credit to the actual worship associated with the religion. Most just believe when they die they join the Choir and their voice is louder or drowned out based on the deeds they did in life.
Ozrek spoke with Elain, Jonathan’s adopted daughter, and learned that the prisoner the Brotherhood captured is actually a divine caster, not a mage as Jonathan said. Elain agrees to escort them to the prison after dinner so they may talk with them. She also confines in the group that she herself is a sorcerer and may have to leave the protection of the compound soon. She’s not sure where she will end up, perhaps Hazlan or Darkon.
The prisoner, Volpert, does speak to the group but is not very comprehensive. He speaks of some unknown goddess named “Radaga” and how she will return. He says she is the goddess of beauty and death. When the group asks Elain she recalls that there was a Necromancer of the name Radaga decades ago that was said to reside in the Dead Hills, but her tale was more of the bardic type than a true story.

Shared Nightmare

As the group sleeps in one of the guest cabins, they share a dream. Each one of them walk into the Theater Macabre past by the following posters: The Disgraced Warden, The Abandoned Child, The Monster, and The Traitor. The Disgraced Warden depicts a figure in a brim hat, a pistol at their side as they star down at a freshly dub grave. The Abandoned Child shows a singular figure laying in a fetal position surrounded by darkness as a puddle of blood seeps beneath them. The Monster displays two figures facing one another, one monstrous and grotesque with matted hair and torn clothing. The other figure is a gentlemen dressed in a finely tailor suit with a neatly trimmed beard and meticulously combed back hair. The Traitor shows a man being hung for their crimes on an elaborate stage. Far in the distance, a figure watches from atop a tall building.
The doors of the main theater swing open and a moment later each dreamer sits in a seat, surrounded by fellow audience members and facing a stage hidden beneath a black velvet curtain. Above the theater hangs an ornate chandelier. A hauntingly beautiful melody begins and the curtains open revealing a single performer – a ballerina in a torn and blood-stained leotard. Her dance enthralls the audience and as the song comes to an end, the group realizes their fellow audience members are decaying, dusty corpse which rise at the end of the ballerina’s performance and attack. The group awakes and yet again does not feel fully rested. Who exactly is this mysterious ballerina and why does she keep haunting their dreams?

Through the Wolf Woods

Casimir offers to escort the group to Skald and upon noticing Ozrek’s bit from the werewolf the night before, says some werewolves require you to kill their ‘alpha’ in order to remove such a curse and given that Victor’s remove curse did nothing to Ozrek’s bite, they may have to take this approach. Casimir mentions that his father may know where that pack of werewolves reside as he has been tracking them for some time.
As they moved through the woods, the group encounters a boar larger than a horse that has been severely injured. Victor heals it and before it leaves, it bows to the cleric. Casimir then tells the tale of Grandfather Boar in song and how he is the brute when compared to Grandfather Owl and Grandfather Wolf. Grandfather Owl being known for his wisdom and Grandfather Wolf known for his trickery. When asked if they really exist, Casimir laughs and says its all in the tale, but truly they are what many refer to as “dire” beasts and one can encounter all of them in Kartakass.
Further through the woods, the group encounters a trap set up by a group of goblyns. Ozrek and Victor spot the trip wire that would have triggered a net in the trees above if Casimir had continued forward just before they stopped him. The goblyns surrounded them and attacked. The group then discovered a cave the goblyns resided in that was decorated in crude drawings of a crowned figure and a figure with shinning eyes as well as a number of skulls. The cave also contained a shrine with a crown of vines with three red stones lying on top of it.

Report Date

25 Nov 2022