Episode 19

General Summary

The Unlikely Association head to the Inn on the Lake to investigate the death of Kethis Cooke. Upon arrival, they find the inn in a decent state, though seemingly abandoned. A voice is heard from inside however, and the group find the ghost of Kethis Cooke, apparently not fully aware of his current state. The ghost "serves" the group breakfast, and exchanges pleasantries as if the inn were still running. The ghost appears to be dripping wet, and through some careful questioning the party discover that Kethis had drowned himself in the lake after falling into despair and drinking all his stock. The cause of this was due to the woman he loved, Haley, disappearing.
Following up on their next lead, the party head to The Old Mill. Here they find the burnt remains of what was once likely the town's oldest building. Not much is left of the place, but the party do find a portrait of Jeanie Gatehouse with her husband Abraham - a portly older fellow. Upstairs, Nyx spots a warped trap door, which Atlas pries open to find a bundle of torches and a map of the town; several of the buildings have been marked with an 'X'.
The party head over to the closest house marked with an 'X', and speak to a man about Abraham. Apparently the miller had been arguing a lot with his wife up until the point where the fire started, and had also been trying to start trouble with anyone who looked at him "the wrong way". At the General Store, another building marked with an 'X', the party speak to Patrick Truby - once he's sobered up by Leah - who corroborates the story of the Gatehouses arguing. He also mentions that Abraham didn't die in the fire, but was found dead in his home a couple weeks later.
The party choose to split up at this point, with Eva and Leah heading to the Gatehouse's former home and the rest of the group heading to Haley's home behind the churchyard. The Gatehouse home turns up no new information, however at Haley's home - the case is cracked open. The small cabin in the woods is immaculately clean and well presented. Inside, a young black-haired woman is busy cleaning whilst singing softly. The group knock on the door, and the woman - Haley - lets them in. They ask the woman some questions about the town, to which she answers with no new information; other than that she left some time ago and only recently returned. Already suspicious of this woman, Godric opens his senses and the stink of evil assails his mind - Haley is a fiend. The party wrap up their questions before regrouping with the others in the The Horn & Sprite. On the way, Marty and Atlas subtlety break off towards the graveyard. Sneaking in to the Gatehouse mausoleum once more, they pull out the coffin of Abraham Gatehouse and speak with the corpse. Abraham confirms that it was he who started the fire at the mill and had planned to burn down the town - he believed everyone was mocking him and couldn't take any more. He also loved his wife.
Regrouped once more, Eva and Leah have a go at deciphering the Book of the Occult that Veda found. Leah identifies it as a Grimoire; a ritual book for Black Witches. The book contains some information on the lower planes, particularly Hades, as well as a few ritual spells that Leah could cast if she desired.
The group then head to Jeanie's house to ask about her husband. She confirms that he did burn down the Old Mill, and that they had been having arguments a lot before he died suddenly in his bed. Apparently Abraham had been becoming more and more paranoid that the town was against him, and hadn't been sleeping well either. Godric asks what Jeanie knew about Haley, to which she does recall the woman spending a lot of time in the Inn on the Lake before leaving town. Picking up on what's been said, Jeanie asks if they think Haley is responsible for what's happened - and if she is back. Seeing where this is going, Leah manages to persuade Jeanie not to do anything rash - and to leave things to them.
The group all head back to Haley's cabin, finding it empty. Eva finds a staircase in the kitchen which leads down to a cave. In the cave, bedrolls and mattresses are found dotted about, as well as what appears to be an active ritual site. Eva identifies it as being a portal to Hades. With no Haley in the sight, the group head back upstairs, where Marty finds a pair of magical spectacles, just before a whooshing sound is heard coming from the cave...

Rewards Granted

Report Date

17 Apr 2020

Primary Location

Nistaun