HotDK 32: “Hunting Lodge”

Just a moment ago you were in caverns beneath a crumbling castle in the swamps knowns as the Mere of Deadmen. Using the teleportation circle, you found there, you now find yourselves in the woods, in the mountains and the air is noticeably colder. The first thing you notice is that in addition to the standing stones you appear between, there are also several other pairs of such stones nearby. A path leads up to what appears to be a hunting lodge. This ancient building has a wood and plaster upper floor over a fieldstone lower floor: its shuttered windows are all closed. The roof is completely overgrown with moss. A single door stands slightly open. Smoke pours from one of three large chimneys.   Before you can do too much though, Rargir and Brehana spot of a patrol of tow Trolls and their three Ambush Drakes. You choose to take cover, despite Pubert’s grumblings, and manage to not be seen as they pass by.   This allows you more time to get your bearings. In fact, Brehana pulls out the paper that had the teleportation circle’s command word as she recalls it having other notes including the works “Lodge” and “Parnast”. Parnast is a town in the Greypeak Mountains, nearly 700 miles from The Mere of Deadmen!   You explore around the lodge first. This ancient building has a wood and plaster upper floor over a fieldstone lower floor: its shuttered windows are all closed. The roof is completely overgrown with moss. A single door stands slightly open. Smoke pours from one of three large chimneys. Around the back there is a well near a rear door as well as two other buildings.   You first decide to try the back door of the lodge and walk into what turns out to be a busy kitchen staffed by two men and two women. One of the men, the head cook you assume, chastises you for coming in the back door. You manage to convince him that you’re just lost, and he says to “Tell Talis lunch will be ready in an hour.”   You continue to the outer buildings. One is an empty stable, but the other the doors are locked but have no key holes. After Pubert kicks in the door, you are angrily greeted by a four-armed Troll. “What you want?” it asks. “Show the sign." You manage to remember seeing other Cultists occasionally hold up their hand with all five fingers splayed as a greeting, so you show that. He looks suspicious but accepts it. You again play the “we’re lost” idea to which he replies “What? You can’t tell big house from small one? Talis in big house. This Trespin’s place – go away! And next time KNOCK!” and slams the door in your face. At that point you figure, might as well try the front door of the lodge.   The first room is just a foyer/cloak room with a bench and places to hang one’s cloak. The main hallway though presents a grand stair case as well as sets of elven armor on either side of the door and a pair of demonic statues flanking the stairs. As you pass through the the suits of armor you each feel a cold chill and notice that Pubert is now frozen in place, but only for a moment as his great strength helps him break free of the spell. A quick inspection of the armor reveals runes that when triggered could cause someone to take cold damage and be frozen for up to one minute.   As you start checking doors to see where they lead, at some point a pair of Kobolds carrying trays of food come from one of the doors leading toward where you already know the kitchen to be. They take the trays upstairs right away without paying much attention to you. You follow them upstairs, taking the opposite stair case and you see them exist one of the rooms, trays now empty, and go back downstairs.   You decide that’s the room you need to investigate next. After listening at the door and hearing voices, you enter the room to find three men and a half-elf woman. “I was wondering when you all would show up,” she says. “You must be that famed Iron Company I’ve heard so much about and figure the stupid bitch Rezmir would lead here with her incompetence. Now the question is – do we fight, or do we talk?”   You choose to talk, and the woman, who reveals herself as “Tails the White” explains that she’s not terribly happy with her rivals within the Cult of the Dragon and is willing to trade you information for your assurance to help her make them look foolish (and if they end up dead, so be it). She mentions that Severin gave “him” the title of “The White” over her and feels that Rezmir had something to do with it; she also thinks Rezmir is a fool, as evidenced by how easily you were all able to locate this Lodge and keep tabs on her all this time.   You ask for privacy to discuss this which she allows, having one of her guards, Sorvic, take you to one of the unused be chambers.