The Spice Merchants Of Sel-kai: Part Six

General Summary

Aldaran Elgata sends his rather stuffy Major Domo to meet the party at the "Pig 'n Poke" and Arnstein outlines what his Master wishes the party to do. "Aenor of Quaal" is clearly taking great pains to keep his other identity as "Deltar of Urgon" a secret from all but a trusted few. Having uncovered this in addition to linking Deltar to House Betaran (through Deltar's "official" identity as Aenor, husband to Satha Betaran), the group are asked to investigate the long abandoned Hadeshill Asylum (known locally as "The Shudders") which is being used by Deltar/Aenor. Having just handed over some Elgata shipping details to Deltar, Aldaran Elgata wants to know if this information is destined for House Betaran or if it is for Deltar's own use. Moreover, why is the man using two identities? What secrets is he keeping from House Betaran?
The old asylum is boarded up and there are iron bars on the upper floor windows but the party decide that this is their best way to sneak in and thus avoid the three guards that lurk by the double doors. Cherry and Sylke climb to the roof and lower a rope down to help Cran and Ugnan up, Sharna follows. Using his trusty crowbar, Cran levers bars away from one of the few unboarded windows and as the light drizzle begins to intensify, the group enter the asylum's top floor.
The floor has clearly not been used and there are a number of stairways that have been purposefully blocked with furniture and wooden boards as if to seal of the ground floor. Room after room is deserted and empty and a deep and unnatural chill fills the floor. The ghost of a former Warden haunts the floor and the shade is by far the most dangerous foe the party have ever experienced. Cran is seriously wounded within minutes of the fight but with the aid of Sharna and Sylke, Ugnan is able to keep the giant on his feet and eventually the horrible spirit is defeated. All that the shade leaves behind as he dissipates, is a small silver ring bearing an inscription in elvish, "For she who holds my heart forever". The party are puzzled by the absence of skeletal remains and have no idea why the asylum was abandoned, there is no obvious fire damage.
The ring had been attached to a strip of cord that was being used as a book mark in the Warden's diary. Leafing through this quickly, Sylke learns that the Warden had intended to offer the ring to a recently arrived female Warden named Elisora but he clearly never completed this task. Sylke gathers the scattered patient notes the party find as the group continue to explore the asylum and they eventually find the spirit of Elisora. Wary about trying to fight another ghost, the companions decide to try and negotiate with the spirit. Sylke passes the betrothal ring to the ghost and the spirit of Elisora fades away. With both ghosts now gone, the chill that has filled the upper floor begins to lift but weary and still wounded, the party have to rest before heading downstairs.
In the morning, the party stealthily remove the barricades from one of the rear stairwells and head down into what appears to be an old storeroom that is in current use. Shovels, picks, hammers, nails and other construction tools have been neatly piled inside. Voices and footsteps indicate that the ground floor is occupied and with the aid of an Invisibility spell, Cherry begins to quietly check the layout of the floor.

Report Date

03 Jun 2018

Primary Location

Sel-kai