Levinbolt's Haunted B&B

Written by Chrundle_the_Great

General Summary

Overview

Far south of the Caves of Chaos is the mysterious mountain city of Levinbolt, which is entirely powered by electricity and necromancy. Recently, Maggie and Eleanor Stormspinner have noticed unusual sounds deep below the Alabaster Mansion, which they hope to turn into a bed and breakfast. With most ignoring their calls to investigate, the Stormspinners have contacted Kapital, who are known to have talented mages in their employ. Furthermore, the mansion being the old dwelling of the Alabaster Twins (necromancers of high renown) presents the guild, specifically Tobias, with a unique opportunity to find rare items and valuable knowledge.
Will the guild and its allies solve the mystery beneath the Alabaster Mansion?

Bane of Knights

Gathering supplies for the weeks-long journey to Levinbolt, founders Azrael and Tobias and ally Ravix were joined by two companions, one old and one new: Zena the Veiled Lady and Amina, a wandering mystic aiming to help as many people as she could before returning to her home in the Nine Steps. All seemed to be going well, until Azrael was hit with a sudden sense of foreboding. As the party's weapons and armor began rattling, the illrigger looked to the skies and saw a massive winged shadow cutting through the clouds.
It was getting larger.
Exhaling a hail of swords, a deadly magnetite dragon swooped over the party and caught an unconscious Tobias in its teeth. The rest of the party felt pushed into the earth, as if their blood were being repelled by the dragon's very presence. Ravix sunstepped sky high and allowed his greatsword to be pulled into the dragon's hide. Catching fire as he flew, the paladin's strike sent Tobias tumbling into his arms; furthermore, heat countered the dragon's abilities, and it toppled out of the sky... with the claymore firmly stuck in its hide.
Slowed by Amina's psionics, Ravix and Tobias got to their feet, both injured but alive. Unfortunately, the party discovered a secret not known in many circles: magnets cause cancer. Both founders felt a growing sickness within them; however, the party focused instead on fleeing the scene, lest another dragon catch them unawares.
After settling disputes between fae, calming hopped-up pseudodragons, finding a loving home for a dog, and other activities only adventurers seem to encounter in quick succession, the party stepped through the gates of Levinbolt and marvelled at a city unlike any others in Gaes.

Levinbolt: A Curious City

With its lightning-powered streetlights and well-paved roads, the party felt a bit out of sorts as they first arrived in Levinbolt. Constable Rourke, after receiving a very generous sum of coin from Azrael, was happy to point out a few key locations: the barricaded Alabaster Mansion, a local tavern known as the Storm Drain, and distant Cunningham Manor, which was apparently also in need of adventurers.
In addition, the guard explained that the city's infrastructure was devised and maintained by the Alabaster Twins: Julian and Henrietta, affectionately called Hattie by the cityfolk. Both had died within fifty years of each other, and their estate had been curiously left to the Stormspinners. The constable wanted to send guards to investigate the mansion's problems, but he wasn't even allowed through the front door to show that he had a warrant. He suggested tracking down Fennel Stormspinner for information; the Stormspinners' cousin, he would surely be drinking at the Storm Drain.
The party settled in the local tavern and overheard rumors, most notably that people had been disappearing and a "sewer cult" was recruiting new members in the dead of night. A handsome former adventurer, Beauregaard, invited the party for drinks. Representing the Cunningham estate, he paid for the party's tab and offered to send them a carriage if they would look into his master's problems after investigating the Alabaster estate. He and Tobias flirted a bit before Beauregaard excused himself to see to other errands.
Finally, after convincing him they were not collecting one of his many debts to the mob, the party sat down with the disheveled drunkard Fennel. After a few free drinks to "jog his memory," the gnomish man explained that the Alabaster Twins had driven a darakhul army away from the city. Also, while Hattie was beloved, many thought Julian strange. Fennel thought his cousins owed him a piece of the estate, but seemed content mooching drinks in the tavern. Lastly, he said the Stormspinners were worried about "some big wig lawyer" trying to buy the Alabaster estate.

Charlene's Portents

Interested in meeting this "lawyer," Tobias formed a plan; leveraging the party's good relations with Rourke (and sweetening the pot with another early payday), Tobias expressed Kapital's intent to buy the Alabaster Mansion. Therefore, all buyers were required to register at the courthouse that afternoon. Waiting on the marble steps, the party encountered the other buyers: someone wrapped in a cloak of anonymity and Lady Charlene, an elderly fortuneteller.
The lawyer suggested to Tobias that he retract his bid on the estate before three hours had passed. Meanwhile, blind Charlene made pleasant conversation with the others and said, "I merely want to preserve the Alabasters' history." Thankful for Azrael helping her down the courthouse steps, she offered to read the party's fortunes. All agreed and followed Charlene to her shop; along the way, Tobias realized he couldn't recall any distinguishing features about the lawyer.
As the party asked their questions, Charlene answered and even gifted items to aid them in their personal quests. Finally, she warned that Lothrien, the Scorched Fury could heal the cancer growing within Azrael and Tobias, but their bodies would need to be burned and made anew. Before the party left, Charlene offered her wisdom:

Do not blame yourselves for what will happen to me. You have shown me kindness and will do the best that you can.

— Lady Charlene

Later that day, as the party ventured to the Alabaster estate, all the lights in Levinbolt flickered out. As ghostly mist hung in the streets, the party caught glimpses of Charlene hobbling into an alley. As they pursued, she always seemed just out of reach. After careening into the alley, they saw Charlene hunched over and cutting her wrists with a knife. Again she disappeared, and the party charged forward. Finally, under the dimmed glow of a streetlight, they saw a vampire biting Charlene's bloodied wrists. Eyes glowing red-hot with hatred, the vampire tossed the old woman to the side and wielded a wicked greatsword.
Zena wrapped the vampire in thorny vines, while Tobias ripped his flesh with ethereal hooks. When Ravix called pure sunlight, the vampire's skin sizzled; turning into silver mist, he reappeared on a nearby rooftop. Azrael gave chase, but the vampire fought back the illrigger with brute force. Finally, as Amina carried Charlene to safety, his eyes flashed with a powerful charm, and Amina's body worked against her; she drove the knife into Charlene's neck, instantly killing the fortuneteller. With his final devastation wrought, the vampire bounded into the darkness.
Amina found a note in one of Charlene's pockets. Pleading with her not to blame herself for the evil she was forced to enact, Charlene wrote her final thanks to the party for trying their best to save her. As Levinbolt's lights flickered back on, Zena absorbed Charlene's corpse into the Fungal Heart and returned her to nature.

Secrets of the Alabaster Mansion

Just as Rourke warned, Maggie had the doors of the Alabaster Mansion rigged with countless defenses. After slipping the letter written to Kapital under the front door, the gnomish woman deftly deactivated her tripwires and loaded crossbows. She warmly welcomed everyone inside and invited them to have tea, while Eleanor called that she was still getting ready upstairs.
The party noticed portraits of the Alabaster Twins, both half-elves with a white streak in their jet-black hair. The Stormspinners were adamant that they would not sell the estate: it was the only condition in Julian's will. They recounted the strange sounds they heard coming from downstairs, including anguished screams. The two women set to work making sandwiches if the party wished to take a break while investigating the basement.
While investigating the library, Tobias flipped through several books, including an ancient tome describing banshees, which was penned by the famous Netherese lich Amvor the Undying. According to the book, banshees were created from elven women who either misused or ignored their beauty. Suddenly, spectres, drawn to the party's lifeblood, rose through the floor and attacked them. After defeating these doomed spirits, the party opened the large metallic door leading into the mansion's basement.
Experienced with mage's dwellings, Tobias found a hidden lead-lined hallway. Powerful undead creatures, such as mummies and bone nagas, were trapped within and raging against their cells. Disheartened by their imprisonment, Tobias guided the party forward and into a pristine room with a summoning circle lined with salt. Although Azrael advised against it, the party chose to release the disembodied voice that asked to be released. One of the bounty hunters of the Nine Hells, an orthon, levelled a heavy brass crossbow at the illrigger and chastised him for "deceiving their order." Smiling, the orthon flipped Amina a coin to call for his services and placed a seal on Azrael, promising he would be waiting to hunt him the next time he found himself fighting out of Tartarus.
The party quickly investigated the surrounding rooms, and Tobias befriended the rotting horse Jelly and various undead servants who still mourned Julian. The party found a room of magical mirrors, some distorting their form, some inverting colors, and one showing the viewer their idealized form; the undead conductor of the Alabasters' orchestra sadly said Julian often lost himself in that mirror. Reaching his hand through the mirror, Tobias identified it as a portal. The party stepped through into the "master's personal reading room."
The crawling claw librarians excitedly swarmed Tobias and showed him Julian's favorite books. Curiously, Tobias found the old necromancer's journal; inside, Julian raved about completing a ritual to save himself from turning into a banshee. Since no such ritual existed, Tobias was confused why the famed necromancer would make such simple mistakes. However, empathetic Amina read between the lines and discovered a much more sinister secret:
There were never Alabaster Twins. Julian was born Hattie and lived two lives until he found peace. However, something drove him to the brink of madness before his tragic demise. He wrote about awful dreams and restless nights, but no one could determine the cause.
The librarian guided the party into nearby rooms and called off Julian's powerful guards. Tobias spoke with a few more of Julian's undead companions, who gave him permission to investigate their master's bedroom. One of them noted that Julian sometimes felt choked by a ghostly hand, leading Tobias to theorize that a dreamwraith had been created by excessive casting of dream; the undead shook their heads, saying Julian knew many spells, but not that particular one. Feeling more uneasy as they delved deeper into Julian's chambers, the party slowly opened the door into the old necromancer's bedroom: his place of torment and the site of his death.

He Who Harnessed Undeath and Lightning

Whatever Julian had once been, his tortuous death had twisted him. Overcome with madness, he had cut off his own nose "to spite his face" and took his own life, turning himself irreversibly into a banshee. The necromancer's spirit howled and shifted between his ethereal form and the banshee bearing Hattie's face. Although the creature's howl did not kill any of the party outright, they were overcome with an overwhelming sense of self-loathing as the room echoed with the banshee's screams. One by one, they fell as the banshee stepped into and out of the Ethereal Plane. Finally, Ravix smote the creature with a mighty swing of his greatsword.
Sadly, the damage had been done. Neither Julian nor the creature he had become would rest in peace. Their heads hanging heavily, the party returned upstairs to share their discoveries with the Stormspinners.

Promises for Old Friends

The Stormspinners, who genuinely loved the Alabaster Twins, were saddened to hear about Julian's torment. They recalled that Julian had dueled the general of the darakhul armies; the leader was since forbidden from entering his home, which included all of Levinbolt since it was "wired" to Julian's estate. Both Maggie and Eleanor, now more than ever, were determined to honor Julian's wishes and never sell his home.
Coincidentally, the lawyer, still wrapped in a formless cloak, knocked at the door. Asking to be invited in, Tobias suspected this may be a vampire and interjected. Emotionless, the lawyer handed over his bid for the estate to the Stormspinners; he was offering so much coin that Eleanor fainted (although this isn't a high bar, this faint seemed genuine). The lawyer left, and the party urged the Stormspinners not to consider his offer. Eleanor, who had been subtly charmed, took some convincing, but both women promised they would honor their old friend's wishes.
If the mansion was turned into a bed and breakfast, it would be a public space, and vampires would not need to be invited in. The Stormspinners were hesitant, but ultimately agreed to maintain the estate and never invite anyone inside, not even their close friends. Meanwhile, the tiny librarian scuttled off to oversee the estate's electronics; if the lights ever went out fully, the party feared the general of the darakhul may infiltrate the city.
To ensure the Stormspinners were financially able to guard the Alabaster Mansion, Tobias agreed that Kapital would gradually buy those of Julian's possessions that were no use to them; conveniently, all of these were exceedingly useful to him. Overjoyed, Maggie and Eleanor gave Tobias a makeover with some of Julian's most fashionable garments. Feeling rejuvenated, the necromancer rejoined the party, and all said their goodbyes before exiting the estate.
Fortuitously, Beauregaard stood outside with a spacious carriage. He asked the party if they would be interested in solving another banshee problem, this time at Cunningham Manor. Enthusiastically, Tobias agreed, and, while the party packed into the carriage, he and Beauregaard "became acquainted" on the roof. Unfortunately, this was cut short by Milal patrolling suspiciously far from the Caves of Chaos, but that's a story for another time.

Rewards Granted

Gifted by Lady Charlene

Compass to the Magnetite Dragon
Ruby Psionic Gemstone
Tears of Authority
Note with Memnon's Weaknesses
Page of the Codex of Decay

Looted from the Alabaster Mansion

Julian's Alabaster Crown
Ghostly Bell Jar
Elven Music Box
Magical Silver Dagger

Report Date

18 Feb 2023

Primary Location

Levinbolt

Related Characters

• Amina
• Azrael
• Ravix
• Tobias Morden
• Zendrel "Zena" Inaro