Saint Greycastle Hospital

Previously: Ten little Towns (Related: The Haunting of Montarthas Manor)

Seeking to aid the wounded and those needing shelter, the wizards use a ritual found in the Book of the Ring of the Book of the Shadowy Ink (that Alyks Askaria had found in the the Ravendark quest). The ritual was titled, "Gateway to Saint Greycastle Hospital" - and seemed to work successfully, until the wizards found only a ruin where there should have been a hospital. Indeed, the ritual opened a portal - surrounded by blue-grey clouds, and the same quality mists surrounded the location - but only a stairway leading down and the impression of a foundation of a building occupied the otherwise gloomy pocket realm. (Whose light was hardly better than that of the mid-day twilight in Icewind Dale).

Dex sensed with necromantic-intuitions, there may be some way to shift or otherwise "fix" the building situation, perhaps some trigger in the vaults below. But exercising caution, Alyks and Dex brought the rest of the group with them before descending the spooky-dark stairwell. Phantom stated to the party, authoritatively, it was not proper to delve into ruins with lanterns, (smashing h'Rothgar's) and offering his torches as the only proper option. Zak's scimitar provided its moonlight when distanced from other lights - and h'Rothgar added his Light cantrip as well.

Basement

Indeed, the place was in ruin - and indeed, this was a hospital. A sign-in lobby and waiting area followed by a hallway, a quarantine room, a maternity ward, and the main sickroom. The bottom drawer of the lobby's desk was stuck, but a hole had been punched through. The drawer contained a child's drawing with chalks and on holding it, Phantom and Sudon experienced a vision of a child visiting her mother in the hospital, accompanied by a woman named Gertrude, who promised her a present. The vision caused a disturbing sensation to them, followed by hearing a child giggle and her voice echo from an unclear direction, saying, "Come and play with me. I bet you cannot find all five!"

In the quarantine area, vomit-pools lept upon Phantom and h'Rothgar, seeking to drown them through their mouths, but were quelled with little impact. The maternity ward housed a swarm of mosquitos, disease-carrying bloody curtains, and a terrifying "netherchild" that attacked h'Rothgar, while awakening similar creatures from the other basinets (put down by Phantom and Sudon, though Sudon found himself in a horrific situation in the process...) Jumping upon a bed, the Shadar-kai Hexblade fell through the flooring into a room of utter darkness and was promptly swarmed by zombie-like creatures driven by a madness and tenacity to claw at him.

The quick-thinking Dex used Wither and Bloom, dealing damage to these creatures while restoring the rapidly-diminishing HP of Sudon. Sudon escaped the room, employing Fly, and as the group moved to the last room on the floor, an ear-splitting KaBOOM! shook the floor, sending dust flying and echoing through the halls. The ever mild-mannered Tiefling Alyks, stood outside the last room's door with Aelar and Zaknalimar, stating confdently, "Safe to go in there now." The now-charred room seemed to have been the main sickroom on this floor, but was quiet now - and offering a stairway leading further down. Noticing the hallway changed subtly - almost "consuming" light from the torches, the dwarf re-explored the prior rooms and indeed found the reception also changed - a skeletal desk-worker asked him to sign in, wishing him, "Enjoy your doom, sir". (The name signed in was "Xardorok Sunblight").

Descending the stairs, a patch of bitter cold emanated from a strange brown patch on the floor - dealing noticeable damage, and further damage (necrotic) from the patch itself. This damage was avoided by Phantom (by climbing over it) and by Dex, Alyks, and Zak - riding quickly past on Dex's staff (and Sudon, still able to Fly). Later, during her turn on watch, Alyks would employ Mage Hand, carefully gathering a small sample of the brown material, then examining it under her Eyes of Minute Seeing (microscope) to make an educated guess at it being "Brown Mold" - a strongly endothermic fungus (the cold being felt) with deadly spores. The substance is highly thermophilic (healing and even massively growing) from fire - but sensitive to cold. (Therefore, the Tiefling's signature "fix" for the stuff would have been otherwise disastrous!!)

From the Abyss

Beyond the mold, the group entered a chapel through double doors, once devoted to Ilmater, the patron of Compassion for Those Who Suffer, the room was now desecrated and in ruin, much like the rest of the structure. At its center, in place of shattered and rotting pews, a pit seemed to extend into unknown and sinister depths - dark, but with a soft red haze. Perilously suspended nearly 60 feet down into the abyss by five chains, a creature with the appearance of a winged humanoid writhed. Its form contorted between one glowing with a golden light and white-feathered wings and in a flash became scorched red with wings more like a dragon's. In the minds of the group, it plead for rescue.

Naturally, suspicious, inquiries revealed only that its predicament was intended to corrupt it - it claimed to not know who or what had done this. As this exchange unfolded, the group took note that Phantom's clothing had all fallen off. Now this is not entirely unheard of with the barbarian - but the choice of timing was certainly odd. But then even more curiously, he seemed to be melting in place, albeit with a calm certainty, and in response to their alarm, he assured them all was perfectly fine and to let him be.

Examining the spectral chains themselves, each bore symbols and unique characteristics; which called upon the arcane aptitudes of members of the party. Understanding flowed into the minds of the group - perhaps from that entity: exercising their knowledge and arts, these chains could be drawn back into their anchors, raising the creature from the pit. However, its position at the center seemed to ward off entry by demonic evils spawning below - so the tension needed to remain as balanced as possible.

Phantom had become akin in form to the Unknown at this point, spreading his form around the perimeter of the chasm. How this was done or why he knew to do this was not questioned in the gravity of all else confronting the party.
Aelar readied his silvered bolts from a sniping position, to repel the dark creatures that may rise.
Alyks Askaria knelt at the anchor of Knowledge, and focused her mind upon the chain that brought to mind written words, with swells of pages cascading downward, their shape like waves crashing as the surf on a beach.
Dex Shadow took the anchor of the Witch's Cauldron, its tether a weave of bone and thorny vines all too familiar to him - akin to the eldercross upon his own head.
h'Rothgar Anvil'bjorn stood firm and stoic before the anchor of Craft, hammer-symbol of Moradin presented to the chain undulating with the heating and cooling of red-to-metallic iron links.
Sudan Corvus crouched at the anchor of Shadow, links formed solid of the absence of light, a substance he had only seen within the Shadowfell itself.
and finally, at the anchor of Music, Zaknalimar Farrington tuned his lute and prepared to weave sound and poetry upon a strand vibrating with a dark dirge, notes far lower in range than even the keen hearing of the half-elf bard.

As the five spellcasters concentrated and navigated mental obstacles, they were visited by visions. At first shakingly disturbing, but then delivering revelations - no doubt supernaturally divined. These would haunt and inspire in the events later to unfold. But in the moment, their concentration and concerted agility to raise the creature was their consummate focus. The Phantom-ooze was able to offer merciful rebalancing of the chains, extending tendrils from its position encircling the gap - to prod at the chains and shift their center. At the swing of imbalance, indeed, a foul spawning would erupt from below, surging through the gap to deliver a psychic assault on all in the room. These spawn would, however, diminish in power, suffering damage delivered by a silvered shaft launched from the the steadily-aimed crossbow the trained assassin Aelar. Only once did the room shudder under a potent attack, and the casters' concentration held firm. And in the end, the creature was set free, vanishing after offering its thanks and sincere hope that the visions would aid in guiding the party in times ahead.

As the pit's opening sealed to return to the floor of the room, the group decided the place defensible to rest, piling pews at the double doors and lighting small fires in the places designed to carry smoke outward when the chapel had functioned. Accustomed to no longer tracking "night" as a time of day by life in the Everlasting Winter, the group slept, meditated, and recuperated from their expended efforts and powers with but one brief disturbance. On a watch taken by Phantom and Dex, the tribesman's keen senses and prickling of the Hexblood's intuition drew their attention to a dark corner, high in the chapel. Cautiously approaching, straining even the senses of the fey necromancer, two points of light like sparks from a campfire could be discerned. Then a small form - too small even for a child, though its shape child-like. And then it crawled into shadow and vanished, as easily as if it were the nothingness of air. Far off at the limits of their hearing, a chilling giggle - the very same sound that followed the ominous words after discovering the child's drawing in the desk in the first room.

Psycho Siblings

Exploring the surrounding rooms, the party began to assemble a collection of additional disturbing child-drawings, each time accompanied by a strong painful vision of hardship and terror visited upon these people. Aside from encounters with "bleeder nurses" (strange and deadly creatures transformed from the medical equipment; blind, but highly-reactive to motion) a strange ooze on the ceiling whose touch dissolved metal (fortunately only destroying the strings on Zak's lute as far as party gear), and what would later be called "demon maggots," the adversaries in that dark basement were a tag-team between the previously-encountered netherchild and the disturbing porcelain-and-cloth evil doll with the clawed hand and knife and creepy lullaby.

Phantom had taken on the burden of bearing the visions from the drawings, and the story that came into view told of a wealthy family brought to the hospital by a deceptive nanny named. Where this took place is unclear, as until the conclusion of this adventure, Saint Greycastle Hospital had been a mystically-traveling structure of Ilmater's, traveling to places of strife in response to prayers of his faithful. When it took place was clearly long, long ago, in forgotten history. The story related tragedy wrought upon the Montarthas family by evil powers from the dark fey, resulting in a pair of malevolent and monstrous children.

People from the story:

Gertrude, the nanny, revealed to be some sort of Hag, who set these events into motion - but absent from the haunting of this desecrated place.
Carol Anne, the innocent child under Gertude's care, fond of a porcelain dolly she carried everywhere.
Unnamed, the creature emerged from the stillborn brother that became the forsaken Netherchild.
Lady Montarthas, the mother, driven over the edge by loss and tormenting thoughts placed by Gertrude.
General Montarthas, the father, a man of some importance and influence, frustrated by his helplessness to employ his military strengths and mind in this delicate and personal family matter.

Wearing the guise of a kindly and beautiful nanny, only sensed by Carol Anne as anything otherwise, Gertrude projected guilt and sorrow upon the Lady, tempted the General's desires while lifting in him a pride-born irritation about these matters. The infant entered the world with a face twisted into a snarl, eyes black and bulbous, teeth like glass needles - reported dead at first, but Gertrude promising to "fix that problem." Gertrude's fixing later included the transplant of Carol Anne's soul into the doll, becoming the murderous evil doll. The last words spoken by the Hag in the visions: "Now you and your brother can play forever - in your new body" followed by the legendary cackling of such witches.

Both the netherchild and evil doll wielded unsettling strength, speed, and psychotic bloodlust - slipping between shadows and dissolving into darkness as the party fought them off. Only once appearing at the same time, and on seeing each other, both vanishing, some sort of rivalry or mutual fear seemed at play. Discovering fire to be highly effective against the cloth doll, Alyks' pyromantic spellcraft proved a potent deterrent to force it to retreat. Only the doll ever spoke, and her words conveyed malice as her tone shifted from the playful torment of cat-to-mouse to a jealous tantrum over her colorings being taken to finally a rage of intended wrath.

Estate

Throughout, those attuned to the flow of energies in the weave could sense the structure drawing upon the party's fear, psychic pain, and disgust to draw elements of the ghostly structure initially indistinct to solidify and revisit these long-forgotten horrors. Avoiding the hallway mold by climbing up the hole left by Sudon's fall through the bed - escaping the Sanitarium to return to the Maternity Ward, the passages included the impression of phantom veins. Ascending the stairs to what had been a ruined foundation, the group encountered the finely-appointed waiting room of the hospital. Out the windows, the indistinct fog of the demi-plane remained, but within the walls, all was now solid though in disrepair, dusty, musty, and in its abandonment: all too quiet.

The rooms were haunted by long-dead residents in various forms of undead manifestations, revisiting horrors and events composing the hospital's ultimate downfall. Most of these souls took the form of spectres - some oblivious to the party, simply carrying out their own stories, some within the paintings capturing their appearance - only able to taunt, some reacting with bursts of violence. Only the hospital's founder, Lady Greycastle herself, rose against the party with a madness-driven attack. Lady Margery Greycastle founded this institution of healing after a long adventuring career as a paladin of Ilmater. Luring the party closer, lying in her bedquarters, seemingly frail and requesting assistance, she was set upon by Sudon wielding his Hexblade Greatsword to deliver a pair of (note: two consecutive naturally-rolled 20's!!) devastating blows (both his spell slots into Eldritch Smite). Unbelievably surviving, the Sword Wraith Commander she had become rose from the bed, clad fully in armor, shield and crackling-black sword named Phantom her champion, pitting him to attack his fellow adventurer.

The rage-driven claws of the barbarian proved lethal to the shadow elf, swiftly felled to the ground and bleeding. As Phantom turned toward the remaining party members, bloody-clawed, Zaknalimar fired his pistol at the Lady, who easily blocked the projectile with her shield, but that only unleashing the thunder damage from the encapsulated Shatter spell upon herself, her barbarian defender, and unfortunately also Sudon, who would cross into death if not for the hastily-intervening necromancer Dex holding his life-tether firmly. As ears rang after the ear-splitting blast, the cursed lady's form dissolved into ash, the tall tribesman regained control of himself, and h'Rothgar rushed in to provide the healing desperately needed to spare Sudon.

Cleansing Fire

It was in the estate's Dining Hall, overhearing the conversation among the living-ignorant spectres at their phantasmal feast, that the group became confident enough to take extreme actions.

"That brat keeps leaving those disturbing drawings around. They are annoying, but necessary, I suppose."
"I hate being caught in the middle of this sibling rivalry ever since she returned here to lick her wounds. Someone should just take down one of the kids and hand it over to the other one. I don't care which!"
"Those maggots in the basement are revolting. Someone should get them out of here - they could bring the whole place down!"
(And from the Evil Doll's taunts previously): "Come play with me! You will never find all five!" / "Teeheehee - little brother, they will never find all five to escape my trap, then we can share their souls!"

Pausing not a moment longer, the five drawings are put to the torch in the dining hall, with immediate results! Air began to shift and flow, building into a whirlwind at the center of the estate. As the debris swept from every surface swirled in the ever-growing breeze, the ceiling, walls, and floors themselves began to dissolve. In spite of such forceful movement, none of the living experienced even the slightest force from the gale. Erased into ruins as the last of the ash from the vellum drawings curled black, the rubble suddenly burst upward, launching the Evil Doll - eyes now widened and black like a shark closing in for the kill, cracks in her porcelain skin emanating a sickly greenish glow, to scream deafeningly, "YOU RUINED EVERYTHING! YOU RUINED MY DRAWINGS! NOW YOU WILL DIE!"

And a light appeared between the party and the doll, emitting a sharply-contrasting sense of calm. Interposed, the Deva of Ilmater took form, suspending time itself - one breath, and the substance of Dex became its sight, a second breath, and Zak's substance its voice, speaking with confident certainty, "no". Another breath accompanying Sudon as its cast shadow in a sudden dawn, and the prolonged moment measurable only in awareness of breathing, with h'Rothgar becoming shining armor, Phantom as a crown upon its head, and finally Alyks a flaming sword leveled at the doll formed of and embodied by evil. Now fully manifest in this place and in this time, this Avatar of Ilmater pronounced, "this ends," and with a wave of the flaming sword, the doll descended away - vanishing. With another wave, the dawning sun - that brilliant and warming celestial orb the party had not seen since months ago when they crossed the Spine of the World, sped across the sky, tracing shadows cast from shapes defining this place lost in time and into ruin, restoring the consecrated Saint Greycastle's Hospital as the sun set over the horizon.

With no more than a blink, each of the party members once more stood within their own selves, facing the front door to the estate - but now under the cold sky of Icewind Dale's everlasting night, within the walls of Bryn Shander, adjacent to the site of the House of the Morninglord. And the door opened, with living (if mildly confused - but certainly now focused on their duties) hospital staff rushing out to begin to provide what care it might to the wounded from the Desolation. The quest begun by Alyks and Dex had proven successful! The page in the Book of Shadowy Ink now blank - a destiny fulfilled.

Despite this resolution, a sense of incompleteness of the tale haunts those who were there, knowing these visions were only the beginning of whatever dark fate followed General Montarthas as he returned home, grieving the losses of his wife, daughter, and son, all-too-eagerly "cared for" by the fair-seeming Gertrude. (See: Montarthas Manor)

(Next: Summer's Ice) (Related Conclusion: Put Evil to Bed)