Session Notes

Pharast 17, 4723

The Wraith Wranglers (aka Spirit Slayers (aka Ghostbusters)) make their preparations in Kintargo and take some time to gather information about the haunting they're walking into. They gain some information about Xarwin Manor itself, as well as some clues about the Starless Scope.

They climb aboard a carriage and make the day-long journey to the ghost town of Crooked Cove.

Upon arriving, they find that the property is absolutely swarmed with Whippoorwills that they soon realize are actually Psychopomps all anxiously watching the Manor. They make their way past the rusted gate, but don't make it far onto the property before being rushed by two massive Centipede Swarms. After a shaky battle dispersed the swarms, the team explored the grounds.

They found a pond architected in an ancient style that allowed wizards to use it as a telescope to explore the stars above, but noticed something was living in the waters and chose to retreat. Examining the remains of a stable revealed little, though Phalda Phadeli experienced the terrifying sensation that her thoughts were not her own and that she was being controlled by some outside power. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, it passed.

Warry of the dark woods in the back of the property, the adventurers turned their attention to the Mansion itself, which appeared to be encased in a shimmering bubble. Attempting to pierce the veil with a weapon they found it non-reactive, but as soon as it made contact with MoonDrip's skin the bubble burst letting out a cloud of rancid smoke, a wave of deep seated hatred towards all of bird-kind, and immediately killed every single Whippoorwill within 300 feet of the mansion.

A bit shaken, they entered, and found themselves in the manor's kitchen. Inside was a sight of intentional chaos that appeared at first like the mess of some poor soul losing their mind. They met another Nosoi inside the kitchen, unaffected by the death wave that killed those outside the manor. It had a cheery, if slightly kooky disposition, warned the heroes of some of the dangers lurking through the manor, and invited the party to rest in its home (the kitchen). Weary of the tasks ahead, the group decided to take her up on her offer, set up camp, and rest.

Pharast 18, 4723

The party awoke from a restless night as fantasmical nightmares wracked their sleep. Some dreamed of the mansion, surrounded by swarms of frenzied birds, with a floating, disembodied brain floating in the doorway. Others, dreamed of the Starless Scope, learning of its origin with an ancient elven order devoted to worship of Desna. The dream of the scope was so powerful, that they awoke with the name of the order on their lips; the Order of the Starless Night. Another mystery.

As they awoke and finished their preparations, they spoke to their Psychopomp host, who revealed her name to be Ezramalkun. She thanked them for freeing her from the kitchen, which she'd been trapped in, though she had no intention of leaving. The group journeyed deeper into the manor.

In a room that seemed to serve as the servants' lounge, the group was ambushed by a pair of Chokers which proved a handful, but ultimately no match for the team. Eventually, they lay singed and skewered with arrows on the floor.

Examining a linen closet in the servants corridor, Xir + Twink were suddenly overcome with the feeling that they lived in this manor. Not only that, but they turned to their friends with sudden disdain; what where these people doing in her house? Before she could chase them out, the feeling passed.

Continuing to explore, the group made its way into the main entrance hall. Up some stairs and leaning innocuously against a wall, they watched a bookshelf open two huge eyes and screech at them "My house! Get out! Now!" Stunned, they did not heed its word, and were attacked by this Beauty and the Beast monstrosity. After a bit of a struggle, Xir + Twink landed the killing blow, a dagger straight through the Mimic's eye. Tired, they all returned to the kitchen to rest.

Pharast 19, 4723

More unsettling dreams as the party takes another night's rest in Ezramalkun's kitchen. A vision of the bubble that covered the mansion on their arrival, connecting to something deep beneath the Manor; visions of betrayal and death. Come morning, they did their best to shake it off and continue exploring the cursed house.

Taking a new path out of the kitchen, they found a series of paintings. Two of children, two of adults, all four stained by the house's Malevolence. The paintings began to bleed, and an otherworldly blade seemed to slash at the adventurers across each of their foreheads, save for Xir whose wound manifested across their left wrist. They licked their wounds and continued, only to find a sitting room that bewitched Vibes, Bob, and Xir. While the unaffected saw the room as a dilapidated wreck, the three under its sway saw a warm and pristine chamber. A voice called to them "come, I have news to share, we shall be returning to the capital soon."  A few moments of confusion and charred spectral hands burst forth from the fireplace and walls, lashing out at everyone and burning them. MoonDrip attuned herself to the psychometric resonance of the room, sensing horror and betrayal had marred this place. She saw a vision of the manor's staff, anxiously gathered awaiting some announcement before the room filled with flames, singeing them all and bringing about a fiery end.

They found a grand library, inhabited by a pair of Vampiric Mists that hardly stood a chance against the adventurers, who dispatched them quickly before managing to cover the rest of the main floor of the manor, discovering some journals in what looked like a servants quarters that seemed focused on a number of names. Ioseff Xarwin, Asethanna Xarwin, Fulvia Nostraema, The Dominion of the Black. Who were they? What do they have to do with the energy infesting this place?

Exhausted, they returned to the kitchen to rest once again.

Pharast 20, 4723

After uncovering more information about Asethanna Xarwin and the Dominion of the Black through their prophetic nightmares, the group awoke to a message from Vibes' daughter Enner G stating she'd received a vision from Hei Feng that her mother needed help and a package was waiting for her at the temple in Kintargo. Unenthused, Vibes responded "... thx."

Eager to clear out the main floor of the building, they made for the central Ballroom. Inside, they encountered a spectral image of Ioseff Xarwin that had his eyes set on Xir. "You have something that should belong to ME!" he wailed, and animated a pair of Necrophidius' to attack them. After some trouble dealing with the bone snakes' paralyzing venom, they came out on top with a couple of expertly aimed arrows from Vibes' bow.

The main floor cleared, the team gathered the handful of paintings they'd grabbed from the Manor and headed back to Kintargo to refresh their supplies and find a buyer for the admittedly expertly created portraits.

Pharast 21, 4723

Once in town, they spoke with a representative at Andos Hall and received a small reward for their work at the manor. Generally, people were shocked to see them return alive at all. They made their way to Temple Hill and spoke to a Tengu priest at The Sea's Duchy to collect the package waiting for them, gaining a Fearless Sash in the process.

Leaving their portraits with the priest to exorcise them, they headed toward the Bleakbridge to peruse the day market. As they collected their wares, a shifty Tengu in the crowd hoped to capitalize on their distraction and pickpocket Vibes, but was caught in the act. A chase ensued, culminating in a scuffle in the middle of the market. There were screams, the guards were called, and the would-be thief decided to cut his losses and revealed he had the ability to become invisible. By the time the guards came, they saw only one Tengu in the area and gave chase as Vibes booked it. Before long, Bob, Xir, Phalda, and MoonDrip were watching their companion get shackled and dragged off by the city guard, suddenly dealing with a much less esoteric problem than a haunted house.

Pharast 21, 4723

With Vibes captured by the city guard and the pickpocket fleeing in the opposite direction, the group decided to split up.

Phalda and Xir followed the thief North across the bridge, following the Faerie Fire that had been cast on him, betraying his presence despite his invisibility. They made their way to Yolubilis Harbor, down an alley, and through a back door into The War Cage where they confronted him and put him under the effects of a Charm. Now docile and friendly, he introduced himself as Ravzee and a member of the The River Talons, a local gang. The trio were about to leave when another Tengu burst into the room, scolded Ravzee for stealing a cloak from him, and shooed the group out of the building.

Bob and MoonDrip attempted to stall the guards, but had little luck as they fumbled over their words. In a last attempt, Bob cast Dazzling Flash to delay them, but the blatant use of magic against the guards angered them. They beat Bob unconscious and Moondrip surrendered, outnumbered and outmatched. By the time Phalda and Xir made it back, the group was nowhere to be found; they learned from a guard still on the bridge that their friends were likely taken to Kintargo Keep, the jail within the castle walls.

Inside the keep, the trio had their equipment stripped from them, and were placed in cells on the upper floor. Vibes was interrogated for information on the River Talons, which she did not have, ultimately giving up and putting her back in her cell. Defeated, the group awaited their fate in the company of three other prisoners: a rhaspy-voiced old man with a persistent, annoying cough, a younger gaunt man in tattered robes, and a golden-eyed blonde prisoner that seemed to be having the time of his life behind bars.

Unable to reach their friends, Phalda and Xir allowed their new 'friend' to take them for pastries, meeting the owner and operator of Sweet Tooth, Luculla Gens. They departed just as their charm on Ravzee wore off, munching on a tasty treat as they went. Hoping to get more information, they went back to the War Cage in the hopes that the other Tengu they met earlier could shed some light on the situation.

Pharast 21, 4723

Xir and Phalda returned to The War Cage to speak to the Tengu that their wanna-be pickpocket had some relationship with. They learned his name, Chucko, and that he was the other Tengu's brother, a former adventurer turned weapon shopkeep, and had a strained relationship with his kin. He didn't have much information about his brother's operation, but did offer to speak to the town's guard in their favor, explaining the mixup that lead to Vibes' incarceration.

Back at the Three-Legged Devil, they ran into Luculla once again, who flirted fairly heavy-handedly with Xir and whisked her away into the night as Phalda went to bed. Following the woman across town in the dark of night, she was taken to a dilapidated old tavern, and into a secret set of chambers hidden below the bar. There, she found a temple, where the woman revealed herself as a follower of Mahathallah and introduced the witch to a tradition of the Whore Queen's cults; Unknown. She took the drug, falling unconscious, and learning of a vast mindscape created by the goddess that allowed her access to what felt like limitless knowledge. She reached into the ether, pulling forth information about Xarwin Manor into her head, and awaking alone in the temple early in the morning.

Pharast 22, 4723

The next morning Phalda and Chucko made their way to the castle, and managed to negotiate a dropping of most of the charges, save the ones involving the assault of the officers on duty. In the end, the knights that arrested them were sentenced to their order's punishment (drowning and immediate resuscitation) and the party got away with hardly a scratch, simply a request that they examine a building rumored to be haunted within the city as "community service". Begrudgingly, they agreed.

Xir stumbled through town like a hungover floozy, finding that Phalda had left without her to free her friends, and managed to reconnect with the group as they left the castle. They all made their way to Hocum's Fantasmagorium. The building had been a popular circus/zoo/freak show in its heyday, but had fallen into disuse decades ago. About 10 years ago, the building was violently raided by Thrune's Hellknights, the insides scorched and undead raised to guard the building. While the undead have long since been put to rest, rumors persist that the taint of undeath was still strong in that place. There were rumors of strange voices and growling coming from inside.

Once there, they found the building absolutely blooming with plants that seemed much larger, healthier, and more established than the building's timeline should have allowed. Inside, they fought an Arboreal Warden with a small leshy companion and all but incinerated them. Further up the tower, they found a secret wall that Bob was able to unlock by tapping into otherworldly knowledge, behind which was a wood golem and a teleportation circle. The circle brought them higher up the tower, onto a narrow ledge leading to an ajar door in front of which they saw a tiger. Xir attempted to Tame the creature, but found that it was something beyond an animal as the spell failed to affect it. With a tilt of its head, the beast went inside. When the group went to look into the room the tiger had entered, they saw signs of life within before they were greeted by a booming voice. "Leave," it said as a gust of wind blew Xir onto her back and slammed the door shut in front of her.