Third Session 27 June 2019

Valldel Amakiir - 1st Level Male Elven Rogue

Akadum Ironbeard - 1st Level Male Dwarf Fighter

Dolin Stoneflare - 1st Level Male Dwarf Light Cleric

Shiso Shinjitsu - 1st Level Male Human Fighter

Junior Lubbins - 1st Level Female Human Fighter

Bea Miglin - 1st Level Female Halfling Fighter (NPC_

24 May 981, Tuesday, Continued

Fine spring weather, partly cloudy, cool

Drigbolton

They head up the stairs and enter the central hall.  Godfred

tells them that the Laird's Far Seer is through the bedroom

which is behind that locked door there.  There is a spare

key downstairs.  Listening at the door they hear fabric snapping

as if in a breeze.  Valldel is able to pick the lock.  Within

Shiso sees that the bed has morphed into a small sailing

ship.  It is manned by animated clothes, shirts and pants,

which are behaving like sailors.

They debate what to do.  Valldel wants to start a fire, but

the others are too worried that it would destroy the Manor.

Shiso notices a book on a dresser called the Pirates of the

Central Sea.  They gather it without attracting the attention

of the clothes.  It is a history book.  They decide to

destroy it, but upon doing so nothing has changed.

They decide to try to sneak through to the door that leads

to the Liard's library and then the Far Seer.  It is not

successful and the clothes begin attacking by flaying

with heavy brass buttons.  They are difficult to deal with

as piercing weapons are useless and slashing weapons do

only minor damage.  Grappling and tearing at them is often

more effective.  While it takes awhile they defeat the clothes

suffering only minor damage.

The next room is the Laird's private library.  There are many books

on the natural sciences and a menagerie of stuffed animals

and birds.  There is a door that Godfred says leads to the

Far Seer.  They go through and enter a room dominated by a

large brass telescope.  There is a ladder to access the dome

opening and moving mechanism, a table with an observing log,

and a worn chair.  The telescope has its lens cap on and the

dome is closed.  Reading the observing log reveals over the

last week or so the Laird was tracking something that was

falling from space, collaborated with Griya, and someone

named Muzzahs.  He also mentions Ashkott who Valldel recognizes

as a distinguished Professor at the White College in Leechfeld

which is a few days journey to the east.  He sees a "conjunction"

next to the Moon, and an object falling from the moon towards

the surface.  He writes that he has informed Griya, Muzzahs,

the three at the White College, Pye (the mad mage who lives

in the Cairn Chase Forest), Obediah, Dunston, Bellas, William,

Benjamin, and Fred the Shed (the notorious serial killer who

is imprisoned in the Middlemoor Goal).  Akadum is very upset

at the latter part of the observing log which describes the

object falling as being destroyed in an enounter with "swirls

of fire".

Where is the Laird?  Godfred suggests that he may be in his

private laboratory in the basement, which is accessed via

a closet off the sitting room where the six well dressed

hungry, demanding gentleman are.  They finish exploring

the second floor, finding two empty guest bedrooms,

and Godfred's room.

They debate on how to deal with the six gentleman.

Shiso suggests providing them breakfast as they

were asking.  Godfred prepares six meals, cutting

up some cured meats, and bread with butter and jam.  They

enter serving the gentleman, who seem to hungrily

tuck into the meals and pay no attention to what the party

is doing.  The party notes that the gentleman are actually

two dimensional.  Clearly they are the painting come to life.

While distracted by their meal, the party slips into the

small room leading to the basement.

This is a closet with

a locked trap door leading befow.  Valldel is able to

pick the lock, and Valldel and Dolin lead the way

down a ladder into the darkness below.  The zombified

Laird attacks them as Dolin illuminates the lab.

The Zombie Laird emits a piercing scream which discomfits

Akadum and sends him fleeing into a corner, but the others

manage to gang up on the horror and kill it.  They notice

that he has been pierced by many rapier wounds.

They gather up a spell book called the Black Book of Llaregubb,

which Valldel can tell has two low level spells, two middle level

spells, and two high level spells.  It is clearly quite valuable.

There is the six volume work called the Encyclopedia of Stellar

Anatomy by Calcidus the Stargazer.  These are gorgeous books full

of color plates of cellestial objects.  It is also likely

to be quite valuable.  There is an untitled

book bound in plush red velvet.  Attached to it by a ribbon is

a silver spoon.  The book has extraordinary vivid pictures of

butterflies.  When the spoon touches one page, the butterfly comes

alive and begin flitting about the room.  Touching the butterfly

again with the spoon has no effect.  The fourth books is an unbound

bunch of hand written pages.  It is clearly the Laird's lab note

book and has hundreds of pages of notes, results of experiments,

musings, etc.

Two items here draw their interest.  One is a description of the

"Clooney Caves" which are within the Moon Peaks where the Laird

and others trade with Goblins for mushrooms with unusual properties.

Also there is an ancient Serpant Man called Xiximanter who provides

powerful potions in exchange for magic user blood or body parts.

There is a sketch map revealing the location of the Clooney Caves.

The Laird mentions collaborations with Griya in Drigbolton,

Muzzahs the Magnificent in Helix (village 1.5 days to the west),

Obediah Hawkes in Brignorth (village south of Tealford which is

the town one day to the east), and Pye, the mad mage of the

Cairn Chase Forest at the center of the Midlands.

The second is a musing on the Tablet of Chaos, some sort of

powerful artifact that the Laird thinks can be used against

the Moran Empire.  He locates it a tomb complex called the

Barrowmaze which is in the Barrowmoor south of Helix.  He

mentions Ashkott, Leptoblast, and Zenithal, who Valldel notes

are the three distinguished Professors of the White Collge

in Leechfeld, and have written texts on the Tablet.  The Laird

apparently sent an expedition to the Barrowmaze, and

Muzzahs in Helix reports that it disappeared into

the swamp.  He talks about Fred the Shed who claims to

know nothing about the Tablet, but should, and has clearly

sent expeditions to the Barrowmaze.  Finally he says that he

has urged Stana Binnety in Woodfall to mount an expedition

to the Barrowmaze.  He has made a sketch map of the Barrowmoor

which has on it Helix, Ironguard Motte, the Barrowmaze, Bogton,

Frogmen, Bog Witches, Frogmen, Goblins, and Woodfall.

Valldel searches for samples of mushrooms but only finds many

candles and science lab equipment (beekers, spoons, etc.).

There are many candles and burned down candles in and around

the desk at the far end of the room.

In the middle of the room is a large silver wire cage.  It is

large enough to contain a human and has a simple latch.  It

it is not strong enough to hold any one who tried to get out.

Akadum searches around and finds there are no hidden doors out;

the unusual rug with a hexagon pattern conceals nothing beneath

it.  They gather up the cage, folding it up into an easier

to carry form, ruining it as a cage.

They head back up and tell Godfred that the Laird has gone,

but not sharing with him the awful details.  Godfred tells

them that he is not surprised.  The Laird had been increasingly

obsessed over the last few weeks and he had a feeling something

bad had happened.  He is able to confirm that Griya and the Laird

met regularly, Muzzahs from Helix also visited occasionally,

Obediah Hawkes is an alchemist from Brignorth, Bellas is an

Elven woman who is the propriator of the Sharpe Inn which is

in the Oldfeld Woods east of Duddingly.  The Laird occasional

traveled there and she has visited here.  He cannot identify

any of the other names, noting that the Laird was a complex

man with many interests and friends, many visitors, and wonders

why or how the Laird would have communication with the

notorious serial killer Fred the Shed who is imprisoned in

Middlemoor Gaol.  They tell Godfred to gather his things for

a return to Drigbolton and he heads up to his room.

Bea tells them that after the two dimensional gentleman "ate"

their meals they settled into naps.  They decide to deliver

killing blows to the animated paintings.  This goes well except

for Bea's target who comes up with a rapier and stabs

her before the others can swarm it and kill it.  Hellraiser/

Junior gathers up the very real, but two dimensional, rapiers

that the animated paintings were wielding.

They plan to make their way back to Drigbolton to get

some answers from Griya.  Junior still insists that Griya

is simply an old woman who cannot do magic and can only

make potions, poultices, and charms.  The others are not

convinced.