Cravenhurst Arc

The Cravenhurst Arc consists of a single session, and is the beginning of the Phandoria Campaign.

Locations

 * Cravenhurst

Characters

 * Arnaud Eveskine
 * Cicero
 * Deputy Elrod Tinwicker
 * Orfeo Vesper
 * Sheriff Rhoda Gravelgardt

Synopsis
Trill, Rattler, Errk, and Kalama Suam arrive in Cravenhurst at the request of the local law enforcement, where they are met by Deputy Tinwicker. He explains that something has been driving people from the town of Cravenhurst and leaving a sense of dread hanging over to town. He hopes that skilled people such as the party might be able to look into the source of the odd happenings, with offer of pay. Some townsfolk had previously gone north of the town to investigate, but were not heard from.

The four move to visit the local saloon, The Red Wolf. There, they talk to the half-orc bartender, Tarqoran. He makes mention of the deaths of the townsfolk who went to investigate previously and suggests speaking with the town doctor, a man named Cicero.

Cicero's Office
In the back room of the doctor's office, Cicero is inspecting the bodies of the two deceased men who had gone to the north of town. He introduces himself to the party, and allows them to look at the bodies. Trill and Rattler play briefly with the bodies before taking a look at them.

The bodies have lacerations covering their chests and torsos, as well as deep bruising ringing their necks. Cicero remarks that they seem to have been hung postmortem, and that there is a third man still missing. He elaborates on the history of the area north of the fields beyond the town, in which many had been hung years before under the influence of a "man of the cloth." He suggests the party investigate the areas north of town and requests they come back to tell him what is up that way, but is otherwise a bit tight-lipped.

Past the North Field
The party concedes, and heads up through the north field. As they eventually reach a door lodged in a large hill, a pair of scarecrow out in the field shift, pulling themselves off their posts to attack the party. With a little bit of difficulty, they are dispatched and fall to a pile of dust, straw, and burlap.

Beyond the door is a dark passage inside the hill, which soon splits into two paths. The left is filled with a dusty gray haze, while the right seems the same as the one they just came through, though a faint shifting and muffled noise echoes down it.

Only three of the party have darkvision, and as such Errk holds onto someone for guidance as they walk. The party opts to take the right path, avoiding the magically-created haze and a potential encounter with an unsavory creature in the left. Continuing to the right, they hear the noise again, which is most certainly the muffled cry of a living creature. Ahead, they find a doorway covered by a tattered curtain on the right wall.

Checking it cautiously, they move inside, only to find it virtually empty of life. There is a desk, however, as well as a metal table with restraints along its edges. Inspecting the table, they find it has the dust wiped off it, indicating recent use.

Trill and Rattler are eager to search the desk, and open its drawers to find:
 * A battered scroll (a spell scroll containing Witch Bolt)
 * A dingy pocket-sized bag (a small bag of holding)
 * Scattered records. The records are written in some mix of Common and Sylvan, and Errk aids in translating them. They appear to be a list of crimes, some including murder and theft while others seem more dubious: deceit, false idolatry, unruly inquiry. The party concludes these may have been from the hangings that Cicero mentioned earlier.

Moving back out into the hall, they continue on and find that the path converges with the end of the left from earlier, and now splits again into three.

The middle path leads into a dead end, a circular room which feels a few degrees cooler than the rest of the cavern.

It is mostly empty, save for four tarnished candle holders, three of which hold tall, unused candles. The fourth has been burnt down to a stump and still gives off a thin trickle of smoke; the room smells of salt and citrus. The candles themselves are quite tall, a deep blue with swirling golden patterns all over them. On the wall above the candles is a dark, imposing mask of ebony scales with a pair of curling horns that cause it to lean forward on its perch on the wall and seem to gaze down with an eyeless stare.

Trill and Rattler again take charge and pilfer the three remaining candles as well as the mask, the inside of which feels warm, as though it had just been worn.

They then take the right path again, and hear a series of cries again, followed by the sound of frantic footsteps. With no choice but to follow the noise, the party exits into a wider room, where the body of a young human man lies upon the ground. Over it crouches a pale, lanky figure that turns upon hearing the party come into the room. It is a fey creature called a siabhra, or vile barber, with wiry black hair and long, bloodstained teeth. It wears a leather apron and gloves, and attacks the party with its rusty razor.

They defeat the siabhra, but it does get in a nasty slash on Rattler's shoulder before it is killed. They find that the young man it chased down and killed was in fact the last townsperson who had ventured out before them, who clutches a page of more accusations in his hand. After taking a short rest, they exit the tunnels out a set of stairs to the edge of the room.

The Hanging Tree
The stairs come out at the base of a large, gnarled tree atop a hill which overlooks the stretches of field beyond Cravenhurst. But something feels off about it, wrong and foreboding.

From behind the tree, a great black dog-like shape creeps out. It is wolf-like, almost, save for its starved-looking frame and the thick quills that stick up out of its flanks like the raised spines of an agitated dragon. It seems to hold in its eyes a vindictiveness of a man, and the words it speaks certainly reflect this. This Beast of Ill Omen questions the party's reasons for coming, saying that it made a deal with the fey in life to "purify" Cravenhurst, and was given new life by them to continue its mission.

It engages them in battle, and is dispatched rather quickly. As it passes, the Beast gloats that although the town is rid of it, it can never be rid of the blood it shed in life. It requests that they tell "that boy from the underworld" to go back to hell where he belongs before it fades into nothingness.

Back to Town
The party is greeted by Sheriff Rhoda Gravelgardt as they come back to town. She apologizes for having been out of town earlier, as she had unspecified business to attend to. She listens to the party, and awards them 240 gold pieces for their help.

The air does indeed feel clearer in Cravenhurst upon return.

They go to visit Cicero, who is sitting on the windowsill of his office, reading. They tell him about what they encountered, but not without scrutinizing him for his potential role in all of this, especially for the Beast's remark about a "boy from the underworld." Cicero admits that the Beast may have been a remnant of a warlock brought back to life by his patron -- particularly a warlock he had encountered masquerading as a deacon in Cravenhurst named Arnaud Eveskine. Cicero had a hand in Eveskine's death, partially due to directives from his own god. Errk asks what god Cicero refers to, and Cicero reveals himself to be a cleric of the death god Myrkul. This makes Trill nervous, as she had been brought back from the dead, but Cicero says that he sees nothing wrong with her, and has not received any word of needing to bring her soul back to the realm of the dead.

He identifies the candles they found as Cerulean Candles, and suggests finding an artificer in the Bluespine Flats to identify the mask. They depart, Trill and Errk still a bit uneasy about Cicero's status as a Grave Cleric.

Arriving at The Red Wolf, the find it significantly more populated than they last found it. Tinwicker waves them over to the bar, where he introduces them to Orfeo Vesper, a high elf professor at Lutea University in Avesita. They mention the Beast of Ill Omen to Vesper, who quickly and eagerly identifies it as such. He expresses some disappointment that he cannot stay longer, but gives the party his business card as he depart, hopeful to see them again.

Deputy Tinwicker offers them free room at The Red Wolf for the evening, much to the surprise and annoyance of Tarqoran, who owns the inn.