Cleenseau - Session 8

_in Taelgar from January 6th - January 7th
7 Robert I / DR 1720
Cleenseau and vicinity
on Earth: November 12th, 2023

Summary and Major Events

• The party investigates the history of Cleenseau and whatever is beneath Essford Manor
• The party enters a fort beneath the manor and fights a skeletal horde and a skeleton wielding necromantic magic
• The party finds an old chest, left behind by a Ranger, with some interesting treasures in it

Rumors and Information

• The Crossroads Inn is very old, and was used as a base of operations by hobgoblins in several different wars. It was also the center of a rescue operation trying to help humans flee hobgoblin rule
• When Cleenseau was recaptured after the Third Hobgoblin War (Sembara) something bad was underneath the manor, and the troops were frightened of it. The fort was buried
• The zombie rats seem to spread a plague that creates more zombies, originating from somewhere beneath the town in some very odd and deep old tunnels
• Jonathon shares historical background
• Wymar shares his childhood stories
• Rinault shares his childhood stories
• Harold Stonebridge shares his stories

New People Met

• Walter of Cleenseau, an old man
• Eliana, a midwife
• Cedric, a pregnant transman, now dead
• Gideon Thorne, a prominent fisherman in Auloutte, father-in-law of Beatrix

Timeline

• Jan 06, 1720 DR, morning: the party investigates events around town
• Jan 06, 1720 DR, afternoon: the party investigates a drowning and zombie in Auloutte
• Jan 06, 1720 DR, evening: the party dines at The Crossroads Inn
• Jan 07, 1720 DR, morning: the party enters the fort

Narrative

The session begins around noon, after having spoken with Wymar Essford and Rinault Essford about their memories of town history. The party splits up:

• Izgil investigates the basement of Essford Manor. After some digged and cleaning with prestidigitation, he finds a large granite slab covering what appears to be a secret entrance to the underground ruined fort
• Robin investigates the garrison. Although there are no meaningful records, Walter although a bit grumbly upon being awakened, warms to Robin’s gentle insistence that Walter’s knowledge will be extremely helpful, and ends up sharing several stories of the hobgoblin wars and in particular the recapture of Cleenseau. He won’t let Robin leave until he promises to accompany Walter to Walter’s favorite sweet shop
• Es*tiasilos investigates the ruined fort south of the Enst but discovers little there
• Viepuck and Celyn investigate Tumbledown Farm and follow up on Cedric the missing pregnant transman. The eventually discover, with the help of Eliana that he was ill the previous night, and find signs he fell into the river (likely in some distress given the blood and vomit). Viepuck also finds evidence of a rat hole beneath Tumbledown Farm and sends Es*tiasilos to investigate

The party regroups outside Auloutte as Gideon Thorne, one of the main fishermen in Auloutte and the father-in-law of Beatrix has sounded the horns. There, they discover Cedric’s dead and zombie-fied baby. Abundant caution prevents any additional harm, beyond the tragedy of Cedric and his unborn child’s death. In the meantime Es*tiasilos investigates the rat hole, and finds a warren. One zombie-fied rat he manages to kill, and two others he avoids. He additionally finds an exit at a nearby house, neighbor to Beatrix and the Thorne’s. Finally, he discovers that the rat warren exits into some buried basement, as well as a large, oddly constructed tunnel. While investigating this, the party discovers that one of the Thorne’s was bitten by a rat a few days ago, but is getting better. Robin’s investigation suggests a magical infection of some kind, which the teenager fought off.

That evening, the party dines, along with a crowd of well-wishers and worrying townsfolk, and The Crossroads Inn. While Robin entertains Lord Rinault, Viepuck and Celyn discuss the past with Marigold Stonebridge. She shares some history of the inn, including its base as an underground railroad of sorts for humans fleeing hobgoblins. Celyn also discovers a secret tunnel from the basement of the Crossroads Inn to a mysterious cavern. The next morning, the party descends into the tower.

Each of the top floors of the tower seem to be trapped - but the traps are facing down and in, and so the party avoids them: a boulder trap and a holy water trap are most notable. The holy water trap is a ever filling trickle of holy water pouring out of a holy symbol of The Night Queen, and three of the five stars of the symbol must be touched with holy water for the door to open.

Beyond the traps, in the main hall, are a group of giant centipedes, which are easily defeated after being calmed with Pipes of Beast Control found in Cleenseau - Session 03. The upper level of the manor contains little, save for a chest with a complex trap which was apparently never opened by the hobgoblins and after figuring out the trap, contained several magical items from a Ranger. On returning to the main hall, a swarm of bones burst from one of the towers, which the party defeated, despite one of the skeletons being able to cast necromantic spells.

The session ends as the party finds an entrance hall infested with ghouls.

Quotes

Viepuck: Do we want to make a giant crashing sound coming down the stairs?
Izgil: I don’t want to, but rock’s in the way!