On 21st day of the month of Angel, Anauk, priest at the temple of St. Orlan asked Stoyk to deliver a letter to Father Lionel in Milltown. Along with him came Tenren and Ganna, the elven druid. Having no horses, they walked down to Slateholm where they stayed for a night and then walked another day on the northern trade road where a west-goain road lead to Milltown. Nearing the small town, they stopped at a sign where a another road lead up into the hills. As they paused, pilgrims approached from direction of Milltown, and the recommended it as comfortable a peaceful settlement of millworkers. Of news, they related rumors of an ogre that ran off with a farmer’s two kids, in which they placed little credence.
The topic was relevant, as the very sign in from of which they paused stood as a warning to travelers not to follow the smaller road up into the hills where the old Jarr mansion rested. The pilgrims explained that Elab Jarr was a wealthy eccentric who became obsessed with the afterlife as he aged. He slowly burned away his fortune on a mountain retreat, researching secrets better left unknown. One day he stumbled into town naked, his leathered skin marked with small abrasions. He collapsed at the feet of the statue of Saint Orlan, his dead hands clasped rigidly in final prayer.
The young adventurers thanked the pilgrims and bid them farewell. Some time later, nearly reaching the small town, they met more pilgrims, these two coming into town, though struggling with the broken wheel on their handcart. Stoyk offered to help, as did Ganna, and together they made their way into two. The pilgrims were also headed for the temple to Saint Orlan, so they arrived all together to be introduced to Father Lionel. He received the letter from Anuak with joy.
Lionel offered his stable for lodging but recommended the Seven Staves Inn for better lodging. There they met Charlotte, the innkeeper. Conversation turned to the supposed ogre, about which Charlotte thought was a reasonable story. About Elab Jarr, she lamented a lost recipe for ale, explaining her passion for brews. If the party were to go investigate the old Jarr Manor, she offered a reward of 80 pieces of gold for the recipe. They agreed to look, spending the rest of evening at the inn.
Investigating the Manor
The next day, after walking up the road with the warning sign, they came to an ancient oak fallen over the road. A search revealed no footprints on the other side of the tree, but regular traffic up a small path. They followed this path until it reached the base of a tall cliff at the bottom of which was a deep ravine. Another fallen tree spanned the chasm, allowing access to an open passage.
As they crossed the ravine, they spied giant rats scurry. After crossing, then enter a small chamber where they were surprised by a fierce ruffian wielding two daggers. He announced “you’ll never take me alive and you can’t have my gold!” He waited only a moment before turning to slam the door closed.
As an immediate precaution against what they suspected was a trap, a spike was hammered to keep the door shut. Another door in the chamber was found to be locked and beyond the skills of Tenren to unlock, so Ganna began bashing at it. Presently, a burly man opened the door to confront them. A fight began, with dwarves also coming to the man’s defense. When two dwarves lay dead by fire, the bandits surrendered to Stoyk and his companions. The bandits were allowed to run off with a warning not to return.
Beyond the door, they found six hammocks, a table covered in playing cards and a few personal effects. In the pocket of a coat left hanging on a hook they found a pearl.
With no other way forward, they removed the spike and went looking for the man with the two daggers. They found stairs going up to a locked door. From behind it, they heard voices chanting an unfamiliar ballad. They concluded it was demonic and best left alone. Just then they heard a door slam from another hallway. They moved to investigate.
The first door they found opened to a room filled with several heavy boxes filled with various loot. Each box was exceedingly heavy. A thorough search turned up a small sack of 124 gold pieces as well as a silver dagger in a scabbard engraved with a palm.
Next to this room, they found another door that opened to a whiff of a smoky smell. A pile of ash lay in the center of the room. Ganna noticed a bar meant to keep the room secure from the outside. This and the charred barrels inside suggested a fiery trap of some sort. While Ganna and Tenren investigated, Stoyk remained in the hall, watching for trouble.
Suddenly, the man with the daggers bolted towards him, followed closely by a smaller figure. Stoyk managed to land a blow, but not one strong enough to stop them. Giving chase, they watched as the man bounded over the fallen log while the other, perhaps just a boy, fell from the log, down in the chasm. They let the dagger man run off, and nothing could be done for the boy, now devoured by rats.
They returned to follow stairs to a small room with a stool beside a shield on the floor. Tenren took up the shield emblazoned with a raven. Underneath was a shaft leading down the the charred room.
Upstairs
They passed a hallway filled with rubble that seemed impassible, and then found more stairs going up. They ended in a room of shelves containing bottles, most of them empty. Beyond this room, they recognized they were within the manor itself.
The next room they investigated featured a pool of dark water. Coins and gems sparkled in about four feet of water, into which Ganna waded. Instantly a transparent gelly surged up at her. Stoyk grabbed her by the shoulders and hauled her from the pool. The gelly emerged from the pool, but when they ran from the room it retreated below the water again. Now that they could estimate the threat, they rushed forward to attack all at once and soon subdued the gelatinous cube. From it, they recovered dwarven coins and four nice gems.
Next, they found a bedroom where a green slime lurked beneath the bed. They retreated from this room and found the library. They spent a long hour searching the library where they found many interesting items, most notably the recipe for Jarr’s Ale rolled up in a tube. All of the interesting items, they packed up, mostly skimming them. Two items were scrolls, one offering protection from the undead and the other meant for magic users. They also found another recipe called Renewal Ale, it’s primary ingredient the blood of puppies–truly disgusting. The rest were books about which they only read titles.
In the kitchen, they confronted a skeleton stirring an empty cauldron. It swung a giant wooden spoon, each time missing smashing bottles of spices. When the battle ended, they found a jar of an expensive spice called Korumnoon that survived the errant blows. In the empty dining room, Tenren picked up an odd jar that he did not open.
Deadly Battle
Beyond a closed door, they found a large bedroom where three skeletons leaped from beds to attack. Tenren swung the giant spoon to good effect. Unfortunately, one of the skeletons savagely clawed at Ganna, opening a gash on her head from which she could not survive. She died the instant her body crumpled on the floor.
Once the skeletons were destroyed, Stoyk and Tenren retreated from the manor and headed for town. Back at the inn, Charlotte made good on her promise despite being disappointed in the recipe. It required an ingredient described as corpse marrow. He judged it dangerous and perhaps impossible to brew. Undaunted, she wondered aloud about another ale recipe she’d always wondered about…
End Notes
- Treasure
- 80gp reward
- 125gp sack
- Silver dagger
- Raven shield
- 10gp from the cube
- 4 gems worth 310gp
- Scroll of protection from undead
- MU scroll
- Several books
- History of Yarn
- On the Theory of Optimal Division of Labor Between Humans and Elves
- Gustusopedia: a catalog of spices
- A half-filled book of crude drawings
- A ledger showing shipments of ale to Milltown.
- The Life of The Anointed One
- Recipe for Renewal Ale
- Recipe for Jarr’s Ale
- Jar of Korumnoon worth 100gp
- Kills 1,015xp
- 3 skeletons – 75xp
- Gelatinous Cube – 280xp
- 2 Ambush thugs 50xp
- Bandit leader – 360xp
- 5 Dwarf bandits – 250xp
- Characters
- Ganna — deceased
- Stoyk — 558xp
- Tenren — 558xp