The chronicle record
Session recap
We returned to Sandpoint, investigated the mill murders, and set out for Foxclove Manor.
- Returned to Sandpoint to hide evidence connected to Esquik’s missing partner and the stolen gun components; Hemlock summoned us and the others to the lumber mill, where a note addressed to Ruby had been found beside a murder victim. Rasvantin and Esquik were technically suspects because they had followed one victim. Hemlock said two people had been killed at the mill the previous night, asked us to investigate, said he did not believe the ratfolk were responsible, and warned that involving them could endanger his career. Lucien agreed to pursue the murderer after hearing of a reward; Esquik denied involvement and said the man he followed intended to frame his partner for murder and smuggling.
- Investigated the mill; Lucien recognized the dead woman as someone he had seen with Banny Harker. She had been thrown against the operating saw, and blood pools suggested she had been pushed toward the log splitter before her death. Ruby found blood on a door and a barefoot, human-sized print where the smell of rot was strongest; the odor reminded Eliza of ghouls south of Sandpoint. In a smaller office, Harker’s mutilated body hung from machinery hooks, jaw missing and a seven-pointed star carved into his chest while he was alive. Rasvantin noted the missing jaw could prevent magical questioning; Ruby found claw marks but no defensive wounds or suitable carving tool. Scarnetti Mill accounts showed money had been skimmed; we discussed whether Harker or the owners were involved, and Hemlock said he would speak with the The Scarnettis.
- Questioned worker Ibor Thorn; he told Ruby Harker had offered him extra pay to help skim money, and that Harker diverted marked logs from the river for Colton Samuankuk to collect. Thorne thought Colton worked for Jubrayl Vhiski and asked us not to reveal his account; Ruby agreed. Esquik found signs of someone lingering across the river, including barefoot prints with unusually long toenails. The earlier victims had arranged to meet “your lordship,” the signature on Ruby’s note; a survivor of their murders had been found bound and forced to watch the torture and killing and was now at a sanatorium. Hemlock reinstated us as deputies and said another note with the same signature had been hidden on one earlier victim.
- Visited the sanatorium; patient Grayst Sevilla recognized Ruby and said “His Lordship,” who had made him, promised she would visit and had a precious place for her. If she came to the Misgivings and joined his pack, he would end the harvest in her honor. Grayst Sevilla collapsed and shrieked; Dr. Habe calmed him and asked us to leave. Habe recognized a drawing of the seven-pointed star, saying Grayst Sevilla had drawn a similar symbol before being restrained. Eliza identified his condition as consistent with late-stage ghoul fever but did not think that alone explained his mental state. The Misgivings is the local name for Foxclove Manor, an abandoned manor reputed to be cursed; we recalled the nobleman we had rescued there, who had shown interest in Ruby and had not returned to town.
- Investigated the sanatorium Basement after Lucien learned a man rented it and Esquik found a separate exterior entrance; after dark, we entered and found a natural cavern fitted with rooms, tables, shovels, and sheet-covered, well-preserved bodies. The hooded tenant said the bodies were donated, necromancy was legal if no one was endangered, he had not raised ghouls, and we should find the source of any infestation. He repeatedly warned us not to touch one particular door; we left without opening it. He recognized Eliza’s shadowy companion, Scourge Of All Light, as the Scourge of All Light and repeated stories that Scourge Of All Light was destined to eat the sun. We set out toward Foxclove Manor and camped on the way.
- Reached a river crossing where the watchman was absent; Lucien found a severed arm with numerous human-like bites, and Esquik determined its body had been destroyed and the bites varied in size. A mass of rotting bodies rose from the river, followed by a second mass beneath the crossing. Ruby struck and held the line, Eliza laid explosive magic across their approach, and Esquik, Lucien, and Rasvantin attacked and supported one another until the remaining undead were brought down. Many had ghoul-like bite marks and wore clothing like farmers from the eastern farmlands.
Notable quotes
“Who the fuck are you? Or are you in my basement?” — Lucien
“I didn't take the tech magic. She has it, son of a bitch!” — Lucien