The Farmhouse (Blighted City 2)
| The Farmhouse (Blighted City 2) | |
|---|---|
| Date | 5/16/23 |
| Storyteller | Dag |
| Tier | Trainee - Hard |
| Player Characters | Kali, Absinthe, Hiromi, Zeal, Bliss-Retold-Till-Eternity, Tuli Mrysky, Tik |
| Rewards | 300 exp, 140 gold, Wondrous Figurine (Stuffed Fox), Ring of Discretion, Book of Translation (Necril), Healers Tools (Expanded), Dancing Scarf |
| Result | Success |
| Author | Zeal |
Log
We all met up within the city or Onadbyr, setting out from there to return to Lancaster. Another uneventful three days of travel was all that met us, giving me plenty of time to explain the situation, as well as cross-reference Bliss's personal knowledge of undead for any questions I could not answer. The wards seem to have done their job, as the gatehouse was empty upon our arrival. We next traveled to a nearby farmstead, clearing out small pockets of non-threatening foes along the way. From there we were met with a completely boarded up home, boarded up from the outside at that. Tuli and I removed the boards from the front door after the group had lengthy deliberation on the matter, and as we entered we were met with a short hallway into another door that slammed shut on us. Having Bliss unlock this one as he did the prior, we entered to see a ghost of a woman across the room.
Aside from the mental attack Tuli and I suffered wherein a spirit called us trespassers and demanded we leave or face his wrath, we faced no danger as we met this ghostly woman, who we never received the name of in our many questions of her. She knew she was a ghost and wished to be set free, but even when Hiromi later offered her the option, she was unable to take it at the time. It seemed her husband James was binding her there, and we would need to dispose of him and his haunts before she could be freed. They had not died to the undead, she stated, which leads me to believe their undead forms were the work of a general curse on the city rather than any sort of undead plague.
The home itself was built by James and was likely the source of his strong attachment to the location. He worked as a tax collector, which turned out not to be relevant to the curse, but what was relevant was that they shut themselves in when the hordes came. We didn't get much more information on this, but she was also a very insular person as we learned over time. Bliss determined that they likely died somewhere between 40 and 120 years, though this did little to coax more information from her. We did learn that there were many graveyards in the city, but the two most notable where the largest, found on the palace grounds, and one that only the Order of the Nail used. Caution near the palace grounds is thus highly advised, and until we can get numbers on how many Hellknights resided here or where that graveyard is located, I would suggest keeping your eyes out for any skeletons in plate armor.
The ghostly woman was never allowed in her husband's office, and she informed us that continued to be the case in death. This would be our first place to examine, wherein we found a desk with a journal on it, and a skeleton laying atop the journal, protecting it. The skeleton never struck out at us, but as Kali approached the desk a great gust of wind sent half of group flying backwards. The first of the haunts, and one of the most dangerous, it protected a journal that relayed a strong memory to Kali when later touched.
"This is the end, the children are gone, I can no longer hear their cries, soon I will be too, there is nothing left for me, it is only a matter of time." Those were the final words the human form of James wrote in the vision Kali received, and the words were subsequently carved into her arms by another haunt. The last one within, as Kali's further reading of the journal gave a better summary of what led up to the current state of the house. James heard the undead coming and fortified the house, refusing to let anyone leave. He slowly grew more and more insane, leading to him murdering the wife when she attempted to leave anyway. He knew he didn't have the supplies to care for the children, so he locked them in their rooms until the crying stopped, and eventually ended up starving himself. Not once did he attempt to leave.
We returned to the wife, and upon asking she informed us that she did indeed die first, and her family had no problems at any point, the husband was a perfectly fine person. We did not push, as we did not wish to anger the spirit. Next, we headed upstairs to find the children. She had told us of how the children could be heard upstairs, moving about and crying, affecting their surroundings in ways she could not. After dispatching a few more haunts along the way, Bliss found the room at the far end of the upper floor hall, seeing inside two skull-headed children. One played with blocks, a young girl named Maddy. The other, Peter, cried nearby. Bliss gained a rapport with Maddy before leaving to find the mother and convince her to see her children, but Absinthe did not heed Bliss's warning of the thin line between play and kill regarding spirits. As she took up the children's offer to play the game, Peter struck out at her. Bliss had identified these creatures as "Attic Whisperers", powerful undead that could steal voices and leave you physically weakened, should you manage to survive.
After a lengthy battle that led to us striking down the undead remains of the children, their souls were collected by Hiromi and we set out to finish this job soon. Maddy's stuffed animal named Gerald had been introduced to Absinthe, and the group seemed prudent on taking it afterwards. I'd heard something about it having a magical ability of some sort, but I do wonder if Hiromi took it purely for sentimental reasons.
In a nearby room we found the body of the mother, left in a bed. Remorse, perhaps? Or just too lazy to move her? Though it garnered no sympathy from any of us for the man of the house, we did find some supplies nearby, most notably being a healer's kit. After that we finished our rounds of the second floor and went back down, heading to the library next. Kali most notably was drawn there, then crushed by a bookshelf. The phantasmal form of James finally showed itself, bringing many of us low with its extensive weaponization of the bookshelves and books within the large library. Although we brought him down, Kali and I determined he would reappear within 2 to 8 days, as he could not be captured while other haunts remained in the house. Within the library we did find a book of translation for Necril however, which denoted to us that James may have been more directly involved in these affairs than he originally let on.
Clearing out the rest of the haunts, most notably being exploding windows, Hiromi is finally able to free the mother. We warded up the house to trap James within the library once he rejuvenated, and after waiting 7 days for it we were able to pin down and purge him from this world permanently. The house is now fully cleared and capable of housing associates that seek to join the operations within the city.