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For this adventure the PC should be a Therion employed by the Block family or who owes a favor to that family. (A different backstory is possible but requires rewriting some of the plot.)
A few weeks ago Lordling Ewux Blok was kidnapped by an Ogre who had been posing as Omtrop, bulter to Lord Ickram Field. Ewux was rescued. But the nanny assigned to care for him and his sister Mixy was dismissed.
Tonight is when Bergtrolls celebrate Sweethearts' Day, an annual holiday for couples and flirting. Little Mixy has her heart set on attending a Sweethearts' Day Ball with her friend Viry, at the country manor owned by Viry's parents, Lord Insram and Lady Haah'xranna Block. The girls dearly want to play together, gossip, wear fancy dresses, and wander through the party collecting compliments from the adults.
Normally High Lord Oo'Ahxrun Block would have no concerns and send Mixy with the nanny. But Lord Insram is currently troubled by scandal and the celebration may be interrupted by a duel or other disturbance. Mixy should be chaperoned by someone who can protect her, but sending her under guard would insult the honor of Lord Insram (by implying that his household guards are insufficient).
The solution is for Oo'Ahxrun to send the PC as Mixy's chaperone. Viewed through the lens of Bergtroll honor, it would be unthinkable that an Therion with no reknown and little connection to the Block family has any importance. The PC is officially a "temporary nanny" and Oo'Ahxrun is able to avoid insulting Lord Insram's household while keeping someone who can fight near Mixy.
The PC is fitted for fancy clothes and must decide what items from his or her inventory can be taken to a fancy party. The orders from Oo'Ahxrun are very clear: watch over Mixy and if there is any danger take her safely home. It is not the responsibility of the PC to fix trouble, only to keep Mixy away from it.
This adventure uses the Country Manor map.
The general idea of the PC trying to help unite potential lovers was taken from the adventure The Fop at RPGArchive.com.
When the adventure begins the PC is only aware of the first objective. But this adventure, as always, has the possibility of earning three experience points.
Lordling Mixy Block is described in the main list of Arlinac City NPCs.
Mixy's "oh so dear" friend Viry is another Bergtroll of the same age, and also similar in appearance and behavior to a six-year-old Therion child. Mixy has only visited Viry in her Arlinac estate, never at this country manor, so Viry is eager to show off the building's artwork and furnishings as well as to talk and compare dresses.
Viry is cared for by her nanny, Beebixriffi, and her maid, Wuuw'rabba.
Lord Insram employs two guards at his country manor: a Dweorg named Jikhir and a Bergtroll named Ewhril. Jikhir will stay in the guard room on the first floor. Ewhirl patrols the manor, staying mostly on the ground floor. Ewhirl has a bracelet that becomes warm if he is threatened even if he is unaware of the threat.
The household servants are two Therions named Gark and Lisna. Tonight Gark spends all his time in the kitchen while Lisna serves the guests by carrying around trays of food. Gark lives at this country manor; Lisna normally lives with Lord Insram's family at their Arlinac estate but has come to help put on the party. Both can use therionthropy, but neither will tonight.
Azlrat Field is the guest with plans to make trouble, as described below.
Azlrat's cup is the clearest evidence against him. It is a personal cup, part of his wardrobe, and has a secret compartment still sticky with Ghast saliva. If the PC delivers this cup to either Lord Insram or Lord Oo'Ahxrun then Azlrat's guilt would be firmly proved.
The PC will probably not have opportunity to learn of Ewhril's bracelet or Azlrat's ring, although there is a chance Ewhril will mention his bracelet if he must assure the two girls that they are safe.
Two weeks ago the Bergtoll brothers Azlart and Omlrat Field snuck into this manor to spy on the Block family. They were specifically looking for secret rooms in the basement, and found the secret door built into one of the storage shelves. However, a trap inside the door killed Omlrat, and then Azlrat fled.
Lord Insram cannot admit he maintains deadly traps behind secret doors: this would publicly declare he is hiding something, which would cause a great loss of honor. (Of course all the Bergtroll nobility have secrets, but they cannot admit this.) So Ewhril has publicly claimed that he intercepted the tresspassers and killed Omlrat. Furthermore, Ewhril has publicly refused to give Omlrat's body back to the Field family (because seeing the body would make clear it was a trap and not a guard that killed him).
Because Ewhril is not from the nobility, killing a noble and keeping the body causes harsh dishonor. He will be dismissed from serving the Block family and exiled from Arlinac City and its surrounding countryside. However, he pleaded for these punishments to be delayed until after Sweethearts' Day and Lord Insram was merciful.
Ewhril is in love with Beebixriffi, who love him in return. But these two employees of Lord Insram have been too shy to profess their feelings to each other. Each would like to do so during this Sweethearts' Day Ball. Not only is the occasion appropriate, but Ewhril will be exiled tomorrow.
Viry knows about the unprofessed love, since Beebixriffi has bemoaned her problem in the girl's presence and Viry later eavesdropped on Ewhril. But Viry needs an adult to help her unite the lovers: it would be improper for a girl her age to be involved.
Lord Insram is in Ewhril's confidence. He and his wife had secretly made preparations so Beebixriffi may leave with Ewhril if she chooses.
Azlart has become a bit insane after seeing his brother die. Tonight he has a nefarious plan: he will bring a Ghast to the party.
Azlart will arrive at the ball last. He will drive his own carriage, which is towing a wagon on which is a coffin. Azlart will say nothing about this but the meaning is clear: he wishes to depart with his brother's body.
(The coffin actually serves to keep the Ghast hidden from view and smell during the journey from Azlart's home in Arlinac City to this country manor. Azlart knows the guards at the city gate would not ask a noble Bergtroll to open a coffin, especially when his grievance with Lord Insram is well known. Before approaching the country manor, Azlart send the Ghast from the coffin to hide in the bushes.)
A year ago Azlart acquired an enchanted ring that allows him to command any Zombie, Ghoul, or Ghast whose name he knows. For ten months this ring was useless, but he finally tracked down a Ghast of known history and name. Using the ring he enslaved this Ghast (of a Therion named Sam). He collected, concentrated, and bottled the Ghast's paralysis-inducing saliva.
Azlart plans to pour the concentrated saliva into the drink fountain in the entry hall to paralyze everyone at the party for half an hour.
Then Azlart will step onto the right-side patio to signal the Ghast, who will still be hiding in the bushes. Azlart assumes (correctly) that Ewhril and Jikhir will also be drinking from the fountain but is ready to fight them if they do not become paralyzed.
Azlart knows he will be watched carefully, so he has brought a special cup with him. It is standard for a Bergtroll at a fancy party to bring his or her own jeweled cup: this jewelry is considered part of the outfit. Azlart's cup has a false bottom. While filling the top of the cup normally at the fountain he can open the cup's false bottom to dump its contents into the fountain's next tier.
The Ghast has orders, enforced by the enchanted ring, to climb atop the right-side patio after being released. Then it will enter the guest room through a window (breaking it if necessary) and start attacking the guests on the second story. (This plan is to allow Azlart time to deal with Ewhril and Jikhir on the ground floor; he is worried they might be able to hurt the Ghast.)
The Ghast cannot speak intelligibly. Thus Azlart sees no reason to stay at the country manor, which would increase his risk of being connected to the attack of the Ghast. He plans to run around to the front of the manor and leave in his carriage as soon as he is able. This is after he knows the Ghast successfully entered the upstairs window, possibly after fighting the guards.
Azlart does not care how many people the Ghast injures or kills. His goal is to stain the honor of Lord Insram (the Lord being unable to provide security for guests at a party). People being hurt or killed is in his mind merely a tangential detail.
If the PC needs more trouble, then one of the basement prison cells can hold a prisoner who is released by Azlart as part of the plan.
If the adventure is going too smoothly for the PC, the GM could have either Gark or Lisna (as appropriate to gender) develop a crush on the PC. It is Sweethearts' Day, after all...
After the PC and Mixy arrive, they will be welcomed and escorted to Viry's room. Soon afterwards Beebixriffi and Wuuw'rabba will go together to the drink fountain; this is largely an excuse to giggle together about the impropriety of hiring a Therion as the nanny for a member of the Bergtroll nobility, even temporarily. Viry will take advantage of her nanny's absence to tell Mixy and the PC of the urgent need to get Beebixriffi and Ewhril together tonight.
Azlart will arrive half an hour after the party begins, the last guest to arrive. A hush will fall over all the guests as whispered news of his rudeness (bringing the coffin) spreads.
Twenty minutes later the nanny and maid will take one more trip to the drink fountain, for the formal toast to Lord Insram and Lady Haah'xranna. Viry and Mixy will stay with the PC: they are too young to be allowed to drink anything alcoholic. Azlart will have emptied the Ghast saliva into the fountain shortly before the toast.
After another five minutes everyone in the building except for Azlart and the two girls (and hopefully the PC) will become paralyzed from drinking the tainted fountain drink during the toast. This effect happens very quickly for each person afflicted. But the overall effect spreads through the party during a span of a minute because different guests drank the tainted beverage at slightly different times. There will be screaming and running, alerting anyone who is upstairs.
Anyone paralyzed is both immobile and hallucinating. The person is not actually unconscious, but in a state of chemically induced sense deprivation that causes soothing yet strange visions.
Ewhril and Jikhir, unfortately, both drank during the toast. Ewhril, who has been keeping a close eye on Azlart, was falsely assured by his bracelet staying cool; he did not know that poison was not a direct enough threat to activate the bracelet's enchantment.
So the crisis probably begins with Azlart downstairs, running through the game room to the right-side patio, while the PC is upstairs with the two girls, nowhere near Azlart and thus unable to intercept him. In a moment the Ghast will enter the manor.
The sensible action for the PC is to get to a carriage as quickly as caution permits. A horse will need to be retrieved from the stables. Mixy is good with horses and can retrieve and harness her carriage's horse if guarded by the PC.
Viry, however, will not want to leave her family in danger. If firmly ordered she will flee with Mixy and the PC. But she will sob and shriek and do her best to get the PC to ignore Oo'Ahxrun's orders, and instead stay and save her family from whatever is happening.
Ghasts are notoriously cowardly. The ring's power will temporarily keep it from fleeing as it normally would if attacked with a weapon. But once it has lost half its FP it will flee. A building of paralyzed prey is too tempting for it to flee far, however.
If Azlart notices that the PC is the only adult not paralyzed, he will attack the PC rather than flee as planned. (Then he would attack the two girls, and thus have eliminated all potential witnesses of his crime.)
1. Entry Hall This two-story room is where the ball mostly happens. The middle is cleared of furniture to make space for dancing. At the east wall, a quartet plays dance music. At fancy Bergtroll parties a fizzy alcoholic drink is served from a tiered fountain, to keep the bubbles fresh; at this party the fountain is located in the entryway, near the right-side staircase.
2. Hall and Game Room Guests who want to talk wander here, where the music is not as loud.
3. Patios The doors are initially locked, but either guard will unlock them if asked.
4. Dining Room The large table is clear. The party's guests are allowed here, but there is nothing for them except a place to sit quietly while enjoying the fire in the fireplace.
5. Kitchen Lisna spends time here, putting away an emptied tray of food and fetching a fresh tray.
6. Library The door to this room is locked. Guests are not allowed in this room.
7. Guard Room Jikhir and Ewhril live here. During the party Jikhir will stay in the room, watching the Entry Hall through the window.
8. Dragonkin Mews The door is locked. Guests are not allowed in this room.
9. Storage The gold hairbrush and the ornate bronze dagger are both on the dressing table.
10. Servant's Quarters Gark lives here.
11. Carriage Loop The line of carriages can make an interesting location for a fight between Azlart and the PC.
12. To the Stables The stables are very near, at the west side of the carriage loop.
13. Balcony An ornate railing keeps guests safe while they look down into the Entry Hall Several small tables have been set by the railing, so guests will have a place to set their drinks.
14. Trophy Hall The trophies provide something to look at for a guest waiting for the restroom.
15. Theatre and Music Room The door is locked. Guests are not allowed in this room. However, the girls are allowed in this room so the PC might go inside.
16. Restroom A keen PC will notice that the door between the Trophy Hall and the western hallway is unusually thick. Lord Insram purposefully built that section of the building to be very defensible, so his daughter could not be kidnapped. The window in the restroom is barred and too small for an adult to fit through. (Note that these details will most likely not be important, for the PC has orders to flee, not to encamp while beseiged.
17. Maid's Room Wuuw'rabba lives in this plain but clean room.
18. Nanny's Room Beebixriffi's room is cluttered and messy.
19. Daughter's Room Viry's room is full of pink and frilliness, and has many stuffed animals and monsters.
20. Master Bedroom The door is locked. Guests are not allowed in this room.
21. Den The door is locked. Guests are not allowed in this room.
22. Guest Room The door is locked. Guests are not allowed in this room.
23. Storage These rooms are dominated by shelves on which all sorts of food, utensils, and tools are stored.
24. Furnace The golemn-pedaled machinery that provides heat and light to the manor hums softly.
25. Hot Room This room is heated by the back wall of the basement's fireplace. It is used by the Bergtroll family as a sauna, and to ripen fruit.
26. Laboratory Lord Insram keeps his most interesting secrets here.
27. Interrogation Occasionally the local Therion farmers will be troubled by a bandit, thug, or thief. As the local nobility, Lord Insram is responsible for dealing with such criminals. This room has equipment he uses when he needs to learn about accomplices, campsites, etc.
28. Cells Three of the four cells are currently used as extra storage for the laboratory equipment.