(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown

Grugga looks unsure, but follows his companions nonetheless.  He keeps his eyes peeled for any hags or ghosts. "Maybe we should take some flour with us, just in case..." 

Guilim dusts himself off and moves to the other, to see how they are doing. He will offer healing if anyone is in true need of it.

You move cautiously up to the second floor.  Both staircases meet at a common landing near the middle of the manor.  In addition to the master bedroom, there is an adjacent guest bedroom and four smaller bedrooms for children or servants.  There is also a central upstairs living room with empty bookshelves that opens up to a balcony that sits overtop of the rear deck space.

Your experiences below leave you anxious and you feel a sense of dread as you creep about the upstairs.  Despite your anxiety, you do not encounter any immediate threats.  Most of the bedroom doors are open and there are no figures or hostile spirits to molest you.  The rooms are all furnished, but not yet decorated.  The master bedroom door is open revealing another very large fireplace.  

Aubrey receives direction to lead the group to the guest bedroom.   It is empty... but once you have all entered the room, a woman appears as if from nowhere, seated on the bed.  She looks physical... real... like you could reach out and touch her.  She looks perhaps 20, plain of features but wearing an elegant silk nightgown.  She is pale, and despite her youthful face, her eyes look old... old and very much aware.

"Welcome to my home.  Please... do not be afraid.  I am not like the spirits you ecountered below," she says.  "I met the... little familiar... Furvus... that you sent upstairs.  I asked it to bring you to meet me."

"I was once a daughter of this house.  The Umn's were a proud and ancient family, among the first to settle this land once it was taken from the hateful dwarves thousands of years ago.  We ruled the town of Umbridge... but we came to hide a dark secret."

"My kin worshiped a dark and forbidden god of fear.  In secret, under certain stars and astrological events, they would hold gatherings of other like-minded cultists.  There they would don masks, and torment unfortunate prisoners.  They used drugs, torture, and other methods to terrorize their victims, before offering them up as sacrifices.  In return, they received wealth, prestige and power from the nightlord."

"I could not abide such horror, and for my rejection of the family faith I was poisoned.  Yet I linger here... and I am not alone.  Many of the spirits of my family's victims haunt this place.  They are near mindless, lost in the fear and pain of their deaths... trapped forever in their final moments of torment, unable to pass on."

"They will not let anyone settle here... chasing away new owners of the manor.  I... I would like to put a stop to their torment.  But I am too weak to dispose of them directly.  If you could destroy or drive out the last of the wrathful spirits from the master bedroom, this home will be quiet once again.  Can you help me?"

Grugga listens to the sad tale of the young-looking woman and seems at first inclined to believe her, but a sudden furrowing of his brow  indicates that he's become wary of her proposition. He shakes his head and his face becomes soft again. "What can we do to help?" he asks gently. "We have silver and magic to tear beyond the veil, but if we can resolve this more safely, you have my ears."

He also shifts uncomfortably, like he's embarrassed to ask, but he presses on. "On an unrelated note, could you tell us more about the 'god' your family worshipped? One of the ghosts downstairs... I saw a sea hag..." he mulls over how to ask the question for a moment, before deciding on: "We have had run ins with creatures posing as an ancient god of fear and destruction from these parts, and if they are the same, then any knowledge might help us... if you'd be willing to help us, as well."

Aubrey stays back and listens as Grugga starts to interview the apparition and tries to deremine how truthful she is, also curious over this dark and forbidden god she mentioned.
Insight: 8

The ghost turns to Grugga, smiling softly.  "Do not worry.  There are no hags here."  She rises from the bed and moves toward an open window, looking outside.  "You may have experienced a bit of the terror that those poor spirits are mired in.  It likely seized upon some deep rooted fear within your own mind and manifested in a way that felt real to you."  She shakes her head, looking out the window.  "The horrors that took place here were... legendary."

"The Umn's worshipped a demon that has held many names.  When the human's came here from across the sea, they called it 'Phobos' and built dark temples in its honor.  The religion was outlawed eventually, but disciples like the Umn's kept the faith alive... continuing to offer terrified souls to the prince of nightmares."

"Unfortunately, there is no peaceful way to resolve this.  These souls are too far gone... nothing left of them but anguish and terror.  By destroying them, you can end their suffering, and allow this house to be restored and transformed.  I will linger and watch over this place.  I will see to it that the house never again falls into evil, and indeed perhaps I can redeem the name of the Umn's and help keep the new owners on the path of righteousness."

Aubrey:

"Wouldn't you rather that we helped you find your well-deserved peace?" Aubrey asks in a polite tone.

Leelan observes the exchange. Though he’s no expert of the divine, he tries to remember if he’s heard or read anything about this "prince of nightmares", and his worship inside the Empire.

Religion: 21

Leelan:

 The ghost looks at Aubrey thoughtfully.  "You are most kind to offer... but I know my purpose and my peace is well in hand."

"How do you mean your peace is well in hand?" Aubrey continues politely but curiously.

"I will remain here and watch over this house and its residents - now and for ages to come.  I will see that the mistakes made here in the past are not repeated again.  The thought of this task brings me great peace of mind."

Aubrey:

Grugga massages his neck where he landed when the poltergeist pushed him across the dining room table. "Any idea what we can expect from the spirit in the master bedroom? Is that the last one in the house? ... ... besides you, I mean?"

He also turns to Leelan, "Do you have enough of those filings for another spell, my friend? I'll go downstairs and fetch another bag of flour... the owners will have quite a job cleaning this place up, but at least it'll be safe..."

"But surely there would be some way for you to find peace in the afterlife?" Aubrey continues, not minding to entertain the talkative apparition.

(Tell me when you want another insight roll:-)

Quote from Oberon99 >>

"But surely there would be some way for you to find peace in the afterlife?" Ludolf continues, not minding to entertain the talkative apparition.

"... Perhaps."  The ghost looks long and hard at all five of you, its eyes lingering longest of all on Grugga and Guilim.  "But I don't believe my work in this world is finished.  I could not rest knowing there was even a chance this home could once again fall into darkness.  I will stay behind and keep an eye on its future caretakers, and influence them where I can."

Quote from Rockchewer>>

Grugga massages his neck where he landed when the poltergeist pushed him across the dining room table. "Any idea what we can expect from the spirit in the master bedroom? Is that the last one in the house? ... ... besides you, I mean?"

"There is only one more poltergeist remaining in the master bedroom.  It should be no match for you heroes.  Complete this final task and cleanse this house of its painful past.  You can then report back to your employers.  There is no need for them to know about me... indeed, I will remain unseen as I watch over my home."

"So you would be guiding caretakers then, how benevolent of you to stay on here to do that. Why do you think they would need any guidance though?" Aubrey continues, enjoying the conversation himself.

The ghosts downstairs were invisible. Rohuzar would like to try to hold the ghost's hand.

The ghost betrays a moment of exasperation at Aubrey's continued line of questioning before she replies, "I lived here in the House of Umn.  I saw what they did.  I could not live with myself if the sins of this house led another family down that same path.  There are secrets buried here, that I will keep hidden.  And if the new family should start down a dark path...".

She is cut short as Rohuzar reaches out to take her hand.  Distracted as she was by Aubrey's questions, she did not notice his approach.  She quickly pulls away and steps back toward the window.

Rohuzar:

 "What have you come here for?"  Her demeanor is much more direct, less friendly.  "Are you going to set this house to quiet?  Or harass me further?"

Guilim stays quiet as they question the spirit, watching closely as he feels its gaze linger on him. He will begin to draw upon the divine energy of the spirits, his eyes flashing for a second as he uses Divine Sense to see if he detects more spirits in their vicinity.

Rohuzar's eyes narrow and feet plant. "Not sure vhat you're selling, but you are no ghost." 

Rohuzar draws his sword and moves in to drop this... Creature. 

• Aubrey:  16
• Rohuzar:  13
• Grugga:  12
• Leelan:  18
• Guilim:  18
• Ms. Umn:  22