^

Tl;dr: A quick stable cleanse then a murder mystery on this episode of Sleeper Island.

Future Adventure Notes:
•More cultist problems.
•Amethyst dragons resist force and psychic forms of damage.
•When in doubt, try fire to stop pesky creatures regenerating.

Session Title: Solving Problems
Session DM: Calmseeker
Session Date: 6 Mar 2022 @ 01:00 UTC
Session Risk: 4

Characters:
•Aodh (Barbarian 6) (played by RCB)
•Barley (Druid 5) (played by Tootired78)
•Kirnis (Sorcerer 3/Warlock 4) (played by Genthrock)
•Nunde (Rogue 4/Cleric 1) (played by Trulhammaren)
•Sapphire (Monk 4) (played by Arden)

Enjoying a scrumptious breakfast early in the morning, we were approached by Boris, one of the stabletenders to help with an immediate infestation problem. He lead us from the Bitter Dwarf to the Stable Moon, both in Ruined Oak. Outside the stables the animals were fretting, upset. Nunde calmed them down, then we entered the stable itself.

Boris

Inside, swarms of rats and cockroaches were scurrying around. Additionally were two much larger creatures one a massive cockroach the other a slug. These were clearly monstrosities, though how or why they were here in this moment eluded us. The massive cockroach required fire to stop it from coming back to life. After the fight we tried to restore the stable to working conditions, then went about the rest of our day in town, going back to sleep at the Bitter Dwarf.

In the morning we were approached by a farmer, who had heard about our helping the stable. He was in urgent need of some help with he livestock, endangered by rising rivers from a flooding river. The farmer’s name was Joshu, and his farm was to the south.

We agreed to help, then followed him back to his farm. We helped rescue the animals, and then repaired fencing damaged by the flooding. Near the farmhouse was a glyphed magic well, radiating abjuration energy. Joshu mentioned it appeared a few days ago and he had drank from it with no harm. Outside we met Joshu’s older brother Jobin.

The brothers invited us to have dinner with the family, and we agreed. Inside the massive, rather luxurious farmhouse, we met the family and servants: Stevens, the father; Norana, the mother; Fredace, the butler and Henrietta, the maid. This was not your average farm, they mentioned owning and renting out large fields to other farmers.

During a rather delicious dinner, our hosts asked us about our adventurers. One of the brothers, possibly Joshu, the younger mentioned that the butler used to be an adventurer, but this comment caused the butler to gather empty plates and leave the room. The brothers then started an argument about staying at the farm or adventuring before their father rightly tells them it’s rude to argue in front of guests.

Since it was nearly night, the farmers invited us to stay at their guesthouse. While sleeping outdoors is nice, it was raining considerably, so we agreed. The guesthouse was almost as massive as the farmhouse, fairly well appointed, with four separate guest rooms as well as quarters for the butler and the maid. Being adventurers used to such, we slept in watches. Ordinarily I would not know such detail about the night, but in this case it mattered.

During the first watch, the rain intensified, also it began to hail. During the second watch, the rain let up, enough that visible from the guest house was the Jobin, the older leaving Joshu, the younger’s room. During the third watch, a bell rang from the house, a signal summoning the butler from the guesthouse, who went over to Joshu, the youngers room, returning before the watch ended. Late in the fourth watch the butler and maid returned to the farmhouse, to start their morning work.

Screams came from the farmhouse early in the morning. When we arrived the family was gathered, quite upset outside the room of Joshu the Younger, who was dead inside, a silver dagger in his stomach. The parents wanted to know who was responsible, and asked us to investigate.

The family recognized the dagger as having to belonged to the butler, who said it had been missing the last few days. Jobin, the older claimed to have visited his brother in the night, then having an argument. Fredace, the butler claimed to have been summoned by the victim, who felt ill. The parents each claimed to have been in their shared room the entire night.

We determined the body had died two hours before it was found, when only the farmhouse occupants where there. Magic discovered the presence of poison in the body, and in the remnants of a candle in the room.

The poison was from the Noxia Shrub, which emits a poisonous gas when burned, causing symptoms matching what Fredace, the butler described in the victim. The poison causes symptoms after four hours exposure and is lethal after eight. The butler was the one who changes the candles.

Traces of transmutation magic was found on the dagger, as well as enchantment coming from parents. Nunde thought it was a Modify Memory spell. In Joshu, the younger’s room on the was a barrel with a mirror nearby, with the numbers 13508 writ in blood.

Stevens, the father says Joshu, the younger had a fondness for codes and puzzles, mentions Fredace, the butler knows magic and that the if reversed in order and put in a cipher, the numbers “135″ would spell “ACE“, suggesting the butler’s name is what the numbers means.

After some prompting, Stevens, the father, also mentioned Joshu, the younger’s money problems from gambling, and that the family has been paying back his debts to the Torenz family, of Trader’s Bay, which was a surprise to Jobin, the older.

A search around the house using magic found that the candles that had touched the poisonous candle had trace amounts on them and in Jobin, the older‘s room was some grass blades stacked on a barrel, Serin grass, a mild antidote useful against poisonous gases.

I spoke with some of the farm animals who said that during the night someone, they thought male by size, was digging around in the ground outside the back of the house. They also referred to a scary masked man who had visited the farm some time ago. There was a disturbed area of soil by a bush, covering a box, and with footprints that led back to what we later discover to be a secret exit of Jobin, the older’s room.

Inside the box were a pair of gloves and a paper talisman covered with glyphs. Radiating magic, this talisman it was determined was capable of animating objects when attached. A closer examination of Jobin, the older’s room found behind a barrel was a hidden alcove, inside of which was a noxia shrub, some cultist robes and a tunnel that went outside.

Searching the room of Joshu, the younger after the family had left, some books on the desk, a bottle of lemon water, in the ceiling was a loose tile. and a hidden compartment within the desk were discovered. Some of the books were about adventuring but one was about codes and ciphers, a page about codes in reflections a bit worn. In the compartment was a crpytex. Behind the loose tile was a ventilation shaft that led to Jobin, the older’s room.

Using the code word BOSEL, which was the numbers reflected in a mirror and used as letters, we opened the cryptex. Inside was a blank piece of paper, which we quickly heated to scorch the lemon water on it, revealing a message to the parents written by Joshu, the younger.

This message was a confession about how both brothers had been approached by the masked man who wanted to take control of the farm, then threatened the father. How this masked man was responsible for some of his gambling debts and was trying to use more debts to get him and his brother to help with a plan, which he refused, but forgot everything until he drank from the well a few days ago. He declared he did not deserve his split of the inheritance and hoped the note would make amends should the worst come to pass.

We encouraged the family to drink from the well, which did indeed restore memories to them of a masked man who came to the farm and threatened them to give it to him, which the refused. Presented with an enormity of evidence indicating his guilt and the method of how it was actually done Jobin, the older tried to deny it, but eventually capitulated. He tried to attack Aodh but was quickly subdued.

(Method of murder was to use the paper talisman on the gloves to open the way through the ventilation shaft, and then use the talisman on the dagger to have it hover over him until the magic wore off, falling into the body. He used the grass to protect himself from the effects of the poison and most likely switched the candles during dinner, after their argument.)

Jobin, the older confessed to the murder, the timing of which was because the masked man was coming in two days and expecting the body. He said he would have got away with it if not for us darned adventurers. His brother had noticed his nervous behavior, and he saw Joshu, the younger place something into his desk. He willingly worked with the cultists for weeks because he was tired of always being the steadfast reliable one while his brother was bleeding the family’s finances dry with his reckless behavior, yet their inheritance would be split between them.

Eventually as time passed, the masked man approached the family with an ultimatum, give up their farm and their money and their lives would be spared. The refused his offer, but Jobin, the older had already agreed. The masked man used magic to remove their memory of this.

We left custody of Jobin, the older to Fredace, the butler and go try to scout out the meeting location for following day. While there we met Voromis, a druid from Port Mirandia, who mentions seeing a masked man with skeletons. Told of the dead brother, he offers his assistance in reincarnating him back to life, so we led him back to the farm. We watched Voromis reincarnate Joshu, the younger into a sea elf.

His parents were happy he was living again, but expected he would eventually leave on a life of adventure. Voromis offered to escort Jobin, the older back to Ruined Oak for us while we went to the meeting with masked man.

We slept at the guesthouse again, and then went west to set up our ambush. Approached by a servant, who summoned his masked master, riding a young amethyst dragon. We quickly attacked and killed them and a bearded demon, which was good as this masked man knew powerful magic. After we returned to Ruined Oak safely.