Session 49: Back to the Manor

The party kills the last mummy and returns to Tegel Manor, filling in their map along the south wall.

This write up is based on our Sunday, January 5, 2025 session and was written by our scribe Carl with a few additions from myself. Thanks to our mapper Jimmy for the screen shots.  Since we are scattered around the country, we use Discord for voice communications and the Roll20 online tabletop to connect with each other.

Continued from: The Mummies Tomb

Location: Inside the Old Temple Crypts

Noon:
We had just killed a waterlogged mummy, and there was a bronze shortsword on the slab in the room. There were rubies in the hilt, and the handle was wrapped with a woven lock of golden hair.

Steadfast wrapped it up and put it in his pack.

We spent some time searching the rest of the room, with Steadfast doing an Augur ritual. He wanted to learn if the young man's parents were still alive, but found out the sad news that they are both dead.

Back at the zombie room, Reebo had succeeded in getting the drain started. A very slow drain, but the water had dropped at least a little and was (hopefully) continuing to do so. He waded south and had caught up with us by the time we had finished our search.

Westward, scrambling over rocks, we found yet another room with a mummy, this time a BIG one. It slowly moved toward us.

Shadow's crossbow malfunctioned, likely due to all the water and humidity we have been dealing with, but as combat went on we gained the upper hand and dispatched what we hoped would be the last mummy we had to deal with, at least for this trip into the old crypt.

This mummy was like the ones before - fire damage did not seem to affect it. The mummy stare was also like the previous mummy stares we had faced. Steadfast got the first glare, but was not scared one little bit, Aefir being proximate helped him cope with the horrid visage.

 
As Steadfast backed out of danger range, he looked down and noticed several chests under the water.

We leared soon that magic could hurt it, but not fire based magic. It might have been resistant to arrows and swords, was definitely not immune.

We tried to get the chests out of the water, but they were rotten, spilling their contents across the floor. We searched the room as best we could and found 30 PP, 20 GP, 30 SP, and 20 CP.  Not a big haul, but every little bit helps.

That seemed to be the entirety of the underground area, so we headed back to Lenral and the very welcome surface. Ah, the light of day, so welcome.

It was time to make good on our promise to help the young man, a chunk of money from the last room we visited. This led to a serious discussion of money, safety, stuff and things. We decided to go en masse back to our cottage and discuss it further, with some food and suitable beverages.

We settled on silver and copper, with the consideration of perhaps buying him an apprenticeship (Natalie thinking this) in town.  Maybe even offer him a pilgrimage to the City of the Overlord next time we go.

Arkelm cast detect magic and identify spells on the stuff, especially the sword.

The sword was magic, with the hilt a separate magic. Actually two items. 

There was a magic sickle and some scrolls.

The sickle is a charismatic sickle, +2 attack/damage and for cleric or druid you get a +1 charisma if you bind it.

The golden dagger was just a golden dagger, like a cigar being just a cigar.

Shortsword was a flametongue - a light weapon, +2D6 flame damage, which is actuated with a bonus action and does extra damage --  this went to Steadfast.

The handle of the flametonge sword  had a wrapping of hair - actually an endless rope. This lock of golden hair is, in its default state, a 3-inch strand of woven hair. You can use an action to extend the rope up to 500 feet long. The endless rope has 30 hit points, AC 18, and can be burst with a successful DC 23 Strength check.  --  Shadow took this.

We headed to the Village for the evening. On the way, we noticed a group of people near an animal pen. They had the look of clerics, and did not seem to be paying us any attention. They looked as if they were searching for something.

We headed toward them to say hi and see if we could help with anything.

The young men said they were from the Temple of Frigga. Steadfast asked Lenral if they were the men who attacked his family and he said they weren't.  

They were happy to talk to us, and were really happy to hear that we took out some mummies. They asked about artifacts or treasure we found, and wanted to know what.  Disappointed to hear that we found no books that were worth bringing out. The water had done a job on any books present.

Asking them what they were doing, they gave us a non-answer answer. We wished them well and headed on into town.

We sold off things that needed to be sold, and had a good evening. Steadfast got some protective leather (to help get his item out of the manor) and we got the young lad some decent but not fancy or attention-getting clothes and a pair of shoes.

Shadow gave an update to Runic the Rump, including the underground places.

Steadfast did an augury to see where the kid's parents died. It pointed back towards the ruins we just cleared out. He, like Natalie, was wondering where the many people who disappeared from the town had gone and what happened to them.

May 13th
We went back to Tegel Manor with the kid staying in town with instructions to stay in touch.

Steadfast did another augury for Lenral's parents' dying spot, hoping to triangulate, or perhaps rhomboidate, the location. Realizing that it is mostly general information, this time the vector was toward the swamp and on toward the village, eliminating the pirates' base.

We went back into the manor, through the south side hidden door where we met the doppleganger elves a few days ago.

Past a few rooms, we came to a door with some creaking sounds behind it. Reebo heard a woman's voice that said, "I think someone is coming." Opening the door, we saw six women hanging by their ankles from chains. As soon as Aefir stepped into the room, he was attacked by the carpet - it began to wrap around his legs. Battle ensued.

It looked like the women were bait for the rug trap. Between Aefir, Steadfast and Reebo the rug was unrolled and flattened.  The women were really happy, and say it had crawled up out of the rat hole in the floor.

Aeefir checked them out with his Divine Sense, and they were pure evil and radiated hunger. They said that the lady of the house bound them out of spite, but the smallish holes in the necks indicated vampiric contact and possible conversion.

Aefir did the coup de grace on them, and Arkhelm put down a bonfire... all gone, but a small prayer for each one as they went.

Steadfast looked down the rat hole - it went easterly.

Searching was unproductive, and the smoke finally dissipated out the window.

Something odd - Aefir had been mapping thoroughly and thought there should be another door, but in spite of LOTS of searching we came up empty.

We went back outside - go in through a window if you cannot find a door inside. Maybe we will find a way out where we could not find a way in.

The window was closed, and as Shadow called for Reebo to open it Steadfast siezed the moment to shatter the glass. It was about 2 feet down to a desk and onto the floor from there. There was a woman in the room, and she took offense at the entry.

It was Lady Rubienna Rumpula and first thing she did was turn into a bat... it kinda gives away any secret vampire status. She went down a rat hole in the floor. Aefir climbed up as Shadow drew the curtain open

The rest of us climbed into a really really clean room... with a rat hole. 

"Do we really want to follow a vampire down a rat hole?"

Searching the room turned up 12 Potions. A table near her bed has several golden goblets, a pitcher,
and three crystal containers of a rare red wine.

Her dresser and wardrobe contain only the finest gowns and courtesan clothes, Rubienna’s favorite gems. An ivory and platinum hairbrush and comb sat upon her night table.

We took the curtains completely down in case she wanted some sun.

The room to the west had a large chest. Aefir opened it and a golden centipede came out... and went down quickly. It turned to solid gold upon death.

Reebo said this would go for about 1,500 gp in the City State, and put it in his pack.

While Reebo opened a difficult lock, Steadfast said he could hear steam hissing behind a door to the north.

Inside was a painting of three old men gazing southwest, and one empty chair. The room was really warm and steamy from a broken pipe sticking out of a wall.

In the southwest corner was a door, and Steadfast went through, anchored by a rope held by Shadow. Steadfast found a skeleton in the corner room, and as he did a fourth man came into the painting and sat down. All the men were smiling at that point.

Thorough search of the room revealed nothing of note, just the changing picture. 

 

Continued in Session 50: A Cry in the Manor