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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 8819834" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 10: A FAMILY AFFAIR</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Ageratum Purslane, halfling rogue 4</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Alistair Mandelberen Pastlethwaite, human sorcerer 4</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Chaevaris Noarunal, elf archer 4</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Harlan Starblade, half-elf paladin 4</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 2 November 2022</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>"Me?" Alistair asked, a confused look crossing his features. "There's someone here to see <em>me?</em>" His brow furrowed as he struggled to come up with who would be here at the Stouts' farmhouse, specifically looking for him - nobody from his old life knew he was here, and those who knew him in Ghourmand Vale would likely be looking for the group of adventurers as a whole, not just the young sorcerer. Unless...could it be the bard Holyrood Carp, come to take him up on his offer to write songs for him to sing in the taverns? Excitedly, Alistair rose from the breakfast table while Mr. Stout, returning from the front door, replied with what he knew.</p><p></p><p>"An older gentleman, an older lady, and a young woman, all arriving in a carriage," he said. "And the young lady seems to be rather far along in the family way."</p><p></p><p>"And she's looking for you?" demanded Ageratum, her eyes goggling in disbelief and her mouth hanging open. "Alistair - did you get some young lady pregnant?"</p><p></p><p>"What? No, no I never - that is, I wouldn't - I, ah," stumbled the nobleman, now very much concerned about just who these visitors might be. His face reddened at Ageratum's suggestion, as he vacillated between the conflicting desires of explaining how that was simply impossible and not wanting to have to admit to having had absolutely no experience in such carnal matters. He finally decided to stop talking altogether, lest his puzzled tongue betray him.</p><p></p><p>Stumbling to the door, he saw several familiar faces. Standing at the side of the carriage was none other than Brother Scrimshaw, the Cuthbertian cleric the group had traveled with on the 19-day journey from Greyhawk City to Ghourmand Vale those many months ago. His back was turned as he helped down the two ladies from the carriage. The first was a girl about Alistair's own age, her belly quite visibly swollen with the life she carried within - and had been doing so for at least seven, if not eight months already, by the look of things. Alistair was quite certain he'd never seen her before in her life and was somewhat concerned this was some sort of money-making scam, for he'd heard it somewhat common for an unwed mother of the lower classes to try to blame her pregnancy on a nobleman, in the hopes of marrying into a rich family or at the very least being paid off to go far, far away. But then Brother Scrimshaw helped her traveling companion down from the carriage, and it was Alistair's turn to stand slack-jawed, for there before him stood Nanny Rogers, the woman who had raised him since birth.</p><p></p><p>"Nanny?" Alistair croaked, puzzled at her abrupt appearance all the way out here, 19 days distant from Greyhawk City. But then suddenly everything snapped into place. "Father's forgiven me!" he exclaimed, unable to keep the glee from his voice. "You've come to bring me back home, to the family!"</p><p></p><p>"No, dear," replied Nanny Rogers sadly. "I'm afraid you know your father - once his mind has been made up, there's very little chance of him ever changing it." Alistair frowned dejectedly, disappointed that he was still an outcast from his own family, and then angry at himself for having gotten his hopes up in the first place.</p><p></p><p>He quickly recovered; he didn't need his family and had proven quite well he could survive without their money. "Then what brings you here?" he asked. "And who, may I ask, is this?" he continued, approaching the pregnant young lady. His suspicions about a scam had subsided; surely Nanny Rogers would have no part in such a foul deed! "Alistair," he said by way of introduction, taking the young lady's hand.</p><p></p><p>"This is <strong>Julianna Montjoie</strong>," Nanny Rogers replied on the young lady's behalf. "Your brother's wife." That brought Alistair's face back to a slack-jawed configuration, if only for a moment before he comported himself in a way more better fitting a young aristocrat. "Then you're my sister-in-law," he reasoned aloud. Glancing down at her extended belly, he added, "And I'm going to be an uncle!" This was all happening too quickly for the young man, but he belatedly remembered his obligations. "Please, come inside, you must both be tired from your journey."</p><p></p><p>Mrs. Stout offered up some breakfast refreshments to the two visitors; Brother Scrimshaw thanked the farmer's wife but declined her offerings. He sat in the corner while Nanny Rogers explained why the two of them were here. "Things have changed since you left Greyhawk City," she began. "Your father has started winding down from his business engagements, allowing your brother Atherton to step into the leadership role. And there has been a new rival rising up, attempting to take over some of the family's business dealings. So far, Atherton has managed to fend them off, but they're a bit on the cutthroat side of things, and he decided it would be best if Julianna were far from harm's way."</p><p></p><p>"But all the way here at Ghourmand Vale?" asked Alistair. "How did you - or Atherton - know I was even here?"</p><p></p><p>"We didn't, dear," Nanny Rogers explained patiently. "Atherton has some money put into a finishing school out this way: <em>The Home for Castaway Girls</em>, on the outskirts of your Ghourmand Vale. He felt that would be a good place for Julianna to remain safe, while all of these business rivalries ran their course. We stopped at a stone keep for directions, ran into this helpful young cleric here" - Brother Scrimshaw nodded his head in acknowledgement - "and when we mentioned the Pastlethwaite name, he offered up he knew where you were staying. We therefore thought it best to seek you out, not only to see how you were faring but also to ask you to escort us to the finishing school."</p><p></p><p>"By all means," Alistair agreed. "We'd be more than happy to accompany you on the remainder of your journey. Here, allow me to make the introductions of my fellow adventurers - I'm an adventurer now, you know! This is Chaevaris, an elven archer - <em>just like Elfy Danger Silverleaf!</em>" Chaeveris's eyes rolled in exasperation as Alistair continued on with the introductions. "This is Harlan, a paladin of Pelor - I'm sure even father would approve of me spending time with a paladin. And this is Ageratum: she's a halfling <em>from the Fairylands!</em>" The young nobleman couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice. "We're all Trained, Professional Adventurers," he boasted.</p><p></p><p>"That's very nice, dear," Nanny Rogers assured him, finishing up the cup of honey-sweetened tea Mrs. Stout had provided her. "But, if you feel ready to continue our journey, Juli? We've apparently only a few more hours to go."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, all right," Julianna agreed, heaving herself up from the chair in which she was sitting comfortably.</p><p></p><p>"I'll ride with you in the carriage!" Alistair declared as the adventurers gathered up their gear. Brother Scrimshaw agreed to ride Alistair's horse Zephyr; they'd be dropping him back off at the Stone Keep on the way to <em>The Home for Castaway Girls</em>, after which time Harlan had agreed Zephyr's reins could be tied to the back of the saddle of his own mount, Law. Alistair chattered almost non-stop during the trip, asking Nanny Rogers about things that had transpired back home since his abrupt removal from the family. He also learned more about his sister-in-law; she'd married Atherton shortly after Alistair had left, and at her husband's suggestion was traveling under her maiden name so as not to draw attention to her status as a member of the Pastlethwaite family. And no, Nanny Rogers hadn't brought any of the "Elfy" books with her; she patiently explained to her former charge that she had not expected to have run into him during their travels.</p><p></p><p>"Oh well, more's the pity," sighed Alistair. "I'm sure Chaevaris would enjoy reading them."</p><p></p><p>When they arrived at <em>The Home for Castaway Girls</em> (after saying their farewells to Brother Scrimshaw at the Stone Keep), Alistair was amazed at its elaborate construction. This wasn't some hastily-slapped-together building like so much of Ghourmand Vale's architecture; the building had quite evidently been in place for a century or more, and built with an eye for detail. The structure rose up two full stories with what was likely an attic section at the very top. After helping Nanny Rogers and Julianna from the carriage (and what a treat riding in luxury in a carriage again had been, after all of his experiences as a "wagon lackey!") and tying the horses' reins to the tethering post out front, Alistair stepped up to the double doors and knocked loudly. "Just walk right in, dear," suggested Nanny Rogers, opening the door and doing just that. There was a reception hall at the front of the building, with another set of double doors straight ahead and larger rooms at either end: a classroom to the west and a lunchroom to the east, both rooms filled with teen girls attending the finishing school.</p><p></p><p>Nanny Rogers took the lead as if she'd been here before. Opening the doors, she stepped into the office just beyond, where a pair of school workers - a human administrator named <strong>Kay Murphey</strong> and a young halfling named <strong>Constanza Taterbloom</strong> - sat at desks appropriate to their size. "May I help you?" asked Miss Murphey, an elderly matron with a no-nonsense air about her.</p><p></p><p>Reaching into her sleeve, Nanny Rogers extracted a sealed piece of parchment and handed it over. "Our letters of introduction," she announced as Kay opened the letter and read it over for herself. Another woman entered the room from a door on the north wall, this was <strong>Lolene Goldthame</strong>, the woman in charge of the finishing school. "Julianna here is to be enrolled in your school and I am to remain on as her attendant," Nanny Rogers continued. "You will see the letter is signed by Atherton Pastlethwaite, one of your benefactors." She said this as if expecting no resistance, and indeed there was none. "Very well," Miss Murphey agreed, passing the letter to Housematron Goldthame. "I'll have Constanza here show Miss Montjoie around while we sign the official documents."</p><p></p><p>"Certainly," agreed the halfling, jumping down from her seat. But before she could show Julianna around, a second pair of ladies burst into the office, pushing past the heroes standing at the back of the room. "<strong>Mistress Claudine</strong> and <strong>Miss Cora Blaum</strong>," the older of the two announced, producing a letter of introduction of their own and practically shoving it into Lolene Goldthame's hands, as if instantly intuiting she was the highest-ranking of the school staff in the room.</p><p></p><p>"I say," began Alistair, disturbed at the rudeness of these newcomers. One would think one would wait one's turn until the previous business at hand had been completed, surely! But then Housematron Goldthame began reading aloud from the letter and suddenly rudeness was the least of Alistair's concerns. The woman's voice took on a ragged aspect, and cracked as she intoned, "Let there be ghosties and ghoulies, and long-legged beasties!" Her voice suddenly broke into an unholy cackle of wicked delight, and she raised her head in glee. But the heroes could see an abrupt change had overcome the Headmistress: where before she stood straight and tall, now her body hunched forward, her curved spine leaning her closer to her visitors. Her skin was a sallow, greenish color, somewhere between old moss and the bile of sickness; her hair, moments before a dark, lustrous brown, now hung limp and pale in mottled strands the color of moonlight.</p><p></p><p>And she hadn't even gotten the worst of it. Before her, Kay Murphey and Constanza Taterbloom lurched forward, dropping to the floor as their bodies writhed and reconfigured themselves, morphing completely into canine forms, black, with a reddish made reminiscent of fire trailing down their spines. With sulfurous breath leaking from their muzzles, the two hell hounds snarled and dashed forward, leaping to attack the greenhag now standing before them.</p><p></p><p>"What the Hell is going on?" demanded Ageratum, unsheathing her short sword and ready to defend herself if any of these monsters got the idea to turn her way. Alistair was equally perplexed about the situation but had the presence of mind to grab his nanny and his sister-in-law and try to drag them back, out of harm's way. He spun and tried to open the double doors behind him, but somehow they had become locked and he couldn't get the door to budge. This was like a bad dream, but even worse because it was really happening! The sorcerer cast a <em>detect magic</em> spell and discovered there was a magic effect on the door keeping it from opening. Bother! Ageratum stepped to their side, keeping her blade between the two ladies and the monsters going after each other in the back of the room.</p><p></p><p>Harlan cast forth his paladin's vision and detected evil emanating from the greenhag and the two hell hounds, which didn't surprise him in the least. There was a door to his left, on the west wall of the office area, and he gave it a try but it too had been <em>arcane locked</em>. Chaevaris grabbed up the letters of introduction, intending to give them a good read later - maybe they gave some clue about what was going on. Then, pulling a <em>sleep arrow</em> from the quiver and setting it in place at the bow, the archer shot the nearest hell hound (the one who moments before had been Kay Murphey), catching the fiendish dog in the flank. However, the beast shook off the attempts at inducing magical slumber, focusing its attention - and its fangs - on the greenhag.</p><p></p><p>The hag, for her part, was likewise focusing her own attention on the two devil dogs attacking her. A set of jagged claws went ripping across the fur of the one with the arrow sticking out of its flank, and this was enough for the hell hound to crash to the floor, reverting as she fell back into her human form. Kay lay there unmoving, well into unconsciousness and bleeding from her wounds, but as Chaevaris watched, the wounds sealed up seemingly of their own accord; the wood elf archer knew full well, however, this was the result of the <em>Blood Mirror</em> Harlan carried with him at all times.</p><p></p><p>Alistair once again found himself being pushed aside by the two late-coming women. They kicked at the stuck doors, the younger one crying out in pain as she did nothing more than injure her foot, but the older one managed to kick her way through the western door. She grabbed up her younger charge and they stepped through, back into the entry hall from which they had come.</p><p></p><p>A door in the back of the office suddenly opened, and there in the doorway stepped an elven woman waving a wand in the direction of Nanny Rogers and Julianna. "Get out, evil ones!" the elf screeched. Alistair, in the process of sending a <em>scorching ray</em> spell at the hag - the first time he'd tried casting the spell in combat - was flustered at the elf threatening his nanny and the ray went wide, flying past the hag's shoulder to blast the back wall. Ageratum, in the meantime, had stepped forward and swung her blade at the other hell hound, the one who had been a halfling before the sudden transformation. She missed, but it was a worthwhile effort. Harlan, likewise, charged into battle against the greenhag, swinging his <em>flaming burst longsword</em> at her, but the hag's attention seemed solely focused on the remaining hell hound. Chaevaris, looking at the scene and deciding it was well in hand, opened the folded parchments and gave them a quick scan. The first one had been the one Housematron Goldthame had been reading when everything erupted into chaos. It read:</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Kindly accept our gift.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">It is given in hopes</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">it will <em>Destroy</em> any enmity.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">We seek peace.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Through profound respect</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">between us and <em>Yourselves</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">The healing of old wounds</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">and grievances between us</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">should begin <em>Tonight</em>.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Roy Moudo</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">P.S. Your acceptance means things can be as they were when the new Dawn breaks.</p><p></p><p>Chaevaris was no spellcaster, but the elf instantly saw the three words italicized spelled out the short sentence, "<em>Destroy yourselves tonight</em>." No doubt this was the trigger of whatever spell or ritual had been set in place to cause the school workers to transform into monsters and try to kill each other. Glancing at the other sheet of parchment, the archer saw:</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Lolene,</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">The enemy is stepping up attacks on our enterprises and becoming more bold. They are including family members in the scope of their attacks. That's why I send you my wife and child. Keep them safe.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I do not believe they understand the role your home plays in our enterprises or where our agents are.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">We still have allies reliant on our services, but meeting the needs may become more difficult. We are almost at the point of direct and open action. I hope it doesn't come to that.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I've secured funding for your home for the next two years, it's with the gnomes. They'll see you properly provisioned.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I'll send word as I can.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Atherton</p><p></p><p>Fortunately, the elf was a quick reader and a glance was all it took to make sense of the letters. It sounded like this "girls' finishing school" was much more than it looked on the surface, but just what all else it was involved in was beyond Chaevaris's current understanding. Looking back up at the combatants in the room, Chaevaris noted the hag had taken down the remaining hell hound, who had shifted back into halfling form upon being rendered unconscious, her wounds likewise stabilizing under the effects of the presence of the <em>Blood Mirror</em>.</p><p></p><p>Alistair interposed himself in front of the two women with which he had arrived at the school, raising his hands in a gesture of noncombativeness. "Don't attack!" he called out to the wand-wielding elf. "We're not the ones who transformed the others!"</p><p></p><p>"Who are you?" demanded the elven schoolmatron.</p><p></p><p>"Merely a new admission to your school," the sorcerer began, indicating Julianna, "and my nanny. I'm Alistair--oh! Atherton Pastlethwaite's brother!" This last bit he added as he recalled Atherton was one of the benefactors of the school, and the name-dropping worked as he'd hoped, for <strong>Calandra Valadane</strong> dropped her wand, looked around, and said, "Bring them here with me, where we'll be safe!"</p><p></p><p>Looking through the open door to the south, Chaevaris noted the two women who had brought the curse-triggering letter were kicking open the front door to the building. "Don't let them get away!" the archer called. "Those two are the ones behind all of this!" Pulling out his newly-purchased <em>wand of magic missile</em> - which had cost nearly all of the money Alistair had earned lately in his adventuring career, for it was as powerful as such wands came - the young sorcerer shot off the first charge, sending three missiles darting into the back of the older woman and two more striking the younger one, still favoring her sore foot. "Got 'em, Elfy!" Alistair called, although now that he looked, neither had fallen from his blast of <em>magic missiles</em>. That was disappointing! He hoped he hadn't been swindled by the man at the magic shop where he'd made his purchase; Alistair had learned over the course of his short adventuring career that there were many folks about with less than scrupulous morals.</p><p></p><p>Ageratum followed the two fleeing women and threw one of her kobold spears at the younger one, hitting her higher up than she would have preferred; instead of skewering her through the back, the halfling had merely managed to lodge the spearhead up by the shoulder. The woman merely reached back and brushed it off as if it were no more than a mere dart. Chaevaris shot an arrow at the older woman, hitting her squarely in the back - but then, as the woman turned to try to grab the arrow out, the archer could swear the woman had an elven face. And, come to think of it, the woman's dress was now green, where before it had been a dark yellow. What was going on here? The answer was given when Alistair released another blast from his wand, this time sending all five missiles streaking into the younger of the two women. She jolted when struck, toppled forward, and collapsed unmoving onto the school's front lawn - and, in the process, all aspects of her appearance melted away, leaving a bald, gray-skinned creature with a bulbous head lying, unconscious but stable, on the ground.</p><p></p><p>"A doppelganger!" swore Chaevaris aloud. Ageratum raced after the other one, who had stopped momentarily to see to her companion. The halfling caught up with the older woman, now having completely changed shape into an elven woman (likely in an attempt to disassociate herself as anyone having been to the school), but the halfling wasn't fooled; she threw another spear at the "elf," catching her right through the kidney - or at least where a kidney would be in an elf; there was no telling what all strange internal organs lay inside the malleable form of a doppelganger.</p><p></p><p>Harlan channeled holy energy into his sword and made a smiting attack against the hag, but the gnarled creature was nimble for all her apparent deformity and was able to avoid the blow. And then, just that quickly, she sprang to the attack, lashing out with her wicked claws. Harlan deflected one set with his flaming blade, but the ragged nails of her other hand scored lines down the side of the half-elf's face. Angered at the assault, the paladin swung hard at the hag with his flaming blade, this time catching her in the side as she tried to scramble away from the blow. At that point Chaevaris, who had been standing in the open doorway of the office shooting outside the building at the fleeing doppelgangers, determined the feisty halfling had the other doppelganger on the ropes and spun about to see to Harlan's foe. Another arrow was instantly fitted to bow and fired, the shaft burying itself in the hag's side. Blood now spilled from the hag's lips as she snarled at her foes in obvious pain. She swung at Harlan again with her wicked claws, but the attack was much slower now and the half-elf barely needed to dodge to avoid the claws.</p><p></p><p>The elf-formed doppelganger spun in place and grabbed at Ageratum, but the nimble halfling tumbled out of the way, landing on her feet with another spear raised in a defensive stance. But then Alistair, still inside the school building, blasted the creature with another charge of his wand and she fell unconscious to the ground, elven features and green dress being absorbed back into the gray-skinned creature's true form.</p><p></p><p>The doppelgangers were still well within the radius of the <em>Blood Mirror</em>'s area of effect, and as Ageratum watched, the wounds closed up on the two gray beings - the magic gem wouldn't restore them to consciousness, but it would ensure they didn't bleed out. Well, Ageratum wasn't having any of that! Pulling a dagger from her belt, she stepped over the body of the nearest doppelganger and slit its throat from one side of its neck to the other. She watched approvingly as the creature's life-blood spilled out of its carved-open throat and the doppelganger died, having received wounds far too grievous for the <em>Blood Mirror</em> to be able to overcome. Then, a satisfied grin on her face, Ageratum walked over to the other doppelganger, ready to do the same to it.</p><p></p><p>With the doppelgangers having been taken care of, Alistair and Chaevaris were free to return their full attention back to the greenhag still in physical combat with Harlan. Chaevaris shot a couple of arrows at the hag but missed, in no small part due to making sure the arrows came nowhere near striking Harlan by accident. Alistair made the assumption the hag must be near death and cast a <em>magic missile</em> spell of his own at her, rather than use up another charge from his wand (which he'd planned on having last him long enough until he was able to cast the spell at a comparable level of power himself), but while the spell hit true it didn't drop the hag as he'd hoped. The hag got in another lucky strike against the paladin, scoring the other side of his face with her claws, before a kobold shortspear came flying into the room to strike the hag in the back of her head. She dropped to the floor instantly, while the weapons dropped from her body and her wounds sealed up, courtesy of the <em>Blood Mirror</em>. Only now, as she lay there unconscious, she had returned to her normal form, that of Housematron Goldthame.</p><p></p><p>"I say," declared Alistair, "does anyone have any idea - any idea at all - as to what's going on here?"</p><p></p><p>Chaevaris held up the "letter of introduction" the doppelgangers had passed over to Housematron Goldthame to be read aloud. "Best I can figure, this is some type of magical trap or something," the elf told the others.</p><p></p><p>"Do you guys hear that?" asked Ageratum.</p><p></p><p>"What?" asked Harlan, wiping the blood from his face.</p><p></p><p>"Moaning and groaning, coming from that way," replied the halfling, pointing to the east, "and breaking glass coming from over there," she added, pointing over to the west. The noises were coming from the opposite wings at the sides of the building, the dining hall and a classroom.</p><p></p><p>"We'd best stick together," suggested Harlan, leading the way back to the front hall and then heading over to the classroom to the west. Entering it, it gave every appearance of being a normal classroom, with rows of student desks facing one side of the room, at which stood a larger desk, and a writing slate hanging on the wall - but instead of students and an instructor, the room was filled with undead skeletons, ten in all. One had apparently panicked during the transformation and broken a side window, whose glass had shattered.</p><p></p><p>Alistair was the first to react. He cast another of his lower-powered <em>magic missile</em> spells at the nearest skeleton and, as expected, it caused the creature to fall to the floor, resuming the form of a normal, teenaged student in the process. Ageratum dashed into the room next, slamming the pommel of her short sword into the next skeleton's hip bone. But then Harlan raised his holy symbol of Pelor and sent a blast of positive energy through it. As one, the remaining nine skeletons all transformed back to their normal forms and collapsed, unconscious, to the floor. "Frankly, I'm a little bit surprised that worked," admitted the paladin. "They all apparently gained the full powers - and limitations - of undead creatures during their transformation. Come on, there's another door in the back."</p><p></p><p>Harlan led them to the back of the classroom and through a door which led to the building's kitchen. The place was currently a shambles, with all manners of creatures attacking each other. A skeleton was fighting a goblin at the near end of the kitchen; lying on the floor in the middle of the kitchen was an unconscious halfling in the traditional kitchen garb of apron and chef's hat; at the far end, two goblins were perched upon a set of cabinets while below them, two zombies tried to claw them but couldn't reach.</p><p></p><p>Alistair cast another <em>magic missile</em> spell at the goblin, taking it out and turning it back into a scullery maid in the process. Ageratum made a dash past the skeleton, heading over to deal with the zombies (which she knew would be more susceptible to the blade of her short sword). The skeleton matched her pace but seemed to have no interest in attacking her; it was focused on the zombies in the back, trying to get to the cornered goblins - which themselves were throwing items down from the cabinets at the zombies. As part of the curse, it seemed as if the transformed creatures were primarily focused on slaying other transformed creatures of a different type, fighting back against others (like the heroes) only when actively defending themselves, as with the greenhag fighting with Harlan after he attacked her first. That was good to know!</p><p></p><p>Harlan stepped forward and sent another blast of positive energy through his holy symbol, and the turn undead attempt was fully successful in that the skeleton and the two zombies all collapsed unconscious into their normal forms, that of students from the school. The goblins, with no other transformed creatures to attack, scrambled down from the cabinets and scampered to a door to the east, which led to the dining hall - and a group of nine zombies. Chaevaris took out one goblin with a well-placed arrow, dropping it and reverting it back to an unconscious housemaid.</p><p></p><p>Alistair ran down the length of the kitchen, getting the sole remaining goblin with another <em>magic missile</em> spell. She, too, became a housemaid, which led the sorcerer to theorize the form a cursed school member became was somehow linked to what role they played here in the school. Harlan came up beside Alistair and turned undead once again, this time taking out the five nearest zombies, all of which reverted to unconscious schoolgirls. But with the goblins now gone, the remaining zombies had no other transformed foes to attack, and they milled about, wandering aimlessly. The others stopped their own attacks, allowing Harlan to take the remaining zombies out with another blast of positive energy. "That's it. I'm spent," the paladin admitted. "Let's hope there are no more undead we'll have to deal with."</p><p></p><p>"I don't know," replied Alistair, his ear to a door in the middle of the kitchen. "I'm hearing groans and shuffling from the other side of this door. Could be undead." Upon Harlan's nod of approval, Alistair opened the door, revealing a set of stairs leading down into darkness. Alistair immediately called out, "Ogilvy, if you please!" and handed Chaevaris's bullseye lantern to the <em>unseen servant</em>, instructing it to shine the beam down the steps. Stepping into the light, squinting in annoyance, were two filthy figures: a ghoul and a ghast.</p><p></p><p>"Undead, all right," remarked Ageratum glumly. The little halfling didn't like fighting undead - they shrugged off her best attacks, when she used her blade in just the right spots to deal extra pain and damage to a living foe. Still, she sent a kobold halfspear flying down the stairwell to strike the ghoul in the chest. Then Harlan stepped forward, <em>flaming burst longsword</em> in hand, no longer able to attempt any further turn undead maneuvers but determined not to let either of these undead beings out into the kitchen to attack any of the others in the school.</p><p></p><p>But Harlan standing in the doorway didn't prevent Chaevaris from shooting past him; the arrow buried itself into the ghoul's chest as well and it toppled backwards, transforming back into a groundskeeper as it did so. The ghast scrambled up the stairs and the half-elf's face scowled as his stomach turned at the awful stench the undead thing brought with him. Alistair blasted the ghast with a <em>magic missile</em> charge from his wand, but it wasn't enough to finish off the undead thing. Ageratum held a spear at the ready but there were too many other people in the way for her to be able to attack, so she backed off and assumed a defensive posture. In the extreme close quarters, neither Harlan nor the ghast were able to deal the other much damage, and even Chaevaris missed with a close-quarters arrow shot. It took another blast from Alistair's wand to finally take the creature down, whereupon it resumed the form of another groundskeeper.</p><p></p><p>That took care of the basement and the entire ground floor of the school, so the heroes found a set of stairs that led up to the second floor. The arrived on a landing, from which there was another set of stairs leading up to the attic. But webs covered the attic steps, and three spiders, each the size of a full-grown man, skittered along the ceiling. Alistair fired a <em>magic missile</em> spell at the first spider but failed to bring it down; Ageratum did the honors with a thrown shortspear at the same spider, causing it to literally fall from the ceiling. When it hit the floor, fully unconscious, the spider had become a parlor maid.</p><p></p><p>Harlan stepped onto the first couple of stairs - careful to ensure he didn't get entangled in the webs just beyond - and the added elevation allowed him to reach another spider on the ceiling with his flaming blade. The spider fell from the ceiling, landing onto the floor as another unconscious maid. Chaevaris shot the third spider with an arrow, but the hit wasn't enough to drop the creature and it scurried along the ceiling, looking to get above one of the heroes so it could drop down upon them.</p><p></p><p>But then there was a commotion from higher up the stairs. Flying down from the attic - where the school's maids had their quarters - came a quartet of strange creatures, shrieking humanoid heads with flapping bat-wings in place of ears. Two of these vargouilles got tangled up in the spider webs, while the other two managed to make it into the hallway landing.</p><p></p><p>Alistair still had his <em>wand of magic missiles</em> in hand and he fired off a shot, sending one missile each to the four vargouilles and the sole remaining spider. Only one of the vargouilles dropped as a result of this magical barrage, but each of the others looked sufficiently hurt that it didn't look like it would take much to take them out. And that proved to be the case: while the spider skittered over to attack one of the vargouilles trapped in the webbing, Ageratum's spear hit a vargouille and sent her falling to the floor, now an unconscious groundkeeper. Harlan stabbed at a trapped vargouille, converting it to another human while his flaming blade set the webs ablaze, which took out the spider and the remaining trapped vargouille. That looked to be that.</p><p></p><p>But was it? The heroes had no way to know, so they backtracked to Headmatron Goldthame and Harlan applied some healing magic through his laying on of hands to revive her. From her they got an accurate head count and Ageratum volunteered to go back through the building's rooms to make sure everyone had been accounted for. In the meantime, Mistress Goldthame confirmed that the Home for Castaway Girls, under Atherton Pastlethwaite's patronage, had been converted to a training school focused not only upon bettering a young lady's manners, poise, and culture (as best befit a finishing school), but also teaching them how best to gather information about the businesses of the families into which they were inserted, either through arranged marriages or as hired positions such as nannies, secretaries, maids, or the like.</p><p></p><p>"So it's basically a front for a school for intel-gathering," remarked Ageratum, having returned to report back that everyone had been accounted for and was still breathing. "I've seen such things before. A spy school, basically."</p><p></p><p>"We prefer to think of our graduating students as members of an intelligence network," sniffed Headmatron Goldthame. By this time, Calandra had returned with Nanny Rogers and Julianna Montjoie. "So how exactly did you manage not to be affected by the curse?" asked Harlan. Calandra explained that she had been in reverie, and as was her custom she was inside a <em>magic circle against evil</em> while her mind was occupied on organizing memories and unaware of the outside world. "I can only imagine that's what prevented my own transformation," she suggested.</p><p></p><p>"Well, in any case, I don't think we want Julianna registering in your school after all," piped up Alistair.</p><p></p><p>"Oh?" asked Nanny Rogers. "Those were Atherton's explicit instructions."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, but that was when he believed the school's true function and association with him were unknown," Alistair countered. "Obviously, somebody tried killing off everyone associated with the school, in a very roundabout way, granted, and one that failed primarily due to our presence here when the curse was activated. But either those doppelgangers Ageratum took care of were going to report back on their success, or the ones behind it probably have some other way of checking out on the success of their plan. In either case, eventually they're going to find out nobody at all was killed and the business is carrying on as usual. And that will likely have one of two effects: they'll either back off, seeing the place as too well defended, or they'll come after it with an army. I don't think Atherton wants to take the chance that they'll choose the latter response."</p><p></p><p>"Then what do you suggest, dear?" asked Nanny Rogers.</p><p></p><p>"Well, we can't very well bring you back to the farmhouse with us, as it's not very defensible and had already been overrun by hobgoblins once since before the Stouts took it over. But I think I know a place where you and Julianna will be safe." He didn't voice it aloud, for he felt it would be safer if the members of the Home for Castaway Girls didn't actually know of the location of Atherton's wife (and, soon enough, child), but he was certain he could have them put up at the Stone Keep for now, until a different arrangement could be made. "I assume you have a means of getting word to Atherton?" he asked the school matrons. They verified they did indeed.</p><p></p><p>"Then if you please, let them know what occurred here, and that Julianna and Nanny Rogers have been brought to a safe place." They agreed to do so.</p><p></p><p>"Let's start getting everybody healed up," suggested Harlan, as he moved off to do just that. His paladin training wasn't advanced enough to be able to channel enough healing energy through his hands to awaken everyone, but he could start with the staff, who would be better able to see to the girls' needs as far as healing went. Some of them might have to do with having their wounds cleaned and tended to, while they were left to awaken on their own.</p><p></p><p>"I have a question for you, Nanny," Alistair said.</p><p></p><p>"Yes, dear?"</p><p></p><p>"Back in the main office, how did you know that door you went through was unlocked? All of the other doors to that room were locked, by magic. Have you been here before?"</p><p></p><p>"Oh, but it was <em>arcane locked</em>, dear. I just used a <em>knock</em> spell to open it. And yes, this isn't my first time visiting this school." She left it at that, volunteering no further information as to whether she had been a visitor or perhaps a student at the finishing school. There was, after all, much in her past life of which Alistair was unaware.</p><p></p><p>He, however, had focused in on the other bit of knowledge she'd provided. "Then you're a sorcerer? Like me?"</p><p></p><p>"Not a very powerful one, dear, but yes. I know a few spells, that's all. Sorcerers tend to run in my family line; my grandfather was quite powerful in his day, they say."</p><p></p><p>"So you knew I was a sorcerer, back when I was casting spells at home without realizing it?"</p><p></p><p>"I suspected, yes - but you know your father. He was not to be swayed by the words of a mere employee, not when he'd already decided the reason behind your sudden abilities."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, that's true enough," agreed Alistair sadly, thinking about his father and his inability to allow his mind to be swayed by anything as frivolous as facts, once he'd decided what was what. None of Alistair's arguments that he had <em>not</em> been trafficking with demons had had any effect upon changing his father's mind about his own youngest son.</p><p></p><p>Ageratum, however, found her mouth hanging open in astonishment once more as she looked back and forth between Alistair and his nanny. This was the woman who had raised the young nobleman from his birth...so she'd been with him all of his life until he got booted out of his family...and sorcerers ran in her bloodline.... Was it possible? <em>Was Nanny Rogers Alistair's real mother?</em> This would bear some thinking over, and possibly some investigating on her own, if she ever found her way back to Greyhawk City.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>So, this adventure was kind of a weird one. Dan had decided he wanted an adventure with a Hallowe'en theme, and he made numerous changes to the adventure as he had three weeks to write it instead of the normal one, due to some scheduling issues with our two families. (I was away for a week on a business trip, then the following week they were on vacation.) He'd originally intended the schoolhouse to be a Home for Unwed Mothers and Julianna to have been a commoner with whom Atherton had had a fling and then discarded, but then he started playing around with different notions and this eventually turned into a plot by his unknown business rivals (or maybe their allies). As a result, it ended up having some plot holes, as far as sticking within the D&D rules goes: the "curse" that caused the inhabitants of the school to transform and try to kill each other was much more powerful than even a <em>wish</em> spell (which wouldn't likely have been able to affect that many people all at once); when Dan saw me trying to puzzle out what was happening (was this all an elaborate set of illusions?), he just confessed the curse was a bit of DM "hand-wavery" allowing him to set the adventure in motion and allow us to fight a bunch of traditional Hallowe'en monsters in a setting where we normally wouldn't find them. But even the details of the curse had been altered more than once; at one point he was going to have a <em>guards and wards</em> effect on all the doors, but then he settled on just making them all <em>arcane locked</em>, although that actually went against the desires of the people behind the curse if they actively wanted the transformed people to slay other transformed people in different forms. Even that worked against the curse-bringers, because when a classroom of students and their teacher all turn into skeletons, there's nobody for them to fight. Finally, Dan had forgotten the stabilizing effects of the <em>Blood Mirror</em>, which, with its 75-foot range, easily covered the entire school. And the fact that the transformed creatures focused their entire attention on other transformed creatures meant the majority of the adventure was like our PCs shooting fish in a barrel. Other than the two hits Harlan took from the hag's claws, none of us lost any hit points whatsoever. And we all leveled up to 5th at the end of the adventure, after just having leveled up to 4th after the previous adventure.</p><p></p><p>Oh well - it was no doubt a learning experience for Dan. And we did get some more background on Nanny Rogers. Vicki, who plays Ageratum, came to the possible realization of Alistair's birth on her own, whereas I provided Dan with the possibility when I first wrote up Alistair's background at the beginning of the campaign. I hadn't counted on him making Nanny Rogers a sorcerer, but it makes sense and casts just a little more doubt onto Alistair's true parentage. Despite having been raised as a nobleman, his mother may have very well been a commoner! I guess we'll all have to see how this plays out.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 8819834, member: 508"] [B]ADVENTURE 10: A FAMILY AFFAIR[/B] PC Roster: [INDENT]Ageratum Purslane, halfling rogue 4[/INDENT] [INDENT] Alistair Mandelberen Pastlethwaite, human sorcerer 4[/INDENT] [INDENT] Chaevaris Noarunal, elf archer 4[/INDENT] [INDENT] Harlan Starblade, half-elf paladin 4[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 2 November 2022 - - - "Me?" Alistair asked, a confused look crossing his features. "There's someone here to see [I]me?[/I]" His brow furrowed as he struggled to come up with who would be here at the Stouts' farmhouse, specifically looking for him - nobody from his old life knew he was here, and those who knew him in Ghourmand Vale would likely be looking for the group of adventurers as a whole, not just the young sorcerer. Unless...could it be the bard Holyrood Carp, come to take him up on his offer to write songs for him to sing in the taverns? Excitedly, Alistair rose from the breakfast table while Mr. Stout, returning from the front door, replied with what he knew. "An older gentleman, an older lady, and a young woman, all arriving in a carriage," he said. "And the young lady seems to be rather far along in the family way." "And she's looking for you?" demanded Ageratum, her eyes goggling in disbelief and her mouth hanging open. "Alistair - did you get some young lady pregnant?" "What? No, no I never - that is, I wouldn't - I, ah," stumbled the nobleman, now very much concerned about just who these visitors might be. His face reddened at Ageratum's suggestion, as he vacillated between the conflicting desires of explaining how that was simply impossible and not wanting to have to admit to having had absolutely no experience in such carnal matters. He finally decided to stop talking altogether, lest his puzzled tongue betray him. Stumbling to the door, he saw several familiar faces. Standing at the side of the carriage was none other than Brother Scrimshaw, the Cuthbertian cleric the group had traveled with on the 19-day journey from Greyhawk City to Ghourmand Vale those many months ago. His back was turned as he helped down the two ladies from the carriage. The first was a girl about Alistair's own age, her belly quite visibly swollen with the life she carried within - and had been doing so for at least seven, if not eight months already, by the look of things. Alistair was quite certain he'd never seen her before in her life and was somewhat concerned this was some sort of money-making scam, for he'd heard it somewhat common for an unwed mother of the lower classes to try to blame her pregnancy on a nobleman, in the hopes of marrying into a rich family or at the very least being paid off to go far, far away. But then Brother Scrimshaw helped her traveling companion down from the carriage, and it was Alistair's turn to stand slack-jawed, for there before him stood Nanny Rogers, the woman who had raised him since birth. "Nanny?" Alistair croaked, puzzled at her abrupt appearance all the way out here, 19 days distant from Greyhawk City. But then suddenly everything snapped into place. "Father's forgiven me!" he exclaimed, unable to keep the glee from his voice. "You've come to bring me back home, to the family!" "No, dear," replied Nanny Rogers sadly. "I'm afraid you know your father - once his mind has been made up, there's very little chance of him ever changing it." Alistair frowned dejectedly, disappointed that he was still an outcast from his own family, and then angry at himself for having gotten his hopes up in the first place. He quickly recovered; he didn't need his family and had proven quite well he could survive without their money. "Then what brings you here?" he asked. "And who, may I ask, is this?" he continued, approaching the pregnant young lady. His suspicions about a scam had subsided; surely Nanny Rogers would have no part in such a foul deed! "Alistair," he said by way of introduction, taking the young lady's hand. "This is [B]Julianna Montjoie[/B]," Nanny Rogers replied on the young lady's behalf. "Your brother's wife." That brought Alistair's face back to a slack-jawed configuration, if only for a moment before he comported himself in a way more better fitting a young aristocrat. "Then you're my sister-in-law," he reasoned aloud. Glancing down at her extended belly, he added, "And I'm going to be an uncle!" This was all happening too quickly for the young man, but he belatedly remembered his obligations. "Please, come inside, you must both be tired from your journey." Mrs. Stout offered up some breakfast refreshments to the two visitors; Brother Scrimshaw thanked the farmer's wife but declined her offerings. He sat in the corner while Nanny Rogers explained why the two of them were here. "Things have changed since you left Greyhawk City," she began. "Your father has started winding down from his business engagements, allowing your brother Atherton to step into the leadership role. And there has been a new rival rising up, attempting to take over some of the family's business dealings. So far, Atherton has managed to fend them off, but they're a bit on the cutthroat side of things, and he decided it would be best if Julianna were far from harm's way." "But all the way here at Ghourmand Vale?" asked Alistair. "How did you - or Atherton - know I was even here?" "We didn't, dear," Nanny Rogers explained patiently. "Atherton has some money put into a finishing school out this way: [I]The Home for Castaway Girls[/I], on the outskirts of your Ghourmand Vale. He felt that would be a good place for Julianna to remain safe, while all of these business rivalries ran their course. We stopped at a stone keep for directions, ran into this helpful young cleric here" - Brother Scrimshaw nodded his head in acknowledgement - "and when we mentioned the Pastlethwaite name, he offered up he knew where you were staying. We therefore thought it best to seek you out, not only to see how you were faring but also to ask you to escort us to the finishing school." "By all means," Alistair agreed. "We'd be more than happy to accompany you on the remainder of your journey. Here, allow me to make the introductions of my fellow adventurers - I'm an adventurer now, you know! This is Chaevaris, an elven archer - [I]just like Elfy Danger Silverleaf![/I]" Chaeveris's eyes rolled in exasperation as Alistair continued on with the introductions. "This is Harlan, a paladin of Pelor - I'm sure even father would approve of me spending time with a paladin. And this is Ageratum: she's a halfling [I]from the Fairylands![/I]" The young nobleman couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice. "We're all Trained, Professional Adventurers," he boasted. "That's very nice, dear," Nanny Rogers assured him, finishing up the cup of honey-sweetened tea Mrs. Stout had provided her. "But, if you feel ready to continue our journey, Juli? We've apparently only a few more hours to go." "Yes, all right," Julianna agreed, heaving herself up from the chair in which she was sitting comfortably. "I'll ride with you in the carriage!" Alistair declared as the adventurers gathered up their gear. Brother Scrimshaw agreed to ride Alistair's horse Zephyr; they'd be dropping him back off at the Stone Keep on the way to [I]The Home for Castaway Girls[/I], after which time Harlan had agreed Zephyr's reins could be tied to the back of the saddle of his own mount, Law. Alistair chattered almost non-stop during the trip, asking Nanny Rogers about things that had transpired back home since his abrupt removal from the family. He also learned more about his sister-in-law; she'd married Atherton shortly after Alistair had left, and at her husband's suggestion was traveling under her maiden name so as not to draw attention to her status as a member of the Pastlethwaite family. And no, Nanny Rogers hadn't brought any of the "Elfy" books with her; she patiently explained to her former charge that she had not expected to have run into him during their travels. "Oh well, more's the pity," sighed Alistair. "I'm sure Chaevaris would enjoy reading them." When they arrived at [I]The Home for Castaway Girls[/I] (after saying their farewells to Brother Scrimshaw at the Stone Keep), Alistair was amazed at its elaborate construction. This wasn't some hastily-slapped-together building like so much of Ghourmand Vale's architecture; the building had quite evidently been in place for a century or more, and built with an eye for detail. The structure rose up two full stories with what was likely an attic section at the very top. After helping Nanny Rogers and Julianna from the carriage (and what a treat riding in luxury in a carriage again had been, after all of his experiences as a "wagon lackey!") and tying the horses' reins to the tethering post out front, Alistair stepped up to the double doors and knocked loudly. "Just walk right in, dear," suggested Nanny Rogers, opening the door and doing just that. There was a reception hall at the front of the building, with another set of double doors straight ahead and larger rooms at either end: a classroom to the west and a lunchroom to the east, both rooms filled with teen girls attending the finishing school. Nanny Rogers took the lead as if she'd been here before. Opening the doors, she stepped into the office just beyond, where a pair of school workers - a human administrator named [B]Kay Murphey[/B] and a young halfling named [B]Constanza Taterbloom[/B] - sat at desks appropriate to their size. "May I help you?" asked Miss Murphey, an elderly matron with a no-nonsense air about her. Reaching into her sleeve, Nanny Rogers extracted a sealed piece of parchment and handed it over. "Our letters of introduction," she announced as Kay opened the letter and read it over for herself. Another woman entered the room from a door on the north wall, this was [B]Lolene Goldthame[/B], the woman in charge of the finishing school. "Julianna here is to be enrolled in your school and I am to remain on as her attendant," Nanny Rogers continued. "You will see the letter is signed by Atherton Pastlethwaite, one of your benefactors." She said this as if expecting no resistance, and indeed there was none. "Very well," Miss Murphey agreed, passing the letter to Housematron Goldthame. "I'll have Constanza here show Miss Montjoie around while we sign the official documents." "Certainly," agreed the halfling, jumping down from her seat. But before she could show Julianna around, a second pair of ladies burst into the office, pushing past the heroes standing at the back of the room. "[B]Mistress Claudine[/B] and [B]Miss Cora Blaum[/B]," the older of the two announced, producing a letter of introduction of their own and practically shoving it into Lolene Goldthame's hands, as if instantly intuiting she was the highest-ranking of the school staff in the room. "I say," began Alistair, disturbed at the rudeness of these newcomers. One would think one would wait one's turn until the previous business at hand had been completed, surely! But then Housematron Goldthame began reading aloud from the letter and suddenly rudeness was the least of Alistair's concerns. The woman's voice took on a ragged aspect, and cracked as she intoned, "Let there be ghosties and ghoulies, and long-legged beasties!" Her voice suddenly broke into an unholy cackle of wicked delight, and she raised her head in glee. But the heroes could see an abrupt change had overcome the Headmistress: where before she stood straight and tall, now her body hunched forward, her curved spine leaning her closer to her visitors. Her skin was a sallow, greenish color, somewhere between old moss and the bile of sickness; her hair, moments before a dark, lustrous brown, now hung limp and pale in mottled strands the color of moonlight. And she hadn't even gotten the worst of it. Before her, Kay Murphey and Constanza Taterbloom lurched forward, dropping to the floor as their bodies writhed and reconfigured themselves, morphing completely into canine forms, black, with a reddish made reminiscent of fire trailing down their spines. With sulfurous breath leaking from their muzzles, the two hell hounds snarled and dashed forward, leaping to attack the greenhag now standing before them. "What the Hell is going on?" demanded Ageratum, unsheathing her short sword and ready to defend herself if any of these monsters got the idea to turn her way. Alistair was equally perplexed about the situation but had the presence of mind to grab his nanny and his sister-in-law and try to drag them back, out of harm's way. He spun and tried to open the double doors behind him, but somehow they had become locked and he couldn't get the door to budge. This was like a bad dream, but even worse because it was really happening! The sorcerer cast a [I]detect magic[/I] spell and discovered there was a magic effect on the door keeping it from opening. Bother! Ageratum stepped to their side, keeping her blade between the two ladies and the monsters going after each other in the back of the room. Harlan cast forth his paladin's vision and detected evil emanating from the greenhag and the two hell hounds, which didn't surprise him in the least. There was a door to his left, on the west wall of the office area, and he gave it a try but it too had been [I]arcane locked[/I]. Chaevaris grabbed up the letters of introduction, intending to give them a good read later - maybe they gave some clue about what was going on. Then, pulling a [I]sleep arrow[/I] from the quiver and setting it in place at the bow, the archer shot the nearest hell hound (the one who moments before had been Kay Murphey), catching the fiendish dog in the flank. However, the beast shook off the attempts at inducing magical slumber, focusing its attention - and its fangs - on the greenhag. The hag, for her part, was likewise focusing her own attention on the two devil dogs attacking her. A set of jagged claws went ripping across the fur of the one with the arrow sticking out of its flank, and this was enough for the hell hound to crash to the floor, reverting as she fell back into her human form. Kay lay there unmoving, well into unconsciousness and bleeding from her wounds, but as Chaevaris watched, the wounds sealed up seemingly of their own accord; the wood elf archer knew full well, however, this was the result of the [I]Blood Mirror[/I] Harlan carried with him at all times. Alistair once again found himself being pushed aside by the two late-coming women. They kicked at the stuck doors, the younger one crying out in pain as she did nothing more than injure her foot, but the older one managed to kick her way through the western door. She grabbed up her younger charge and they stepped through, back into the entry hall from which they had come. A door in the back of the office suddenly opened, and there in the doorway stepped an elven woman waving a wand in the direction of Nanny Rogers and Julianna. "Get out, evil ones!" the elf screeched. Alistair, in the process of sending a [I]scorching ray[/I] spell at the hag - the first time he'd tried casting the spell in combat - was flustered at the elf threatening his nanny and the ray went wide, flying past the hag's shoulder to blast the back wall. Ageratum, in the meantime, had stepped forward and swung her blade at the other hell hound, the one who had been a halfling before the sudden transformation. She missed, but it was a worthwhile effort. Harlan, likewise, charged into battle against the greenhag, swinging his [I]flaming burst longsword[/I] at her, but the hag's attention seemed solely focused on the remaining hell hound. Chaevaris, looking at the scene and deciding it was well in hand, opened the folded parchments and gave them a quick scan. The first one had been the one Housematron Goldthame had been reading when everything erupted into chaos. It read: [INDENT]Kindly accept our gift.[/INDENT] [INDENT]It is given in hopes[/INDENT] [INDENT]it will [I]Destroy[/I] any enmity.[/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT]We seek peace.[/INDENT] [INDENT]Through profound respect[/INDENT] [INDENT]between us and [I]Yourselves[/I][/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT]The healing of old wounds[/INDENT] [INDENT]and grievances between us[/INDENT] [INDENT]should begin [I]Tonight[/I].[/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT]Roy Moudo[/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT]P.S. Your acceptance means things can be as they were when the new Dawn breaks.[/INDENT] Chaevaris was no spellcaster, but the elf instantly saw the three words italicized spelled out the short sentence, "[I]Destroy yourselves tonight[/I]." No doubt this was the trigger of whatever spell or ritual had been set in place to cause the school workers to transform into monsters and try to kill each other. Glancing at the other sheet of parchment, the archer saw: [INDENT]Lolene,[/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT]The enemy is stepping up attacks on our enterprises and becoming more bold. They are including family members in the scope of their attacks. That's why I send you my wife and child. Keep them safe.[/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT]I do not believe they understand the role your home plays in our enterprises or where our agents are.[/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT]We still have allies reliant on our services, but meeting the needs may become more difficult. We are almost at the point of direct and open action. I hope it doesn't come to that.[/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT]I've secured funding for your home for the next two years, it's with the gnomes. They'll see you properly provisioned.[/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT]I'll send word as I can.[/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT]Atherton[/INDENT] Fortunately, the elf was a quick reader and a glance was all it took to make sense of the letters. It sounded like this "girls' finishing school" was much more than it looked on the surface, but just what all else it was involved in was beyond Chaevaris's current understanding. Looking back up at the combatants in the room, Chaevaris noted the hag had taken down the remaining hell hound, who had shifted back into halfling form upon being rendered unconscious, her wounds likewise stabilizing under the effects of the presence of the [I]Blood Mirror[/I]. Alistair interposed himself in front of the two women with which he had arrived at the school, raising his hands in a gesture of noncombativeness. "Don't attack!" he called out to the wand-wielding elf. "We're not the ones who transformed the others!" "Who are you?" demanded the elven schoolmatron. "Merely a new admission to your school," the sorcerer began, indicating Julianna, "and my nanny. I'm Alistair--oh! Atherton Pastlethwaite's brother!" This last bit he added as he recalled Atherton was one of the benefactors of the school, and the name-dropping worked as he'd hoped, for [B]Calandra Valadane[/B] dropped her wand, looked around, and said, "Bring them here with me, where we'll be safe!" Looking through the open door to the south, Chaevaris noted the two women who had brought the curse-triggering letter were kicking open the front door to the building. "Don't let them get away!" the archer called. "Those two are the ones behind all of this!" Pulling out his newly-purchased [I]wand of magic missile[/I] - which had cost nearly all of the money Alistair had earned lately in his adventuring career, for it was as powerful as such wands came - the young sorcerer shot off the first charge, sending three missiles darting into the back of the older woman and two more striking the younger one, still favoring her sore foot. "Got 'em, Elfy!" Alistair called, although now that he looked, neither had fallen from his blast of [I]magic missiles[/I]. That was disappointing! He hoped he hadn't been swindled by the man at the magic shop where he'd made his purchase; Alistair had learned over the course of his short adventuring career that there were many folks about with less than scrupulous morals. Ageratum followed the two fleeing women and threw one of her kobold spears at the younger one, hitting her higher up than she would have preferred; instead of skewering her through the back, the halfling had merely managed to lodge the spearhead up by the shoulder. The woman merely reached back and brushed it off as if it were no more than a mere dart. Chaevaris shot an arrow at the older woman, hitting her squarely in the back - but then, as the woman turned to try to grab the arrow out, the archer could swear the woman had an elven face. And, come to think of it, the woman's dress was now green, where before it had been a dark yellow. What was going on here? The answer was given when Alistair released another blast from his wand, this time sending all five missiles streaking into the younger of the two women. She jolted when struck, toppled forward, and collapsed unmoving onto the school's front lawn - and, in the process, all aspects of her appearance melted away, leaving a bald, gray-skinned creature with a bulbous head lying, unconscious but stable, on the ground. "A doppelganger!" swore Chaevaris aloud. Ageratum raced after the other one, who had stopped momentarily to see to her companion. The halfling caught up with the older woman, now having completely changed shape into an elven woman (likely in an attempt to disassociate herself as anyone having been to the school), but the halfling wasn't fooled; she threw another spear at the "elf," catching her right through the kidney - or at least where a kidney would be in an elf; there was no telling what all strange internal organs lay inside the malleable form of a doppelganger. Harlan channeled holy energy into his sword and made a smiting attack against the hag, but the gnarled creature was nimble for all her apparent deformity and was able to avoid the blow. And then, just that quickly, she sprang to the attack, lashing out with her wicked claws. Harlan deflected one set with his flaming blade, but the ragged nails of her other hand scored lines down the side of the half-elf's face. Angered at the assault, the paladin swung hard at the hag with his flaming blade, this time catching her in the side as she tried to scramble away from the blow. At that point Chaevaris, who had been standing in the open doorway of the office shooting outside the building at the fleeing doppelgangers, determined the feisty halfling had the other doppelganger on the ropes and spun about to see to Harlan's foe. Another arrow was instantly fitted to bow and fired, the shaft burying itself in the hag's side. Blood now spilled from the hag's lips as she snarled at her foes in obvious pain. She swung at Harlan again with her wicked claws, but the attack was much slower now and the half-elf barely needed to dodge to avoid the claws. The elf-formed doppelganger spun in place and grabbed at Ageratum, but the nimble halfling tumbled out of the way, landing on her feet with another spear raised in a defensive stance. But then Alistair, still inside the school building, blasted the creature with another charge of his wand and she fell unconscious to the ground, elven features and green dress being absorbed back into the gray-skinned creature's true form. The doppelgangers were still well within the radius of the [I]Blood Mirror[/I]'s area of effect, and as Ageratum watched, the wounds closed up on the two gray beings - the magic gem wouldn't restore them to consciousness, but it would ensure they didn't bleed out. Well, Ageratum wasn't having any of that! Pulling a dagger from her belt, she stepped over the body of the nearest doppelganger and slit its throat from one side of its neck to the other. She watched approvingly as the creature's life-blood spilled out of its carved-open throat and the doppelganger died, having received wounds far too grievous for the [I]Blood Mirror[/I] to be able to overcome. Then, a satisfied grin on her face, Ageratum walked over to the other doppelganger, ready to do the same to it. With the doppelgangers having been taken care of, Alistair and Chaevaris were free to return their full attention back to the greenhag still in physical combat with Harlan. Chaevaris shot a couple of arrows at the hag but missed, in no small part due to making sure the arrows came nowhere near striking Harlan by accident. Alistair made the assumption the hag must be near death and cast a [I]magic missile[/I] spell of his own at her, rather than use up another charge from his wand (which he'd planned on having last him long enough until he was able to cast the spell at a comparable level of power himself), but while the spell hit true it didn't drop the hag as he'd hoped. The hag got in another lucky strike against the paladin, scoring the other side of his face with her claws, before a kobold shortspear came flying into the room to strike the hag in the back of her head. She dropped to the floor instantly, while the weapons dropped from her body and her wounds sealed up, courtesy of the [I]Blood Mirror[/I]. Only now, as she lay there unconscious, she had returned to her normal form, that of Housematron Goldthame. "I say," declared Alistair, "does anyone have any idea - any idea at all - as to what's going on here?" Chaevaris held up the "letter of introduction" the doppelgangers had passed over to Housematron Goldthame to be read aloud. "Best I can figure, this is some type of magical trap or something," the elf told the others. "Do you guys hear that?" asked Ageratum. "What?" asked Harlan, wiping the blood from his face. "Moaning and groaning, coming from that way," replied the halfling, pointing to the east, "and breaking glass coming from over there," she added, pointing over to the west. The noises were coming from the opposite wings at the sides of the building, the dining hall and a classroom. "We'd best stick together," suggested Harlan, leading the way back to the front hall and then heading over to the classroom to the west. Entering it, it gave every appearance of being a normal classroom, with rows of student desks facing one side of the room, at which stood a larger desk, and a writing slate hanging on the wall - but instead of students and an instructor, the room was filled with undead skeletons, ten in all. One had apparently panicked during the transformation and broken a side window, whose glass had shattered. Alistair was the first to react. He cast another of his lower-powered [I]magic missile[/I] spells at the nearest skeleton and, as expected, it caused the creature to fall to the floor, resuming the form of a normal, teenaged student in the process. Ageratum dashed into the room next, slamming the pommel of her short sword into the next skeleton's hip bone. But then Harlan raised his holy symbol of Pelor and sent a blast of positive energy through it. As one, the remaining nine skeletons all transformed back to their normal forms and collapsed, unconscious, to the floor. "Frankly, I'm a little bit surprised that worked," admitted the paladin. "They all apparently gained the full powers - and limitations - of undead creatures during their transformation. Come on, there's another door in the back." Harlan led them to the back of the classroom and through a door which led to the building's kitchen. The place was currently a shambles, with all manners of creatures attacking each other. A skeleton was fighting a goblin at the near end of the kitchen; lying on the floor in the middle of the kitchen was an unconscious halfling in the traditional kitchen garb of apron and chef's hat; at the far end, two goblins were perched upon a set of cabinets while below them, two zombies tried to claw them but couldn't reach. Alistair cast another [I]magic missile[/I] spell at the goblin, taking it out and turning it back into a scullery maid in the process. Ageratum made a dash past the skeleton, heading over to deal with the zombies (which she knew would be more susceptible to the blade of her short sword). The skeleton matched her pace but seemed to have no interest in attacking her; it was focused on the zombies in the back, trying to get to the cornered goblins - which themselves were throwing items down from the cabinets at the zombies. As part of the curse, it seemed as if the transformed creatures were primarily focused on slaying other transformed creatures of a different type, fighting back against others (like the heroes) only when actively defending themselves, as with the greenhag fighting with Harlan after he attacked her first. That was good to know! Harlan stepped forward and sent another blast of positive energy through his holy symbol, and the turn undead attempt was fully successful in that the skeleton and the two zombies all collapsed unconscious into their normal forms, that of students from the school. The goblins, with no other transformed creatures to attack, scrambled down from the cabinets and scampered to a door to the east, which led to the dining hall - and a group of nine zombies. Chaevaris took out one goblin with a well-placed arrow, dropping it and reverting it back to an unconscious housemaid. Alistair ran down the length of the kitchen, getting the sole remaining goblin with another [I]magic missile[/I] spell. She, too, became a housemaid, which led the sorcerer to theorize the form a cursed school member became was somehow linked to what role they played here in the school. Harlan came up beside Alistair and turned undead once again, this time taking out the five nearest zombies, all of which reverted to unconscious schoolgirls. But with the goblins now gone, the remaining zombies had no other transformed foes to attack, and they milled about, wandering aimlessly. The others stopped their own attacks, allowing Harlan to take the remaining zombies out with another blast of positive energy. "That's it. I'm spent," the paladin admitted. "Let's hope there are no more undead we'll have to deal with." "I don't know," replied Alistair, his ear to a door in the middle of the kitchen. "I'm hearing groans and shuffling from the other side of this door. Could be undead." Upon Harlan's nod of approval, Alistair opened the door, revealing a set of stairs leading down into darkness. Alistair immediately called out, "Ogilvy, if you please!" and handed Chaevaris's bullseye lantern to the [I]unseen servant[/I], instructing it to shine the beam down the steps. Stepping into the light, squinting in annoyance, were two filthy figures: a ghoul and a ghast. "Undead, all right," remarked Ageratum glumly. The little halfling didn't like fighting undead - they shrugged off her best attacks, when she used her blade in just the right spots to deal extra pain and damage to a living foe. Still, she sent a kobold halfspear flying down the stairwell to strike the ghoul in the chest. Then Harlan stepped forward, [I]flaming burst longsword[/I] in hand, no longer able to attempt any further turn undead maneuvers but determined not to let either of these undead beings out into the kitchen to attack any of the others in the school. But Harlan standing in the doorway didn't prevent Chaevaris from shooting past him; the arrow buried itself into the ghoul's chest as well and it toppled backwards, transforming back into a groundskeeper as it did so. The ghast scrambled up the stairs and the half-elf's face scowled as his stomach turned at the awful stench the undead thing brought with him. Alistair blasted the ghast with a [I]magic missile[/I] charge from his wand, but it wasn't enough to finish off the undead thing. Ageratum held a spear at the ready but there were too many other people in the way for her to be able to attack, so she backed off and assumed a defensive posture. In the extreme close quarters, neither Harlan nor the ghast were able to deal the other much damage, and even Chaevaris missed with a close-quarters arrow shot. It took another blast from Alistair's wand to finally take the creature down, whereupon it resumed the form of another groundskeeper. That took care of the basement and the entire ground floor of the school, so the heroes found a set of stairs that led up to the second floor. The arrived on a landing, from which there was another set of stairs leading up to the attic. But webs covered the attic steps, and three spiders, each the size of a full-grown man, skittered along the ceiling. Alistair fired a [I]magic missile[/I] spell at the first spider but failed to bring it down; Ageratum did the honors with a thrown shortspear at the same spider, causing it to literally fall from the ceiling. When it hit the floor, fully unconscious, the spider had become a parlor maid. Harlan stepped onto the first couple of stairs - careful to ensure he didn't get entangled in the webs just beyond - and the added elevation allowed him to reach another spider on the ceiling with his flaming blade. The spider fell from the ceiling, landing onto the floor as another unconscious maid. Chaevaris shot the third spider with an arrow, but the hit wasn't enough to drop the creature and it scurried along the ceiling, looking to get above one of the heroes so it could drop down upon them. But then there was a commotion from higher up the stairs. Flying down from the attic - where the school's maids had their quarters - came a quartet of strange creatures, shrieking humanoid heads with flapping bat-wings in place of ears. Two of these vargouilles got tangled up in the spider webs, while the other two managed to make it into the hallway landing. Alistair still had his [I]wand of magic missiles[/I] in hand and he fired off a shot, sending one missile each to the four vargouilles and the sole remaining spider. Only one of the vargouilles dropped as a result of this magical barrage, but each of the others looked sufficiently hurt that it didn't look like it would take much to take them out. And that proved to be the case: while the spider skittered over to attack one of the vargouilles trapped in the webbing, Ageratum's spear hit a vargouille and sent her falling to the floor, now an unconscious groundkeeper. Harlan stabbed at a trapped vargouille, converting it to another human while his flaming blade set the webs ablaze, which took out the spider and the remaining trapped vargouille. That looked to be that. But was it? The heroes had no way to know, so they backtracked to Headmatron Goldthame and Harlan applied some healing magic through his laying on of hands to revive her. From her they got an accurate head count and Ageratum volunteered to go back through the building's rooms to make sure everyone had been accounted for. In the meantime, Mistress Goldthame confirmed that the Home for Castaway Girls, under Atherton Pastlethwaite's patronage, had been converted to a training school focused not only upon bettering a young lady's manners, poise, and culture (as best befit a finishing school), but also teaching them how best to gather information about the businesses of the families into which they were inserted, either through arranged marriages or as hired positions such as nannies, secretaries, maids, or the like. "So it's basically a front for a school for intel-gathering," remarked Ageratum, having returned to report back that everyone had been accounted for and was still breathing. "I've seen such things before. A spy school, basically." "We prefer to think of our graduating students as members of an intelligence network," sniffed Headmatron Goldthame. By this time, Calandra had returned with Nanny Rogers and Julianna Montjoie. "So how exactly did you manage not to be affected by the curse?" asked Harlan. Calandra explained that she had been in reverie, and as was her custom she was inside a [I]magic circle against evil[/I] while her mind was occupied on organizing memories and unaware of the outside world. "I can only imagine that's what prevented my own transformation," she suggested. "Well, in any case, I don't think we want Julianna registering in your school after all," piped up Alistair. "Oh?" asked Nanny Rogers. "Those were Atherton's explicit instructions." "Yes, but that was when he believed the school's true function and association with him were unknown," Alistair countered. "Obviously, somebody tried killing off everyone associated with the school, in a very roundabout way, granted, and one that failed primarily due to our presence here when the curse was activated. But either those doppelgangers Ageratum took care of were going to report back on their success, or the ones behind it probably have some other way of checking out on the success of their plan. In either case, eventually they're going to find out nobody at all was killed and the business is carrying on as usual. And that will likely have one of two effects: they'll either back off, seeing the place as too well defended, or they'll come after it with an army. I don't think Atherton wants to take the chance that they'll choose the latter response." "Then what do you suggest, dear?" asked Nanny Rogers. "Well, we can't very well bring you back to the farmhouse with us, as it's not very defensible and had already been overrun by hobgoblins once since before the Stouts took it over. But I think I know a place where you and Julianna will be safe." He didn't voice it aloud, for he felt it would be safer if the members of the Home for Castaway Girls didn't actually know of the location of Atherton's wife (and, soon enough, child), but he was certain he could have them put up at the Stone Keep for now, until a different arrangement could be made. "I assume you have a means of getting word to Atherton?" he asked the school matrons. They verified they did indeed. "Then if you please, let them know what occurred here, and that Julianna and Nanny Rogers have been brought to a safe place." They agreed to do so. "Let's start getting everybody healed up," suggested Harlan, as he moved off to do just that. His paladin training wasn't advanced enough to be able to channel enough healing energy through his hands to awaken everyone, but he could start with the staff, who would be better able to see to the girls' needs as far as healing went. Some of them might have to do with having their wounds cleaned and tended to, while they were left to awaken on their own. "I have a question for you, Nanny," Alistair said. "Yes, dear?" "Back in the main office, how did you know that door you went through was unlocked? All of the other doors to that room were locked, by magic. Have you been here before?" "Oh, but it was [I]arcane locked[/I], dear. I just used a [I]knock[/I] spell to open it. And yes, this isn't my first time visiting this school." She left it at that, volunteering no further information as to whether she had been a visitor or perhaps a student at the finishing school. There was, after all, much in her past life of which Alistair was unaware. He, however, had focused in on the other bit of knowledge she'd provided. "Then you're a sorcerer? Like me?" "Not a very powerful one, dear, but yes. I know a few spells, that's all. Sorcerers tend to run in my family line; my grandfather was quite powerful in his day, they say." "So you knew I was a sorcerer, back when I was casting spells at home without realizing it?" "I suspected, yes - but you know your father. He was not to be swayed by the words of a mere employee, not when he'd already decided the reason behind your sudden abilities." "Yes, that's true enough," agreed Alistair sadly, thinking about his father and his inability to allow his mind to be swayed by anything as frivolous as facts, once he'd decided what was what. None of Alistair's arguments that he had [I]not[/I] been trafficking with demons had had any effect upon changing his father's mind about his own youngest son. Ageratum, however, found her mouth hanging open in astonishment once more as she looked back and forth between Alistair and his nanny. This was the woman who had raised the young nobleman from his birth...so she'd been with him all of his life until he got booted out of his family...and sorcerers ran in her bloodline.... Was it possible? [I]Was Nanny Rogers Alistair's real mother?[/I] This would bear some thinking over, and possibly some investigating on her own, if she ever found her way back to Greyhawk City. - - - So, this adventure was kind of a weird one. Dan had decided he wanted an adventure with a Hallowe'en theme, and he made numerous changes to the adventure as he had three weeks to write it instead of the normal one, due to some scheduling issues with our two families. (I was away for a week on a business trip, then the following week they were on vacation.) He'd originally intended the schoolhouse to be a Home for Unwed Mothers and Julianna to have been a commoner with whom Atherton had had a fling and then discarded, but then he started playing around with different notions and this eventually turned into a plot by his unknown business rivals (or maybe their allies). As a result, it ended up having some plot holes, as far as sticking within the D&D rules goes: the "curse" that caused the inhabitants of the school to transform and try to kill each other was much more powerful than even a [I]wish[/I] spell (which wouldn't likely have been able to affect that many people all at once); when Dan saw me trying to puzzle out what was happening (was this all an elaborate set of illusions?), he just confessed the curse was a bit of DM "hand-wavery" allowing him to set the adventure in motion and allow us to fight a bunch of traditional Hallowe'en monsters in a setting where we normally wouldn't find them. But even the details of the curse had been altered more than once; at one point he was going to have a [I]guards and wards[/I] effect on all the doors, but then he settled on just making them all [I]arcane locked[/I], although that actually went against the desires of the people behind the curse if they actively wanted the transformed people to slay other transformed people in different forms. Even that worked against the curse-bringers, because when a classroom of students and their teacher all turn into skeletons, there's nobody for them to fight. Finally, Dan had forgotten the stabilizing effects of the [I]Blood Mirror[/I], which, with its 75-foot range, easily covered the entire school. And the fact that the transformed creatures focused their entire attention on other transformed creatures meant the majority of the adventure was like our PCs shooting fish in a barrel. Other than the two hits Harlan took from the hag's claws, none of us lost any hit points whatsoever. And we all leveled up to 5th at the end of the adventure, after just having leveled up to 4th after the previous adventure. Oh well - it was no doubt a learning experience for Dan. And we did get some more background on Nanny Rogers. Vicki, who plays Ageratum, came to the possible realization of Alistair's birth on her own, whereas I provided Dan with the possibility when I first wrote up Alistair's background at the beginning of the campaign. I hadn't counted on him making Nanny Rogers a sorcerer, but it makes sense and casts just a little more doubt onto Alistair's true parentage. Despite having been raised as a nobleman, his mother may have very well been a commoner! I guess we'll all have to see how this plays out. [/QUOTE]
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