The companions stopped in their tracks on the threshold between the manor’s main floor west wing and the grand hall as they observed the bluish white mist creeping down the iron staircase from above, coating the stairs, walls, floor, furniture and upholstery -- everything it touched -- under sheets of frost and ice. The mist eventually engulfed the southern half of the grand hall, completely cutting off the companions from the front door.
As the adventurers observed this unfamiliar magical phenomenon, which Iacobus determined was some sort of moderately powerful conjuration, a voice from upstairs called out: “I don’t know who you are... but step into the fog and may you may die... I wish you no harm. I’m sorry I have to do this, but... I have no choice.”
Akiro was fascinated by the mists, and poked the end of his glaive into its tendrils. The frost spread across the blade and along its shaft, but Akiro withdrew his weapon before the frost could cover his hands. Still, he felt the bitter cold in his finger tips.
The companions were puzzled by the voice, and Shalora and Jiri replied, asking the caller who he was, what he was doing, adding that they had been instructed to investigate the manor by the baroness. They did not get much in the way of a reply, but heard repeated loud thumps through the ceiling above, and the caller grumbling and cursing in frustration. It sounded as though he was looking for something, but not finding it.
After a few moments’ hesitation, Jiri proclaimed that the caller was obstructing the task of a servant of Shelyn. The judgement gave the dwarf supernatural resistance to the decidedly unnatural freezing mist. He gritted his teeth and made straight for the staircase, slipping and falling hard on his back after walking a few feet along the slick floor. Jiri got up again and resumed his approach to the stairs, more cautiously this time. Despite the resistance provided by his judgement, the freezing mist quickly coated the dwarf from head to toe. His skin burned from the intense cold, his beard and brows froze white and solid. Still, he persevered, climbing the icy stairs to the second floor, where he stumbled into a fog-shrouded library.
While the fog on that floor obscured Jiri’s vision, it did not have the bluish shade of the mist in the grand hall. The air was much warmer upstairs; the frostburn afflicting the dwarf was subsiding, and there were no signs of ice or frost on the walls, floor, or bookshelves of the library. The entire room, however, radiated of feint conjuration magic; a door near the top of the stairs radiated a combination of evocation and abjuration magic; and toward the north end of the obscured library, the inquisitor sensed a variety of conflicting auras. More books thumped onto the floor; the frustrated man was close, but as yet still unseen. Jiri tried to reassure him that he was not there to harm him... perhaps they could talk things out, and perhaps the companions could help him find what he was looking for? The man laughed bitterly, replying that he regretfully could not accept the dwarf’s offer. Jiri slowly made his way through the mist, the frost melting from his flesh, beard, clothes, and gear. He tried to track the man by the trail of fallen and falling books... but the mists played tricks on the dwarf, and books had been pulled off virtually all of the shelves, making it difficult to establish an obvious pattern or trail. He then heard the man murmuring some incantation...
On the lower floor, the freezing mist had finally dissipated and the ice was turning to slush, allowing Akiro, Iacobus, Shalora and Mischief to finally follow their companion up the stairs. The adventurers searched in vain through the mists for the burglar... but it appeared as though he had vanished into thin air. After a long while, the obscuring mists finally dispersed, allowing the companions to take better stock of the library’s contents. The lushly furnished library featured three tall bookcases running north to south down the centre of the chamber, with another iron bookcase set in the northeast corner. A stuffed grizzly bear towered in the northwest corner, its claws and fangs bared aggressively. The east wall featured sixteen paintings of various planets in gilt frames. A ladder in the west side of the ceiling led up to a trap door. Scores of books now littered the floor, with hundreds more still upon the wooden bookshelves. The vast majority seemed to cover subjects related to astronomy, though others focused on history, engineering, and occult subjects. Shalora flipped through the pages of a few volumes, but was unimpressed by the lack of pretty pictures therein.
The contents of the iron bookcase, however, had been undisturbed. A lock on its barred doors radiated abjuration magic. Three of of the sixteen tomes within also radiated moderate to strong magical auras: Ye Booke of Enhanced Fiendish Servitude by Crowe Leister projected a strong green aura (conjuration); It’s Alive! Crafting Life from Flesh, by Salazar Vess, projected a moderately strong dark, blurry muddle of colours--pink, black and purple (enchantment, necromancy and transmutation); and The Art of War, by Sirius Altadore and Grimund the Bold, also had a moderate pink (enchantment) aura. Akiro kept a close watch on the stuffed grizzly bear while Iacobus attempted to pick the lock that would open the barred doors of the bookcase. Iacobus used the silver charm found in the bird cage to deactivate whatever abjuration magic was on the lock... but he failed to disarm a trap hidden within the lock. As he used his tools to pick the lock, a small needle pricked him in the thumb. The magus felt his thumb tingle, and saw the skin slowly turning a sickly purple. He knew the needle was poisoned and tried to remain calm... and luckily for him, Abadar smiled upon him and kept him safe. As time passed, it seemed increasingly certain that he would suffer little more than a discoloration of his hand, rather than anything more lethal.
Rare and valuable tomes pertaining to astronomy
After Shalora had marked the three magical tomes with a piece of chalk for the benefit of the auctioneer’s clerks, Iacobus took a moment to inspect the various volumes in the bookcase. Thirteen of them he deemed were extraordinarily rare books on subjects related to astronomy (some of which he estimated could sell for as much as 500 gold a volume!). Although the other three volumes radiated magic, Iacobus was unable to identify their exact properties. Ye Booke of Enhanced Fiendish Servitude was a leather-bound book inscribed with occult symbols; the cover of It’s Alive! Crafting Life from Flesh, appeared to have been stitched together from strips of different hides (humanoid skin?) that varied in colouration; and The Art of War was an especially heavy tome bound in bloodstained leather and scarred like the flesh of a seasoned warrior.
Ye Booke of Enhanced Fiendish Servitude, by Crowe Leister
It’s Alive! Crafting Life from Flesh, by Salazar Vess
The Art of War, by Sirius Altadore and Grimund the Bold
While Iacobus was inspecting the tomes in the iron bookcase, Shalora complained about the lack of pretty pictures in the books in the main library, and Akiro remained fixated on the stuffed bear, Jiri had walked into what appeared to be the wizard Hunclay’s bedchamber. It was richly appointed, with three armoires and three tall wardrobes, a canopied bed with a large locked chest at its foot and nightstand, a writing desk and chair, elaborate marble tub, fireplace, and thick bearskin rug. Oddly, the door was ajar, practically inviting someone to walk in. The room radiated moderate conjuration magic, and a scrap of paper on the nightstand radiated feint transmutation magic (purple).
As Jiri inspected the magical piece of paper, which, to his puzzlement, contained several bawdy limericks--he heard a low growl behind him.
Turning around, he saw a swirling vortex of shadow and flame materialize above the bear rug, from which emerged a massive brown bear that smelled of brimstone, with glowing red eyes and matted fur broken in places by wicked, bony growths. The fiendish dire bear towered over Jiri, and though it gazed straight at him, its momentary disorientation gave the dwarf the split second he needed to escape back into the library, screaming “BEAR!!!” and slamming the door to the bedchamber shut behind him.
The others thought he was joking, until they heard the beast bellow and try to smash through the stout oak door... again, and again. The companions readied for battle. Akiro stood with glaive ready 10’ north of the trembling door, Shalora provided her allies with Shelyn’s guidance, and, against Jiri’s will, Iacobus cast a spell that enlarged the dwarf into a hulk as large as the fiendish bear; the magus then imbued his falcata with arcane energy.
Eventually, the bear smashed down the door and squeezed through the entryway between the bedchamber and library. Its roar was deafening. It advanced threateningly toward dire bear-sized Jiri, but the enlarged dwarf, Iacobus and Akiro all struck their foe in rapid sequence with deadly accuracy. The fiend roared in pain, and before it could lash out at the companions, the fiery black portal suddenly gaped open again, this time in the library, and sucked the bear back in.
After taking a moment to recover from the adrenaline rush, Jiri shrank back to his normal size and the heroes resumed their investigations. Jiri returned to the wizard’s bedchamber, which no longer radiated conjuration magic. The only thing that still had a feint aura of transmutation magic was the scrap of paper with the bawdy limericks on the nightstand. Meanwhile, Iacobus and the others inspected the door leading east from the library, which radiated both abjuration and evocation magic... the silver charm once again dispelled the abjuration magic on the lock, but the magus feared that the remaining evocation aura indicated the presence of another trap.
Jiri found a ring of keys in the wizard’s top desk drawer, and discretely emptied the contents of the chest--gemstones and gold ring inlaid with a fat black pearl--into his pack. He then rejoined his companions at the east door, presenting them with the ring of keys and reading the limericks on the magical scrap of paper... which left everyone equally amused and puzzled. Did the limericks have some deeper significance? Why the magic aura?
The companions were relieved to find that one of the keys Jiri had found in the master bedchamber fit the lock on the east door. As Iacobus unlocked the door, the aura of evocation faded. Inside the room, the adventurers found two long tables of stained oak lining the east wall of the room, cluttered with alchemical supplies. Atop the desk on the west wall were writing implements, ink, sheets of vellum, and several scrolls. A large chest secured by a prominent lock sat just north of the desk.
The four scrolls on the desk and five flasks radiated feint magic of a variety of schools; a variety of auras glowed from within the chest, the lock on which again revealed feint abjuration and evocation magic. The silver charm and another key on the ring found in the wizard’s bedroom desk enabled Iacobus to bypass all of the chest’s magical wards. The magus’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw the contents of that chest, for it contained the wizard Hunclay’s spell books -- six of them!
The companions took some time to identify what magical items they could in the study. The four scrolls on the desk were inscribed with the following spells: campfire wall, magic circle against chaos, and two others that Iacobus was not able to identify on the spot.
Five flasks contained magical substances: two vials contained oil of keen edge, and the remaining flasks held potions of undetectable alignment, protection from acid, and protection from fire.
As Iacobus thumbed through one of the spellbooks, he found some notes written in the common tongue in the margin of a secret page spell -- a spell that alterns the contents of a page so that it appears to be something entirely different. Speaking a special word would reveal the page’s contents. Four words had been inscribed in the margin of the spell -- “Eox,” “Aucturn,” “Carcosa,” and “Dominion.” The former three words--which Iacobus knew were the names of planets--had been crossed out. Iacobus was not quite certain what “Dominion” referred to, but when he spoke the word aloud, the limericks on the scrap of paper Jiri had found in the wizard’s bedroom began to writhe and shift, rearranging themselves into a to-do list with the following items:
- Conjure accuser devil re disguising text of Secrets of the Dreaming Dark
- Animate Domain remains as guardian for cave
- Repair hinges on secret door in clockwork lab
- Attempt second contact with Dominion via book’s ritual before loan to A.
- Confirm demolition date with A’s kobolds.
Three of the items had been stricken through, and with a smirk, Iacobus crossed off the fifth item. Who was “A”, wondered the companions... the Dread Lord Aeteperax mentioned by the dying kobold seer when the adventurers raided the Blood Vow lair? And what did “Dominion” refer to?The party decided to carry on their persons what magic items they had found thus far in the library and study, if only for temporary safe keeping... and in case they might prove useful as a last resort against other guardians that might still be lurking in the manor.
From here, the companions went up the stairs and through the trap door in the ceiling of the library, which opened up into a wondrous, glass-domed observatory. Within, an enormous device that Iacobus identified as a telescope sat upon a platform over a veritable sea of metal gears. An angled metal chair was inclined below the device, within reach of a cluster of pedals and levers that enabled its occupant to perform adjustments to the telescope’s orientation. Tables covered in books and charts occupied the southeast corner. The view of the surrounding skies, village and countryside afforded by the glass dome was breathtaking in its expanse.
Akiro kept watch over the trapdoor while the others fanned out around the observatory. Iacobus could not resist the temptation to sit down in the chair and peer through the telescope... but as he did so, a powerful jolt of lightning surged through the chair, electrocuting him. The magus leapt out of the chair with a scream of both surprise and pain. He recovered quickly and walked around the device, looking for the source of the bolt... and was the first to notice the diminutive, winged creature sitting on the dome’s ledge beyond the far side of the telescope. It looked like an obese infant, but with leathery skin mottled with spots of grime, four small wings, curling ram’s horns, sharp blackened teeth, and black eyes with no pupils. It held a small wand in hand, and pantomimed exaggerated laughter at Iacobus. The magus suspected the creature was a homunculus -- a miniature servant created from a spellcaster’s own blood. Iacobus did not like the way it grinned at him? Did the creature inflict the shock he had recently withstood? He advanced toward it slowly, trying to convince it that it did not want to use its wand on him... but its expression instantly changed from mirth to a wide-eyed, evil grin as it unleashed a bolt of lightning from its wand at the magus. Iacobus managed to dodge the worst of the bolt, but was still lightly singed. The bolt shattered part of the glass dome.
The homunculus
Shalora cast Shelyn’s guidance on Jiri as he moved toward the homunculus, which was about to unleash another bolt at Iacobus... but unexpectedly, Mischief leapt to the rescue, snatching the wand from the creature’s hands. Its four wings carried it up near the top of the dome, out of reach of the companions’ melee weapons, where it gestured in mute wrath that it would strangle the fox... The homunculus dove at Mischief and tried to wrest the wand from his jaws, unsuccessfully. Iacobus and Jiri landed some blows on the surprisingly hardy construct, which then stabbed the magus with its tail stinger. Iacobus passed out instantly, and the creature flew out of reach yet again.
Akiro attempted a daring feat of acrobatics by leaping onto the telescope and then again up from there with his glaive to attack their foe... but lost his balance before he could strike, fortunately landing on his feet. The homunculus dove again for Mischief, but suffered a fatal thrust from Akiro’s glaive. For a few moments, it pantomimed its agonizing demise... than finally fell to the ground, motionless. Akiro (?) tossed its corpse through the hole in the dome. Eventually, Shalora succeeded in neutralizing the poison coursing through Iacobus’s body, and the magus awakened.
In addition to 50 rare star charts that focused on strange empty-looking swaths of the night sky, lying on the tables were an exquisite platinum astrolabe, six rare astronomy tomes of aged Taldan pedigree, and two expensive handheld telescopes. Iacobus claimed the homunculus’s wand of lightning bolt (with only four charges remaining) from Mischief, the hero of the hour.
Mischief, the hero of the hour
The magus decided to give the telescope another try, sat in the chair... and was singed by another bolt that surged through the chair! The first charge he had suffered had not been inflicted by the homunculus‘ wand after all... the chair was trapped! Indeed, Jiri confirmed subsequently that the gears underneath the chair radiated evocation magic, and the dwarf then disabled the mechanical components of the trap. Iacobus did not bother sitting in the chair again... he reasoned that he would not be able to see anything during the day, and would return later at night.
From here, the party descended into the manor’s dark cellar...
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