Journal of Rollo Lavius 2

Entry #429 - The Haunted House

(G429 31/10/2020 via Roll20 - AP, JF(GM)) WA74

[To return to Fenrir and his dealings with Katheera of the Night Masks.]

DAY 485 (30th Kythorn)(June)

Katheera "The Succubus" Urdo had been kidnapped! Or so Degasus Tarensun told Fenrir when next he went to see him at the Purple Lady.

They had just that moment received news of her whereabouts - a house in an ancient ruined city some 50 miles southwest of Westgate. Fenrir decided to set off at once.

Meanwhile, Random had enlisted the help of Raz and Veddic. He gave them money for a night on the town and told them to leave some 'calling cards' here and there.
These were stylised pairs of pink ladies underwear - the calling card (apparently) of the 'Knip Tanps Banditos'.

[The very astute of you may trace the 'Banditos' back to the 'Pink Pants Bandit', which was a very elaborate trick that Cavu (back when he was known as Banjax) had once played on a fellow party member. It can be assumed that the 'Banditos' were a mere fiction,  a ruse to fool the Nightmasks into thinking they had new competition in the city.]

DAY 486 (1st Flamerule)(July)

Fenrir arrived at the ruined city just after midnight. It was an ancient place, now lost in the deep forest of the south-western area of the Dragon Coast. I have no idea, from Fenrir's description of what this place might be - I have found no history book that mentions it.

Be that as it may, Fenrir found the place easily enough from the directions he had been given and found the only house that still stood, situated as it was in the deepest and darkest part of the forest. He could see that there were lights on as he approached.

After flying around invisibly, to scout the place, he landed in a walled off area where there had once been a swimming pool of sorts. As he set foot on the ground a zombified beholder rose from the pool and attacked him! He flew up, firing as he went. The beholder did not trouble him overly much though and he soon killed it, its rotting corpse slipping once more into the fetid waters of the pool.

Fenrir landed again and decided to simply use the front door. He tried his Ring of Knock but much to his amazement this did not work. It was not until he finally walked away that the door swung open of its own accord - with a low ominous creak.

In the entrance hall were two gargoyles, which attacked him, but these days Fenrir is so powerful he eats gargoyles for breakfast and with one fell Cone of Eldritch Power he incinerated them and much of the soft furnishings.

The chamber beyond the hall contained a statue of a gryphon and a sofa with a creepy doll on it. The doll watched him with glowing blue eyes.

'Hello, are you an entity that resides in this house permanently?' asked Fenrir in a rather overly polite fashion considering the manner of his entrance.
The doll did not deign to reply.

He entered a tea room, where a chandelier crashed to the floor and nearly hit him. Next he entered a dining room where a ghostly scene of a lord talking to his guests played out before fading away.

Somewhat perplexed Fenrir returned to the room with the gryphon statue and looked it over. He worked out there was a mechanism that opened two secret doors and after a bit of pulling with a rope, he managed to get them both to open for him.

In the next room he was attacked by a cloaker, which he easily killed, then heading upstairs he found a room the contained another doll. He crept past it, heading for the master bedroom.

Here he was presented with the reason the house was the way it was. On the ceiling, covered in roots was the lord of the house, sort of alive - or at least moving slightly anyway.
At the dressing table was an old hag, a witch that had cursed the place countless years ago and still remained, feeding off its dark energy.

She attacked Fenrir as he entered, and summoned waves of ghasts to hold him off. Fenrir was beaten back, but they could not do much damage to him - armoured both physically and magically as he was - and he pushed them back with blasts of Eldritch Power, turning the room into a charnel mess. He chained shots from them onto the hag and soon wore her down. Finally he pushed through the undead and finished her off with one last powerful blast.

The main evil of the house defeated he headed out of the room, only to be attacked by the second knife wielding doll. He incinerated that too, as it leapt about, trying to stab him in the back. He then searched the rest of the house, taking whatever treasure he found,  and killing a couple of phase spiders, before finally finding the cellar, the last place in the house he had not visited.

Here he discovered a Flesh Golem, which attacked him and was blasted to bits in short  order. There were cells down here and in one of them he found Katheera Urdo.
'Finally!' she cried. 'The Night Masks have sent someone. Get me out of here!'

He didn't let her go though. He got a name out of her (Hrarnok Sharkchum) and then blasted her into pieces, Katheera cursing him savagely as she died.

He then set a few fires around the place and left the house to burn as he flew back to  Westgate.

He arrived around noon and went to get some sleep.

In the evening he returned to Degasus Tarensun and said;
'Sorry, but she was already dead when I got there.'
Degasus was convinced but did ask;
'Who are you Barry Shitknees?'
Fenrir did not give an answer, but simply finished his drink and left. He had his next name and that was all he cared about.