3rd Day of Harvester, CY 580 - Poking Around Dieg Manor in Verbobonc

Since we are playing an old-school Greyhawk campaign, using much of the original 1st & 2nd edition source material, the events of the original Fate of Istus module have been in play for some time, though our heroes haven't really been in the thick of it. It has been mostly plot elements crossing over into the other modules they are playing. Since the events of the module are part of the overall story, so I have weaved it into the background up until now. Since the party decided to go to Verbobonc this week, it was time to dive in.

We left off on the first day of Harvester when the party was finally reunited in Greyhawk. After a couple of days of getting reacquainted, the party decided to head to Verbobonc to see Lord Wilfrick about the former Temple of Elemental Evil, and the Temple of Thrithereon about Jarrus and his former squire's knighting. They chose horseback and the road as the best route, which, for lower level characters, would have been dangerous, but for the Badass Motherfuckers, it was an easy trip. Bandits could easily tell they should leave them alone and wandering monsters were no challenge. The entire trip took 14 days, during which Luapan and Cadwin were able to create food and water. Having clerics and druids and barbarians with outdoor skills in the party pretty much means I get to skip the Wilderness Survival Guide as a DM and just let travel happen. The players appreciate that, as our sessions are time constrained.

Verbobonc City Gate

As the party approach the city gate of Verbobonc, they could see a long line of merchants and other travelers trying to get into the city. It took 2 hours of waiting before they could get to the front, where they were informed that everyone entering the city had to submit to a "plague check." They were looking for signs of the Red Death, which has been plaguing the area. The check required a full strip down and examination by a cleric, which the party agreed to do without complaint (Pontus the barbarian actually thought it was fun). Once through the gates, it was late, and they decided to seek an inn and secure a room. They were able to nice inn called The Jewel of the Velverdyva and get two rooms for the night.

Jarrus immediately headed to the Temple of Trithereon, which was closed for the evening, but he put in word with a cleric that he was in town at the request of the high priest. He then returned to the inn and had dinner and enjoyed some entertainment, being sure to inform the tavern bard about their great deeds and offering to regale him with stories of their adventures as material for new songs. Pontus enjoyed a night of drinking and the company of several ladies, roping Luapan into being his "wingman" for the evening. It was an unlikely pairing, but it worked.

Cadwin decided to kick-back and use his listening skills to eavesdrop on conversations going on inside the inn. He heard a couple of local men complaining about their neighbor, a man named Carlan Dieg, who used to be their friend, but has become quite an unpleasant recluse recently, and letting his house fall into disrepair. "Dieg" was a name mentioned in a cryptic message that Jarrus has received in back in Greyhawk from a old man on the street. The full message, the party recalled, went like this:

"Are your ears a-prickle? Good! 

Then know that there are ways to win your victory before the son’s aware but be stealthy! 

Ask the neighbors, do not go knocking; for announcements now work against you! Dieg is the answer, for Dieg is dead, yet Dieg is not! That's the riddle, and yet there's more. For when are neighbors who were once friends no longer both yet both? Eyes can see yet be blind .... "

The group knows an adventure hook when it hits them in the face, and so they decided they would investigate this man, Dieg the next day after concluding some other business. So the next day, they first headed to the Temple of Trithereon. On the way, they saw alleyways full of sick and dying people - the Red Death. They also saw some cultists they have seen before. These cultists wore rags and had the symbol of Pholtus branded into their foreheads. In some cases, they were harassing people, and Jarrus put a stop to that, but in other cases, they seemed to be recruiting from the sick and dying folks, claiming they had the only cure. Some of the cultists claimed to have been stricken with the disease before they converted to the light, and could testify to healing power of Pholtus. It seemed to be working for their recruiting effort to a certain extent. At the temple, Jarrus made an appointment for 3 days from now to meet with the high priest and then went to Lord Wilfrick's castle and managed to get an audience with him scheduled in six day's time (using his credentials as a member of the church of Trithereon to smooth the process). The party then moved on to investigate Dieg.

They started the investigation with a house that was for rent next door, hoping to use it as a base of operation. The owner informed them that it had already been rented and would not provide any details about who rented it. Cadwin was able to use "Speak with Nature" to divine that there was an underground tunnel system (read: dungeon) under Dieg Manor. Physical scouting of the place showed that it was freshly, but hastily painted over, all of the windows were boarded shut and the house really was being neglected - with weeds growing everywhere and dust and cobwebs around the front. Based on some information they obtained from the neighbors, Dieg started acting strangely about 2 months ago, and while he has been rude to people when he is seen, for the most part, he is rarely seen at all.

The party then decided to scout the place from the inn across the street. They were able to get their nice rooms downgraded in order to move to the front of the building and get a view of the house. They then began watches that night, keeping an eye on what was going on. During Sarril's watch, he saw a figure in black and red robes - colors often associated with evil clerics, approach the front door and go inside. The party decided not to wait any longer and go immediately inside the manor.

Choosing a place on the north side of the house, Sarril cast Passwall in order to get the party inside while avoiding the front door. They saw a bedroom on the other side of the wall, and surprised a sleeping merchant (Cadwin recognized his voice as a patron of the inn earlier) who immediately woke up and drew a knife to defend himself. Jarrus and Pontus were too fast, however, and they cut the man down before he could act. After searching the body and recovering very little, the party

headed west, where a group of six men with scimitars had prepared an ambush, having been woken up but the noise in the next room a few minutes ago. Jarrus and Pontus swept through and took out these men with almost no effort. The party was convinced now that the man in the other room was no mere merchant, and this home was being used as a base of operations for some nefarious activity. They searched the rest of the first level and the upper level, finding no other people or monsters. Pontus, however, found a golden skull under a pillow in the master bedroom - very similar to the artifact in the Temple of Elemental Evil, though without the gem slots. When he uncovered it, he, Sarril and Jarrus were forced to avert their gaze as they could not stand to look at it. Luapan was so overwhelmed by it that he ran from the room. Cadwin seemed unaffected, and so he wrapped it up in a pillowcase and put it his bag.

The only place left to go was down a staircase, and so down they went. After going down about 50 feet, they came to a secret door. Pontus opened the door and confronted by a raging war dog standing in front of a trash heap. The dog was clearly angry and starving and ready to attack.

And that is where we left off. It is about 3:30 am in the early morning of 19th Day of Harvester, CY 580