Blood and the House of Meer.
A late Medieval period investigative scenario, staged
among the many intrigues of a once-great merchant family.
Set in a rich and important riverside port-city of towering
walls and maze-like alleyways, this scenario suits
civilized, subtle player characters (merchant-adventurers,
priests or even lesser nobility) in a low fantasy, magic-
poor milleu.
If you aren`t the potential GM, read no further.
General Notes.
Setting: This scenario was written originally to run in
the great City river-port of Graid, mistress of the Ashmay, Impregnible bastion of Mighty walls within the
endless marsh, Dukedom of Castor the Great, home of a
hundred thousand souls, the City on the Isle of Stone ...
As Referee you will need to graft the scenario into
your existing Milleu without necessarily importing all the
above baggage. To assist in matching to one of your
cities/regions and to clarify the scenario text, this
scenario needs:
A stable, long established city-society with strongly insular traditions, where established merchant clans hold great privilage and influence, and a powerful city Guard is on hand to get in the way.
A vigorous, crusading Religion in a nearby region,
keen for greater influence but distained by the (mainly
animist/pagan) city people and split by inner divisions. (I have used a thinly disguised dark-ages christianity, the Faith of Ris.)
Ambitious neighbouring merchant-states, to be
distrusted as foreigners and provide origins for mercenary adventurers. (The land of Mhal, where the foreign Risian faith has taken root, and the many nations of the far off, advanced, Sea Kingdoms are mentioned)
Structure: This scenario does not have the 'map/linear
events' structure of a conventional module. Instead it
consists of a basic plot background, details and aims for
major characters, a plot timeline and suggested 'scenes' for
likely events (only the Feast scene is really necessary). No
rigid maps are provided.
It is left to the Referee to handle interactions
between NPC and player, using the scenes as they become
useful, and to govern development of the plot as player
actions cause deviation from the timeline.
This scenario does not have a set ending or 'winning
condition'. At best the players can avert a tragedy, gain
the friendship of an important family and discover the trail
of the terrible Jhera Myal. At worst they could be involved
in the inter-faction politics for years, be condemed as
heritics by one of the Risian sects, marry into the family
or get eaten.
Information is presented in the form of scenes
(suggested templates for particular encounters), lists of
people and rumours, and rough plot timelines. The scenario
is intended to run as a long series of encounters and
interviews between players and NPCs, interspaced with set
piece events as more violent action is instigated or
suffered. The background plots and the motivations of the
important characters should slowly become evident, and the
part played by the PCs will become increasingly central as
the plot deviates from its 'standard' timeline. A very
flexible Ref's approach is necessary.
Magic and otherwise: While an undercurrent of black magic,
undeath and witch-curses permeates the plot, this scenario
is intended for a magic-poor milleu. No 'on demand'
spellcasters are included and the Priests of Ris are men of
strong faith, not holy mages. The Referee must be careful if
running this scenario outside these limits, as a few 'Clairaudience',
'Counterspell', 'Mind probe' or 'Detect magic' spells will
end the plot in short order. If attempting to use this plot
in a magic-rich world perhaps the lurking evil of Jhera Myal
(or her item, the River's Eye) or the rigid faith of Caleb
Fel will confuse or prevent scrying and similar spells, but
to preserve any feeling of intrigue and uncertainty the
Referee will have to work harder.
On the other hand, as a wedding feast in an urban
society, heavy weapons and excessive armour (unless part of
a formal uniform) would be frowned on or simply excluded.
This scenario is a 'rapier and plumed hat' type, not a 'war
axe and loincloth' one.
In the character descriptions, keen eyed referee's will
find the priest Salmus Breel (a Sea Kingdoms man) has a
concealed (flintlock) pistol. If anything, this is symbolic
of his lack of faith, and a Referee running a 'no firearms'
world should substitute a poisoned throwing knife or similar
slightly underhand weapon.
Player Characters: A simple 'man in an inn hires you
to...' entry is hardly appropriate for a scenario which
starts at a formal wedding feast and develops into a
detective case. Player characters must be involved enough
not to simply flee, and must have enough social presence to
make themselves effective (they will be among the few
unaffected/innocent people present after the feast). A few
suggested entries/origins follow:
Agent of the City Guard (hired blade or
Guardsman), who have vague suspicion of foul-play afoot.
Agent of rival Risian sect (the Inquisition?)seeking heresy
among the priests and congeregation of the House.
Gentleman-bodyguard attending in lieu of an unwell
master (old family member, or a young merchant avoiding a boring marriage feast).
Legitimate (but minor) member of either Meer or Fel line,
possibly accompanied by friends or retainers (other
players?).
Imposter/gatecrasher, a thief looking for rich
pockets or an entrepreneur seeking interview/investment from a Meer elder.
Merchant or ship's captain with business connections to the House, invited out of courtesy.
Unless all characters are part of the same group, the Ref should spend some time keying each player into the
situation, as each will know a different amount of
background, and some may already know or have met certain
family members. Now Grandma, take the egg in your left hand
.....
A simple Cityman's view of the House of Meer.
(mainly as context for the Referee. Only an unusually well informed local, someone like a past servant or old crewman, would have quite such a tirade in him).
" The name of Meer is old in the City. They were among
the First Ships that brought the Stones. In elder times
there were Dukes among the sons of Meer, and under more
recent dawns, great merchant princelings.
But with time, even the blood of great houses thins,
and by the Old Duke's time dust blew through the ancestral
halls and harsh faced elders gazed down from darkening
portraits upon the foolish, the feeble, and eventually the
bankrupt.
It would not have been long before Meer was a name for
history's dusty tomes and the Halls split among many
creditors, but to an ambitious foriegner a famous name is a
gilded key to the City, and so the last son of Meer took as
wife a woman out of the Mhalish lands, Penitence Fel, the
strong daughter of a rich Sea-Kingdoms priest.
And so the name of Meer is seen again among the City's
banking houses and takes barge-charter, and trades wharf-
cargo, but it is a house of strangers, plying unfamiliar
customs and voicing outlandish speech where once only the
city-born walked and only the city-tongue was heard.
The House of Meer now waxes rich and numerous, but it
is a foreign island within the City, dark hued, closed and
walled about by stange Mhalish customs, for the people of
Fel follow a harsh, Sea Kingdoms born sect of the Risian
faith.
Beyond wharehouses and Wharftitles, and great estates
now in Mhal, the line holds but one Hall in the City, in
some decline and placed unfashionably near the Lower Gates,
where their strange Risian marks now obscure tradition's
ancient effigies. "
The Story So Far:
A marriage occurs in the House of Meer, between the
heir, Arfel Meer, and the first daughter of Fel, Lithir.
The House of Meer is divided and insular. It consists
of a handful of elders (of the Old Family), many strong
individuals of the Mhalish Fel line (who hold most influence
in the House) and the New Line, offspring of both Houses
bearing the Meer name (who hold the House's trade
privillages and are split in allegence between Old Meer and
the Fel)
At the Feast celebrating the marrige (held on the day
following the ceremony), near the end of the banquet, the
influential merchant Tomal Fel is struck down by a rotting
fever and falls, raving about Judgement and Sin. The wedding
party is swiftly dispersed for fear of plague, and Lithir
takes swooning to her bed.
Plot background:
The marriage is essential to the family to strengthen
Meer-Fel links and provide direct issue to Aslaf (who has no
legitimate children), but the wanton, decadent, beutiful
Lithir is loathed by the devoutly Risian among the Fel, and
mistrusted by the older Meer.
The scheming priestling, Breel, has decided to take
matters in hand and, having consulted with darker elements
in the City, has procured a curse upon Lithir to draw her
self-will and render her a mere puppet.
The curse requires a sample of Lithir's blood, to be
taken from the virgin-blood stained sheets of the marital
bed.
But the priestling's plot is flawed: Lithir is no
virgin, and knowing that by the customs of her people she
will be expected to bleed on her wedding night, requests of
her present lover, Tomal Fel, that he provide her with some
substitute dye. She is unaware that, failing to procure a
sufficiently realistic pigment, he has used a sample of his
own blood.
The marrige-bed sheets are stolen as arranged by
Breel's collegue, Kanagh Sul, and sent to the terrible
sorceress Jhera Myal (whose motive for involvment is
recovery of the jewel worn by Lithir, of great arcane value
to her), who swiftly works her dark magics and sets the
curse.
Which falls on Tomal and (never having been intended to
be cast on a man) rather than progressivly sapping away the
Will, has an unexpectedly terrible result and strikes him
down utterly.
Background Details
(common knowlege or heard about
town)
Arfel is rarely seen in the City. He has spent over ten
years as a mercenary warrior in the Sea Kingdoms, where he has gained great fame.
Tamis has a bastard son rumoured to be an important man
in the City, a magistrate or a merchant perhaps ? (Kanagh)
A lady of the house is rumoured to have taken several
young boatmen as lovers over the years, rewarding them
richly. (Chastity or Lithir)
A priest has been seen in low Inns near the Sorcerers
Gate. His face has always been shrouded.
The House of Meer.
The line has waxed numerous in recent years, with many
brothers of the family in trade and City employ, and
hundreds of the line of Fel in Mhal but with the disapproval
of many of the Risian Fel of Arfel's match with Lithir
relatively few attend the wedding Feast.
This, and the plague-fear in Tomal's fall dispersing
others before a quarantine can be emplaced leaves only
members of the inner House in the Halls of Meer in the
following time.
The main actors:
Note: Characters shown to have armour will probably not wear it without good cause.
Tamis Meer. Ancient, near-bedridden and ailing, he is last
of the Old line of Meer although nominal head of the Family, he sees power passing to the House of Fel. He retains a sharp tongue, keen wit and some influence.
Grey hair, angular features, small, weak.
Name: Tamis Meer Race: Human Sex: Male
PS MD AG HL MS IN ME PB SI CSP AWF PAD THA EVA PAA TPA PEA DAA
5 9 4 5 16 17 13 9 8 9 11 -4 -1 0 -4 5 -5 -1
GEN SHK WOC SOC
16 21 +1 +1
Loc HEAD NECK L.ARM R.ARM CHEST BELLY PELVS L.LEG R.LEG
GEN 3 3 4 4 8 8 5 5 5
SHK 4 4 5 5 11 11 7 7 7
Notable Skills: Oratory 75% Gen Knowledge 50%
Notable Combat Skills: None
Armour: None
Carmina. The (far) younger wife of Tamis. With her sister
Chastity she
forms the somewhat brittle matriarchy guiding the House
of Meer in
matters of city trade. Reserved, insightful, coldly
intelligent. More
observant than many realise. Favours formal grey
dresses.
Blond/greying, tall, somewhat careworn. Unarmed
Name: Carmina Meer Race: Human Sex: Female
PS MD AG HL MS IN ME PB SI CSP AWF PAD THA EVA PAA TPA PEA DAA
10 14 11 13 14 19 17 15 10 6 10 -5 4 3 3 11 0 0
GEN SHK WOC SOC
25 28 0 0
Loc HEAD NECK L.ARM R.ARM CHEST BELLY PELVS L.LEG R.LEG
GEN 5 5 6 6 13 13 8 8 8
SHK 6 6 7 7 14 14 9 9 9
Notable Skills: Oratory 60% Gen Knowledge 80%
Notable Combat Skills: None
Armour: None
Chastity Fel. The second of The Sisters, almost an
identical twin to
Carmina. She is unmarried, affects a subtly nun-like
style and behind a mask of virtue and piety conceals an
animal sexuality. Intuitive, amoral, an anonymous
patron of low inns and dens of vice.
Blond, tall, seductive. Concealed dagger.
Name: Chastity Fel Race: Human Sex: Female
PS MD AG HL MS IN ME PB SI CSP AWF PAD THA EVA PAA TPA PEA DAA
11 13 15 15 13 16 15 17 10 5 12 -3 3 5 4 13 1 0
GEN SHK WOC SOC
27 29 0 0
Loc HEAD NECK L.ARM R.ARM CHEST BELLY PELVS L.LEG R.LEG
GEN 5 5 7 7 14 14 9 9 9
SHK 6 6 7 7 15 15 10 10 10
Notable Skills: Townwise 69% Disguise 50% Sneak 47%
Notable Combat Skills: Dagger 45%
Armour: None
Caleb Fel. The Old Priest. An ancient of
rigidly puritan faith who has
outlived his sons, his axe-like face, pitch-black robes
and tapping
staff are symbols of final moral authority within the
House. With
passing years however, Father Caleb's mind is failing,
leaving only
his inflexible Faith and iron will.
Imposing, white-bearded, big. Staff.
Name: Caleb Fel Race: Human Sex: Male
PS MD AG HL MS IN ME PB SI CSP AWF PAD THA EVA PAA TPA PEA DAA
12 13 10 12 19 10 9 7 16 7 13 0 3 2 2 11 2 0
GEN SHK WOC SOC
32 40 0 -1
Loc HEAD NECK L.ARM R.ARM CHEST BELLY PELVS L.LEG R.LEG
GEN 6 6 8 8 16 16 11 11 11
SHK 8 8 10 10 20 20 13 13 13
Notable Skills: Oratory 75% Mythology 63% (Risian 3) Spot Hidden 61%
Notable Combat Skills: Staff 38%
Armour: None
Salamus Breel. The young priestling. A thin, fussy man,
robed in black.
Caleb's second and constant shadow, summoned from the
Sea Kingdoms to
assist the older man in his final years. Ambitious,
unscrupulous,
arrogant, vain.
A weak will hidden behind a fanatic
piety. Carries a
cane, uses it on the servants.
Very thin, balding. Dagger, pocket pistol.
Name: Salamus Breel Race: Human Sex: Male
PS MD AG HL MS IN ME PB SI CSP AWF PAD THA EVA PAA TPA PEA DAA
8 14 10 8 10 16 17 8 9 7 12 -3 4 3 2 9 -2 0
GEN SHK WOC SOC
21 20 +1 +1
Loc HEAD NECK L.ARM R.ARM CHEST BELLY PELVS L.LEG R.LEG
GEN 4 4 5 5 11 11 7 7 7
SHK 4 4 5 5 10 10 7 7 7
Notable Skills: Oratory 45% Mythology 52% (Risian 1) Sneak 41% Hide 56%
Notable Combat Skills: Dagger 35% Pistol 35%
Armour: None
Tomal Fel. A secretive dark-eyed Mhal, affecting simple,
expensive,
black clothing. Athletic, erudite, perfectly mannered.
A cunning
merchant, trusted confidant of the Sisters and lover of
both Lithir
and Chastity. Provider of Lithir's maiden-blood and
hence victim of
the curse.
Tall, charismatic. Rapier.
Name: Tomal Fel Race: Human Sex: Male
PS MD AG HL MS IN ME PB SI CSP AWF PAD THA EVA PAA TPA PEA DAA
16 13 16 17 13 17 14 18 12 5 12 -4 3 5 5 16 6 2
GEN SHK WOC SOC
36 38 -1 -1
Loc HEAD NECK L.ARM R.ARM CHEST BELLY PELVS L.LEG R.LEG
GEN 7 7 9 9 18 18 12 12 12
SHK 8 8 10 10 19 19 13 13 13
Notable Skills: Oratory 65% Gen Knowledge 45% Bargain 60% Townwise 57%
Notable Combat Skills: Rapier 59%
Armour: Full suit of padding armour, Chain full jerkin
Arfel Meer. Eldest of Carmina's eight children. Heir of
Meer, holder of
wharftitles, hero in many foreign wars, but blunt-
witted and easily
influneced, uncomfortable in civilian company.
Impressivly huge,
greying cropped hair, austere uniform of a distant
army, hides his
confusion behind stolid hostility. Devoted to Lithir.
Massive, troubled. Sabre.
Name: Arfel Meer Race: Human Sex: Male
PS MD AG HL MS IN ME PB SI CSP AWF PAD THA EVA PAA TPA PEA DAA
19 13 13 17 13 10 9 14 15 6 15 0 3 3 3 16 9 3
GEN SHK WOC SOC
44 46 -2 -2
Loc HEAD NECK L.ARM R.ARM CHEST BELLY PELVS L.LEG R.LEG
GEN 9 9 11 11 22 22 15 15 15
SHK 9 9 12 12 23 23 15 15 15
Notable Skills: Ride 63% Treat Wound 48% Gamble 49% Track 51%
Notable Combat Skills: Sabre 86% Heavy Crossbow 62% Parry Evasion 30% Round Shield 76%
Armour: Full suit of plate mail armour, full suit of leather
Lithir Fel. A wild-haired dark Mhalish beauty. Vain,
headstrong, and
decadent, her many affairs an embarassment to her
puritan family.
Half Arfel's age and no virgin. Fascinated by Tomal.
Dresses in a
dark puritan style with a satirically low cleavage
accentuated by a
pure blue pendant-stone (the River's Eye). Arfel's
cousin as well as
his bride.
Eyecatching, promiscuous. trained in
rapier.
Name: Lithir Fel Race: Human Sex: Female
PS MD AG HL MS IN ME PB SI CSP AWF PAD THA EVA PAA TPA PEA DAA
10 14 17 13 18 14 15 19 8 4 11 -2 4 6 6 14 0 0
GEN SHK WOC SOC
23 30 +1 0
Loc HEAD NECK L.ARM R.ARM CHEST BELLY PELVS L.LEG R.LEG
GEN 5 5 6 6 12 12 8 8 8
SHK 6 6 8 8 15 15 10 10 10
Notable Skills: Gen Knowledge 60% Dance 70% Hide 53%
Notable Combat Skills: Rapier 56%
Armour: Good leather jerkin
Kanagh Sul. Archetypical sucessful city merchant. Balding,
cold-eyed,
reserved. A bitter-minded bastard son of Tamis by an
earlier partner,
he hides his hate of the Fel (The legitimate Meer-Fel
offspring will
inherit before him) and lust for Lithir behind a coldly
friendly
facade. Pitied by Carmina, secretly leagued with Breel.
Imposing, respectable. Hidden shortsword.
Name: Kanagh Sul. Race: Human Sex: Male
PS MD AG HL MS IN ME PB SI CSP AWF PAD THA EVA PAA TPA PEA DAA
12 10 8 11 17 16 15 9 14 7 11 -3 0 1 -1 10 2 0
GEN SHK WOC SOC
32 38 0 -1
Loc HEAD NECK L.ARM R.ARM CHEST BELLY PELVS L.LEG R.LEG
GEN 6 6 8 8 16 16 11 11 11
SHK 8 8 10 10 19 19 13 13 13
Notable Skills: Sneak 37% Listen 61% Disguise 45%
Notable Combat Skills: Short sword 54%
Armour: Full suit of padding armour, Chain full jerkin
Other People:
Breel is attended by three 'monks', Luuz, Parl and Dra'am
:
Luuz. Breel's henchman and constant toadying
companion. A short,
dark Cityman garbed as a Risian monk, in fact a
professional thief
and bodyguard. Amoral, somewhat perverted. Does
Breel's dirty work.
Stealthy, tough. Staff, two hidden daggers
Name: Luuz Race: Human Sex: Male
PS MD AG HL MS IN ME PB SI CSP AWF PAD THA EVA PAA TPA PEA DAA
15 17 17 16 10 13 9 10 11 4 15 -2 7 6 7 16 5 1
GEN SHK WOC SOC
34 43 -1 -1
Loc HEAD NECK L.ARM R.ARM CHEST BELLY PELVS L.LEG R.LEG
GEN 7 7 9 9 17 17 11 11 11
SHK 7 7 8 9 17 17 11 11 11
Notable Skills: Sneak 52% Hide 70% Townwise 55% Pickpocket 65% Picklock 48% Listen 69%
Notable Combat Skills: Staff 50% Daggers 58% (throw 60%)
Armour: Full suit of leather
Parl and Dra'am. Breel's lesser acolytes.
Unsophisticated village men, recruits of a Risian monastic sect. Both dislike Luuz, and are begining to distrust Breel.
Taciturn, coarse, religious. Staves and shortswords.
Name: Parl Race: Human Sex: Male
PS MD AG HL MS IN ME PB SI CSP AWF PAD THA EVA PAA TPA PEA DAA
14 12 10 11 14 9 12 13 12 7 14 0 2 2 1 12 4 1
GEN SHK WOC SOC
33 36 -1 -1
Loc HEAD NECK L.ARM R.ARM CHEST BELLY PELVS L.LEG R.LEG
GEN 7 7 8 8 17 17 11 11 11
SHK 7 7 9 9 18 18 12 12 12
Notable Skills: Mythology 25% (Risian 1)
Notable Combat Skills: None, but likes to think he's hard
Armour: None
Name: Dra'am Race: Human Sex: Male
PS MD AG HL MS IN ME PB SI CSP AWF PAD THA EVA PAA TPA PEA DAA
12 14 16 14 14 14 9 10 10 5 13 -2 4 6 5 14 2 0
GEN SHK WOC SOC
28 31 0 0
Loc HEAD NECK L.ARM R.ARM CHEST BELLY PELVS L.LEG R.LEG
GEN 6 6 7 7 14 14 9 9 9
SHK 6 6 8 8 16 16 10 10 10
Notable Skills: Mythology 31% (Risian 1)
Notable Combat Skills: None. See Parl.
Armour: None
The Staff: The Hall of Meer has a large contingent of
servants, cooks,
ushers, maids and waiters. These (not insignificant)
people are not
individualy detailed, it being left to the Ref to
provide a brief
description and perhaps name for any questioned by the
players.
To excuse this omission:
The Halls are the sometimes-townhouse of a now
foreign House. A
large permanent staff is not maintanied, but rather a
small cleaning
staff is augmented by guest's personal attendants and
short-term
contracted servants and entertainers hired in the City.
At a time of ceremony, such as this marriage, the
relationship
between servant and master becomes formalised and more
distant, with
all but liveried waiters and ushers remaining unseen.
After the curse
falls all but the most important servants will be
excluded, as plague
quarantine and to minimise family embarassment.
Other House Members: Although the Ceremony attracts Meer
and Fel from
many surrounding lands, widespread disapproval of
Lithir (and her 'unsuitability' as a wife for Arfel)
causes the greater Fel houses to
decline invitation to the post-nuptial feast, which is
therefore a
much smaller event than planned.
At the feast should be the players, the major
members of the
House of Meer detailed above, and any merchant
dignitaries the Ref
can produce for the event. (Merchants/nobles known to
the players are
a good choice, while those hostile to one or more PCs
can provide
interesting sub-plots or distractions.)
Jhera Myal: White-skinned, flame haired, and dead. Eyes
like black
marble and a body like temptation. A courtesan/sorcerer
of elder days
sustained by a terrible necromantic pact.
Her undeath gives her a hypnotic gaze, a white ichor
for blood
(from which she prepares the Elixier her servants live
on), and the
ability to pass on her undeath by inflicting a fatal
bite.
She has certain Dark-path sorcerous powers (such as
the Blood
curse), but most of her powers depend on a Pact-object,
a blue gem
known as the River's Eye. If she regains this
(currently held by
Lithir as wedding gift from Chastity), her powers will
be increased
manyfold.
Flowing dress, leather bodice, sword
Name: Jhera Myal Race: Undead Human Sex: Female
PS MD AG HL MS IN ME PB SI CSP AWF PAD THA EVA PAA TPA PEA DAA
17 13 18 N/A 19 18 20 18 9 4 8 -4 3 7 6 18 7 2
GEN WOC SPP/LEVEL
35 -1 94
Loc HEAD NECK L.ARM R.ARM CHEST BELLY PELVS L.LEG R.LEG
GEN 7 7 9 9 18 18 12 12 12
Notable Skills: Immune to shock, Thaumaturgy 72% Spot Hidden 74% Dance 64%
Notable Combat Skills: Broad Sword 63% Light Crossbow 55%
Armour: Leather jerkin
Jhera will not commit herself to risky combat. At
most a few sword
parries and then a swift retreat. She will sacrifice
her servants,
even Atuss if necessary, to escape. A useful recurring
villan. It is up to the GM to decide how magically powerful Jhera should be, but she should by no means be an easy adversary to defeat.
Atuss: Tall, thin, wide hat, grey coat, and a piercing
gaze from a dead
face (tiny, neat stiches are evident on his skin). Once
Jhera's lover
and for many years her undead servant and companion.
Carries a copper
flask of the white Elixier.
Impossibly strong and
resilient.
Leather clothes, rapier, bastard sword, dagger
Name: Atuss Race:Undead Human Sex: Male
PS MD AG HL MS IN ME PB SI CSP AWF PAD THA EVA PAA TPA PEA DAA
25 14 17 N/A 13 14 15 5 11 4 12 -2 4 6 6 21 15 5
GEN WOC
49 -1
Loc HEAD NECK L.ARM R.ARM CHEST BELLY PELVS L.LEG R.LEG
GEN 10 10 12 12 25 25 16 16 16
Notable Skills:Immune to shock, Run 74% Jump 79% Tumble 63%
Notable Combat Skills: Rapier 89% Dagger 68% Bastard Sword 75%
Heavy Winched Crossbow 54%
Armour: Full suit of leather
Servants of the Elixier. Those 'slain' by Jhera's bite
attain a state
with few differences to life, but they bleed white and
must partake
of the Elixier at least once daily or truely die. A
servant is
subject to Jhera's orders, but retains a corrupt
intelligence. A
servant cannot inflict undeath, and their wounds never
heal.
These are not "classic" zombies, and can pass for
normal people
under all except close scrutiny.
Scenes from a House in Turmoil.
These scenes/events are intended to help the Ref
in giving depth
to this (rather unformed) scenario. They do NOT
necessarily form a
linear, sequential plot.
1. The Feast:
Evening in the Great Hall of Meer, ancient rafters
shrouded in the smoke of many bright torches, swift shadows
cast across the time-marked stone, the brittle mirth of
Wedding-Feasters echoes along rarely trodden ways, the quick
jests of minstrels among somber ancestral statues, City
Watch as Guards of Honour under brooding arches.
Feast-tables about the roaring fireplace, rich brocades
and costly silks, rich foods on silver platters, rare fruits
and far-travelled wines, the pledging of many cups, rich
acclaimation of future fecundity. A Great House celebrates
the wedding of it's brave heir and his exotic bride.
The High Table among the golden chalices and choicest
morsels, Old Lord Tamis, grey from his sickbed, enthroned
among rich quilts. Lady Carmina ever at his side, his wife
and mother of Arfel, hero returned from foreign wars, his
scarred frown softened to look on wild Lithir, his wife of a
day. Black clad even in feasting, the respected Priests Old
Father Caleb and Confessor Breel, serious puritan faces
softened by the joy of the Feast. And respected guests also
the Merchant-captains Kanagh Sul and dark Tomal Fel, each
rich robed in City style, and Chastity Fel, near twin to her
sister Carmina.
The feasters eat, sweet wines flow. Arfel stands, a
head taller than most men, his orders gleaming in
torchlight, a Knight of the Lamb, and speaks oaths of
devotion to his woman. Tamis weakly stands, but his oaths of
blessing for the future ring clearly out. Tomal stands,
raising his crystal goblet ...
He hesitates, his mouth works soundlessly, limps a step
backwards, the cup falls from writhing fingers ...
Crystal shatters on stone in discordant salvo, Tomal
clutches at his throat, a stream of blood runs between his
clenched teeth, he barks out a single cry :
" Sin! "
He crashes forward across the cluttered table, limbs
writhing in a chaotic dance. Rich fruits burst like slow
raindrops, split wine in azure sprays. Servants rush
forward, others rush back.
A harsh volley of cries:
" Poison! " ... " Witchcraft! " ...
Arfel's long sabre hisses from it's sheath, but the
Knight stands confused, without a foe, Lithir faints with a
thin scream, butlers hurry Tamis from the hall. A
Guardsman's cry of ...
" Plague ! " ... " Quarantine ! "
Guests draw back, women shriek, doors are barred, and
doors are forced. Guard-horns bellow for reinforcement,
merchants draw rare-seen swords ... Panic reigns.
Notes: The Quarantine/Plaguefear.
A cynical Referee's
tool to
keep the players near the action at the start of
the scenario.
Most other guests should flee and not be seen
again, while the
Quarantine will be relaxed as soon as panic dies
down.
A very keen-eyed player might have noticed :
Chastity seemed friendly with Tomal ...
Lithir seemed bored by Arfel ...
Tomal and Lithir exchanged knowing
glances often ...
Tomal hadn't drunk from his cup when he
fell ...
End of the Feast (scene 1).
Who is thinking what:
Lithir "We are punished for my Sins. I cannot bear it."
Tomal "I am punished for my Sin. I am damned beyond redemption."
Chastity "They are punished for my Sins. I
must reveal nothing."
Caleb "Devil's work afoot in this Pagan place. The Wages of Sin."
Breel "Something has gone amiss. I must hide my part in this."
Kanagh "The Fel Bitch and her Dog!. I rejoice in their
pain."
Arfel "Tomal plagued, and Lithir also?"
Jhera "My curse has struck a man. Perhaps I can draw
his Essence?"
After the Feast.
Basic plot timeline and suggested events:
Rumours and leads will depend on how the plot
progresses and what the players do, so who knows what and saw what must be handled on the fly by the Referee. Sorry.
Tomal is carried to his room, where he writhes under
the curse. The family sick-nurse (Kumil) knows no cause to
the sickness, and so orders him isolated in a darkened room,
as if for a fever. (scene 2)
Lithir swoons and takes to her bed, distraught with conflicting emotions. She admits no visitors.
Arfel paces the corridors in a foul mood. Later, he
will take to drink and spend many following hours in a
stupor. In his cups, he is a dangerous, stupid, stubborn
man. (scene 3) Eventually he stations himself as a guard
before Lithir's door.
Tamis is first to suspect a curse on Tomal, and
arranges a secret interview with Lithir. No conclusion, but
Dra'am overhears their talk, and a maidservant observes
Dra'am spying. Dra'am decides not to report to his master,
Breel.
Caleb retires to the chapel, and after long
deliberation, resolves to exorcise Tomal of his
'possession', but is delayed by Chastity who entreats him to
"let the fever run its course". (She fears Tomal, in his
delerium, will reveal their relationship.) Caleb slowly
prepares himself for the ritual, spending long hours before
the altar.
Breel (and Luuz) seek an 'interview' with Lithir (to
find why she has escaped the curse). They are turned back by
Arfel. Luuz may return later by stealth to kidnap, drug or
even murder Lithir. (but Lithir is about the match of Luuz
in combat, especially with her sword).
If Breel suspects player interference or a closeness to
unmasking his plot, he will hire City thugs to beat up
(initially) or kill any meddlers. If absolutely necessary he
will use Luuz and/or Parl to remove unwelcome strangers. He
is unlikely to move against House members unless paniced.
Kanagh makes no overt moves, but confers occasionaly
with Breel. Their relationship worstens with time, with
Kanagh losing his composure and eventually sending Breel "..
to see your expensive Witch in person. Go, Priest and be
your own messenger. Speak with Jheera Myal ! ".
Kanagh will also be alert for meddling in the plan, and
since it's miscarriage suits him better than it's planned
success, will act (subtly) to maintain the status quo,
wishing doom upon the House of Meer.
Note: Only if the sub-plots leading to a confrontation
with Jhera Myal are used should Breel fall under her control.
If only a shadowy background presence is desired, then a
violent confrontataion between Caleb and Breel, (or Kanagh
and Breel together attempting to kill/abduct Lithir) forms a
good set-piece climax.
(Prompt action by players will have prevented any plot reaching this stage, but we Refs all know, the worst always happens ...)
Breel visits Jhera Myal, under the sign of Omak the
Coppersmith, at the Sorcerer's Gate (scene 4). She takes his
life and sends him back subtly under her control, in the
company of her henchman, Atuss.
Breel visits Tomal, apparently easing his pain, but in
fact taking blood for his mistress and feeding Tomal the
Elixir upon which he now sustains himself.
Atuss is seen by servants about the halls, but is never
apprehended. An air of doom is now decending upon the house.
Caleb suspects aught amiss, and takes Tomal to the
House chapel, to exorcise the darkness from him. Breel and
Atuss stop him on the threshold of the consecrated room.
Tomal is taken (or drags himself in wounded delerium)
to Jhera Myal, where he is reduced to the same undeath as
Breel.
Tomal returns to House Meer, claiming a cure by mystic
healers in the City (although he cannot substantiate this
tale), and seduces both Lithir and Chastity into his undeath
and restores the River's Eye to Jhera ....
By this time, all is lost. Tomal will take Chastity
into Mhal for his convalecence (spreading undeath among the
Fel), Lithir will swiftly infect Arfel and dispose of Tamis
(and Kanagh, out of spite). The House of Meer will decend
into undeath and vampirism, Jhera Myal will spread her
malign influence into the Sea Kingdoms, and a spectre of
evil will rise over the City.
2. Interview with Tomal:
An isolated, darkened bedchamber, thick hangings drawn
across windows and smoldering lamps cast a funery air. The
smell of strewn herbs drowns in a stronger pungency, the
acrid stench of fever-sweat and the coppery tang of blood.
Tomal lies among stained quilts, writhing and groaning
in delerium. Blood trickles from his pale lips, his bed-robe
stained from some past effusion, while sweat matts his dark
hair and runs from his brow.
He utters no words in his fugue, just animal grunts and
beast-whines, and at times falls briefly into a semblance of
sleep. This poor wretch is hardly recognisable as the
haughty merchant of the Feast.
(If attempts are made to wake him)
Tomal wakes struggling, as if from a dream, with eyes
slitted even against the dark of his chamber. Slowly he sits
up, groaning with pain as blood starts from the quick of his
fingernails with the effort. Pupils like pinpoints he
squints around, lips working soundlessly. Blood trickles
from his nostrils, his lips redden.
The invalid tries to speak. Eyes bulge with effort, red
tears flow, tendons knot with exertion, a hissing breath,
bloody foam escapes past clenched teeth. Rivulets of
crimson flow from the ears.
" Sin ... my sin ...... blood ................
Lithir... ah!"
A convulsion wracks his wasted form, a gasping breath
breaks in a bubbling torrent of bloody froth, blood gushes
from nostrils and ears, the quilts sodden with a torrent
from his lower regions, eyes start suddenly open,
splattering the facing wall with gory clots ...
The spasm ends, Tomal slumps back to the soiled bed,
gasping for air between expulsions of red phlegm, before
sinking deeply unconscious again. He has passed more blood than his mortal frame could have held, and yet he lives still, if such suffering is life.
Notes: This scene contains few useful clues for the
players, I just get off writing this stuff.
3. Arfel in his rage:
"Upon the day of my marriage ! A curse on these primitive
lands !"
Arfel lurches down the loud-echoing corridor. He
supports his huge frame on a stair-post and drains the
brandy bottle in a single long, noisy swallow before
smashing it on the flagstones.
He pauses, breathing deeply as his face knots in rage
and tears of frustration well in his eyes. He clutches the
sash of his Knightly Order, cloth of gold and silver cross
glinting in the lamplight.
"In battle I am mighty, but among these people, what can
I do."
A fluid motion, muscles rippling under ornate uniform
coat, the long sabre rings free of its scabbard and strikes,
the tree-wide post falls headlong down the stairs, crashing
into the landings below.
4. A meeting with the Witch.
Dark tendrils of mist writhe across the cobbled alley,
fitful moonlight competing with the covered lamps of night-
walkers and low Inns. A stench of the nearby river closes
over the evening cool like a stifler's pillow, the only
sound a metallic creaking of the Sorcerers Gate gibbet.
Breel stands robed against the night beneath the beaten
copper sign of Omak's shop. His manservant Luuz he has
despatched some time earlier, passing small coin and
gesturing towards a wineshop.
"You expect a crone?". A whisper in the darkness and he is not alone. A tall woman, her copper-red hair a torch in
the dimness, her tight robes suggesting a wanton's curves.
Neither sound nor sight of her arrival.
"Myal. The curse, it ... fail ....". His imperious voice falters and fails, brief moonlight shows their faces, her ash-white beauty, dark eyes flashing, his swarthy features sweating fear. He steps a half-pace back fumbling for a dagger, but his eyes cannot leave hers. The weapon falls from nerveless fingers, ringing against the cobbles.
"I claim you, priest" Her voice low, sensual, threatening. Her sword slides silently from the scabbard,the point resting against the priest's belly. A shuddering breath as the blade thrusts in, blood and fear-piss drenches the stones, but never does Breel draw back. The blade twists, a slaughterhouse sound, as her hand grasps the priest's sparse hair and draws him in.
A stretched neck, and sharp teeth sink hungry into
flesh. Breel's throat opens in a second, ragged smile and
greedily the witch drinks.
The priest falls unmoving, cold as the stones, as Myal
steps back satiated, streching cat-like in the shadows.
Swift gestures and an ancient, unthinkable word shatters the
baited silence...
And Breel's corpse stirs, and reluctantly rises, to
follow the witch into the darkness.