Posted 12 February 2006 - 07:02 AM
Introduction
It began with a dinner. The Manorial Lord, Sir Larrius Molorn, had guests that night who brought a strange fruit from Lythia. Their own cook (Slave, M,34, Maldak, Tall, thin and perfectionist.) prepared a series of delectable courses using this fruit in every means possible. It was in the salad, the soup, as a sauce for the chicken and the fish, and even as an creamed desert. The drinks were touched by it and it was even used to remove grease from the fingers after the meal. The only part the cook through away were its seeds, as - according to the visitors, the seeds would not germinate in this climate.
The visitors were local merchants and left the next morning to trade with Themeson, promising to return in a fortnight - which is when the second crop of apples should be ripe.
None of the visitors have anything to do with the murders. Daethold bought the fruit in Coranan. Tracking down the original seller could be a "seed" for another game... Daethold's been running caravan goods to and from Rusna for years. He is a highly reputable Master Merchant.
The First Victim : The Cook
She's been with Sir Larrius for as long as he can remember. Aedic is found dead atop the kitchen rubbish pile out back behind the manor. The first person to find her was Balan (#2). Sir Larrius, once informed sends his steward (Anndia, F:38) by horse to Fobin (about 30 mintes away by fast horse, 1 1/2 hours away on foot) to alert the legion that there is a mad dog on the loose in the region.
Sir Larrius has 2 great Mastifs. Agustus is missing, and Lazerus and Magnus are hiding in his master's bedroom.
The trash heap has a fair amount of new material beneath the body.
The Dogs
Agustus, Magnus and Lazerus - are all large (34" at the shoulder) dogs with black, short haired coats.
STR 18, Size 18, CON 12, AGI 12, INT 07, POW 12, LUK 12, Nose 16, BID 16
Bite: 9t | Pounce: knockdown | Armor: standard short-furred animal | Move 6
A large, slow-moving and aggressive dog, bred for combat. The Azeryan mastiff is the most well known, 28-34 inches at the shoulder, 210lbs. The mastiff is moderately intelligent, frequently equipped with armor and/or a spiked collar. It is a favorite in the Pamesani games of western Harn.
The Body
Her body has been worried by a dog. She was a bit pudgy. She had grey hair going white, and blue eyes. She has a chunk of her neck missing, and lesser bites along her arms and shoulders. Her clothes are torn, the sleeves end in ragged bits of cloth. Her robe is bloddied around the neck.
No one heard the scream, but it assumed the dog jumped over the Manor's fence and got away.
Any medical examinations (magical or religious or mundane) will show the cook died from a dog bite to the neck. All other wounds (tearing along her arms and shoulders) occured after death.
Divine Intervention _might_ show something else - as will spells that specifically look for possession, but it should be weak and vague. The soul is no longer present.
Psychometry may see the dog's attack. She was killed in the kitchen and dragged outside. The floor in the kitchen has bits of blood under the counter, and around the doorframe. The path may have been wet in places, but after an hour or two the blood will soak into the ground and be invisible.
Hunting the Dog
By 10am a group is dispatched by the legion to help hunt for the dog. It is assumed that the GM can lead the group on a merry hunt as the day is long, but eventually the dog is found, and killed; if not by the PCs than by a villager.
There should be absolutely nothing to show the dog is anything other than rabid. It's a male and its foaming at the mouth and walking funny (as if drunk). It's growling, snapping and yapping at things that are not there.
Any medical examinations (magical, religious or mundane) will show that it is infected with rabies.
Divine Intervention might show something else, as will spells that specifically look for possession, but it should be weak and vague.
Sensitivity (and other such psionics) are not set off by the beast.
After the Dog is Killed
Sir Larrius thanks them profusely and offers a gift of thanks (30d). He will invite them to dinner and stay the night.They can return to Fobin or stay in the Manor until the following morning.
Thereafter
If a villager found the dog and killed it, then that villager is possessed by the spirit of the lemon tree. If it's a PC, have one or two villagers tagging along so that one of them can get possessed instead. Perfect NPCs for such are Brannes(#3), or any of the Yeomen. Each night who ever's possessed goes out and kills someone.
Each morning a villager should find a body draped over the rubbish pile and bleeding into the ground. Extra wounds will be made to make certain this happens.
On Being Possessed
The spirit is malevolent, has no name and is not the least bit interested in talking to anyone. It has a will of 23 and performs a test of wills against the intended target before overcoming them (as per HMC rules). Assume, for convenience, any non-PC character fails the test and is immediately possessed. They may claim they have a headache to hide their sudden lack of concentration, if it is noticed.
Their morality becomes Diabolical and they begin plotting ways to feed the tree blood. If they can find no one to kill, they will kill themselves and the spirit will hunt during the night, resting in the tree during the day. They are otherwise unchanged (no new skills, no bonuses to any stat, etc.). They will plot and plan on how to get a victim onto the roots of the tree. Although if they have a suicidal streak or a martyrdom streak, they may just kill themselves.
About the Lemon Tree
Each morning the tree has grown 1d12 inches, sprouting leaves and even fruit as necessary. Anyone who eats the seeds of the fruit will become possessed.
As the tree grows, the spirit becomes more visible. Treat its' height as the % chance of detection.
Day 1: 0" - not detectable.
Day 2: 6" Roll vs. ML 6.
Day 2: 8" Roll vs. ML 8 and so on and so forth.
When it reaches 100" anyone with sensitivity automatically detects it, but not before. Ditto for all other like abilities in sensing spirits.
The lemon tree houses an ethereal entity which can exist outside the tree only in a conquered victim. If the victim is slain, the entity must return to the tree within the hour, or begin to perish. The entity must remain in the tree for 13 hours before it can leave again.
The tree looks like any other leaf-bearing tree. But no birds or bats will nest or rest within the tree. No dog will casually approach it. As it grows this aura of danger grows as well. For every foot high, the aura grows a foot in diameter as well. Any animal trapped within this range will become desperate to flee, turning on anything that stands in their way.
The spirit can only roam within its conquered victim from the hours of dusk until dawn, thus the possessed character is inclined to remain within this dark aural limit of the tree during the day. If the conquered victim ranges beyond this limit during the day, he or she may try to mentally escape its clutches. (See Mental Conflict in HMC)
The Lemon Tree can only control one victim at a time and must relinquish its hold on one victim to regain another. If the tree is attacked, it will try to gain control of the attacker. A released victim will have no memory of the events that transpired since the Lemon Tree gained control.
The Lemon Tree feeds on the Aural energy of its victims. The blood is only a secondary food source. Once over a few feet tall the Lemon Tree will begin seeking individuals with higher aura than the surrounding populace for its victims. Treat the total number of aural points consumed to be its endurance against magical or spiritual attacks. It does not heal these points back, instead it must feed to replace them.
The tree to flower about three or four days (assuming it's still around) after all this begins. The flower will be a blood red five petal led beauty that smells incredibly sweet. The flowers will fall off on the fifth day and on the sixth - blood red fruit will form. As the fruit matures, it pales in color to resemble a lemon.
Growing More Lemon Trees
The plant can only germinate in a semi-tropical climate - where it is harmless.
When planted in another climate, it needs to be nurtured on blood-soaked ground. In Rusna, the tree takes root on a place where three brothers fell to bandits, and a woman was raped just last year. The superstitious people of Rusna dumped their garbage there because no one wanted to build on such a place.
In the Thardic River valley there are many patches of blood soaked ground. Anyone possessed once the tree bears fruit might get the idea to plant the seeds in the nearby ruins, or worse still along the border with Rethem.
Killing the Lemon Tree
It will not burn from normal fire, but does suffer damage from ethereal fire.
Ethereal water will feed it, allowing it to grow twice in one day.
Magic functions upon it normally (it can be frozen, burned, etc.).
Weapons can cut it, but its roots are down deep (twice its height). The tap root must be removed and burned using magic or divine intervention/invocation.
Peonian invocations (healing, growth, etc.) do it damage, reducing its growth by half for that day. A Peonian may notice that the victims have no soul to help into the after life.
But...What Happens to the Bodies?
All bodies will be brought to the manor house, stripped and washed. They will then wrapp the bodies in clean linnen and sew the body shut. The bodies will be burried in graves dug just north of the manor house, at the edge of the trees.
The graves will be dug by the slaves of the manor, and all the villagers will attend. Iracus will preside over the short ceremony. Since this adventure must occur in the Spring or Summer, bodies will only be placed on display for a day.
Who are the Other People in the Manor?
The Manor's 4 domestic servants (Comma (F:16), Siastus (F:27), and Quentus (M:22) will perform the labour as required. They are willing to help, but nervous about being involved in a murder. While Sir Larrius treats them well, they know slaves are the most obvious scape-goats for crimes.
The clothier (Tricadus) left with the caravan, and will return in a fortnight. Hopefully, by then, the murder will be solved.
The second cook is Tarise of Shebelis (#19). She lives in the village, attending at the manor only in times of great need. With the cook dead - Tarise will come to the manor house to cook. She will ask that her husband stay with her (and the children) at all times when she's at the manor - for fear of the murderer returning.
Sir Larrius's wife is terribly distressed by the death of their cook - and will spend the day in her room, eating very little and sleeping a lot. Over the next few days the PCs may encounter her. She is no help in the mystery, but should be described as one of the most beautiful, and fragile people the PCs have ever seen. She will go back to her beloved gardening, but she will not be comfortable alone until the murderer is caught.
But...Where Did it Come From?
Little is known of this mysterious plant. It could be that, because the plant is use to growing amonst others of its kind - being alone drove it mad. Or perhaps it is use to feeding on something in its homeland that is missing on the isle of Hârn (and can be found in small amounts in the bodies of humans and animals). It may become a threat to the island of Hârn, especially if the caravan has more "Lemons".
What will Happen to the Dogs?
Sir Larrius loves his hunting dogs, even if their breed is not the best for hunting. He wants to keep his remaining two dogs, but now realizes he may have to keep the chained or locked up to make his household feel safer. The dogs have no history of ever attacking a member of the household. They sleep with their master, and come down to the kitchen at dawn for a snack. They are not picky eaters and seem quite content to lay about under the table when Sir Larrius eats, or near his desk. If he travels - they follow. Most likely he will make the dogs a gift to his patron.
A Brief Note about this Adventure
This adventure idea began with a post to the HârnList about Lemons being a "foreign" and "evil" fruit. Not being grown on the island - it is therefore an import. After letting the idea stew for a while I posted to the E-Groups HârnList where I got input and more ideas as well as input.
Thinking I had a solid adventure, I ran it ... and all the questions at the end of the adventure are the questions my PCs asked that I could not immediately answer. If , after reading the adventure - you have a question, I'll gladly add it here.
The clip art, by the way, comes from the same web page as the cover. The adventure was running about 1/2 a page short and so I decided to spice it up.
Closest I got... O.o
