B.The Ash house
Once the tannery heist is concluded, the PCs should head to the Ash House to meet up with Cimri and her employer.
Before the Chelish Civil War, the Ash House was Moragatalli Manor, home to one of old Cheliax’s lesser noble families. In the decades following the rise of House Thrune, numerous supporters of the old order lost their lands, their titles, and—in many cases—their lives. The Moragatallis tried to remain neutral during the revolution and, upon surviving it, congratulated themselves on their quiet canniness. But House Thrune proved equally quiet and patient with their accountings of their allies, enemies, and milksop bystanders, and decades later, Thrune gave the Moragatalli lands to House Fex, which had risen in Thrune’s esteem. The Moragatallis would have complained, of course, had most members of the family not died in their manor’s violent, midnight conflagration. No one doubted what had happened, but the town children’s explanations—blaming witches and ghosts—proved far less frightening than the truth. In the 60 years since, Moragatalli Manor has been known as the Ash House.
The Ash House still stands just outside the town to the northwest. The dilapidated structure is a dangerous site most Longacre citizens avoid. Most of the Moragatallis’ wealth burned along with their manor, while looters carried off what little survived soon after the fire.
Read or paraphrase the following when the PCs arrive at the Ash House to give them an impression of the ruin.
What remains of this manor looks like it could collapse at any moment. Bearing the scars of a decades-old fire, the house is blackened and sags under the weight of its collapsed third floor. Shattered windows pose no barrier to the riot of ivy scaling each gable and invading every cavity. Bent pillars and a cracked granite porch lead to a warped door bearing a rusty doorknocker shaped like a boar’s head.
Despite appearances, what remains of the Ash House is quite sturdy. The most noteworthy parts of the Ash House are detailed below. Those rooms not described are largely empty except for rubble, a few scraps of burnt timber, and dead ivy. The front door is stubborn, having settled deeply in its frame (hardness 5, hp 12, break DC 16). Cimri prefers to avoid the door altogether, coming and going via the broken windows into area B1. Cimri is eager to complete her assignment, and if she is accompanying the PCs, she doesn’t let them dawdle, marching them straight upstairs to Razelago’s office (area B2).
B1. Parlor
Pieces of battered furniture lie here amid the choking scent of dust and ashes. Beneath a mantle crowded with empty whiskey bottles, the fireplace shows evidence of recent use. The scorched, broken visages of curious cherubs leer from atop archways leading deeper into the house.
Generations of squatters have collected the most intact of the house’s furniture here, marking their stays with shattered brown bottles of a cheap southern whiskey called Old Erebus. Although hardly luxurious, the parlor is dry and rarely disturbed, and Cimri has been using it has her den since falling in with Razelago. She’s stashed an oil lamp here and keeps a straw mattress in front of the fireplace.
Anyone spending the night here who succeeds at a DC 20 Perception check hears faint splashing coming from upstairs, as if someone were getting into a bath and then out of it later. This is a manifestation of the ectoplasmic creature in area B3, though the PCs likely have no way of knowing this without exploring the manor.
Treasure: A plain wooden chest sits on a table in this room. It contains the PCs’ payment for the tannery heist, which they can claim once they’ve been introduced to Razelago (see Meeting Razelago on page 13). Inside the chest is 100 gp per PC, plus Cimri’s share of 200 gp, as well as a masterwork dagger for Cimri and one masterwork weapon for each PC—you should choose a useful and favorable weapon for each PC ahead of time. If the PCs balk at Cimri getting more than they do, she can be talked into splitting the entire take evenly with a successful DC 12 Diplomacy or Intimidate check.
B2. Razelago’s Office (CR 4)
The door to this area is normally kept locked (hardness 5, hp 18, break DC 18, Disable Device DC 20), except for when Razelago (see Creatures below) is expecting guests.
Read or paraphrase the following when the PCs first enter the room.
Toppled bookshelves, a table, and some chairs half-covered in ivy suggest this room was once a library. The ashes and pulp of burned, waterlogged books lay heaped amid fallen furniture, creating a large nest of sorts against one wall. A set of folding paper screens divides the room. A lantern flickers on the opposite side, projecting the silhouette of a desk and high-backed chair upon the thin paper.
The Moragatallis’ impressive library was utterly destroyed in the fire that consumed their manor. When Cimri brings the PCs to meet her employer Razelago, or when they have business with him otherwise, they’ll likely treat with him here (see Meeting Razelago on page 13).
The room’s usual inhabitants do everything in their power to prevent snooping, but even if the PCs have the opportunity to search the room, there is little of value to find. The desk is empty and a fire-scarred mannequin sits in the high-backed chair behind the screens.
Creatures: Archbaron Darellus Fex is the undisputed ruler of Longacre, but there are limits to his power. Fortunately, the clever accuser devil Razelago has an impressive track record when it comes to manipulating circumstances to make sure things turn out in the archbaron’s favor. A hellish messenger in Fex’s employ, Razelago is the archbaron’s eyes and ears in town, invisibly spying on Fex’s enemies and relating what he sees to his master via his infernal eye and whispering wind. Additionally, when the archbaron needs something dealt with in an extra-legal fashion, Razelago delights in manipulating Longacre’s simple residents to wicked ends.
Razelago made the Ash House his place of business not long after agreeing to serve Archbaron Fex, and chose this library as his office, amused by the loss of so much knowledge and life for such petty reasons. Despite Razelago’s skills as a spy, it sometimes benefits him to reveal himself—to a degree—here in his Ash House office. Without any ability to change his shape, the devil has set up the office to hide his identity in a way that implies a mysterious, flesh-and-blood businessman is sitting only a few steps away. Behind the paper screens sits a wooden mannequin, lit from behind, which Razelago manipulates while invisible to suggest the movement of a lean, bald human. The dramatics serve the devil well, not just for his own personal entertainment, but also to impress the superstitious, excitement-starved sorts he typically employs as puppets.
The devil is well aware that deception is not protection, however, and has secured the services of a powerful, pantherlike creature called a krenshar as a bodyguard, which he keeps well fed. Called Gaurig, the krenshar was captured in the foothills of the Menador Mountains and shipped to Remesiana for sale or skinning. When bandits in the Whisperwood ambushed the trapper, Gaurig escaped into the forest. After several lonely years of hunting and taking her resentment out on the few humans she encountered, the krenshar encountered Razelago in the forest near Longacre. The telepathic devil managed to tempt Gaurig into defending the Ash House and lending her intimidating visage to his cause in return for a promise to feed her human flesh as often as possible and eventually return her to the Menador foothills. The krenshar isn’t sure what Razelago is—she believes he might be some sort of fairy—but their year-old arrangement has thus far proven agreeable, if a bit boring.
Together, Razelago and Gaurig are a lethal pair, and the accuser devil has a greater role to play as the campaign progresses. Should it look like the PCs are headed toward a fight with them, Cimri or another NPC should try to deter or dissuade them from attacking. If worst comes to worst, the accuser devil tries to escape a confrontation at this juncture.
Meeting Razelago
The adventure assumes that the PCs’ first meeting with Razelago is in the company of Cimri. When they first enter the room, the PCs should immediately notice Gaurig dozing in the nest of book pulp. The krenshar lifts her head with suspicion as the strangers enter.
At the same time the light behind the paper screen slowly intensifies, casting the stark silhouette of a bald figure seated at a desk upon the divider. After a moment of slow shuffling, a high-pitched voice, sounding as though it could belong to someone either very young or very old, wheezes from behind the screen: “Cimri. Is it done?”
Cimri answers in the affirmative, then produces the lockbox from the tannery (or collects it from a PC) and sets it on the table on her side of the screen. She gives Razelago an account—only slightly exaggerated—of the break-in, highlighting the actions of any PCs who impressed her. If it comes up that Louslik or others were killed in the break-in, Razelago isn’t fazed. The mysterious man occasionally nods during the retelling, but doesn’t speak again until the story is complete.
“Excellent. You’ve done well, Cimri, and your associates sound like individuals of rare potential. You’ll all find your payment waiting in the parlor below, along with a gift for each of you. Go, enjoy, celebrate. You deserve a reward for your impressive work. We’ll talk more in the near future.”
Although Cimri thanks Razelago and moves to leave, the PCs might have questions. Razelago tolerates two or three before encouraging the group to go find out what his gift is. Respond to likely questions by reading or paraphrasing the following.
Who are you?
“A businessman, with a particular interest in Longacre, and one with the capital to pay for the changes I’d like to see.”
What sort of business are you in?
“Organization, development, administration, I do a bit of it all. There are many small, aimless towns like Longacre about the nation. I’d see them strive for greater.”
Is it true you have government connections?
“I have relationships with many people, both high and low. Perhaps when we know each other better, I can be less circumspect.”
Why won’t you show us your face?
“These are sensitive times and I don’t yet know you. If our association proves mutually profitable, and you comport yourself honorably in your dealings, trust might come—in time.”
Are you some sort of monster?
“I’m cautious and you’re suspicious—that’s understandable. I hope you’ll give me the opportunity to prove my good intentions.”
Why’d you have us rob the tannery?
“Jabral Louslik hasn’t been paying his fair share of taxes. Beyond that, he is also very opinionated. He’d oppose the cooperation I’d like to see among Longacre’s people. I’d prefer that his influence be weakened—and no one trusts a poor man.”
Any Sense Motive checks attempted during the conversation with Razelago reveal that he’s being honest, but obviously isn’t telling them everything—a point he willingly confesses. If the PCs use magic like detect evil to learn more about their patron, the devil merely laughs, claiming that only the short-sighted believe ambition is evil. He also muses that he senses more than a little “ambition” in the PCs as well.
During their conversation, Razelago will not bargain with the PCs for more money, and only snickers if someone threatens to reveal him to the locals, nodding and saying he approves of the characters’ ambition. If they are patient and trustworthy, he assures them, he will see their eagerness turned to profit. In any case, Razelago suggests, then insists, that the PCs go collect their reward. If the PCs refuse to leave, or try to get around the screen, Gaurig stands up and begins growling. That and Cimri’s insistence should be enough to convince most PCs to go.
Development: It’s nearing dawn by the time the PCs collect their reward, which is waiting for them in the parlor on the ground floor (see the Treasure section for area B1), along with eight bottles of a fine Wiscrani barbera wine, several loaves of fresh bread, garlic-flavored butter, and a variety of smoked fish and boar’s meat. It’s a veritable feast, and among the best food Cimri—and likely many of the PCs—have ever had in their lives.
Story Award: Award the PCs 600 XP for surviving the tannery heist and meeting Razelago.
B3. Bath (CR 1)
The Ash House’s master bath isn’t easy to access, being in a part of the house largely crushed beneath the building’s collapsed third floor. The rubble in the second floor hall can be cleared with an hour of work, exposing the master bath. Read or paraphrase the following if the PCs discover and enter the bath.
Ivy invades even this musty room. Old ash streaks the tiled walls of what was once a lavish bath chamber, while broken mosaic chips and fallen timbers cover the floor with sharp scree. Opposite the door, a porcelain tub filled with stagnant water hunches beneath a crescent-shaped mirror distorted by intense heat.
The bath is choked with wreckage from the fallen floor above. The tub appears to be filled with mud and rainwater, but any PC who succeeds at a DC 14 Heal check realizes the mud is actually long-rotted human remains.
Creature: When Moragatalli Manor caught fire, matron Kallasta Moragatalli wisely intuited from the sound of spellcasting outside that there’d be no escape. Desperately seeking to save herself and her most cherished keepsakes, she grabbed a box full of medals from her youth, when she served in King Gaspodar’s army. She then dove into the bath she’d prepared, hoping the water and sturdy tub would protect her. Unfortunately, they did not. Kallasta died in the conflagration, but her desperation tied her spirit to the manor. Eventually, she managed to create an ectoplasmic body to house her soul. This remnant of the house matron still remains here, hatefully attacking anyone who disturbs her undead existence. Kallasta pursues any opponents who flee this chamber, but she does not leave the confines of the Ash House
Treasure: Anyone who succeeds at a DC 10 Perception check while searching the tub discovers a “muddy” box containing eight tarnished medals. A successful DC 14 Knowledge (history) or Knowledge (local) check is enough to identify the medals as military honors dating to the era before the Chelish Civil War more than 100 years before. The medals are worth 75 gp apiece.
