Evermoor Way II: Olostin’s Hold
…The purple worm dove back into the ground. The rumbling of its digging grew more distant, and the tunnels it left began to cave in behind it. Soon, the party realized that the imminent threat had passed; Pix and Reynard descended, Molish brought the carriage to a stop, and Thaminor mended the pin and patched the wheel with a branch Reynard claimed from the nearby trees.
A short distance down the Evermoor Way, the party came upon the abandoned hamlet of Olostin’s Hold. Near the center of town, the party came upon an old stone mansion. The wrought iron fence surrounding it held the name ‘Montarthas,’ and what appeared to be Sig’s horse was hobbled out front.
As the party approached the mansion, they noticed that the blackness of the stone seemed unnatural and almost tainted. Before then were a set of steps that led to the high archways governing the entryway containing a large set of dark oak double doors. Reynard and Molish thought they noticed small crystal blue eyes peering out from behind a dark window beside the doorway. T’Sai picked the lock, but the doors would not budge. Thaminor attempted to smash them down, but without success. As soon as T’Sai turned away from them to search for another entrance, however, they opened with a slow, audible creak.
The entry foyer had a large open space with a floor of black marble. Two imposing-looking demonic statues stood to either side of the foyer, as if motionlessly keeping watch over the empty room. They didn’t remain motionless for long, however, as they animated and attacked as soon as T’Sai walked past! The gargoyles’ fight was short, however, as they were smashed by our team.
The central room was a raised platform, a step up from the foyer and the tea room farther in. There was a cushioned sitting couch in the south-west corner of the room, with an old worn children’s doll laying on it. Upon inspection, Molish felt the eyes of the doll were strangely similar to those seen peering through the window before entering the mansion. Feeling it may be important, he decided to keep and carry the doll. In the north-east corner was a spiral staircase climbing up to the second floor, or down to a basement. A portcullis blocked the way up, and T’Sai could see no way to trigger it sliding back into the wall. Situated to the right of the stairwell was a statue of a griffon, sitting atop of a pedestal and holding up one of its front talons in a “knocking” type stance. Upon inspection, T’Sai discovered that the raised griffon arm could be pushed down, and the sounds of something moving could be heard farther in the mansion.
The mansion’s tea room was a large sunken room with a fireplace and hearth situated in the north-west corner. There were three small round tables for guests to sit and consume tea and other assorted refreshments. A glass chandelier hung on a chain from high above. A couple party members thought they heard a children’s lullaby, being sung by a girl child, but found no source for it. In the north-east corner, a faded painting appeared to be covering a secret door. When T’Sai could not find an opening mechanism, Thaminor attempted to smash it–only succeeding in destroying the painting. With inspiration, T’Sai sent Reynard back to pull the griffon’s arm again. When he did, a crash of the chandelier suddenly falling and smashing on the floor startled the party… but the secret door opened.
Behind that door was a 15-foot hallway, ending in another door that would not open. Following his intuition, T’Sai had Reynard pull the griffon’s handle again; the door between the tea room and hallway closed, but the door at the other end opened. Beyond that hall, Thaminor saw only an empty room, with a single door to the south, and double doors to the south-east. T’Sai and Thaminor both tried yelling to each other, but could hear nothing behind the closed door. When Reynard pulled the griffon’s arm again a minute later, the doors switched once more. Thaminor reported what he saw, and the party came up with a plan: Reynard would let the party through, and they had 10 minutes before he would pull the arm once more; Molish would stand guard in the tea room; T’Sai, Thaminor, and Pix would investigate beyond the hallway.
Putting their plan into action, T’Sai first approached the single door to the south of the empty room. An old, rotting wooden bed in disrepair was along the southern side of the chamber… upon which laid Sigismund, fast asleep! After investigating an old desk, much in the same state as the bed, to the western side of the room, T’Sai woke the paladin and helped to orient him. After chasing down the orcs, Sig had continued along the Evermoor Way after the party. He did not, however, stop at the Calling Horns Inn, and therefore passed the party. When he reached Olostin’s Hold, Sig stopped to rest his horse and refill his waterskin… he didn’t remember anything else after approaching the mansion, however.
Now four strong, the group continued on through the double doors to the next room: a large open space, with three stone mannequins along the southern wall. They seemed to have once been practice targets, as, behind them, large black blast marks dirtied the wall with silhouettes. There was another large iron double door entry into the next room; the doors of which were blackened from fire. T’Sai also noticed another secret door along the north wall. Not finding any immediate way to open it, the party continued first through the double doors.
All four walls of the once-library were badly burnt. There was ash and rubble littered across the floor, mixed in amongst the remains of old burnt books from ages past. Faintly, in among the remains, could be seen the slightly hidden piles of humanoid skeletons. The only thing that seemed intact and whole in the room was a leather cloak draped over the half melted remains of a metal coat stand. When Sig picked up the cloak, he discovered that it was not truly a cloak ta all! Once the cloaker was dispatched, the party found that the mechanism for the secret door in the previous room had been destroyed in whatever blast consumed the library.
Thaminor, Sig, and T’Sai all attempted to break through the secret door, without success. Pix, the gnomish wizard, however, showed them how to do it! Knowing they were getting close to their 10 minute limit, the group sent Thaminor back to the griffon doors to await their opening and update the rest of the party on what had been discovered thus far. The room beyond appeared to have been a kind of preparation room: there were 4 faded black cloaks with hoods hanging on hooks and a door that led out to a courtyard garden area. The courtyard was lined with shrubs and hedge bushes. In the north-eastern corner of the courtyard, T’Sai found a hidden hatch through shrubs and the outer wall, allowing a ready escape to the field beyond. Knowing there was much more to the mansion, the group decided to double back and rejoin Thaminor…
Shortly after his three companions left him, Molish let out a scream that startled Reynard, as the doll in his hand bit him! Immediately dropped to the ground, the doll proceeded to attempt to bite and claw at Molish’s legs. As Molish countered with spiritual hammers, Reynard nailed the doll a few times in her left leg and torso. After a few rounds back and forth, the doll ran between Molish’s legs, and limped off into the dining room to the south–cackling with wicked laughter.
Realizing that the distraction had put them past their time limit, Reynard ran back to the griffon and pulled its arm once more. When the secret doors switched, our entire party was reunited once more: whole for the first time in days.
