The Quality of Gold

Part 9: The Curse of Blackcross

Comments in Blue have been added after publishing.

Details

The Curse of Blackcross (the mystery inside the adventure)

A decade before the fall of Lastwall, a zealous follower of Pharasma named Malik Nox made a name for himself by capturing and ‘redeeming’ those who would deal in the necromantic arts or who interfered in the Lady of Graves’ plans for the natural path of mortal lives. He had a stonesmith fashion a huge black cross (a la St. Andrew’s cross) where he would chain the accused while he revealed their dirty deeds to the local villagers, who would then be invited to stone, cut or abuse the violator until they died a painful death. He was both respected and feared throughout the area, but he was also (mostly) effective. Every so often, the zealot would mistakenly accuse someone of an evil crime who was actually innocent. Even if Malik were to discover his error, he would still go through with his plans, so as to not look weak or ‘in the wrong’. One day, a half-elf paladin of Iomedae named Enry Starborn was passing through and heard the pitiful pleas of one of the falsely accused. He used the power of his deity to determine that the wretched soul was indeed innocent, but this brought down the wrath of the now power-mad Nox. Through treachery and foul magic, he convinced the townsfolk that the paladin was actually an agent of evil, sent to destroy the town and its fine people. Soon after it was Enry Starborn that was chained to the black stone cross and although most townfolk were hesitant to partake of the blooding of this man (he did sound legit after all), Nox completed the deed with a slice across his throat. Gurgling in agony, Starborn beseeched his goddess to grant him a martyr’s curse and the startled townsfolk witnessed the paladin literally merge with the black stone while his life’s blood grappled and pulled the evil zealot along with him.

The sky clouded over and a cold rain began to fall down upon the townsfolk. Within the rain, a curse washed over the complicit, but simple folk that would condemn them to live only in this town, never wander or desire to travel out of town and remove them from the world around them, fully self- sustained from the crops they grow and the farm animals they raise. In addition, the town is cursed to change locations randomly in order to find a redeemer. That is, until the day comes when someone will discover what has happened here and avenges the fallen paladin.

Blackcross is somehow tied to the evil of Stonehaven Citadel, so it bounces from at least three different locations, each about 7-9 miles from the Citadel. The curse also makes the locals of Stonehaven unable to recall the details of the town, although they often find an excuse to send travelers there (to possibly become the redeemer).

The first time the party visits Blackcross, it will appear to be a sleepy little village with a handful of simple locals who go about their business, but don’t know much about the world around them. When the party discovers that the town and anything the town would have influenced (tracks, crops, animals, etc.) have disappeared, this may pique their curiosity (or maybe not). They will not be able to do anything farther with the mystery until they discover the town in its new location.

Notable Locales in Blackcross

Farmhouse Rest – The local tavern is run by an old codger dwarf named Bardon. It is a simple place with only 2 or 3 different dishes and a likewise limited selection of drinks. Although he does seem a little doddering, he has a sharp memory and a dislike for the local ‘priest’.
The Black Cross – This is the black granite edifice that was used to condemn the sinners to death after lashing them to the device and allowing the townsfolk to finish the job. When not occupied, dark dried bloodstains show on the platform.
The Sleeping Inn – The only place in town where someone can get a simple room for the night. Run by a married couple – Dino and Romi, they are accommodating and pleasant, but have standing orders from Nox to rifle through the guests’ belongs to find anything ‘ungodly’.
Church of the Last Judgement – The church is the base of Nox’s operations and his ‘holy crusade’. Nox sleeps in a simple room and has an office on the opposite side of the building. A ledger in a locked (simple lock) drawer lists many of his accused and those sentenced. There are notes next to each person’s name with their suspicion, many of them are bizarre or nonsensical (one green and one blue eye, inward turning foot, foul breath, odd birthmark) or circumstantial (missing/dead farm animal shortly after new person visited town, overly pretty visitor rebuffs his advances, competing person of faith, large insect in someone’s bowl of food, etc.). In several cases, he has noted advantages to ‘pardoning’ them – bribe, trade of goods, trade of flesh, convincingly ratting someone else out, indentured servitude, etc. The records go back at least 10 years.
Proody Farmstead – The Proodies are a generational family of farmers and textile producers. They are some of Blackcross’ most devout followers of Nox and fully endorse his endeavors.
Jesper’s House (Smith) – Jesper is a simple, averagely talented smith who seems more suited to shoeing horses and repairing wheels or barrels than any real blacksmithing. He is only considered Trained in his crafting ability.
Andler Farmhouse – at one time the Andler’s farm stretched most of the length of the town and they raised all kinds of livestock. Now they only have a small patch of land for their house and another for a livestock pen.
Keef Family Home – The newcomers in town are trying to make themselves useful by working odd jobs for other townsfolk.
Water Tower – A peaked roof has a wide gutter that empties from each corner into a large wooden catch basin that the town can use as they need.
Stables (Yanni) – there are usually a couple of horses stabled here and anyone visiting town can keep them here for a small fee. Yanni is a cheerful halfling who seems oblivious to the dark deeds happening around him.
Thelger’s Home – the smell of stale alcohol and smoke permeates the area around this house. A few strange trophies hang on the outside of the house. (preserved goat head from chimera, desiccated giant ape paw, mandible from an umber hulk)
Len & Lim Proody Home – the siblings live here, but the neighbors avoid this place because of the strange sounds that come from it almost every night (and sometimes during the day). NO one wants to admit that the brother and sister have ‘that’ kind of relationship. (see next part for the real scoop)
The Old Shack – a seemingly abandoned building has no door. It was removed at some time long ago and is sealed up. No one cares what is in there and no one knows who owns it. In actuality, Nox uses it for potion-making with his mistress, Lim)
Bardon’s Home – this is where the dwarf lives when his business is closed for the night.

Notable Residents of Blackcross:

Dino and Romi – own the Sleeping Inn and have a room there.

Malik Nox – self-styled high ‘priest’ of Pharasma who has slipped into a deep mental illness where he suspects many of ‘unholy pacts with dark forces’ who must be punished as a warning to the other innocents.

Hester and Parlum Proody – the elders of the longest-living residents of the town, they are devoted to Nox’s teachings, although Hester sometimes finds his methods questionable. Parlum however is complicit in keeping Nox’s ‘mistakes’ secret. They live here with their aging grandmother, Gimmia and Parlum’s odd brother Wexo.

Jesper the smith is a skinny (atypical) human blacksmith who is just glad to be able to make enough money for his next meal or drink.

Ulach and Olga Andler have a small livestock farm in town and supply all of Backcross’ meats, poultry and eggs. Because they have this good business, they live fairly well. They also tend to stay out of the local troubles.

Dona and Grasda Keef came to town just before the curse was created, so they are relatively new from their point of view “We only arrived here a month ago”. But they are doing what they can to be accepted by the other locals. They have two young children – Dana (8yo f) and Gras (11yo m). Dona has a job working at the Farmhouse Inn and Grasda helps in the Proody field nearby and keeping the kids out of trouble.

Yanni is an amiable, but simple halfling (calls everyone ‘master’ or ‘mistress’) who tends to the horses at the stables, where he also lives. He can also be found tending to the farm animals around town since he seems to have a knack with them. He is the only town member who did not participate in the death of the paladin and sometimes speaks contrary to the curse’s dictates. He seems aware of, but helpless to the ‘groundhog day’ nature of the town and doesn’t expect any release because he figures it’s his fault for allowing the unforgivable event to happen.

Thelgar is a retired adventurer who now spends his days drunk most of the time. He has a still in his home and has gained a lot of weight from when he retired 10 years ago. His black jacket hangs in a place of honor next to the hearth. Definitely fitted for a much slimmer man. If engaged in conversation, he does spin some great stories about his time in the Druma Blackjackets. “One time, the ‘Jackets were tasked to rescue a right noble lady from the lecherous paws of a minor noble of Molthune…”

Lem and Lim Proody are the grown children of the older Proodys. Their relationship is… strange since they are a little too close to each other. Most people just put that line of thinking out of their minds. In actuality, Lim Proody was killed just before the curse was cast. She fell victim to a fiend who had been influencing the local zealot, but got caught in the curse when it was cast so will do nothing to prevent the breaking of curse.

Bardon, the old dwarf who runs the local tavern, Farmhouse Rest, seems to always be preoccupied and distrustful of magic in any form. He does not like Nox but does what he needs to survive in this town.

The first time Blackcross was visited – searching for the missing performers

When they returned, the whole town of Blackcross was missing!

Although the town of Blackcross seems to shift locations, each new iteration has similar purposed buildings

First Visit

The first time the party entered Blackcross, they were questioning the locals to find some missing performers. The people were simple, but honest and eventually someone remembered that the 3 entertainers left with another stranger a couple days prior, heading into the woods. One unusual aspect of the people was their seeming disinterest or misinformation about the nearby village of Stonehaven or really anything outside of their town. The party observed a few prominent locations; the Inn, the Tavern and a large Church.

When the party returned to Stonehaven, the people there that had heard of Blackcross remember it only vaguely and can’t seem to give them the same answer as to its location. Although the party was told by Feister to head south (he did not specifically tell them to find Blackcross) to the next town, other people claim it is actually north of Stonehaven, while others believe it is east. During the investigation of this strange puzzle, it was suggested that maybe the problem isn’t with the missing town, but maybe something was wrong with them.

They wake up in an empty area where the town used to be.

Second Visit

When the party decides to visit Blackcross again, they will not find any sign of the town to the south, but they can find it either east or north. As before, when they approach the town, the weather gets darker and windier, eventually beginning to lightly rain by the time they enter. The “curse” will test the newcomers to see if they have what it takes to break the curse.

The first thing they will see is a small group of townspeople as well as a few strangers (they will most likely not know local from stranger) surrounding the black cross in the center of town. A man, unconscious and stripped to the waist, is tied to the cross by secure manacles. He shows only minor signs of damage from his capture earlier in the day.

Townsfolk can inform the party that the man came to their town a couple days ago and it was discovered that he was using ‘dark magic’. Someone will refer to him as a necromancer working for the Lord of Flies. Another will say that his honeyed words didn’t fool their priest, Nox. There will be a formal sentencing tomorrow morning where the accused can plead for his life or make any statements.

At this point, the party can do any of the following:

Find Malik Nox and get more info as to this man’s crimes
Try to set the prisoner free
Stay the night and attend the sentencing tomorrow morning

Malik is at the church in his study and seems to be a devout, serious and pious man. He tells of the exodus of the evil minions of the Whispering Tyrant fleeing Lastwall and how they are trying to disguise themselves so they can continue their unholy practices among the good folk of Ustalav. When one of these deceivers is discovered, they are tested and if found guilty, meet harsh punishment. If asked how he judges them, he will tell them that he uses his Lady’s sight to detect the evil in their souls, filter their lies and penetrate their dark disguises.

If the party decides to stay overnight, they will only find accommodations at the Sleeping Inn. Sometime while the party is out of their rooms (at dinner, for example), one of the owners will rummage through their belongings. If they do not take dinner or leave their rooms, someone will inquire to see if they can lend their expertise about a scroll that was discovered during the rehab of a local building. The scroll is a grocery list written in elfish. A DC18 Per check will reveal that their belongings have been disturbed although nothing is missing. Nox may use something as ‘proof’ of the party’s ‘evil intent’ such as a spellbook, a black cloak, a dangerous looking or unusual weapon, a ‘flawed’ holy symbol or as a last resort, a bloodstain on the sleeve of one of their items of clothing.

If the party tries something crazy, like try to free the prisoner, this part of the adventure will advance to the next stage. The prisoner (a half-elf paladin of Iomedae named Enry Starborn) is unconscious from non-lethal damage for 3+ more hours. If someone heals him, he will regain consciousness and tell anyone his name and who he is. He proclaims his innocence but Nox will not hear any more pleas until the sentencing tomorrow. He is allowed water only and Nox wishes him alive when he is sentenced.

Malik’s acolytes who are no more than thugs, are paid well to keep Malik safe and are always near if not hidden. They will step in if the party makes threats to the priest.

Next Stage (either in the morning or if the party tries to free the prisoner)

When Nox arrives at the black cross, more townsfolk appear from their homes/businesses to watch. Nox begins his oratory, clutching a holy symbol in his hands.

“The Lady of Graves has determined that this miscreant has deceived us all, proclaiming to be a champion of good, when in fact he is just the opposite! I will now hear his final words and then we shall all partake in his just punishment.”

Three acolytes begin distributing buckets with large sharp rocks so anyone can take one easily. Once distributed, Nox will step back and even as the poor man begs for his life, people begin picking up the rocks and pummeling him while calling him names such as ‘deceiver’, ‘devil-spawn’, ‘necromancer’. If anyone interferes, Nox will rush forward, producing a knife and slice the bound man’s throat.

As the blood begins spraying outward, the town’s details wash away in the rain, disappearing completely into a beautiful sunny fall day. No sign signs of the town, the people or the gruesome display can be found.

The third and final location (North) is where the curse is broken!

Which leaves the party back in an empty field.

Third Visit

The party will most likely return to Stonehaven a bit confused, but ready to look for Blackcross again to the north (hopefully). When they visit, the town looks distinctly different (shabbier or fancier depending on the second visit) but with the same tell-tale buildings and all of the same locals except for visitors.

Enry Starborn arrived in town just a few hours ago, brought his warhorse to the Stables, got a room at the Sleeping Inn and is now enjoying a glass of wine at the Farmhouse Rest. The innkeeper Dino is rifling through the paladin’s belongings. He will report to Nox that he found a book with strange writing (a holy text written in Celestial) and brings it to Nox to ask if it something foul. Asking around, Nox will find the newcomer at the Tavern, telling a story of heroism and faith to two other newcomers in town. The attention enrages Nox and he obsequiously introduces himself and invites the young paladin to the church to ‘talk shop’. It is there that Nox and his 3 ‘acolytes’ knock him out and then create a commotion to get everyone’s attention while they drag him out and bind him to the Black Cross. From outside, Nox cries out “Deceiver! I can see through your flimsy disguise and your foul book of incantations proves you are nothing less than a peddler in undeath. A recipe book for necromantic creations. Detain him before he escapes!”

Another voice counters “I am a holy man of Iomedae, not an evil necromancer! You are mistaken, sir. That book is for the prayers to my goddess and nothing…” the words are interrupted when one of the acolytes knocks him unconscious.

The actions of the party will dictate what happens during this sequence. The events roll out over a period of about an hour after they arrive in town.

If they take the time to check into the Inn, they may find Dino coming out of Enry’s room with a book in hand and hurriedly heading to the church.

If they go straight to the Tavern, they’ll find Enry enjoying a drink and chatting with a pair at a nearby table. He will be welcoming and invite the party to join him. If they start talking about danger and doom, he will look surprised and give them a pitying look, suggesting that they may have been taking to the mug a little too much already and suggest they find a good bed to sleep it off.

If the party goes straight to Nox and accuses him of his deeds, he will look surprised and then indignant. He does not even know about the paladin. He will ask them politely to leave and take their dark fantasies with them as this is a pious town of good, moral people. If the party tries to push the point, a trio of acolytes will appear and try to subdue the party one by one. If the party is subdued, one or two of them will find themselves on the Black Cross instead!

Once the scene gets dramatic, most of the townsfolk will begin emerging from their buildings to see what the commotion is all about.

This part of the adventure concludes when Nox and his acolytes are defeated and his ‘book of ill deeds’ is discovered and exposed. Unfortunately, the people are still complicit in the death of the paladin and there is still a pall of foreboding over the town. Something still feels amiss. And they may notice that not only is the rain not stopping, but the paladin, who was killed long ago, is still with them.

At this point, if Enry still lives (he should), he volunteers to help the party since he feels the ‘taint of evil’ still hanging over the town. The party will need to do a little more investigating…

The creature “Lim” is also dismayed that the curse has not been broken even though the evil priest is dead. She starts to worry about her own safety when she discovers that the party and the paladin are now searching for the source of the evil still in town.

In desperation, Lim has begun bolstering her defenders around her in case it comes to a confrontation. She has recruited, through her magical charms over the past several years, these people:

Lem, Romi, Dino, Jesper (main recipient), Wexo Proody, Phineas

The party can find out the source of the continuing evil by asking around town, interviewing townsfolk, searching or using magic. Some helpful allies and locations include:

Dino and Romi – Dino will confess (DC17 Intimidate) that Nox pays him to rummage through any new guests’ quarters while they are away and bring anything suspicious to him

Hester and Parlum Proody – Hester did not know about Nox’s endeavors, but thought his crusade was distasteful. Parlum however was complicit in keeping Nox’s ‘mistakes’ secret and will confess with a DC17 Intimidate check. Gimmia is partially senile but if someone actually gets her to speak lucidly (DC20 Diplomacy) she will tell the party that “a disguised demon lives among them all.” Parlum’s odd brother Wexo is a former assassin and although he has fallen under Lim’s spells, he gleefully protects the ‘young girl’.

Jesper was the first victim of Lim’s and has the full effects of her profane gift. He is always nearby and will be one of the first to show up and defend her.

Ulach and Olga Andler tend to stay out of the local troubles, keep their heads in the sand and have nothing of value to offer in the search.

Dona and Grasda Keef are newcomers without much info either. However, one of their kids has an odd anecdote. Dana (8yo f) peeked into the window of Lim and Lem Proody and saw them naked on the bed laughing and wrestling.

Yanni is the only town member who did not participate in the death of the paladin. He seems aware of, but helpless to the ‘groundhog day’ nature of the town and doesn’t expect any release because he figures it’s his fault for allowing the unforgivable event to happen. But he recently saw figures skulking around guest rooms at the Inn when no one was supposed to be there.

if he can be bribed or convinced that there is true danger, he will lend the group a cracked wayfinder that he says has about 3 more Detect Alignment spells left in it.

Bardon distrusts the whole Proody family and suspects that they are the source of evil, but they never show their intent – it’s “just a feelin”. He is also very distrustful of magic.

Discovering the Refugee (start here 9/12)

The early discovery of Gavin will inform the party that they are stuck in town. Gavin will tell them that when they came into town, he was unable to leave. There is a thick fog surrounding the town in all directions about 100’ away that encloses anyone attempting to leave and although it allows people to keep ‘walking’ the only direction they can make progress is back into town. If the party gets the smartass idea to force a townsperson to exit the town, they will try to object (they have no reason to leave their homes) but if forced, they will enter the fog and not return.

Gavin has a story to tell, but he is anxious about the town and wants the group to find out what’s going on first. He will wait at the outskirts until they can all leave together. He will tell them about only a few points below such as he escaped from a camp where some necromancer was changing people into undead. The curse tasks the party and any other concurrent outsiders (Gavin, Ezra, Gus) with avenging the murder of Enry. So if the party loses interest in the task at hand, it will subtly encourage the people to solve the real mystery by slowing paring away memories of their previous lives and eventually incorporating them into the curse itself. If the party spends more than 30 minutes not working on the real threat they will need to make a DC30 Will save or be added to the curse and the town will disappear and the scenario will start again in a different location.

Lim is feeling threatened now and she has telepathically called her ‘allies’ to her side, who will then attempt to form a cover so she can escape the town if the party seems to be powerful or if she drops below ½ of her total HP.

Once the demon has been defeated or forced to retreat, the clouds will clear, the rain will stop and the remaining townspeople will all blink for a moment then go about their business, surprised that their priest was such an evil person and one of their own was an evil demon. Anyone killed during the last day’s events is still dead, but the town retreats into stoic guilt.

The paladin Enry will smile warmly at the party, bow and fade from view, uttering “Thank you my friends, I am at peace now…”

Sometime during the search, they may run into a lone man living under the water tower named Gavin. He seems to be a drifter, but is edgy and afraid of anyone who approaches. He clams up until the curse is lifted, then he approaches the party with his story**…

This leads the party back into the main adventure and the discovery of the undead camps.

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