Azura 1st, 720
On the night of the autumnal equinox, Farn of Dolon hosts a dinner party. The characters are pleased as to their good fortune to be invited to such a notable event. The party is attended by the Halean high priestess, the Primate of Save K'nor (who engages the host in a game of "chess"), the head of the Mangai, as well as some more of Cherafirs famous personages. Most of the attendees are shenava, haliki and other ordinary scholars.
Their host, Farn, introduces himself into the their conversation, and remarks that many basements in Cherafir have a block or two of Earthmaster stone in their foundations. At the end of very late evening, in the early hours of the morning, the host thanks the party members for coming, and they make their way back to their lodgings.
But only a little way down Erebir street, Torin notices in his torchlight a bundle laying in the road. There is a hand protruding from it, and a rat scurries off from its gnawing as they stoop to investigate. It is a severed human arm loosely wrapped in cloth. Embran leaves to notify the city guard of the find. When they return Embran is reluctant to touch the severed arm, but Zarisa is not squeamish and picks it up.
The arm has been cleanly severed below the shoulder, and is is in the first first stages of putrescence. There is a tattoo of a dolphin and anchor in a circle on the upper arm. Zarisa recognizes this as being associated with the Seaman's Guild. After a brief search, no other body parts are found in the street. Because it is so late, Torin as the "first finder" is ordered to come back in the morning and speak with the melbrin (sergeant). Zarisa seeks insight in her tarot cards. Embran goes to baths to scrub.
Torin and Zarisa have lodgings in the Guild of Arcane Lore, and the next morning to go to the Alienage for Embran who rents a tenement there. Before going to speak with the sergeant of the guard, they first stop at the Seaman's Guild and Hostel. There they learn that there was an "Ubalos Karnak" who died four days earlier. He was of the ship "Black Gull" from Karejia, and he was being cared for in the Peonian infirmary for consumption. They also learn some local Alienage news, that a city guard by the name of Abbo was killed trying to apprehend a cutpurse. The thief's trial is today.
The characters then go see the sergeant at the Erebir Gate. He questions Torin closely, but it seems to be more of a formality then any hint of suspicion. He tells Torin not to leave the city in case there is an inquest. When Zarisa asks to see the arm again in the daylight, the sergeant explains that it has been sent to the embalmer.
The characters pay a visit to the infirmary, which is run by the Irreproachable Order of the Peonian church. The meet with Brother Frama, who is today's ward of the infirmary. While Embran speaks with him, the others casually stroll through the building. Frama confirms that he cared for Ubalos, and after some innocent evasions around the topic, Frama confesses that the body had been stolen sometime Friday night before it could be buried. Both he and Embran come to the conclusion that Morgathians must be involved.
The party also talks with Brother Ollyn, who had prepared Ubalos' body for burial. He dismisses the idea of Morgathians as being superstitious, which does not earn him any points with Embran. He also confirms that the body was discovered missing Saturday morning. Ollyn also admits that this is the second time this has happened! The first time was three months ago with a beggar. He explains that he did not notify anyone other than Frama about this recent incident, because he was afraid of starting a superstitious panic.
While wondering how the "thief" made off with the body, the party learns of catacombs beneath Temple Street in the north part of the city. Ollyn says he cannot let them into the catacombs without permission from high priest. They go to the neighboring Larani temple, where Embran finds them a quiet chapel where they won't be disturbed. There Torin, with the help of Zarisa, uses his disembodiment talent to explore the catacombs. The catacombs stetch beneath the Laranian, Halean, Save K'noran and two Peonian temples. Each temple's area is demarked by an iron grated gate. There is also a low passage that heads south from the catacombs that is blocked off with stone. Torin cannot progress further. The only exits discovered from the catacombs are through the temples. Above this dead end is a cooper's cellar with an earthmaster block in the floor.
Several times throughout the investigation, Zarisa used her tarot cards to divine directions in the matter, and Embran prayed for guidance to the truth.
Azura 1st/2nd, 720
Pondering the clues over a late lunch at The Stile, the party attempts to follow up on some things. Zarisa uses her tarot cards to discover the purpose of the severed arm, but only divines that it wasn't a "message". Torin uses disembodiment to search the midden, but discovers nothing but rats, gulls, and miscellaneous trash.
Torin and Embran go visit the cooper, where the earthmaster stone was. The proprietary seems nonplussed about the inquiry, and remarks that every couple of years someone wants to examine the strange stone in his basement and search for tunnels. He explains that the stone is directly east of the Guild of Arcane Lore, and directly south of the Save K'Nor temple. Their examination of the polished black block does not reveal anything overtly unusual.
Meanwhile Zarisa goes back the Peonian temple to search for additional clues. Underneath the wall in the herb garden, she finds a small black box. Within the box is a dark brown powder which she recognizes as "habsulum", a drug sometimes used by magicians and arcanists, and which is proscribed in Melderyn.
The next morning (2nd Azura) starts out with a minor parade and festival, as the murderer Woll of Nass is led to the execution grounds north of the city. After the hanging his body is placed in a locked iron gibbet on the road into the city. Zarisa and Torin go to the Alienage to inquire of the ship The Black Gull. It turns out that it left the previous Thursday.
Leaving the Alienage, Torin is told the sergeant of the guard wishes to see him. At the gate house he finds the sergeant and an upset guildsman. The man is Erdin of Baldris, a respected embalmer in the city. He has had a "client" stolen, and since the characters are already investigating a similar event, the sergeant asks them to help Erdin. The stolen body was Abbo of Thora, the city guard who had been killed by the executed Woll.
Taking them to his house, Erdin explains that he had bolted the door last night, and this morning he found it unbolted and the body gone. Zarisa and Torin question the two apprentices, who appear to be innocent. One apprentice, Nog, is intimidated by Torin's magic, and worries that he will be turned into a frog if he doesn't tell the truth. The son of the embalmer is not present and has been away for a week on business. A message is sent to Embran to join them.
Zarisa discovers a key upstairs beneath Nog's window. It is a fancy intricate brass key if high workmanship. None of the residents recognize it. By its size it appears to fit a door rather than a box or chest. Zarisa casts a spell upon Torin to improve his eyesight, and looking carefully, he notices a small stamp on the key with the letters "CA".
As the search of the house winds up, Torin suddenly notices (with his temporarily improved eyesight) that there is a rat in the dark shadows watching them. The rat scurries off and down a hole. Finding a quiet room where they will not be disturbed, Torin uses his clairvoyant talent to locate the rat, and then both he and Zarisa use diembodiment to seek it out. When the get to the rat in their astral form, they discover that the rat has no aura, not even a background aura like the stone around it. To their astral site it is just a deep black shape. Seeing no other way to capture the rat, Torin attempts to "possess" it. But the attempt is futile. The rat has no spirit of its own to kick out, so it's like trying to possess an inanimate object. Keeping watch over the rat, it soon continues its scurrying, climbs down a well, and into an unknown sodden and flooded cellar. There are dozens of other rats there which appear to be frightened of this rat. At the end of his limit, Torin returns to his body.
Frustrated by the lack of apparent progress, the party then proceeds to discover all the dead bodies in the city. The idea is that by becoming familiar with them, Torin could subsequently use his clairvoyance to find them should they also be stolen. Going to the Woll hanging in the gibbet, Torin shoves a magic focus down his dead throat! He explains that he always knows the direction to it. Then inquiring at all the other temples and embalmers, they find only one other known dead body in the city. It is a dead drunk by the name of Maro. It is currently at Yago the Embalmer's in the Alienage. Yago appears to be a cheap discount embalmer. He has a large mastiff that guards the establishment. Zarisa suddenly notices that Yago is next door to the warehouse that rumour says is a front for the Lia Kavair.
In the late afternoon the party makes their way to Farn's home, where they had a dinner appointment. The conversation starts with a discussion of earthmaster sites. Torin and Embran discuss a visit to Gedan in far off Orbaal, as Torin has a friend there. Then the conservation turns to recent events, and when they mention the rat, Farn's eyebrows raise. He tells them they need to go see Nasheo of Falani, who had visited him in the morning. "You see, he captured a most unusual rat!"
Azura 2nd/3rd, 720
After dinner, the party goes to the Pehlean chantry to visit with Nasheo. As the climb the stairs to his chambers, they tell him of the rat they encountered, a rat without a soul. Then in his chambers, Nasheo removes a cloth from a cage to reveal a rat of his own. It is a very decrepit rat, with one missing eye and a broken tail. Nasheo claims it is dead, and sticks it through with a hatpin to demonstrate. Which is all very well, except for the obvious animation of the rat! He also claimed he tried to drown it, to no effect. He found it on Erebir Street last night. He also says he had found another like it a month ago, but which ceased animation after a few days.
Torin tries to view the rat astrally, and sees that it has the same appearance (lack of aura) as the other rat. No magic can be detected to cause its animation. Zarisa's divination, however, suggests that it is not a product of Morgathians or the shadow. Torin then suggests to introduce another, living, rat into the cage to see the reaction. The party then goes to a ratter who says he should be able to have a rat captured live by midnight. He thinks the request odd, but he's not going to turn away a paying customer. The ratter also mentions that business has been good recently, as there have been rumours of rats staring at people from the shadows.
The party returns at midnight, and the ratter has managed to capture only two mice. The players accept that, and still pay him some for his effort. They bring the mice to Nasheo, who introduces one to the cage. The mouse appears frightened of the rat (naturally), but the rat takes little notice of the mouse. Embran asks Nasheo if they can take the rat with them, but he refuses. They then discuss the possibility of Nasheo giving a talk about the rat at the Guild of Arcane Lore.
Being late, the party retires for the night. But Embran stays up and checks on the corpse in the gibbet (still there), and then goes to a tavern in the Alienage. There he hears a tale by a longshoreman about a rat that crawled away after a heavy crate fell on it.
Early the next morning Torin is awoken by a knock on the door. There is a rumour that the body in the gibbet outside of town is missing. This was the corpse of Woll of Nass, who was executed yesterday. Torin had placed a focus in its throat. Since he always knows in what direction his focus is, he can tell what direction the corpse is. It is to the southeast. He goes gets Zarisa and Embran. They then track the location of the corpse to a house in an alley off of Erebir Street. The house has the sign of a physician. Zarisa recalls that it is the home of Morstand of Halsa, a respected physician.
They knock on the doorloudly but there is no answer. They then go next door to the house of tinkerer. They inquire of the physician while Zarisa acts ill and "faints". The proprietor goes and gets her some water. He says he will be sure to tell Master Morstan that there is a patient for him next he sees him. Torin slips him some coins to give them some privacy.
While there Zarisa uses her psionic talents to view inside the physician's house. The house seems normal, except for part of the cellar, which is blocked to psionic and astral scrying. There are no stairs from the house to the cellar, but from the ouside courtyard instead. She does not sense anyone in the house. Torin's sense of his focus indicates that the corpse is in the cellar. Taking a look around, Embran uses a crowbar to open the door into the courtyard. He then goes back for the others.
The party goes back to the Morstan house, to discover a man examining the broken courtyard door with puzzled expression. He is a tall and lankey man, who introduces himself as Langar, the physician's servant. He leads them into the house to wait while he goes to get Morstan. When Torin asks him if he has been here all along, he says yes. He claims he did not hear the knock. He then goes to get Morstan, by way of the front door and around back to the courtyard.
While looking about the waiting room, Embran hears some shouting. The go back out into the courtyard where they hear a man down in the cellar shouting (quite rudely), "I don't have time for this! I am so close, I don't have time to attend to a fainting bitch!"
The party goes down the steps to the cellar, and confront Morstan and Langar. Morstan angrily demands that they leave. Torin confronts him, and sensing the focus nearby, attempts to push his way past into the cellar. Langar and Torin wrestle. Morstan shouts out for guards, and Embran calls him a Morgathian while drawing his sword. Zarisa in the back fumbles with some tarot cards then casts a spell, causing both Morstan and Langar to collapse and faint.
Inside the cellar, which is a pantry and storage, they find a door leading to a laboratory of sorts. There they find the dead and bathed body of Woll on a table. In the corner is a mounted skeleton. Bottles and jars of various mixtures line some shelves, along with alchemical looking equipment. There is also a large copper vat with a noxious fermenting green fluid. Zarisa takes from the table a book written in a mysterious script. There is also a cat in a cage (which they suspect might be dead despite its listless movement), and a human hand floating in a jar of liquid.
Outside the laboratory, Embran ties up the two grave robbers. They awaken Morstand and question him. He claims he was on the verge of defeating death itself. He explains that the rats were earlier experiments, that Ubalos and Abbo were harvested for his process, and that Woll would have been his penultimate achievement, the re-animation of the dead! His ultimate aim was to give the body immortality. He seems quite unremoseful for any graverobbing or dissection. When asked about the gruesome means of disposal, he said "what did they care, they were dead."
Torin goes for official law enforcement help, and returns with a manus (squad) of the low guard of the citadel. They take Morstan and Langar into custody. A guard suddenly notices that the hand in the jar is moving! This freaks them out, and they call for a priest, whereupon Embran reveals that he is a Matakea of Larani. He says the church will take care of the dead here.
End of adventure.