C2E07 – The House on Providence

Welcome to the session recap for episode 7, The House on Providence. In this session, the party has some much-needed relaxation in the city of Whitestone. After weeks of life at sea and traveling in seemingly endless rain from the port of Dawn Harbor to the city of Whitestone, the party is looking forward to a good night’s sleep in a proper bed.

A Visit in the Night

Exhausted from days of travel and nearly dying two different times in the past two weeks, Zaptuse collapses onto the bed and falls fast asleep. In just a few moments, he is back in Draconia. The massive city floating high above the Dreemoth Ravine. The towers and ramparts glittering in the sun and banners of blue and platinum whipping in the wind. Suddenly, it all changes. A dozen Dragonborn lay dead on a cold stone floor, their bodies broken and bleeding out. A sharp crack of stone and Zap bolts upright in bed.

“You’ll see it again someday”, a voice says softly. Looking up a thin, well-dressed half-elven man sits in the overstuffed chair in the corner of the room. “I have a job for you. Don’t worry, it’s nothing distasteful. In fact, you’ll be doing this quaint little village a favor”, he continues. He gives Zap an address on Providence street and tells him, “You’ll know what to do. Now, get some sleep.” With his final words, Zap falls back asleep and wakes to sun filtering in through the curtains.

Research

After a quick breakfast at the castle, Night, Allix, Rialta, and Tibalt return to Dawnfather Square to do some shopping, while Zap and Rowan head to the Temple of the Dawn to do some research. Without a public library, Zap and Rowan are directed to the Temple of the Dawn. The head priest, Miles Hindericks maintains a small library and Cassandra offers to escort them, as she often works at the temple with her father.

Once inside, Rowan goes straight for the books, while Zap approaches Father Hindericks. Curious about his dream, Zap inquires about the house on Providence. The priest informs him they don’t exactly have a census, but he’d be happy to send someone over to inquire.

DM Note
Zap caught me off guard and I didn’t think to have the priest press him on the odd request. It was a good RP moment for a player and I missed an opportunity to expand on it. It happens and sometimes we don’t realize we missed a golden opportunity until its too late. The best advice I can give is to allow your NPCs to be distracted and thrown off. They don’t have to catch everything right then and there. Put a pin it and come back to it later. When the player isn’t expecting it.

Shopping in Dawnfather Square

Meanwhile, back in Dawnfather Square, Allix and Rialta are busy looking for a tattoo artist among the quaint little shops around the Sun Tree. About to give up they find a small little shop tucked behind an herbalist’s shop. The eagle totem barbarian gets two eagle wings across her back, while the water genasi gets a tattoo of a shark on her arm. Afterward, they pop in to pick up some healing potions and then head over to the book store across the square. Rialta is trying to find someone who can read the book she found, but the bookseller directs her to Bhevek’s Whispers next door.

Inside Bhevek’s Whispers, they find a charming elven gentleman with a wide range of magical items, mage supplies, and books. They quickly discover how expensive magical items are and learn the hard way, that if you have to ask… Disheartened, they turn to the question of the book.

As soon as he sees the book they found in the bandit hideout, Bhevek gives them all a long stare. He inquires as to where it was found and who it belonged to. They quickly share the tale of the bandits and the red tiefling wizard. He tells them it is some kind of bestiary or manual of sorts for a demonic cult.

Wait! Why are you asking about a house?

As the party reconnect in the square and do a little more shopping, one of the acolytes from the Temple of the Dawn sees Zap coming out of a shop. He quickly runs over and tells him, he went to the house he was asking about and nobody answered. He then said, that while he was there a neighbor told him the red tiefling lady who lived there hasn’t been around for a while.

At this point, things start moving very quickly. Rialta and Tibalt immediately connect the house to the tiefling in the hideout but have no idea (IC) why Zap is asking about a random address. The interrogation commences immediately. After some prodding, Zap relates the “dream” he had the night before. He leaves a lot of the details out, but eventually, the party accepts it at face value and they all agree, except the paladin, to go check it out.

The House on Providence

After midnight, the party heads over to Providence Street and quickly locate #3. The house is dark and looks neglected. They slip down one of the small alleys and decide to check for a back entrance. Night quickly picks the lock and slips inside with Allix and Tibalt close behind. Rowan enters under protest.

Inside the group is immediately hit by the smell of rotting food and stagnant water. The house is dark and they quietly make their way down a thin hallway. They pick down into the basement and then continue on into the kitchen. The smell of rotten food and dirty water in the basin is nearly overpowering. A quick search turned up nothing of interest.

They passed through the kitchen and continued down another hall to make their way towards the front of the townhome. A dining room opens on the left and they look in to see plates left on the table. The remains of something indistinguishable decomposing on the plates. They move on into a sitting room and find a cold cup of tea, a book left open, and a small bloodstain on the carpet.

DM Note
One of the greatest compliments a player can give you is “Nope, Nope, Nope, let’s get the hell out of here.” In my head, I did not think I was doing a really good job setting the scene, but that really energized me for phase 2. The players were totally hooked and creeped out.

Through the Looking Glass

While passing through the sitting room, Night noticed something odd about the mirror. It seemed to lag and the image in it did not seem to match where they were. Debate about what to do immediately ensued. They talked about touching it, ignoring it, and breaking it before Rowan said he’d just lay it down. In an instant, Rowan was gone. Allix, Tibalt, and Zap quickly touched the mirror and poof, they were gone too. Only Night and Rialta remained. After a lengthy debate, they touched it as well and disappeared.

On the other side, the players found themselves in the same house, in the same room. The stench was gone, as was the mess. They could hear two voices coming from the kitchen and flicker of light from down the hall.

End of Session