The Skinsaw Murders

Ever practical, Malvick decides that Crade Hambley will not be needing his stash of silver coins any longer. As he removes the pouches from the chest he notices a small fold of felt beneath them. Within lies a ring. It is a plain iron band with a muddy green topaz set in its centre. Li Kao confirms that it is indeed magical, radiating a faint aura of evocation

The wagon ride back to Sandpoint is a sombre one.

The party shares the information they have with each other and a picture begins to form. Foxglove is a minor noble from Magnimar. His family was one of the area’s original settlers, building a manor on the coast not more than an hour away from the Hambley farm in fact. The completion of the manor seemed to mark the slow fall of the family though, culminating in a great fire fifteen years ago that claimed the lives of Aldern’s parents. The children were raised in Magnimar. About eight months ago Aldern moved back into his ancestral home and began the expensive task of restoring the manor.

Because of the long abandoned manor’s ill-storied past, local took to calling it the Misgivings, which was the clue that Li Kao used to link the killings to Aldern. After talking about their meeting with Aldern last summer, Sasha remembers the Foxglove coat of arms – a baroque flower in a ring of thorns. This is identical to the symbol on the iron key pulled from the dead “chief” ghoul in the Hambley house.

Yola and Sasha fill in the others on their companion, Seoni, a Varisian sorceress who helped them fight the goblins last summer. She accompanied Aldern on a boar-hunting trip and several months ago took him up on his open invitation to come and visit him at his family estate. They have not heard from her since.

It is at about this time in the journey that Wertz, who had stripped off his armour some time ago due to the heat, stumbles and falls. He gets up right away but everyone notices how pale he has become. It is also about this time that someone notices farmer Grump has been asleep for a long time. Efforts to wake him are unsuccessful, and the old man is covered in a sheen of sweat. Minutes later Sasha complains of the heat as well, moving to the side of the road and retching. Li Kao gruffly examines each of them, and declares that they have the symptoms of the first stages of Ghoul Fever.

The cart gets into Sandpoint just before sundown. They go straight to the Cathedral, where Father Zanthus tends to the sick. He makes the Guffmins as comfortable as possible and informs the others that he will pray to Desna, and in the morning will be able to cure two of the sick of the fever. Alas, his powers are limited to only two curings each day, so the others will have to hold out. He firmly states that he will cure the worst cases first. So, if the Guffmin’s survive the night, they will be cured at sunrise.

Li Kao remembers seeing a potion of Remove Disease at Nisk Tander’s “Bottled Solutions,” and excuses himself to go and procure it. But when he arrives he finds that Nisk has removed it from his shelves. Li Kao asks after the potion and Nisk nervously explains that with rumours of an epidemic of Ghoul Fever sweeping through the town he has decided to keep the potion for himself…just in case.

Father Zanthus insists that Sasha remain at the cathedral overnight, so the rest of the party report in to Sheriff Hemlock, who is relieved to see them returned safely to town, but dismayed at their tale of the state of the Hambley farm. He agrees with Li Kao’s assessment of the situation and urges them to make for Foxglove Manor at first light.

68 gp has been added to each character – your share of the Hambley life savings. The ring casts a pale greenish light as a torch when commanded, and once per day can transfer that light to an enemy (as per Faerie Fire spell). Finally it offers some protection against mind affecting magic, granting a +1 to will saves against such affects. When you peer closely into the topaz something seems to swirl around inside. The eccentric Mr. Voon of “The Feathered Serpent” will offer you 2,500gp if you decide to sell it. You must decide amongst yourselves what to do with the ring.


By morning Sasha’s condition has worsened to the point where she suffers a –2 to Dex and Con. If either of these stats reaches 0, she turns into a ghoul.