Verdlicay Manor

Verdlicay Manor is a mansion in Verdlicay owned and maintained by the Radiant Triumvirate of Viridell.

## Description

Constructed atop one of the cliffsides overlooking the settlement of Verdlicay, the Manor is an elaborate series of buildings shaped from fine polished stone with sprawling gardens, balconies and walkways that scale the sheer drops into the waters of Petal Bay. As well as the main Manor houses, which sprawls over three floors - cellars and the kitchen, a series of sitting rooms, dining halls and a master bedroom, and a further pair of bedrooms complete with balconies - the wider constructions also include two pavilions with fountains, a stable, a converted barn outhouse to serve as servant quarters, assorted tool sheds, a fishing jetty, a shrine dedicated to Veth and a number of fields dedicated to the cultivation of kava, spices, sugar cane, sourgrass and palms of various kinds.

It was remarked that the soil, being rather chalky and porous, proved a constant challenge for the head farmer Moubray, lest the moisture and nutrients leach away freely. As such, a number of hardier crops were also planted.

Unbeknownst to the residents of the manor, a number of natural caverns had formed in the limestone beneath the manorhouse, linking the replenishing fountains and ponds with the sea - and allowing the ingress of a serpent-like water elemental to stalk the grounds unhindered and unseen.

## History

The Manor at Verdlicay was originally constructed by the Radiant Triumvirate and intended to be used as a getaway destination for the Triumvirs, their families and officials coming to meet them. Despite this, it was reported by Dedrian that the Triumvirs had not come to visit for several years, and as such many amongst the staff found they had little in the way to do on a daily basis. Following a number of demises, Nevin and his gang moved into the Manor, feasting and drinking for a number of days, seemingly unaffected by the curse.

### Solving the Curse of 133WD

After liberating Dedrian from his captivity in the barn by strong arming Nevin and his gang into offering up some answers, a party of adventurers from Amber Run surmised the following titbits of information through their investigations, solving the case of the supposed curse.

* Near the end of Carrast-Highreign 133WD, shortly before the arrival of the storms common in the area with the turn of the seasons into that of Amberlight, the body of a merfolk washed up on the beach immediately adjacent to the Manor, its tail torn to shreds in an obvious and deliberate strike intended to incapacitate. It is noticed that the body had started to decompose before arriving at the beach, and had seemingly been nibbled at by crabs and other opportunistic scavengers before being recovered. A coral and shell necklace was also recovered from the beach where the body originally made landfall.
* The first victim amongst the staff came shortly after, the halfling Sidell, who served as a groundskeeper and handyman. Sidell was found on the fishing jetty overlooking the ocean, a favourite spot of his, and showed no obvious wounds, though closer examination revealed a foam-like froth within his airways, collapse of his lungs and bleeding inside his ears. His fishing equipment was found around him, broken into a number of pieces.
* The second attack on members of staff came as a pair - the head farmer Moubray, a human who spent day-to-dusk in the plantation grounds, and Jhihryn, a triton that often accompanied and aided him to keep him company. Moubray was likewise found devoid of conventional injury, though saltwater was found within his lungs and stomach, whereas Jhihryn appears to have been bludgeoned to death by a series of sudden forceful strikes. Both were found in the fields near a fountain and pavilion, the crops around them stripped of their fruit and leaves, but still standing.
* The otterfolk stablehand Shin, who according to Dedrian had grown restless of late with little to do on account of the lack of visitors, was found within the stables, which had been broken into from the south, then shattered from within. Shin had received training at the monastery of Heizentaru and seemingly put out a fearsome fight before succumbing to a series of bludgeoning strikes, similar to Jhihryn. On investigation, it was found the stable trough had comes to be filled with saltwater rather than rain or freshwater.
* The Governor of Verdlicay, the human Xalvador, was found near the pond on the outer edge of the manor. They too possessed no exterior wounds, but displayed similar features to Sidell and Moubray, as well as pond foliage being found wedged around the collar of their jacket.

Through these details, it was determined that whatever was killing the members of staff likely did so by drowning them, though given the relative stealth at which it achieved so presumably did not conjure it using magic. Given all the deaths took place near sources of water, it was assumed that the culprit could likewise travel and hide itself within them, leading to assumptions that they curse might in reality be a water elemental of some kind. Further evidence supporting this fact came from its need to dispatch Jhihryn and Shin in other manners - on account of the former's ability to breath underwater and the latter's ability to remain submerged for extended periods of time, and signs of raw overwhelming strength, akin to that of the power of a crashing wave, capable of eroding stone and shattering wooden timbers. Nevin and his gang had been largely unaffected by the curse owing to their lack of interest in leaving the Manor to explore the grounds, and thus out of reach of the elemental creature.

Using this to guide their search, the party sought to search the limestone caverns they suspected would be found under the Manor, entering by means of a submerged grate within the pond near the manorhouse, close to the location of Xalvador's death. In doing so, they entered a large cavern connected with the sea directly, in which they found the bloated body of Ramell, a member of Nevin's gang, who vanished after going to write poetry on the balcony overlooking the water a few nights previously. Within, the group found a great mass of merfolk bodies being buffeted about in the cave's currents, as well as monstrous serpent-like water elemental, a Scothyxian Spawn - seemingly guided there deliberately, owing to the presence of a recently and hastily carved inscription into the outcrops within the cavern.

> *"Feast Freely, Oh Awe-Inspiring and Mighty Krait,"*
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> *"Writhe free, from Durance of Brilliant Gold Unbind,"*
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> *"And Now the Deepest Tide Rises from its Portended Wait,"*
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> *"Let the Spawn Sunder, Carving a Trail to the Hunt Find."*
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After narrowly managing to defeat the elemental, the party returned once more to the Manor, helping Dedrian to inter the deceased, before departing for home.