The Cruel Case of the Wandering Ghost

> *"Stepping into the street is like stepping into another place entirely, and as soon as the tavern's door shuts behind you, you feel cut off and isolated. An eerie silence has taken hold of the road and the din of the pub behind you has faded. You rove your eyes around, drifting them over the many different alleyways that surround the tavern. Then you see them. A stranger, half obscured by the an alley wall, peering at your through the darkness with bright white eyes."*
>
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The Cruel Case of the Wandering Ghost is the fourth ever case to be documented by the Split Shields. The case revolves mostly around a mystery concerning a local tavern, known as the **Crossed Swords Tavern**, whose patrons claim to have seen on multiple occasions a ghostly figure watching them from a nearby alleyway as they leave. The patrons have sworn that it is some kind of ghost, but the local guards aren't interested in investigating the alleyway, especially since the unknown figure hasn't caused any harm or done anything wrong. The rumours did, however, manage to find their way to Split Shields member Klombroth FireFire, who recognised the description of the figure as a soldier he fought alongside during the Summertime Siege. Klombroth hired a party of adventurers to help him reveal the truth of the matter.

## Characters Involved

The following PCs were involved in this adventure:

* Lucia Garren
* Artus Lockscale
* Gidion
* Cyrus
* Bear
* Reginald J.J Wilson

## Plot

The party arrived at the Split Shields Tower in Port Ral'Endas, most were adventurers coming back after aiding the Split Shields with a couple of cases, but two of the arrivals were fresh-faced members that had never worked with the Split Shields before; *Bear* and *Reginald*. The party were quickly noticed by Klombroth FireFire, who led them to the main noticeboard in the tower. The party agreed to take on a case that Klombroth had put there himself, and he led them upstairs to his ramshackle office to explain the details.

Klombroth explained that he had heard a few rumours circulating that the Crossed Swords Tavern had been dealing with an unknown figure stalking the streets and, as the patrons of the tavern put it, watching the tavern with keen eyes. The figure was described as a strong-looking man, dressed like a soldier, with dreadlocks that ended in bangles and a large nose ring. That description, according to Klombroth, matches the description of Manu Zarruik‚ a soldier and good friend Klombroth fought alongside with during the Summertime Siege, a soldier that subsequently disappeared and was presumed dead in the first few weeks of the siege. Klombroth hires the party to help him get to the heart of the matter.

The party make their way to the Crossed Swords Tavern, a rough and tumble pub in the lower parts of the port that's a place of home to those that enjoy strong drinks, high revelry, and a decent fight. Upon entering the pub, the party, but especially Bear, notices a large barrel-chested individual hyping up the crowd from the centre of a boxing ring. Bear decides to challenge this individual, who later reveals himself to be Mikhen Van Drouss, the tavern's sole owner. Mikhen calls Klombroth out for being banned from the Crossed Swords Tavern, but while he's distracted, Bear lands a first blow against the brute. Bear defeats the large human, throwing him over the side of the ring and into an unfortunate crowd of spectators. Mikhen though, who seemingly appreciates strength, invites Bear for a drink at his table.

As some of the party discuss matters with Mikhen, Cryus and Gidion (who is using an impressive drawing of Manu Zarruik he drew himself) start asking around the tavern for any information. They eventually come across an elderly human by the name of Cooper, who reveals that he recognises Manu and demands to be bought a drink before he'll say anything. From Cooper, they learn that the tavern has been hounded for the past two weeks by this individual, who always watches but never approaches. Some members of the surly tavern go after them, but they can never find him in the alley. Cooper tells them that he'll be in that alley at final bell, which rings at precisely midnight, and to find Manu all they need to do is step out of the door at that time.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party (except for Artus who keeps a watch near the door) struggle to get any information out of Mikhen, who denies the presence of ghosts near the pub. They all reconvene and discuss what they've learnt, then decide to wait around until midnight. They plan for Bear to leave the tavern first, as the locals have been theorising that this stranger hasn't been attacking people because patrons often leave the tavern in pairs, so they hope that a single individual approaching the alley might bring this figure out more.

Midnight rings and Bear steps out, immediately spotting the figure. They move to the alley in an attempt to follow them and find the figure hiding in the shadows at an alley corner. After a few moments, the rest of the party follow Bear. The figure warns Bear to leave, telling her that he doesn't want to harm them. Bear however, stays firm, and when the figure draws his sword she transforms into a dire wolf using her wild shape. A fight breaks out and the rest of the party arrive in time to subdue the stranger and knock him unconscious. Klombroth confirms that the stranger is in fact Manu Zarruik, and decides to take the body back to the Split Shields Tower so they can investigate him further.

At the tower, Klombroth has brought the matter to the attention of Tanyth Ennan, a cleric who is staying at the tower for business of his own. Tanyth inspects the body and quickly reveals that Manu was under the effects of a **geas** spell, one that has implanted a command into him that he must follow or else die. Artus theorises that this might be the doing of the Lord of Ash, but others are unsure of the connection. They wake Manu and he explains that he has been imprisoned for the past 8 months or so, after the siege had ended, by a group of wizards who never revealed their faces. They experimented on Manu, but even he is not sure of the extent of what they did. Alll he knows is that he was placed under a spell that had him watching the Crossed Swords Tavern for anything *unusual*, and ever night, after the tavern had closed, he went to an old abandoned house in Stonewood to report his findings in a secret ledger.

The party make tracks for the house Manu told them about and arrive in good time. They decide that Lucia should scout out around the house for any other entrances, while Gidion's imp scouts out the basement itself. There's a problem though, the imp does not possess the strength to open the basement doors from the outside, so Bear decides to intervene instead. As Bear approaches the trap door alone, they quickly realise that they have become surrounded by several figures wearing large cloaks and wooden masks, each brandishing a longsword. The party jumps into action, and it becomes quickly clear that these people are innocent commoners from the port that have been beguiled with a geas spell. The party dispatches them, leaving many alive, and investigate the basement.

Inside, Reginald spots a book on a bookshelf that looks as it is has been recently viewed. Upon pulling it from its place, he reads the title as a book that contains instructions on how to steal souls and implant them into inanimate objects ("The Necromancer's Guide to Soul Absorption"). Cryus pitches in that the book could be used by liches to create special phylacteries, and as he brings up that word, Manu speaks up and claims phylactery is a term the wizards were using when referring to him. Upon open the book as well, they notice a symbol in the shape of a withering hand; Reginald and Lucia reveal that they've heard of a group called the Withering Hand before, and that they were destroyed years ago in another town entirely.

The party find the ledger, but upon touching it, a mighty voice echoes out through the basement. The voice tells them Manu that his worth has reached its end and once the voice disappears, the basement erupts into flames. The party rush from the house just in time to see it engulfed and collapse, taking with it any additional evidence.

## Rewards

These were the rewards offered the party earned over the course of their adventure:

* 270 gold

## Aftermath

It is still unclear why the Withering Hand forced Manu to watch the Crossed Swords Tavern.