0101 The Spectral Manse

A barren expanse of stagnant pools. The keening wind carries strains of distant violin music.

• Terrain: Bog (3), Northern Scratch
• Lost/encounters: 2-in-6. Encounters are 2-in-6 likely to be with a bewildered banshee (DMB) heading to a ball at the Spectral Manse.
• Foraging: Successful foraging yields 1d2 portions of Bosun’s Balm (DPB), in addition to the normal results.

The Spectral Manse

A thicket of twisted blackthorns stands amid a treacherous region of rivulets and sodden moss carpets. Those who push through the tangled branches arrive at a blue- tinged, spectral vision of a baroque manor of dark wood, its windows lit with the veiled glow of firelight behind drawn curtains. Strains of plaintive violin music can be heard from somewhere within.

Entering: The front door opens freely, or a window can be forced.

Interior: The manor exists in an odd dimension, halfway between Fairy and the mortal world. Interior walls appear skewed, passages twist at odd angles, and rooms seem to expand and contract as characters move through them. Violin music drifts in the air, though its origin is unclear.

Inhabitants: Lord Hobbled-and-Blackened is imprisoned in the manse with a number of spectral guests.

Exploring: Roll on the Rooms and Encounters tables for each room entered. Each room connects to 1d3 other rooms, via crooked doors and lurching hallways.

Leaving: With the exception of any of Lord Hobbled-and- Blackened’s possessions, items from the manse evaporate into mist when taken into the real world.

Rooms (d6)

d6 Room 1 Study. Books of frost elf poetry, stag heads, ice hearth. 2 Lounge. Velvet couches, ice candles, wolf-skin rugs. 3 Dining room. Exquisite foods, frozen solid. 4 Winter garden. Hoar-clad roses drip blood if touched. 5 Pantry. Bottled emotions, iced fruits, frozen game. 6 Bedroom. Ice-block bed, furs, tundra tapestries.

Lord Hobbled-and-Blackened

A gaunt, icicle-thin frost elf courtier (DMB) dressed in flamboyant white lace and a ruff of hoarfrost. Once a court musician to Prince Mallowheart (p34), he was imprisoned here for falling in love with Ygraine Mord lin (p84), the Prince’s fosterling daughter.

Demeanour (Neutral): Manic, twitchy fingers.

Speech: Rapid babbling, laughing. Woldish, High Elfish.

Possessions: Magical violin, which when played skilfully can cast the arcane spell Dominate once a week (worth 10,000gp).

Desires: Freedom from the manse. To see Ygraine once more.

Encounters (d8)

d8 Encounter 1 Lord Hobbled-and-Blackened, manically playing a violin. He beseeches PCs to take a letter to Ygraine (declaring his love for her and pleading for her aid in escaping the manse). In return he offers his violin. 2 1d4 sleek, silver hounds (use seelie dog stats, DPB) growl and may attack non-Neutral aligned characters entering the room. 3 An aged elven lady with violet eyes and white, frost-clad hair in an extravagant beehive, waltzing and pirouetting to violin music. If asked to dance, she gladly accepts (partner must Save Versus Hold or be whisked away into the Prince’s Road—see Fairy Roads, p26); otherwise she attacks any who disturb her (treat as a banshee, DMB). 4 2 haughty frost elf courtiers (DMB). Roll 1d6: 1. Trysting, 2. Dancing ponderously, 3. Arguing about musical notes, 4. Looking for Lord Hobbled-and-Blackened (their host), 5. Lounging disinterestedly, 6. Duelling. 5 A portrait of a beautiful mortal woman dressed in a regal fur robe with a brilliant diamond upon her brow (Ygraine Mordlin, p84). The frame is carved with plaintive faces, weeping icy tears. 6 Furnishings dance to the strains of violin music. A grandfather clock groans and grates, its hands stuck at seven-past-noon. Opening the clock and fixing the mechanism (a silver dagger is stuck inside) causes the hands to start moving and slowly accelerate, along with the tempo of the violin music. Upon returning to the mortal world, 1d12 days have passed. 7 A raging wind rips a window and its curtains from their fittings and proceeds to suck the room’s contents outside into the dark. PCs must Save Versus Hold or be ejected back into the mortal world, the manor disappearing until the next full moon. 8 A great white stag’s head has fallen from its mounting and lays on the carpet, moaning mournfully.