LyleHouse

Background
Gil Lyle was a mage of moderate talent, operating in Kashin. Gil operated Lok Magius' recruiting station in Kashin, searching out raw power among the populace, and those inclined to learn the once-forbidden arts of magic. The Lyle House in Kashin served as a simple way-station for most recruits, but Gil sometimes took in the occasional apprentice, until that apprentice was ready to move on to the Mage Academy.

Gil dabbled in the forbidden arts of demon summoning, rationalizing that if he was searching for mages when mages had recently been outlawed, then demon summoning might not be as evil or as dangerous as others believed. The wizard hid away his basement, and began using it for secretive studies into the dark arts.

In 1326 Avard, one of Gil's demons got loose during a summoning. The demon used Gil Lyle's blood to write an obscure, cryptic answer in the back of the wizard's spell book, apparently having been summoned to answer questions. The demon then went on to ransack the house, and horribly savage Gil's apprentice, a young wizard named Norion, before Gil Lyle's dying breath could send the demon back to the Abyss from which it had come. Norion was horribly disfigured, and would spend the next three years recovering from the encounter, and pouring over the spell books available at Lok Magius.

Years later, word arrived from the new recruiter of Lyle House that the hidden basement had been discovered. The emaciated body of Gil Lyle was found, along with his forbidden spell book, and a great many tomes and scrolls of demonic power. Lok Magius determined that it's expert on Demonology was Gil's former apprentice, Norion -- who had studied demons for the last three years in order to prevent another such release of demonic power.

It is around Norion that the initial story will revolve. Saint Kiera's and the Libranum were the first to respond to the Lord Reeve's call. The Church of Mikindim and the Church of Lul both sent in priests to check out the discovered basement, and ensure that the old demon god, Argunas, was not involved. The initial investigation, done before Norion arrives, has determined that Argunas was not being worshipped in the basement by Gil Lyle -- but they are not sure, as many of his books are encrypted by magic and by thought.

The Lord Reeve, Thaleus Morone, is intent to make sure that Argunas was not involved, and to make sure that no other demons are released, either. He will probably assign a reeve or guardsman to watch over the investigation. Other events in Kashin are bothering the Lord Reeve, as well (see Kashin, below).

The Lyle House is named for Gil Lyle, the 'first mage of Kashin' according to the brass plaque in the stone wall. The house is a moderate affair, with a high-peaked building of wood built off of a two-story stone tower. The top floor of the stone tower is he Resident Mage's study and laboratory -- which currently has a lot of pottery in various stages of enchantment and creation. The main floor of the building houses three bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a privy. The outside is bordered by a small stone wall, with a wooden door in the front (Open Lock check of DC 26), and another in the rear (same lock). The rear of the house has a small garden with an apple tree and a pear tree, and a recently-built pottery table and kiln. The current Resident Mage is Taria MacKolm, an older woman who discovered her passion for magic late in life.

Taria MacKolm female human Evoker5: CR 5; Size M (5 ft., 1 in. tall); HD 5d4; hp 13; Init +1 (+1 Dex); Spd 30 ft.; AC 11 (+1 Dex); Attack +1 melee, or +3 ranged; SV Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +5; AL NG; Str 8, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 15, Wis 13, Cha 13. Languages Spoken: Common, Draconic, Dwarven. Skills and feats: Craft (Pottery) +7, Knowledge (Architecture and Engineering) +9, Knowledge (Nature) +7, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty) +9, Knowledge (The Planes) +10, Spellcraft +10; Craft Wondrous Item, Empower Spell, Enlarge Spell, Maximize Spell, [Scribe Scroll]. Possessions: ring of protection +2, spellbook, key to the Lyle House.

Prohibited Schools: Transmutation, Enchantment. Wizard Spells Known (4/4+1/3+1/1+1): 0th -- Acid Splash, Arcane Mark, Dancing Lights, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Disrupt Undead, Flare, Ghost Sound, Light, Prestidigitation, Ray of Frost, Read Magic, Resistance, Touch of Fatigue. 1st -- Cause Fear, Identify, Magic Missile, Protection from Evil, Protection from Law, Shocking Grasp. 2nd -- Continual Flame, Darkness, Scorching Ray, Shatter. 3rd -- Lightning Bolt, Magic Circle against Good, Tiny Hut.

The basement is accessed through a trap door in the kitchen, and has a vertical ladder. The demonic summoning area was walled off from the rest of the basement, so that the herbs and storage area was functional but small. The summoning area -- and Gil Lyle's body -- was found when an engineer of Mikindim came in to see about fixing a drainage problem in the privy. The privy's access to the sewers was adjacent to the basement, and the engineer realized that there had to be more area to the basement than was evident. Finding the secret door to the summoning area proved difficult, but not impossible; opening it involved the aid of Lord Reeve. (Hidden, swinging, cobble-stoned door. Search DC 21. Hidden lock; Search DC 27; Open Locks DC 30.)

The secret basement is an area approximately twenty feet on a side, with a summoning circle inset on the cobble-stoned floor about ten feet in diameter. The ceiling is only seven feet tall, with massive wooden beams nearly a foot in width every four feet, topped by the floorboards above. The walls are dank with moisture, and smell strongly of the now-fixed privy. The room is very dark because of the well-fitted floorboards, and the undersides of the floorboards and beams show blackened soot marks from candles and torches. The walls of the room had several bookshelves, but they were apparently destroyed, and their contents scattered about the room. A desk is broken in half, and crumples nearest the door; the summoning circle is on the far side of the room from the entrance.

Gil Lyle's body is half in the circle, and half out. He was apparently gutted, as his robes are torn apart in the middle, and bits and remains of his body are still badly decomposed. No rats or mice have been into the tightly sealed room. Gil's desiccated corpse lay half atop his spell book when he was found, but has since been rolled off of the book.

The churches decided to leave the body in place until the arcane investigation is complete. The room has had forbiddance cast upon it, by High Priestess Aeidee Mulan of the Libranum. Only the summoning room has been protected by the forbiddance spell, and it has been keyed with the password 'Aeidee'. Because of the spell requirements, holy water has been sprinkled everywhere, and a heavy incense of rare Sholin origins (nieya) permeates the room (no ashes, censor was used).

Gil Lyle's spell book is intact, and the last pages are written in Gil Lyle's blood; they show a demonic script, encrypted by rhyme and spell, and mirrored as well. The book details Gil's finding of summoning magics that would allow him to tap into the Abyss, and his subsequent studies and experiments in those areas. He was apparently looking to discover the origins of some ogran-cut rubies, which are also still in the room.

Taria is shocked by all of the findings, and has difficulty staying in the house since the discovery. She had just been discovered as a mage, when the summoning that killed Gil happened. The reeves never discovered the basement, or Gil's body, assuming that the demon took the body (and his soul) back to the Abyss with them. Since Gil's laboratory was ransacked by the demon -- and was where Norion was attacked -- everyone assumed the attack happened there. Norion has several blank spots in his memory, and no explanation of why. A circle of dried blood found in the laboratory explained the summoning -- but now Norion remembers that the demon wrote the circle in his wizardly blood.

The rest of Kashin is abuzz with the strange death of a male desert, and the theft of an entire warehouse of food stores. The brother of the city's cartographer was found dead, with all the blood drained out of him into his mattress, and a strange smile of pleasure on his face. As well, bandits broke into a warehouse full of food the night before, and somehow managed to steal it all -- with no one the wiser for how, or where all the flour and grain went.

One rumor going around the underground scuttle (Gather Information DC 23) is that one of the Dons from Sandar -- a one-eyed underworld mob boss -- has disappeared, along with his bodyguard. The guards are rather concerned about why such a distant 'ruler' would be present in Rakore, as the mob runs Sandar.

The city is still recovering from the aftermath of Davin's Plague, which happened some six months ago, and the graveyard is full of freshly dug graves and newer tombstones. Many buildings are abandoned or condemned, and there is plenty of honest work to go around; crime is down, unemployment is down, and labor demands are up -- leading some bosses to complain about the wages people demand.

A successful Gather Information check (DC 16) will reveal more about the death of the male desert elf. He was single, with the heavy tattooing typical of elven combatants or fighters. His blood was drained into the straw padding of the bed. No footprints or other affects were found. Speak with dead, as cast by one of the local priests of Lul, revealed little. The corpse did know how it died, and remembered only making love to a beautiful woman (the corpse was quite graphic) -- and nothing else.

Another successful Gather Information check (DC 18) tells more about the warehouse's missing food. Sacks and sacks of flour and grain were being stored in the mill's warehouse. When the miller went to open the mill for the morning's work, he found all the sacks of grain gone. A small pile of grain was found underneath one of the ceiling joists, and the roofing planks were loose at that point. Grain was also found down along the warehouse roof, leading to the runoff from Lake Figinah. It's possible that the grain could have been taken out by boat in the night, but it would require far too many boatmen to stay stealthy. The reeves are dumbfounded -- for this is not the first theft of food in Kashin. Two weeks prior, a warehouse closer to the docks was ransacked in a near fire; after the flames were put out, it was discovered that thousands of iron rations had been stolen in the chaos. The theft of the grain is merely the largest of the two -- and, hopefully, the last.

The Lyle House has been under surveillance for the last day and night. Only a successful Spot check (DC 32) would reveal that it is being watched. If detected, the watcher will simply fade into the populace until he can return or be replaced. The heist is scheduled to take place at midnight.

The three thieves -- Zavanth, Winston, and Gauge -- are members of the local thieves' guild, known as the Scorpions. Each bears a scorpion tattoo somewhere on his body. The leader, Zavanth, was present when the commission was presented to the Scorpion, for whom the guild is named. Zavanth knows that four Marksmen approached the Scorpion, and asked that Gil Lyle's magical equipment be found and turned over to them -- for 25,000 silver. (Zavanth's cut is 5,000 silver, and his two helpers each get 2,000 silver.)

Zavanth, human Rog4: [cool, practical, intelligent -- professional] CR 4; Size M (5'8", 165lbs); HD 4d6+12; hp 25; Init +6 (+2 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft.; AC 14 (+2 Dex, +2 armor); Attack +0/+0 melee (rapier and dagger, 1d6+1/1d4+1, crit18-20x2/19-20x2), or +1/+1 ranged (light crossbows, 1d8, crit19-20x2, RI 80ft); Sneak Attack +2d6; SV Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +3; AL N; Str 12, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 15, Wis 14, Cha 11. Languages Spoken: Common, Amaran, Dwarven. Skills and feats: Bluff +7, Craft (Stonemasonry) +6, Decipher Script +7, Disable Device +9, Hide +10, Jump +8, Listen +2, Move Silently +10, Open Lock +9, Profession (Miner) +9, Search +9, Spot +9, Tumble +8; [Evasion], Skill Focus (Move Silently), Improved Initiative, Two Weapon Fighting. Items: dark red leather armor*, dark gray hooded cloak, two light crossbows, 20 quarrels, rapier, Lantern of Magic Detection, purse with 5gp and 10sp muffled, leather knapsack.

Winston, human Rog2: [bad teeth, very intelligent, defensive] CR 2; Size M (5 ft., 8 in. tall); HD 2d6; hp 12; Init +4 (+4 Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft.; AC 12 (+2 armor); Attack +1 melee (stiletto, 1d4, crit18-20x2); Sneak Attack +1d6; SV Fort +0, Ref +3, Will +0; AL NE; Str 10, Dex 11, Con 10, Int 15, Wis 11, Cha 8. Languages Spoken: Common, Amaran, Vridaran. Skills and feats: Balance +5, Bluff +4, Decipher Script +7, Diplomacy +4, Disable Device +7, Forgery +7, Gather Information +1, Hide +7, Knowledge (Local) +6, Listen +0, Move Silently +4, Open Lock +4, Ride +1, Spot +0, Swim +4; Combat Expertise, [Evasion], Improved Initiative. Items: stiletto, dark red leather armor, pepper packets, purse with 3gp and 18sp muffled, leather knapsack.

Gauge, human Rog2: [fast, whip-cord strong, viscious] CR 2; Size M (5 ft., 11 in. tall); HD 2d6+2; hp 13; Init +7 (+3 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft.; AC 15 (+3 Dex, +2 armor); Attack +4 melee (dagger, 1d4+3, crit19-20x2), or +4 ranged (daggers, 1d4+3, crit19-20x2, RI 10ft or mighty shortbow +2, 1d6+2, crit20x3, RI 60ft); SV Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +0; AL NE; Str 16, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 15. Languages Spoken: Common. Skills and feats: Balance +8, Bluff +6, Diplomacy +7, Disable Device +5, Disguise +7, Escape Artist +8, Gather Information +7, Hide +7, Intimidate +6, Jump +8, Listen +2, Move Silently +3, Spot +2; Alertness, [Evasion], Improved Initiative. Items: might shortbow +2, 15 arrows, 12 throwing daggers, dark red leather armor, pepper packets, leather knapsack, purse with 8gp and 22sp muffled.

The Marksmen are dreaded, underworld figures that are heavy hitters with lots of coin (Bardic Knowledge or Underworld Knowledge check at DC 25 for prior understanding). Just working for the Marksmen makes Zavanth nervous, though they loaned him a special lantern to help him in his task -- a special lantern that detects magic items and reveals their presence. Zavanth is genuinely curious about the lantern, but understands that he must give it up once his mission is completed.

Lantern of Magic Detection: This black-painted lantern operates a normal, hooded lantern. While it is lit, it also places a soft red glow around all magical items within 15' of its illumination. Caster Level: 5th. Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Items, detect magic. Market Price: 10,000gp. Weight: 2lb.

Zavanth has set up several trip wires along the intended avenue of escape, and has secreted a few stashes of caltrops, as well. His team has rehearsed their heist several times, and work quite well together. They will retreat into the city after the heist, and then proceed straight-aways to the Scorpion Manor once they are sure they are not being followed.