Accessory - Dragon Magazine #111.pdf - Index of

itself. (There are footprints visible on the
roof below this window, and the tracks lead
directly to the western edge of the roof. For
more information about this, see the "outside”
section of the mansion description.)
The dresser is empty and the table is
bare. The nightstand’s candle is half consumed.
The coat rack is empty, and the
mirror is ordinary. The bathroom contains
an unused bathtub, a toilet, a facial mirror,
and an unused candle on a stand.
Astrological observatory: This huge
octagonal chamber is topped by a large
glass observation dome 30 feet above the
floor. Much of the center of the room is
occupied by a mammoth swivel telescope
pointed at the heavens. There is a chair
attached to the telescope that swivels with
the device. There are candlestands all
around the room, as well as bookcases that
flank the north, south, east, and west doors.
(If the PCs enter after 9:30, the telescope
will be in pieces on the floor, and one of the
struts will show evidence of having been
weakened by the application of acid.)
The gigantic swivel telescope is a masterwork
of engineering. The main tube is 40’
long and the bore at the top of the tube is 5’
across. The telescope can rotate a full 360
degrees on the horizontal axis and can also
be pivoted vertically so that it is anywhere
from straight up (with the chair’s back
parallel to the floor) to fully horizontal (the
telescope is parallel to the floor). If Alambar
has not yet entered the observatory, the
telescope will be pointing up (out the observation
dome) and to the northeast. In the
daytime, the sun completely obscures the
view of any other heavenly bodies.
The chair is firmly attached to the telescope,
but will be smashed when the crash
occurs. On a desktop attached to the chair
are a normal pen, a bottle of normal ink,
and two books. The first book contains
Romdril’s charts of the various heavenly
bodies. The charts seem to show a movement
of a certain group of four bodies toward
each other until they meet in what
Romdril notes as a “full cupidory.” The
second book is a text on various formations
of bodies, and is open to a page on cupidoria
which describes a full cupidory as meaning
“cessation.” (This page and two pages
of the chartbook are reproduced in the
document section.) If the telescope has
already crashed, these books will be partially
visible under the device, but not
trapped; they can be recovered and examined,
and the second book will still be open
to the indicated page.
The candlestands are all filled with unused
candles. The bookcases that line the
walls are well stocked with scholarly texts on
astrology, which anyone without a strong
background in astrology would find incomprehensible.
Upper gallery: The long walls of this
rectangular room are lined with paintings,
most of them by world-famous artists and
one of them painted by Romdril himself.
The Romdril painting and three of the
others have the same subject: a beautiful
young woman. One of the other paintings
of this woman bears the word “Liana”
engraved on its frame. On the frame of the
Romdril painting is inscribed this notation:
“B 3-15-21, D 12-14-52.”
Behind the Romdril painting is a small
wall safe. In the center of the square door is
a dial marked with numbers from one
through sixty and a spinner with an arrow
engraved on it pointing to the dial. If the
arrow is turned to point to the numbers
twelve, fourteen, and fifty-two, in that
order, the wall safe will pop open. If a thief
attempts to pick this lock, he does so at a
30% penalty.
Inside the safe are a large sack, a smaller
sack, a small portrait, a scroll, and a
leather-bound ledger. The large sack is a
bag of holding that contains ten thousand
platinum pieces but only weighs sixty
pounds. In the smaller sack is a treasure
trove of gems, mostly jacinths, rubies, and
sapphires. The small portrait is in a heavily
inlaid platinum and gold frame, and depicts
the same woman as the painting in the
master bedroom and the ones noted along
the gallery walls.
The seal on the scroll is engraved with the
words, “Last Will and Testament of Alexonus
Romdril.” If the seal is broken, the
will (reproduced in the document section)
can be read:
“I, Alexonus Romdril, being of sound
mind and body, declare this to be my last
will and testament.
“It is my solemn wish that my estate be
shared equally by my two loyal servants and
friends, Mok and Raleigh. It is also my
wish that they continue to occupy the mansion,
jointly sharing the title of Lord of
Romdril Mansion.
“All of my magical possessions not related
to the maintenance of Romdril Mansion
shall be given to my former apprentice,
Sandar Fleatis. Should he desire to occupy
Romdril Mansion, he is welcome to do so,
although he shall not have the executive
ownership of the mansion.
“This I do hereby set in writing in the
memory of my beloved Liana, whom I shall
meet again in the world beyond.
“Alexonus Romdril, April 10, 1353.”
The leather-bound book is titled “Campaign
Ledger, November-December 1352.”
One dog-eared page (reproduced in the
document section) describes the misappropriation
of ill-gained campaign funds for the
date December 12, 1352. One entry has
been circled; this reads, “Paid to Andre
LeMeurtrier for services rendered, 35,000
gold pieces,”
Minor guest bedrooms: These rooms
will be found the same way the player characters
left them. Each contains a bed, a
candlestand, a dresser, a half-length mirror,
and a bathroom with a bathtub, toilet, and
candlestand.
Ground level
Manservant’s bedroom: Raleigh’s bedroom
is large but sparsely furnished. There
is a nightstand next to the bed in the northeast
section of the room. A suit rack sits in
the southeast corner, and there is a dresser
and a full-length mirror between the rack
and the southern door.
The bed, 3’ by 6’, has no canopy. (If
Raleigh survives his early-morning ordeal,
his unconscious form will be occupying the
bed from about 8:15, when Mok brings him
here, until 12:00, when the PCs’ time limit
expires.) On the nightstand are a halfmelted
candle in a stand and a small piece
of paper (see the document section) which
reads, “List of Guests: Alkus Alambar,
Sandar Fleatis, Orian Flaloch, officers from
Kelburn.” On the face-down side of this
paper is written “12-14-52.”
The suit rack contains six formal suits
and four empty hangers. There is nothing
in the pockets of any of the suits. In the
dresser are Raleigh’s other clothes and his
boots. The mirror is ordinary.
In the bathroom are a recently used
bathtub, a toilet, two candlestands with
slightly used candles, a facial mirror, and a
grooming set (hairbrush, razor, and clipping
scissors, none of which is marked in
any way).
Servants’ quarters: All of these rooms
are essentially the same. Each contains a
neatly made bed (3’ by 6‘), a nightstand
with an empty candleholder, a half-length
mirror, and a dresser. In the lower drawer
of the dresser in the southwest room is a
rotting rag doll; if it is torn open, three
copper pieces will fall out.
The servants’ bath is divided into two
identical rooms, each containing a dry
bathtub, a toilet, and an unused candle in a
holder.
Enni’s room: Stuck on the outside of the
waist-high hinge on the door to this room is
a swatch of black cloth containing a bit of
embroidery that seems to be part of a decoration.
It has obviously been ripped from a
larger piece of the same cloth.
Enni, the maid, is propped up against the
headboard of her bed, and is in her bedclothes
— with a red-fletched crossbow bolt
protruding from her chest. She is unquestionably
dead. Under the pillow behind her
lower back is a dagger with a wavy-edged
blade.
The room has a dresser, a nightstand with
a half-consumed candle in its holder, and a
full-length mirror. In the dresser are two
maid’s outfits and a pair of shoes; on top
are a maid’s hat and a grooming set. The
grooming set contains a small facial mirror,
a stoppered pottery bottle labeled
“Makeup,” a hairbrush and comb, clipping
scissors, and a small file. The pottery bottle
is half-filled with a black powder. (This
powder is the same as that which is sprinkled
on the candle in the master bedroom;
consult the text for that room for what will
happen if this powder is tasted.)
D RAGON 47