Accessory - Dragon Magazine #111.pdf - Index of

death and disappearance, which further
strengthened his resolve to see the archmage
dead. Through the use of an educated
guess and another clairvoyance spell, he
found Romdril in the magical library examining
the contents of a small iron box. He
cast a knock spell on the doors leading to
the magical area and entered the alchemical
laboratory after using invisibility on himself.
Becoming more irrational by the second,
he then decided to cast delayed blast
fireball on the magical library, setting the
“timer” on the blast to go off in two minutes.
By means of a potion of clairaudience
and a ventriloquism spell, he contacted
Romdril and demanded to know everything
about the potion of longevity. Romdril,
startled by the intrusion on his concentration,
closed the box of gems as he replied
that he had no such knowledge. Alambar
began to go on a rampage in the alchemical
laboratory, haphazardly searching for the
nonexistent potion. Romdril was in the
process of trying to persuade Alambar to
calm down when the fireball went off.
Alambar had enough presence of mind to
pull out the bottle of pills he used for his
respiratory disorder and swallowed one to
ward off the possible effects of smoke, but
then he dropped the bottle, which shattered
on the floor unbeknownst to him. He vacated
the area shortly after the blast, exiting
through the double doors and closing them
before any appreciable amount of smoke
could get through the opening.
Romdril managed to crawl to the door of
the library and push it open before he died,
still reflexively clutching the remains of
Flaloch’s note. Raleigh, on his earlymorning
rounds intending to tidy up the
library, discovered the smoke and Romdril’s
body some three hours later. He panicked,
and inhaled a lot of smoke while vainly
trying to revive his master. Dazed and
gasping, he bolted from the area, instinctively
closed the doors behind him, and ran
up the stairs to the breakfast hall at precisely
8:00.
THE EVIDENCE
The following is a list of all the relevant
evidence to be found in the mansion.
Romdril’s bedroom: scroll of geas supports
Fleatis’s story; flecks of powder on
candle point to attempt to murder Romdril;
portrait of Liana reveals that Romdril suspects
his wife was murdered; diary entries
show that Alambar wants potion of longevity,
that Alambar arranged the presence of
the servants/assassins, that Flaloch committed
some crime against Romdril and Liana
(“her spirit”) which LeMeurtrier was involved
in, and that Romdril anticipated an
attempt on his life.
Mok’s bedroom: Crossbow missing after
9:10 directs suspicion away from Mok.
Fleatis’s bedroom: Blank spell book suggests
that Fleatis is here to obtain a spell for
the book.
Alambar’s bedroom: Shards of glass
outside room and in hem of robe point to
Alambar’s visit to alchemical lab; torn robe
60 JULY 1986
indicates he visited maid’s room; unused
bed suggests that Alambar was awake (and
probably occupied) for most or all of the
night; bag of holding containing platinum
pieces points to his hiring of assassins.
LeMeurtrier’s bedroom: Damaged window
suggests that LeMeurtrier left the
mansion secretly.
Upper gallery: Text of will removes motive
from Fleatis; ledger points to Flaloch’s
and LeMeurtrier’s involvement in Liana’s
death.
Raleigh’s bedroom: List of guests confirms
that LeMeurtrier was not invited; also
gives combination to safe (which Romdril
had ordered Raleigh to change the day
before).
Maid’s bedroom: Dagger indicates she is
an assassin; powder suggests that she
worked for Alambar (who provided it to
her).
Servants’ entrance: Poison “recipe” on
back of map indicates that servants from
Jonholm were assassins, and their connection
with Jonholm suggests that they were
hired by Alambar.
Kitchen: Powders and liquids point to
Alambar’s hiring of assassins; cook’s shoulder
wound points to LeMeurtrier’s murder
of cook (obviously a poisoned bolt, since the
wound itself would not be fatal); crossbow
part in embers points to LeMeurtrier’s (not
Mok’s) attack on cook.
Magical corridor: Note in Romdril’s
hand points to Flaloch’s involvement in
Liana’s death.
Magical library: Box of gems suggests
Flaloch’s involvement in Liana’s death.
Alchemical laboratory: State of disrepair
and broken bottle of pills point to Alambar’s
murder of Romdril.
Outside: Trail leading from Le-
Meurtrier’s window indicates his murder of
assassins, as do blue fletchings.
THE END
At noon the door chimes will sound,
signaling the arrival of Flaloch’s and Alambar’s
carriages. Raleigh will awaken and
immediately seek out any PC(s) he can find
to see if the police have solved the mystery.
Flaloch and Alambar will go outside and
prepare to leave with their carriage drivers.
Fleatis (and Mok, if he is still alive) will join
them outside and trade angry looks with
them for a couple of minutes. Raleigh will
suggest that the PCs go outside too (if they
haven’t already done so), but if no officer
attempts to detain them, Alambar and
Flaloch will leave no later than 12:10.
If, on the other hand, the PCs confront
the NPCs, what happens thereafter will be
solely dependent on the player characters’
actions. Flaloch will say that he has pressing
business back in Kelburn, but may be
persuaded to stay a while longer if the characters
strongly suggest that they have a
solution to the mystery. (The mayor, after
all, has not committed any crimes in the last
few hours and presumably has no reason to
suspect that the PCs may have implicated
him in Liana’s death.) But if it seems to
Flaloch that the PCs are grasping at straws,
he will make another of his comments about
police incompetence, promising to instigate
sweeping changes in the police department,
and will attempt to leave.
Alambar is also in a hurry to leave,
claiming that he must return to Jonholm to
monitor some ongoing experiments, but he
may succumb to pressure from Flaloch if it
seems to the mayor that the characters are
going to present a legitimate solution.
(Alambar is worried that he may appear to
be the guilty party if he insists on leaving
while Flaloch is willing to stay and listen.)
Sandar Fleatis is not inclined to leave
hastily; he wants to get to the bottom of this
affair, and he will spout off angrily at anyone
who attempts to leave before matters
are resolved.
If the PCs directly accuse Alambar of
Romdril’s murder and present a case that is
similar to what is outlined in “The solution,”
the alchemist will panic and begin
coughing and gasping. He will instinctively
reach for his bottle of pills, which of course
are not on his person. He will then attempt
to cast a spell, but his coughing fit will
prevent him from completing it. Then, if he
is not physically restrained, he will pull out
and drink what he thinks is a potion of extra
healing, but which is in fact his vial of oil of
acid resistance. This action will only increase
his respiratory problems and render
him virtually helpless. In this state, Alambar
should be able to be easily apprehended,
perhaps with the aid of Fleatis (and
Mok) and possibly also with the help of
Flaloch, if the mayor has not been accused
of any crime. If the PCs have thought to
pick up the white pills from the laboratory,
and if Alambar is offered one of them to
alleviate his coughing, he will regain all of
his capabilities and will do everything in his
power to escape.
If the PCs directly accuse Flaloch of
Romdril’s murder, the mayor will demand
to see their evidence and, if it is lacking in
substance (as it surely will be) he will leave
the mansion. If the PCs charge him with
participation in the murder of Liana Romdril,
and if they have the ledger to prove
this accusation, Flaloch will lose his rough
demeanor and begin stammering in a futile
attempt to cover his tracks. If he is skillfully
confronted and interrogated at this point,
he will volunteer a full confession. If instead
the mayor is physically threatened, he will
attempt to resist this kind of treatment, but
Sandar, Mok, and Alambar (if the latter has
not been accused of any crime) will assist
the police in restraining him.
If the PCs directly accuse Fleatis of any
crime, he will go pale and quietly deny
involvement in any wrongdoing in a manner
that makes it almost seem as though he
does not believe his own words. This feeling
will pass within moments, however, and
Fleatis will regain his composure and selfassurance.
He will vocally and physically
resist any attempt to arrest him. Flaloch
and Alambar will support the PCs if they