4 Lamashan 4715 – Sunday

I have walked by this building on several occasions during my forays about the city. It always seemed out of place with the Temple of Asmodeus sitting across the way. But does anything really look in place with a Temple of Asmodeus next to it? I suppose if you’re a follower maybe, but that feels like an insensitive question to posit to our former priest. There must have been a consequential event that drove him from his position, but that is not something I am comfortable asking of the professor. 

Niccolo went straight for a quaint cottage just next to the Humbright House. If the boarded up old building looked out of place, this definitely didn’t belong, and I loved it. Just looking at the building felt like comfort. A beautiful garden, flower boxes below the windows, with everything just so. I had a feeling that Niccolo’s mother was going to be wonderful…and I wasn’t disappointed.

Granted seeing that she was a halfling did surprise me, but at the same time made perfect sense. The way she immediately doted on Niccolo and invited us in without a care made my heart swell. The inside of the house was absolutely pristine, but with hints all about showing accommodations for a not so small tiefling that no doubt once lived here. She revealed to us how Niccolo was left at the doorstep of the Humbright House which had already been closed. It makes me wonder if the intent was for him to be found at all. 

After introductions were made, she asked why we were there. She didn’t seem particularly concerned, and said she hadn’t noticed anything strange. She did tell us the story about why the house may be considered haunted, but it seems unlikely. Apparently a priest mentioned seeing an angel flying overhead, which for an Asmodean would probably be rather frightening. As caretaker, we asked her if she minded us investigating, and thankfully she did not.

Niccolo’s mama left us to our exploration. I think the ghost story may have affected Lucia more than she intended as a cat scared her quite properly. We soon found a locked door that the professor was able to pick. Niccolo met resistance on the other side, but pushed through with sheer force. The path led us up to the bell tower where we immediately met the Red Jill herself, Scarplume. And she was no angel, but a strix. 

We definitely caught the entire lot of them off guard. It’s obvious now that they were the ones who had blocked the initial doorway. Even though part of me knew it would do no good, I did attempt to talk Scarplume out of this fight, but it seems her hatred runs far too deep. She proved to be a formidable foe, but it was the professor who burned away her wings and sent her plummeting.  

V.