Characters: A wealthy merchant; his chief clerk
The characters are approached by a wealthy merchant of some acquaintance. The reason for his approach is based on the characters' identities or relationship. In my campaign, the Merchant approached one member of the party (Doctor Gunnar of Orensaar) because Dr. Orensaar was a member of the Guild of Arcane Lore, as was the merchant. Your hook in may be different.
Master Tovril tells Dr. Orensaar (or your characters) a strange tale, a tale about an accursed book . . .
It seems that only yesterday one of the ships he had helped finance had put into port, and early in the day his clerk, Bernar of Melkor, a non-nonsense and extremely businesslike man, came into his office and gave him a digest of the manifest, such as was always prepared by Meester Bernar when a ship came in bearing some of Master Tovril's cargo. It seems the manifest declared a passenger, one Talor of Duras, who was a Fur Trader to the Kubora.
Talor had asked to come by and see Master Tovril later that day, saying something about an arcane book that had been found in the barrows of Kustan.
At about 1:00 in the afternoon, Master Tovril returned from his luncheon at home, and went past Meester Bernar, who was diligently calculating sums in the outer office. Master Tovril sat at his table overlooking the harbor, and began to go over the days ledgers in detail. After a short time, his door opened and a tall man with long hair and a bushy beard, dressed in a ragged set of clothes and a dirty hat, strode in, closing the door behind him.
He introduced himself as Talor of Duras, and told Master Tovril that his clerk had told him to "go right in".
He then told Master Tovril an amazing story, about an accursed book that he had found on an expedition in Kubora. It appears that the book was originally located by one Doctor Hammet, who was a physician travelling with the traders. Dr. Hammet had been suddenly summoned away to see family in Aleath, and was forced to leave the trading expedition in a great hurry. Dr. Hammet couldn't carry the book with him, as he barely had time to pack before heading back with the guides who had been sent to find him. He left the book in the care of one Dr. Leekas, his replacement who had come up with the guides to get him.
Dr. Hammet had told Dr. Leekas that the book was accursed, and the origin of the curse was in a long forgotten tribe in the jungle. Dr. Hammet thought the book needed further study, and was going to return to complete his studies after a leave to go to Aleath to visit his dying father and take care of his father's affairs. Dr. Leekas was to keep the book, but never to open it, or he would suffer the curse.
It seems Dr. Leekas's curiosity got the better of him, because one day, in the company of many men from the expedition, he opened the book. At the time, he was standing on the deck of a raft used by the company to navigate the Nej River, up toward the top of the island. After opening the book, he gasped, dropped the book, and walked straight over the side of the raft, sinking and never reappearing. His body was never found.
Talor was told of this story by the leader of the expedition, Captain Diego, a brave and fearless man. Captain Diego, after witnessing the above event, went to his tent in the encampment and put the book down on his table. He then called for Talor, and explained what he had just seen. He told Talor he intended to open the book, but Talor talked him out of it. Talor then left the tent, but as he went out, asked another question of the Captain.
He got no answer, and so he re-entered the tent. The tent was empty. The book, opened, was upside down on the floor. There was a slash in the back of the tent, where a gap had been cut with a sword. A path was broken into the jungle behind the tent, but the path disappeared after only a few yards.
Thus, Talor took charge of the book, and brought it to Aleath, to find the esteemed Dr. Hammet, and see if he could be of service in discovering what had become of the two missing men.
On the trip to Aleath from Golotha, Talor was informed of Master Tovril's interest in the arcane, and so he thought to look him up with the mystery before trying to locate Dr. Hammet. His inquiries regarding Dr. Hammet had, however, also been successful, and he had an appointment to see the good Dr. at the Doctors rented home, a small and humble affair off the Arelora Way, at 3:00.
Master Tovril was skeptical, and asked to see the Accursed Tome. Talor said he had left it outside with the clerk, wrapped up in cloth. He hadn't wanted to bring it in for fear that Master Tovril would want to open it before he had told him the story.
Master Tovril and Talor then went to the outer office, to find the book. Meester Bernar was nowhere to be found. The window shutters were open (there is no glass) and the book was lying askew on the floor, and the cloth wrapper was lying on Meester Bernar's desk.
Master Tovril was shocked, to say the least. Meester Bernar was the last man he would think to open a package not permitted to him. He was the least curious sort of man, a type of human calculator. The disappearance of Meester Bernar confirmed the story in the mind of the Merchant. Talor told him to look for Bernar, and Talor must now keep his appointment with Dr. Hammet.
Master Tovril looked at the tome. It seems ancient, and was bound in leather and brass. On the cover was written in Jarind, in the Khruni script: "Whoever Opens This Accursed Tome Shall Meet Death", along with other writings in unknown languages and scripts.
Master Tovril tells the characters that he wanted to search for Meester Bernar, his clerk of fifteen years, but didn't know where to start. He had never really talked to the man about anything but ledgers, and didn't know where he lived, if he had family, or anything else about him. In fact, he cannot even describe him other than to say he was non-descript. A grey sort of middling man with no great features, other than that he was a human abacus.
After a few hours, Talor returned, and said he had met Dr. Hammet, who had asked him to leave the tome with him, and return in two hours with Master Tovril. Tovril and Talor went to the man's apartment at the appointed time, but no-one was there. The book was lying on the floor by the desk, and the back door into the alley was broken open. The apartment was sparse, but contained mementos from around Hârn. Dr. Hammet was gone.
Talor told Master Tovril that he was exhausted by this ordeal, and wanted to go to his rooms at the Sword & Sceptre, in order to rest. He had told Master Tovril all he knew, and would be available at the Inn. Tovril should call the next day. Talor kept the book.
The next day, Master Tovril, who could not sleep, went to the Inn early, to call on his new friend. The innkeeper gave him the room, and Master Tovril knocked, but no answer. After a time, the concerned innkeeper opened the door. Talor was gone, and a note was left beside the book. It said:
Dear Master Tovril:The book was on the floor, the note on the bed, and the window was open to the outside. Talor of Duras was gone.My curiosity is too great. I must look into the book. I write this in case I, too, disappear, so you will know what has happened.
Regards
Talor of Duras.
This is the tale Master Tovril tells the players. He wants their aid in solving the mystery.
He really had a clerk named Meester Bernar, who was his clerk for fifteen years. Fifteen years during which he never attempted to treat Meester Bernar like a human being.
Meester Bernar began to resent the treatment of his uncaring Master, and began to skim the books. Master Tovril never cared to see the real manifests, only his loyal and able servant's digests.
Meester Bernar amassed a considerable sum.
In the end, Meester Bernar decided to play a trick on his Master before skipping town with a trunk load of bearer notes and silver. He doctored the manifest to show a fictitious passenger, this Talor of Duras. He told Master Tovril that Talor wanted to see him, and after Master Tovril had arrived from lunch, he launched his plan. He put the cloth on the desk, lay the book on the floor, and opened the shutters. He then dressed up as Talor, and went into his employer's room, certain his uncaring boss would not recognize him in his disguise.
He made up the entire story, and led Master Tovril a merry chase. The apartment of Dr. Hammet was actually Meester Bernar's own apartment, which scene he set up when "visiting" the doctor.
He faked his own disappearance twice - once as Meester Bernar and once as Talor of Duras. He then left town for parts unknown, with a large sum of cash. Much of his cash had already been "exported" over the years to accounts in various places. A steady flow of information and cash to the Lia Kavair in various ports on Hârn had earned him new identity papers, plus the forged Tome.
Where he goes and what he does from here is the GM's discretion.
The players should probably run all over town trying to track this one down. But the story will begin to fall apart. Inquiries will discover the owner of the apartment's true identity, and any Kuboran Fur Traders here have never heard of this Talor of Duras.
The Accursed Book has only blank pages. And, lastly, the ledgers and accounts will not add up if a careful person compares the original manifests with the digests and ledgers.
The players are not intended to catch this thief (he is already out of town before they are even contacted) but only to solve the puzzle, to the chagrin of Master Tovril, who will be relieved to have the mystery solved, at least, and impressed by the abilities of the players.
Of course, you could invlolve the players earlier, and give them a chance to "catch the theif", if you wish.
Good luck and have fun.