Refrum is angry about how Jarme was never properly
put on trial. When he tried to meet withJarme in bis cell
at Hopene'er Asylum, he was denied access by the mili-
tia (secretly paid off by Mr. Dory). Faced with this chal-
lenge, Refrum launched his own investigation into the
Lantern Ghost killings. He describes how the killer had
been on the prowl for half a year, striking intermittently
and leaving mutilated victims in public locations to be
discovered at dawn. He also describes how s ingularly
inept the militia were in their efforts to track down the
killer, and how the s layings had pushed the Styes to the
brink of chaos.
Jarme's arrest came after he was found looming over
the body of a victim, a dagger clutched in his blood-
stained hands. Refrum can't dispute th is evidence, but
he talks of how Jarme went to the gallows professing to
have no memory of any slayings. After the execution, Re-
frum offered his ability to cast speak with dead to learn
the truth, but was told by the militia that the case was
closed. He was then threatened with incarceration in
Hopene'er if he didn't leave the matter alone.ANEW MURDER
Part of what drives Refrum's need to exonerateJarme is
his belief that the Lantern Ghost is still killing. Rumors
already spreading through the Styes talk of a young
fisher named Raif turning up dead the morning after
Jarme's execution. The authorities were quick to ship
the body to the mortuary for cremation, as if trying to
cover up the event-and Refrum sees this as evidence
that a sinister conspiracy in the Styes has some connec-
tion to the Lantern Ghost killings.
The priest suspects that agents of this conspiracy
used enchantments to contro!Jarme, forcing him to
commit one or more of the murders. Whenjarme was
caught, they used their influence to have him executed
quickly. Now Refrum fears that the conspirators are not
only free to continue their work- but that they know he's
onto them.
Refrum believes that the authorities are watching
him. Moreover, his notoriety as a thorn in the side of
the council means that many people a re afraid to talk
to him. As such, he believes that the characters will be
able to gain access to information and witnesses that he
can't. The priest suggests that they start their investi-
gation at Hopene'er Asylum (area I 1 and below), where
Jarme was held for a few days after his capture. Refrum
also recommends that the characters track down and
speak with Constable jute, the militia guard who found
Jarme crouched over his victim. She can be contacted at
the district garrison (area 4 and below).
Refrum intends to leave the Styes and spend a few
weeks in hiding for his own safety. Any Wisdom (In-
sight) check made to assess the priest confirms that he
is honestly afraid that his investigation into the murders
has made him a target of the conspirators.
HOPENE'ER ASYLUM
Hopene'er Asylum lies on Lamplicker's Way in the High
Quarter. The building is an old prison with bare walls
and barred windows. A faded sign bearing the words
"Welcome Home" hangs above the main entrance.
<,11\l'l~IU:I lllESTH.~Hopene'er is run by Emil Trantor, a prematurely
old female human physician with a worried brow and
ashen-gray skin. Trantor and her staff of four are hard-
pressed to control the more than four hundred residents
and prisoners housed in the asylum. Consequently, the
less troubled residents are called upon to help run the
place. Everyone in the asylum, workers and residents
alike, uses commoner statistics.
When the characters arrive at the looming stone struc-
ture, they are met at the door by Brey, a troubled youth
who has a worrying way of staring at people for a long
time before responding to them. Eventually, Brey agrees
to allow the characters to enter and asks them to wait in
a bare foyer while he fetches Trantor.SPEAKING WITH TRANTOR
When Trantor first meets the characters. she is harried
and protests that she has no time for long conversations
or prying questions. But as soon as any characte r men-
tions Jarme or the Lantern Ghost killings, her attitude
changes to one of concern for a lost patient.
Trantor describesjarme as a quiet sort who was res-
olute in his claims of innocence. Though the physician
bas no reason to doubt the evidence suggesting that the
fisher committed the murder he was arrested for, she
describesjarme's remorse as far more compelling-and
far more believable-than that of any other troubled per-
son she has ever worked with.
lf the characters ask about visitors during Jarme's
short stay at Hopene'er, Trantor tells them that only
one person was permitted to see him, on the militia's
orders. That visitor was the councillor Mr. Dory, whose
presence at the asylum struck the physician as both un-
settling and odd.
Jarme's body was c remated and the ashes were
dumped into the receding tide, so nothing remains to be
questioned with speak with dead or similar magic.jARME'S LAST MESSAGE
Trantor also volunteers thatjarme spent his last days of
life covering the walls of his cell with drawings, etched
with a cast-off lump of charcoal. The resulting images
were unsettling, to say the least, and Trantor is happy to
let the characters see them.
The journey into the depths of the asylum to Jarme's
former cell is not pleasant. Constant screaming and
cursing from the cells combines with an overpowering
stench of unwashed bodies, filth, mildew, and rotting
straw. Each character must succeed on a DC 10 Con-
stitution check or gain one level of exhaustion that lasts
for as long as they remain in the asylum. A character
recovers automatically after spending 10 minutes in
the open air.l Trantor eventually stops before a heavily locked door, at
which she offers a word of caution. "This wing is where
the worst of our cases are kept. I beg you not to look
into any of the other cells. We've given succor to many
folk over the years. But those here are truly forsaken by
the gods."