DM Event: 9/5 - Beyond the Greyflow and Promises Kept

Adventure thread

This event continued from Yashir's earlier encounter with the banshee sisters Takali and Portu Enzari, whose deaths occurred roughly thirty-five years ago. Portu had been killed while attempting to escape her family after her forbidden relationship with Arven was discovered. Thirteen-year-old Evander Enzari, her younger brother, deliberately tripped her during the pursuit, causing her to strike her head against a riverstone. Takali later attempted to bury Arven, but Evander followed her, revealed her location to the family, and ultimately barred her inside a storage building before setting it on fire. Their father, Edren Enzari, and the rest of the household allowed it to happen.

Before Yashir released Takali from her undeath, he promised that he would find the Enzari estate, discover what became of the family responsible, and see that what had been done to Takali and Portu was not simply forgotten.

Following Takali's directions, Yashir traveled beyond the Greyflow near Orlbar and eventually located the ruined Enzari estate. The property had been abandoned for decades. The manor had largely collapsed through age and neglect, though the long boundary wall, iron gate bearing the Enzari name, fragments of ornamental stonework, and the fire-blackened remains of the old storage building were still recognizable.

While searching the grounds, Yashir encountered two gargoyles that had taken up residence among the ruins. They were not servants of the Enzaris, but territorial creatures that had claimed the abandoned estate for themselves. After one attacked and was destroyed, the second fled when Yashir challenged it to decide whom it actually served.

Among the ruins Yashir recovered several strange items: an old heavy tankard, an oilcloth-wrapped book of myths and legends, a small horn suspended from a leather strap, and a four-inch articulated humanoid skeleton held together with fine wire. The tiny skeleton carried a harmless enchantment suggesting that it may dance when music is played.

Further investigation revealed a partially exposed entrance beneath the collapsed manor. Inside the cellar, Yashir discovered an unusually well-preserved iron-bound door protected by old household magic created by Edren. The door demanded that visitors identify themselves and acknowledge their place within the household. When Yashir spoke the names Portu and Takali Enzari, the ward responded by calling them disgraced daughters and summoned a bound Fire Elemental.

Rather than simply destroy it, Yashir spoke with the elemental in Ignan. The creature explained that it did not choose its quarrel and remained compelled by Edren's command. Yashir used Dispel Magic to sever the old summoning enchantment, releasing the elemental rather than killing it.

The door itself remained protected by an Arcane Lock and a series of programmed responses built around Edren's obsession with hierarchy and control. After identifying Edren as the "Master" of the household, Yashir realized that the final word required to open the door was:

Obedience.

Behind it lay a small, protected records room containing old household accounts, ledgers, correspondence, and a locked iron document box.

The surviving records revealed that the Enzari family had already been living beyond its means before Portu and Takali died. Edren had accumulated private debts, delayed payments, and pledged portions of the estate simply to maintain the appearance of wealth and status. After the sisters disappeared, the family's decline accelerated dramatically.

Some acquaintances shared Edren's contempt for his daughters, describing them as willful, ungrateful, or scandalous. Others were far more concerned by the circumstances of their disappearance. Letters referenced unanswered questions and rumors surrounding the girls, and several former associates refused to continue dealing with the Enzaris while those suspicions remained unresolved.

The family was not destroyed by any formal conviction or arrest. Instead, it simply collapsed. Credit disappeared, property was sold, servants were dismissed, and the surviving members of the household scattered.

The private documents also revealed that Edren went to considerable lengths to protect his youngest son, Evander, from the consequences of that collapse.

Evander was sent away while still only fourteen or fifteen years old and placed in the household of Garran Halden in Parnast. Letters from Halden confirmed that Evander arrived safely, that Edren had provided money for his upkeep, and that Edren specifically requested the boy be told as little as possible about the worsening situation at home. As Edren's resources disappeared, the payments became smaller and less frequent. Halden eventually assured Edren that Evander would not be turned away even when the money stopped coming.

Throughout his private notes, however, Edren remained indignant. He blamed his daughters for disgracing the family, former associates for abandoning him, and creditors for exploiting his misfortune. There was little indication that he ever considered his own actions responsible for what happened.

The paper trail eventually ended.

Yashir's final search took him to the old Enzari family burial ground. There he found Edren Enzari's grave, confirming that Edren eventually died at the ruined estate rather than escaping its collapse. Beside his grave stood another marker whose name had been deliberately and thoroughly carved away. Yashir attempted to recover the inscription through a rubbing, but the damage was too extensive to identify who had been buried there.

There were no graves for Takali or Portu.

There were also none for Edren's sons.

Before leaving, Yashir passed once more by the remains of the burned storage building where Takali had died. Whatever Evander may eventually have become, the cruelty that defined his part in this story had begun frighteningly early. At thirteen years old, he had trapped his own sister inside a building and deliberately set it alight, remaining there while she burned.

Yashir came to the estate looking for what remained of the people responsible for Takali and Portu's deaths. He found Edren in his grave and the Enzari household reduced to ruins.

But Evander survived.

His trail leads to: Parnast and Garran Halden.

Still Unknown

What became of Evander after he was placed with Garran Halden is unknown. It is also unclear what became of Edren's other sons after the family scattered, who lies beneath the deliberately defaced grave beside Edren, and how much of Evander's later life was shaped by Edren's teachings and the household in which he was raised.

Those answers lie beyond the Greyflow.

Yashir kept the promise that brought him here.

The rest of it is not finished yet.