Whistlemaker's Curse

This is a tiny adventure set in Sigil. I can see it as a fun side mission, or an introductory scenario for games set in Sigil/ Planescape.

• PCs are hired by a desperate instrument maker named Vancel to find the antidote for an affliction that is consuming him. He has very little time and is desperate for help. He will pay any price including giving his whole business to the PCs.

• He explains his predicament. Weeks ago, a wizard by the name of Alume came to Vancel’s shop suddenly and demanded him to make a series of 7 masterwork bone whistles immediately. Vancel said that he had a backlog of work and the wizard will have to wait the usual time for such a request. Alume then presented a bottle of Arcadian Goldberry Wine, and says “maybe this will improve my chances”. Vancel says “absolutely not” and takes the wine anyway. He quaffed the whole bottle that night. It was delicious.

• Alume had planted a kernal of powerful intestinal fungus within the bottle. The next day, he returned and explained the situation. The fungus would grow and eventually kill him unless he complied. Alume said Vancel had one week to make the whistles and then he will provide the antidote. Vancel was terrified, and made the whistles as requested, but 3 weeks have passed, and the wizard has not come.

• The curse, however, has bloomed in Vancel’s guts. He keeps himself alive by playing violin to it all day long- the only thing that slows its growth. His tongue is bright blue, as well as his fingernails. He’s desperate to find the wizard and get the antidote. Doesn’t have the strength to keep playing. Vancel’s assistant, a boy named Welby takes turns playing when Vancel must rest.

• Vancel gives the PCs the whistles and tells them to hurry and find Alume. He remembers the man smelling like strong and overpowering curry that made his eyes water. The smell didn’t leave the store for hours after.

• The merchant square at the edge of the district has many exotic food tents. One of which boasts the strongest curry in Sigil. The chef remembers an eccentric old man who would buy a large box of their strongest cardamom goat several times a day. “He was my best customer! Bought enough food to feed a family. Stopped coming about a week ago.”

• Not far from there, Alume has been secretly breaking into the basement of a merchant family's town house. There is a portal within the fireplace there. Alum has written GABADAFACE in chalk upon the mantle. Unfortunately the family discovered his intrusions, and he ruthlessly killed them all in their sleep.

• Within the basement, Alume has set up a workshop of sorts, where he has a journal and some of his personal equipment. The journal speaks of “finding the portal to Arborea, near the river Hylax where the ghost lotus grows- the only known cure to my advancing condition. I must work fast and ruthlessly if I am to survive. The Blue Gigantia consumes me by the hour. Ingesting copious amounts of spice seems to have a beneficial effect.” His spell book is there as well as a few simple items.

• The wizard has become a Fungal Walker, and the dead family are 3 Fungus Zombies. In the basement, Alume's chair is thick with waxy blue fronds. Threads of mycelium stretch to the ceiling, where a man shaped patch of rubbery fungus grows thickly. It will drop to the floor and animate in a vague humanoid shape if disturbed. It possesses dim intelligence and flashing memories of its former self. 

• Threads of blue fungus spread up the stairs leading to the 2nd floor bedrooms, and down the steps leading to the basement. The ground floor is mostly clear of fungi. The family is lying in their beds encased in a web of blue threads and rampant caps. If touched, they sit up and attack. Disturbing or otherwise physically striking the Fungal Walker or the Fungus Zombies releases a cloud of spores in a 5' area. Breathing the spores or taking damage from the walkers exposes the PCs to possible infection.

• If the whistles are played in the melodic sequence inscribed above the fireplace (GABADAFACE ), the portal key is triggered, and a glowing portal opens. The portal leads to Arborea and into a small cave opening midway up the height of a 200 foot waterfall. Cliffs rise up on all sides. A narrow stone path leads down. The falls plunges into a clear basin of fresh water. Growing out in its center are large white flowers. Approaching within 30’ of the Ghost Lotus, triggers its defensive ability to cast “minor illusion” at will. If the flower is plucked, the illusions vanish. If the flower is eaten, the fungal condition is instantly cured, but the blue staining persists for another 1d6 weeks.