House of Salt and Tallow
Every candle in the entrance hall bends its flame toward the locked library door.
House of Salt and Tallow was built for two rival merchant families forced into one marriage and one estate. Its upper rooms remain orderly, but the basement has become a sealed refuge for the family's last heir, whose bargain with a hungry household spirit has begun to spread through the walls.
Cold, stale air carries the smell of lamp oil, wet plaster, and old vellum. Floorboards creak without footsteps, distant pipes knock beneath the house, and pale daylight from the entrance fades into candlelit gloom below. The deeper rooms grow warmer, as if something living breathes behind the walls.
☠ Threat
Geth Tallow, the last heir, has become the vessel of the house spirit known as the Wick-Eater. The spirit feeds on warmth, memory, and family loyalty, causing doors to move, portraits to watch, and the dead to rise as obedient servants. Geth wants intruders to reach him so the house can claim new names for its family ledger.
History
House of Salt and Tallow began when the Salt and Tallow merchant families were forced to merge after both claimed the same warehouse district. Their heir, Rusk Tallow, built the manor over an older storage cellar and installed a private shrine to keep the household obedient. Years later, his descendant Geth sealed the estate after bargaining with a spirit found beneath the foundations.
Encounter Table
CRA black-feathered house crow carries scraps of written names in its beak and drops them near the party's weakest member.
A crawling bundle of curtains, rugs, and servant uniforms drags itself through the halls, trying to wrap travelers and pull them toward the basement stairs.
Three pale rats with candle flames glowing in their mouths scout ahead of the house spirit and flee through cracks if wounded.
Rumours & Whispers
The manor's candles burn blue whenever someone lies within its walls.
A tax clerk says the house was built over a sealed warehouse where an entire merchant family vanished.
People who sleep near the manor dream of a child counting backward from seven.
The library door is locked, but the house itself sometimes opens it for strangers.
A missing heir still sends letters, though every letter is written in a different handwriting.
Quest Hooks
Quest giver: Kett, a tax clerk whose name appears on Survey 7
A clerk from the town tax office hires the party to recover the original marriage contract before the condemned manor is sold. The document is believed to be hidden below the house.
Thirty gold pieces and a legal deed granting the party salvage rights to the manor
Quest giver: Bera Holt, a plain-spoken candle seller
Candles and preserved food have vanished from nearby homes, and witnesses report hearing a child counting from inside the abandoned manor. The party must find the source before the thefts spread.
A silvered lantern that burns without oil and free lodging for a month
Quest giver: Tomas Vey, her anxious younger brother
A family member who entered the house three nights ago has not returned. Her final note mentions a locked library door and a voice reading names aloud.
A family signet worth forty gold pieces and the survivor's lasting gratitude
Corridor Notes
A row of tarnished brass sconces holds candles that relight whenever the house is disturbed. Their flames lean toward the library, even when there is no draft.
Family portraits have been cut from their frames, leaving only painted hands and empty rooms. One portrait still shows a child pointing toward the basement stairs.
Thin black roots push through the mortar near the trap room. They twitch when blood is spilled nearby.
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