THE GROUNDS 8N CUSTODIAN'S ROOM.

8N CUSTODIAN'S ROOM. A tiny wizened old man is in this room. This room is located immediately below Room 8M and also resembles Room 8B. The bed is in a different place, there is a small fire in the fireplace (the venting goes back further to allow the smoke to escape), there no portrait, and there is a passage leading to Room 8O.

The little old man is actually an undead creature named Scaramouche. He looks like he could still be alive, for the most part, but he is actually undead and is the caretaker in charge of maintaining this complex.

Scaramouche, Restless Dead (AC 8; MV 12”; HD 4; hp 18; #AT 1 cold touch; D 1-4; SD Limited spell immunity; XP 157)

• Neutral alignment
• Does not walk, but floats about a foot off the ground, though he is corporeal.
• Immune to sleep, charm, hold, and cold-based magic.
• Turned as a Special or removed by an exorcism.

Many years ago one of the Triskelion wizards helped his family out of a scandalous situation. In return he agreed to serve the family for a period of two hundred years. Such was the magical potency of his bond that he remained here even after his death. He is reasonably polite and willing to talk with visitors. In many ways he still has the attitudes of a normal human and he will not want to fight under normal circumstances. He only wants to do his job until he is released from his term of service and truly dies. He repairs the traps and tricks in Area 8 using a set of tools and the materials stored in Room 8N. He doesn't know what the purpose of the complex is for sure but he suspects it is here to keep intruders out or to serve as some sort of test.

He keeps himself busy with his large collection of books, mostly novels and similar material, and because he is dead he finds he is not really lonely most of the time. He doesn't mind talking about the secrets of the complex because he has never been told not to. He knows about the goblins in Room 8Q, but doesn't worry about them since there are no specific rules about them not being there.

Scaramouche spent his life as a handyman and also worked for an alchemist in the Triskelion family. He knows the secret to brewing draughts of dreath. He would be willing to share the secret and the draughts he has in Room 8O for valuable spices, wine, flowers, or more reading material. He finds that heady fragrances make him remember life a bit more.