Maison du Corbeau

Overview

Maison du Corbeau (House of the Raven) is the recently inherited estate of Lucien Goupil, located in the old ecclesiastical district of Lyon. A former canon’s house, it is architecturally suited to theatrical occultism and serves as the venue for the July 1st Masquerade Soirée—a key ritual event in the Aeternum Choir’s operations.

Location & Geography

• District: Old ecclesiastical quarter of Lyon
• Style: Former ecclesiastical property; retained gothic and religious architectural elements
• Exterior: Crumbling, ivy-covered walls; gnarled trees lean over the property; carved gargoyles loom over moonlit grounds
• Entrance: Black iron gates with “Maison du Corbeau” in gilt script
• Approach: Gated courtyard accessible by carriage

Exterior Features

• Gates: Wrought-iron lilies (pale, weathered)
• Grounds: Moonlit gravel drive
• Trees: Ancient, gnarled, skeletal
• Gargoyles: Carved stone figures surveying the property
• Lighting: Candles burn in every window; acrid, metallic scent rides the warm air

Interior Layout

Main Hall

• Black Draperies: Draped extensively throughout
• Chandeliers: Ten or more, flickering with candlelight
• Elevated Dais: Where orchestra performs
• Reception Area: Where guests are formally greeted

Music Rooms (Three)

The Crimson Chamber

• Instruments: Harpsichord, soprano vocalist
• Atmosphere: Draped in crimson silk
• Music: Corrupted aria; part of ritual performance

The Violet Hall

• Instruments: Low brass and woodwinds
• Music: Atonal, hypnotic, nearly imperceptible at first
• Effect: Induces strange moods in listeners

The Silver Salon

• Instruments: Glass harmonicas
• Music: Whispering overtones audible to trained listeners
• Effect: Disturbing resonance that some hear more clearly than others

Library/Study

• Contents: Strange scores, alchemical books, discarded drafts
• Hidden Element: Folded note on floor hinting at midnight ritual: “Midnight. South Corridor. Show both tokens.”
• Atmosphere: Cluttered, dim, dusty

South Wing / Ritual Chamber

• Access: Hidden beyond false wall panel in South Corridor
• Requirement: Two tokens (specially carved bone discs) required to enter
• Interior: Black marble floors etched with musical and Orphic notation
• Candelabra: Six candelabra with blue flame
• Circle: Masked musicians arranged in circle; instrumentalists tuned to unnatural dissonances

Servants

All servants are disturbing:

• Mute Footman: Child-sized, masked, silent, greets at gate
• Child Servants: Approximately 10–13 years old, identically masked in white porcelain with black eyes and closed mouths
• Dressed: Red livery, silent, unsettlingly well-trained

They serve:

• Roasted quail with violet petals
• Black pastries with bitter custard
• Ink-colored wine
• Champagne with gold leaf flakes
• Blood-orange sorbet in delicate cups

Guest List

Approximately 30–40 masked guests from Lyon’s occult, artistic, and wealthy circles. Examples include:

• Woman in clockwork owl mask, dressed masculine
• Man with flayed-face mask, loudly laughing
• Pair of lovers in dog and bitch masks, chained at throat
• Young man with mirror mask, repeating “it is coming”
• Hunched woman with cage-like mask containing paper birds

Key Elements

The Password

Entry requires speaking the password: “Rebirth through Dissonance”

The Tokens

Two tokens are required to enter the secret ritual chamber:

1. Public token: Given at the door upon entry
2. Secret token: Obtained through pickpocketing Comte Vallin, finding in library, trading with Victoire, or enticing a child servant

The Masques

Each investigator is provided with a unique masque:

• Emma & Georgiana Wentworth: Sunburst gold and crescent moon silver (Apollo/Artemis pair)
• Marina Garrick: Cracked white porcelain with silver wire, eye-shaped opal on forehead
• Charlotte Thorne: Barn owl-style leather mask
• Augustus Bolt: Blackened bronze clock face with broken gears and gold filigree

The Ritual

The secret ritual involves:

• Harmonic Offering: Participants use bronze rods and ceremonial knives to contribute magic points and blood to a ritual basin
• Unveiling of the Spawn: A slimy aperture opens in the floor, and a Formless Spawn (servitor of Tsathoggua) rises
• Marking of the Chosen: Specific cultists receive burning sigils marking them irrevocably to the Choir
• Child Sacrifice: A child is placed on an altar and killed with a tuning-fork blade, causing death by harmonic resonance

Role in Campaign

Maison du Corbeau is the venue for the Masquerade Soirée, a key ritual event where the investigators:

• Encounter multiple cultists
• Witness the power and horror of the Choir’s workings
• Must decide whether to infiltrate the secret ritual or observe from the public soirée
• Experience the first direct supernatural threat

SAN Exposure

Investigators witnessing various elements should make SAN checks:

• Seeing child servants (0/1)
• Entering the ritual chamber (0/1)
• Witnessing the Spawn (1/1D6)
• Witnessing the child sacrifice (1D4/1D20)

Recovered Early History

Emma and Thomas overheard Goupil discussing the secret ritual with masked guests on a balcony. Elsewhere at the soirée, Georgiana recognised the Greek myths Goupil was passing off as his own exploits. The investigators followed two masked guests in an attempt to steal their ritual tokens.

Thomas sweet-talked Victoire Lenoir while Marina tried and failed to lift her token. Emma then quarrelled with Thomas over his talking to another woman, creating a distraction so that he could try to take it himself.

In the ritual chamber, Georgiana recognised the significance of the Orphic and Sumerian musical inscriptions set into the black marble floor.

Campaign History

Chapter 2 — Lyon

The masquerade soirée took place as planned. The investigators hunted down invitations — dropped, pickpocketed, or given — donned their masks, and infiltrated the event. They witnessed the secret ritual in the hidden chamber: the Formless Spawn rising through the aperture, the child sacrifice by tuning-fork blade. The party observed everything and did not intervene. They left traumatized, carrying knowledge they could not put down.

Connections to Other Files

• Lucien Goupil — Owner and host
• Mathilde Savarin — Orchestrator of the Soirée
• Victoire Lenoir — Soprano performer
• Doctor Emile Carreau — Ritual conductor
• Comte Henri Vallin — Secondary host
• Lyon — The chapter in which this occurs