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:
- Public token: Given at the door upon entry
- 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
Keeper Notes
- The atmosphere should be theatrical but increasingly disturbing
- Music is both beautiful and wrong; make this contrast clear
- The child servants are intentionally unnerving; do not explain their origins yet
- The ritual chamber is horrifying; SAN checks are appropriate
- The Formless Spawn is not a combat encounter; it is an apparition
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)
Campaign Design Notes
Maison du Corbeau represents the Choir’s confidence and open practice of occultism. By July 1, they are past the point of hiding; they openly recruit, test, and mark new cultists. This signals the accelerating timeline toward August 15.
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
- The_Soiree — The event itself
- [Chapter_2_Lyon](…/chapters/Chapter 2 - Lyon/chapter-2-overview.html) — The chapter in which this occurs
Relationships
- Owned by Lucien Goupil — Recently inherited by Goupil; he hosts the Soirée
- Used by Mathilde Savarin — Savarin uses the estate as venue for the masquerade