Go see the wizard Thasior in his tower
When you wake up, the tower is mostly empty. There must have been something in the food or wine, because you slept through it. Everything of value is gone. You search through the tower, and it seems clothes and all, retainers and most sundry items are gone. The stable is empty of mounts and servants. There is a note hanging from a cord in the masters chamber: “I apologize for the quick departure. I was on a time table for a caravan that was leaving for Ados. I am returning home as too many folk think unkind thoughts of me. It was a pleasure meeting you and I wish you success. If I managed to miss anything, you may take whatever is left.”
Normal material household items totally 100sp after a search.
Concealed Door > Locked Cabinet with a sleep gas (save vs. breath weapon or sleep) – Detect Magic reveals some item!
If the characters all fall asleep, half their coins and all goods will be taken by unscrupulous thieves that have been watching the household. They will take the magic hourglass as well. If one PC does not fall asleep, they can see the cabinet contains an item that feel like an hourglass, covered in a purple felt bag. Inside There is a note: “For whoever sets the sands of time running after gazing upon it, so shall their health and years be forever bound!”
Hourglass of Health: For the first person that looks at it when it’s sands run, it’s the sands of their life and they are bound till they die. They can turn it upside down and run it backwards for healing (per potion of healing d6+1 or Remove Poison) on themselves, but it takes a year (10 years for dwarves, 100 years for elves) off their life every time they do it. Save vs Death Magic or cannot use again for a week. Each time it is used, grains are consumed. Each use requires 50sc to replace the coins or the healing is one less – cumulative.
Unfortunately, Thasior was betrayed by his apprentice Terrence and the protective circle was broken when summoning the minotaur. The minotaur killed Thasior, and ate his body… empowering his own dark magics and the minotaur. The minotaur left into the night, taking with him the knowledge from the eaten mage of an ancient altar where the magus was going to unseal a curse and begin his campaign of terror. The minotaur fled into the night, with the single minded purpose of seeing the magus’s dream of violence and terror inflicted on the locals. The terrified apprentice took his masters name and adopted a disguise and has since toned down his practice and feigned retirement… with all the massive incomes his master had earned in thanks granting him a life of luxury. He had no idea what he had unleashed and the good name he hoped to inherit from his master would become associated with the cunning creature he had unleashed.