Session 6 - The Way of Blood

General Summary

Later that dat, the party returns to the church. Within the safety of the ward Father Anselm placed on it, Klein tells the party of his plan to retake the village from the Riese.
First, Belak must gather the weapons they have been making from the cobbler’s shop. Others will go to the manor house to set booby-traps for the Riese lest they visit the manor again. Then Klein will gather the village folk and ambush the Riese on the island.
To get the Riese to the island, when the Riese come to take the book tomorrow as agreed, the party will claim they have recovered the book, but buried it on the island in the lake to keep it safe. In reality, the party will bury Matthias' Sacred Writ there. Klein hopes the Riese are illiterate enough to mistake it for the real book of Günther.
Putting the plan in action, Ernst accompanies Belak to the cobbler's shop to gather the slings and river stones Belak collected the day before. Klein had asked them to make 50 slings, but Belak, who does not know what 50 means, only made 4. They collect these, the stones, and a short bow Belak also left there.
Klein goes to the manor house and instructs those there to prepare traps. Ernst and Belak arrive shortly after and also try their hands at it. Ernst closes windows and moves furniture into inconvenient places so, at least when the Riese come, they will find a stuffy house whose decor is off-putting.
Belak, for his part, gets distracted by a cow in a nearby field. Cows are so vulnerable and trusting, the Riese will certainly not spare them unless they are sheltered in the manor by all the defenses the party is building. Georg later comes to the mansion. but as Klein has some claim to the village, there is little he can do to recoup the cow, but he promises to lodge a complaint with the real powers that be.
The following morning, Chlothar, returns to the church to study the fresco once again. If he can get to the book, it may contain something which can help them, and they have just half a day left. He cuts a finger on his left hand with his dagger, smears the blood on his right, then touches the angel’s sleeve with his right hand.
The shock throws him back and knocks him out. Klein revives him, but he is in bad shape. The skin on his face and hands is burned and raw, he cannot see, and he feels like another shock like that will certainly kill him. He decides to rest there in the church.
After a little while, his sight returns, but he is not better. He sits there and considers the fresco again. After the angel’s visit, Nadad wandered the earth, and his descendants are now wanderers. However, Nadad is also a king. Is it possible a king can also be a wanderer?
Klein returns to the church to speak with Chlothar. Although he has rallied everyone to save the village, he tells Chlothar they could instead leave immediately. The wolves are indisposed, so the woods are relatively safe. Their chance of defeating the Riese with 4 slings and a handful of villagers is poor, but if they flee, they may survive to claim the book another day.
Chlothar sees the wisdom of Klein’s suggestion, and he is tempted to flee, but he feels he is too close to the book of Günther to leave now. He tells Klein this, and what he has tried.
Klein tries it himself. He cuts the back of his hand and touches the angel’s sleeve. This time, the fresco opens and a stairway appears, descending below the church. Klein is surprised, but then regains himself.
If they are not going to flee, he must get back to the tasks at hand. He suggests Chlothar can go down and look for the book, but he will head back to the manor.
Klein then runs off to the mansion where he finds Belak trying to reason with a cow. He then encounters Georg the cobbler who is looking for Belak who stole his cow.
Down in the crypt, Chlothar casts mage light on his dagger and descends down to the crypt. There is a long low-ceiling hallway running underneath the main aisle of the church. Perhaps 16 alcoves on either side contain inscriptions, carvings, and the coffins of various Horsts, thick with dust. There is one alcove that has no inscriptions and no carvings but a coffin with a lid Chlothar cannot move even the slightest.
He searches the coffin and finds two small finger-sized holes. With the light from the dagger shining through one hole, he peers through the other to see what looks like a grimoire. It is here, but still unreachable.
Meanwhile, Klein gets a boat ride to the island and buries the Writ. He also gets a pear from the angry tree. Then, he returns to the manor.
When he gets there he finds Belak has somehow opened his mother’s room. Though the door had no latch, lock, or bolt, no one had been able to open it. Now, someone Belak has.
The vestments and linens in the room has a pear theme, but no one is in it.
Belak encounters some Reise on their way to the mansion. When they get there, they knock at the door. Klein tells them he will get the book for them. He goes to the church with Ernst and Belak.
At the church, the party is again assembled, and they all go to the crypt to try to recover the book. Belak again casts “knock” and the coffin lid is suddenly no longer held fast. The party removes the lid, and, indeed the book is there along with a spectral being who rises out of the coffin wearing a dress with a pear motif and bears down on Ernst. With collective effort (mostly thanks to Ernst's prayers), the group is able to subdue the spirit. Klein tells Chlothar to take the book, though this elecits a questioning look from Ernst. The party then ascends to the main level of the church, and prepares to confront the Riese.

Report Date

22 Oct 2024

Primary Location

Riesenhain