Session 413 – Strange Events
General Summary
27thof Agrazhar (Summer) 728TR
The story so far
A group of heroes battle the evils haunting the beleaguered Kingdom of Kanday.
Sir Odin, a former Erkan of the Order of the Checkered Shield, has been raised to knighthood.
Remy, a former master thief and active gambler, has won and lost fortunes.
Abaddon has traveled the wilderness, perfecting his impressive martial skills.
Edelina, a scholarly priestess of the god of Knowledge Save K’Nor, joins them on their adventures.
This is the continuation of Session 411 – A Rusty Wound.
Session 413 – Strange Events
Odin spends the late summer weeks attending to his duties as Bailiff of Eryna Manor for Lord Weslin Mankele of Aleura. These include resolving petty disputes among the peasants, suppressing the Cult of Eder, preparing the settlement for harvest season, and ensuring the manor's signal tower is stocked with fresh wood and oil in case of an emergency.
Part 1 – The Mad Bard
There is a commotion in the village square. The heroes make their way toward the cries of alarm.
A commoner has been killed, his bloody body lies on the ground, and nearby peasants are fleeing. The culprit is Remy’s old gambling adversary Dorian of the Silver Flute. A traveling bard who was in Eryna just a week ago. He has minor psionic abilities, using Telekinesis to fling missiles at the panicked locals. He appears deranged; nothing he says makes sense. He sees monsters and threats where none exist.
He waves his hand, and roof tiles smash into one of the peasants, nearly killing him. The heroes surround the rogue bard, and Abaddon grapples him while the remaining adventurers pummel him unconscious. Remy notices a wound on his neck, which looks like a deep “S” shaped bleeding scratch on his neck.
Part 2- Interrogation of a Madman
Dorian regains consciousness shortly after and appears completely rational. He claims he has no memory of going insane and killing one of the villagers; he is horrified, and his memory of the last two days is hazy. As he tries to recall recent events, he finds his memory and focus slipping, but remembers a dream of a beautiful woman with grey eyes. He becomes agitated and confused when pressed.
The heroes attempt to follow Dorian's tracks, but lose them after half an hour, so they learn nothing of value. So, instead, they decide to go to the nearby Ordyne Manor, the last location that Dorian clearly remembers.
Part 3 – The Signal Fire
Late in the afternoon, the heroes and Dorian arrive at Ordyne Manor, the kingdom's most isolated and western settlement. Lord Orsin Zeglin warmly greets them. Sir Orsin is an elderly veteran of Ezar's War and offers support for Odin’s investigation. However, nothing seems out of the ordinary; the bard Dorian is well-liked and left the settlement two days ago. Nothing strange occurred during his visit.
As the heroes enjoy the hospitality of Sir Orsin, they hear a cry of alarm. They rush outside and find that the village signal fire has been lit. A half a dozen peasants are walking about it in a daze, and something is moving in the flames. Soon, blackened, flaming skeletal forms emerge, and worse, nearby peasants are slowly approaching the blaze, oblivious to an inevitable painful death.
The heroes rush to their aid. They block several from entering the conflagration, knocking several unconscious.
Two more are caught in Abaddon’s Grease spell and cannot move. Unfortunately, one peasant, a young man, leaps into the flames and is engulfed by an agonizing scream, and another of those fiery skeletons stands in his place.
The heroes now battle the four fire-consumed peasants, using their specialist abilities to perfection. Remy blasts them with a small but potent lightning storm, Abaddon uses physical attacks and Ki Blasts, and Odin expertly dismantles the flaming bones with well-thought-out tactics.
The surviving peasants come to their senses, but all have a bloody symbol scratched into their flesh. However, the heroes spot a slight distortion in the sky above. Someone or something is scrying on them. Remy conjures a blast of air and creates a mini tornado that surrounds the magical anomaly, and it soon disappears.
Part 4 – A Poisoned Stew
All of the peasants who leaped or tried to jump into the flames were from the same family, so the heroes investigated their cottage.
It is a humble three-room house, although the door has recent scratch marks and a trace of blood. Barfoot tracks are in the mud outside. Inside, it appears the family is dining, and there is a mess of spilled food. The party is suspicious of the stew the family was eating as it smells odd, so Odin tries some. "It's good," he says just before he falls unconscious. The stew was poisoned with a potent sleep drug.
After Odin regains consciousness, they put it all together. The heroes consider what they are dealing with. Mysterious magical woman, drugged food, strange magic, and innocent acting as if they were cursed. The heroes think of witchcraft. Witches, or worse, Hags, have moved into the area.
To be continued.
NPC Interactions
Sir Orsin Zeglin, Lord of Ordyne, and various peasants.
Dorian of the Silver Flute - Travelling Bard.
Created Content
Nothing this week.
Player Characters
Odin - Human - L11 Ranger
Background - Martial Disciple.
Archetype - Investigator and Fighter.
Abaddon - Elf - L11 Monk
Background - Martial Disciple.
Archetypes - Druid and Familiar Master.
Remy - Human - L11 Aerokineticist (with Metal second gate)
Background - Acrobat.
Archetypes - Acrobat and Thief.
NPC Companion
Edelina - Human - L11 Holy Sage Sorcerer
Background - Astrologer.
Archetypes - Psychic and Time Mage.
Next Session
Session 413
NPC Companion
Edelina of Sprunstone
Edelina, a scholarly priestess of the Church of Save K'Nor, wanders the world looking for subjects to research. She has studied psionics, religions and astrology and her current research topic is the monstrous Ivashu in all their strange forms.
Clan Mangold
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