Chapter 2: Reinhardt's Hunt Report

General Summary

On the second day Vixen Thornlock, Edgard Cutterford and Johnny Sins wake to a peaceful scene. Following breakfast and some general chatter with the members of The Helmbrecht Caravan, Grimbald announces that he wants Reinhardt Ironwood and Erika Sternhammer to lead a hunt a into the woods.
Johnny chats with Viktor and gets the impression that Grimbald is testing the group, perhaps looking to ascertain their strengths and weaknesses. After some prepartion Reinhardt, Erika, Karl, Lukas, Vixen, Edgard and Johnny head deeper into the forest in search of some game to hunt.
The weather is clear and crisp, the party makes quick progress through the woods and some light banter is had between the new comrades.
After roughly half an hour, the party comes across the Derelict Farmstead.
Reinhardt heads farther in to the forest beyond the Derelict Farmstead while the rest of the group explores. Edgard searches the local area, finding some evidence of fairly recently used campfires but otherwise fails to notice anything of importance.
With Johnny leading, he and Vixen expertly search the barn and find a skeleton buried beneath rubble and an old hay stack. It is apparent that the whomever the skeleton belonged too had been murdered as the skull was caved in from behind. The group acquires the Old Wooden Mallet, Leather Bracers and a round Battered Shield, these are given to Edgard.
The adventurers then enter the main farmhouse building. It is apparent that although the farmstead has been out of use for many years, there has been more recent activity inside the building. The group manages another masterful search roll and find a hidden cache containing 17d, a Healing Draught and a Silver Amulet of the Cult of Myrmidia. The money is split, Johnny takes and identifies the Amulet, and Edgard takes the draught.
As the group returns outside, Erika and Viktor are chatting while Karl is showing Lukas how to tie a knot in and old piece of rope. Soon after Reinhardt returns and tells the group that he has found some Boar not far away and that Vixen, Johnny and Edgard should follow. Erika orders everyone else to stay put.
Upon arriva at Boar Home Reinhardt says he'll watch from a little way away while Johnny, Vixen and Edgard handle one average sized Boar sow and one very large male Boar.
Johnny sets himself up in front of a tree, hoping to lure the Boar to charge in to the tree. Vixen climbs a tree. Edgard hides in a bush waiting to strike. All three release a volley of arrows. Due to the advantage of surprise and some good planning all three arrows find their mark and the smaller sow is immediately laid low.
As the large male comes to investigate Johnny releases another arrow which finds it mark but does only minor damage. Vixen looses another shot which again hits and does minor damage. Edgard misses.
The disgruntled old boar charges straight at Johnny looking for revenge, at the last second Johnny sidesteps causing the Boar to slam into the tree, he then rakes his dagger across its flank causing a little more damage leaving the beast staggered and disorientated. Vixen remains in the tree trying to get a clear shot but decides not to risk hitting Johnny.
Edgard swings into action and charges the beast. After a thirty second tussle Edgard swings Old Wooden Mallet in an upward arc, slamming into the Boar's underside and causing a serious Gut Wound, felling the creature.
Reinhardt re-emerges, telling the group they'd done a decent job. He tells them to go and fetch Erika and company while he dresses the Boars.
The party gathers up the Boar parts and heads back to the Derelict Farmstead, somewhat unnerved because a fog had started creeping in to the area, which continued to get worse over the next ten minutes.
Erika orders an immediate return to the Caravan as the fog continues getting thicker. After a while on the track Johnny, using his Second Sight, notices that although the fog itself isn't magically in nature it does have wisps of Ghur (Amber) Winds of Magic weaving through the forest to the groups sides and rear. Also Vixen thinks she hears a very faint trumpeting horn but cannot be sure, no-one else hears this.
The party begins running back to the caravan, Edgard keeps a good pace but Johnny and especially Vixen start flagging, becoming badly fatigued.
About half way through the journey back to the Caravan, the party stops and realises that Karl Blackwood and Lukas Blackwood are no longer with them. Erika and Reinhardt turn back in search of the two lost members. Erika sends Viktor, Johnny, Edgard and Vixen back to the Caravan to raise the alarm.
As the group re-enters the clearing with the Caravan they notice that the thick fog quickly disappates at the edge of the forest and doesn't reach far into the Tranquil Clearing. Vixen hears very faint trumpeting again, and again no-one else hears this.
Johnny turns to face the way the party had just come and using Second Sight, he sees a vaguely humanoid figure, made entirely of Ghur (Amber) smoke step in to the clearing. The figure then falls to its knees and collapses forward, disappating in to nothing.
Edgard perfectly recounts every aspect of what has happened since leaving to Grimbald Helmbrecht and the remaining crew at the Caravan. Elise Blackwood is horrified to learn that her husband Karl and son Lukas are lost somewhere in the woods. She implores that someone find them as quickly as possible.
Grimbald pulls a secret mechanism which causes The Helmbrecht Caravan to lock down. Ulrich Ravenshield and a very worried Elise stay behind to keep an eye on the caravan.
After some quick prepartion Grimbald, Adrik, Viktor, Johnny, Egard and Vixen head back in the direction of the Derelict Farmstead. About half way Adrik spots some spots of blood leading in to the forest, the party follows these but after a short while they lose the tracks and head back to the path.
The party continues to the Derelict Farmstead. As they arrive, through the gloom, they spot a figure slumped against the open door frame of the main farmhouse building. This turns out to be the badly mauled and barely still alive Reinhardt.

Reinhardt is barely conscious and unable to speak, his arm has been torn off, his chest is badly mauled. Edgard makes a good attempt to help, bandaging his arm and pouring a Healing Draught on his wounds. Despite this Reinhardt coughs blood and dies, Edgard lays a blanket over the now dead Reinhardt.
Grimbald looks on with a grimace. He then leans over Reinhardt, picking up Reinhardt's Longbow which he pushes in to Johnny's hands as a gift.
The group picks up tracks and blood splatters leading back in to the woods on the far side of the Farmstead, in a different direction to Boar Home. Grimbald leads the whole group in the direction of the tracks. Not far in to the wood the party stumbles on Reinhardt's dismembered arm and clear signs of a struggle but little else. After some further fruitless searching Grimbald, fearing an ambush, orders everyone back to the Derelict Farmstead.
Upon returning to the Farmstead, Johnny tells the group of the skeleton found earlier buried beneath the haystack in the barn. On further inspection it is found that the skeleton is gone, although clear signs of it being removed are visible. Edgard has a thought, and successfully investigates the campfires he found on their previous visit. This time he notices there are many bone fragments amongst the charred remains of the campfires.
Grimbald orders the group back to the caravan, his years of military acumen causing him to worry that something far worse may descend on the party. Beneath the surface he is clearly worried for Erika's safety.
The party leaves Derelict Farmstead and heads back along the track towards the caravan. About half way, at the spot where the group stopped to investigate the blood splatters, they run in to a Human form emerging from the fog.
The form is that of Karl Blackwood, he is flecked with blood. It looks as though he has been raked, scratched and needled many times as he is covered in small cuts. He takes a few steps forwards, falls to his knees and collapses fowards.
Johnny takes a backward step as he realises that this matches the vision he saw of the Amber figure emerging from the woods back at the Caravan.

Rewards Granted

Johnny: 5d, Reinhardt's Longbow
Vixen: 5d
Edgard: 4d, Old Wooden Mallet, Leather Bracers, Battered Medium Shield

Base Experience: 100xp
Bonus for finding the Hidden Cache in the farmhouse: 10xp
Bonus for finding the Skeleton in the barn: 10xp
Bonus for killing the two boar: 15xp

Campaign

The Long Road

Protagonists

Vixen Thornlock

Vixen Thornlock
Human
Rogue, Bawd 1,

Brass 1

WS	BS	S	T	I
34	32	28	32	24
Ag	Dex	Int	WP	Fel
35	43	27	32	40

Johnny Sins

Johnny Sins
Human
Peasent, Mystic 1,

Brass 1

WS	BS	S	T	I
32	33	31	30	34
Ag	Dex	Int	WP	Fel
37	33	34	33	31

Edgard Cutterford

Edgard Cutterford
Human
Burgher, Begger 1,
Pauper
Brass 0

WS	BS	S	T	I
28	36	32	50	35
Ag	Dex	Int	WP	Fel
36	34	32	37	42

Report Date

24 May 2024