Chapter 5: Back to Civilisation
General Summary
Markus Sturm and the 9th Nuln Outriders depart the Tranquil Clearing.
Vixen and Johnny suffer long-term Fatigue. All of the characters are worn-out. Johnny is badly, although not critically, wounded.
Vixen, Edgard and Johnny take a moment to assess their surroundings. They see the Helmbrecht Company packing up the Helmbrecht Caravan, Bertram Holt one of the escapees from the Dark Encampment and a new human named Garret Turner with his donkies. They also take in the sight of the battlefield, the beastmen massacre at the hands of the The 9th Nuln Outriders.
Vixen makes moves to greet Bertram which goes well. He tells her that he was captive for only a few days but previously to this he was at the Derelict Farmstead. She fails to spot any holes in his story but makes such a good impression he agrees to help the party search the battlefield.
Edgard convinces a reluctant Ulrich to lend the party a few lanterns for the search, which helps as the sun has started going down. The party bypasses an opportunity to rest in favour of more searching of the battlefield.
Vixen finds the Quality Scimitar, a sack containing 2 x Healing Draughts, a beautiful Art Book and 5 silver shillings.
Johnny finds 10 silver shillings and 14 brass pennies.
Edgard finds a quiver containing 12 x Bodkin Arrows, which he gives to Johnny.
Grimbald, Adrik and Erika load in to the back of the Helmbrecht Caravan. Erika is in desperate need of medical attention and is still unconscious. Adrik binds his arm in to a sling and is somewhat worse for wear.
Elise is still beside herself with worry for her husband Karl but has convinced Markus Sturm to return and look for him once he has gathered reinforcements from Nuln. Lukas still appears to be traumatised but his condition is otherwise unknown. They also take a spot inside the caravan.
Vixen remembers that another stranger fled the Dark Encampment, was reminded that Bertram stayed to help, and gained +10xp for remembering these details.
The party remembers that Lukas was mute but otherwise hasn't investigated his condition gaining another +10xp.
Vixen offers a Healing Draught to Grimbald who is tending Erika in the back of the Caravan, this is kindly rejected although this gains the party +10xp.
The Helmbrecht Caravan leaves the Tranquil Clearing in the late evening with an estimated two hour trip to the Old Guard coaching inn. Vixen and Johnny elect to rest on the fold-out seats on the sides of the Caravan, which eventually cures them of their short-term Fatigue. Meanwhile Viktor and Edgard keep watch, walking at a brisk pace beside the caravan. Bertram Holt, Garret Turner and, his donkies follow behind the caravan. Edgard only just keeps his Cool as the forest around the road and caravan grows darker and more foreboding. At the last second he spots a large rut in the road and manages to get Ulrich to divert the Caravan around it, avoiding a possible disaster. Edgard notices that the forest is too quiet, and the tress are full of crows which simply stare at the caravan as it passes. Edgard recommends the Helmbrecht Caravan increases its pace and Grimbald agrees, all characters take a place on the caravan and the pace increases. Garret rides one of his donkies and Bertram hops on to one of the fold-out seats on the caravan. While in the driving position with Ulrich, Edgard who is still on watch, turns to look behind the caravan and notices a dark silhouetted figure that he interprets to be a human. At this moment Johnny tastes Coffee, who also interprets this to be some manifestation of the winds of magic via his Second Sight but doesn't know anything else about it. Edgard tries to point out the dark apparition but only serves to distract Ulrich, who is driving the Caravan. This causes the Caravan to clip a rock at the side of the road. Luckily everyone except Edgard passes an Athletics check, the latter of which suffers two wounds for his folly. The caravan draws in to sight of the Old Guard, Edgard notices that the crows stay behind but again sees the dark apparition, he is unsure whether only he can see it or whether coincidence means only he has seen it so far. The caravan pulls up to the formidable gate of the Old Guard, Edgard and Grimbald negotiate entrance for the caravan.
As the gate is locked behind them, the whole group is able to breathe a sigh of relief. The formidable Old Guard is well fortified, however Edgard spends some time staring out of the postern door vision slit. One of the guards claps him on the shoulder which causes both of them to yell in surprise and then convinces the guard on watch that there is something out in the darkness, causing some disquiet amongst the guards but otherwise raising their alert levels. Edgard is on edge and isn't entirely convinced that the Old Guard is safe, however he is unable to find anything out of the ordinary. The group meets Astrid Meadows, owner of the Old Guard, who beckons them inside the main tavern building. Before heading to bed Vixen convinces Astrid to sort a decent meal for the party, which is hungrily consumed. This allows the party to rest properly, otherwise they would have had a harder time recovering wounds and potentially would be headed towards starvation. Johnny has a quick look around the main room of the tavern but doesn't discover anything out of place. Vixen, Elise and Lukas stay in a room with Astrid. Johnny, Edgard, Viktor, Adrik and Bertram bunk together in one of the larger rooms, which is clearly a disused military bunk. Erika is given a private room, with a large bed. Grimbald stays in the chair by her bed. Garret Turner sleeps in a side stable room with his donkies. Edgard passes his Cool test and is able to get off to a decent sleep, despite his frayed nerves. The group finally gets some well earned rest. Johnny and Vixen relieve themselves of their long-term Fatigue. The party recovers some wounds and awakes to a beautiful spring day, the grim darkness of the day before seems so distant from the place the party now finds themselves. Vixen and Johnny encounter Veronica Dapple tending to Erika. Veronica introduces herself and successfully casts Blessing of Healing once on Vixen, and Johnny healing them each for a wound. Meanwhile Edgard is once again staring out of the postern gate vision slit, and again yells in surprise when he is clapped on the back by a different guard, but yet again absolutely convinces this guard that there is something out there. Edgard and the guard spend time staring out of the vision slit together. Vixen and Johnny convince Veronica to come and meet Edgard to see if she can help calm his mind. Veronica embraces Edgard at the gate as she had previously done with the other two, healing one of his wounds and calming his mind slightly. The guard that was assisting Edgard in his paranoia tells the party that Veronica is in fact a Blessed Sister of Cult of Shallya. Veronica senses the corruption (2 points) gained by Edgard at the Dark Encampment. She is only able to do this because Edgard is also a Pure Soul, she is unaware that Vixen is also afflicted. Edgard spends sometime quizzing Veronica about how to remove the taint of chaos, the only tangible advice she is able to give is that there are powerful members of the Cult of Shallya that can remove corruption but otherwise advocates religious zeal. Veronica returns to tending Erika while the party goes and meets the newest arrival Garret Turner, the travelling merchant. Edgard makes an excellent impression on Garret by showing affection for his donkies. Vixen and Johnny have mixed success evaluating the items Garret Turner has for sale. However, when it comes to selling the beautiful Artbook, Vixen masterfully negotiates an excellent sale price of 5GC 8/- which also achieves her motivation "Make a Great Sale" regaining her a Resolve Point. Led by Vixen the party acquires a Leather Jack for Edgard and, trades his old cloak and some money for a cloak with the Fine trait which also fulfills his motivation "Be Better", regaining him a Resolve point. Vixen gets a Durable Leather Skullcap, a Leather Jack and a Lightweight pair of Leather Leggings. Johnny acquires a beautiful Quarterstaff with the Fine and Durable traits, and a Healing Draught. The party also sells off a shoddy spear and the old club found at the Dark Encampment. The party then heads back in to the main building in the centre of Old Guard to ask Grimbald what the plan is now, after a short conversation he indicates that the Helmbrecht Caravan will remain here until Erika is healed, which Veronica says may take a week or more. Johnny shows the Silver Amulet of the Cult of Myrmidia to Grimbald, he explains who the Cult of Myrmidia are and that it is probably best to return it to a member of that order. The group elects to hold on to it for now with the intention of checking Grissenwald for a temple of the Cult of Myrmidia. As the party leaves the room, they are followed by Veronica Dapple who has heard about the Desperate Flight from Grimbald. She asks the party about the encounter with the great red beast and explains that she dreamed of the very same thing, and that she was disgusted by the brutal weapon it held and imagined herself throwing it back in to the woods. After a moment of stunned silence, and a little more conversation the group heads back down in to the common room of the Old Guard to plan their next move.
The Helmbrecht Caravan leaves the Tranquil Clearing in the late evening with an estimated two hour trip to the Old Guard coaching inn. Vixen and Johnny elect to rest on the fold-out seats on the sides of the Caravan, which eventually cures them of their short-term Fatigue. Meanwhile Viktor and Edgard keep watch, walking at a brisk pace beside the caravan. Bertram Holt, Garret Turner and, his donkies follow behind the caravan. Edgard only just keeps his Cool as the forest around the road and caravan grows darker and more foreboding. At the last second he spots a large rut in the road and manages to get Ulrich to divert the Caravan around it, avoiding a possible disaster. Edgard notices that the forest is too quiet, and the tress are full of crows which simply stare at the caravan as it passes. Edgard recommends the Helmbrecht Caravan increases its pace and Grimbald agrees, all characters take a place on the caravan and the pace increases. Garret rides one of his donkies and Bertram hops on to one of the fold-out seats on the caravan. While in the driving position with Ulrich, Edgard who is still on watch, turns to look behind the caravan and notices a dark silhouetted figure that he interprets to be a human. At this moment Johnny tastes Coffee, who also interprets this to be some manifestation of the winds of magic via his Second Sight but doesn't know anything else about it. Edgard tries to point out the dark apparition but only serves to distract Ulrich, who is driving the Caravan. This causes the Caravan to clip a rock at the side of the road. Luckily everyone except Edgard passes an Athletics check, the latter of which suffers two wounds for his folly. The caravan draws in to sight of the Old Guard, Edgard notices that the crows stay behind but again sees the dark apparition, he is unsure whether only he can see it or whether coincidence means only he has seen it so far. The caravan pulls up to the formidable gate of the Old Guard, Edgard and Grimbald negotiate entrance for the caravan.
As the gate is locked behind them, the whole group is able to breathe a sigh of relief. The formidable Old Guard is well fortified, however Edgard spends some time staring out of the postern door vision slit. One of the guards claps him on the shoulder which causes both of them to yell in surprise and then convinces the guard on watch that there is something out in the darkness, causing some disquiet amongst the guards but otherwise raising their alert levels. Edgard is on edge and isn't entirely convinced that the Old Guard is safe, however he is unable to find anything out of the ordinary. The group meets Astrid Meadows, owner of the Old Guard, who beckons them inside the main tavern building. Before heading to bed Vixen convinces Astrid to sort a decent meal for the party, which is hungrily consumed. This allows the party to rest properly, otherwise they would have had a harder time recovering wounds and potentially would be headed towards starvation. Johnny has a quick look around the main room of the tavern but doesn't discover anything out of place. Vixen, Elise and Lukas stay in a room with Astrid. Johnny, Edgard, Viktor, Adrik and Bertram bunk together in one of the larger rooms, which is clearly a disused military bunk. Erika is given a private room, with a large bed. Grimbald stays in the chair by her bed. Garret Turner sleeps in a side stable room with his donkies. Edgard passes his Cool test and is able to get off to a decent sleep, despite his frayed nerves. The group finally gets some well earned rest. Johnny and Vixen relieve themselves of their long-term Fatigue. The party recovers some wounds and awakes to a beautiful spring day, the grim darkness of the day before seems so distant from the place the party now finds themselves. Vixen and Johnny encounter Veronica Dapple tending to Erika. Veronica introduces herself and successfully casts Blessing of Healing once on Vixen, and Johnny healing them each for a wound. Meanwhile Edgard is once again staring out of the postern gate vision slit, and again yells in surprise when he is clapped on the back by a different guard, but yet again absolutely convinces this guard that there is something out there. Edgard and the guard spend time staring out of the vision slit together. Vixen and Johnny convince Veronica to come and meet Edgard to see if she can help calm his mind. Veronica embraces Edgard at the gate as she had previously done with the other two, healing one of his wounds and calming his mind slightly. The guard that was assisting Edgard in his paranoia tells the party that Veronica is in fact a Blessed Sister of Cult of Shallya. Veronica senses the corruption (2 points) gained by Edgard at the Dark Encampment. She is only able to do this because Edgard is also a Pure Soul, she is unaware that Vixen is also afflicted. Edgard spends sometime quizzing Veronica about how to remove the taint of chaos, the only tangible advice she is able to give is that there are powerful members of the Cult of Shallya that can remove corruption but otherwise advocates religious zeal. Veronica returns to tending Erika while the party goes and meets the newest arrival Garret Turner, the travelling merchant. Edgard makes an excellent impression on Garret by showing affection for his donkies. Vixen and Johnny have mixed success evaluating the items Garret Turner has for sale. However, when it comes to selling the beautiful Artbook, Vixen masterfully negotiates an excellent sale price of 5GC 8/- which also achieves her motivation "Make a Great Sale" regaining her a Resolve Point. Led by Vixen the party acquires a Leather Jack for Edgard and, trades his old cloak and some money for a cloak with the Fine trait which also fulfills his motivation "Be Better", regaining him a Resolve point. Vixen gets a Durable Leather Skullcap, a Leather Jack and a Lightweight pair of Leather Leggings. Johnny acquires a beautiful Quarterstaff with the Fine and Durable traits, and a Healing Draught. The party also sells off a shoddy spear and the old club found at the Dark Encampment. The party then heads back in to the main building in the centre of Old Guard to ask Grimbald what the plan is now, after a short conversation he indicates that the Helmbrecht Caravan will remain here until Erika is healed, which Veronica says may take a week or more. Johnny shows the Silver Amulet of the Cult of Myrmidia to Grimbald, he explains who the Cult of Myrmidia are and that it is probably best to return it to a member of that order. The group elects to hold on to it for now with the intention of checking Grissenwald for a temple of the Cult of Myrmidia. As the party leaves the room, they are followed by Veronica Dapple who has heard about the Desperate Flight from Grimbald. She asks the party about the encounter with the great red beast and explains that she dreamed of the very same thing, and that she was disgusted by the brutal weapon it held and imagined herself throwing it back in to the woods. After a moment of stunned silence, and a little more conversation the group heads back down in to the common room of the Old Guard to plan their next move.
Report Date
07 Jul 2024
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