Session 22. - Lost In The Woods
General Summary
5th of Icegrip, 1440 A.P.
Arv's corpse was barely cold when Urith started conscripting the others to help him snoop through the ettercap nest in search for treasure. With nothing better to do, the others joined in with the morbid task and searched through the nest, gathering anything shiny or seemingly valuable into a small pile off to the side.
They gathered what loot they found and soon had a small pile, the crown of which was a heavy chest banded with metal that gave even Angrar pause when he tried to lift it. As it settled into the pile, they all heard the distinctive metallic sound of coins rattling around inside which set their hearts aflutter. All told they'd found a fairly decent haul: they had the chest, a couple of longswords, a wicked looking warhammer, a beautifully crafted longbow in an exquisitely tooled leather case along with a quiver of black fletched arrows, a brace of swirling red hued potions and finally, a set of studded leather that Urith stripped from the corpse of Arv (or was it Rhazi?) because it looked salvageable.
Once all the loot was piled, they took a look at the chest and were dismayed to find it was locked. None of them had found a key while searching and so Urith looked expectantly to Oorr. Unfortunately, Oorr was not that type of rogue. On top of that, everyone quickly realised why Oorr had been uncharacteristically quiet during the search. He was distinctly green hued and looked like 30 miles of bad road. He stumbled in front of them and incoherently said something about a princess in another castle before passing out. They surmised that he must have been bitten by one of the spiders and reacted poorly to the venom. Suljurn attempted to purge the poison but to little effect. They stabilised the Faun as best they could and went back to the loot.
With the chest unopenable for the time being. Urith hunkered down and started a ritual to see what, if any, of the loot was magic. Ostensibly it was to "make sure they were being "weight-conscious" when carrying the loot but the others knew he was eyeing the bow hungrily. With the ritual cast, Urith let out a disappointed sigh. Sadly the bow did not have any magical properties. The hammer, armour and arrows however, were all magical, along with the potions, which Arbor quickly identified as healing potions. They distributed the potions evenly and Urith and Deadeye split the arrows. Urith stuffed the bow in his magic quiver and grabbed the armour, hoping it might be better than his. Everyone encouraged Angrar to take the hammer as a replacement for his bent sword which he ultimately did after returning Deadeye's blade.
With the magical loot divided, they then started talking about their next destination, as they realised that Urith's loot fest and subsequent ritual-palooza was burning daylight. Their initial plan was to make for Taveren Mill and stay the night before heading onward to Morwen's Tower the next morning but with Oorr not looking good and the nagging feeling that they'd need the wagon for the statue made them decide to head back to town. Angrar shouldered the hefty chest and his knees briefly buckled as he adjusted to the additional weight. Suljurn supported Oorr and they slowly made their way back through the woods. It became clear very quickly however that the additional weight and Oorr's near catatonia was slowing them down. They wouldn't make it back to the inn until well after dark.
After a few miles, and with the sun starting to set, they decided to make camp at the edge of the woods just beyond the tilled farmlands near Aldergrove. Deadeye managed to catch some rabbits while the others set up camp and once they were roasting over the fire, they checked on Oorr. He was still greenish and incoherently babbling so they tucked him in to his bedroll and despite being on the edge of civilisation, set up multiple watches throughout the night. Deadeye took first watch. The others, exhausted from the day, were asleep almost instantly, despite the hardness of the ground.
Shortly after sunset, Deadeye's watch was interrupted by a distant scream. It was a long drawn out wail that ruffled his feathers and sent a dread shiver down his spine. As best he could tell, it had come from the Northeast, back from the direction they'd come. He was alert and wary of danger, but nothing more came of the incident. Urith was next for his watch and after Deadeye told him of the sound he'd heard, he was on alert the whole time, but nothing eventful happened. He woke Arbor next and retired to his bedroll, dreaming about a magic bow.
Arbor's watch was through the darkest part of the night. At first it was a continuation of the uneventfulness of the previous watch, but shortly after midnight things changed. The night air that was normally filled with the buzz of insects and the occasional high pitched chirp of a bat went deathly silent as a hush passed through the glade.
Arbor's first instinct was that this was a magical attack of some sort and he prepared himself mentally. Maybe a magical silence to neutralise spellcasters but he quickly realised that he could still hear his own breathing (and Suljurn's raspy snores). He patrolled the edge of the camp, straining to look out into the night for a source to the unnatural silence but couldn't identify a source. As he continued his search, the temperature dropped significantly, even around the embers of the fire. In the span of a few heartbeats, he could see his breath and frost formed on the grass around the camp. Try as he might, Arbor couldn't discover a source to the phenomena. He debated waking the others, but after about twenty minutes or so, the ambient noises slowly returned and the frost quickly turned to dew.
Arbor debated waking Oorr and forcing him to take a watch, but decided against it. With their luck, Oorr would be already chasing after that scream they heard earlier swearing that it was yet another princess in need of rescuing. Or worse, tried to attack the silence that'd just occurred. Arbor suppressed a rueful laugh as he went to wake Suljurn and thought. "With his luck, he'd win too. Bastard".
Suljurn woke and puzzled over Arbor's dark chuckles. He was curious about them, but not enough to start up a conversation and ask. He settled in to his watch and the uneventfulness of the previous watches continued. The smaller moon, Aliah had finally risen, but it was just a pale blue sliver tonight and didn't shed much light. In the quiet, Suljurn contemplated his existence. He'd be four hundred this year, and while he missed the predictable routine of the cloister and the communing with Ogham's divine presence, he'd experienced so many new things since leaving. He had had more excitement and adventure in the past eight months than he had in the past three hundred years. It was exhilarating. He idly wondered, who (or what) divine entity had been granting his spells, but he figured that would be revealed in time.
He shook himself out of his reverie and realised that his watch had ended a bit ago. He hastily woke Angrar, hoping his large companion wouldn't berate his negligence. If Angrar noticed, he didn't say anything however as both of them were distracted by flickering lights they saw moving through the forest to the west. Suljurn stayed awake until it was determined that the lights weren't getting closer and then left the last watch to Angrar.
Angrar peered into the gloom as he watched the lights, hoping to determine a cause while trying to figure out how the events of the evening connected. "Did the scream have anything to do with the silence or the lights?" "Were they connected to the fight yesterday?" "How do they relate to the sword and their current quest?" The lights themselves disappeared shortly after Suljurn retired but the giant Half-Ghrym continued to ponder their impact long after they were gone as the sky lightened into morning.
In the grey predawn, Angrar stoked the fire and started a simple breakfast for the others. Sadly they had no bacon left as Urith and Suljurn had been snacking on it while on the trail yesterday, so breakfast consisted of a thick oat porridge seasoned with a spicy honey someone had grabbed from the inn's kitchen (likely Oorr). When the others awoke, they complained endlessly about "porridge for breakfast" but after a pointed glare from Angrar, they all shut up and ate in silence. Despite their complaints, it was quite tasty.
They took their time to break camp and the sun was already above the treeline as they headed back into town. They could see the local farmers attending to their nearby fields and waved back to the few that greeted them as they headed in to town. No one really discussed the events of the previous night though it was in the back of each of their minds. Urith and Suljurn were still complaining loudly about porridge and they were all eager to open the chest and see what was inside. Oorr stumbled along silently, still suffering from whatever poison was in his system. Deadeye supported him as best he could as the others continued on their tirade about proper breakfast foods.
When they got to town, Angrar definitely sensed something was off with the villagers but the others headed back to the inn before he could investigate further. Once back in the inn, they ensconced themselves in their private dining room and requested the innkeep to bring them copious amounts of bacon to get the taste of porridge out of their mouths. As an afterthought, they also requested a healer or priest to come and care for Oorr, who had retired to his room, exhausted from the short journey into town.
With bacon in hand, they puzzled over the chest. Each of them attempting to determine if it was trapped and how best to open it. Collectively and to the best of their ability, they figured it wasn't trapped. Arbor was willing to try and pick the lock, but Urith worried that he'd jam it up and wreck it. Angrar and Suljurn were in favour of forcing the chest open, but Urith paranoiacally rebutted that there was likely some insidious acid trap inside that would destroy the contents if they forced it. Regardless of the suggestion, Urith had a paranoid "worst case scenario" argument against it, almost as if he didn't want the chest opened yet at the same time, eager to see inside. Ultimately they enquired with the innkeeper if there was a locksmith in town, who directed them to a smith near the town square.
The smith offered them either a flat rate of 200 gold to open the chest or ten percent of the value of the contents. They balked at the 200 gold price and were wary of the percentage option because they didn't know what was inside. The smith explained that the 200 included a thorough checking for mundane traps, the opening of the lock as well as casting a replacement key. Urith was adamant that they get a key made so they could re-use the chest afterwards but they assured the smith that there were no traps on the lock and wondered if he'd be willing to lower his price. He initially cut the price in half, but Arbor was able to negotiate it down further to 75 gold for the opening of the lock and recasting a suitable key.
While the smith went to work, Arbor then told the others to fork over 15 gold each for their share, which none were particularly happy about but they grudgingly handed over the gold hoping that the chest wasn't filled with copper. After taking some measurements and then disappearing into the back for almost an hour, the smith came back with a suitable key and opened the lock in front of them. He lifted the lid and his face was underlit by a golden glow. He closed the lid and the party could see in his eyes that he'd really wished they'd taken the ten percent deal. Angrar and the others hauled the chest out to their wagon and the group headed back to the inn to count the heaping mound of coin they were now in possession of.
Back in their study, Angrar, Arbor and Deadeye started in on counting the coin. Suljurn was going to join them but Urith convinced him to use his natural ability to detect magic on the couple of pieces of jewellery that had been in the chest with the coin. Sadly none of the pieces were magical, so Suljurn joined the others counting coin, while Urith set up his ritual to identify the magic items they had found. After a couple of hours of mind-numbing work for all involved they discovered that the armour was blessed with poison resistance while the warhammer and arrows each had bonuses to hit and damage on them. On top of that, they were all individually quite well off, with more coin that any of them had ever had in their lives beforehand.
After splitting the coin up, they kept having to readjust their belts as their coin purses kept dragging down their pants or knocking them off balance. Urith suggested that they find a moneylender and see about exchanging some of the baser coins for higher value ones. None of the others disagreed and after getting directions (and a forty-seventh helping of bacon) from the innkeeper, off they went to find the moneylender.
The shop was small, windowless and made of heavy stone. The heavy door that swung inward looked to be carved out of a solid slab of ironwood almost a handspan thick and was banded with heavy iron. Despite its size, it opened smoothly and silently at Arbor's slightest touch. They stepped inside, expecting a dimly lit space but were surprised by a well lit space. Magical lights glowed steadily in the corners of the room and illuminated everything. On a slightly raised podium was a male goblin with a reddish wispy chinstrap beard making notations in an oversized ledger. He looked up when the party entered and immediately barked a question at Arbor before he was even fully in the room. "What is the Forty-Seventh rule of Trade?"
Arbor was caught flat footed, and stumbled to provide the correct response. He falteringly said it was something about dealing fairly with pregnant women to which the goblin behind the counter snorted and replied, "No. You're thinking of the seventy-fourth. Didn't your father teach you the Rules of Trade?" Arbor, now back on somewhat familiar footing, said his father had gone missing when he was very young and he was searching for him.
The goblin nodded as if this was the only satisfactory answer and asked bluntly what he could do for them. Arbor asked if he'd be able to exchange some money for them to which he responded yes. He bluntly (and derisively) stated that he'd charge 20% percent because of how poor a goblin he was, however. The others grumbled at this but started counting out their coins to lighten their loads. Suljurn leaned over to Angrar as he was counting and said, "He really is a bad goblin. The forty-seventh rule of Trade is never screw over family, unless they screw you first." Angrar laughed at this as he watched the other's piles dwindle into manageable amounts. He declined to exchange his wealth surmising that he'd carried all of the coin in the chest by himself. He was pretty certain he could carry a sixth of it without issue.
When they were done, Deadeye piped up and asked Gavic if he'd be interested in some of the jewellery and gemstones they'd found, but Arbor smacked him in the chest and told him to shut up. They exited the moneylender's quickly before he expressed any interest and once they were outside, Arbor admonished the young kenku, telling him that gems and jewellery are much more portable and weigh less than coin. While Arbor tried to prove he really was "that type of goblin" to Deadeye, Angrar looked around the street and caught the same sense of unease he'd noticed earlier.
Most of the villagers were walking at pace with very few stopping to chat. Those that did stop were talking in hushed tones and wore nervous expressions on their faces. Angrar politely asked one young couple to stop but they pointedly stepped around him and kept walking, not even looking back. His second attempt went better and the older man stopped, though whether it was because he was being polite or because he didn't want to have to walk all the way around, was hard to say. When Angrar enquired as to what was going on and why everyone was so out of sorts the man responded with "It's the riders sir! They've struck again And stolen Dear Lady Vera!" When Angrar sought clarification as he saw no burning buildings near, the man said. "No. Not here you fool. Deepwater Vale. In the forest to the north. Burned the town to the ground, they did!" The man then hurried off before Angrar could question him further about Lady Vera.
The group needed more information and decided to head to the town hall to find out more as it was only a few streets over. When they arrived they saw Lord Davram and the Mayor talking to the courtier Danyel who looked distraught. They were going to wait to speak to the Lord, but as soon as he saw them he motioned them over to join him. As they walked up, they heard Danyel say ".... No m'lord. She is usually abed early. When I left her after dinner she was already yawning. When I arrived for our breakfast appointment, the house was already in a tizzy over not being able to find her. I searched and searched but she was nowhere to be found. M'lord. I'm sorry. I have failed you."
Lord Davram dismissed the young courtier and turned to the party. "I see you've heard the news. First those blasted riders reappear in Deepwater Vale of all places and now Vera has been kidnapped.. and before you ask, I know as much as you. Exactly what you heard from young Danyel there. I was a fool to think those damned riders would leave us alone.... yes, I've heard the rumours running around town already, they say the riders stole Vera... which I think is ridiculous but I don't even have the manpower or time to even investigate. I've got my hands full already and I know I've no right to ask you to help but anything you could do to find Vera would be greatly appreciated." The group agreed to help unconditionally and Arbor and Angrar asked a few clarifying questions and got permission to snoop about. They then excused themselves and left Lord Davram and Arn Fletcher, the mayor, to finish their conversation.
Once out of earshot from Lord Davram, Urith lamented that it looked like they wouldn't be getting paid. The others conceded it was definitely a possibility until Angrar optimistically pointed out that if they found her, they'd still get paid. With that hopeful thought in mind, they headed to Vera's estate to gather clues. Her servants let them in and they searched around the house. The servants had gone to wake her in the morning only to find that her bed hadn't been slept in. When they searched the house, they discovered that the window to her study was open and she was nowhere to be found. Deadeye searched outside the window and discovered tracks in the mud that let to the north off the property. He was unable to determine how many tracks there were. He followed them as best he could be once they reached the street, he soon lost them. He let the others know that he guessed that they went north-ish, but couldn't be sure.
They weren't able to find out much more information within the house, so they decided to head back to the tree stump, on the off chance that whomever had taken Vera, had taken her there. When they got to the clearing, they were assaulted by a rancid smell of rotten meat. The corpse of the wolf-in-sheep's-clothing was fragrantly decomposing right where they left it. Angrar moved it out of the way so they could access the underground chamber and it broke apart in his hands, sending further waves of putrescence into the air. They all held their breath as they descended into the shrine underneath. When they got to the bottom, they took great care to ensure they didn't disturb anything else and investigated where they could. It didn't look like anyone had been there recently.
They headed back to town and let Lord Davram know that they hadn't found anything, and would likely be heading north to Taveren Mill, to see if they could discover anything there. He was disheartened that they hadn't found anything but waved them off with his blessing, hoping they would find the elderly lady. After briefly checking on Oorr, who was looking better, but still sleeping off the poison, they hitched up their wagon and headed north.
They arrived in Taveren Mill by late afternoon and stopped for a brief respite at an inn called the Waterwheel. While they quenched their thirst and washed the trail dust from their throats, they decided to inquire about the Riders. The innkeep was more than eager to talk about how they had attacked Deepwater Vale and shocked that Lord Davram hadn't hunted down these miscreants yet. When the party asked if they'd seen the riders through these parts, the innkeep had the good grace to look guilty when he said thankfully not. They continued to chat amiably for a short time after that while everyone enjoyed their beer. The innkeep asked where they were headed and when they replied Morwen's Tower, his mood darkened and he hastened to clean up their mugs, even if they weren't quite finished. "Well, if that's your heading, you'd best be getting on then. Wouldn't want to be caught out on the road after dark. Especially with these riders about." They were too shocked to respond or even question the turn of events and so they left a few coins for their drinks and headed back to the horses.
The change in the innkeeper's demeanour when they'd mentioned Morwen's Tower soured the remainder of their journey and they travelled in wary silence, worried about what was ahead and now hyper aware that the sun was slowly going down.
Thankfully the journey from Taveren Mill to the path that led to the tower was short. They turned off the main road, down a hardpack dirt trail that quickly went from wild forest to lined with manicured trees and a short, well-maintained lawn. As they travelled down the laneway, they'd occasionally see grey stone figures in various poses dotting the landscape. When they were closer to the tower, the birdsong stopped and an eerie stillness crept over them. There were more statues the closer they got to the tower. The more distant ones had all had shown signs of weathering with the newer ones being closer in showing little to no weathering.
When they reached the courtyard in front of the tower, they were faced with a space crowded with an eclectic array of statuary in various styles, poses and subject matter. The silence and statues combined with the tower's reputation had amped Urith's natural paranoia to levels yet unseen. He hung back warily, not wanting to enter the courtyard. The others were similarly affected by his paranoia and all hesitated before stepping into the courtyard.
Deadeye summoned his drake and sent it to investigate the statue straight ahead of them. They all held their breath as the lizard followed Deadeye's commands and reached out to touch the stone angel. When nothing immediately happened, they let out an audible sigh of relief and laughed nervously at their own overcaution. Despite that, they slowly entered the courtyard, doing their best to avoid getting close to any of the statues. Angrar took a risk and went up to one to examine it, however, after a brief inspection nothing seemed to happen so he moved further into the courtyard. Urith decided to go wide, thinking to avoid the statues in front of the tower's entrance, but he soon realised that the courtyard encircled the whole tower and the whole area was littered with statues.
Seeing the lack of reaction to Angrar's approach, the others slower crept forward. Arbor maneuvered the wagon as delicately as he could towards the tower and the squat little building attached to it. When they were about half-way, a booming voice rang out all around them, demanding that they leave. They paused and Arbor hesitantly spoke up, saying that Lady Vera had sent them. The voice replied doubtfully that the esteemed lady would have sent such ill-dressed reprobates and then asked if they had come to return his book, which confused them at first until Angrar reminded them that the thieves had mentioned stealing a book. When Arbor said they didn't have the book, the voice repeated telling them to go away, this time with a sense of urgency in his voice. Arbor continued unfazed by the rebuffal and mentioned Vera had sent them to pick up a statue. The disembodied voice's demeanour changed from wary to something else that they couldn't quite identify. Arbor thought it was excitement; Urith was certain it was relief and Angrar felt it was tired resignation. Deadeye and Suljurn had been keeping a wary eye on the statues and hadn't been paying a lot of attention to the conversation and missed the nuance completely.
Arbor asked a question but the voice didn't immediately response. There was a long silence and then finally the door to the tower opened up and a large bearded man with a broad nose and pointed ears that drooped downward appeared holding a scythe-like gnarled staff. He was almost as tall and as wide as Angrar but had a roundness to him. He was dressed in worn, homespun robes of muted colours . Arbor immediately introduced himself and the others quickly followed suit. The man, (Suljurn was certain he was a Firbolg based on things he'd read though he'd never met one), seemed a little distracted and eyed them warily before introducing himself as Mawrdrynn.
He stood in the doorway and continued to warily glance at the sky. When the others looked to see what had captured his attention, all they could see were the glowing colours of dusk as the sun was setting. He beckoned them inside, "Come in. Come in. You should eat." He continued to glance at the sky distractedly and didn't help much while the party led the horses into the stable, unhitched the wagon and tended to their animals needs. While none of them had any deep connection with their animals, they'd been around them long enough now to notice that they seemed restless and antsy, as if they might spook at any moment.
It took them a little longer to settle the horses and by the time they made it back to Mawrdrynn, the sky was quickly easing into dusky twilight with the first stars just starting to appear. Their host hadn't left the doorway and while he'd stopped looking at the sky, he'd now cocked his head as if listening for something. He motioned them inside and as they got close, they finally got a good look at him. His face was haggard and there were deep shadows under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept in weeks.
As they were about to ask if he was okay, a piercing cry echoed through the night followed by a deathly silence. They weren't sure what sent a worse shiver down their spines: the cry itself or the silent aftermath. The cry was distant, mournful and set their teeth on edge. Urith guesstimated it was about 8 miles away to the East and Deadeye agreed. Deadeye was also certain that it was the same as the one he'd heard the night before. The party's interest was piqued until they looked at their erstwhile host. Mawrdrynn's demeanour changed once the scream split the night. He hastily herded them inside the tower. Once everyone was in, he slid several heavy iron bolts across the door and turned with a resigned sigh. Under his breath, Angrar heard him exhale, "And so it begins again."
Before Angrar, or the others could ask him to elaborate, the cry sounded again, this time much closer. Mawrdrynn seemed to shiver as he ushered them into the tower. The floor of the first room was encircled by a spiral staircase leading upwards and the bulk of the floor was taken up by a massive stone and wood contraption that looked like a relief map of the world, but with planets and moons orbiting it. The orbs representing the planets and moons silently spun around the main map. Mawrdrynn saw them staring and proudly, like a child showing off, told them to go up the stairs for a better look. No one immediately took him up on the offer and he was a bit deflated but covered his disappointment by ushering them into a small kitchen/dining area off the main tower where a heavy iron stove and a solid oak table dominated the room. The party looked around for somewhere to sit but couldn't see anywhere at first. On closer inspection, they discovered several chairs buried under parchments, stacks of books and an occasional anatomical maquettes. Mawrdrynn hastily cleared off a few of the chairs, taking care not to disturb the stacks of books.
Once everyone was settled, he headed to the stove and started serving everyone portions of a hearty rabbit stew that smelled divine along with thick slices of warm, homemade bread. He apologised that it wasn't much, and that he wasn't used to having guests. He seemed very genial but his eyes constantly darted between the windows high on the tower walls and the ironbound door. As everyone settled in to eat, the party sensed the opportunity and started to politely ask Mawrdrynn questions. Led by Arbor and Angrar, they enquired about the screaming. Mawrdrynn was initially hesitant to share any information, but eventually opened up. He explained that the screams were those of his long dead wife, come back to torment him. He told them not to worry as the tower was warded and he should have enough power to hold the wards one more night. When they asked what they could do to help, he lamented that there was nothing they could do, not unless they could find his spellbook, which had apparently been stolen several nights previously. Mawrdrynn stated that normally his wife's spirit didn't bother him as the wards were set farther out, but without his book, he'd been relying on his own reserves and couldn't cover such a large area.
Sensing that the conversation was taking a dark turn, Angrar tried redirecting the conversation to Mawrdrynn's relationship to Lady Vera. Mawrdrynn explained that he was formerly employed by Vera's grandfather as an advisor, astronomer and court mage. He explained that he had lived in Alderkeep and knew Vera's father and Vera since she was a child. When they asked, he had been there when the keep burned but with the death of Lord Alder, he had retired to his mother's tower to better partake in his hobby of sculpting and hadn't seen much of Lady Vera in ages. He remembered her as a sweet child, honest and loyal to her family. Occasionally he'd receive a brief correspondence wishing him well or a letter casually enquiring about his work but nothing beyond that. Not until the young man had delivered the statue commission several months ago. That had set off a flurry of correspondence as they approved design changes and materials and suchlike. Sadly she had not come to visit herself, though he had invited her several times. She claimed that she shouldn't be travelling at her age and had full faith in his abilities.
Deadeye piqued up at the mention of Mawrdrynn's mother and delicately asked about the rumours of her being a witch and the tower having an evil reputation. Mawrdrynn staunchly denied his mother had evil intentions. He said she'd always been a wise-woman and healer in these parts, and had been "trimmed from the clan tree" for hearing the stone's call rather than the forest's. He said he himself was much the same. A few of the locals didn't like her no-nonsense attitude when they came to her for healing, and started rumours about her. Mawrdrynn also said that the woods had always had a less than savoury reputation even before his mother came along.
To emphasise his point, the night was pierced by another scream. This one much closer and was accompanied by a wave of fear and dark despair that washed over everyone. They shivered uncontrollably, trying to shake off the dread. Mawrdrynn sighed and his face briefly scrunched up as he was concentrating. A few seconds later, the feeling of dread passed. When they looked over at their host, he looked even more tired and haggard than he had before. He suggested that they try to get some rest. It was going to be a long night. Arbor again asked if there was anything they could do, and Mawrdrynn said unfortunately not without his book.
They offered to sit with him and while he initially protested, he didn't press the issue when they insisted. While they were just being polite, instinctively the group were worried that their host may not last the night and were concerned about having to deal with whatever was outside. They tried to not let their concern show, but the stout iron door constantly rattling on its hinges and the occasional wails of dread were definitely off-putting and did not lend to a restful night.
While Urith was sitting with their host, they talked a little about Mawrdrynn's sculptures in the garden. He was proud of them, though his mother was a far better sculptor than he ever was. Urith enquired if he'd ever made Gargoyles to which his host said he had, though he'd always had trouble with them. Never certain if their features should be angular or smooth. Urith said he had a bit of a true gargoyle in his bag and was happy to give it to him so he could study it. Mawrdrynn brightened at the thought and his eyes lit up when Urith gave him the remains he'd stuffed in his bag. As Urith watched, Mawrdrynn traced the lines of the gargoyle's face and seemed to come to a revalation. His host thanked him profusely and they talked a little more about sculpting and how there hadn't been any stone coming from Merritt's Rest in several months, which was concerning as he'd placed an order just after the stone for Lady Vera's statue arrived.
During Angrar's watch, he and Mawrdrynn talked about his time at court and why he was an astronomer. Mawrdrynn admitted that astronomy was really just something he did to pay the bills. He was never very passionate about it. His mother had been the seer and had drilled in to him the star charts and movements of the heavens. It was her that had carved the great Orrery in main tower. They spoke of the eclipse that had occurred the day before, and that there was another scheduled at the beginning of the following month as well. Angrar pressed but Mawrdrynn wasn't aware of any significance to the eclipse.
Arbor and Mawrdrynn spoke a little about his stolen book. How he'd been finishing up in the workshop one evening, when he'd heard a commotion in the tower. When he went to investigate, he'd seen two, maybe three men coming from his chambers. One of them managed to get the jump on him and knock him out. When he awoke, they were gone and so was his book. Night fell shortly afterwards and he was too busy setting the wards to chase after the thieves. He went on to describe the book as having a dark blue leather cover with a pattern of stars embossed on the cover. Mawrdrynn became melancholy when talking about it as he said it was a gift from his mother and one of the last things he had of hers. Arbor redirected the conversation and asked if he'd seen where the thieves had gone. Mawrdrynn had responded that he'd searched in the morning and had found horse tracks leading to the south but hadn't followed them far.
Deadeye's time with Mawrdrynn was accompanied by a substantially violent outburst from the creature outside, which got the little kenku talking about Mawrdrynn's wife. He learned that she'd died tragically many years ago. She'd gone on an errand to Shadymist Cove and never returned. Mawrdrynn said they'd never found her body but about a year after her passing, the spirit started showing up and haunting the eastern woods between the Cove and the tower. He said she rises every night just after sunfall and is gone again by sunrise. Anyone caught alone in the woods generally didn't survive.
When Suljurn's turn came, Mawrdrynn was visibly far worse for wear than when he'd began the evening. The shadows under his very bloodshot eyes resembled bruises and his focus occasionally drifted as he tried to remain awake. Suljurn tensed on more than one occasion, expecting the wards to fail and the door burst open. He and Mawrdrynn briefly spoke about the bard, Terazmisci, and he discovered that she had not visited, though she had sent a letter saying that she would like to speak to Mawrdrynn about something important.
As they talked, Suljurn noticed that the door had stopped rattling and that the last scream sounded farther away than before. Suljurn glanced over at their host and noticed that Mawrdrynn finally seemed to be relaxing, or perhaps he was finally falling asleep. The wailing got fainter and fainter as it moved farther away, eventually disappearing into silence as the sun rose above the horizon, signalling a new day.
The others awoke and Mawrdrynn sluggishly made them a simple breakfast of fruit and bread and pointedly ignored Urith's complaints about the distinct lack of bacon as part of the balanced meal. With their hunger sated (Urith's resistantly so), the conversation turned to the delivery of Vera's statue. Mawrdrynn took them to his workshop and hesitantly unveiled his creation.
They all stood in awe of the statue. It was elegant, magnificent and the haunting beauty of the figure evoked strong emotions. The group were taken aback as it was not what they were expecting and when they looked to Mawrdrynn he seemed uneasy. Angrar asked about the statue and Mawrdrynn responded that it was commissioned by Vera and her instructions were very exact. He didn't know who the figure was, but sculpting her made him somewhat uneasy and he was glad that they were taking it off his hands.
Angrar and the others all noted the number of swords, counting six total, which seemed odd since they vaguely remembered Arbor's patron mentioning seven being important. They enquired with Mawrdrynn about the number of blades and he stated that it was an odd request, but the Lady Vera was most insistent. The others asked if there was anything special about the statue but other than the stone being a piece of the last shipment that Mawrdrynn had received many months ago from Merritt's Rest, nothing that he could think of.
They pondered further questions as they loaded the massive statue into the back of Arbor's wagon with the help of a pulley Mawrdrynn had rigged up in his shop. The statue weighed several hundred pounds and the wagon creaked ominously but thankfully it held under the weight. Arbor's little draft horse was extremely unhappy and could barely move the wagon, no matter how much he was goaded or prodded. After some discussion, they swapped out Arbor's mount for Angrar's massive beast and thankfully it was able to pull the load with ease.
Saying their farewells to Mawrdrynn, they set off back to town at a stately pace, ensuring that they avoided any ruts or bumps that would put undue stress on the wagon. Initially the going was slow, but once they were back on the main road, things went much smoother, though there were still several instances where Angrar and Suljurn supported the statue to prevent it from toppling over. It took them most of the morning to transport the statue but eventually they got back to Aldergrove. There was some brief debate about if they'd take the statue directly to the manor house or if they'd just let them know that they had it. Ultimately they decided to deliver it themselves and could inform Lord Davram that they had not discovered anything further about Lady Vera.
The trip to the manor house was uneventful and barely anyone paid them any mind at all as they travelled through town. When they got to the manor, they discovered that Lord Davram wasn't there but Lady Aliana was. She greeted them graciously and seemed genuinely thrilled that the statue had arrived, marvelling at its unique-ness. She quickly organised the house staff and servants to assist in getting the statue off the wagon and thanked the party for their efforts in bringing it. It was almost as an afterthought that she regretted that Lady Vera wasn't there to see it herself. The party took her tone to mean something ill-fated had happened to Lady Vera and when they questioned if there had been any developments, Lady Aliana apologetically corrected herself, saying that no there hadn't been any further news, she just missed her dear friend.
She said if there were to be any news, her husband was still in town and would likely be of more help. They thanked her and headed back to town. Lord Davram and the mayor were once again having a conversation in the town square. Danyel and the Lord's chamberlain, Marryk Graesin, were nearby, making notes on a map. Lord Davram saw them as they approached and waved them over. He asked if their search to the north had borne any fruit. Arbor sadly informed him that they had not found anything in Taveren Mill. The lord sighed dejectedly and they could see the chamberlain cross something off on the map. Lord Davram was visibly frustrated and Arbor said they still had a few ideas on places they could search in town before trying farther afield. Lord Davram nodded and gave them leave to go about their business with his blessing. Arbor asked if they could search the old keep, and Davram agreed absently, his focus already engaged elsewhere.
The group headed back out to the keep. Everyone was amazed that the tower was still standing, though Deadeye swore he could see it swaying in the slight breeze as they approached. The courtyard was empty and a cursory check showed that there weren't any tracks other than their own and the ones they'd found on their last visit. They entered the remains of the large outbuilding and looked around. After a few minutes, they found what looked like a door hidden in the wall. Without Oorr there to overcomplicate things, they managed to open it up with relative ease. Suljurn slyly remarking that he guessed they were all "not that type of rogue" now too.
Behind the door was a small stone room that had a spiral staircase leading downwards. The staircase and stonework all felt very familiar though strange at the same time. It took them a minute or two to realise that it was almost identical to the one they'd found under the ancient tree stump, but reversed. Whereas that one had descended anti-clockwise, this one descended clockwise, which Angrar and Suljurn weren't pleased with as it put them at a distinct disadvantage against anyone they might have to fight.
Thankfully they encountered no one on the stairs and they eventually came to a stone door that opened up into a cavern beyond. The cavern was nearly identical to the one that they'd found under the stump. Complete with the raised stone circle with three jagged basalt pillars and a small table in the center. The only visible difference that they could see from the doorway was that it didn't look like there was any furniture along the outer walls.
They paused before slowly entering the room. The similarities between this room and the other were creepy and everyone was instantly on edge, expecting bad things to happen. Arbor and Suljurn got as close to the circle as they could and tried to examine the table at a distance, without crossing the boundary. The runes in the circle weren't even glowing as they approached but they took no chances. They couldn't see anything suspicious and turned to see if the others had found anything.
As Suljurn turned, his tail accidentally crossed over the runic circle and there was an audible click, followed by thump as the stone door slammed shut, trapping them inside. Everyone started to panic silently as they looked around for whatever was going to happen next. It didn't take long as they could hear hissing and ominous greenish vapours started pouring into the room through various cracks in the wall coalescing inside the runic circle. The gas made everyone choke and their eyes water. The room was suddenly filled with a strong wind that cleared the gas but threatened to knock them from their feet. A heartbeat later, they regained their composure and saw that in the center of the circle was now a large mass of swirling cloud and greenish vapour. It had no visible face but a malevolent force rolled off of it in waves. It lunged at them and the fight was on.
Unfortunately Arbor was still close to the circle when the creature attacked and discovered the hard way, that whatever this creature was, getting hit by it felt akin to being run over by a herd of angry dragons. When they had the chance, Suljurn and Angrar both moved in to defend the goblin, only to discover that getting close to the creature meant inhaling more of the toxic fumes. Deadeye's first instinct was to run (and rightfully so), but when he checked the door, it was locked tight and he was forced to turn and fight. The fight was hard, with Suljurn and Angrar both taking several heavy blows that knocked them from their feet. Arbor, still dazed from the initial hit, moved back to what he hoped was a safe distance while Urith and Deadeye stayed back near the walls and feathered the creature with as many arrows as they could.
The creature traded blows with Angrar and Suljurn, consistently pounding them with heavy fists of acidic air. Their armour dented and rang with each blow but they managed to stay in the fight, though the effort was definitely wearing on them. Suljurn eventually went down hard and the creature continued to rain down massive blows on Angrar. Everyone was so focused on their own survival and bringing the creature down, they didn't realise right away that Suljurn was fading fast. When they did realise, no one wanted to get close enough to risk suffering a similar fate. Deadeye finally rushed in and poured a healing draught down the saurial's throat, stabilising him and bringing him back to life. Thankfully, the creature still kept its focus on Angrar and Deadeye managed to slip back out of range again without incident.
Suljurn regained his feet and called on whatever God or power that continued to grant his spells to heal him and thankfully he was answered. The paladin's hands glowed with radiant light and soon the Saurial was back in the fight. The wind had definitely been knocked out of him though, as his spear thrusts were sporadic and much less effective. Thankfully Angrar's new warhammer was making up for his companion's missteps.
Their blows were whittling away at the creature. Slowly breaking apart the magic holding it together. A final arrow from Deadeye severed the last thread holding it together and the elemental dissipated with a crack like thunder that knocked everyone back. When they regained their senses and looked around, only a few wispy tendrils of green gas remained and then they too disappeared. Urith checked the door and it opened easily. The party quickly headed back upstairs to rest, not wanting to linger in the trapped chamber any longer.
Once they'd caught their breath, they headed back to town, again feeling very defeated and clueless. They weren't sure why the room had been trapped, or what purpose it had served and they were still no closer to solving any of their quests. There was much talk of heading to Shadymist Cove, thinking that as that was the last place the sword had been seen, they might be able to pick up the trail there. Hopefully they'd also be able to find a clue as to Lady Vera's whereabouts as well. Deadeye thought that maybe they should check out the stump again but was reminded that they already had. In the end they made no decisions. By the time they got back to town it was very late in the afternoon and everyone's only thought was a hot meal and some well earned rest in their own beds. Tomorrow would be a better day for decisions.
Walking through the doors of the Alder Arms, it felt familiar, almost like home. One of the serving girls whose name they never remembered -- Jeni? Jane? Ja-si?, greeted them with a smile and a wave and as they were heading up the stairs, the innkeeper, Marrick, rushed over to catch them. They stopped when he called and by his composure, they could tell he had news of some sort. Arbor asked what was going on and if they'd found Lady Vera yet. The innkeep said that sadly, no, Lady Vera had not been found, however, one of the town's youths had been found wandering dazed in the woods east of town and was babbling nonsense. They'd taken him to the local church of Helos and the priest was caring for him now. After a very quick discussion on the stairs, the party headed back out and to the local church.
It was a non-descript building, much smaller and less ostentatious than the Temple of Rayah in Aran Dhabar. It was clean and well kept and at first glance, Urith doubted it would hold more than half the town's current population, though it likely had been able to hold everyone at one point. They knocked on the door and were greeted by a dark skinned, pudgy Halflen man with a receding hairline and a greying, well trimmed beard who introduced himself as Brother Hermes.
After introducing themselves, Brother Hermes welcomed them inside and explained the situation. As he understood it, the boy was supposed to have been working in the eastern fields the day before but he and a few friends had snuck off and went to play in the woods. When their parents came looking for them around noon, they'd found the other two boys trying to get Timon back to town because he was acting funny. When questioned, the boys had been playing hide-n-seek. Timon had hidden and neither of the others had found him. They searched and searched, concerned that maybe he'd tripped over a root and hurt himself. When they'd eventually found him, he acted sun-dazed, as if he'd been out in the fields too long and babbled that "he was coming!". The two younger boys had just decided to bring Timon back to town when their parents had found them. The parents had tried talking to Timon but other than his non-sensical babbling, he hadn't responded. The boys hadn't heard or seen anything either. Timon's parents brought him here to see what Brother Hermes could do.
Brother Hermes said that he'd examined the child and there was nothing physically wrong with him. No bumps, bruises or blows to the head that he could see that would account for the change in behaviour. Something was definitely wrong with him though. He had babbled constantly that "someone was coming" and every once and awhile flinched as if warding off an unseen blow. Hermes also said that he'd checked and the boy was not possessed. At least not in the traditional sense. He had run through all the traditional banishment and purging of evil that was in his doctrine and had no effect. After a few hours the episode seemed to have passed and the boy was somewhat lucid. He didn't want to talk about things and said he was exhausted and needed sleep.
Arbor and the others asked if they might question the boy and Hermes agreed, though cautioned them not to push too hard, nor to expect too much. He then led them into a small room at the back of the church with a simple cot laid out. In it they saw a gangly youth, possibly ten or twelve years old with the olive dark skin prevalent in the Dhabaran people. He slept fitfully in the cot as if having a nightmare and muttered in a low voice with only a few words becoming clear. Hermes comforted him and gently woke him. The boy glanced around and when he saw the party looming over him, he startled back, frightened at first but relaxed as Brother Hermes reassured him that they were here to help and just wanted to ask him some questions.
Timon hesitated and Arbor approached him gently. He spoke softly and with a genuine empathy that set the boy at ease. The others were taken aback as they watched their normally mercenary and sarcastic companion take on a whole new persona as he spoke with the boy. It was as if he was a completely different goblin. Arbor paid them no mind however and focused on the boy. He gently asked Timon to go over what had happened, asked him soft questions and didn't prod or pry too deeply but got enough to confirm the gist of what Brother Hermes had already told them. He continued to ask questions and slowly coaxed a story from him.
The boy vaguely remembered playing in the woods and that he had been searching for a hiding spot when he'd heard someone coming down the path. At first, he'd been mad that his friends had found him so fast and grumpy because he was certain they hadn't reached the hundred count yet (he'd only been at sixty in his head and should have had a lot more time) but then he heard adult voices and he dove into the bushes quickly. He thought his parents had found them and wasn't looking forward to the whipping he'd likely get for shirking work again. He wormed his way into the underbrush as quickly and quietly as he could but knew that it was a poor spot. All anyone would have to do was look over and they'd see him plain as day. Maybe, if he was lucky, it'd be blind uncle Petr who could barely see his feet in front of him and they'd walk right by.
As he lay there though, a group of people that he didn't recognise came around a bend in the path. They were wearing dark red robes with their faces hidden by dark hoods. Timon thought that very odd as it wasn't even noon yet and under the branches of the trees the sun wasn't even that bright to warrant shading their faces. He couldn't properly count them or get a better look without shifting in place and exposing himself but he was pretty sure there'd been at least six of them, maybe as many as ten. A couple of them had been carrying something heavy, he was certain and when Arbor asked why, he'd said he remembered them grunting as if readjusting a heavy weight as they walked. They didn't seem to be looking around and had been confidently heading northward on the trail. He remembered laying very still and holding his breath, hoping they wouldn't notice him. Arbor asked if they had said anything and Timon said that he remembered that they'd been talking amongst themselves but couldn't remember what they'd been saying. He said he'd waited a long while after they'd all passed by, till he was certain they'd gone before extracting himself from the underbrush. He remembered climbing back on to the path, smiling to himself that he'd escaped detection and bubbling with excitement at the story he'd tell his friends. He remembered brushing himself off and turning to see a single robed figure on the path watching him. He froze and dread crept into his voice even as Arbor and Brother Hermes tried to calm him. He said he remembered the figure silently pointing a finger at him and then removing it's hood. He started to scream.
Timon screamed and started babbling again. All pretence of calmness gone as he relived the memory that Arbor had so delicately coaxed from him. Brother Hermes spoke quietly and intoned a prayer of some sort and Timon instantly silenced and his body went limp. The priest then eased him back into the cot and ushered the party out of the room. He apologised for the outburst and said that Timon should sleep the rest of the night. He apologised for not being any further help, and thanked them for caring about the boy. Arbor and the others downplayed things and asked if the boy said anything further to send word to them at the inn. They said their farewells and stepped outside into the early twilight.
The boy's story had raised a number of questions and the group were eager to show some progress on their quests so at Deadeye's insistence and despite the hour, they headed off to the woods where the boys had been playing. In the dark they couldn't see much of the trail and even Deadeye and Urith had a hard time determining if anyone or anything other than animals had used the trail recently. They were about to give up when a flash of white caught their eye. Snagged on a branch they found a small lace handkerchief embroidered with the letters E A in Elven script. Night was coming on fast but the rangers surmised that this trail eventually led back to the stump. The party headed back to the inn to think about their next moves, hoping morning would bring some answers, or at least an idea of where to go next...
Rewards Granted
- 457xp
- Studded Leather Armour of Poison Resistance
- +1 Warhammer
- 20 +1 Arrows
- 8 Greater Healing Potions
- Masterwork Longbow & Case
- A large chest of coins, gems, jewelry and several objets des art
Missions/Quests Completed
- Recovered the Statue commissioned by Vera Aldergrove
Character(s) interacted with
- Gavic, the Goblin Moneylender
- Mawrdrynn, The Hermit
- Brother Hermes, local Priest of Helos
- Timon, a local youth from Aldergrove
Notes
Contact the GM privately via messenger and mention Vikings prior to next game for an xp reward.
This offer has now expired
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Deadeye Cliffhanger
Oorr Rosetta del Hilltopple
Rogue 4
Sorcerer 1
10
18
12
8
12
16
Urith Thane
Suljurn sah-Ghad
Arbor Nox
