The Story So Far... |
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| Visit Historic Billingen! A Not Uneventful Pilgrimage |
Evas' Journal Billingen Chesmouth Huh? |
Forge's Scribbles Billingen Chesmouth |
In which we introduce our heroes...
The very evening our heroes arrive in Billingen, they are attacked by
disembodied hands swarming from a sewer grate! The next day, they hear
laborers have been disappearing while doing routine sewer maintenance and
the town's constable has gone missing!
Upon seeing the grisly remains of the Creeping Hands, the mayor offers
our heroes a reward for slaying whatever lurks below and solving the
mystery of the missing.
Our heroes descend into the sewers and underground granaries, where they
discover a bloody trail down a spiraling stair ending at an impassable door.
They try another way, only to fall through a collapsing workroom floor. They
fall into a shallow lake, the floor of an ancient ossuary. The undead on the
beach and in the observatory / temple complex are lousy hosts. Rats are
everpresent, creeping hands abound, and then there's the dog covered in
animated rags... And what is that disturbing THRUMing noise?
In which another brave (???) soul joins our heroes.
Trapped in the underground complex, our heroes search for a way out. They find Lucian, a halfelf who somehow survived being trapped in a room full of skeletons. He confirms the identity of the late constable Jethro. Forge and Miep find a few books still in decent shape in the flood damaged library. Our heroes brave yet more skeleton legions and a sneaky spider. Tobias and Evas have a disagreement about fungus liberation. Forge fights the undead while NOT drowning. Miep attempts to start a dialogue with the rats, it does not go well. Having finally cleared the immediate area, if not the lake, of everything but rats, our heroes enter a small chapel of Wee Jas, finding an altar, a body, and a rat tunnel with a suspiciously strong magical aura. What could it be, and more importantly, how will they get out?
Our heroes search the shrine and rat tunnels for the source of the strong magical aura, except for Tobias who taunts the altar and narrowly avoids a nasty surprise. THRUM! The body of the dead woman rises, but is handily dispatched by our heroes. Forge discovers secret side doors, but they reveal only more skeletons. Evas has yet another chance to further the "smash all undead" plan. Lucien recalls a play about just such a situation and recites it! Our heroes are heartened. Miep meets many rats, but conversing with them yields only "Die, die, die!!!". After much rat squashing, he uncovers an odd onyx lute, just like the illustration in the tome he found in the library. Our heroes retire to the starry chamber, where Evas manages to read a story out loud while standing guard. He then fights skeletons with book burning! According to the book, the "ebon lute" is an artifact used to raise the undead. Our heroes try the shut down command detailed in the book. Initial attempts appear to attract the undead and anger the lute, which lashes out with unholy energy. Having ascertained that a certain configuration of the control rings is needed, then the singing of a dirge and the command of a priest, our heroes try again. Unfortunately, Tobias is not the sort of priest the lute takes orders from. Good thing Lucien had the foresight to mute the lute, as it tries to retaliate with a THRUM! It seems Evas' original plan of smashing the thing will prevail, but this is not as easy as it seems for the lute fights back. Tobias boldly channels positive energy into the lute, with spectacular results! It is nearly destroyed, but not before it knocks out Tobias, who stood right next to it. Our conscious party members dwindle down to a staggering Lucien and a nearly destroyed Forge. What an opportune time to find that wand of healing in the spider's nest! An awakened and newly cautious Tobias finishes off the lute from a safe distance. Boom! The lute explodes, the undead crumble, there is much rejoicing! The key out of this mess is found in the drowned jail cell. Our heroes return the bodies of the slain townsfolk to the people of Billingen. Puddy the dog runs back home. A grateful (but not as grateful as our heroes would have liked) mayor pays them the offered reward. Our heroes enjoy a much earned respite, but not for long!
from the journal of Evas Senolac
Forge's nightly scribbles
Our heroes have come to the city of Chesmouth to spend their hard earned coin. As they walk among the market square stalls, Tobias mentions he has found some pilgrims looking for an escort to the shrine of St. Yacinda. Then he is suddenly assailed by terrible stomach flu and retires to an inn. Lucien is confronted by Sandys and Robin from his former acting troupe, they make thinly veiled threats. Shopping is rudely interrupted by small and cranky winged guys descending on the market. For some reason, they seem to have it in for Miep! They breathe hot steam, scald a cart mule, boil every single chicken for sale, and seriously injure two innocent bystanders. After our stalward heroes bravely take down the flying menace, the city watch and border patrol arrive on the scene. Our heroes are blamed. Evas melts into the crowd, but the rest are dragged off to the Town Hall whilst protesting their innocence. As Lucien and Miep argue their case before the Honorable Elder Judith, Forge explores the confiscated property locker where he's been confined. Meanwhile, members of Lucien's former acting troupe heckle from the audience. Evas notices two suspicous young men sneaking into the town hall in the midst of the hearing. He follows them out and confronts them, discovering that at least one of them is a mage. The young man pleads that Evas speak with Miep! Lucien and Miep avoid charges of illegal summoning and attacks on citizens, but are fined for property damage and disrespect of the court, asked to leave and released. Our heroes, with the young mages in tow, follow Miep to a pub, where he vanishes for a bit. He asks that the young men be let go. Evas is unsatisfied with Miep's explanation (or lack thereof). Healing for Tobias is secured, as well as some potions, in exchange for a service to the temple of Pelor. This happens to be escorting pilgrims. Our heroes set off.
from the journal of Evas Senolac
Forge's nightly scribbles
Having left the town of Chesmouth, our heroes escort the pilgrims along an
eastward running road, towards the
shrine of St. Yacinda near the Kidanian border. There are few places with
a roof to rest in, other than the occasional kindly farmer's house. Inns
are few and far between for this road is no Northern Trade Route.
One farmer who welcomes the traveling group warns of "bat bugs" in the area
and suggests mint to ward them off (but our heroes feel no need for herbal
protection). The farms get sparser, the country wilder. Although much of
the journey passes uneventfully, the word uneventful really cannot be applied
to the trip as whole.
In halfling farm country, our heroes pass a short man in a red bandanna
cutting wheat with a big scythe. Evas silently reflects on the point
of cutting
green wheat in spring, long before it ought to be harvested. The man
sings a jaunty tune as he works. Although the song is not your typical
farmer's work chant ...
from the journal of Evas Senolac
Our heroes all eventually end up, one way or another, at the cottage of the
inn's cook. Tobias starts to explain to Gendrew how Evas lost his memory.
Gendrew grows horrified when he learns what transpired at the inn and asks
everyone to leave, but his repeated requests have no effect on Evas, who
demands to know how to restore his memory. Forge, meanwhile, is fascinated by
Gendrew and Andolin's pastry golem. Gendrew orders the golem to escort people
out of the cottage, then tries to back away into the kitchen, but trips on a
loose floorboard and knocks himself senseless.
Around this time, Lucien and
Miep have just arrived in the wood lot before the cottage. As the make their
way up the trail, an imp holding a severed goat's head appears and wants to
know if Lucien is Wyclen. Apparently, the imp has a note for this Wyclen.
Tobias decides to leave the cottage, meets up with the imp, and convinces him
that he is in fact the Wyclen person he's looking for. Tobias, Lucien and
Miep obain the note. It appears to be orders for W- from B-. Among other
things, the note instructs W- to get the Songbook of the Duchess Aphreithe from the cook and the mage, through purchase or murder. The imp, now at the
cottage, seems to favor torture and murder. It seems to take Evas and everyone
besides Tobias for dumb hired thugs. Evas attempts to help the unconscious
Gendrew, but the pastry golem, faithfully executing its last instruction,
tries to drag him out of the cottage, so Evas takes a huge chunk out of it,
tomato sauce flies everywhere! Forge and Evas go after the imp, much to
the imp's surprise. The imp turns invisible and flies off!
Lucien, Miep and Tobias all arrive at the
cottage to find the pastry golem has run amock, tearing up the
cottage's contents. Perhaps that's what sets of the animated objects in the
parlor, which make a nuisance of themselves, but are dealt with by our
stalwart heroes. Tobias and his summoned creature finish off the pastry
golem. The imp, now hiding in the trees, calls to "Wyclen" and demands that
he rein in his thugs and turn over the book. Evas finds the Songbook after
much diligent searching. Our heroes try to lure the imp close enough to attack
with a false songbook. The ruse works, but fate is fickle, and no one
manages to land a blow. The imp takes off with the false Songbook. Our
heroes investigate the real one, only to find they don't know the language.
The decide to study it in the days to come.
Andolin, having forgotten
something at home, returns to the cottage after all the excitement is over.
She thanks the party for saving her husband's life and rewards them with
potions and a spell for Miep. Our heroes learn that clerics at Fort Palin
can cure Evas and Miep, so they make a slight detour from the pilgrimage to
seek healing at the fort. On the way, they meet some "bean" merchants with
a pleasantly fragrant ox drawn wagon, it sure doesn't smell like beans.
The merchants would like an escort through the Border Wastes on their way
to Klas, seems they want to avoid the tarriffs at the Lamedonian border.
Upon arriving at the fort,
the merchants grease the palms of a guard inspecting their wagon.
The soldiers at the fort are distrustful of Forge, but Evas
vouches for him, and they are all permitted inside.
Lucien tries to see the fort commander about the imp's suspicious note, but is
told the commander is quite busy dealing with "the gnoll situation". He does
manage to speak with subcommander Arissa. She takes the note seriously, but
says the fort is too short handed to send someone to investigate, what with the
gnolls. She recommends our heroes look into the situation at the shrine of
St. Yacinda, which according to the note, has been taken over by B-'s agents
who are impersonating Lamedonian soldiers. She says this service will pay off
half of what the party owes for Brother Wendt healing Evas and Miep, or the
whole debt if they bring back proof of infiltration.