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Bastard Son of the great-grandchild of the sister's gibbon's friend of the nephew of the Campaign that Would Not Die, now in 3.75e
Møøse Trained By: Hugh Foster
Møøse Trained By: Hugh Foster
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Bastard Son of the great-grandchild of the sister's gibbon's friend of the nephew of the Campaign that Would Not Die, now in 3.75e Møøse Trained By: Hugh Foster |
On emerging into the open night air and returning to their cache, they discovered Terence the Mule and Brew the Dog quite comfortable, though the mule was in the centre of a large circle bereft of grass and liberally coated with mule crap. With their camp moved to a more verdant spot and both animals fed extra rations, the party settled down to sleep before heading back to town, and relaxed two-day stroll.
There was some consideration as to whether Meepo or Calcryx would spark an unwelcome reception in town. From what they knew, the kobolds hadn't ventured out of the ravine, so the town was unlikely to be hostile to one just because - especially one wearing an attempt at civilized clothes. While dragons were generally receieved with hostility and fear in the north of Alair (with good reason!) they were pretty uncommon here in the south, and Calcryx' size and apparent docility would probably prevent any issues. The dragonet, however, was very wary of humans, and loth to be exposed to them more than was necessary.
Next morning was sunny and bright, and the group headed off towards town. As they passed the places where the Old Road connected to lanes leading to some of the western farms, they noticed some had two or more farm lads sitting on fences or stumps, apparently watching the road. These greeted them with friendly waves, suggesting that whatever they were watching for, it wasn't them. When questioned, they explained that "constable told farmer to put watch on road. We're looking out for The Killer!"
Some more questions showed that they didn't know much detail, beyond that there'd been "turrible murders" at some of the farms on the western end. "How do you know what he looks like?" asked Borax, "It could be me" They looked a bit taken aback, and then one said, "Can't be. You're those adventurers, lookin' for Ma Hecrule's kids." Eyes flicked. Clearly no rescuees. Conversation lapsed, and the party moved on.
Coming into town, the change in atmosphere was immediately apparent; less bucolic and more tense. Some windows were boarded up, and people were noticeably moving about in pairs or more. The odd party attracted stares, not least Meepo, though as he was wearing “people clothes” and walking with the others, nobody did more than surreptitiously watch him. Calcryx got even more nervous at so many humans watching him, and huddled down even further on Ruby's shoulder, to the point a casual glance would have judged him a decoration.
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Clearly the town's Constable - who they had not yet met - was in the know, and they headed over to talk to her. The town jail was a modest affair, more a compulsory hostel for farmers who overdid things, and the door was opened by a slow-eyed lad in an antique morion helmet and leathers. This worthy directed them to a desk inside, behind which was a tall, scarred half-elvish woman with a hard face and a frustrated air.
She worked out who they were straight away, and responded to their questions with an account of recent events. People had been going missing at night from farms to the west; single stragglers to begin with, but once people started to be more careful, the Coggins farm was broken into and the entire family (7) were taken. In every case, though there were bloodstains big enough for mortal wounds, there were no bodies. No animals were harmed. The first attack was on the 20th; it’d now been happening for a week.
Her frustration came to the surface as she related that Mayor Leng had forbidden her to go "roaming the countryside at night" as he feels the townsfolk needed protecting more. She had four deputies, but she wasn't even considering sending them out unsupervised to tackle this sort of thing. "Don't suppose you'd be willing to help?" she said.
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"How much?" asked Borax, and she didn't blink; she knew dwarves. "The mayor will put up a bounty," she said confidently. "I will warn you," she continued, "he has said that his list of suspects includes you. You've been out of town to the west, strangers around here, all that. Myself, I doubt it." Ruby raised an eyebrow. "You don't think we look like killers?" she asked with some amusement, seven feet of half-hob dressed in battered, stained armour and with an assortment of weapons strung all over her. Felosial almost smiled at that point. "Well, point," she said, "but not this sort of killer." Borax interjected. "He's a killer," he said, pointing at Meepo. Felosial hadn't noticed the kobold; she peered over her desk and down. Meepo waved happily, "Hello!" he said. "No," said Felosial, "not him either. Tell me where you've been." Ruby began the tale and Felosial broke in. "Describe this ravine," she said, and when she did, "Yes, that's right. Been there, and so have you. Good enough for me. Will you scout the west out for me, see if you can bag this killer?" Ruby and Borax exchanged glances. "All right," said Borax. Felosial scribbled for a moment. "Here's a note of authority," she said, handing it over, "says you're working for me."
"This mayor sounds like an arse," suggested Borax. Felosial shook her head. "He's bad-tempered and grumpy, and he's over his head with this one," she said, "but he's a good man and a good mayor; manages the town well in normal times. But neither of us have the tools to deal with this one."
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Next order of business was crash space, so they headed to the Ol' Boar Inn, to find it heaving, mostly with farming types; whole families, children running about. Caron spotted them and waved cheerfully as he served a drink; his waitresses were hurrying back and forth with trays of food and drink. As they reached the bar he greeted them cheerfully. "Good to see you back!" he said. "A room? I've one left, all there is with people coming in off their farms, you're welcome to that." "Will it hold five?" asked Ruby. "Five?" said Caron, peering over the bar. "Hello!" waved Meepo again. "If you're friendly," said Caron. "We've slept in worse," said Erky feelingly.
"Is the mayor in?" asked Ruby, and Caron pointed to a severe-faced man at a corner table, somehow in more space than everyone else.
Caron turned serious. "I take it it didn't go well?" he asked. Ruby shook her head. "Poor Kerowyn," he said, then shook himself. "Lal? Show these folk to room four please?" The waitress guided them into the inn's back rooms, and as she did they passed a smallish room with comfy chairs and a shelf with seven books on it. "Library" was written over the door. Apparently, anyone could use it, dearie; just what they'd need. The room was big enough, and they dumped their bags and extra gear with relief.
Erky, Calvis, Meepo and Calcryx stayed in the room to get settled - the dragon badgering for the treasure to be heaped up so he could sleep on that - while Ruby and Borax headed for Hucrele's Merchants'.
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As they arrived, Kerowyn was closing a deal - it looked more like charity - with some farm folk in patched clothes and glum, frightened expressions. These turned out to be the Harbutt family, crop farmers and the Coggins' nearest neighbors to the north. The year had been bad, and they had little coin to live on away from their farm. "We'll get him," said Borax comfortingly, and to Kerowyn, "what they need is on me." Ruby blinked a moment at this atypical compassion from the dark dwarf, but the Harbutts were fulsome in their gratitude and headed out of the shop. "Quickest way to get rid of them," he commented, latching the door behind them.
Kerowyn eyed them, her face already tight with dread, as Ruby gently deposited the battered, scratched signet rings on the counter, confirming her worst fears. "Did they suffer?" she asked brokenly. "Yes," said Borax, honestly, his upbringing not really suiting him to breaking bad news gently. Kerowyn broke down for a while as the pair waited awkwardly.
After a while, she pulled herself together and wrapped the rings lovingly in a clean, white cloth and tucked them away. Taking a breath, she turned to business. "Thank you both for going after them, and letting me know. As promised, here is your payment," and she passed over a washleather pouch of sixty pieces of platinum. "We have this as well," said Ruby, displaying Karakas the Ranger's ring. "He had no family," she said. "You may as well keep it." "We brought your mule back," added the tall fighter. "Oh, Terence; thank you," she said with a brave smile. "Any supplies remaining are yours to keep, of course; and you can count on discount with me for anything you need." She paused. "Such a shame my children can't be here; they could have caught this .. whoever it is." Borax and Ruby exchanged glances; a mother's rose-tinted view. The Hecrule children wouldn't have lasted long - except in their mutated form, of course. They could see her chin was wobbling, and tactfully took their leave, hearing the sound of weeping begin as the door closed.
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Returning to the inn, they entered the common room. With nightfall, drinks were being consumed, games played and talk exchanged; all just a spot too loud, with the forced jollity of underlying fear.
Approaching Mayor Leng's table, they sat down facing him. He eyed them without showing any sign of nerves, then said, "You'd be these adventurers then?" "Yes," said Borax roughly. "What's all this about you telling people we're the killer?" Leng didn't lean back or blink. "I've said no such thing," he said crisply. "I have a list of possible suspects, and as yet I have no evidence to take you off it. You're not the most likely, but there's no proof." Ruby produced the paper. "The constable believes us," she observed, "and wants our help." "Good," said Leng, "she needs it. No way we can guard all those farms at once. Got to get the families into town until the killer's caught, but the idiots won't leave their stock, won't leave their crops. See what you can do, but be subtle; don't want a load of bounty killers turning up, hurting people and smashing stuff up."
"How much if we catch them?" asked Borax; and "How do you know it's only one 'killer'" asked Ruby. "Don't," said Leng, "but if people think it's some kind of mob or band, they'll get even more panicky. I'm prepared to pay a thousand for this to be cleared up." "Each?" said Ruby quickly. "No," said Leng just as quickly. Some quick-fire negotiations, and dark predictions of what could happen if they didn't take the job, got the price up to 1,500.
Borax then warned the mayor about the Twig Blights, and advised him to get the remaining saplings done away with. The mayor grunted. "Damn goblins! I never trusted them, but the credulous fools thought they could grow magic apples for free. We'll have a bonfire tomorrow."
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Leaving him to it, they headed to the bar, finally getting a drink, and buying drinks for the gathered farm-hands. Ruby noticed Erky deep in conversation with a female gnome - presumably the town healer, Dem 'Corkie' Nackle - with a definite hint of chemistry developing. She shrugged indifferently and turned to the farmers. "Anyone from Ainslie's in?" she called. Two stocky lads stood up, introducing themselves as Bel and Tav. These two related the circumstances of "poor Col"'s end; he'd gone out after dark after a lost goat, and next morning Tav had followed his path to find the same bloodstain as Felosial had described. "Was he ill, depressed, headaches?" asked Ruby. Hell of a headache to reduce a man to a patch of blood, thought Borax. "What're the moons doing?" he asked. Both were fairly new, so were-whatevers were unlikely it seemed.
With information gathered, the pair turned in, planning an early start for Coggins' the next day.
Coggins' Farm, Oakhurst, Northern Stryre, 28th September 2156
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At daybreak the next day Ruby, Borax, Calvis and Meepo set out to walk to the late Coggins' farm. It wasn't far, under half an hour, before they came in sight of the farm buildings. Even from a distance, they had an abandoned, forsaken look. Carefully they explored the place, Borax and Brew checking the ground for tracks and scent. It was not actually all that badly damaged. External and internal doors were smashed in, showing access to the buildings and to places where family members might have hidden themselves or fled. Furniture had been broken, as if in a fight. Seven large bloodstains could still be picked out. These were easily big enough to be all the blood in the respective victims, and were roughly circular - no drag or crawl marks. There were no bone fragments or flesh.
The animals were gone; they'd been removed on the Mayor’s orders, and were being cared for until someone could work out if the Coggins had any next of kin; if not they - and the farm - would be auctioned.
Borax eventually found some tracks, two different types - humanoid skeletal prints, and odd skeletal tracks that he realized would match the lizardly skeletons from the Citadel. They'd mentally classed these as Kin, but Kin were said to all be different; herpiform was possibly the best name for the moment. Calvis cast a Detect Undead and scanned the whole farm and gardens with it, to no avail.
Ainslie's Farm, Oakhurst, Northern Stryre, 28th September 2156
Reaching Ainslie's goat farm, they spoke with the watch on the lane and suggested swapping scythes and home-made spears for heavy clubs, which left them doubtful. Reaching the farm, they met Tav and the farmer and repeated the warning, then asked Tav to show them where Col had met his end.
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The farmhand guided them to a dark stain on the earth, weathering in but clearly visible as a similar mark to those at Coggins'. Again, the party hunted around it, and this time found skeletal tracks. These were interesting; the ones toward the blood patch showed only the herpiforms, but away were accompanied by a single humanoid. Slow horror dawned. The humanoid tracks were not skeletons coming to kill the farmers. They were the farmers.... In a shaky voice, Calvis confirmed that some kinds of undead did increase their numbers by converting beings they slew to subordinate versions of themselves.
At the end of each trail were disturbed patches of earth. Calvis tried a Detect Undead, but pointed out that it - like all Detect spells - was foiled by three feet or more of earth. Clearly there was no hope of finding the things in the day; an ambush would have to be lain.
Willis's Farm, Oakhurst, Northern Stryre, 28th September 2156
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It was late afternoon by the time they reached Willis' goat farm. Willis himself, a bluff, burly farmer, enquired in his strange accent whether they'd found Kerowyn's kids. Borax answered with his usual tact, and Willis grunted. He gave the air of a man who'd seen a lot of bad things come and go.
His defences to date consisted of gathering everyone in the farmhouse, the lower windows of which were boarded up. Torches and lanterns were mounted below the upper windows, and farmers with bows kept watch.
Ruby and Borax were unimpressed with this. Pointing to the towering black shape of the windmill, they suggested forting up in that instead. The noncombatants were put at the very top, with the ladder drawn up, and the rest spaced between the small windows occurring at intervals along the spiral stairs climbing the inside of the mill. That done, they settled down to wait.
Nothing happened for most of the night, but at around 5am Borax and Meepo were watching when a cry announced a movement spotted; a disturbance in the head-high wheat field to the north-east of the farm. Everyone was woken and alerted; weapons readied - including bows, despite the warnings - and the tension ratchetted upwards as whatever it was moved closer and closer. Borax, Calvis and Ruby were outside the mill, ready to form the front line, while Meepo was at a window, his magic primed. "No turning, not unless you have to," hissed Ruby to Calvis. "We don't want them getting away," Calvis swallowed; clearly he thought it equally likely the party might need to get away, but he nodded.
Gradually the ripple moved closer and closer, finally reaching the edge of the corn where it stopped ten feet from the yard fence. The cause of it breached the stalks, lifted its' head and uttered its' dread cry.
"Baaaaaahhhhhh!"
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A farmer's nerve broke, and an arrow slammed into the ground next to the lost goat, which ignored it with splendid hauteur and wandered towards the farm, looking for its overdue supper.
The tension broke like a wave, and nervous laughter swelled into reall merriment. The farmers cheered, slapped each others' backs, and doubly so for the party; they really seemed to think they'd won a victory. And maybe they had; they'd stood firm against the fear, and would never be quite as afraid of oncoming danger again.
Willis's Farm, Oakhurst, Northern Stryre, 29th September 2156
The widowed farmer's daughters put on a splendid breakfast for the Tanks the next morning, and everyone gathered to wave them off, just as if they'd actually saved the farm. It took some doing, but they managed to persaude Willis to take his people into the village at night; they Mayor's plan was actually the best approach.
"Hurray!"
"Baaaaahhhhh!"
"Shaddap!"
Oakhurst, Northern Stryre, 29th September 2156
Dreading the results, the party looped back via the other farms on the western side, but none had been attacked while they had been guarding "the wrong" farm. They'd been lucky; but to avoid a disaster, they really needed just one populated farm to be the bait. A combination of persuasion (at which they were not terribly good) and threats (at which they were very good indeed) dislodged the Ainslies, leaving just Cranston's - as yet unaware they had been elected the role of bait.
Returning to town, they updated Felosial on what they'd found; "It's Skeletons." She looked hastily around. "Don't tell anyone else that!" she hissed; "you want to start a panic?" Leaving her to make the necessary adjustments to her defences, they set out to find the gnome Corkie who, apart from being the town healer, was a priestess of Pelor, tending a surreptitious congregation in a country where another religion was almost universal and still had a tendency to be jealous, even twenty years after the end of the Age of Tribulation. She was, however, not in her hut, and they eventually found her in the Boar breakfasting with Erky in a suspiciously cozy way.
Borax impatiently demanded Holy Water from her. She explained she didn't normally find a need for a lot of it, but kept four flasks in stock for travellers or blessings, and offered them for sale at half price. Ruby snapped at her that they weren't "buying" it; the town needed it, and Borax barked "Bill the Mayor! You'll thank me in the morning." Erky bridled at their attitude, protesting that she was only doing her job, but the Tanks stalked away. It looked like one temporary alliance might be at an end.
Calcryx, once more, was very unwilling to stir from the inn room, and was relieved when he was told that he could stay and guard the hoard - assigned as "his" hoard for the meantime. "If the town's attacked, come and find us," said Ruby; "sleep now, and be awake when night comes." Calcryx agreed to that, and the party set out for Cranston's farm.
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Session Date: 6th April 2026 |
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