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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 |
Before anyone else could react, the normally fairly calm Calvis Dwellow picked the much larger innkeeper Zelcane up by his lapels, slammed him against the wall of his own inn, and screamed "Take me to your herbalist!" into his face. Shaken, the innkeeper hurried off into the village, Ruby and Calvis close behind.
While they were away, Borax went around the corpses and made sure of them, severing the heads still attached, and sent the stable-lad to collect any witnesses to what had happened, and advise whatever authorities remained in the place to isolate the elders' families.
It took some hammering on Ysval's door to get the herbalist to open up, but once things were explained to her, she produced some belladonna and strongly recommended getting the town healer, Rowaira, to administer it. The increasingly large group headed over to her house, where she brewed the herbs into a tea and fed it to Calvis and Ruby. Both began to feel better, until the healer added, "You may feel a little ill," and a wave of nausea rushed over them both.
By the time they returned to the Gauntlet and Dragon, Shadurr the constable was listening to various people's accounts of the night's happenings. The healer's confirmation that both Ruby and Calvis had been suffering the initial symptoms of a lycanthrope bite was an important addition to this. Watching him, however, they realized that his investigative skills were rudimentary in the extreme; the Stone rendering such unneccessary up to this point.
Borax interrupted him and explained the function of the Eye of Insight. Scribbling a question on a bit of paper, he shoved it into the man's hand and told him how to ask the jar. "Are there any live werewolves left in this village and who are they?" he recited, twitching as the elvish words of the answer rolled across the dark village. "Rowor," it said, naming the fishmonger. Zelcane was handed the jar and the question, "Where is he now?" which directed them to the woods on the far side of the small lake.
Ruby dug out a handful of silver coins and scraped them down her sword blade; though not a proper coating, the results would leave some metal in the first wound she dealt. Borax suggested the herbalist stock up on belladonna in case anyone else was bitten. Two of Shadurr's militiamen went with Borax and Ruby, despite their attempts to leave them behind for their own good. Calcryx was sent aloft to scout, while Brew the Dog and the others moved cautiously through the woods.
 DM Note: Ruby only had one silvered attack, and promptly criticalled with it, taking the WW to less than half HP, and Borax' crit brought it down to 1 HP, allowing Brew the kill :) |
After half an hour, the faithful hound's ears went down and he signalled that he had acquired a scent similar to the monsters currently burning behind the inn. Fanning out, Ruby and Borax tried to flank the werewolf, and suddenly it rushed from cover directly at the brave dog. Ruby stepped neatly in front of him and smote with her frost-trailing sword. The strike was perfectly executed and smashed into the monster's slavering jaws, dealing more damage in one blow than any other attack either of them had levelled at a werewolf that night. Borax, guard up, circled around to attack it from the far side, and snarled at the two militia hopefulls to back off after they ineffectually attacked it with short swords. His crushing attack with the flail sent the thing staggering, and Brew the dog, topping off his stellar night, lunged in and crushed its throat for the killing blow. The form shimmered as it returned to its human form in death and Rowor the fishmonger lay before them.
With Rowor added to the pyre, the Eye was asked where his friend and workmate Corbar the boatbuilder was. It emerged that he was at the bottom of the lake, having realized what had been done to them and taken a swim with his anchor to protect his neighbors from himself. A similar process located the Stone of Good Fellowship in three places, smashed by the Elders to prevent it fingering them for the murders and disappearances. The originator of the infection was also queried, a traveller who'd passed through a little under a month ago and was now apparently in the capital Narthal.
The villagers were clearly floundering, bereft of the absolute answers of their lives up to now, but Zelcane, Rowaira and Shadurr had taken on the role of de facto town council in the complete absence of anyone else to do the job. Their shock had receded enough for them to thank the Tanks for their effective action. The town was pretty cash-poor, but the new council offered them anything they wanted from the property of the three elders. Boril had a wife and daughter, while Folnester was married but childless; Boril's wife had known "something was wrong with him," while Folnester's had been entirely ignorant. Borax and Ruby focussed on the house of Galor Shatter and took some odd valuables and a couple of spell scrolls. With these, the party moved on towards Armush. Borax had purchased a souvenir, a wicker birdbox for his magpie familiar.
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After a day's travel and a reasonably comfortable night in their wagon, the party was slogging through a blizzard a couple of hours outside Armush when mounted forms began to emerge from the haze ahead of them. Armoured figures, with long spears set to the stirrup. As they emerged into view, clad in blue and silver livery, the leader raised a hand to request the wagon be halted. Borax waved back with cheerful cheek and appeared surprised when it was explained to him.
The leader introduced himself as Lieutanant Jerigord of the Ducal Guard and moved to speak with them, politely asking them who they were, where they were travelling to and from and so on. He was concerned to hear of the troubles at Duskbie, and told them he would patrol that way to see if there was anything he could do. Bit late, thought Ruby. They semi-seriously told him they'd be buying up shoes, boots, slippers, big boots but not sandals; but the joke was lost as word of events in Utkinton had not reached Armush yet. When they were explained, Jerigord looked troubled and commented that his Lord would probably want to know about that. He'd visibly relaxed when they mentioned coming from the Fist, as anyone hired by the Baron was effectively vouched for. He also revealed a slight sense of humour, a welcome relief in such encounters.
As the riders filtered past either side of the wagon, Borax waved them goodbye, projecting light-hearted harmlessness, and a shorter trooper near the back - a female dwarf, he realized - rather shyly waved back. Then the patrol was gone and the party was heading on to Armush.
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Built in a depression among hills, Armush was the biggest city Ruby and Borax had ever visited; made slightly less impressive by the massive split in the ground that ran through the NE wall and half-way across the town. To Borax’ eye, this had happened about six months ago. There was a guard on both sides where the walls were now breached.
Entry to the city was through one of four gates; it had some smaller ones but the roads entered through the main ones. More guards in the blue and silver watched the gates, but although they were briefly looked over – a sharp glance at Neithar’s eyes – they passed through without hindrance. As they did, they asked for the nearest comfortable inn. The first answer was "The best inn is..." which Borax interrupted to restate the nearest inn. With a slightly sly smile, the guard directed them to the nearest inn. The reason for his amusement became apparent; the district inside Redgate was the Red Light and slums.
City life was very much continuing, despite whatever catastrophe had occurred, though many buildings had cracks and repairs of one quality or another, and some had completely collapsed. Temporary bridges had been put over the split, allowing traffic to pass to and fro. The bottom of the ravine itself was full of rubble and wreckage, and around 15’ of mucky-looking frozen water, all covered in snow at the moment.
As they reached the Olde Serpent inn, the meaning of its' name became all too apparent from the sign, which depicted a snake which most definitely did not have teeth or hiss! The landlady, one Kaaren, arch and friendly, welcomed them and organized rooms. "Any other services, come and ask me?" she said with a wink. "You could pick up some business here," teased Borax, above which comment Ruby rose, noticing a swooped brow from Kaaren which suggested that prostitution here likely had a guild. With the wagon and horses stabled, they settled into the two rooms they had rented and inhaled an averagely good though warm and plentiful dinner. As they ate, they picked up some of the basic local information.
The "hole" was the consequence of an earthquake in the summer. There had been some casualties, but there'd been enough pre-shocks that they'd been thankfully minor. Rebuilding was in hand, though the marketplace was utterly gone and a large part of the theatre.
Armush was known for its' horses, bred for stamina and toughness, which made it less likely that their own would get stolen. Like most of the settlements in the Newlands, it had a "Unit"; a body of hired warriors retained against the danger of attack from Belamir and (more from tradition than real danger) Nhased. Finally, of course, the variety of traders and businesses, and of temples, was far more than they had found in Utkinton.
They had a quiet evening, with Ruby taking Brew for a last walk and deflecting a small group of well-to-do loudmouthed drunks in the process, and Borax smoking a last pipe as he watched trade ramp up for the night in the streets. A patrol moved through, bothering no-one, signifying a balance between authority and entertainment.
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The next morning they headed across town to the temple of Lynien, Lady of Chance. Armush was one of the more tolerant Stryran towns, and accepted temples of gods other than the Triad - though the massive three-sided temple of Belisama, Lyr and Taranis was to the north near the wealthy district while all the others were down among the poorer streets. Lynien's was a fairly plain temple, but well-kept, and the Head Gatherer was a personable young man named Lansen.
He was rather surprised at such a varied group appearing at his temple, but once Calvis had introduced himself as a Coin, he welcomed them all. He was interested in all they'd done, and especially in the Traveller, as his goddess was deeply linked to probability. He was surprised to hear that Duskbie's Stone was gone, but did not seem deeply sorry.
When the Belts were brought up, he became quite animated. These were apparently a collabaration between the Mage Guild and the Gatherers, and had extra features on top of the basic healing powers. Once per day, if a stolen gold mark was flipped, a random result would be obtained. It might be a full Heal; a Restoration; a Regeneration ... or it could be something unfortunate. "You don't have to use this," said Lansen, "But if you do, I'd be very grateful to hear what happened."
Negotiations were lively, and in the end the party decided to take ten, some for their party, some to sell on to spread the test. This earned them a discount, and left them with about a week to explore Armush.
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Session Date: 21st September 2026 |
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