Session Report 023 - 29 June 1023

 

Introduction

29 June 1023, Imperial Calendar

Only two players tonight, the other two were out sick, or had to care for sick toddlers. Because they didn’t want to brave the Barrow Mound without them, the two present decided to head back to Samichi and do some rumor mongering. They also purchased some supplies and found a half-dozen ex-soldiers killing time in the Capricorn’s Nest, Samichi’s only tavern.

Focused on the soldiers, Three-Fifths didn’t notice that a merchant sitting at the end of the room, alone at a table, was focused on him.

One thing Three-Fifths learned was that a couple of weeks ago a mercenary company came through town in a mummer’s parade, with a dozen goblins in bondage. They marched through like they were a conquering army. 

Three-Fifths played on that a bit, looking for an angle to get them interested in joining them on a trip out past the Borderlands.

Three men that had obviously served together were Three-Fifths’s first target. Introducing themselves as Rheinhardt, Gunther and Ulrich, they were fresh out of two years in the governor’s Household Infantry. Which really just meant they did a lot of marching and once in a while head out to the Stabala Forest to kill something that had wandered out of the shadows.

Gunther didn’t think Three-Fifths was making a worthwhile offer and said so, loudly. 

DM Note: I rolled individually for Reaction for each potential recruit. Gunther rolled a 3, and in lieu of a physical attack, I interpreted this roll to mean Gunther not only wasn’t interested, but felt like making a scene. I rolled again for the as-yet-unnoticed NPC, and got a 6. So I decided her somewhat negative attitude would involve getting in between the party and the recruits.

Before things could get out of hand the merchant who had been sitting quietly at the back appeared at Gunther’s side. She smiled at everyone and smoothly took over the negotiations. 

“You are looking for some strong arms and backs to join you in a journey into the Wilderlands, and these men fit the bill. But I will have them treated fairly,” the fashionably-dressed woman spoke with an air of authority. Three-Fifths and the others recognized the tone of an army officer.

With a nod and a wave of his hand, Three-Fifths asked the woman to step aside and speak with him in private. 

“Who are you and why are you getting involved?” Three-Fifths asked.

“My name is Seraphina and you can think of me as an agent for these men. I’ve served in the field, I’ve fought against Goblins and worse, and I won’t have you take advantage,” she stated firmly. Her eyes were deep green and had the look of confidence from hard experience, but a brush of freckles across her nose and cheekbones gave her a touch of youthful charm.

“For 20 gold crowns a month I will lead these men for you, and see that they do their duty.”

Three-Fifths heard Seraphina’s offer and considered the math. It was more than the soldiers should get, but not enough for an officer, too. What is her agenda, he asked himself.

“Whatever,” he said, “As long as they, and you,” he pointed at Seraphina, “do what I ask, when I ask.”

She smiled and nodded her head slightly, “Of course. And now we shall depart to gather our things.”

“Be back here, first light!” Three-Fifths snapped.

Seraphina smiled, inclined her head again, and led her new charges down the street.

30 June

In the morning Seraphina arrived on horseback, a lovely mare. She was accompanied by the men at arms, and the two porters Three-Fifths had hired were driving the party’s new wagon. She had added to the supplies, a barrel of water, a bundle of green branches, rope, and two long-handled bill-hooks. A clay pot with a perforated lid let out a wisp of coal-smoke.

“We may want a smudge pot”, she said, without elaborating.

Three-Fifths and Braun were both taken aback somewhat by her choice of attire, gray riding pants and an emerald green jacket. There was a jewel-hilted longsword at her hip, with a matching dagger on the other side. Both had good-sized garnets in the pommel. The real surprise was that the men were all wearing kerchiefs about their necks, of a matching shade of emerald green.

Braun thought this smacked a bit of one-up-,manship.

“Put these on,” she said as she threw a small burlap bag to Three-Fifths. It contained garlic cloves on a string. Three-Fifths held it up, looking at Seraphina side-eyed. One of the infantrymen, Ulrich, lifted his kerchief and showed that he was wearing one.

“What’s this for?” Three-Fifths asked her.

“Ghost Town is haunted, hadn’t you heard? This is supposed to help.”

Three-Fifths shrugged and put on his garlicky amulet.

The party headed for the river and made the first ferry crossing. They traveled upriver along the bank for about two hours, until they came to the creek that flowed into the Gablun. Here they turned west, toward the Serpentine and Ghost Town. They followed the tributary west, watching for any sign of the troops of horsement that had been making this journey regularly, or so they had heard.

They covered six more miles and walked right up to a small wood, from under whose boughs the tributary flowed. The underbrush here was not so thick, but too thick for the wagon. They decided to ford the creek and after 30 minutes of pushing, pulling, grunting and cursing they made it across the 12 foot wide obstacle. The sandy bottom was softer than they expected, as least for getting the wagon across. Seraphina sat on her horse and watched, just the hint of a smile on her lips.

They followed the edge of the wood north, then around to the west, coming up on some low hills looking over a shallow vale.

At the head of the vale, about a mile away, they spotted the ruins of ghost Town. The creek seemed to originate there, in a man-made structure of some kind.

They left the wagon, porters, Gunther the Reluctant, and a slinger named Otto to guard them at the top of a hill, while the rest went down into town to check it out.

When they arrived at the abandoned town, they could see the water flowed from a stone chase, running under and around a broken water-wheel attached to a broken down millhouse.

The first building they looked into was obviously abandoned and mostly collapsed, as were the next two. The fourth had a dark shadow, with something hidden beneath. Even in the sunlight, the corner of this tumbledown house was obscured in shade. Braun poked at this shadow with a bill-hook (suddenly handy!) and was attacked by something black as night and very fast. Braun stumbled back equally quickly.

He shoved the bill-hook at it and Messer tossed his net on it. Whatever it was, it was black as pitch but solid as flesh, and like flesh it could be cut. And stabbed. And so it was, until it stopped struggling against the net, and against all odds, melted away into the earth.

For whatever reason the shadow-like creature had been crouching, as it were, on a moldering chest that had burst open, spilling gold and silver coins over the floor. Old coins.

The party members scooped these up and carried them, loose, over to the road.

They made their way over to the ruined millhouse, skirting the other buildings. There was a pile of dirt outside the door, and a trial of mud going into the ruin. Following this trail they found a hole had been dug under the pulled up floorboards. A small shovel and crude bucket stood outside the hole.

Braun lit a torch and dropped it down the hole, if fell about 50 feet, then splashed into something at the bottom, and went out. He decided to climb on down the bamboo ladder.

(The ladder was an oddity, as bamboo doesn’t grow anywhere nearby, also the ladder was more narrow than it should have been for human use.)

At the bottom of the shaft he found a low-ceilinged tunnel going SE, freshly dug, and shored up with 4” diameter lengths of bamboo. There was about 2” of water on the floor, which was slippery with mud. With the roof only 5 feet above the floor, they had to crouch a bit.

He unhooked the lantern from his belt, shined it down the tunnel, it went back more than 40 feet. The rest of the group started down the ladder and Braun started easing his way down the tunnel. After 50 feet there was another tunnel crossing this one at a right angle, that led to a small chamber on either side. One was littered with bird feathers and bones, the other had more tools for digging and crude, muddy buckets.

The main tunnel carried on for another 50 feet or so, then ended abruptly. There were still two shovels and a pick stuck in the dirt, and an empty bucket on its side.

 Messer said this looked like a Goblin hole.

They made their way back out and moved to the base of the ruined stone tower. Only three buildings in the town were stone. The tower floor was also stone tile, and had been cleared of rubble. At the south edge there was a metal trapdoor, some 8’ x 8’, with a wooden derrick built above it. Two great block-and-tackle arrangements hung from it.

The trapdoor looked as though it had been recently installed, it was not rusty or weathered. It also had an ornate lock.

Braun banged on the trapdoor, and there was no answer. Messer took out a ring of keys he had picked up, but none fit the opening.  He took out a knife and tried to disable the lock, no no avail. Braun pulled out a bit of wire and tried. He was able to get the lock to turn, but the trapdoor wouldn’t budge. He guessed it might be barred from below.

(Insert DM NOTE 30 JUNE 1023.txt)

Three-Fifths pulled a crowbar from his pack and tried prying the trapdoor open. All he succeeded in doing was chipping away at the stone tiles. While Braun and Three-Fifths were trying to defeat the trapdoor, Messer, Torrent and Seraphina took a look around the base of the tower and its outbuildings. Seraphina spotted some large feathers in a small, narrow building near the tower.

She recognized them as Harpy feathers, and suggested there may be a lair down below. She dropped a torch down the hole, but it soon vanished, whether it went out or landed in more water was unknown.

Since it was her suggestion, she was “voluntold” to descend and check it out. She said she would give one good tug for a signal she was down, another single tug for more slack, and two tugs to be pulled back up.They lowered her down on a long rope, past the ruined grate that had once blocked this vent, and down into darkness.

At a point about 8- feet down, the rope went slack, and they heard her muffled cry, “Hold up! Flue!” There was a shriek of rusted metal and the rope tightened up again. It went slack again soon after, then a single good tug, indicating she was down.

She was down there (wandering about by the feel of the tension coming and going), for a good five minutes before they felt two tugs and started pulling her back up.She arrived at the top none the worse for wear, but a little sooty. She said there wasn’t any harpy lair. Braun asked her if she saw a ghost, she laughed and said, “Yes, I tried to stab it with my knife but that didn’t work and I lost my knife.”

Seraphina shifted her longsword on its belt from her shoulder back to her hip. “Let’s see if the other stone buildings have any secrets worth looking into.” While she and the rest headed south, Three-Fifths stayed behind to scratch a symbol on the metal trapdoor, a four-pointed star with an eye in the center.

The next building they looked at was stone, but had a wooden floor. There was another metal trapdoor here, with a lock just like the first one. They fiddled with it, but couldn’t open it. Braun stamped on the floor, but decided not to push his luck. They moved on to the third stone building, which was a blacksmith’s shop, by the look of the remaining brick forge and a large section of tree trunk, as big as a stump, where an anvil used to sit.

By now they were thinking this trip was a bust, and the weather was turning. Dark clouds were moving from the south, and they didn’t want to travel in the rain. They walked on past the gigantic aloe-like plant waving its fronds about, looking for all the world like it was tasting the air.

They got back to the wagon and backtracked almost all of the way to the river. As it was getting dark and starting to rain, they stopped to make camp.

1 July

The party traveled south along the river in the rain. At the next tributary they crossed into Samichi on the ferry and got a room at the tavern to dry off and rest. It had been a cold and miserable walk. Made more so by Seraphina on horseback, seemingly unbothered by the rain.

2 July

The party returned to Sojenka.

XP LOG 29 June Session

Three-fifths 1 Messer 1 Braun 1 Torrent 1 LOOT 110 GP 160 SP XP TOTAL = 127 XP 32 XP Each Downtime begins 2 July, All PCs are stationed in Samichi, with rooms at the Capricorn's Nest Rooms are 3 CP per night Please also pay your 1% of total XP for character upkeep for July

Downtime begins 2 July.