Carzala Grieves

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Note: This adventure is Set in the Autumn Session, but is/was played in the Winter

Summary

Adventure: Carzala Grieves
GM: Rosemary Mansfield
Session: Winter 811
Night: Wednesday
Location: Avondale
Level: Very Low

Party:

Employer:
The Duchy of Carzala.
The Seagate Watch.

Mission:
To aid the Watch in securing the area of Seagate worst affected by the Monster Riot in old Seagate on the night of the 2nd of Fruit.
To recover the remains of 2 members of the Watch taken by the remaining monsters on Sunday the 6th.
To assist in clearing the Duchy of those monsters that escaped to the West Common and beyond.

Pay:
1000sp each to clear the cordaned area of any creature larger than a cat.
Bonus/bounty of 100sp for each formerly human "monster" we bring in, in resurrectable condition.
The fee for Monster hunting beyond Seagate is still being negotiated.

Background - Recent Events

On the night of the 2nd/3rd of Fruit a call comes in to the Guild, a request for all available Healers to report for duty. Old Seagate is in Riot, Monsters are rampaging though parts of the old City, the Watch and the Army are trying to restore order, many people are injured or dead.
As the night progresses more information filters back to the Guild.
A Demon has turned most of the people in the southern part of old Seagate into Monsters, as warped ravening mindless beasts they are attacking the rest of the city. The Watch and the Army have barricaded off part of Old Seagate to contain the Monsters, but some have broken out of Raphael's Gate and are loose on The Commons.

Over the following day the story is pieced together; a worker at the bakery supplying an area of Old Seagate had contaminated the bread they sold with a substance which when ritually activated by the Demon, caused all those who had eaten enough of it to transform into Monsters. A magical chrysalis formed around person and shortly a monster emerged. The monsters then went Rioting though the neighbourhood smashing the place up and attacking people.
Most of the afflicted people where from the streets surrounding the bakery, an area of mostly brass and tin smiths. However a family of carters who delivered charcoal to the brass foundry and a tutor from the Temple of Light also changed into monsters.
Seagate residents fear further transformations by those less contaminated, but the official word is that if you didn't change on the night you're safe.
A Guild party that was already looking into some missing persons in Old Seagate is said to be after the Demon responsible.

In the next few days once the problem of dealing with the large number of dead and injured has passed, there is an issue with looters and concerns over inheritance and employment arise.
While funerals are held for those killed, tales are told of babies found alive inside the Cordon by the Watch, hungry and smelly but still safe in their cribs overlooked by the monsters.
The Smiths Guild is in disarray; its Guild Master is missing presumed transformed as are three more Master Smiths, their households, their Journeymen and Apprentices. Several ships previously expected to remain in Seagate for refitting leave for other ports as Seagate now lacks the tradesman necessary for the work.
Guild Counsellors meet with the Duke and his Advisors. Reports from the Healers & Namer College say that the people remain transformed after death, resurrect as monsters and that the Demon somehow changed the Trueform of the people afflicted. Binders are sent from the Guild to turn all the dead monsters to stone while a cure is investigated, the Church of Light and the Smiths Guild want their people restored, and no one is able to tell who's who in their current state.

A week after the Monster Riot an area of Old Seagate, south from Broad street and west of Raphael's Gate for several blocks remains cordoned off behind a wooden barricade, guarded by the Army and the Watch.

Diary

Duesday, 8th Fruit 811

I'd been given some time off training by the Healers, we all needed a rest day or two after all the on the job training following the W'ansday night riot in Old Seagate. So there I was doing 'nothing much' when around came these members of Guild Security looking for a few Adventuring Guild Members to send on a priority mission. It wasn't long before I found myself in a briefing room with 6 others signing up to aid the Army and the Seagate Watch clear up the last of the Monsters from the riot.

The party consists of: Pierre the Illusionist; a very short male Halfling, he is the most experienced member of the party however we did not make him party Leader as he say he does better with someone giving him directions, and I can testify from past experience that he needs supervision or he finds trouble.
Although on her first Guild mission Poppy, a female human Domani with a collection of weapons; was given to the job of Party Leader and director of things Military.
Also on their first mission with the Guild are; Titus a somewhat ugly male human, he is a Ranger & practitioner of the College of Witchcraft. Richter von Black, a pretty boy human Bard, though he claims to be a musician singer & comedian, he carries twin battle axes. Ash another pretty boy human this one an Ice mage, and Tesla a plain looking male Elf, he is a Rune Mage.
The finial member of the party is myself, Kerry Murdock. I'm a female human, a Dark Mage with a few ranks in Shadowform, Witchsight and Darkness. I shall be the scribe for this mission having had previous experience as such.

With the paperwork done we were given a cart ride over the bridge and across new Seagate to the Seagate guard headquarters. Apart from the gate guard all the Guardsmen in view as we are shown to the Commanders Office are sporting bandages and other evidence of being wounded. With so many wounded men it is no wonder we have been sent to help.
A weary, tired older man in need of a shave with dark bags under his eyes, dressed in an immaculate officers uniform introduces himself as Captain Jameson, Commander of Phoenix Company.
We are shown a map of Old Seagate, the captain tells us that he wants us to clear the cordoned off area of marked on the map of any creature larger than a cat. The mind mages have scanned the area and there is nothing sentient left in there, but as the place is crawling with rats and the mages can't tell a monsters mind from a rat's, its unknown how many monsters are left or where they are. They know that there are monsters in the area still and that they are active at night; two members of the watch were taken by some monsters on Sunday night when chasing what they thought were looters. The Commander wants us to make a house by house search while the Watch and the Army guard the Barricade with Crossbows, any Monsters we find are to be recovered in resurrectable condition so that they can be turned to stone and stored until a fix is found. He would also like us to bring out the bodies of the missing Guards.
We will be paid 1000sp each for clearing the area, plus 100sp for each recovered monster, more if it is identifiable.

We ask questions about what sort of Monsters maybe in there to sort the truth from the wilder rummors at the guild, the commander tells us the transformed people didn't change much in size, they remain mostly humanoid creatures but wrong in many ways, deformed limbs, horns, leathery or spiny skins, some found dead after the riot could not have lived though the change. The creature that broke though Raphael's Gate resembled an animated tree with oozing sap, it was unaffected by weapons and was eventually tripped up and bound until it was petrified. A group of 6 legged deer with horns that charge as a pack, and a Monkey type that throw rocks breaking bones and causing other injuries were also among those that got out on to the common.
Other information gained from the briefing; the residents of the neighbourhood before they were transformed where mostly humans, but there were some orc and dwarf workers in the smithies. There are unlikely to be any cellars under the houses and the sewage runs in the streets in old Seagate so there are not going to be any monsters underground. Wounds received from the monsters will become infected, any wounds even minor ones must be treated by a healer.

From the headquarters we crossed the West Common to Raphael's Gate, the gate itself is twisted and broken. A rough wooden barricade about 5 ft high runs north down the middle of the road towards the plaza on Broad Street and also to the west towards Wall Street. We locate Corporal Gotry of the copper watch, he is in charge of the Guardsmen and Soldiers currently on watch over the cordon and introduce ourselves. We had decided to spend the afternoon searching for the bodies of the missing Guardsman; we began with a house by house search along Anvil road, a grandly named alley off of Broad Street, the last place they were seen. Pierre had a canary dog enter any room or building ahead of the party, in the third house we are challenged by a black & white brindled Dog which became friendly when we feed it and give it water. Titus notices there is something odd about its teeth and My DA reads its aura as short lived Sentient GTN human, this friendly Dog is one of the monsters we are looking for. More food is used to trap the Dog in a crate to await Petrifaction.
Returning to the alley Pierre has his canary dog lead us though the foundry to storage bin were we find the body of one of the missing men, it has been gnawed on but is mostly intact so we carry it out to the barricade.
There is time for one more foray before dark and deeper into the foundry complex we found the second body this time in the lair of a 6 ft humanoid with a bear form covered in mottled cat like fur. The monster has large light sensitive eyes and cannot be lured out of the dark laundry into a larger workshop with food, so we drop the light levels in the workshop and light up the laundry with an illusionary wall of fire. The Monster rushes out and is quickly put down by the waiting party. Gathering the well chewed remains of the guard, we take both our prizes to the waiting Watch.

After dinner at the Old Seagate guard headquarters we return to the wall by the Anvil Road to lay a trap for the nocturnal monsters, a bait of bones and offal is left in a lit area of the alley visible from the wall. The light is smothered with darkness and we wait for something to come to diner; a bit after 11 o'clock Tesla spots a humanoid creature taking the bait, the darkness is lifted and the Monster in the now well lit kill zone is turned into a pin cushion as it finds its retreat blocked by a wall of light.

Three monsters and two bodies recovered without our taking any injuries ourselves, not a bad start.

W'ansday 9th Fruit 811

Spent the rest of the night in the Old Seagate watch Head Quarters.
We are woken at dawn by rising of the morning watch, so we join them for breakfast; we note that most of the guardsmen have damaged gear that has yet to be repaired and that many of the men themselves have partly healed injuries. To aid them in their recovery and help raise morale, we purchase several barrels of new season's apples. If we find a monster we cannot handle ourselves we will need these people to be both willing and able to cover our retreat.
Before we cross the cordon to finish our sweep of Anvil road Tesla is recalled to the guild, as a replacement they have sent Felicity, a Carzalan girl who has just finished her training as an Adept of the college of Ensorcelments and Enchantments.

After a quick check to be sure the areas we cleared yesterday have not been re-inhabited we repeat yesterday's procedure and inspect the last house in the alley before moving on to the living quarters of the Brass Foundry.
The foundry living quarters consist of a number of adjoining smaller two storey homes that have had doors cut into the shared walls linking them into one large warren of living spaces for the craftsmen their families, servants, and apprentices.
We clear the ground floor first, amide the roof beams of the main dining hall we find some unusual string like cobwebs but no spider. In an apprentices bunk room we discovered a Goo spiting Mantis-Cricket: a cat sized insect Monster with the forelegs of a praying mantis, the hind jumping legs cricket, it spat a mud coloured goo onto Poppy's chest and shoulder. It was subdued by Felicity, who netted it with my cloak, and the able assistance of Ash who then pinned and stabbed the thing. Like the Dog, the monsters aura reads short lived sentient, Human; the Goo it spat on Poppy was formally living and its effect on me would be slowing-disabling. The goo certainly was not very good for Poppy's armour it caused the flexible leather in shoulder joint to stiffen restricting her mobility, its nasty to think what the affect would be on bare skin.

We drop the Monsters body off for the binder to petrify on our way to lunch at the watch's mess. In the crowed storage area we see piled up the monster currently discovered, among them are several three horned deer, odd looking apes with noses that are all wrong, and a six legged dog with sharks' teeth. Creatures with four arms, no arms, misshapen rib cages, and even a snake like one. There are several badly broken statues; the binder tells us some of the watch had taken out their anger at the deaths of their comrades on these.

After a quick lunch with herbal tea all round (and a witch's restorative brew for me), we returned to the foundry to clear the second floor rooms. I was hoping that the deafness I had contracted while renewing the Shadowforms on the party would wear off quickly, it would be embarrassing to have the effect wear off just as I found a Namer, if my hearing has not returned by this evening then I should go see the guild about getting it restored.
Upstairs in the foundry living quarters we found a large grey spider with a body the size of Pierre that gave us a bit of trouble, during the fight Titus fell off a chest unconscious and Richter was injured when it jumped on his back knocking him to the floor and biting him. While the others went to deliver the spider's body to the binder, Richter and I went to visit the healers.
Still deaf I followed the party back into the foundry for a third time, in a bedroom we identified as belonging to Master and Goodwife Latimer we found a bed containing a dead blue humanoid monster and two dead rats under a fluffy pink and apricot blanket. My DA of the blue body and the rats revealed these formally living creatures had died of exsanguination. Unable to find a creature in the room our suspicions fell on the fluffy blanket itself. I failed to DA the thing so Ash slashed it, the cut bled a little then began to heal before our eyes. We locked the vampire blanket in a closes press before clearing the last of the building. In the Latimer nursery we found a dead baby in its crib, poor thing must have died of either exsanguination or dehydration in the last week. Both the baby and the blue monster may have been dead too long to resurrect.

Th'rsday 10th Fruit 811

Set another baited darkness trap in Cat Alley over night but all it attracted was rats, cats and dogs. After a night on watch we slept through the morning, returning in the afternoon to search the last of the shops in the western half of the cordoned area, including on the buildings roofs and the garden of the big house.
With the west cleared we started our house by house search of Cat Alley, we clear what is left of the bakery; then shops and residence of a grocer, a tinsmith and a lantern maker without finding more than an old slime trail. In a flat above and behind the tinsmiths we find a terrier type Dog, a real dog with an animal aura and a collar that says Bob. Bobs owner obviously cared about him as he has a bed and bowls also hand named, but we were unable to find anything that would give us his owner's name.
We found a second larger setter/hunting type dog on the ground floor of a mechanicans; this dog too has an animal aura. It had an infected injury on its leg and no collar,later from the guard we learned that his name is Crazy Al, a champion of the holiday races and trained hunter. Upstairs from where we found Crazy Al we find a humanoid body in a bedroom. It appeared to be the body of a teenager or a small woman that had been dead three maybe four days and as we couldn't see an obvious cause of death when we took it to the guardhouse we asked the more skilled healers there for their opinion.
In the rope makers at the end of the alley we found a third dog, unlike Bob or Crazy Al this dog had never been well cared for or trained and was probably half feral before the riot. Ash volunteered to kill the poor thing, untrained the animal was worthless and as a feral dog we couldn't ignore the danger it presented to the population of the city.

Frysday 11th Fruit 811

The darkness trap was set on Raphael's Gate last night but all that came to visit was Rats. Elsewhere the watch honed their crossbow skills shooting the vermin.
The remaining ten or so shops and homes were checked and found clear of any critters other than rats and pigeons, we even climbed over the roofs of the buildings east of Anvil road just to be thorough.
During the afternoon the magically induced deafness I had been experiencing since midday W'ansday ended.

The healers say they don't know what killed the humanoid we found yesterday, it was too long dead to be sure but they think is was someone who outwardly changed very little the night of the riot and died of something internally wrong several days later.
Crazy Al has had his injuries treated by Steven the herbalist and will be looked after by the guardsmen until the issues surrounding inheritance and ownership of his former masters property are sorted.
Money talks as the saying goes and a champion racing dogs probably worth more than a few Silver pennies, not so a common ratter. Bob would cost the watch more to feed than he is worth, so to keep the dog from death row Poppy and Titus arrange for the party to keep Bob.

With the house by house search complete, the area cleared of monsters and bodies, we confidently report to Sergeant Albrecht that the area inside the cordon is home only to cats, rats pigeons and other vermin. Included in our report are the locations of the various strong boxes, jewel cases etcetera we found while searching, which will need to be secured before the barricade is removed.
Sergeant Albrecht sends us along with a written copy of his report of our activities and findings to the watch head quarters to report to the commander.

Once there Captain Jameson tells us he has some more work for us, before he will pay our 1000sp, a missing persons search north of Seagate. We do however get our monster bonus money signed off.
Stan Capper the thirteen year old son and apprentice of Pauline Capper who has a dry goods store on the edge of the riot damaged area has been reported missing. Yesterday the apprentice was sent to Thearons Farm near the village of Tallwood to make arrangements for the delivery of farm produce to recommence. Stan has not returned, the trip should have taken him four hours, half a day at most.
Farmer Thearon or one of his two adult sons usually make regular deliveries by cart, they haven't been to Seagate since before the riot.
The cavalry have reported that the area is cleared of monsters.
Tomorrow morning we are to leave Seagate for Tallwood village, to begin searching for Stan Capper.

Reapsday 12th Fruit 811

The party spent the night in the guild lodgings and waited until after sun up before setting out for old Seagate (without Titus and Richter) to ask Goody Pauline Capper a few questions about her son that were not covered by yesterdays briefing.
Goody Capper tells us her Stan is a short skinny thirteen year old with straight brown hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing his dark blue wool jacket just after lunch on Th'rsday.
Goody Capper has dealt with farmer Thearon for 15 years since his now married sons were small.
Our questions answered Pierre bought some pastries for the road and just after 9am the five of us set out for the village of Tall wood in a light rain.

The Main road north passes though farmland with occasional farmhouses and associated buildings set well back from the road. Most are small low structures but we do see several grander places with proper two storey buildings not just lofts.
The road is well travelled, we see carters, fast mounted couriers and about midmorning are over taken by a company of Michealine knights with pack horses. Even though it is unlikely Stan is lying in a ditch or hedgerow beside such a busy road we make regular inspections.

We arrive at the village of Tall wood just before midday. Tall wood consists of about a dozen cottages with kitchen gardens, a posting stable for the dukes' couriers and a pub. We estimate that at least half the cotters work the fields surrounding the village. We take lunch at the pub, a good hot Mutton stew with bread to mop the gravy. During lunch we ask the bar maid if she has seen a teenage boy of Stan's description in the last few days, she had not. Then we asked if she knew of Thearons' farm she does; she tells us last week there was a terrible massacre at the farm, some of the women were killed in their own home by monsters. The farm house is now empty the farmer and his sons are off monster hunting and the surviving women are staying with a friend in the cottage three doors down.
So after lunch we visited the Widow Thearon and her teenage granddaughter Suzy at Mistress Weavers. Over a cup of tea we learned that the widow is the mother of the current farmer, Carlos Thearon, and she believes that there has been no one at the farm for some days, since the morning after the monster attack when the village mayor went to investigate and found three bodies; those of her daughter in-law and the wives of Billy and Tony, her two adult grandsons. The widow and her granddaughter Suzy where woken in the night by the sounds of fighting and screaming, they escaped the house, hid, and when it became quiet fled to the village.
She believes the men have taken the mule they normally use for the delivery cart and gone after the monsters, the rest of the livestock is currently being looked after by villagers. We also learned that when they made their deliveries Carlos, Billy and Tony bought food in old Seagate.
The Widow Thearon had not seen Stan so our next stop must be the farm, one and a half to two miles west from Tall wood down a lane that services several other farms.
Before we left Tall wood I thought to ask the Ostler at the posting stables if he had seen Stan, he told us that a boy fitting his description had asked directions to Thearons farm on Th'rsday afternoon.
We called in to the farm just before Thearons to ask if they had seen Stan, our hope was that they may have seen him pass by, or that finding no one home Stan might have thought to ask the neighbours. But the farmer had not seen Stan, he had however found the missing mule three or four day ago in his turnip patch. It had been injured, but was healing nicely, the infection had all cleared up.

Thearon farms consists of a long low farm house with a chimney poking out midway along, a small barn for the mule and the cart, and a henhouse with a fenced run all set back a short distance from a small stream. To one side of the house was an orchard of citrus trees on the other a field of carrots and turnips, on the far side we could see more fields with what looked like pumpkins.
We crossed the stream and approached the house; a small human figure ran out the farm house door and into the pumpkin patch, Ash sword drawn started to pursue, the rest of us hurry after them both. Twenty or so feet into the vines the figure falls, there is screaming and much trashing about by both boy and vine, Ash stops short of the pumpkin patch. By the time the rest of us reach his side the screaming has stopped, but the vines are still moving.
The aura strength of the vine reads short lived sentient, rather than ask for Generic True Name I want to know if the vine monster is poisonous, which it is not.
Ash sword and shield in hand starts' chopping his way into the vines, Poppy joins him using both her falchion and main-gauche for attack and Pierre went in low under the whipping vines with his dagger. Felicity mean while was trying to cast some powerful enchantment on the monster with little success, and after covering myself in shadows I joined in the rescue effort with my axe.
The vine whipped at us with tendrils up to an inch thick and thorns on the undersides, it had no central root, large leaves and orange flowers like a pumpkin plant, and there are also large brown marrow shaped gourds scattered throughout. I found out the hard way what happens when one of these is broken open, I got a face full of choking fluffy dandelion like seeds. Another nasty trick of the vine monster is that the perfume of its flowers can put you to sleep, fortunately the flowers effect is slow and you need to be in very close proximity. As well as striking at us the vine tried to wrap around our legs and trip us.
After maybe just over a minute of chopping and hacking we manage to clear a path to the body in the vines, Ash and Poppy dragged the poor boy to safety while Pierre and I cover their retreat.
Once clear of the monster we find that Felicity has managed to cast her powerful enchantment on herself, she is asleep and it takes us several minutes to get her conscious again.
The boy is Stan and he is now dead, the vine monster has managed to strangle him to death in the time it took us to cut our way to him. Inside the farm house we find out what he has been up to the last couple of days and why he ran off at our approach, he was looting the place.

We put the gathered valuables into a chest to give to the widow, wrap Stan's body in a damaged sheet from the master bed and load both into the farm cart. Having confirmed that the other two pumpkin patches we can see are also monster vines we can make a good guess as to what happened here the night of the riot. Carlos and his two sons changed into monster vines killed their wives and escaped into the fields before the mayor came the next day. It doesn't look as if the vines travel very quickly so we decide it is safe to leave the creatures for the night while we try to find out what it is the commander wishes done with the monsters. If they wish these farmers alive and restored the binder will probably have to come to the farm and petrify the plants. It seems to us to be impossible to kill such a monster without making it unresurrectable; we will have to chop them into little bits or better yet burn the vines to kill them.

With a nimble pony provided by Pierre between the shafts, we take the loaded farm cart first to Tall wood to drop off the chest of valuables with the Widow Thearon then on to Old Seagate to deliver the body of Stan Capper and make our report. We reach the Common shortly after dark and head for Raphael's Gate as we know the guards there will recognize us.

On the way though old Seagate to the watch house to drop off Stan's body we met Richter. First we reported to Sergeant Albrecht, then we visited the healers to get Poppy, Ash, and Pierre's infections cured and finally we consulted with Lars the Binder to see if he could petrify the vine monsters.
His professional opinion was that he would need the help of an Earthmage to reduce the plants to a manageable size, so we agreed to meet him next morning for a trip to the guilds earth college.

Sunday 13th Fruit 811

Next morning we all consulted with the earth college on how to manage the viscous vine monsters and we end up hiring an Earthmage for 200sp plus any backfire removal costs to assist us in capturing the creatures. Back at the farm the Earthmage controls the vine which allows us to harvest all the exploding gourds safely. Then the plants are encouraged to curl into a huge ball so that they could be petrified and loaded on to a cart.
It takes us until well after dark to bail and petrify all three vines; we also had to dispose of the gourds. This we did by digging a deep pit, covering the bottom with six inches of water, and soaking the seeds and pods with even more water as we smashed them up in the depths of the pit. We then buried the whole sodden mess to slowly rot away. I had to renew the light spells I cast for us to work by several times before all the work was done.

Moonday 14th Fruit 811

After spending the night at the farm it took us two trips to transport the three balled stone vines into storage in Seagate.
In the late afternoon we consulted Captain Jameson about what to tell the Widow Thearon about the fate of her son and grandsons. The official position is to be that they were dead killed by the monsters (not that they were the monsters), and that for safety their bodies were being held until any demonic monster taint was removed. That it was possible that they like the other victims of the riot could be resurrected, but probably only if the family paid and that it might be a long time before bodies could be released either for burial or resurrection.
We were told to tell her that any further questions should be directed to the church of light who were handling the public relations side of things with the families of the victims.

Duesday 15th Fruit 811
Spent the night at the guild and had a late breakfast, while we waited for the morning traffic to clear so we could return the borrowed farm cart we were summoned by guild councillor Kali the Nameless. The head of the Guild Council has another job for us once the cart is returned. There is a Raphaelite priestess in Brastor, Sister Aredhel the Restorer; she is a Namer that that can cast Trueform. We are to escort another Namer, Master Ariane Leptospurnum, from the Guild to a village near Huglers Ferry to consult with the sister. We are then either to return him with a sensible plan for the restoration the victims of the demonic change for which we will be paid a further 200sp or if it seems that the pair have got themselves all caught up in magical philosophy and religious insights, escort both back to Seagate. For escorting the Namer safely to the Raphaelite compound and back we will be paid 400sp each.
After we have returned the cart, and given the Widow Thearon the bad news regarding her missing son and grandsons, we consult Guild security about Master Leptospurnum and the best way to get us all to Huglers Ferry in Brastor. Master Leptospurnum is a brilliant theoretical Namer not an Adventurer which explains why he needs an escort, and we spend part of the evening making sure the frail looking possibly elderly elf has the suitable equipment for the trip. It is decided that the best way to get the eight of us to Brastor is to take a barge up river, Master Leptospurnum can't fly and most of the rest of us are complete novices. As for riding horses, well none of us can fight from horseback and we risk getting spread all over the sweet riding if the horses bolt, not to mention both those methods are quite costly and we are not getting paid that much. Passage on a barge is relatively cheap, just as quick as walking, less tiring for all and probably one of the safest ways for a small group to travel up river.

W'ansday 16th Fruit 811

We get passage on an empty grain barge returning to Brastor Landing called the Blue Betty for 10sp each. The sailing barge is crewed by Captain Tom Dericson, Toms son Andy, and a man named Cal. There are also a pair of Oxen to tow the barge when it cannot be sailed.
Pierre and Felicity are the party cooks for the voyage the rest of us have little to do except for keeping watches The first day we sail up the mile wide sweetwater river though the farm lands of the barony of Carzala and tie up for the night just up river of Arn's Ferry.
Th'rsday 17th Fruit 811
Sail up river past the Dark wall and though the grass lands of the Sweet Riding.
Frysday 18th Fruit 811
More Sailing up river, we leave the Sweet Riding behind and enter a forest however as the river is so wide it does feel like we are in a forest at all. We stop for the night at Ramshead Ford.
Reapsday 19th Fruit 811
More sailing though forest towards evening the river narrows and we tie up for the night below a river gorge with a towpath cut in to the south bank.
Sunday 20th Fruit 811
The oxen tow the barge though the gorge, the Gilder Rithe joins the Sweetwater from the north part way though. I paid a little more attention to the river and the handling of the barge today; chances are someday I may have to navigate this obstacle myself.
Moonday 21st Fruit 811
Sailing though yet more forest, the Sweetwater has widened out again towards evening we leave the forest for grassland and hills.
Duesday 22nd Fruit 811
Sail south though hills, almost without our noticing the Sweetwater swings east again while we continue south up the Champion River. There are supposed to be all sorts of dangerous things in the hills and woods between the Sweetwater and Brastors' farm lands so today we push on after dark until we get to Emmit's Ford in Brastor, the ford is where the overland merchant route though Calsons switch crosses the river.

W'ansday 23rd Fruit 811

Sail up river to Brastor Landing from here we plan to try and get another boat to take us to Huglers Ferry or failing that to walk to the fifteen to twenty miles to Ville de Roygiers .
Brastor landing is a town of two to three thousand people, only about a quarter of the buildings are built of stone the rest are wood even the town wall is a palisade. Nothing in the town looks very old maybe ten years at the most.
Tom recommends two places to us, an inn called the Grey Nag were we can get good food and clean rooms for the night and a dock side pub where we may find someone to take us further up river.
Ash and Pierre go to the pub looking for a suitable boat, but all they get is an offer from a somewhat dubious boat man with a leaky old punt. More promising is the news from the more reputable patrons that a Military patrol is leave at dawn for parts south and that they do not mind if people follow along behind.
We take rooms for the night at the Grey Nag for 3sp a head.
Th'rsday 24th Fruit 811
Assembled at the town gate just before dawn with a number of others that were also planning on following the patrol. At dawn four Michaeline knights, six heavy and six light cavalry are followed out of Brastor landing by a merchant with his wagon, several families with their carts and the eight of us. Master Leptospurnum quickly charms his way into a ride on one of the family carts. Shortly after midday the road splits and most of our little caravan goes the other way. The family that was heading for Hugler's Ferry was glad of the company of seven armed adventurers.
The village with the Raphaelite compound was another hour's walk beyond the town. We knew we were getting close to the village when we heard the ringing of a bell about an hour before sun set.
The Village is new and built in an Aquilan Style to one side is a large hollow square compound of stone buildings with a tower. On the gate to the compound is an image of a crook the symbol of Raphael inside the central square is a vegetable garden and to one side against the church is a chicken coop.
We ask to see Sister Aredhel the Restorer and once the introductions are over explain to the sister our mission. Master Leptospurnum and the Sister begin taking shop and are soon so deep into Magical theory none of the rest of us can follow their thinking, after a while the Sister realizes this and sends us of to see Brother Steven the Hospitalier about accommodation for the night. We are put up in a single large communal hall and like good adventurers continue to keep our own watches. The two Namers talk shop for most of the night.
Frysday 25th Fruit 811
There are twenty or so people here, a mix of male and female, some obviously married couples; about a half dozen of the Raphaelites in the compound are dedicated warriors, as many again appear to be scribes, teachers, or healers and the rest are farmers although all the people here seem to have had some weapons training. We also note that none of these Raphaelites wear priestly robes.
The village is populated by mostly younger people and children, there are almost no elderly dependants to watch the little ones or share the lighter chores.

The Sister and Master Leptospurnum consult again later they try to explain us what they have worked out but lose us pretty quickly, the main part of this explanation seem to be that there are differences between Miracles, Demonic magic, and Mortal magic and that the Sister will have to return with us to Seagate so she can try to undo the demonic magic. By this time they have they have the books out and are conversing in Elvish having exceeded the limits of common. The Namers want another day to further consult the books here and so we plan to depart in two days time.

Reapsday 26th Fruit 811
Poppy arranges to for us to assist the village by scouting the abandoned farms in local area, we were looking for usable herbs and vegetables as well as any other resources that may be worth sending people out for later. We check five farms in the morning and gather some root vegetables, note a citrus orchard that is worth tending, a good firewood supply and find two herb bushes they don't currently have that we carefully transplant.
We also find an abandoned farm that has been occupied in the last week, concerned that it could be robbers or scouts for a goblin raiding party we report this too and are asked to try to track the squatters to make sure they have left the area.

Sunday 27th Fruit 811
Track a pack of five what we deduce to be teenage Orcs as they avoid the village cross the river and continue heading south. Used a borrowed boat to shuttle the party across the river, as the boat only safely held three it took three trips and I took the opportunity to I give everyone some instruction in rowing ; it meant that I did not have to do all the work when the boat was loaded.

Moonday 28th Fruit 811
Returned to Brastor Landing, arrived after dark and took logging for the night at the first place we came to, (1sp each in a common room) it started raining just after we settled in. Sister Aredhel has a donkey to carry her gear. The locals say the next boat going to Seagate will be a military transport and that will not be for at least ten days, so we are walking back to Seagate.

Duesday 29th Fruit 811

Bought two more pack animals for 150sp each along with pack saddles (a further 15sp each), one is a sturdy mule and the other a retired Bay war horse called Horacio. The horse is past due to be made into hoof glue and horse meat stew but he should be able to carry half the party's gear back to Seagate. The horse seems to have taken a liking to Felicity.
We travelled half a day in the rain and stop for the night at an inn in Tobintown.

W'ansday 30th Fruit 811
Another short day in the rain from Tobintown to Bezonville.

Th'rsday 1st Harvest 811
Travelled though Calson's Switch and into the grassland of the Sweet Riding beyond, we seem to be making better time than the merchants with their wagons do as we pass a well used campsite on the far side of the switch and end up making our own camp. The bad weather is clearing.

Frysday 2nd Harvest 811
Meander over Grassland to forest edge we hear wolves in night. The weather is cold and clear.

Reapsday 3rd Harvest 811
Travel though the forest, about midday Pierre ambushes some Goblins that are laying in wait for us in scrub and nettles beside the road. The Goblins where armed with slings, daggers and short swords. They all had on leather armour with a rune marked on the breast plate and had yet another rune on their foreheads' in blood. There were at least nine Goblins, we took out seven and two got away including the leader.
Felicity had put one of the seven goblins to sleep and there was some debate as to what to do with him in the end I took my rope and hung him by the neck from a tree by until he was dead. It seemed to me to be the best thing to do with him as we could not hold him prisoner all the way to Arn's Ferry, nor could we let him go as he would only rejoin his companions and return to prey on other travellers. We moved away from the ambush site then spent three hours resting as a result we had to sleep in the forest.

Sunday 4th Harvest 811
Cleared the forest before lunch and found a merchant caravan with wagons and three armed guards setting up camp where the road enters the forest we warned them of the goblins, they warned us that they had heard wolves. Travelled north west across more of the sweet ridings grasslands with the forest on the horizon to the north and east. Again we are out of step with the regular camp sites and have to set up camp in a place without water.

Moonday 5th Harvest 811
Six Wolves attack at 5 am we kill two and Horace took out a third.
Pierre and Felicity spent the next hour rounding up the mule and donkey which had run away from the wolves.
Ash injures himself when his knife slips skinning the dead wolves and we only end up with one acceptable full pelt and parts of the others.
Due to the tending of his and the animals injuries we do not break camp until mid-morning. Mid afternoon we reach forest again and the trail splits northeast to the ford on the river we passed on our way up river to Brastor and Northwest towards the Dark Wall and Arns Ferry.
We do not reach the far side of the forest until an hour after dark, a caravan heading for Brastor has already set up for the night at a regular camp site. Again we trade information and get them to check on our animal healing. The horse is the worst off we will have to slow our travel pace down for the next few days.
Duesday 6th Harvest 811
Passed though the Dark Wall mid afternoon; stopped for the night at the village of So So East.
W'ansday 7th Harvest 811
Crossed the Sweetwater at Arns Ferry; stopped for the night at a place called Craig's Farm.
Th'rsday 8th Harvest 811'
Made it back to Seagate and the Guild, Job done.
Frysday 9th Harvest 811
The Guild has another job for us, a man hunt the pay is 200 sp a week.
It seems that Jack the apprentice to Lofty the miller that used to deliver the flour to The Bakery in old Seagate is alive. He was originally thought to have died or changed in the riot, but there are now reliable reports of his being seen alive 5 days after the riot (8th fruit) at an inn on the road to Ranke. The Guild would like to question him about events leading up to that night and why he has chosen to run away from Seagate and his master. The timing is Suspect.
We are given a description of Jack, a drawing with a good likeness, and his last known location the Ginger Tom Inn in Schiston on the main road north of Seagate. He was seen and spoken to by some cousins from Stevens and sons carters so the Guild is sure it was actually Jack.
We trade the old warhorse to the Guild as a training mount and get another mule as a replacement.
Take the goblin armour to the guild armourers and are told they can fit and repair some for Pierre in a day, but that it will take them 8 days to piece together the others into 2 human sized suits.
We decide to wait until Moonday before setting out after Jack so we can rest, and clean repair or replace any used, worn or damage equipment.

Moonday 12 Harvest 811

Set out after Jack; reach Schiston and the Ginger Tom inn before night fall.
We question the merchants and carters that have come down from the north to see if they may have passed Jack on the road somewhere in Ranke. Our explanation for our interest is that Jack has broken his promise of marriage to a girl, a relative of one or more of the party, and her father has sent us to bring him back to make good on his word. With hints of a baby on the way thrown in for good measure. We figure this will get us more information than the truth as few people like bounty hunters or anything that hints of the long arm of the law.
Some carters think they may have seen Jack in a town called Labruguiere but are not positive still it is a place to start.
Duesday 13th Harvest 811
Travel north thru anti Carzala, strangely for a main road the villages have no Inns we only see a few pubs. By the end of day we are in Southern Ranke we stop for the night at a clearing in the scrub that is often used by caravans of merchants and carters. It started raining about 2am.
W'ansday 14th Harvest 811
Travel north, pass caravans of mules heading south during day, share a camp that night with some from Southgate carrying hemp and flax to Seagate. They had not seen Jack.
Th'rsday 15th Harvest 811
Snares left set over night caught two rabbits and a white stoat fur and the start of a meal for later. Mid morning the rain started coming down heavy, so we were happy to see the small walled town of Southgate around mid afternoon. Southgate is beside a river and surrounded by pasture for cattle.
There are two inns and a pub in Southgate we check all for sightings of Jack, he was not seen at the Golden coin the Inn used by knights and Nobles passing though the town. Work men drinking at the Pub the Flooded Bothy think they saw him at the Blue Cow the inn used by drovers and other lowly travellers like ourselves in the third week of Fruit.
At the Blue Cow we learn that it was Jack they saw, that he worked for meals as a kitchen boy for about four days before moving on to parts unknown. Jack is travelling slower than we are; we are now under a month behind him.
Frysday 16th Harvest 811
It was foggy today, we passed thru the village of La Ciotat which is half in ruins they have a pub called the burning bones and a general store; no sightings of Jack. Stopped for the night at the village of St Cernin, it is an old village of stone buildings with slate roofs that has an inn and a black smithy. The lads from the blacksmiths may have seen Jack in the company of some char coalers heading north with an ox cart load of charcoal for the city. Then again they may have just been telling Poppy and Felicity what they wanted to hear so they would stay at their table.
Reapsday 17th Harvest 811
It rained again today. We met a troop of Michaeline knights on the road, we were polite, as instructed by the Guild, and they were very officious. No wonder the locals do not seem to like them much.
This evening we reached the small palisaded town of Labruguiere at the junction of two rivers, surrounded by apple and plum orchards. The town has a church, a chapterhouse for the knights, a gold smiths, an inn, a tailors and a luthiers all on the main square. There are two inns in town the green plum and the five wheeled wagon. We also found a good bathhouse and laundry several streets back from the main square.
We found the atmosphere at the inn to be somewhat subdued due to the heavy presents of the church in the town, Urielites and Michaelines must be more staid than Raphaelites or more probably it is that they originally hale from Mordeaux. Sunday 18th Harvest 811
Spent the day resting, attending Church which warmed the older locals to us considerably and asking around about Jack. No 'Jack' has been logged as having entered or exited the city gates, he has not look for work at either of the Inns, in a last hope of gathering information we join the younger set at their illicit celebratory revels outside the walls. No Jack and we slipped away before trouble could start when I caught wind of a rumour going around that we were church spies. Moonday 19th Harvest 811
Learned Jack had failed to get employment with the local miller and it is unlikely he is still in the area due to local churches attitude to the unemployed without means; we are still gaining on him. Start up side valley to NE just to check he has not left the main road. Duesday 20th Harvest 811
Very sure Jack has not come this way all we found this way was a tiny village of sheppard's whose unfriendly welcoming committee spoke very little common and fluent if accented Lalange, although they probably though it was my accent that was strange.

W'ansday 21st Harvest 811

Finally made it back to the main road and stopped for a late lunch in a larger than normal hamlet at the intersection of the main road with a road from the west.
The woman at the Pub called the Tré Chat gave us a fine meal of cold meats cheese pickle and bread for 2 farthings a piece and told us a fine tale of a haunted paper mill but had not seen Jack. Nor had the farm hands in the fields near the village that we questioned afterwards, however Pierre learned from two children doing chores behind one of the houses that he had been in the village five to seven days earlier and had run away up a side track. The track lead to a small run down farm then a wood cutters and finally to the long abandoned haunted paper mill.
The mill straddled a stream deep in a heavily shadowed gorge; the area was a high mana zone. In a partly flooded room full of malfunctioning old machinery we found Jacks body hanging from a beam by an old piece of rope. He had died of a broken neck, probably only a day or so after he was seen in the hamlet though it is hard to be sure as it was very cold in the room we found him. Although we made a quick search of the room we could find no sign that anyone else had been involved in Jack's death.
We cut down the body and loaded it on to one of the mules to carry away with us; it was by that time after sunset and quite dark in the gorge. I was casting witchsight on each of the party so we could travel back out of the high mana zone when Pierre saw a blue white glowing figure back inside the mill, Ash who had his witchsight by that time saw it too, glowing human sized figures. Poppy decided we did not need to tangle with them whatever they were and so we left the area as quickly as we could force our tired mules. Ghostly undead or possibly magical creatures attracted to the high mana zone, whatever haunts that paper mill it has a reputation for causing death and we, armed as we were with only cold iron weapons, a few silvered daggers and no offensive magic had not means or the ability to deal with anything malevolent.


Th'rsday 22nd Harvest 811
Once clear of the haunted area we camped out over night next morning we warned the locals that there was defiantly something at the mill and returned to Labruguiere. We did not quite make the city before dark so had to camp outside. Frysday 23 rd Harvest 811
Sent Poppy and Pierre into town to buy a barrel to pickle Jacks body in and a small cart the mules can pull to carry the barrel back to Seagate as the body is too big for Ash to freeze although he's tried and failed to do it in bits.

  • Cart bought for 80sp: Barrel of cider vinegar for pickling jack 80 sp

Moonday 3rd Vintage 811
It was much slower travelling with a cart back to Seagate even though we swapped the mules over and used an illusionary mule for part of each day but finally we made it back to the guild. Seems we did okay at this man hunting business, at least they are paying us for our time. The only thing they think we could have, should have done differently was to tell the church knights about the haunted mill.

  • Cart sold for 65 sp: empty barrel sold for 30sp: Both mules sold for 220sp total.

Creatures & People Encountered

People

  • Captain Jameson, Commander, Phoenix Company of the Seagate Watch: an older man looking rather weary and tired after the events of the last week.
  • Sergeant Albrecht: in charge of those Guardsmen manning the Barricade currently to be found at the Old Seagate HQ.
  • Corporal Gotry of Copper watch: in charge of that watch of Guardsmen manning the Barricade when we arrived on the evening of the 8th Fruit.
  • Lars Yohansson: the Binder that is turning the monsters to stone.
  • Steven the herbalist: A herbalist and animal healer charged us 10sp to cure Crazy Als infected leg and 2sp to give Bob a health check.
  • Goody Pauline Capper: dry goods shop keeper old Seagate.
  • Stan Capper: son of Goody Capper, killed, strangled by the viscous vine monster.
  • The Widow Thearon: elderly woman with a walking stick she survived the monsters at Thearons farm along with her granddaughter Suzy. The widow is the mother of Carlos also known as Farmer Thearon.
  • Kali the Nameless: Head of the Guild Council and of the Namer College
  • Master Ariane Leptospurnum: is a finely dressed, frail looking, possibly elderly elf. A Namer and Philosopher of magic.
  • Tom Dericson: captain of the Blue Betty a grain barge on the river between Seagate and Brastor landing.
  • Sister Aredhel the Restorer; Raphaelite priestess at a compound near Huglers ferry in Brastor she is a Namer that that can cast Trueform.


Critters

  • The Dog: a bullterrier like Monster with a brindled black and white coat very dog like except for his teeth found in a house off Anvil road. Friendly when fed; captured alive and unharmed.
  • The Bear-Cat: a light sensitive humanoid Monster, 6ft with mottled cat like fur captured in the foundry's laundry room.
  • The Pin Cushion: a nocturnal Monster trapped in Anvil road and killed with Crossbow fire.
  • The Goo spiting Mantis-Cricket: a cat sized insect Monster with the forelegs of a praying mantis, the hind jumping legs cricket, it spat mud coloured goo that slows-disables. Found in the Apprentice dormitory at the foundry.
  • The Spider: a large grey spider with a Halfling sized body and legs over a foot long.Recovered from the second floor of the foundry living quarters.
  • The Blue Man: found dead in a bed in the foundry living quarters, it is possible the body was formerly either Mistress or Master Latimer. Killed by Fluffy.
  • Fluffy, the Vampire Blanket: the name says it all, a Pink and Apricot fluffy double bed Blanket that exsanguinates its victims. It is possible the blanket was formerly one Mistress (or Master) Latimer.
  • Crazy Al: a real dog a long coated setter-hunting type, a champion of the holiday races and trained hunter. Currently being cared for by a guardsman from the seagate watch.
  • Bob: a real dog a terrier rat hunter found in a flat on Cat Alley.
  • The viscous vine monster: one of three monsters that look very like a pumpkin patch until it tries to kill you. It has, thorny vine whips, gourds that explode into choking clouds of fluffy seeds and flowers with sleep inducing perfume. It will also strangle you if it can. The three vines where formerly Carlos, Tony and Billy Thearon of Thearons farm.

Useful Numbers & Notes

Kerry can cast Shadowform on the party (if you can find her a dark place to cast in) adds +18 (halved in close) to your defence for 4 & half hrs.

Watches
Three 4 hour watches
First Watch - Ash & Pierre
Second Watch - Felicity & Kerry
Third Watch - Poppy, Richter & Titus

Loot

  • 7 sets of Weapons: a Sling, a dagger and a short sword from the goblins.
  • 7 suits of small Leather Armour (Goblin sized); the armour is Magically Lucky armour effective damage is halved 30 % of the time. (6 could be altered/reformed into 2 human sized Armours)
  • 7 Amulets; Wilderness - bonus to Ranger skills , Physical - bonus to adventure skills, Hand eye - bonus to Weapon skills, Troubadour, Pretty - bonus to PB, Manual Dex - crafting Items using Artisan skill, ?.
  • 1 full and 1 part wolf pelt.
  • The skins of 2 rabbits and a white stoat.

Calendar

Autumn

  Moonday Duesday W'ansday Th'rsday Frysday Reapsday Sunday
Lugnasad
Fruit (4)
  1 Guild Meeting 2 Monster Riot begins 3 Monster Riot ends 4   5   6 Watchmen taken by Monsters
7   8 Party recover watchmens bodies 9 Party clears rest of Anvil road 10 Party clears Cat alley 11 Party finishes house by house search 12 Thearons' farm 13  
14   15   16 Start barge trip 17   18   19   20  
21   22   23 Arrive Brastor Landing 24 Walk to Village 25 Spend day at Raphaelite compound 26   27  
28   29 Start trip back to Seagate 30    
Harvest (5)
  1   2   3 Fight Goblins 4  
5 Wolves Attack at 5am 6   7   8 Arrive back in Seagate 9   10   11  
12 Set out after Jack 13   14   15 Equinox 16   17 Seagate Autumn Fair 18 Seagate Autumn Fair
19 Harvest Moon 20   21 find jack dead 22 start return to seagate 23   24   25  
26   27   28   29 Michaelmas 30    
Vintage(6)
  1   2  
3 arrive back in seagate 4   5   6   7   8   9  
10   11   12   13   14   15   16  
17 Blood Moon 18   19   20   21   22   23  
24   25   26   27   28   29   30 Beerfest
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