Knight of Mystery

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Scribe Notes

Summary

Adventure: Knight of Mystery
GM: William Dymock
Season: Jan 1993 AP

Party
Employer
Simon Halset Valmer / Oberon Valmer
Mission
It seemed easy enough at the time. All we had to do was to go up north, to a place called Calvenda, and find out what this knight was up to. His name was Sir Harold of Mulvania and he was claiming he was looking for a Lady Gwendolyn. No one had any idea where Mulvania was and if this knight was telling the truth.
Places Visited
Fleaceport
Luxley
Ledim - Capital of Valeria
Aleroc - Capital of Karn
Calvenda
Margrave
Major NPCs encountered
Alex - guide
Michael Buckland - Captain of the 'Raven'
Merrilee of Odedra/Danielle of Margrave
Lord Griswold
Sir Harold of Mulvania
Adrian DeBourgenac
Artoz of Odedra - a necromancer
Andrew - a local ruffian
Lady Sarah Calise
Marcus the Enchanter
Terrance - Margrave Healer
Sir Reginald DeGoin
Sir Leopold
Lady Severin Kyle
Martin DeBourgenac
Original Scribe Notes
Media:Snsp9301.zip

Seagate Times Reprint

(This summary of the mission was originally printed in the Seagate Times Issue 3.)

PJ was also employing me to chronicle his adventures. On top of that, I was asked to deliver a letter to Liessa's Uncle Marcus who lived in that area. We were provided with a guide for the journey north, a dwarf by the name of Alex. The two week seavoyage up the coast was conducted in miserable weather. When finally we arrived in Fleaceport and took a barge upriver, we were attacked by bandits and Alex was killed. I put a Preserve Dead on the body in the hope of a later resurrection. Tamara kept complaining she couldn't sleep. Another couple of days saw us at our destination upriver, where Wolf organised the purchase of a cart - and several large barrels of ale to put on it. The guy must live on the stuff - he's always drinking it.

We arrived at the village of Luxley and settled down at an inn for the night. Just after midnight we were woken by a disturbance outside. An angry mob of villagers were chasing something down the street. A few minutes later, Tamara rushed in to our room. out of breath. She wouldn't elaborate just what she and Wolf had been up to but Wolf was being accused of witchcraft.

The next morning Wolf had to face the Trial by Fire (the local pond was too frozen). He had to hold a red hot bar of iron, and if the hand healed within three days then he was a witch. We waited three days while Wolf was kept under guard in the town jail. After the three days were up, the hand still hadn't healed so he was released, and ceremoniously run out of town.

After we left I began the long process of rebuilding Wolf's hand.

A fortnight later, we arrived at our destination and met up with our employer, Oberon Valmar. He told us that Sir Harold would be at the big tournament in Margrave, in three days time. We were also told to "be discrete". When I consulted the library I also discovered there was an 'evil' enchanter in the area by the name of Marcus. Liessa's uncle?

After being paid nearly half our reward in advance, we headed off to Margrave. On the way an arrow embedded itself in the side of the cart, where I was standing. The fighters rushed in the direction of the unknown assailant. It was soon revealed to be a red-headed woman called Merrilee of Odedra and she was hunting game. The arrow was an accident. I have my doubts.

That night, we decided to leave the horse and cart at a nearby farm (result - one happy farmer) and fly the rest of the way. Murthak had a flying carpet but we couldn't all use it as the weight would slow it to a crawl. So it was the case of putting just enough weight on it so it would be the same speed of my StarWings. We took off.

After a couple of hours we landed just outside Margrave, and headed in. Once there we found out that the tournament lasted for a week and that entrants had to register with the local Lord - a Sir Griswold. Lotus. We also noticed that Sir Harold was signed up.

Later on we found Sir Harold's tent. After talking to him we found that he was looking for Artoz, a necromancer, who had kidnapped Gwendolyn. Last he had heard, he was hiding in some mountains near Margrave.

That night a dagger, with a note attached, flew through our window. While the others went to investigate, I checked out the note which was warning us not to interfere. After a rooftop chase, Lotus and Murthak were able to dispatch our assailants. At a meeting with the thieves guild rep the next morning, we learnt they were from the local thieves guild and had been helping Sir Harold with his enquiries. We also found out that Artoz was from a place called Odedra. That's where Merrilee was from! Later on, a message came in from PJ. He had also came to that conclusion and was looking for her.

Tamara had also wandered off to make some 'discrete' enquiries. She came back and told us someone had 'kidnapped' her and warned her off. While the rest of the party went looking for Tamara's assailants, I went down to the tournament area and offered my services to the Healers there. I ended up having to heal Lotus quite a lot. Next morning we discovered that Sir Leopold's squire had been killed during the night. The assassins had been aiming for Sir Leopold and missed. The knife had a curious mark on it, which we were told later was the symbol of the 'Scarlet Breath' -an assassin group based nearby.

While I continued my work at the tournament, Tamara and the others continued asking around for information. Tamara was visible, the rest were Unseen. However all she managed to do was attract crowds and make people very nervous. At one point someone tried to attack Tamara but Lotus leapt to her defense (becoming visible) and nearly killing the guy. Lotus and Tamara ended up being brought before the city guard. They were charged with Disturbing the Peace and Assault. They paid the fine, then Lotus wanted to know what the fine was for assaulting the guard. When be was told be proceeded to beat up the Captain of the Guard before being subdued. He and Tamara were thrown in jail until their fate was decided. I had the job of healing the guard Captain.

Back at the tournament Sir Leopold was almost skewered by a sharp lance. According to the aura the lance had been hit by Binder magic. There's either a crazed Binder around or an assassin with investeds.

Another message came in from PJ. He had found Merrilee, halfway up a mountain looking for a dragon. She said she hadn't seen one before and wanted a look. PJ also found out that she was a Mind Mage, came from the same place as Artoz, but wasn't on his side, and that Margrave and Odedra were neighbouring countries somewhere near Kinlu.

The next day, I checked on the guard captain, who was recovering nicely, then went down to the tournament. There was another attempt on Sir Leopold. His horse exploded from under him.

After a couple of days, PJ was back and the jousting was over. It was then discovered that Sir Harold had left that morning. After passing through orc country (for some reason the orcs there were rather nervous about adventurers) we finally managed to catch him. He had found out that Artoz was in a cave in a nearby mountain. Murthak volunteered our services.

We reached the cave and ventured inside. The passages were long, dark. and there were a lot of them. At acouple of places we were attacked by bands of orcs. The first band was led by a Firemage, the second by a Dark Celestial. In the ensuing combats Lotus was killed.

We made our way down to a large cavern, split by a crevasse, and bridged by a bone bridge. As we crossed it we were accosted by Artoz and another group of orcs. I was killed by the stream of corruption he fired at us while the others charged in. Sir Harold charged at Artoz. Both became enveloped in Darkness while rest of us engaged the orcs. Tamara managed to get herself killed and once the battle was over. there was no sign of Artoz or Sir Harold. They found the necromancer's hideout but there was no one there - not even Lady Gwendolyn. However they did find what was suspected to be her hankie. They then searched down the cavern and managed to find some tracks which terminated in a blank wall. The wall had a very strong magical aura but appeared to be natural. Somehow they had gone through it but our party couldn't follow. It was decided to leave this underground complex. Searching around the mountain revealed no clue to where they could have gone.

After the three of us were ressurrected, we reported back to our employer. He appeared satisfied at our report and paid us the balance of what we were owed. There was a portal nearby that we could use to get back to Seagate but it wouldn't open for a week. So PJ and I went looking for Marcus the Enchanter. After a couple of days we found his tower and delivered the letter. The portal trip back took us through a plane called Galatere which was a hot steamy jungle full of dangerous creatures. We had an extra person with us - a Danielle of Margrave who looked very suspiciously Iike Merrilee. She is going back to the Guild to get a party together to find the Lady Gwendolyn!

Adventure Summary

Scribe Notes

31/12/92 Just before the Guild meeting I was approached by a Phillip J DeBougenac (Lady Carla's brother) and offered a job. He wanted his exploits chronicled and I had picked up a reputation of being detailed in my scribe notes. I decided to accept. The upcoming adventure was his first. The other thing of note was that Grendel was nominated Stupidest Adventurer by trying to practise Mind Magic on a cow and ended up stampeding the herd. In the Guild meeting room, we met up with Simon Halset Valmer, a tall middle-aged balding man, who told us that, despite the mess that the last Guild party had made of the mission, his employer, against all better judgement, had decided to hire another Guild party. As he put it, we didn't have to take anyone anywhere, we didn't even have to touch anything (now what had the last party done - or failed to do. All I knew was they had been charged with breach of contract). All we had to do was to go to Margrave and follow this guy, who said he was Sir Harold of Mulvania, and find out what he was up to. He had claimed he was looking for his intended, a Princess Gwendolen of Mulvania. Trouble is, there didn't seem to be such a place. So all we had to do was observe his movements and file a report. Seemed simple enough. The odd thing was, he didn't appear to have an aura. My fellow adventurers were: Murthak - A hobbit wearing non-descript clothing. He's well built with short brown hair and brown eyes. Turns out he's a reasonably experienced firemage (well, he's survived three adventures). He also told us he was a locksmith and an axe user. Lotus - He's a 6'2" elf and looks very strange. He had black facepaint on the right side of his face and white on the other side. He was dressed all in black with a dagger at his belt. He told us he came from the other side of the Lunar Empire and was proficient in combat. PJ - Upper class person wearing travel worn clothing. 6' with an air of impatience. He told us he wasn't a mage. Wolf Von Stern - He's a 6' tall well dressed human and looks rich. He was wearing bronze armour and carried a bronze sword and shield. He told us he was an E&E mage and likes to drink. Ugarn - He's an Earth Mage but calls himself a rock mage. He doesn't collect them, but prefers to throw them. 5'9", 210lbs, slightly overweight and balding dressed in tidy travelling clothes. It's his first adventure. Tamara - The only female in the party and an elf. Average looks, age 32, 5'8" 130lbs with blond hair, green eyes. She was dressed in drab colours. She also told us she was a beginning Mind Mage (oh ghod). She also looked half starved. When Wolf noticed that he immediately offered her a good meal and a warm bed at his place. Joram - A beginning firemage. 6' 120lbs, long black hair, emerald eyes and he looked like he had crawled out of the gutter. We were told that we were to report at the docks in four days. The trip up the coast to Fleaceport would take two weeks, followed by a trip upriver then five days overland to Margrave. A guide would be provided, a chap by the name of Alex and he would meet us on the Raven (the ship), captained by Michael Buckland. PJ spent the next few days attempting to get a loan out of Lady Carla - and failing. Finally he got one off Murthak. Meanwhile I spent 20sp on a winter outfit (it's cold up there), consulted the library which had nothing on Mulvania, and cast three astrology readings - only one of which seemed relevant. Liessa also gave me a sealed letter to deliver to her Uncle Marcus. Guess he's in that area somewhere but she didn't give me an address or a description. I'll find him. I also found out that there's a mage in that area who's known as the Evil Enchanter. Turned out his name is Marcus the Enchanter (according to the last party). Hmmmm.... 04/01/93 Met up with Alex on the ship and we were assigned to cabins. Six to a cabin. The trip up was boring and it rained most of the time. 17/01/93 Finally arrived at Fleaceport. Alex put us all up at an inn for the night. Most of the others went wandering about but I decided to stay put and out of trouble. Incidently - owing to the actions of previous parties - Seagate adventurers have a very bad reputation. 18/01/93 Start the journey up-river. Murthak produced a flying carpet which he demonstrated. Tamara wanted a ride then Lotus used it for practising weapons as it had more room than the deck of the barge. Murthak wasn't sure where it originated but said that the command words were in a language called Arabic. This reminded me of a reference in the Guild Library to a place called Al-Qadim. It was highly probable that was where the carpet originated. We spent the night at a riverside inn. 21/01/93 A very boring trip so far until we encountered a dam partially blocking the river. Suddenly there were cries of 'Surrender' and we were rushed by bandits. I ducked behind cover as an arrow flew past me. Unfortunately it hit Alex, knocking him into the water. PJ just missed grabbing him so Joram went in while I attempted to throw a rope to Alex. I missed but Joram grabbed it instead. Meanwhile the others went into combat. Lotus did a valiant leap to the bank - and ended up in the river while Ugarn, who was already on the bank with the oxen (who towed the barge) managed to get himself knocked out. Murthak also leapt into the fray, closely followed by Lotus and PJ (a well executed jump). Murthak decided to self-immolate himself. Joram had reached Alex by now and was attempting the rescue. Suddenly the barge lurched and I ended up in the water. Fortunately I was able to haul myself out. I then noticed that two bandits had got on to the barge so I hit one with a Bolt of Starfire. Murthak and Lotus were also attacking them. Unfortunately Murthak's immolation was setting the barge on fire. Soon it was all over. I took off on StarWings to do an aerial reconnaissance while Murthak, still burning, raced into the bushes after the other bandits. I managed to spot the rest of the party (a slightly intoxicated Wolf had turned up on deck and a very wet Tamara was being hauled out of the water by Joram). Alex was nowhere in sight. I went looking but couldn't see him. Soon Murthak's immolation went out and, after taking care of the fire on the barge, he took off on the carpet and managed to locate Alex who was now dead. Somehow Joram had lost him. I just hoped our employer knew of a high ranked Healer. I did a Preserve Dead on Alex while Murthak healed people's burns, then checked to see if anyone else needed healing. Tamara had managed to nearly knock herself out while underwater and was very tired. So I threw my cloak over her, then transferred some fatigue to get her going. Everyone else seemed ok, nothing that a hot meal and a good nights rest wouldn't cure. .2. Nothing unusual happened for the rest of the day. The only one that was seriously injured was one of the oxen that towed the barge. So I tried transferring some fatigue to it. 22/01/93 Another boring overcast day. We finally reached our destination on the river. A merchant waiting on the docks was rather annoyed about some of the cargo being burnt. He ended up threatening Murthak so Wolf put the merchant to sleep. That night we found an inn - costing 1sp a night. 23/01/93 While Wolf was organising the purchase of a wagon - and three large barrels of ale to put on it - I went in search of the local healer to see if anything could be done for Alex. The healer turned out to be a herbalist, so I ended up purchasing a supply of assorted herbs to stock up my supply - including a restorative. That lot cost me 86sp. When I got back, Tamara offered to do a limited precog to see if the restorative would work. She reckoned it would so I tried it. Nothing happened. We were ready to go by now so we headed off. Ugarn was waiting for us outside town. Nothing happened all day. We camped in the middle of some fields. 24/01/93 Tamara complained she couldn't sleep all night so I DAed her. Turned out she was under the effects of a backfire curse which would last about four days. All I could do for her was to use sophoric herbs. We carried on. At the end of the day we reached a large village, by the name of Luxley, surrounded by fortifications. The gate guard recommended that we stay at the Aldara Arms. He also told us that, at the rate we were going, it would take another fortnight to reach Margrave. I couldn't find a Healer to resurrect Alex so I renewed the Preserve Dead then gave the sophoric on Tamara for her to take later. 25/01/93 Just after midnight the rest of us were woken up by Lotus. He wanted us to prepare for combat. Apparently there was an angry mob outside chasing Wolf. PJ made the comment they were indulging in some group activity. Tamara had been with Wolf but she was rather reluctant to tell us just what they had been up to. However we did figure out that Wolf was being accused of witchcraft. That morning there was a commotion in the town square. A group of townspeople were gathered around shouting things like 'He's a witch' 'Burn him!'. We pushed our way through the crowd and discovered Wolf, and an aristocratic gentleman in the centre. Also a young woman was accusing Wolf of casting a spell at her. The guy turned out to be a magistrate and he decided that Wolf would undergo the standard test for witches. Unfortunately the pond was frozen so they had to use the alternate plan. Wolf had to grab a red hot iron bar, then wait three days. If the hand healed within that time then he was a witch. So that was what happened. We had to wait for three days. At the end of it, Wolf's hand was unwrapped. It still hadn't healed so the townsfolk weren't allowed to burn him. Instead they ran him out of town. Once we all left I began the long process of restoring Wolf's hand. 02/02/93 Six days later. Wolf is all healed up and we have passed through six villages and three baronies. We had to pass through a toll post so we all had to pay 1cf each. I paid for Tamara as she reckoned she didn't have any money. 09/02/93 We reached the capital city of Valeria called Ledira. There was a big wedding going on. Madeline DeBourgenac was getting married to Leopold Valeria. I checked with the local Healer but he wasn't high enough ranked to help me with Alex. However I did purchase another 50sp of herbs to restock my supplies. 10/02/93 Another guard post and another cf each (and one for Tamara) We spent the day getting to the west border of Karn and another toll gate (yet another cf each and one for Tamara). We spent the night at an inn. 11/02/93 Arrived at Aleroc, the capital of Karn. 12/02/93 Arrived Calvenda after dusk and spent the night in another inn. 13/02/93 We finally got to meet our employer today at the Valmar House. I dropped off Alex's corpse deciding that they could either resurrect him or bury him. Finally we were conducted into the presence of an old man, Oberon Valmar, who was currently engaged in stroking a white Persian cat. He told us that Sir Harold would easily be recognized by his device, a gold griffin rampant on a blue background. He does know that Sir Harold will be at the tournament held in Margrave in a weeks time. Finally, with instructions to be discreet, he paid us 200 gold shillings (2400sp) - nearly half of what we were getting and were shown to rooms in the house. PJ went back into town to order a special broadsword. Meanwhile I started doing research into local history. I couldn't find out anything about a place called Malvania but did find out that the sorcerer's name was Marcus Carradine. I still reckon that's Liessa's uncle but cannot prove it. The only reason I could find for him being labelled an 'evil sorcerer' was because he lived in a large tower in a huge forest and practised magic. So what's wrong with that I thought as it might be something I would want to do. .3. A little later on Joram came in. looking like he had been beaten up a bit. Nothing that a little rest wouldn't cure though. Meanwhile PJ was shopping for new clothes. We speculated on travelling to Margrave using the carpet but Murthak said that, if it was fully laden, it would move very slowly so we decided to use the cart instead. PJ bought a horse then we headed off. By nightfall we had reached Allioc and stayed in an inn costing us 2sp per night. 14/02/93 We were travelling along the road when an arrow embedded itself in the side of the cart. I decided to fire a red Bolt of Starfire in the direction it came from in an attempt to scare off any would-be attackers. Meanwhile Murthak leapt off the cart and burst into flames. Urgan disappeared - literally. Lotus just charged. PJ also charged, after handing the horses reins to Tamara. The advancing party surprised a woman who was up in a tree wielding a bow. She introduced herself as Merrilee of Odedra and claimed she was hunting game. Meanwhile Murthak had managed to set the grass on fire so he started putting it out. The rest of the party headed back to the cart and we headed off. That night we reached a small village called Marlage and spent the night in a farmer's barn. 15/02/93 It was decided to leave the cart and horses here (result - one very happy farmer) and fly the rest of the way - otherwise we wouldn't be in time. However it was a matter of getting enough weight on the carpet to slow it down to match the speed of my StarWings. I finally cast the Wings on myself, Wolf, Urgan and Lotus - as well as a reverse effect backfire on myself. The rest piled on the carpet and we headed off north to Margrave. We decided to land in a field nearby. I made an excellent landing, Lotus did reasonably well but Urgan and Wolf ended up in an undignified heap. Just as well there was plenty of snow around to cushion the impact. However we then noticed some wine dripping out of Wolf's backpack. A bottle had broken inside. Something nearby was screaming so we went to investigate. The sound lead us to a small house so Murthak investigated. He found someone hiding under the bed who reckoned we were demons. We decided to leave him alone. I crawled on the carpet and went to sleep as we cruised into Margrave. We noticed the tournament grounds being set up. It started in two days. Fortunately we found an inn which would cost us 3sp/night. We managed to get two rooms. Later on we found out that the tournament lasts for a week and participants had to register with the Lord up at the manor - a Lord Griswold. There were the jousts, combats and a free for all melee at the end. So we headed on up to the manor. After waiting around a bit Murthak spoke to the scribe behind the counter and signed up for the general melee. Meanwhile we scrutinised the full list. There were three DeBourginacs on it, two of which were PJ's brothers and the other a cousin. Sir Harold of Mulvania was signed up for everything. Lotus also signed up - as did PJ. While Murthak flew off with PJ to go get PJ's horse, the rest of us continued to study the lists. Some of the party wanted to bet on the outcome. They discovered the best odds are on Adrian DeBourgenac - PJ's eldest brother. Tamara finally bets on Sir Harold at 6 to 1 odds. While most of the party went off to order weapons from a specialist weaponsmith called Yeste, I went back to the inn.

16/02/93

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