Quarry in a Quarry
Summary
Adventure: Quarry in a Quarry
GM: Hannah Jackson
Season: Winter 802 WK
- Party
- Hamish, a human male Wicca, Allan
- Mira, a brand new character, Emily
- Stardreamer, a celestial elf, Kevin
- Veor, a male human ice mage, Bernard
- Shemin-ah, a female human ice mage, Rosemary
- Faith, a female short elven E&E mage, Andrew
- Time on adventure
- tbc 826 WK to tbc 826 WK
- Employer
- Stefan Astroll
- Mission
- Hired to do a job
- Pay
- Lots
- Original Scribe Notes
- Media:Snwi0203.zip
Scribe Notes
We met with our employer at the Guild, and were immediately impressed by his offhandedness. He didn't seem to know for certain what the problem was, what pay he was offering, or even whether we'd be executed for the crime of being Guild members. He was fairly definite that we couldn't admit to being users of magic, but seemed unsure of what steps we would need to take to avoid being burned as witches. He talked as if he were an E&E, but I suspect he is an E&E of the same persuasion as Faith, our hobbit assassin, err, short elven E&E. He told us his name was Stefan Astroll, and claimed to be in the service of one Lord Arthur, who would be glad to see us, though Stefan admitted that he was acting off his own bat, and had no approval from Lord Arthur to hire us. He further admitted that he was operating under a false name. Lord Arthur has a quarry outside Cheb, where the workers have stopped work because they claim the quarry is haunted. They have reached this conclusion because they found equipment moved, heard sounds of digging when they knew it wasn't them, and heard howling and sporadic roars. To me, this sounds more like evidence of the quarry being infested with a troop of drunken dwarves than ghosts, but we'll find out when we get there. The mine boss, Havison, ordered the men back to work, but the horses refused to re-enter the quarry, so there was nothing for the men to do, and they retreated to the pub, where Stefan encountered them. He said they weren't especially drunk by the time he spoke to them, and their stories all agreed. Lord Arthur sent a messenger to Sir Carl, the Michaeline Knight who is Baron of Westphalia and leader of the forces of Light in the area, as well as being married to Stefan's sister. The messenger returned with the news that Sir Carl would be unable to provide any assistance until he had finished certain other business. The "Astrologers and Philosophers" we would have to pretend to be (because magic is frowned upon) are required to wear a star to identify them as being involved in the Occult, and Basil was not terribly forthcoming about relations between the Church and Guild members, beyond saying that a certain party of Guild Members had made themselves unpopular with some of the nobility in the area. He seemed to be trying to avoid the subject. We agreed to sail with him the next morning, and he departed. The party made various checks, of which the most profitable was carried out by Shemin-ah, who visited one of her friends and discovered that "Stefan" was known to various Guild members under the name "Basil". I called him by that name the next morning, and he didn't even notice, so it's obviously a name he uses frequently. Much discussion and preparation ensued, and, in the name of diplomacy, I managed to hide my amusement when Faith accused our new-elected Party Leader, Shemin-ah, of being obsessed with food because she expressed the opinion that carrying ten days worth of spare food might be a little excessive. Much time was also spent discussing whether the fifth monkey (the one with the tail) would be permitted to accompany the party. As we were boarding the ship, Basil just happened to mention that he was intending to stop off at Sanctuary to pick up some armour he was buying there. The party generally expressed doubts about the wisdom of entering Sanctuary, but Basil and the Captain (Feathersham) assured us we would be in no danger. I could see that the rest of the party did not believe him. I myself have never been to Sanctuary, but I have no doubt that if push comes to shove, I can outrun Basil and the Captain easily. Day 2: At sea. Bored. Some of the party decided a little exercise might be in order, and the Captain had to explain to them in words of four letters that keeping sharp implements away from the rigging was a desirable practice. Having grown up in the military, I understood him perfectly, and was able to translate for the benefit of those not as familiar with profanity as myself. Day 3: Arrived at Sanctuary Dock in the morning. Most of the party decided to stay on ship, leaving only Faith and I to escort Basil and the Captain on their shopping expedition. Basil repeatedly assured us that we would be in no danger at all, and the Captain explained that the more of us there were, the less danger there would be. Nonetheless, all the humans wimped out. Sanctuary is an unpleasant place. It is smelly and cramped -- far more so than most human cities. Basil collected his armour, and the Captain received a purse from the armourer when Basil couldn't see. When we left, the Captain was recognised by some of the locals, and we were pursued. The Captain being unable to outpace the pursuers, we took refuge with the moneylender on whose behalf we were being pursued, and the Captain was forced to pay the money he owed. Late fees were waived when one of the moneylender's lackies entered and muttered something about Seagate and the Guild, while sneaking furtive looks at us. We returned to the ship without further incident, and Faith berated the Captain for giving me so rapid an introduction into the culture of Sanctuary. Personally, I was just relieved that he hadn't tried to sell us as slaves. One wonders what would have happened had we all been there. Day 8: Arrived at Artzdorf in the morning. Stopped at the Five Rivers (?) Inn, which seemed reasonably respectable. Since we had agreed that we would pretend to be from this town, we had a good look around, memorising landmarks and such. We visited the cathedral, so that certain persons could practise remaining on Holy Ground discreetly. The cathedral has a new stained glass window, commissioned by the Bishop himself, which shows "all four" Archangels. When we asked what had been there before, we were told that they "don't talk about that". Faith went shopping for a Miniature Artzdorf Horse, but was unable to find one for sale, though they knew what she meant. Discovered the following, which may important, since we’re going to have to pretend to be from Artzdorf: [begin Artzdorf notes] Artzdorf is now one half of the Kingdom of Flugelheim (and Artzdorf)ruled from the Capital city, Flugelheim. Most travellers access the Kingdown by boat arriving in either the Capital or Port Artz (which is closer to Seagate by about 3 days by boat). In general Flugelheim is an Agrarian kingdom, exporting mainly grain (which is finally flowing Carzala's way as well as up to Destiny). The Duchy of Artzdorf produces fine horses (including hobbit sized ones) and has many mines. Port Artz has a well enclosed and defended natural harbour and also has an active Guild of Magicians who have established a "lock" on mana use within the city. License fees are high (~10gp a month or so). James seems to be an older brother/cousin (you're not quite sure of the relationship) of someone that Stephan/Basil knew at the Academy in Crefeinn. They're of similiar disposition, a bit happy go lucky, up for any lark that's going. (James calls him both both names, Stephan naturally, then correcting himself to Basey, it doesn't seem to bother Basil.) Their talk of what Basil's been up to the last few weeks includes: - hawking (though the season's a bit early for any good runs, but they've managed to get a slow rabbit, though James' hawk Peta is a bit heavy for those quick turns to get the ducks before they flew off into the brush). - philosophical discussion (open presentation from a couple of mages about whether something that has been rendered invisible can still be smelt, but there never is a conclusive answer, and they only go along to meet up with their friends from out of town, "Hey, maybe that's where we met you lot...", see if any good looking girls turn up, and to be seen there.) - parties (there was one big dance 10 days ago, where everyone was there, but sadly, there were too many people there to have a decent chance at dancing, so had to stand around flirting with that Jane and Maryam. There are other impromptu things that they would have turned up at too, but no-one really remembers what happens at those sort of hoolies afterward anyway.) - watching horse races (there is a semi-authorised circuit a couple of mile East out of the city (well, the authorities presumably know about it, but choose to ignore it) that has half dozen horses racing at random times, advertised by the word on the street, mainly younger sons / gentry that race and watch. Billy the Boy, on Lightening seems to be the current favourite/winner) Other things of note in Artzdorf: - puppet show at the market, well actually two booths, a dozen yards from each other, each trying to be louder than the other, and the hecklers trying to goad both of them to beat up the other's characters. - cloth merchants, selling fine woolen cloth from Westphalia are charging ridiculously high charges, claiming there is a shortage at the moment, and virtually no green dyed cloth available. - you spot Basil in a shop which appears to be selling magical items, haggling over something. I assume you have the good manners to let him carry out his business by himself, but if you question him later, he'll look self-conscious and say that he didn't buy anything, because it was the wrong colour, and a little bit pricey, besides, and he didn't need to be able to detect pacted people really - the church always takes a person’s soul. - There are all the usual beggars, street vendors, crowded streets with pickpockets operating, but for some reason your party doesn't seem to be affected by that particular malady. [end Artzdorf notes] Day 9: We left Artzdorf by barge. Day 16: Our barge arrived at Katys Pass. We rearranged watches for the less civilised lands ahead. Watches: First: Faith and Veor Second: Hamish and Mira Third: Stardreamer and Shemin-ah. Day 17: Got to stay in an inn at Larkmoor. Not sure whether I prefer the woods or not, but the humans seemed relieved to be indoors. At least it saved cooking. [begin session 2] Charles Lindensouth, Lady Kathleen’s factor, sought us out to find what arrangements we needed to make to take Lady Kathleen’s coach south – a minor detail which Lady Kathleen had omitted to mention to Shemin-ah during their discussions. The party was invited to dinner at Sir Peter’s. Lord Martin returned in the middle of dinner, and was not pleased to see us, least of all Shemin-ah. There is obviously some history there, because his words to her were along the lines of “Haven’t you hurt us enough already?” He calmed down a little during his second brandy(?) and invited us along on a troll-hunt, plainly expecting that we would refuse like the nithlings he took us for. We, of course, were thereby compelled to accept. [begin session 3] Day 18: Spoke to the local priest about obtaining the ridiculous badges required by the local Church for the practice of magic. For a rural priest who seemed so against the use of magic, he seemed remarkably well-informed about the various Colleges of Magic. I thought it better not to omit more than he would believe, and admitted to my capability to use the Celestial magics, truthfully denying that it was my intention to use them within the area. I did not, of course, mention that my primary motivation in such a course of action is the fact that, as yet, I am more likely to suffer a magical backlash than succeed at a spell. Shemin-ah also spoke to him, and he mentioned that he would send word to the Bishop at Aslam. Assisted Lord Martin’s men to kill the troll, which had been driven into our ambush by four large grey wolves led by an even larger white one. For some reason, the white one put me in mind of Lord Martin’s long white hair – a thought I kept to myself, since it appears that expressing such thoughts aloud might be impolitic, to say the least. One could almost feel sympathy for the troll – killing it seemed more like simple butchery than a heroic deed – but doubtless things might have seemed different had it had a chance to strike a blow in its own defence. We returned from the hunt to Basil packing for a side-trip to Hasem. After much discussion, we agreed to continue, subject to Lord Arthur’s approval, after Basil gave us letters of introduction to the Bishop at Aslam and to Lord Arthur. Sir Peter showed Faith a map of the area. He mentioned that some wolves had been spotted near where a bolt of cloth had disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Faith tactfully refrained from asking for details about the wolves. We stayed for dinner, intending an early departure.
