Church Nights

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Scribe Notes
The adventure takes place in D'arbres

Summary

Adventure: Church Nights
GM: Mandos
Session: Winter 803 wk
Night: Wednesday
Level: Somewhere between low and high

Party

The Party

  1. Cher - 5 foot, 350lb female lizard. Binder.
  2. Kit - Human male. Lord Christopher Reynard, a lord of the area. - Military Scientist
  3. Avatriss- 5'5" human female. Novice Mind Mage.
  4. Kin - Stocky 6'4" female Elf. Ranger, sometimes Air Mage. - Party Leader
  5. Lady Lisette Summers - Human female. Namer. Healer. Courtier.
  6. Ariana di Angelo - 5'8" Human female. Wicca. - Scribe



Employer
Baron Hugh D'Amberville - Baron of Newcourt
Mission
To locate a missing priest and to stop the Michealines burning down the Fae Woods.
Pay

Introductions and Explainations

Since locals are suspicious of magic and non-humans, Cher and Kin go to Gerald and have a Humanity Illusion cast on them. The Baron's man explains more about the job. A Urielite priest has gone missing from D'arbres. 2 Raphaelite priests are there also. The Church believes the faeries did it and wants to burn down the forests and is collecting a large force of Michaelines from all over. The Baron does not want the forests burned down as this could create war between Church and Faery. We need to find the priest, dissuade the Michaelines from pyromania and rebuild the church that was destroyed on the previous adventure.

Kin casts a Greater Enchantment. Scribe Ariana gets receipt from Baron's man for use of black myrrh.

The method of travel is debated. Since time is a problem, we decide to catch a portal, then fly. The Lord of the Bats casts wings on all party members. At about 9pm we catch a slow portal (3 hours walk) to Elfenburg. Kin has a townhouse here where we have dinner at midnight and set off flying ½ hr later. After flying for 3 ½ hrs we spot a large fire in the northern mountains. It turns out to be a bonfire 3-4 miles north of D'arbres. There is a tent city south of the village.

After some debate we land on the road between village and camp, and sneak into the forest. Kin immediately loses her sense of North. Avatriss tells us the forest is watchful. We retrace our tracks back to the road. It takes quicker to get out than in. We wait ½ hr for the wings to wear off. It is now 4:30am. We head for the village for a bed. There are lights at the inn and the reeve's house. The reeve is arguing with the Monseigneur who wants to burn the forest to kill the Fey. The reeve says the Fey are good for the village. We head to the inn, which has a tree in the middle of it. The innkeeper is Loris and his wife is Kristi. We are served delicious soup, bread and ale. Kit is known to the locals, so he chats with the innkeeper.

The new church was started 3 months ago. The tent city is for the workers (probably forced labour). The bonfire is at the stone quarry. One of the Raphaelites seems to be an inquisitor. The church work is unpopular. Too much land has been taken for the church and the Church is asking for more tithes and the village has to feed the workers. Some villagers are considering moving. The reeve has been arguing with the Monseigneur every night, all night.

We decide to speak to the reeve when he is rested, so we go to bed. Kit in the kitchen, the girls by the fire in the main room.

2nd Frost, 803

A cockerel disturbs those with low willpower. About 9:30 we have breakfast of excellent gruel, good bread and powerful blue cheese. We send to the reeve, whose wife organizes us a luncheon with him. Since we are not required, most of the party removes to the orchard. Avatriss and Lisette watch, Cher, Ariana and Kin doze. Kit changes his clothes and wanders away.

3 cats appear and settle down, 1 on each sleeping person. Grey and ginger males, tortoiseshell female. Lisette DA's them and they show up as brownei. Kin can talk to them. They deny taking the priest, but say it happened in the village. Kit reappears in clerical looking robes and warns the brownie about the church folk. They turn back into cats and walk off.

We head to lunch with the reeve, Cohat. He is exhausted with trying to prevent Monseigneur Wallace from burning the forests and "reconverting the heathen" villagers. Msgr. Wallace is aware of the pact and aware of the Fey in the forest. He wishes to start fireraising mid-spring. We ask the reeve to arrange a spy at the quarry. He does not think the faeries took the priest. Father Frost was in the habit of taking a stroll around the village, and his footprints were found at the millpond. Brother Toolin is a lay priest who will be taking over when the church is built.

Early afternoon

After lunch with the reeve. We repair back to the orchard. The brownei are wandering in their cat form. Kit is wearing Inquisitor/Captain robes.

There is a thundering noise. A horse gallops past, going North, with a clerical rider in blue Raphaelite robes. Ariana asks a local peasant and discovers that he is Monseigneur Wallace. A conversation about the situation reveals that previous Namers have Divinated the bottom of the pond and disappeared in the attempt.

We decide to talk to the other priests while the Mnsgr. is away. ½ hr walk to southern tent city. It is big enough for 60-70 labourers and there are 2 or 3 large tents with flags. A lot of workers are sitting about and there are 10-20 knights wearing Urielite purple.

A knight approaches. We ask to speak to the senior priest and he says that's himself. Kit says he is a Gabrielite Inquisitor and a local and offers help with the disappearance of Father Frost. The priest says the Church is investigating, thank you. We ask to see the Mnsgr. when he returns and he agrees and watches us leave. There were knights busying themselves nearby while we talked.

½ hr back to the village. Back to the inn, where we have thick soup, fresh bread and good ale. There are villagers in the inn and it is noticed that they are all good-looking and shapely.

Back out to the orchard for more discussion. We move up to the millpond. There are labourers footprints and hoof marks. Lisette DA's the water and gets a faint magical aura, specific nature Blessing. Kit goes into the ethereal and finds a faint black ring 200-300 ft across, slightly North of pond. He DA's it and gets formerly magical, nature Illusion. We suspect a ripple in the ethereal, as demons leave black marks.

A small figure is sitting under a bush. It is the local spokesfairy Bunt. Avatriss casts ESP and finds a lot curiously amused minds. Lisette DA's the center of the black ring and gets faintly magical, Illusory Terrain. Rank 14 so possibly not demonic? We suspect that the priest walked into the illusory terrain and disappeared.

Kit introduces us to Bunt and asks about the illusory terrain. He says he can't see anything. We mark the center of the black ring. Bunt says he didn't notice the priest disappearing. Kit asks the faeries to watch and keep out of trouble with the Michaelines. We promise a party with lots of ale when this is finished. The millpond + 1 yard all round belongs to the nixies.

Either the priest is a demonic agent, and removed himself to cause trouble, or a demon removed him.

It's getting dark, so we go back to the inn. Most of the male population is here. We have a good dinner, after which the villagers are shepherded out, bedding is found and Loris and Kristi go to bed.

Avatriss casts ESP and gets 1 watchful mind 30ft towards the forest. Cher casts a magic mouth on the doorway as an alarm. 3 cats come in and settle down by the fire. We ask about the mind and find out that it's Cherryblossom, a fairy watching the forest and us.

At 9pm there is a banging on the door. A 15-year-old boy stands there saying "They're all dead!" He is the one who has been keeping an eye on the northern quarry for the reeve. Lisette DA's him and discovers he is human, suffering from a Confusion spell. Loris appears, pokes the fire, leaves and reappears dressed. The reeve arrives. Cher does DE and gets nothing. The boy says that all the workers at the quarry were dead when he arrived there. There was a lot of water, and things look charred. The people are burnt and seem to have died terrified and nastily. The boy saw the Mnsgr. arrive and then came back to raise the alarm. The boy leaves and the reeve leaves. We wonder how the Mnsgr. knew that this had happened and has he returned.

We decide to go and see. It is 15 miles to the quarry and Kit says he will "just rustle up some horses" for us. We pack our stuff, borrow some lanterns and walk out the village. Once safely outside, Kit plays a pipe and conjures horses out of the forest.

3rd Frost 803

Midnight

8 miles North the road turns east into the mountains. After 4 more miles the road forks. The right is a well-worn track, but the left bears lots of footprints. The horses are dispensed with and we turn left. After 2 miles we reach a clearing, obviously the quarry. There are a lot of dead bodies lined up against one side and a horrible smell. There is a flickering light in a cave. Cher DE's the bodies and finds no magic. We approach the cave and can hear praying. The Monseigneur challenges us and refuses our help in investigating this event.

It is very cold and there is a biting wind. We make a campsite while Kit and Kin go tracking. They find three sets of tracks, 1 human, 1 large human and 1 with talons. Also the Mnsgr.'s horse. It looks as though the workers tried to run from the workface and were picked off as they entered the quarry

Kit plays his lyre for ½ hr. Four walls build themselves out of the stone lying about. This is excellent shelter from the wind with Kin's tarp as a roof. Watches are organized. Kit asks to be woken ½ hr before dawn.

Dawn

We ALL wake up AT dawn, feeling well refreshed. A horse is heard leaving. Ariana is chastised for falling asleep on watch, though it may not have been her.

The Monseigneur has left. The bodies seem to be about 15 labourers. They are a better class than the ones at the tent city. There appears to be 2 craftsmen + a master mason. There are also 4 Michaeline knights. Most of them have died by fire, a few have been dehydrated. There is no magic left on the bodies. The knights' weapons and shields have been Blessed.

Kin and Lisette check the camp for magic traps. There is a short tunnel, with a small antechamber. The workers appear to sleep here around the fire pit. The work face is in the tunnel and there is a large vein of good stone. Cher preserves the bodies. Kit continues building the shelter's roof. Avatriss marks the spot where the tracks disappear.

Kit, Avatriss and Lisette go into the ethereal. A big grey misty place with doors in the distance. It looks like the quarry. Lisette DA's. She cannot see demon marks, although there are faint marks that may possibly be black footprints.

Kin looks at the tracks and sees signs of hiding. We estimate about Rank 5 Ranger. We decide to follow them. Kit and Cher are very tired so we have a hot early lunch. We suspect we are in the Fey area known as "The Field of Dreams". We follow the tracks for 4-5 miles. It winds down the side of the hill towards the northern lake. Then it turns east. Then it stops at the top of a cliff overlooking the (suspected) nixie lake. The cliff top is a flat rock area. There appears to be a faint, intermittent trail continuing North.

Mid Afternoon

It is now 2pm. Kin runs back to quarry to erase our tracks. Cher flies overhead to watch. About a mile of track is erased. The rest of the group has some hot food, and Kit whistles up a bloodhound. It snuffles about and up a tree. There is a puff of smoke from a fork of the tree. It's a pixie smoking a pipe.

We point the dog at the trail again. It dashes off with a loud howl, runs round in a circle and ends up back at the tree yipping. Kit shouts in Lelanque at the tree. The pixie falls out. It stands up, sways, and falls over unconscious. The smoke from the pipe smells very pleasant. Lisette DA's the pixie. It is alive and very stoned.

Avatriss points the dog at the trail again. It sits down and stares at the tree. Lisette DA's the tree. It is an ash and there is magic in effect. She DA's another plant. It's a blackberry and the magic is Blessing. Kit DA's the tree. No answer apart from Blessing.

Kit prays. Kin and Cher return. It is nearly dusk. We have a hot dinner. Kin can detect the tracks going Northeast away from the lake. We follow and about 500 yards later the tracks are completely uncovered. The path winds a bit, avoiding magic mushroom circles. The demon is still on foot. We track for about 2 hrs up into the hills and onto a ridge. There is a fire 5-6 miles away to the Southeast.

We get down off the ridge, out of sight. We light a fire and make dinner and argue about what to do next. Watches are set. Nothing happens all night.

4th Frost. 803

Dawn

We have a hot breakfast. We follow the tracks again, still arguing over whether to attack or spy on. At 10am we are near where we saw the fire. We are in mountainous pine forest. Kit summons a bird. Kin thinks it is a swallow, which is very odd. There must be mild weather nearby. The bird is sent out to spy ahead. It sees people. We move slowly and quietly and spot a thick magical fog in the trees. It has a 180 ft radius. Kit suspects multiple circles of fog and the bird confirms 4 circles. The people are about 300 ft away. The fog has been up since dawn. A spell impacts the group and Kit dives into the middle.

Combat

The group appears in the fog. There is an imp, a mage and a fighter. Lisette casts a Fire counter on our area. We have the imitative for most of the fight. Avatriss, Kit and Ariana move forward and attack. The imp casts a magic geyser on Kin, Cher and Lisette. They resist. Kin shoots the wizard and he falls over.

"Just walk up to him and see how far away he is!"

The imp bends over and sinks its fangs into the wizard's skull. There is a slurping noise and the imp glows momentarily. Then we notice it's bigger. The fighter stuns Cher. Lisette DA's the imp and gets Avatar, no highest spell. Kin shoots the fighter and he falls over. Desperate to keep the imp away from him, Kit hits it. There is a huge explosion and imp goo goes everywhere. Ariana, Lisette and Kit are damaged through being too close. Cher casts DE. There is nothing magical on the fighter and nothing sentient around.

Midmorning

Avatriss stops the fighter bleeding. He is still unconscious. Kit gets out his magic katana and stabs the fighter through the heart, thus giving him back 8 Endurance. He is wearing moderate quality clothes and made to measure plate mail. He has a parchment in his jerkin. We try to read it. It is written in the Western alphabet and looks like some shorthand jottings. There are numbers and initials. We tie the fighter up so he can't surprise us when he wakes up.

The wizard is wearing probably an amethyst ring on his wedding finger. Lisette DA's it. She gets nothing. There is an inscription. "Love, power, respect." Kit DA's the ring. He gets nothing obvious. The wizard's boots are reasonably new and well made from Alusian leather.

Those damaged by the exploding imp are healed. Kyn removes her arrows from the fighter. He stops breathing. Avatriss does Empathy and says he's dead. There is quite a lot of poison in his system. We discover the remains of a capsule in his back teeth. Kit DA's him and gets formerly living and a synthetic poison. Lisette DA's his weapons and armour and gets nothing. They are moderately well made.

Kit whistles two horses out of the fog and we load the bodies and armour onto them. We backtrack to where the group spent last night. There is a very crude campsite, with a half-eaten deer. We head back to our campsite for some lunch. We press on back to the quarry and arrive at 6 pm, just at dusk. There are no lights in the quarry or in the cave. We hail the cave and get no response. There are no bodies and there are deep cartwheel ruts. Our church is still there, and as Kit is very tired, we have a hot dinner and an hour's rest.

Evening

We create a stretcher for the fighter and Kit whistles some more horses. We push the pace and arrive back at the village at 10:30 pm. Kit is a walking zombie by this stage. We turn the horses loose just before the village and carry the two bodies; the armour and the weapons back to the inn, where we dump the bodies at the door. Loris is pottering about and brings us supper. Kit collapses onto a cot. We don't wake him. We tell Loris about the bodies and he suggests we cover them and leave them there.

Ariana, Avatriss and Lisette go to see the reeve and arrange a meeting early next morning. There are no brownies visible. We call them and wave fish around, but nothing happens. We ask Loris where the village cats are. He goes to the door and calls. Three cats walk in. We ask whether they have seen anything of note. "There were horses carrying a lot of wood North."

5th Frost. 803

Kit sleeps while we have breakfast with the reeve and fill him in on the recent events. It is not the Fey and the priest is still missing. Kit wakes up and we go out to the orchard to discuss what to tell the priests. We borrow the village ox and cart and load up the bodies. We take them down to the tent city.

The same knight we spoke to before approaches. We ask to speak to the person who is investigating the deaths at the quarry. We are told he is not here and not likely to be back soon. We ask to lave the bodies here. He says he will tell the Monseigneur. We leave. The bodies are taken into a tent. Kyn Locates the Mnsgr. about 15 miles SSW.

We return to the village and decide to go talk to the Mnsgr. We collect our gear and Kit conjures 5 horses. He turns Cher invisible so she can fly. At 1:30 we come to a small town. The Mnsgr. is now about 10 miles away. It is market day. We stop at the village green and ask the locals if they have seen our friend, the Mnsgr. A peasant says his friend did and goes to get him. The kids point out the direction the priest went. Suspicious of the peasant, we ride off in the direction pointed out.

Early Afternoon

We ride 1 hour from the village. We see 3 horses. It is the Monseigneur and two knights with their warhorses. As we approach, they move off the road and the knights move in front. Kit and Kyn move to the back, Cher (invisible) lands behind and Ariana talks to them. She offers the information about the last two days and the priest thanks her. He firmly rejects our help and they leave towards the nearest town.

We follow. Cher flies over the town (1500-2000 souls) and reports a lot of buildings, a big church, and a dirt track leading over a hill to a monastery. After about 6 miles, we leave the horses outside the town and enter. It is market day. The priest's Locate marker says he is in town. We go to the chapel. It is small, about 200 years old and Urielite. There is a small rural court in session. The parish priest is presiding. The Locate arrow points to the vestry. The court finishes and the priest and acolytes withdraw to the vestry. Kit scatters breadcrumbs and whistles a sparrow. He uses it to look in the vestry window.

The acolytes have gone. There are three priests, the Mnsgr., the judge and a Raphaelite. The Mnsgr is warning the others about us. "One is masquerading as a priest and they seem to have the Baron's authority." They discuss what to do. The Mnsgr wants us called off. The judge wants to capture us and take us to the monastery for the Inquisition. The Mnsgr collects his two knights and leaves. We go into a bare white room with a table and twelve chairs.

The judge introduces himself as Brother John and the Raphaelite as Brother Armand. We introduce ourselves and ask for a physical description of Father Frost. He is 5'10", average build, has sandy hair, hazel eyes, a large nose and a scar on his chin. He is not armed and has a standard set of Inquisition tools. He is a Urielite Inquisitor from the nearby monastery. We discuss the demon situation in the North, and ask to speak to the Gabrielites. It appears there are none here. We plant the suspicion in Brother John's mind that the demons might actually want the forest burned down. We head to the monastery for the night.

Evening

6:00pm. The monastery bells are calling the workers in from the fields. A porter arrives at the gate and we ask shelter for the night. We are taken to the dining hall. We leave our gear in some of the 20 or so cells and go back to the dining hall to wait for dinner. It is lamb, vegetables and mead.

7:00pm. The porter arrives to tell us that Mass will be starting soon. It is a traditional Urielite ceremony. Kit DA's the congregation and gets mostly devout, with a few nearly committed.

8:00pm. The Mass over, we go back to the dining hall. Kit attempts to hang out with the senior priests after the Mass, but the porter firmly escorts him back to us. Kit asks to talk to the senior priest and the porter says he will bring him. Kit polishes his swords. We tell stories by the fire.

9:30pm A senior Raphaelite appears. He asks for recent news of the area. He is not surprised when Kit mentions Seer and Zephyr, but is surprised at Ipos. He tells us that the Bishop wants to involve more people in the problem and we say that this is not a good idea. He leaves.

6th Frost. 803

After breakfast we walk back to the town. On the other side, Kit whistles 5 horses and he makes Cher invisible. We arrive back at D'arbres at noon. The Mnsgr's Locate arrow continues South. After lunch Kit conjures some more horses and we go North to the quarry. We set up camp and Kit puts half the roof on the church.

Cher teaches Avatriss to use her Past-Looking Crystal and we orient it on the time of the attack. It looks like early morning. There is a lot of mess around, and a lot of dead and dying people. There are three shapes, which turn out to be the mage, the imp and the fighter. The mage is doing a ritual, then casts a spell on the other two. A wound in the fighter's leg heals.

Kit DA's the ritual spot and gets nothing. We are inside the church while Kit is outside. He prays, Call Mastery. A cherub appears. He says a ritual happened and he thinks it was connected to Zephyr. He thinks it was a College Changing ritual. Kit wafts back in on a scent of rose petals.

A missing Bit

To be located.

An Unconscious Scribe

Now I, Kit, lift my quill and try to find words to describe past events, for our scribe Ariana is quite incapable of remembering the following events owing to a bump on the head at the conclusion of my tale.

Moonday 7th Frost, 803

After a peaceful night camped in the church at the granite quarry, we awake refreshed and ready to enjoy the marvels and glories the day would bring. We pray and then break our fast. Using Cher's crystal of hindsight, Avatriss summons a vision of the battle and immediate prelude. It seems that the trio that we met in the woods had slaughtered the Raphaelites and masons with triggered and cast fire magics, and the imp's geysers and dehydration. The people leaving the quarry appear to be driven out rather than drawn by the sound of their comrades' deaths. We estimate that at least a dozen hellfire, ball of fire, malignant flames and other hellish spells were cast, cumulating in a dragon flames spell that kill a number of freshly exiting people. Kyn spends much of the morning casting around the wilderness for further tracks while Cher provides oversight, as we believe that a sorcerer or illusionist may have been present. Avatriss, Lisette and Ariana explore the quarry and find signs of an earth elemental in the cave. Without magical weapons, the workers would have been so much grist to the mill, and we understand why they chose to attempt to rush the mages instead. Kit provides reflective hymns and paeans to assist the morning's investigation.

After lunch, we are reminded of the comforts of D'Arbre village, and undertake the long trek on foot, as horses are not available today. Our journey is shortened by Kyn playing marching tunes on her fife, and the spirited rendition of several walking songs by the party. That night, we examine the proposed church site, and concur with our earlier estimations that this church would hold four or five hundred people - a far larger population than the regular D'Arbran congregation. Excavation of the site appears to have been halted after the tragedy at the quarry.

Duesday, 8th Frost, 803

We rise a little later than usual, and make our way to the site where we believe that Father Frost was abducted by a foul minion of hell. Kyn finds indications that a body may have been dragged into the forest, and we head west, speculating that the fey may have noticed this activity. We soon find Bunt sitting on the guest-offering we bring. He listens to our request for information on these travellers, and then sends of other faerie to investigate. We make our way to a central point to collate this intelligence, and catch up with the Prince of these cheery folk, and his consort. A minor celebration breaks out spontaneously, and we pass the afternoon and evening in joyous song and conversation with the animated fey folk. At a decorous hour, we withdraw from the revels and sleep off the effects of the tiny but potent drafts of "special ale".

Wodensday, 9th Frost, 803

Kyn wakes the more determined revellers from the party, and we withdraw to a nearby stream to freshen up. After some time, we approach our nominated guide, a spriggan called Rocci. He appears to have fallen asleep on the spit roast, a not-uncommon plight. Spriggans appear to be made of pebbles, and can tunnel under the earth at speeds in excess of 20mph as a means of long-distance travel. After several aborted attempts to communicate with him, we bide our time until nearly noon, at which time Rocci and the other fey begin to stir. We had forgotten the pace of country life in our impatience to be investigating the trail of Father Frost. We are all given butterfly wings, and learn to manoeuvre while using them. There is definitely a knack to flying in short, dizzying swoops of speed, then changing direction sharply. We estimate that the wings will allow up to fly at around 30mph for 20 hours. We take our leave of our hosts, with a promise to return, and head westwards, after Rocci, following Kyn, who tracks him with her location magicks.

After a couple of hours, Rocci leaves the forest, and we find ourselves in rolling hills. There is a semi-ruined round stone tower nearby, where the faeries believe that the people we were tracking dwelt. It has three stories, but the top storey has a chunk missing from it, and blackened stone around the hole. We approach from the air, and discover that the roof and most of the interior floors are missing. It seems although a cone-shaped explosion of fire burst from twenty feet underground, in a vertical direction, destroying everything it touched. We believe this relates to a many-headed wyvern-mage hybrid construct escaping from the tower six months ago - see the scribe notes of the previous adventure. Descending through the roof, we find signs that the ground floor has been recently inhabited, and the furniture relocated. A stone archway beckons us, and we descend further, through a long stone tunnel lined with cages on either side, and filled with an almighty stench that makes our eyes water. There is three-quarters of an elephant carcass rotting at the far end. Overwhelmed by the smell and unable to explore further, we beat a hasty retreat to the surface. We light a fire for lunch. Kit and Avatriss descend again, briefly, and check for any people. On the surface again, Kit whistles up a field mouse, who scuttles down into the tunnel and shows why elephants are afraid of mice, by turning the carcass into firedamp.

Alchemical Syllogism:

Gas is significantly lighter than an elephant.
Firedamp is a light gas.
Gas expands equally in all available directions.
The volume of a passageway increases in proportion to its length.
Firedamp will spontaneously combust and explode in air.
The intensity of an explosion wavefront varies inversely with the volume already consumed.
Gas released from high pressure will expand in proportion to its pressure.
The volume of a sphere increases in proportion to the cube of its radius.

There is a dull roar, and a shockwave causes the ground to ripple. A split second later, the tower is engulfed in flame, as a stream of fire shoots into the air and expands into a hundred and fifty foot wide fireball. Masonry rains down around us. Most of the party are hit with small stone blocks or knocked to the ground by the blast. A pall of smoke hangs over the crater, and there are no birds or insects to be heard. Kit tends to the wounded.

Wodensday, 9th Frost. 803

The party collects their thoughts after the exploding tower. Avatriss heals Ariana and Cher. Ariana recovers from the amnesia caused by the blow on the head. Cher is suffering some short-term memory loss. Lisette and Kit finish the healing of infections, bumps etc.

We suspect that the explosion set off a trap in the tower. If it were only the gas exploding it would not have gone up so violently. We decide to investigate further. Cher and Kit peer in the door. The ground level of the tower looks secure enough. They beckon the rest of us in. We go back down into the tunnel with the empty cages. There is a door open at the far end. Lisette DA's through the door and gets nothing. We walk in.

There is a room with a desk, shelves and a fireplace. They have all been recently used and looted of everything. It looks like a few weeks ago. There is another room leading off this one. There are long benches covered with alchemy equipment. The most recent use of the fireplace seems to be a week ago. All 5 we are tracking have been here, with the 3 who died being here more recently. The room has been carved by hands.

Kit informs us that the elephant, which is floating above the tower as a ton of soot and a ton of water, will shortly turn back into elephant. Even vaporised elephants will not float in the atmosphere. Since we are also covered in soot from the explosion, we decide to find a stream quickly.

There is a stream 50 feet from the tower and upwind of the soot cloud. Kit is banished further downstream and has to get his chain mail off by himself. After washing, we check the surrounding area and come across a cart track. There are marks of a horse and cart coming and going, but weeks or months old. Kit flits up on his butterfly wings and sees the track going to a town about 30 miles away. Cher uses her Crystal and looks a week ago. There is nothing around the tower except for a thin wisp of smoke out of the chimney.

We realize we have forgotten to ask the faeries something and use our butterfly wings to flit back to the Fey court. It is dusk and the faeries are playing quiet games. We land and Bunt appears. We ask if he knows anything about a tomb in the Circle of Life. He blanches and denies all knowledge. When pressed if other faeries know anything, he says they do not. He is lying. We ask to stay to dinner and this is agreed. After dinner we ask to speak to the Prince. He also denies knowledge of the tomb.

We flit back to D'arbres and Thistle comes too, to remove our butterfly wings. We have a late supper at the inn and invite the reeve around. We ask him about the tomb. He tells us about his ancestor. He was a great warrior who retired to this place and was charged to defend it. Lisette, Ariana and Kit go to the reeve's house and into the ethereal. There is a blinding white light. Lisette's DA's fail. Kit summons an Earth Elemental and asks it about the tomb. It points.

We go back to the inn and sleep.

Thorsday, 10th Frost, 803

We breakfast. The innkeeper tells us that a few of the villagers have been asking for the discarded boots and clothes. We call Robert in and give him what he wants. He recognizes that the mage's boots were made in Sanctuary.

We head off to see the widow, as she is the oldest inhabitant of the village. We ask about the tomb, but she knows nothing about it or anything underground.

Kit borrows a shovel from the village smithy and we go to the building site for the new church. We find the main leyline, which runs through the village and Kit digs a hole. Lisette, Kyn and Kit go into the ethereal. It is very bright, but not as bright as the ethereal by the reeve's house. Kit summons an Elemental and asks it about the tomb. The Elemental points in the direction of the tomb.

We walk west into the forest for about a mile. Avatriss, Ariana and Kit go into the ethereal, summon an Elemental and ask it the direction of the tomb. We walk northeast. Cher, Lisette and Kit etherealise, and ask an Elemental about the tomb. We walk 100 yards east. Kyn, Ariana and Kit go into the ethereal. The Elemental points up.

Kyn climbs the nearest tree. Kit DA's it and gets Tree. Avatriss does ESP and gets lots of inquisitive minds. We call for Bunt and a sprite appears and says that Bunt is busy. The sprite has no knowledge of any tomb, and tells us that the tree is where Cherryblossom died. We decide to test the ethereal at different levels in the tree. Cher flies up and hovers over the tree and Lisette climbs up halfway. This time 2 Elementals appear; one points down and one points west. They say that the tomb is all around.

On popping back into the plane of Alusia, Lisette is disoriented and falls off her branch. She hits another branch on the way down, which stuns her. A third branch reaches out and catches her. Kyn gets Lisette out of the tree and Avatriss tries to heal her. This works well, apart from the Backfired blue bolt between the eyes. Kyn lights a fire for lunch. Lisette, Cher and Kit go into the ethereal. Kit tries for double duration, but gets double strength and all three end up in the deep ethereal.

There are lots of Faery sitting in the trees, and the trees look very real. No Elementals appear, and all non-party members are glowing faintly. Kit is unsure how to get back to Alusia and tries to contact the other half of the party. He picks up a branch and pokes the fire, but desists when a face in the fire eats the branch. They ask the fairies where they are and ask about the tomb. The fairies say that it is not yet time for us to go to the tomb, and we will know when it is. The entrance is under the centre stone. They manage to get back to the ethereal, where 11 Elementals are waiting to point at the tomb.

Meanwhile, Kyn, Avatriss and Ariana are becoming anxious. The fire is behaving strangely and the others are not back in the usual time. When they do arrive back, Kit tells us what happened in the deep ethereal and burbles some nonsense about faces in the fire.

We mend Lisette's boots and Locate the Monseigneur. He is about 200 miles South. We go back to the inn for dinner and a good night's rest.

Freyasday, 11th Frost, 803

Bunt arrives after breakfast. We ask him when it will be time for us to enter the tomb, but he doesn't know. He doesn't know whether the missing priest has anything to do with the tomb. He believes that the tomb is full of traps and puzzles. Once these are solved, a great warrior will appear and be at our command. We sing the prophecy and the poem to Bunt and he thinks they sound like Human stories.

After much debate, we agree to go to Sanctuary and see if we can pick up traces of the trio. This time Bunt gives us large brown bird wings. We fly to Bergelven and then on to Seagate. All the party are debriefed, deloused, disenchanted etc. We struggle to hide our wings. Their magic is stronger than ours.

Kit tries an experiment on Avatriss. He turns her into a leopard, unfortunately with butterfly wings. After we ask Avatriss whether the base of her tail itches, she wanders around the room rubbing herself

The Guild

The party decides to split up and seek knowledge in our areas of interest. Kyn goes to the Guild Library to research the priest's ring. She finds that it comes from a minor mercenary guild out of Sanctuary. They are known for kidnap and extortion, but not murder. Then she studies maps. Kit and Cher go to the Lord of the Bats for a short time. Kit then joins Kyn in the Library, where he studies church styles. Cher sunbathes. Lisette goes to the Namers Guild for some pointers. Avatriss and Ariana go to the armourer, the cobbler and the tailor, looking for identification of the marks. The armourer says that the armour was made by Johannes Armsman, who works in Sanctuary and Rank. He is a well-known travelling smith and does quality work. The cobbler does not recognize the maker's mark but says it is quality. The cobbler tells us the clothes are standard Sanctuary make.

We repair to Alfonz's for dinner. Kit and Kyn are recognized and permitted to enter, but the door hobbit requires a deposit for the rest of us. We have a pleasant meal.

Lisette acquires a fire protection cloth, which hurts people who can see through illusion. This will alert us to them if we meet them. Kit performs Resist Curse rituals. We sleep till midnight and allow an hour for Kit to prepare the illusions that we will need.

Reapsday, 12th Frost, 803

There are 3 Backfires. There is no effect on Avatriss, Kit feels a sharp pain and loses Endurance, and Lisette is covered in crusty scabs and itchy pus.

We whip down to the Curse Removal chamber, where they can't help. The Healers heal the curse, but trade it for a loss of Strength. Lisette has a Strength of 2 until 9am. Kit casts an illusion of average burghers on us. Ariana looks like Aaron. We get the Lord of the Bats to cast Strength of Stone on Lisette and we fly to Sanctuary.

Lisette gives up 15 minutes before reaching the outskirts of Sanctuary. Kit makes a light so we can see to land. Lisette lands in an exhausted heap. 3am. Kit and Kyn watch, we sleep.

Sanctuary

Avatriss cooks breakfast and we walk into town. There are 2 guards on the gate and a scattering of other people on the road. We head for the docks. Sanctuary is bustling. There are quite a few guards about. Avatriss knows the harbourmaster, so we find his office and ask to see him. While we are waiting, someone gets stabbed outside.

The harbourmaster appears and Aaron, Avatriss and Cher go into his office. He is a youngish man and replaced Avatriss' friend. She asks about her family friends. We leave. There are guards hanging about, presumably waiting for the victim to die. Lisette wants to help but we hustle her away. We wander through the slave market, but there is only the end of stock left. Cher DE's the slaves and gets nothing.

Lisette regains her strength and resumes carrying her gear. She thinks we are being followed. We continue into the merchant's district, which has nicer streets. We find the Thoms' house, who trade in coffee and spices. We knock on the door and Jamie informs us that the master is out at present. Avatriss leaves her name and we go to the Golden Lion, which Jamie has recommended. We wait for Master Gregory to arrive.

An urchin appears and directs us to the Street of Temples. He attaches himself to us and we hire him as a guide. We arrive at Seir's temple. Kit stays outside.

An acolyte appears. We say that this is our patron's temple and we would like some information. A priest appears in very fine robes. We ask about a stolen person (Father Frost). The priest asks for a donation of time, but Kyn sacrifices an item of hers. She is taken into a back room where Seir is summoned. He appears on a chaise-lounge. Kyn asks for information. Seer admits that he is aware of the situation, he knows where the priest was taken but this is much larger than we know and he cannot get directly involved. He says his brother is directly involved and he will contact us when he has considered. He disappears leaving 4 gold feet.

On to Gabriel's Temple. There are a few people here. It is clean inside. Kit asks to see the senior father and is shown into an antechamber. A cherub appears. It has found nothing, but has been learning about demons. It thinks that Zephyr and Ipos are responsible. Kit is informed that Ipos and Zephyr are behind it but are unaware of each other. Ipos is the brother of Seir.

Back out in the street, a handsome man appears. He winks with those wonderful eyes. Lisette idly muses that digging out an eye and carrying it round would be quite good. Seir is offended and there is a drift of ash floating downwards. Kit asks to have her resurrected and Lisette reappears, chastened. Seer suggests we investigate north of the slave markets. He disappears in a shower of gold coins.

North of the slave markets is the smelly part of town. Tanners, dyers, candlemakers, renderers and slaughterhouses. We tell the urchin to move away a little and check if anyone is following us. We wander about until past noon then return to the Golden Lion. We ask the urchin if they have seen the priest and send him off to poke about.

We acquire a new guide and ask how to contact the mercenary guild. If we leave an offering in the fifth urn in Ipos' temple they will contact us. We get a private room in the inn and have stew for lunch. We ask to be informed when Gregory Thoms arrives.

Kit turns the leftover stew into a tablet for the offering. Cher and Avatriss deliver it. Gregory does not turn up. Avatriss goes back to his house, but he has not returned. We get rooms for the night. Kit casts our disguises before dinner. Avatriss does ESP. The innkeeper is content and various patrons are devious and angry. We retire for the night.

A Late Night Attack

1:30am. Aaron and Avatriss are on watch. Suddenly the door is kicked off its' hinges onto Kit by two intruders and another swings in the window and lands on a sleeping Kyn. She hits him with her claws and he falls on the floor. Avatriss Controls one by the door. Aaron Harms the other and he screams. Kit teleports from under the door and hits one with his sword. Another intruder appears at the window.

Kyn Stuns the one in the window. The Controlled one hits his neighbour. 3 more people crash through the tiled roof, injuring Aaron, Avatriss, Lisette and Kit. Lisette hits one with a Sap and Kit hits the other two. One falls over. Kyn Stuns the one in the window again. We all attack the closest intruder. Two crossbowmen appear at the hole in the roof and shout "Surrender!"

Kyn punches the one in the window. He dies and bounces off something outside the window on the down. Kit repairs the roof then levitates onto it and shouts "Surrender!" One runs away and the other fires at Kit. Luckily he is insubstantial at the time, as the arrow zips through his eye. The other bowman runs away. Avatriss' Control wears off and he knocks her unconscious. Aaron attacks the two closest.

Aaron attacks the same two intruders, who turn around and hit him/her. Lisette knocks one out with a Sap. Kyn Stuns another. Kit drops back into the room and kills two. There is a sound of running away from downstairs. We decide to collect a hostage for questioning and leave via the window. There is a net outside, which Kyn clears on the way down.

Lisette needs a push and Kyn fails to catch her. The rest of the party gets out of the window with no trouble. Kit draws his sword and carries the hostage. We go to the temple district and seek sanctuary in Gabriel's temple. We all sleep and Kit prays. The High Priest appears and allows us to stay till dawn. Kit asks about the follower of Ipos we have brought. The priest holds out his hands and a white light appears. We are told he is not a follower of evil. We tie up the prisoner. The ladies are escorted to the dormitories and Aaron and Kit share the spare bed in the priest's room.

14th Frost, Moonday, 803

The bells ring for early morning service. The Mass lasts ¾ of an hour, after which we have a breakfast of bread and gruel. Kit interrogates the prisoner. His name is James and he was employed for the night in the Beer and Toes. He is from a ship in the harbour and doesn't know who employed them. He denies any wrongdoing. The job was to capture us, for which he got paid 10 silvers. He follows the God of Sailors, Feerkalor. We caution him against leaving his ship and against other things and he leaves thinking we are strange.

7am. We go to Ipos' temple and Kit waits outside. The temple is plain and austere and an acolyte appears dressed as a Fool. We ask for the High Priest and a man in a red waistcoat and black suit appears. Kit asks if he can come in and is allowed. We follow him into a plush back room where we stand and explain the problem. He says that Father Frost is in the tannery. His Master told him we would be led here. Possibly Zephyr is responsible for the massacre at the mine. There are at least two Immortals working against Zephyr. He doesn't know what guards Father Frost, but suspects some mages. The Father is needed for something, so he is alive. The group holding him has no name, but they are used for kidnappings and acquiring slaves. We leave.

We debate our options on the way to the Thoms' house. The door opens and Frank comes out drunk. We pull him back inside and assemble in t he library. Kit draws his sword and the butler vanishes. We bully Frank into providing us 10 bodyguards at the Golden Lion in ½ hour. He leaves to go to the pub. The butler turns up with 6 men, one of whom leaves. He returns as we leave to go back to the inn.

We go to the tannery district. We start at a boot makers and ask to speak to the "Neighbourhood Watch". We are directed to a local inn, the "Tongue and Trumpet". There are magical runes on the doorframe and Lisette tells us they Detect Intention. We enter, Kit last. It is very dark and grubby, with a few men. Avatriss buys a beer and asks for the "Neighbourhood Watch". The barman lies and denies knowledge. Kit gets shirty and Kyn buys some mead. She can see that "Herby" is written at the bottom of the glass. We drift over to the men in the corner and ask for Herby. They deny knowledge and Kit turns the bar into water. The barkeep disappears and the denizens head for the window. Kyn trips one and we are told that we can't find Herby, he will find us. We move a table and bench outside and have a snack while waiting for Herby.

The town guard appears and the captain asks Kit to pay for the bar. He refuses and 8 crossbows point at us. After a quiet discussion Kit pays up and they leave. We go back inside and wait. Nothing happens. We head to the food market and detail some urchins to loiter and see if someone is following us. There is nothing of interest in the food market and we make our way back to the Golden Lion.

The innkeeper demands a deposit because we might get attacked again tonight. He is forced to tell us that he was paid 2 guineas to leave the door unlocked last night. We order food and drink and Avatriss uses the Past-Looking Crystal to watch the attack last night. The innkeeper opens the door; an urchin pays him and leaves the door open. A tall thin man comes in, followed by 2 crossbowmen. Some others trickle in from the street. The crossbowmen leave with some and the others head upstairs. The tall man casts and disappears.

We go to our room; Kit fixes our disguises and Kyn Locates the first urchin that we employed yesterday. We go to find him. He is at the animal markets. The arrow is near a cattle yard, outside a feed and tack merchant and pointing directly under the street. There is a grate further down the street and we climb down into the sewers. There is a figure that Kit Stuns.

We assemble at a T-junction and peer around the corner. There are two armed men. While we are debating what to do, 6 crossbow bolts come through the wall and hit 4 of us. Kit confirms that some of the walls are illusion and walks through them. The fight begins. Kit fells one and damages some others. Aaron gets a sword through the chest and falls over. The swine grabs back his sword and continues fighting. Lisette heals Aaron. Kyn gets an arrow in the shoulder. The tall thin man is there and he turns out to be a Mind Mage. One of the other mages Backfires and falls over. Kit kills two more.

Kit attacks, Kyn attacks and the Mind Mage dies. The lurking urchins flee. 2 of them grab a body in the corner and their fallen friend and flee. Kit attacks. Kyn pulls the arrow out of her shoulder. Cher is Stunned. Kit gets a crossbow bolt in the kidneys. Aaron and Lisette attack. Kit attacks and one falls over. Kyn Stuns the crossbowman with a dagger in the stomach. Cher gets hit again and lies dying. Lisette has a healing potion prepared and keeps Cher alive. Kit follows the ones running away.

Aaron attacks Kyn kills one, and then follows Kit. There is a "twang" and Kyn gets a blunted ballista bolt in the chest and is knocked against the wall. There is a whooshing noise and a lot of water starts to come down the corridor. Lisette gets hit. Aaron gets hit and lies very near death on the floor. Lisette Saps one and he falls over. Avatriss gives Aaron Waters of Healing. Kyn pulls out Kit's crossbow bolt. One surrenders, and Kit overpowers the two escapees. The water is rising. We grab the Illusionist and the sleeping Father Frost and retreat. Cher casts a wall and blocks the water.

We start looting the bodies. The Mind Mage and the Illusionist have amulets with a spider on them. Their nature is Curse. Father Frost has a Urielite amulet. We acquire 6 suits of plate mail and decide to head straight back to Seagate.

We arrive at the docks. Kit loads himself, the Mind Mage, the Illusionist and Father Frost into a boat. Cher flies, Kyn tows the boat and the rest of us are turned into swordfish. We swim away. After two hours the swordfish wears off and Lisette starts to drown. She is dragged into the boat unconscious.

15th Frost, Duesday, 803

Midnight. We swim for 2 hours and Kit turns us into fish again. Every time we are changed into fish we take damage. At 3:30am we head for the beach and land. Lisette starts to look deathly pale. Kit stabs her with his sword and she wakes up. Kit DA's us and finds that everyone has an infection but him. We picked it up in the Sanctuary harbour at the start of the journey. We have a hot meal and Lisette starts to disinfect us. As we are Healed, we fall asleep. Kit watches. Father Frost is still asleep. Kit DA's him and discovers a Binding Will Instruction.

7am. We wake and have breakfast. Father Frost is a chatty, elderly man. He doesn't recall his kidnap. He knows he had Telepathy cast on him. We set off again. Lisette refuses to go back in the water. Kit turns us all into merfolk. We swim. 12pm. Lunch. 7pm. We arrive in Seagate. We hire a cart and transport the bodies and the armour to the Guild. We spend the rest of Duesday getting Healed, eating and sleeping.

The End.