Session 303 - The Maid of Vareth

General Summary

1^st of Agrazhar 726TR

The Story So Far

The heroes have traveled to Vareth Manor to check up on Griffen's Diggers, a band of scavengers who loot burial mounds for Narvo of the House of Wonders. The leader of the Diggers Altaar of Griffen has not reported in, and Narvo is concerned something may be amiss.

This is the continuation of Session 302 - The Twilight Calamity.

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Location - Vareth Manor near the Town of Kiban in the Kingdom of Kaldor.

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Part 1 – The Maid of Vareth

Early morning the heroes arrive at Vareth Manor, a small river village not far from the Town of Kiban. On the other side of the river are the marshlands known as the Fens. They make their way immediately to a small tavern and can’t help but note the unfriendly glares from the patrons breaking their fast. Dryueh discreetly inquires about the reason for the animosity and offers his medical services to the village to break the ice. The villagers warm to his efforts and tell him that the Maid of Vareth, a holy relic, was stolen last night, and most blame outsiders, specifically Griffin’s Diggers, for the despicable crime. A few villagers accuse the witch Morgwen, who lives in the bog and has made no secret that she wants to study and dissect the relic.

Dryueh volunteers to find and return the relic. The mention of the so-called witch Morgwen intrigues Valeria, who grabs her sketchbook, enters a trance, and begins to draw randomly. Soon the local spirits take control of her hands, and a drawing of a vaguely female form appears, surrounded by flying insects, possibly moths.

Part 2 - The Crime

The party investigates the crime scene, a small chapel with an attached hut used by the shrine’s caretakers and their families. They find a trail from the shrine past the old witch’s house in a small marsh to the river and find a discarded Skeleton key in the mud. The Maid must have been put on a boat.

Questioning the caretaker’s family, Valeria, and Dryueh identify that they have been poisoned with a sleeping draught. Alfrun and Roes of Waida, the parents and head of the family, are mildly sick; as their daughter Haliki (Priestess) Ederni of Waidea, scholarly-looking priestess of Save K’Nor, the god of sages, although she is in a much better condition. They remember a fisherman, Otto, delivered the food they ate last night. Haliki Ederni remarks that Griffen’s Diggers and his gang of scavengers showed unusual interest in the Maid.

The Witch Morgwen is visited. Her hut is filled with jars of all manner of insects and many moths. She is of little help, claiming she was not home when the crime occurred. She was off hunting the Violet Butter Moths larvae, a moth indigenous to the Fens that glow strangely in moonlight. She seems obsessed with these nocturnal insects, which she believes have magical properties.