SoA Session 12- Strange Bedfellows

General Summary

Wineday 28th Highsun 619PR Starting Location; Outside the Draughmere Logging Camp Last time we left our heroes, they had arrived at the gates of the West Draughmere Logging Company Compound. Upon surveying the camp, they noticed the woodsman armed with a short bow, guarding the returning foresters. As they made inquiries with the guard, their attention was captured with aa collapsing log pile. A barrel-chested, giant of a man, made directly for the logs, and with Azo's caught several of the logs, preventing the collapse and further injury of several unfortunate foresters. The man introduced himself as Barnabas Cyras; the foreman of the operation. When Barnabas learned that the heroes were answering the summons of aid, he invited them into the camp and his cabin. Barnabas explained the trouble besetting the camp; the loggers were experiencing a rash of animal attacks and strange deaths. Initially, the camp numbered thirty foresters, however, had recently been reduced to eighteen. He explained that he needed to keep the men working or they wouldn’t receive any pay. The attacks seemed to occur without a pattern- although primarily where caused by spiders. Offering a sum of 100 gold each, Barnabas employed the party to look into what was causing the deaths and to deal with them. During the meeting, the party was introduced to Ser Elias Torphin; a knight who commanded the small group of men-at-arms responsible for guarding the pay chest. Immediately the heroes took a dislike to the snob, even quizzing him on why he wasn’t actively guarding the camp. His reason was simple- his role was to defend the pay chest. Spending the evening speaking to various foresters gave the party some insight into the goings-on. Brice learned from a forester Baird that a strange fey woman had killed his cousin Jonas. Baird insisted that this attack was unsolicited and in a drunken rage has started to form a mob, intent on hunting this woman down. Brice sought Barnabas out, warning him of the crowd, and suggesting that the group should ascertain the truth of matters before the mob gets out of hand. Spending the evening providing medical relief to many of the foresters, Alleandre heard rumours of a strange commune not far from the camp. One of the woodsmen believed that they are behind the misfortune, after all, why would people be living this deep in the forest. The heroes also heard tales of sightings of a ghostly woman accompanied by a giant wolf. Her sighting usually acting as a precursor to the spider attacks. Thunderday 29th Highsun 619PR Starting Location; Outside the Draughmere Logging Camp The next morning the group decided to investigate the sad tale of Jonas before the mob could arrive at the grove. After travelling approximately an hour, they found themselves at an entrance to a small grove, ringed by trees. A small babbling brook cut through pastors of wildflowers, the air was loud with the sound of bees and in the centre grew am an ancient oak tree. Brice immediately recognised the grove as the home of a fey creature and made the groups peaceful intentions obvious. They were greeted by a shy reclusive creature who introduced herself as Nephety- a dryad who had tended the grove for centuries. After a short discussion with Nephety, they learned that she had indeed killed Jonas, but as a matter of self-defence. The young man was intent on cutting down her oak tree- and action that would kill Nephety. Sensing that she was a victim, the party agreed to prevent the foresters from killing her. Keeping guard a little out of the Grove, Azo was the first to notice the approach of the mob. She leapt into action, calling for them to halt. After a tense few minutes of arguing (and the use of a suggestion spell by Alleandre), the mob agreed that Jonas’s death, while unfortunate was an act of self-defence. Furthermore, they decided to leave Nephety alone. So grateful for their intervention, Nephety rewarded the heroes with two powerful potions- one that gave the drinker the strength of a hill giant, and the second which healed wounds. The heroes also convinced Barnabas to mark the area of the grove as off-limits. Deciding to investigate the commune, the ground travelled approximately 6 hours in a western direction. Mainly due to Brice’s efforts, they were able to navigate their way around the twisted dark forest, eventually arriving at the commune. They found the commune in stark contrast to the perilous woods surrounding it. A large and beautiful manor house was surrounded by orchards and fields, all tended by friendly young women in simple white dresses. Being welcomed into the home, the heroes were introduced to the leader of the commune Ariel. They found Ariel to be a beautiful woman with unblemished alabaster skin, raven hair and beautiful teeth. Both her and her partner Lith were dressed in a light green dress. Growing suspicious of their host, Mordai took the opportunity to excuse himself from her company and stealthily scouted the mansion. He discovered what he assumed to be Ariel’s bedroom. After picking the lock on the door, he searched the room- noticing the thin layer of dust on the bed, suggesting that it had never been slept in. This raised some suspicions, coupled with the fact that most of the windows had shutters closed over, even in the height of the day. Realising that it was close to dark, the heroes were invited to sup and spend the night. Before settling down for the night; Mordai stealthily followed Ariel and Lith to their room eavesdropping on their conversation. It seemed that they were aware of his previous sneaking, and Ariel suggested that instead of feeding directly from the crop tonight, they should feed on their stores. After which the conversation stopped. After several minutes of silence, Mordai snuck into their room to find it empty, with no apparent form of egress. Discussing his findings with the party, it was decided that they should set a watch for the night.

Campaign

Shadows over Alonia

Protagonists