Episode 2

General Summary

Commander Owen explains to (most of) the group that Chimuk has recently been afflicted with a disease. It seems around half of the population has been affected, and because of this they are keeping the town locked down.
The party can leave the Order's HQ, but not the town. Before leaving, arrangements are made to meet with one of these sick people later on.
Marty and Atlas, having snuck off from the group, head towards the new Church. Atlas reveals that he has the ability to change appearances - and takes on the guise of Jeremiah, the farmer the group met on the road.
In the church, Jeremiah introduces Marty as a traveller who is interested in learning more about Sol. One of the priests, Brother Solomon, happily fills them in. Solomon explains that Marcoh arrived in the town shortly after the disappearance of Chimuk's resident druid. Through his divine miracles, he was able to restore the lands, keeping Chimuk in business.
Solomon brings Father Marcoh down to meet the pair, who very enthusiastically greets them and explains a little more about Sol. Marcoh is due to give his morning blessings at dawn, and invites Marty to come and listen to the teachings. Before leaving the church, Marty spots a woman watching her from outside, but they are unable to find her again.
After leaving the Order's HQ, Veda and Eva head to Nature's Rest. The tavern is run by a female halfing, and has a handful of patrons inside enjoying a midday meal. The duo speak to the halfing, Freida Whitetail, learning that she hasn't really seen any decline in customer's since this illness came about, and that she herself hasn't been affected by it. The pair enjoy a meal and some wine. Whilst chatting, an unusual woman enters the tavern, sitting near the door. She seems to be somewhat disfigured, and some of the tavern patrons seem to show her signs of pitty, or possibly sympathy...
Godric takes the time to clean off the statue of The Goddess that stands unloved in the middle of the town. Many of the townsfolk watch him work, but none dare approach.
Leah investigates the cherry blossoms on the western side of town. She is able to determine that the trees are being kept in a constant state of blossom through druidic magic. The trees are healthy and doing well it seems. In the middle of the grove, a windmill stands - apparently the home of the druid Safiyah who used to live here. The windmill is padlocked from the outside and there are no signs of life inside.
The group meet up in Nature's Rest, sharing the information they have gathered. They agree that their next course of action should be to visit the mayor, using Eva as their front-woman to get in the door.
The mayor, an elderly man by the name of Daydan Brown, happily welcomes the group into his home. He seems to be happy enough with the work that the Church of Sol are doing in the town, though admits that he himself has not converted. Daydan graciously accepts an invitation to see Eva perform in the evening, before going back to his duties.
Eva and Veda then pay a visit to Marcoh in the church, extending an invitation to the priest to watch the performance too. Marcoh accepts after some resistance, not able to pass up the opportunity to watch such a talent as Eva Monroe.
The group then investigate the windmill. Entering the locked home proves no problem for Atlas, and the group move inside to discover a bedroom in disarray, with a single blood splatter on the ground. In the eaves of the windmill, Atlas discovers a small sparrow hiding out. Leah is able to coax the bird to her using what seems to be a druidcrafted staff that Godric found.
As the evening arrives, the group head back to Commander Owen, who has brought a sick woman with him. The woman, Maria, claims to be ill but doesn't really seem it - something that Leah's spells seem to confirm.
As the group leave the HQ once more, the sparrow (which flew off as they arrived) returns to Leah with a note: "Run if you can, trust nobody".

Report Date

30 Aug 2019