Episode 2 Epilogue, March 1619
From the journal of Guild Mistress Leila Shin:
March 25, 1619, Flint, Torakand
The plan to resupply the homesteads had been meticulously arranged, scheduled, and executed. It was the same this year as it had been in the past and everything seemed to be going like clockwork. But as they say, the best laid plans do not survive first contact with the enemy. Flint’s caravan to deliver goods to its homesteads was thwarted by a major theft of medical supplies. With Major Cullens and a retinue of soldiers trapped on the other side of the mountains near Leyton, Flint apparently did not have the necessary guard to keep the cargo safe. Without those critical supplies the journey to the homesteads would have to be delayed until we could make up the supplies we lost.
While we made new plans to deal with this affront to the colony we were attacked by the creature known as the Snallygaster. A creature of unknown origin with an eye of piercing green that can shoot forth a red beam that burns those it touches. This thing seems to be quite the nuisance of the colony. It is also the fascination of Professor Virgil Ambrose, who is never quite capable of witnessing the beast with his own eyes. Thankfully, it was repelled, but a few of the citizens of Flint decided to lead an party to deal with it. Flint and its people had been the victims of grand larceny, our authority challenged by unknown assailants, and people wanted to go monster hunting?
We were not to be left in the dark for long about our thieves, however. Late Friday night, a group of brigands who had been exiled from Flint over the years came back under the flag of parley to negotiate for the return of the supplies they stole. They were reluctantly allowed back into Flint on the condition that the supplies be returned. A repulsive idea, forgiving those who had harmed the colony in their greed and conceit! But these are desperate times. The exiles were strange, more than just your standard unwashed illiterates; many of them seemed to be afflicted with a strange disease that affected both their body and mind. At least they brought me something worth studying besides their stink.
Only two of the group were not affected by the disease: a Ritualist cursed by Spider for the crime for trying to bind the major Spirit to him and the leader of the exiles, Dandy Jack. A strange occurrence that only these two were unaffected. Or it would have been, had it not been discovered that Jack possessed a wellstone. Perhaps the illness was more than mere affliction of the body? That discovery was courtesy of the being known as Dog that some believe is the spirit Coyote in human form. That loathsome creature wanted a wellstone as payment to remove the curse they had placed upon some unwitting children who had given Dog their own blood to fix a leyline problem from October, the same leyline problem that had afflicted my brother. Since Dandy Jack had a wellstone it was only natural that Dog was interested in a scheme to get it.
The next day, Flint was busy. The Crafters set to work to remake some of our missing supplies when the so-called Northern Neighbors paid us a visit on their ship the Glorious Wave Dancer. These Epirans have been apparently coming to trade with Flint for years and live up the coast a few days away. Among their party was one of the Vogel who carry a strong resemblance to birds of the sky, including the feathers. These neighbors were able to help us with our present conundrum by trading necessary materials to help us rebuild our stolen stores.
While we built up our stores through trade and industry, Dandy Jack found that their wellstone had gone missing. In due time it was discovered to have been appropriated by those same citizens who had been cursed by Dog and after acquiring it they had and given it over to that accursed spirit for payment. This incident almost caused a civil war! However, due to the diplomatic efforts of the Governor, and of Constance, such violence was avoided. Those citizens are instead to pay Dandy Jack and the exiles a combined sum of 1000 Unum in reparations. With this incident and the allegation of Dog wanting Flint's citizens to commit ritual murder, the Governor commanded me to see to it that Dog was banished from Flint for a long period of time to teach them a lesson.
In the afternoon, to uphold their end of the bargain with the Governor, Dandy Jack went with a posse led by Urfexa to retrieve the stolen goods. Varyn, Jack’s second in command, decided to double cross Jack at this moment by ambushing our group. Varyn had been changed; the sickness he possessed was warping his physiology, having darkened skin and several extra eyes. The ambush was swift and brutal. Varyn got away after wounding Jack and promising to return and attack Flint. We set about returning our supplies to their proper places while others set about to defending the town from this lunatic and his followers. We even set about healing Dandy Jack, as they were technically a citizen of Flint again.
Late at night, Varyn approached the Grey Dawn tavern and called for Dandy Jack to be sent out. When he received no satisfaction Varyn commanded his band to attack and set fire to the buildings in our town. After extinguishing the flames and fighting off Varyn, our fighters, once again led by Urfexa, gave chase to him and his cohorts. We chased them out of Flint and finally tracked them to some nearby caves. Upon entering the caves, I could immediately feel the corruption there. Something was very wrong and I have a feeling that it fueled whatever was changing Varyn. His cohorts were mere puppets, skin and bones long dead and now controlled by thousands of spiders.
Our fighters were able to finally slay Varyn and his minions. I commanded the colonists to bring Varyn’s corpse inside the wards of Flint. Shortly after this was done, there was an explosion from the town wall which damaged the wards protecting Flint. This, of course, happened at almost the exact moment that Constance and I were ritually preparing Varyn to send his soul to its final rest. I cannot only relay this next portion of events through others who witnessed it because when the protective wards arounf Flint failed, there was some sort of energetic backlash that rendered both Constance and I unconscious.
It seems that whatever had corrupted Varyn took full control over his body and transformed it into some form of hideous spider-alloyim hybrid. This Spider-Varyn for lack of a better term attacked the colonists once more, this time with all eight legs causing it to move with frightening speed and the ability to attack in all directions. However, I am pleased to report that Flint prevailed and destroyed the creature.
Of course, there was still the matter of banishing Dog. Members of Flint gathered to accuse Dog of their crimes and assist in the banishing. The banishing ritual was interrupted by Liam Featherspark who had conspired to be last in the line of the working. It was discovered at this time that Dog had done something to become closer to mortal, making the Ritual less effective. But regardless, the betrayal will not go unpunished. Adjutant Merriot, after two attempts, peacefully arrested Mister Featherstone and the punishment will be harsh. Featherstone must choose to go without using their magic for a time and then they must prove that they can be trusted again.
As I prepare for my journey into the wilds of this New World, I am pleased to hear that repairs to both the physical wall and the wards has begun and should be done well in advance of our return. After all of this madness, it is finally good to see the colony returning to normal. With the help of our Northern Neighbors and our stalwart Crafters Guild, we have successfully replaced the supplies that were lost. Our military helped secure much of what was stolen, and it will be nice to finally set out and explore the lands surrounding Flint. Our journey will take us first to the three homesteads on this side of the Cadmar mountains and finally through the Levantra Pass to Leyton, where hopefully, the Major will have information on what happened there and I can examine wellstones myself.
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