Session 03
General Summary
Having just been privileged to have witnessed the healing powers of Lady Fortuna firsthand, the
young Albioners realise that perhaps the dangers of the road to Mount Macarack might be beyond
them. This made for a sudden change of heart and direction as they decided to remain within
Albion's heartland and travel the King's Road south to Littlebrook. There they would see what Sir
Harken needed assistance with, hopefully a worthy quest.
Before departing, Ethulwulf disappeared to have a private chat with Lady Fortuna while the others
stocked up on supplies. Heremod gave Zandrill a sprig of mistletoe as a token to thank him for
saving his life in the battle with the orcs. Keeping alert for further problems with barbarians or
orcs, the five departed southwards.
After a quiet journey from Castle Fortuna via Thistledelve and Waymeet, the young Albioners had
their first sight of Littlebrook. This was truly a huge and magnificent city, far greater than any
town they'd ever visited before, including those in Honshu which Heremod was familiar with. The
city was dominated by a large castle. Located nearby was The Cathedral of Pelor. Tired from the
journey, accomodation was immediately booked in the famous Green Dragon Inn. Here there were
rumours of a lord in the northwest of Albion offering a reward for the rescue of his missing
daughter. There was also talk of a dragon living in the desert to the south, which was rumoured to
be a very dangerous place to visit. MacReady popped out to explore the city and returned with
tales of busy markets, slums and dwarfs.
After an early session of weapons drill and a hearty breakfast, the Albioners went to speak to Sir
Harken. Heremod didn't initially go but was later fetched by Ermenred. Sir Harken, head of the
Knights of the Sun, welcomed them into the great hall of his Chapterhouse, located next to the
Cathedral. He explained the task he needed assistance with. Sir Calmet, newly knighted, had been
despatched into the Barren Scrubs, with 12 squires and plenty of equipment and supplies, to set up
a "forward post" for the Knights to use as a base for campaigns against the hobgoblin tribes in the
area. This was to be located in an old hermitage found on an island in a loch about 5 miles into the
Scrubs. He'd been gone 2 to 3 weeks and had sent no word on his progress. Naturally Sir Harken
was concerned that something had gone wrong. He offered 50gp per person up front to investigate
and report what had happened to Sir Calmet, with more cash forthcoming depending on results.
This sounded like a cause both noble and lucrative so was accepted. The group planned to set off
first thing in the morning. Sir Harken's personal squire, Earl, would guide them to the edge of the
scrubs where they would meet an envoy, Sharon, who would guide them the rest of the way to the
old hermitage. But before then they went to the noon mass at The Cathedral. It was a most
impressive service led by Cardinal O'Connor himself, with 45 Knights in attendance, resplendent
in their platemail.
Earl met up with the group for breakfast in the Green Dragon and they headed south. After 12
miles of peaceful farmland they neared the edge of Albion, the Barren Scrubs looming on the
horizon, a band of dark cliffs masked by fog and mist. As they approached the meeting point, they
spotted a body on the ground - it bore a white tunic marked with the sun of Pelor - it was Sharon,
brutally slain and partially eaten. Before there was time to take in the shocking sight, a ferocious
boar rushed out of the undergrowth and into combat. Hastily drawing weapons, the boar was
surrounded. Then Ermenred unleashed his arcane power in a wave of colourful energy. When it
had passed, he saw three of his friends lying stunned on the ground while the boar appeared
unaffected! It had never happened that way when Arundel demonstrated? Undeterred he tried
again, this time dazing the boar. This bought enough time for his friends to recover and kill it.
From the teethmarks the boar had left when attacking Heremod it appeared to have been
responsible for killing and partially eating Sharon. Zandrill was disturbed as this was not typical
behaviour for a boar. He wondered if it had been poisoned so set about burying it to stop carrion
feeders from potentially being poisoned also. Ermenred despatched Wini to the skies to check the
area for further trouble. She soon returned saying that there were 2 men, 6 horses and some dead
bodies at the top of the cliff. Earl pointed out a narrow gulley running up the cliff and said it was
the only easy way up for miles around, hence why Sharon had agreed to meet here. The men and
horses could be squires from Sharon's retinue or somebody less friendly? Ethulwulf quietly moved
to scout but his progress was rudely interrupted by a trap halfway up the gulley, cunningly
constructed of planks and springs, which smacked him in the face. Discretion was definitely the
better part of valour so he retreated. It was decided to head up the gulley en masse, leaving Earl to
guard Sharon's body. MacReady took the lead, using this sharp eyes to check for further traps. The
top of the cliff was reached without further incident but MacReady stopped suddenly as he spotted
two humans with bows waiting in ambush atop a pair of rocky outcrops. Lying nearby were
several bodies of squires of Pelor plus what appeared to be human bandits.
Ermenred asked Wini to distract one of the ambushers with her squawking. As she did so
MacReady slipped atop the cliff with his bow while Ethulwulf and Heremod made a charge
towards the bandits, though their progress was slowed by deep sand. Meanwhile Ermenred and
Zandrill emerged from the gulley and provided missile support. With a couple of crossbow bolts
sticking out of him and realising they were greatly outnumbered, one of the bandits fled, chased
by Heremod. Meanwhile the other one surrendered to Ethulwulf. Heremod easily caught the
injured bandit who immediately surrendered. However the rules of combat are different in Honshu
than in Albion. There, surrender is most dishonourable and usually followed by death. Hence
Heremod cut the man down where he stood to the amazement of his comrades.
Ethulwulf's captive admitted to being a horse rustler who had attacked the squires in order to steal
their horses. Earl was fetched and he offered to take the captive to Littlebrook, along with the
horses and the bodies of Sharon and her squires. As the bodies were loaded onto horses it was
discovered that one was still alive! Earl called on the power of Pelor and soon the squire, Aiden
Pim, was healed and describing what had happened. He offered to perform Sharon's role of
guiding the way to the old hermitage. Before leaving the area, Ethulwulf smashed the traps with
his axe to stop them being reset. The bodies of the bandits were laid out on rocky outcrops for
carrion birds and to serve as an example to other bandits in the area.
By now it was almost dark. Earl hurried off back to Littlebrook while the others set camp for the
night. Over dinner, Heremod was informed of the laws of Albion regarding murder and how lucky
he was that he'd killed the bandit in The Barren Scrub, beyond Albion's borders and hence not
subject to the law. He was warned to be a lot more careful inside Albion as his actions could have
grave consequences for not only him but all of his companions. In turn he described the Honshu
approach to such matters.
Report Date
10 Apr 2024
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