Episode 17 - A Gnawing Hunger

General Summary

6th of Midyear, 1442 Having followed the trail of Annabeth of Risevar southwest from their former home at Lonsley Manor, the motley assembly of agents including Kain Unknown, Jarvin Cadwalader , Roan Cordelaine, Drosta and Bexley came across the decaying remains of Annabeth's entourage, riddled with arrows and left to rot off the side of the road in the Barony of Catena. Annabeth's carriage was left overturned, but no sign of her or her baby Mair Dillestone was to be found. Further down the road, more signs of ruin; an inn, burned to the ground, with an assortment of corpses left to rot around it. Stepping through the charred wreckage, Kain found the burned body of a man clutching a rosary of The Six Saints that had miraculously survived the blaze. Roan and Kain surveilled the scene, as well as the fallen hedge knight who had perished just outside of the front doors of the building, and determined that the blaze was set intentionally. However, several sets of tracks lead away from the site, with at least two of them departing on horseback towards the Barony of Bridemare. Further inquiries amongst the locals living nearby offered up little more information, only that a band of rogues had occupied a nearby farmhouse for several days prior to the fire. The family that had previously resided in that farmhouse hadn't been seen since. 4th of Sunfall, 1442 At Rhythavn Castle, dozens of reports and missives flow in and out of Pendros Ildrafn's offices as he coordinates the House's efforts across multiple fronts. The sponsored Untamed rebellion against House Antyre continues to stir up turmoil in The Antar Highlands while worrying rumours persist that Khinar Antyre seeks to soon strike at McCloughhaven's Reach. The search for the missing heir Mair Dillestone, however, has run aground in the Barony of Bridemare, as multiple leads on the child's whereabouts have turned up as little more than red herrings and tavern falsehoods. Determined to secure the heir, Pendros taps his advisor Sarischa Ravana and their able dogsbody Elnor Portrain to head south into The Heartlands to oversee their intelligence assets in the field and get the search for Mair back on track. He is also aware that agents of House Sandoreale are also in the mix and working with them as an alliance of convenience (for however long that lasts.) His explicit instructions to Elnor and Sarischa are to ensure Mair's safe return to Castle Rhythavn... with or without her mother Annabeth. 21st of Sunfall, 1442 After a long journey avoiding the main roads and keeping a low profile, Sarischa and Elnor arrive at a small village outside of the city of Springbrook. They are met there by Roan, Kain, Jarvin, Drosta and Bexley, all of whom have rented out a small roadside hovel as their base of operations. It's cramped and musty, but unlikely to draw attention, and Sarischa and Elnor catch up on the local situation as they settle in. The tensions between Artigan Dillestone and Beltran Dillestone are ratcheting up day by day, and the Artigan's barony of Bridemare sits shoulder to shoulder with Beltran's stronghold in the Barony of Tatcher. The lands between their two holdings are known as the Durhalen Foothills, and while the borders between their holdings have been in constant dispute and flux over the years, there has never been sufficient animosity to push the matter beyond the occasional argument. Now, both Artigan and Beltran's soldiers are jockeying for position within the Foothills, preparing for what they believe is an inevitable outbreak of hostilities. The peasant families caught between them are suffering significantly, but some more opportunistic sorts are quietly noting troop movements and selling the information to the other side for a quick pouch of Banteavan marks. Skirmishes between Artigan and Beltran's bannermen are growing steadily more common, but open warfare hasn't been declared... yet. Amidst the growing threat of conflict and Kain's attempts to pick up the trail, a golden opportunity emerges; a farmhand named Elrilla reaches out, stating that she wishes to speak with them regarding the subject they've been seeking around the barony for the past few months. The agents agree to meet her in the local marketplace outside of the tavern, and Drosta and Kain sit for the rendezvous while Elnor, Bexley and Roan keep watch on the perimeter. Elrilla is young, barely shy of eighteen winters, and speaks with anxious haste as soon as she sits down at the table. She reeks of hay and horses, and is eventually calmed down enough to speak of a man named Tonnath who recently came to own the farm her family has worked for generations. The new owner was kind enough to keep them on, but has been very reserved and kept mostly to himself. Upon hearing of Kain's inquiries, Tonnath gave Elrilla a torn piece of parchment to bring to Kain as proof that he knows more about the missing heir. It is a portion of a letter written in Annabeth's hand, beginning with the phrase "My dear friend--." Tonnath is willing to sell what he knows to Kain and Drosta, but he will not leave his home and insists they come to him. Drosta agrees to the proposed price of fifty Banteavan marks, and the team prepares to depart the marketplace just as a group of injured Bridemare bannermen ride in, seeking aid from the local apothecary. Roan, however, has not been entirely focused on the matter at hand. As he surveilled the marketplace from the alleyways, a rat clawed up onto his shoulder and demanded repayment of the debts he owed to Rottur. Faced with a dire choice between leading a pack of rats to valuable grain stores or infecting the apothecary's supply of medicines, Roan opts to satisfy his patron's wishes by slinking past the soldiers outside the apothecary to the back alley. There, a tickle in his throat soon becomes an unbearable clawing, and Roan vomits up a diseased, scab-covered rodent that slinks in through the basement window and down onto the apothecary's worktables. The effort of this alone is enough to overwhelm poor Roan, and when he comes to again Elnor and Bexley are there, having come back to look for their errant teammate. Bexley is brusque with Roan, expressing his extreme distaste at the man's dabbling in dark arts, and Roan gets a glimpse of Bexley's chest tattoo depicting the Six Saints. Elnor tries to be a bit more sympathetic, helping the weakened man to his feet, and together they depart from the village, making haste towards Tonnath's farm. When they arrive in the early evening, however, they are met by the unwelcome sight of several dead horses and a band of soldiers occupying the ranch under the banner of Beltran Dillestone. Hanging back, the team opts to wait until the cover of night to make their approach and camp out at the old remains of a hillside chapel. While they prepare, Kain and Roan manage to convince an agitated Elrilla to stay behind while they investigate the soldiers at Tonnath's home. In the dead of night, while the soldiers raid Tonnath's larder, roast his pigs and make merry, the agents of Ildrafn and Sandoreale make their moves. Drosta and Kain slink onto the property but are nearly apprehended by a sentry, while Bexley and Elnor use their knives to make quick work of the sentinels posted on the perimeter. Roan, lingering in the nearby brush, compels a rat to feed him information about the layout of the home and learns that Tonnath may not be there; he was taken with several others to the west, with only a tall tree to serve as a landmark to guide them. Drosta, Bexley, Kain and Elnor close in on the farmhouse, with the last few soldiers still lurking within... END OF EPISODE

Notes

The tattoos found on the dead men outside the burned inn match the one found in the cold room at Lonsley Manor, depicting a hanged man dancing on the gallows. Neither Kain nor Roan know what the tattoo signifies.
Roan has instigated an outbreak of virulent disease in the farmlands outside of Springbrook. This may have future ramifications.
Drosta and Bexley have also summoned reinforcements from House Sandoreale to assist them in the search for Mair. They will be here soon.
Bexley is a firm believer in the Six Saints
Drosta has spent time in Dunefalle during her wandering on the Continent, and shares a fondness for exotic cheeses with Elnor.

Campaign

The Burning Isle

Protagonists