1. Can you keep a secret?
General Summary
The dark haired man stands tall, staring out of the window, a hot cup of freshly brewed tea clutched in his pale hands. Outside it is raining. He looks out at the crashing waves of the vast ocean and dark mountains beyond the glass, and takes a long slow sip of his tea.
But this is not our story.
On a street in Garrigill outside The Church of the Dawn, a group of helpless civillians were being threatened by three abominations.
Through Lacey's use of Faerie Fire, Jenny's melee attacks, Leopold's spellcasting, Iris' burning attacks and the magic that surrounds Sam, the group were able to defeat the creatures. This appeared to stop the mind-contorting effect that they were having on the fleeing civiliians. A city guard, Captain Barramead was first on the scene, informing the group of their need to be at Garrigill Gate at 9am tomorrow for a meeting, by order of The Veiled Custodians.
After threatening the guard for attempting to move the group along, the sound of a bell rang out across the city, signalling the early return of The Crusaders. The party followed the sound, Leopold with the intention of blessing the arrival in the name of The Dawn Gods.
With magic illuminating the area around the gates and cheers from the hundreds of onlookers, the Crusaders began their march into the Veil. Iris, Jenny and Leopold noticed a haunted-looking Crusader, his gauntlet missing exposing his tattooed hand - the symbol of Vireth. When he noticed the stares, the man quickly donned a fake smile and look of pride to match the other Crusaders. Asking a local guard, Jenny found out this injured Crusader's name - Granville.
Following the Dawn Blessing, the group conversed about "the Sewer Knight", "the Banshee" and Sam's intent to learn magic while Leopold and Lacey discussed their religions.
Thunder cracked and the rains poured as the Crusader's march drew to a close, prompting the group to depart for The Cornerstone where everyone was due to meet someone except Sam and Leopold, who changed his face.
The Cornerstone was bustling and the group took notice of a few particularly interesting individuals. Lacey and Jenny saw a woman wearing a blue cloak in the centre of the inn and Jenny and Iris noticed, sat in the corner, Crusader Granville. Acting evasive about his injury, Granville bought a round for the table. Lyra approached the table and after a brief discussion with Jenny, retired for the night, but not before agreeing to read Lacey's fortune in the morning. Before Jenny could leave to guard Lyra's room, Granville grabbed his arm - "Can you keep a secret?". Finally letting his emotions out, the man told the table of an incident his company faced a few weeks into their expedition as tears welled in his eyes. “I looked down, and… there’s this kid, and he looks me dead in the eyes…” Before the Crusader could continue, the door to the Cornerstone burst open, with a faceless Custodian staring at the man. With a simple nod, Granville accepted his fate, leaving the inn with the veiled figure.
As management promptly closed the bar, Leopold returned to his church, with the others taking rooms in the Cornerstone. As Jenny guarded Lyra, Lacey assisted Iris in writing a letter to her fiancee. The two also discussed Lacey's situation, with her revealling that her reason for leaving the monastery is a secret.
The next morning, the group made their way to the meeting as planned, grateful to see the rains had let up. A guard - Commander Bren, spoke on behalf of the Custodians, reassuring the crowd that while The Wall remains unbreachable, somehow incursions like the one the party witnessed the previous day have been increasing. The man revealed that the Custodians have a suspect in mind - "The Sovereign". Bren urged those with information on this individual to come forward and threatened death to those caught working with him.
After the speech, the masses eventually thinned as people began to leave the Gate area, providing a clear view of the previously obscured gallows. As the rains began to fall once more on the Veil, the party saw a new body swinging idly, hanged by its neck, dead. Dangling to the corpse's side, a hand with a missing gauntlet. Granville.
Report Date
17 Sep 2024
Primary Location
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