GMs Log 2: Beast of Fertile Crossing

General Summary

Lorkan is approached by a runner from the Saoi Council. Doyle, young man from Fertile Crossing, has come to ask for help for his village. They’re being menaced by some sort of vicious, unnatural beast. Since the council knows the group is on its way to visit the Greentongues and investigate the Fens, they’ve been asked to stop in on the village and help solve their wild beast problem. The party makes their way to Fertile Crossing and finds the village acting as though they're under siege. They talk to the hetwoman, Maureen Little, who tells them the following: “Folks, we have here what might be called a situation. About two weeks back, two of our youngsters -- names of Bree and Letham -- went off into the wood on a lark, hunting and playing at being adventurer types. They were both right decent woodsfolk and able to take care of the themselves. Almost a week later, Bree comes back into town with Letham's body, screaming about the boar attack and monsters in the woods. "Saddened us all, for sure, but we thought she was unhinged from the grief. That weren’t the half of it. Almost immediately afterwards, strange things started happening to the animals. We’ve found dogs with their throats torn out, cows cut near in half. We figured it had to be a dire wolf gone rabid or something. And then we found the Erins. “Taint right what happened to them. Young couple, probably headed back from the barn after the haying. Couldn’t hardly recognize them after what had been done to 'em. He was torn up something fierce, and she’d been burned by some sort of acid. “After that we got serious. I set traps near the attack sites, put our best hunters out around the edges of town in deer blinds. Took shifts myself. But after the thing killed Big Kirby and Tara Rumple, I brought everyone back in, told the outliers to move into town for a spell and lock up tight. And sent Doyle here for help from the big city. Since then, there haven’t been any deaths - but it’s still leaving signs, right in among our houses. As far as I can tell, only after dark. And that’s about the shape of things." Once the meeting is concluded, Moreen offers to show the PCs the various attack sites and brings them to talk to Bree, who is drunk and distraught. Bree tells the party, “He had taken off from camp. Stupid! The huntsmaster always taught us to stay together. Especially at night when you can’t hardly see your way in the deep woods. But we had been fighting and rubbing each other the wrong way and I guess he just wanted to get a break from me, you know? And I let him stomp off like it weren’t no big thing. I was at at the camp when I heard him screaming. I started running, but I was already too late. It was a boar. It had gored him in his leg and stomach. I don’t know if he was hunting it on purpose or just disturbed it. By the time I reached him, he was barely standing, his face so white. I killed the boar. When I turned around to Letham, he’d collapsed. I picked him up. I swear, he was so light, it was like picking up a child instead of a man. I put him on this flat stone and rolled him flat. When I saw the wound, I knew he wouldn’t make it. He’d been gored right in the gut. It smelled like shite. But I tried to fix him. I swear on the Son himself, I tried so hard, but his guts kept falling back out and he didn’t stop bleeding. He stopped screaming after a while. He said it didn’t hurt no more, he was just real cold and scared. I didn’t know what to say. What do you say? He’d stopped talking and was looking so pale. I picked him up again and carried him to the church. I didn’t know what to do. I told him that he’d have a fine funeral and that he’d be hunting with the Son in no time. A glorious hunt that never ended. We were most of the way back when the that thing started chasing us. I could hear it running and snarling behind me. I didn’t have anywhere decent to put Letham while I fought, so I just ran as fast as I could like a coward, my back to it. When I reached the village walls, I put him down and turned back around. I didn’t have time to circle to one of the gates. That’s when I saw it. It was a giant, tattooed beast, but with vines around its fur, and glowing eyes and and too many teeth and its neck was too long. It slowed down like it was stalking me. I was sure it would kill me, too, but then it just ran off to the side. It was really fast. I fell down trying to catch it. I think I started screaming then. I’m not rightly sure. Eventually Maureen and my pa and the others came. But the beast didn’t come back. And Letham was still gone. And that’s what happened.” Maureen offers one more piece of information, ““There’s one more thing, before you go. When we held Letham’s funeral and the priest performed the miracle of the omen at the end, none of the Gods signaled that they’d taken his soul. He’s been sundered. I can’t imagine why he’d have refused to go to the Gods. He’s not that sort of boy. Our templeman has written to his superiors about this, but we haven’t heard any word back. I just thought you might keep an eye out, being a sensitive and all, and see if you can see him or find any answers for us about Letham’s spirit while you’re hunting the beast.” The party studies the tracks and realizes that the beast is circling the church. They examine the church itself and talk to the priest, a Father Lerin. Quickly realizing he’s hiding information, they learn from him that deep in the woods is an ancient rune shrine. It’s located in a place where the boundaries between worlds grows thin, and ancient people use to cast rituals there. He visited the shrine after Letham’s death and didn’t see anything obviously wrong. It seemed eerie, but natural. But he is worried that the Letham’s death started a ritual and that the beast wants Letham’s body to complete the ritual and tear open a whole between the worlds. @Lorkan also speaks to the spirit of one of the goats who was killed by the beast. Although it couldn’t communicate in words, the smell picture it sent helped the party.

Campaign

Five Gods: Age of Change

Protagonists