The Lonely Coast Campaign – Seeking Cynric’s Folly Part 5 (Session 12)

When we last left our heroes, they had been investigating a purported suicide at the Temple of Vélen when additional bodies started to be found dead. The priest, Aethelric, who was reported to have committed suicide had come back from the dead for vengeance against those who had wronged him. The heroes had just “killed” the creature with repeated and repeated and repeated and repeated attacks (i.e., it took a LOT of damage to drop). Fortunately for them, the thing had been solely focused on slowly squeezing the life out of one of the other priests rather than attacking them. When we pick up after the break, we start to learn about what had actually happened to Aethelric and a bit of other things about the temple.

The Southern Shakespeare Festival (with a production of A Midsummer’s Night Dream) also returned to Tallahassee this past weekend after a 15+ year hiatus. There must have been something in the air as we had elements of secret identities, cross-dressing, arranged romances, cross-dressing to avoid arranged romances, and the like. I made a comment the next day to one of the players about how I kind of felt like some of the session was inspired by some Shakespearean elements and she had been thinking the same thing. It wasn’t really intentional but it was pretty fun. I had actually prepped something for this session but we never even got close to it.

RJ was missing this week and so Todd played Bay. Spoiler Alert: This session is partially based on and largely inspired by the old Dungeon Magazine adventure, Unhallowed Ground, from Issue #54.

With a single-minded persistence that would make the most stubborn dwarf proud, the Aethelric thing was finally beaten back into death. Osric carried the remains out of the dormitory and the party intended to behead and burn the thing. Godric, however, had other ideas. The old priest requested that they not defile the body any further. It was his belief that the thing posed no further threat and they would provide Aethelric a proper burial. This led to a bit of a discussion about there having to have been some kind of outside force that brought Aethelric back but Godric did not believe so.

Conversation then turned to Berangar’s confession as he came out of the dormitory and dropped to his knees in front of Godric. He confessed to having killed Aethelric but that it was an accident. When the young priest had come to him and told him of his vision of their patron god, Wodon, Berangar had determined to teach Aethelric a lesson as Berangar simply could not believe that the vision was real. Why would Wodon appear to that neophyte rather than to him, a servant of decades?

With the aid of Hrothwig and Eadric [the other two priests already found dead with the Penance notes in the prior session], Berangar had taken Aethelric to the stables and had whipped him. It didn’t seem like much but the young man died as a result. To cover their deed, the trio had tossed the body off the wall and down the cliff to make it look like a suicide. Not only had the trio killed the young priest but then had conspired to make it look like a suicide so that he was denied a proper burial.

Berangar would need to be escorted to Swallowfeld and to the authorities at Wardseld Keep to face the Baron’s justice. Godric asked that the heroes do this the following day as they all needed some rest and had other business to attend to this day. It was agreed and Godric would pen a letter explaining the recent events that had happened at the temple.

Everyone realized that Malvenos had disappeared during these conversations and was assumed to have left the temple.

After a somber meal and a morning nap, discussions turned to the heroes’ search for Cynric’s Folly. True to his word, Godric set about sharing the information that he could recall about the Ironwolf’s lost keep. The old scholar believed that there was a good chance that Isenthorne’s father, Leander, was correct in his belief that the keep was north of Swallowfeld rather than north of Wolverton as was common wisdom and there was some evidence to this effect.

One of the first foes that Cynric had fought to carve out his holdings was the goblin tribe known as the Ebon Eye. Although there was little information about the tribe, Godric did recall that they had their main camp on a bluff overlooking the Acsa River. This camp was believed to have been built upon some ancient ruins. They had even taken their tribal symbol, a dark spot in a larger circle, from symbols in the ruins. At Thalimor’s prompting, Godric recalled that the symbol was very similar to the Dracmosi symbol for pride.

As they continued to talk, Godric recalled that one of the reasons why Cynric selected the location he had was that it was at a sacred site of the Thioda called the Road of the Dead. The Road of the Dead is said to be a manifestation of the Thiodan conception of hell. A warrior who could cross this road successfully was considered a true warrior among the Thioda.

That was pretty much all the information that Godric could recall that might be of help in locating the lost keep but it was all the encouragement that the heroes needed to continue their efforts in seeking Cynric’s Folly. Ymma had been scribing all the information that Godric shared but all the mention of goblins caused her to withdraw into herself again.

With that Thalimor turned the conversation back to his concerns…primarily why it was so important that Malvenos not leave the temple and how this would benefit Thalimor’s family. Godric reiterated that he had sworn an oath to not share that information. He did explain that it was more that Thalimor’s family could benefit if Malvenos remained and that they were in no danger if he did not as Thalimor tried to make it sound.

Oswin, as he had already done, chimed in that he knew the information and had sworn no such oath. He still would not share the information with Thalimor. He did, however, offer to tell others starting with Isenthorne. She would have to swear an oath to never share the information. She declined. Oswin then asked Bay. Bay agreed…perhaps the “mistreatment” he had suffered at Thalimor’s hands in the last couple of weeks (e.g., being pawned off as being mute and dumb in Swallowfeld) made it seem like a good choice. The two, Oswin and Bay, left for Oswin to share the secret.

[Bay swore an oath on his fey patron, Danu, that he would never share this information or even provide hints as to what the secret might be. And, of course, I won’t be sharing either…can’t let Thomas know.]

Talk then turned to Aethelric’s vision. What if his vision had actually been true? Many of the heroes suspected that the vision was not true and there was even some speculation that the imp, Aerlium, may have been involved somehow but what if it was true. So a few of the heroes spent much of the afternoon traipsing about the area outside the temple with Oswin in search of such a site. They found nothing to indicate that they had found the site that Wodon had told Aethelric to dig a well. They did, however, collect a good amount of firewood for the temple…at the suggestion of Oswin (which he made with a grin).

With the business of the day concluded, all retired for a much needed night of sleep. In the morning, the heroes set off for Swallowfeld with both the letter from Godric and their willing prisoner, Beranger. Later that afternoon, they arrived in Swallowfeld and headed straight for Wardseld Keep where they met with one of the Warden’s sergeants, Feng, a half-orc who seemed gruffly interested in Pounder’s presence there.

The heroes turned over Berangar and gave Feng Godric’s letter as well as explaining what had happened. They also informed the sergeant of what had happened a few days before at the ruins a short distance from Swallowfeld. The sergeant seemed less than impressed that they had released some kind of demon. A contingent of troops had been sent to investigate the prior day but had not returned or reported back yet. The heroes were then dismissed and so they headed to the Wolf’s Head.

[And this is where things started to get weird.]

Kettle was quite welcoming of the heroes when they entered. He was genuinely happy to see them. When they asked about rooms, however, his wife, Saewig, explained that they were one room short. Kettle seemed confused by this but went along with his wife’s claim. Saewig then disappeared and quickly returned with Ardor who even more quickly attached herself to “Thalli’s” arm.

Pounder headed over to the Fellowship Hall to check on Kettilwig and Daegelric, the children that they had saved from the imp. Kettilwig was quite excited to see Pounder and started to share everything that she had been doing the last couple of days at the Temple. Daegelric remained rather aloof.

Isenthorne, Magnus, and Osric all headed to Swallowfeld’s Trading Post. It was the only building in the village that had a stockade around it. Two guards were also stationed outside. The heroes would have to leave their weapons outside with the guards if they wished to enter. All complied. Inside the stockade stood a single building. Another guard waited outside of it and opened the door for the heroes as they approached. Inside was a fairly typical looking rural trading post. The shopkeeper, a Cesvani woman by the name of Teza Sosia, introduced herself and asked what she could do for them.

Osric and Magnus both asked for items that she did not have in stock, Osric asking for spice and Magnus for ruby dust. Magnus seemed a little surprised that she didn’t have any, particularly given the number of guards. Both he and Osric were suspicious of why she would have so many guards. Teza explained, however, that for one Swallowfeld was fairly remote and in a dangerous wilderness. Second, she required guards for when she traveled to the other villages and to Wolverton. So she kept these constantly employed and she might as well have them guard while at the trading post; it was what she was paying them for after all.

Teza did offer to look into acquiring both spices and ruby dust on her next trip to Wolverton if the pair were interested. The ruby dust, however, would require a down payment. Isenthorne was able to purchase some arrows but the cost was somewhat higher than she was accustomed to…no doubt due to the remote location.

[I completely forgot to mention that Teza was the same woman who Bay had delivered Kettilwig and Daegelric to before he and Pounder turned to face the creature chasing him from the ruins. No big deal I suppose…none of the three there had actually met her before.]

Back at the Wolf’s Head, Thalimor started to inquire about whether or not there might be someone in the village who could discern the properties of a magical item. It turns out that the village wizard happened to be at the inn right now. Ragenald, a rather plump and rosy cheeked man, approached. He was clearly drunk and as became clear later, Saewig strongly disliked or disapproved of the man.but Kettle kept giving him free ale.

Thalimor was less than confident that Ragenald could magically identify anything but the wizard said he could with utmost drunken confidence. Thalimor wanted to visit him in the morning to discuss this more but Ragenald didn’t seem interested in that…it would be entirely too early for him. There was some miscommunication where Ragenald seem to think that Thalimor was putting him on retainer for an indeterminate future but that got cleared up fairly quickly to Thalimor’s relief and Ragenald’s disappointment.

Thalimor then asked for directions to the Trading Post. Instead of giving him directions, Ardor insisted on taking him there by dragging him out of the inn. On their way there, they passed the trio of heroes returning from the Trading Post. Introductions were made and Ardor was quite cold towards Isenthorne until the ranger pointed out that Thalimor was a like a brother to her which immediately got the young woman to warm to Isenthorne.

Once inside the Trading Post, Thalimor told Teza that he was on behalf of his companions and group business. He inquired about selling the rubies (the eyes taken from the statue in the ruin) and Teza offered 150gp for them. The question then came up of whether she could have one transformed into ruby dust but the trader indicated that would require a trip to Wolverton.

Thalimor then asked if Teza had any pearls available. This was immediately misconstrued by Ardor who assumed that the pearls would be a gift for her [she was courting a noble and one that she assumed, of course, was rich]. Thalimor demonstrated his extreme flexibility by somehow then putting both of his feet in his mouth. He kept trying to emphasize that he was there for business and not personal reasons which only upset Ardor more. She untangled herself from his arm and moved a short distance off.

Our favorite bard switched to speaking in Reci (the Cesvani language) and Teza suggested that he buy Ardor a small gift for Ardor. She suggested a simple gold necklace that she produced from behind her counter. The price of 100gp, however, was a bit more than Thalimor was happy spending. Teza told him he could, instead, have it in exchange for 10% of his adventuring finds until he had paid her 150gp. That was a deal Thalimor was not comfortable accepting.

Instead, he explained that he and Ardor were more friends than anything romantic and would like a small token to express his friendship. Teza produced a thin colorful thread bracelet from behind the counter. It was cheap and pretty and so Thalimor took it.

Teza called Ardor over and put the bracelet on her wrist. As she did so, she explained that in Cesvani culture that this was a symbol of intended marriage. Ardor screamed with delight and hugged Thalimor who was nearly speechless. When the “engaged” pair returned to the Wolf’s Head, Ardor immediately ran to Saewig and told her the news. They went off to “primp” Ardor for the evening’s celebration.

[At one point, Teza indicated her displeasure with Thalimor for two reasons. One, he was largely wasting her time as a trader by only asking about business rather than actually conducting any. Second, he was a cad who was playing with Ardor’s emotions.]

Thalimor, meanwhile, was desperately trying to come up with a way to get out of all of this without getting run out of town on a rail.

While the bard was plotting escape, Saewig continued to play matchmaker but with Isenthorne this time. While the group was having dinner, the Magpie came over and insisted that Isenthorne come and meet someone. She was escorted to another table where a lone man sat but with two places set for dinner. Saewig introduced Fyrmund and Isenthorne as she pushed Isenthorne into a seat at the table. Fyrmund turned out to be the village’s blacksmith and, as he pointed out, a successful one who was looking to settle down.

Rather than just getting up and walking away, Isenthorne talked with him for a bit and tried to explain that she wasn’t looking to settle down. Instead, she was living an adventurer’s life and it would be unfair for her to ask anyone to just wait for him to come back…or not come back given the dangers of her chosen profession. Fyrmund assured her that he would have no problem with that and felt that it would be important for him to respect her profession as much as his. There was a little more small talk before Isenthorne left to rejoin her companions. Fyrmund indicated that he’d be here on future nights to have dinner with her again.

Thalimor and Osric headed up to the room…he had come up with, he hoped, a solution. Putting on the yellow dress that he still had from Selewulf while sailing on the Nydam, he also used some of his bardic magics to make himself look even more feminine and pretty but still obviously him.

Meanwhile, Ardor had returned to the inn and had put her time away into beautifying herself and changing into a very nice dress. When she entered, Saewig told Kettle to go up and fetch Thalimor. Osric and Thalimor, for their part, told Kettle to send Saewig up first. The Magpie stomped upstairs with grim determination on her face, presumably to get Thalimor to come down and be in public with his betrothed. She was, needless to say, quite surprised by the sight that greeted her.

The bard explained that this was who he truly was and that he had, in fact, had many male suitors back in his homeland. Even there, though, he was not free to pursue any such dalliances as his family had already arranged a marriage for him with a woman from another noble house. His travels which had now brought him to the Lonely Coast, he explained, were a way for him to perhaps toughen up and perhaps learn to be a little less confused about his gender.

Saewig simply stated that Ardor would have to come up and see this for herself before turning to head back down the stairs.

When his most recently betrothed came up, Thalimor did not get the reaction he was expecting…not even close to what he was expecting. Ardor started to laugh and said not to worry because she had always liked women more than men anyways. She then ran downstairs and shouted out that Thalimor was a pansy before laughing and expressing how relieved she was that she would avoid marrying him.

More than just a little confused, Thalimor (having changed to his less frilly outfit) and Osric came back downstairs to a mixed reception. Some simply kept their distance from the pair, particularly Thalimor. Others laughed and joked about Thalimor’s dress and apparent sexual preferences. Some started to call out and ask about what kind of relationship the big fighter had with the bard! When Thalimor started his performance for the night, a plain cotton dress was tossed at him and shouts for him to put in on rang out. Coins were tossed up to encourage him further…with more than a few coming from his adventuring companions!

The bard acquiesced to the demands and slipped the dress over his clothes before continuing his performance.

The rest of the night was one of drink and merriment with Thalimor, in particular, getting more than just a little drunk.

In the morning, Pounder was woken early by someone banging on the door to his room and shouting, in concern, that the children were missing!

[That is where we ended the session.

My recap really doesn’t do the session justice. It was pretty much hours of unadulterated, off the cuff roleplaying. Thomas, if you hadn’t realized it yet, was on center stage most of the night and I spent a good of it trying to keep him off-balance and surprised with the reactions of many in the village. Despite the domination of the session by he and I, I think everyone had a good time…it was hard not to given how comedic things turned.

And, all in all, another session where I think more questions came to light than answers even if the players didn’t happen to pick up on all of them. 😉

Beer Notes: Our first beer of the night was Stone’s Delicious IPA. The bottle was not nearly as good as the beer was on draft. Much of the lemon drop aroma and flavor was missing in the bottle but it was still a pretty good IPA. Muse, of course, wasn’t a fan. Next up was New Belgium’s Lips of Faith Gruit. It was a nice gruit with a lot of herbal flavor. I think it was well received by pretty much everyone. Last up for this session was Mission’s Hard Root Beer. It actually had a very nice root beer flavor and then the alcohol warmth hit with a bit of vanilla. I’m not sure how everyone else liked it but Thomas’ said and I quote, “I could drink the sh!t out of this.”]