Campaign: Baelsbrook

After a group of knights tasked with collecting tithes for the Zlataya do not return from Baelsbrook, the Baron hires a new group to find them.

It is continued in Trail of Ill-Portents.

Session One - Ill Portents
''"They have a twin room." - Tomkin seems elated, knowing he doesn't have to share a bed.'' They travel to Baelsbrook by cart, recalling events of the nights previous and thinking of the task they have been given by Baron Zlataya. Some knowing the inevitable danger that will arise, some hoping for safety and others anticipating such danger with excitement. They do not wait long for it as wolves block the Ostren road, apparently hungry enough to eat a horse and unperturbed by the lack of any advantage from numbers.

They each engage the wolves in their way, some more successfully than others as Ester's impatience leads him into overwhelming disadvantage as the wolves surround him. Gromp and Tomkin keep their distance, though only Gromp participates in the fray with his crossbow. Grug and Zamaru assist Ester, cutting down the wolves in swathes, and Ester stands himself up to help. With the wolves handily vanquished, Tomkin notes that they acted as beasts with rabies and their patchy hair would at least seem to indicate some form of malady. There is no further issue on their journey to Baelsbrook.

Rain begins to pour as they are brought into the Zlataya's manor and settled into rooms, Grug insisting on staying in the same room as Tomkin. Tomkin not being best pleased that the housekeeper's declaration that their are no twin rooms. Zamaru and Gromp decide to rest in the lounge of the manor whilst Ester prepares himself a bath and Tomkin searches all of the rooms with Grug's "assistance". He finds that not only are there more rooms (including one with two beds), but they seem to be the rooms that the knights they have come to Baelsbrook to locate occupied. He finds a waterlogged journal that contains notation about the locals not being able to pay their tithes and some notes about hunting a beast that seems to be the cause.

Tomkin leaves Grug to sort out the knight's belongings and questions the housekeeper, Joll, about the twin room that he didn't tell them of, before declaring that he'd be moving into the room and that the knights are likely dead. The shocked Joll quickly acquiesces and goes back to preparing dinner. As Tomkin and Grug look through the knight's clothes, Ester and Gromp have a friendly competition over who will be able to locate the tracks of the knights in the manor grounds. Gromp has a few minutes of a head start as Ester dons his armour, quickly finding proof of the knight's comings and goings, including an interesting extra set of tracks that seem to frequent the locked cellar door.

They talk to Joll of this, both Gromp and Ester sure that none of the tracks were his, and he seems to have no answer. He insists that he doesn't know of anyone going down their and he certainly didn't lend them the key. They ask of other people that work in the manor and Joll tells them of the two who work as guards some of the time, Rain and Oscar Vendt, and that they spend more of their time at the Spittle than on manor grounds. Tomkin is deeply untrusting of him, unconvinced that Joll is as ignorant as he says and Tomkin's curiosity piqued by a nervous tic that he and Ester noticed; the housekeeper has a habit of scratching at his neck, at a small circular black mark that exists just below his jaw. As the group push him on it, the housekeeper seems to know little and their questions are met by his seeming ignorance.

They leave Joll after finishing the soup and bread he prepared for them, intending to set out into the downpour, towards Baelsbrook.

Session Two - Lukewarm Welcome
''"If you were from round here, you wouldn't have tried that." - Zev the bartender discourages the disguised Ester as he tries to pay for his beer.'' However, they get caught on two things before they leave: the concept of disguises and the unanswered question of the locked cellar and its frequent visitor. Tomkin points out that, as they are unwilling to leave the housekeeper alone, that disguises will be fruitless with him as an identifier. They tend to agree (though Ester maintains a disguise cobbled together from the attire of the missing knights), but still all wish to check out cellar below before leaving. They unlock the chains upon the entrance, noting that the resistance they give lends credence to Joll's insistence that they haven't been opened in upwards of a year.

Within they give a brief search, Tomkin quickly noticing that one of the walls (behind two large barrels) seems to be newer than the rest. The dwarves confirm his suspicions and they attempt to move the very large and full barrel. Unfortunately, it is to no avail, and as they begin to muse on simply eliminating the obstacle, Joll begs that they not do so. He claims it to be very expensive and more important to him than his duty to the guests and whilst that initially angers the group, they do concede that it is probably best to not destroy the belongings of the Zlataya and assign the job of emptying the barrel to Joll. As the set-upon housekeeper gets to work, they decide that they still don't trust leaving him to his own devices and leave Gromp behind to keep an eye on him as they head to the Spittle.

After a none-to-pleasant trek through the rain, the party make it to the town square of Baelsbrook, taking shelter beneath the covering over the porch of the Spittle. As the rest of the group moves to read what's on the notice board, Grug tries to strike up conversation with a nearby gnome who sits alone at a small table. The dwarf receives naught but suspicion and joins the rest of the group at the board. As they look over it, they see symptoms of an unhappy place and a bard show that they have missed. They have a bit of trouble with the handwriting of someone called Lowra, who offers safe haven within the church. Ester musters all the deception he has to act as a local, which turns out not to be much.

Then they enter the Spittle and they are met with stares. Grug and Zamaru move to the table of a dwarf who seemed to be staring at them particularly when they came in and quickly laugh him off of it. Ester goes to the bar and the half-orc bartender notes that he is out of town and that trying to pay at the bar has outed him as such. Tomkin moves to a table of well-armed men, who identify themselves as hunters and tries to sit with them. They allow it after he gets them drinks and he pretends to be an author, looking to write about missing people.

This conversation is interrupted as Zamaru approaches the bar though. The bartender, having seen Zamaru's laughter, calls him on it quite bluntly. Zamaru's reaction being to try and grab the man who, in a surprising turn of events, deftly avoids the attempt. This causes many of the bar patrons to stand, the hunters putting hands on their weapons. Zamaru tries to smooth the situation and get it back on track by asking for a drink, to which the bartender responds by maintaining eye contact and filling a tankard with second-hand drink, before offering it back to him. Zamaru doesn't react well, attempting to empty the contents on the provider, only to have it expertly directed once more.

At this point, Zamaru backs off and informs the half-orc that he will "be back", before turning to exit the bar. He is briefly stopped by one of the hunters, but evades any attempts to block his movement and insults the hunter. As a crossbow is quickly drawn, Zamaru evades the subsequent bolt and exits the Spittle. Ester quickly follows, grabbing a notice about a farmer who hasn't been in contact with the village, before lambasting Zamaru on his behaviour. Tomkin is uncomfortable in the newly hostile environment and moves to leave, briefly being stopped by Caylaen, one of the hunters he had spoken to. Caylaen remarks that he's very glad Tomkin isn't like his "friend" Zamaru. Grug makes a sweep of the perimeter, hoping to find at least one friendly face, but leaves disappointed.

Ester, Tomkin and Grug speak of next steps on the way back, with Zamaru keeping a sullen distance ahead. When they arrive, they find Gromp and Joll successful in their endeavour to empty the obstructing barrel, but perhaps a bit too eager with where they have placed the contents. Many of the returners have a container of the White Crow whiskey, before heading to their own beds. Gromp and Joll continue to make merry, drinking deep into the night.

They awake in the morning in waves, Ester finding the duo that they left drinking on the kitchen floor covered in flour. He decides to ignore them and begin working on breakfast gruel. After they are all awake, they agree to check out the cellar post-breakfast and quickly head down. Grug moves the newly emptied barrel without much issue (after he gives up on moving both simultaneously) and afterwards Gromp gets to work bashing down the wall behind it. It is then that Tomkin informs Joll that he shall be accompanying them as a passage is revealed through the wall and into abject darkness. The housekeeper is clearly unhappy, but the party insists.

As they move through the dark corridors, dwarves moving ahead of the light, Grug begins to hear an unpleasant sound. It is one of shifting wet matter and he soon sees the origin as he enters a large room with small cells on the far side. From two such cells, the skeletons begin to shift and move before a wave of fleshy fragments erupts forth from the cells.

Grug, being the first to see them, moves forward to meet them and with a wide swing of his hammer swipes a good few of the fleshy pieces from within it. Ester and Zamaru quickly move in to assist, the former calling upon his divine power to scatter the creatures with detonations of invisible force and the latter cleaning up the remainders with a swide and low sweep of his naginata. However, whilst this one cluster of flush is near immediately dispersed, the other makes it to the trio and weathers the powerful strikes aimed to keep them at bay, climbing atop the three warriors and tearing into them with small fragments of teeth and bone that remained within. Gromp attempts to shoot the horde, but unable to reliably tell where the shifting of the creatures ended upon Zamaru within the darkness, the bolt instead enters the Tyrling's back. Tomkin however, enchants three gold coins and sends the first of them towards Zamaru, clearing the creatures from atop him and allowing him one final swipe to disperse the rest of the cluster.

The threat apparently abated, they search the room. They find little; the table for torture in the centre appears to made of cold iron, implying its creation for the discomfort of those that are not most humanoids. There is a stairway down though, which having come this far they all implicitly agree to follow. Everyone except Joll, who asks to leave. They briefly discuss this, some of the group being willing to send him back, but Grug noting that if he leaves and lets someone know, they might get trapped down here. With that said, they descend the old steps below the Zlataya Manor.

Session Three - A Cup Half-Empty
''"Do not betray the Cup!" - Snadgrug Brewbeard as Tomkin breaks formation.'' As they move down the stairs and head even further below the manor, Grug sees a strange silhouette; a dwarven woman. As he points it out to Gromp, who walks ahead with him, the old monster hunter responds that the figure looked very much his late wife. The figure quickly runs and exits the room through a door opposite where the party entered. They see what was once a library that appears to have been thoroughly ransacked and they begin to search it. Grug notices that the destruction of the library seems intentional, perhaps to cover something up, and notices a strange three-clawed serpentine insect moments before it lunges at him.

It and another erupt from the books and shelves, managing to get a few hits on Grug and Gromp, they manage to wipe off the strange dark, oily slime that the creatures secrete with each attack. Gromp and Ester flank and kill the one that attacked Gromp as Grug crushes the one that ambushed him. As another charges them from outside the room, the group quickly destroy it, but not before Gromp is afflicted by its oil.

Grug identifies the slime that affected him and slowed him, noting is as the excretions of a Shadowgarm and gathers some in a small bottle, taking care to keep it from being evaporated by Ester's light. Tomkin also grabs a small vial and searches the various books of the room, noticing a common themes of lesser-known gods and strange creatures. Ester takes the time to fix up some of Grug's wounds as the rest are looking around the room.

After having the worst of his wounds bandages, Ester and Grug question Joll about how he remained ignorant to what they are seeing, though he is unable to provide a satisfying answer. In response to this, Grug terrifies Joll into unconsciousness. It is at this point that they notice grating in the wall nearby that appears to have overflowed slightly, Grug decides to taste the water. They briefly discuss what to do with Joll, before resolving to wake him up and keep him with them further, and then Ester uses magic to heal Gromp as they head to the door they saw his "wife" leave through.

They make a plan before heading into the room, wary of any possible ambushes that may be lying in wait. The form a small shape around the door to catch any creatures that follow their chosen bait back into the library room, known as "The Cup". As they set up, Tomkin hears a voice behind him, sounding eerily familiar and questions why he is here. Grug volunteers as bait and enters alone, but as he approaches the centre, he spots the danger too late. A swarm of loose flesh similar to the ones the fought above rushes towards him and he feels a cold presence behind.

The swarms tear into Grug and as the noises start, Tomkin breaks formation and runs into the room, lighting a torch as he approaches the noises. He is immediately greeted by Grug running past him and the sight of the swarms and an indistinct hovering silhouette further behind. The shadow moves to Tomkin and its touch sapping strength as the swarm also sets upon the lone detective. There is a brief pause as Grug's javelin sails through the Shadow without causing harm, but Tomkin takes the chance and runs, nearly collapsing as the spectre's grasp pulls most of his strength from him.

As Tomkin makes it through the door, Zamaru closes it, planning to bait the incorporeal creature through alone. Tomkin is barely able to carry himself but retreats from "The Cup", only to see the Shadow avoid the rest of the group entirely and emerge from the wall ahead of him. He is immediately shaken by this sight, but sees it pause and feels an arm rest on his shoulders and the sword that it holds. As he looks to the origin of the arm, he finds a face that looks all too familiar to him and he runs away, back towards the stairs as the rest of the group argue about the formation but make short work of the swarm as it bursts through the door.

Quickly that familiar face follows Tomkin to the stairs and contorts its body to fit between the close bars of the grating, falling into the water below. Grug and Gromp notice that the cloak of the figure was the same size as the first one they saw. Tomkin fixes himself up as best he can, as Ester warns him that the creature was a Shadow and if it can drain the rest of his strength, Tomkin will become one. However, Ester is confident that it won't attack them unless it has a distinct advantage, like if one of them is alone.

They finally leave the library in the way they intended, finding themselves in what appears to be an old torture chamber with an adjacent cell block. The group look around, with Grug and Tomkin finding various broken implements that look like pitons around the room and Ester noting some very old blood that seems to be sprouting growths from the cold iron table. The group begin to hear voices coming from the cell, which rattles them aside from Ester. Grug initially approaches the cell to look inside, but he leans on the wall as he does so, causing a blood red handprint to appear on the wall, which pains the dwarf. Ester also checks it out, stepping into the cell to check for any hidden threats, but there is nought but the bloody handprint that blossoms where he steps.

They move to the broken door to the east of the room, knocking it down with Gromp's hammer. Grug and Zamaru lead the way, but they do not notice the swarm of flesh that hangs from the ceiling and drops on them. There is a brief in-party conflict as Grug wants the group to enter the corridor to eliminate the swarm, whilst Ester and Zamaru wish to bait it out and kill it safely. After getting quite injured, Grug relents and exits the corridor, leading to the swarm being swiftly dealt with.

They move through a mostly empty room to a room that is quickly identified by Gromp to have more of the shadowgarms that they saw in the library. They set up "The Cup" and get to baiting the shadowy insects.

Session Four - The Sorrow
''"I know what's best for this team." - Snadgrug Brewbeard, as he pockets a strange old dagger.''

After setting up "The Cup", Gromp remembers how his magical hurdy gurdy works and calls them all back to the first room so that they don't get surrounded when he uses it to bait the shadowy insects. They take time to reinforce the immediate area by moving the bookshelves around to block doorways, even using the pieces of one they destroy to make a hallway harder to traverse. Gromp plays his Hurdy Gurdy of Specified Enticement to call as many of the insects as he can, as the rest of the group form "The Cup". Gromp remembers at the last moment that there is a large grated wall that insects may be able to get through and they assign the weakened Tomkin to watch it.

The group hear scratching at the door they watch, but nothing breaks through. After a few moments of boredom, Ester goes up to check. He opens the door, ready to fight, but instead comes face to face with a person that looks very much like Ser Baros de Oliviera. They talk briefly, as she asks Ester why he is there, but he is unwilling to answer. Tomkin calls out that the insects have crawled through the grate and Ester takes the cue to shut the door.

Gromp reacts instantly, rolling in front of Tomkin, crossbow drawn and loaded. Unfortunately the bolt manages to fall out during the roll, but he quickly loads another bolt and grievously injures the advancing creature. As it steps forward to attack the dwarf, it manages to step on the loose bolt, causing its lunging claw swipe to go awry. The dwarven duo quickly advance and dispatch the centipede-like shadows.

Feeling successful, the group try and attract the shadow before moving on with their exploration, but five minutes of anticlimactic waiting wears out their patience, so they decide to move on. Moving back to the crossroads they had recently retreated from, they move eastwards into what appears to be a much nicer wing of the facility. Tomkin approaches a desk, Gromp checks the ceiling, Ester bemoans Joll's hesitance to enter the room, and Grug is quickly distracted by silverware. Grug moves southwards down a corridor to snatch the glimmering cutlery, but is set upon by two of the serpentine insectoids, which quickly deal vicious blows to them, despite his own ferocious assault. As he withdraws, Zamaru and Gromp step in to eliminate the threat, doing so without issue.

After some brief healing from Ester and an attempt to open a heavily reinforced locked door, they head north into a room with minimalist décor that seems set up for one on one conversation. As he enters the room, Gromp goes temporarily blind and runs into a wall, nearly colliding with Grug. After a short while the blindness fades, allowing Gromp, Ester and Tomkin to search the room. Ester figures that it is another haunt and Tomkin finds a damaged notebook, seeming to contain some remnants of a conversation. Gromp is just happy he isn't blind.

They head down the corridor that Grug was recently attacked in, heading in to what appears to be a bedchamber for the staff. The group find a cluster of Shadowgarm eggs and (after an unsuccessful attempt by Joll to harvest them) they smash the eggs. Grug searches the chamber afterwards, finding a jagged knife, Gromp spots him pocketing it and Grug admonishes the group as he leaves.

They head out into the room they had scanned briefly before, the room where Ester had seen Baros. Grug spots the furnaces light up as Gromp approaches and deduces that they seem to be another tool used to figure out the weaknesses of whatever was being experimented on here. Ester sees Baros again. She stands in a cell in the south of the room, rattling an old key against the bars. The group talks to the thing for some time, it offering to give them the key and even let most of them live, if they offer someone to it as a sacrifice. It quickly refuses the offer of Joll, finding him uninteresting, and when Ester turns to talk to his companions, the creature strikes.

Ester catches the things attempted clawed swipe with the haft of his axe, but this leaves him open to the creature's blade. The group look on in disgust as the bones and flesh of what looks as Ser Baros de Oliviera cracks, warps and detorts into a creature with no features on its face save for scarred whorls upon its eyeless face and body. Immediately the group open fire, but due to the dangerous proximity to Ester, only Grug's javelin finds its mark. The Sorrow continues to strike against Ester, who again blocks its attempts to grasp at him, but cannot match the speed of the jagged blade as it draws yet more blood from him.

Once again, Grug's javelin strikes true into the creature's side, but it does not distract the creature long enough to allow the magically gleaming axe of Ester to get past its guard. At this danger, Ester backs off after the swing and Joll flees screaming towards the exit, the others having no desire to abandon their fellows with him. As Zamaru and Gromp ready their next shots on the creature, swarms of flesh erupt from nearby grating. They both quickly escape, but only Zamaru manages to get his initial strike in as he cleaves at the swarm. Tomkin gains some distance and infuses his gold coins with magic.

The Sorrow circles Ester as a wolf does, but tears off to strike at Grug, the creature's blade piercing the dwarf's side and causing the dwarf to back off, but the close range proves to be a detriment to the javelin he throws; it ends up embedded in the doorframe above his head. Ester calls forth holy light to strike at the beast, but though it catches the Sorrow off-guard, by chance it is but a glancing blow. Zamaru attempts to stop the swarm that came for him from moving to Grug, but cannot kill enough of them quickly enough to stop them latching on as the other swarm does the same to Gromp.

As the faceless creature renews its assault, Grug handily manages to fend off both blows, though he is unable to return them and as he turns to flee, it catches him in the back before bring its blade up to block the flaming axe that Ester strikes with. Zamaru is rushed by the massing flesh, with Gromp managing to eliminate the last of the pulpy mass that clings to Zamaru and even managing to defend himself (with a little help from Tomkin's golden coin).

But as he feels comfortable with the flow of the battle, the Sorrow's hand grasps Gromp's bicep, scarred fingers sinking in deep as the blade is plunged in on the other side. As the rest of the flesh dregs begin to converge on Gromp, the older dwarf casts his hammer to disperse them, flattening many of the sickening things. Ester infuses divine strength into his form and swings down violently on the creature, only for it to turn towards him and accept the blow. After a moment, Ester realises his mistake as Gromp cries out in pain; the pain inflicted upon the Sorrow seeming to be shared by the unfortunate dwarf. The last shot from Tomkin goes wide as the flesh feasts upon Gromp.

The shapeshifter tenses its grasp and Gromp pales, his blood drained by the monster. He staggers, nearly falling, only to be held up by a dark and broken blade as it is thrust through his chest. Gromp barely stands as the blade is quickly withdrawn. Grug moves in, braving the swarm and attempting to dislodge the Sorrow's hand from his companion. Ester attempts to intervene, but is denied by the cloaked creature as the tide of flesh batters at the dwarven duo. For a moment, Gromp's resolve falters. Perhaps he sees himself die. But he cannot allow fear to influence him that way and in this moment, locks it away as Zamaru swings wide, destroying the last vestiges of the sea of ragged skin and muscle. And Gromp pulls himself free, staggering away from what should have been his killer.

The Sorrow attempts to follow, but Tomkin stands in its way. Diverting course to the other weakened combatant, it raises its sword at Grug. But the group was ready, Grug and Zamaru strike at the creature with hammer and blade, staggering it just long enough for Zamaru to entered a practice formation with Ester.

The naginata swings in a crescent, gouging out the spine. It falls to its knees. The axe falls with it as the head bows low.

The group, bloodied and bruised, pick up key and sword and the belongings of the thing they have slain and do what any good adventurer should. They head to the library.

Session Five - No Man Left Behind
''"Ester, would you shed some light on the situation?" - Gromp requests the focus of Ester's belt''

The group spend some time in the library, finding out much about the facility and its history. There is information about the possible motives that the people running the place had, as well as some names related to it. They discuss the the history of Baelsbrook that spans back some two hundred years in its current incarnation and how this incarnation seems to line up well with the existence of the underground facility. There is information about the opinions the facility held about the origin of strange qualities the villagers seemed to have, though the lack of conclusions is frustrating.

They head back up to the manor, not seeing Joll's body despite keeping an eye out for it. Due to his opinion being disregarded, Zamaru heads to the yet unexplored passage alone, only to be ambushed by the Shadow. However, he is not caught unaware and he quickly retreats from the creature to re-join his companions. Gromp climbs the ladder out and notices some boot tracks that lead from the manor to the cellar trapdoor and away around the outside of the house, towards the front. They all scale the ladder (though Tomkin is carried by Ester) before splitting up: Ester and Tomkin enter the manor whilst the rest follow the tracks around to the front.

Those that followed the tracks find the carriage they travelled to Baelsbrook to be readied for travel and sat upon by Robert Steele. When they enquire as to the situation, he tells them of how he found Joll and will be taking him to get help in town. They find that Joll is accompanied by one of the guards, Oscar Vendt, and join him in the cart, that they may get their own wounds looked at. Oscar tells them of the two people that may be able to help them: Lowra, the Priestess, and Zaerin, a physician. As they prepare to leave, Zamaru goes inside to fetch his wolfen companion.

Tomkin and Ester cautiously move through the house, before discovering one of the manor guards, a half-orc named Rain. He tells them of the situation as Zamaru passes through to meet Sable Eye. Tomkin decides to check through Joll's room for anything suspicious. This turns out to be an arduous task that culminates with tense discussions with each of the guards and offers little incriminating evidence of the housekeeper.

The cart leaves without the duo, to Ester's chagrin, and helmed by Robert Steele the group make their way to the Church of First Crossing. Inside, they find the many people who currently live within and the Priestess, Lowra. She takes the time to heal them and fix up some of the more permanent damage dealt to Joll and Gromp, keeping the former with her for more long-term recovery. After they tell her some of what they found and fought, she gives them directions to Zaerin's home.

As the left-behind duo walk their way into town, they find their way to the Spittle, seeing the old gnome still sitting out front. Ester notices that his tankard is empty and acquires him a replacement from inside. They talk on multiple things, finding out that the knights they seek made many trips to town from the manor and that the gnome last heard that they travelled into the swamp. After he tells them the location of the Ardern farm they head to the church.

The trio plus wolf find their way to Zaerin's and converse with the ancient-looking elf. He provides them with some concoctions to deal with their ailments, though the one that deals with Gromp's injury from the faceless creature below is so potent that it briefly renders the old hunter unconscious. Whilst this is the case, Grug strikes up a conversation with Zaerin and asks if he has any potions that they can take, offering gold. The physician agrees to it and they agree to pay the price for four up front and receive six healing potions, promising to pay the rest down the line. Before they leave, Gromp acquires information about where he might acquire crossbow bolts, the Hunter's Hall.

Elsewhere, Tomkin's hurt from the shadow is lessened by Lowra as she heals the late coming pair. They speak to her of the dangers in the swamp and the flooded area of Baelsbrook. Through her, they speak to Edna, a distressed human woman that has lost her ring in the flooded area of the village. They comfort her and hear of the sirens that occupy the area close to the river bank. When they exit, they reconvene with the rest of the group who have come back to find them, Grug having bought flowers for Lowra.

With that done, they walk to exterior of the village, to the Hunter's Hall. They find the proprietor closing up, who turns out to be the same dwarf that Zamaru laughed off of his table. Gromp is unable to convince him to trade, which causes Grug to threaten the man. He is unaffected however, saying that if the group were willing to kill him, they would be unlikely to trade with him. As the group convince Grug to let him leave, they decide to head to the Ardern farm whilst they are so close.

The sun begins to set as they approach the farmstead, it is unlit. Ester attempts to send messages within, to no effect. Gromp attempts to use his Hurdy Gurdy to attempt to draw humanoids towards him and though nobody approaches them, it provides Ester with a surreal experience. They make their way into the house, only to see a large hole in the back wall. Tomkin notes blood on the wall as Ester checks the hole in the wall, seeing a damaged trapdoor out back. Grug moves the rubble from the ceiling, finding blood and claw marks. He calls Tomkin over to inspect the marks, who notes that the claws are from incredibly humanoid hands, despite the prodigious size, even noting the spiral fingerprints left in blood on the ground.

As Tomkin searches, Gromp hears a sound out back. He checks through the hole in the wall and sees that the trapdoor for the cellar has collapsed inwards. The group move outside to check it out after Gromp asks for assistance and Ester climbs down into the cellar. As he turns around, he sees her. Ser Dera of Foroz stands within the low-ceilinged cellar, clad in armour and wielding her hammer with purpose. She narrows lilac eyes and leans into a combative stance.

Session Six - A Bad Place to Die
''"You did a great job tanking!" - Grug congratulates Ester for nearly dying.''

Ser Dera of Foroz strikes Ester across the back as he turns to flee. He climbs out of the cellar, her hammer striking at his feet and removing the ladder below him. As the rest move to reinforce, they are ambushed by wolves. They tear into Sable Eye, though Zamaru's companion gives as good as he gets. Tomkin begins to draw from the spells he prepared below the manor and targets Grug as the dwarf moves forward to strike a wolf. Ester also moves to engage one of the wolves, in part to avoid the pursuit of his former comrade.

A large mass of pulsating flesh enters the light from northwards, flailing out with limbs comprised of what were once arteries, veins and intestines. Dera emerges from the cellar on deep purple wings and brings her hammer down, dealing a powerful blow to Zamaru, who responds by drawing upon his magical weapon to lay the knight low, but she resists. Zamaru mounts Sable Eye and engages the wolves, felling one of them as Ester calls upon the last of his magic in an attempt to bait Dera towards him, but she denies the attempt, her focus on Zamaru. Tomkin's spell manifests and Grug doubles in size, using this newfound mass to strike at the approaching flesh.

Dera switches target to go for Ester and he barely stays standing after the hammer strikes true against his shoulder. Gromp identifies the fleshy creature as an ooze, but sees no alternative but to engage and help destroy it quickly, dealing a powerful blow with his own hammer. Zamaru dismounts Sable Eye and with a wide sweep, strikes the ooze and the wolf it sits beside, killing the animal. Ester unleashes a torrent of positive energy, to heal himself and his allies. The ooze lashes out with its tendrils and they wrap around Gromp, pulling him close as Grug's hammer falls and pushes it down. The hungry flesh is unperturbed and pulls the dead wolves into itself, growing in size to absolutely massive proportions.

Dera continues her assault on Ester, who stays standing because of the reinforcement of his own channelling. Gromp drinks his potion whilst held in the ooze's clutches, but it constricts him, nearly crushing his ribs. However, when it attempts to lash out at the rest of the group, the party step in and each deal sizeable blows that manage to destroy it, despite its significant regeneration. Ester lets out another pulse of positive energy to keep himself standing and Grug makes his way to Dera, bringing the enlarged hammer down upon her.

She keeps swinging at Ester, who takes a strike that would have knocked a lesser man unconscious, but looks like he is on the verge of death. Gromp attempts to shoot her in the hand and whilst she moves out of the way, it opens the way for both Zamaru and Grug to deal her severe blows. Tomkin takes the time to heal Ester, whose axe soon finds its mark on her upper arm. She is barely standing at this point, but takes one last swing at Ester. He feels his life flash before him as his hook-hand shatters in an attempt to hold the heavy attack back, but manages to catch the reduced momentum with his magically reinforced axe. She looks him in the eye and bursts into a flame of pale purple, swiftly marred beyond all recognition.

Grug quickly sorts through her belongings, placing her ring upon his finger, though Ester isn't pleased with the situation. They set to burning the remaining body parts, suspicious of the hungry flesh that ate the bodies of the wolves. Ester insists they do not do the same to Dera, keeping her body to the side of the bonfire. They find a trail that the flesh left heading towards the barn, where they find two more of the creatures that seem to be passive. They take time to treat Gromp's wounds, but they are too severe for the aid they can offer in such a remote location. They resolve to head into the barn regardless, searching for any survivors before they set the barn itself alight, but they are interrupted.

Tomkin's jaw drops as he points up to the roof of the barn as skull-faced creature with a distended jaw and numerous swords impaled within its back stares down at them. As the investigator points it out, he turns to leave, but not before Grug's javelin finds its mark and embeds in the creature. Without hesitation, the group begin to flee, though Grug is left behind. He sees that the creature is seemingly unaffected by his throw and attempts to attack it with his hammer, though it has similarly lackluster results. Grug remains unperturbed, catching one of the creatures claws in his hand, but the other claw slashes across his chest and nearly fells the hardy dwarf.

As Grug joins the fleeing group, finding both Gromp and Ester looking back to check for his coming, the Beast follows. They follow Tomkin's lead as he finds his way through a thicket that obscures them from its flailing claws, Ester drawing its attention and managing to keep pace, despite his injuries. As Gromp stops to try and get a better sense of the creature's movements, but it nearly costs him his life as the Beast is open him in moments. He only survives due to the distraction provided by Zamaru, who circles the creature whilst mounted and harries it with the reach of his naginata. Grug tries to call it away from the main group by taunting it, but underestimates its speed and acquires an embarrassing injury as the Beast's claws rake across the buttocks he so proudly flaunted in challenge.

Before the creature can get another chance to claw at Grug, Tomkin leads them into a tree hollow that overhangs a ledge. They wait for ten minutes, to make sure the creature has left, and head back to the manor with haste. Their heads scarcely hit their pillows before they are unconscious, though Ester lingers a moment in regret, knowing that they left the body of Ser Dera behind in their panic.

Session Seven - Unspecified Enticement
''"Someone has to do something about all of this!" Ester Thorne''

''"Are you so vain as to think that should be you?" Arlen Vaek''

As they all awake for the morning, Ester reveals to the group that he has received a letter than appears to have been penned by one of the knights they seek, one Ser Arlen Vaek. They talk of the possibility that it is a trap and how they might alleviate that danger, eventually coming up with a solution that seems workable. Ester heads down to confront Arlen.

At first Ester tells them of the trouble him and his group have faced, but loses momentum when it seems that not only was Arlen aware of all that has happened, the knight is also unwilling to come with them. Instead Arlen warns that Ester should leave, remarking that it is no place for him to die and that he should not die for the Zlataya, who Vaek seems to blame for the everything wrong in Baelsbrook. They quarrel some about the moral responsibility to the mess of a place Baelsbrook is and the knight leaves, but not before Ester notes that he has been watched the whole time by a purple-eyed wolf, that physically looks as rabid as the rest, but its demeanour seems otherwise. Arlen remarks that it is simply here to watch as he exits down the tunnel towards the old mill.

The rest of the group meet up and talk through what has happened whilst heading to the temple to ask of Lowra some healing. They seem to have awoken her and wait long at the door for her response, but when she awakes she heals them of their wounds. The group then investigate around the town, talking to the gnome called Spit that sits outside the Spittle. Gromp talks to him of the mark and the sadness it represents, encouraging Spit to tell them many stories. At Ester's encouragement, he tells them of the current leatherworker of the village, Conrad Baermek.

They visit the Hunter's Hall, starting things off well by having Grug apologise to the owner for the threats of last night. The rest then buy their things and talk to him of when he got the mark. Conrad tells them of his hunting mishap and exile from Dohrn. Ester informs the man in vagueness of the Ardern family's fate, also asking if the mark on his neck had earned him persecution, but he says he has always hidden it well.

They head back to the manor, intending to use the underground passage to visit the mill. They check with Spit on the way exactly where the mill is and stop off at the manor to bandage some of Grug's wounds. They head through the passage that Ester saw Arlen Vaek leave through, finding their way to the old mill. They each climb the stairs out of the small hidey-hole that exists on the lower level of the mill, but as Zamaru reaches the top of the stairs, he hears singing.

The group converge at the top, Grug narrowly avoiding falling through the rickety steps with a well-timed leap, and look outside. They see sirens that lounge upon the shore. The party talk of how to deal with them, but the sirens spot them and croon a beautiful tune, enrapturing Ester, Grug, and Zamaru. As they leave the mill Gromp tries to call them back with his hurdy gurdy, but when the siren strong overpowers it, he draws his crossbow. He aims out the window towards the wicked songstresses and prepares to shoot.

Session Eight - Strange Tidings
''"Hey, do you want to see our secret base?" Grug, to Clevel Jeorden''

The first siren calls many of the group to it, whilst the other disrupts the remainder. Gromp's shot strikes true, but it is not enough to save Ester from his seemingly entire fascination with his tormenter, even as the siren tears into him. In a moment of clarity, Ester turns towards the water and sees that it flows not like a river does: the water laps at the shore like the tides of the sea. The warpriest's awakening is rudely interrupted by a crossbow bolt to the back, fired by a bewitched Gromp. Ester shields himself in response, but is grievously wounded by the sirens.

Luckily, Gromp figures out how to help with unclouding the mind of the others, despite his own befuddlement, and manages to perfectly clip Grug's head and bring him back to reality. The sirens sense the battle shifting out of their favour and retreat into the waters.

The party look around, finding a muddy individual collapsed upon the ground. Finding the form to be comatose and not breathing too effectively. After Ester resuscitates the man, he reveals his name to be Clevel Jeorden and his objective is to retrieve the ring of Edna, same as them. They talk to him some time and help him find his sword, before splitting up to search the nearby buildings for her ring. After some searching, Gromp finds it in a flooded cellar.

After meeting back up, they head back into the mill to search the upper floors, recovering a strange small skull from a chest of drawers. As they hear the sirens approaching once more, in greater number, Grug makes the executive decision to blindfold their new companion and carry him down through the passages below the manor, cutting off discussion about heading through the town.

When they arrive at the manor and dispel suspicions of Clevel being kidnapped by them, they settle down to ask the skull a question, utilising Tomkin's quill. They ask how the person died, to which the skull replies that she was taken young and kept for some time, before being drowned. They convene and make plans for how to proceed.

Session Nine - Getting a Head
''"I'll take four armies [of wolves]." Snadgrug Brewbeard''

Whilst making plans for the rest of the day, the group return to the subject of the blank journal as Tomkin notices the strange texture over much of the pages. They talk on it some before Grug and Gromp separately stumble onto the idea that heat may uncover whatever writing is on the page and Grug holds it up to a nearby candle. This causes the pages to blossom with ink and reveal the book as the journal of a person named Nyriak that they had read about previously. The book contains much information on why the laboratory below existed and why it ceased in its activities, as well as qualities of the villagers.

Tomkin is able to draw some formulae from the back of the tome also, comprising usable alchemical mixtures to add to his arsenal. Before he gets to transcribing them, he looks over the various weapons they have recovered to inspect their quality. This involves a rather ill-planned practical test on Gromp, who doesn't take sudden and unexplained injury well, responding with a perfect throw of some manacles from below that bind Tomkin's wrists together. Of the two weapons; Gromp takes the cold iron blade of the Sorrow and Grug takes the hammer of Ser Dera.

With such things uncovered, the group head into town (minus Tomkin, who stays to scribe the formulae) to see Lowra and deliver Edna's ring. Lowra is only too pleased to show them to her and fix up some of Grug's injuries whilst she's at it. The group deliver Edna's ring and talk to her for some time about the woman's lost partner. After this, Gromp checks on Joll and asks about his own loss. With daylight wasting, they decide to try and recover Dera's body from the Ardern farm.

When they make it to the farm, they find some wolves tearing into Dera's body, including one that seems to be watching from a distance. As they fight them off, the wolf at the back darts into the fray and attempts to escape with Dera's head. Zamaru handily prevents it from running though, utilizing his naginata to knock the beast on its back, making plain how horribly mutated it seems in comparison to the other wolves. The group set upon the beast whilst it is down, culminating in Zamaru removing its head.

Ester wraps up Dera's body and head in a cloak, Zamaru retrieves the head of the strange wolf, and Grug retrieves some strange liquid from a sac on the wolf's throat. They then embark into the carriage of a rather taken-aback Robert Steel, who delivers them back to the manor.

When back at the manor, they discover that whilst Tomkin has been scribing into his formulae book, Clevel has been bothering him with information: including information about a ghost hunter that went missing at the old graveyard in the swamp called Dirnhaf. The group send Grug to question him further, which confused both Grug and Clevel. Meanwhile Gromp, Tomkin and Zamaru attempt to relit the haunted furnace below the manor. When they do manage it, it floods the lower levels with unbearable heat.

Session Ten - Lucid Dreaming
''"They say hindsight has very good eyesight." Grompelstiltzkin von Bergerberg''

Player Characters:

 * Ester Thorne, Human Warpriest and warrior of the Zlataya
 * Grompelstiltzkin von Bergerberg (aka Gromp), Dwarf Slayer and monster hunter
 * Snadgrug Brewbeard (aka Grug), Dwarf Barbarian and former competitor in the Bezkruvgra games of Urvatsa.
 * Tomkin Thomson, Human Investigator and P.I.
 * Zamaru, Tyrling Samurai and warrior of the Zlataya

NPCs

 * The Missing Knights
 * Ser Baros de Oliviera, elven woman and leader of the knights
 * Ser Dera of Foroz, dwarven woman
 * Ser Grant Hardel, human man
 * Ser Arlen Vaek, human man
 * Ser Damien Jot, half-orc man
 * The Zlataya family
 * Baron Velmorzh, lord of the Zlataya lands
 * Baroness Barinya, inheritor of the Zlataya lands through blood
 * Baronet Volk, first son
 * Other Zlataya Staff
 * Robert Steele, the carriage driver
 * Manor Staff
 * Joll Etter, human man and housekeeper
 * Rain, half-orc guard (part-time)
 * Oscar Vendt, human guard (part time)
 * Zev, half-orc chef
 * Villagers
 * Caylaen, human hunter
 * Lowra, Priestess of the Church of First Crossing
 * Zaerin, an elven physic
 * Edna, local human sad lady
 * Conrad Baermek, dwarven proprietor of the Hunter's Hall
 * Spit, an old Gnommish drunkard
 * Other folk
 * Clevel Jeorden, nobleman from Providé
 * Dirnhaf, a long-gone ghost hunter that was a member of the Brothers of Respite
 * Adversaries
 * The Sorrow, strange creature below the Manor

Places
All places visited within this Campaign are within the Zlatay barony of Kjarven.
 * The Zlataya Estate
 * Baelsbrook
 * The Zlataya manor
 * The Spittle Tavern
 * The Church of First Crossing
 * The Hunter's Hall
 * Other Places
 * Ildermar, village to the North
 * Providé, Capital of Sulvan
 * Galheim, Capital of Dohrn
 * Heider's Watch, an old Zlatayan Watchtower