And he's tied in some way to the Ravenstone the party has in their possession.
Plus I got to use the moathouse from T1 again :)
Write up follows:
With the two new members in the party and still no word from the rest of the group working up north, the other half of the group weathered the first major snowstorm and made some serious headway on the house at this time. But there was the constant need to be aware of any issue coming up and eventually through conversation with the GRSAG and themselves, the group wanted to go and visit the middle ring of Erylond and pay some homage to the Grim Gauntlets and the church of Sif.
Connal, Dizzy, and Asher collectively want to make the visit so they took the time to pass through the northgate and see the higher elevated and more glorious center ring of Erylond. The streets were covered in snow but the guild halls through here were grand edifices covering huge areas. Cathedrals abounded and there were considerably more guards patrolling the area. We asked our way around and learned the Grim Gauntlets were on the east side of town.
Eventually making our way there we went to the temple to pray at first before being approached by a Novice who talked with us at length. After learning who we were, two touched priests and a monastic, he elevated us to the Prior Callius and then eventually we were taken to the Abbess Cala of Sif.
A middle aged woman of hidden strength she looked upon our presence here as a sign of providence and proof that the Norns are still at work.
Their Sacristsanct had been stolen from, a tube about 2’ long, brass, sealed, supposedly holds the dying words and breath a great prophet. And although a tube was still in the Sacristsanct, it was not exactly the same – a copy swapped out. There were some adherents, postulants who had been in the area and caught in the act BEFORE the copy was noted and the thought was these two had the tube and swapped it out – selling it to someone.
Wanted the tube returned, the thieves branded as apostates, and then killed. The adventuring guild was a place to go but the Temple has no idea on how to go about this, and the divining they had done let them know that they were holding up some 6 hours outside of town, west, at a riverside keep and would most likely be moving on soon.
And here we are, 3 adventurers, followers of Sif and Tyr, and touched priests to boot. So we 3 took the job and promised to leave immediately, taking a copy of the rough map and what to look for on the way.
There were a series of low keeps that lines the Enderlyn River, long ago outposts the Randari used to patrol the area and keep the barbaric tribes across the waterways in place. Since the fall of the Ympir, the keeps were abandoned one at a time and eventually have been used a way points for weary travelers out in the elements, or reclaimed by the water boggy ground.
There Trade Road ran west, northwest as we counted off the hours. There was a rough trail off the highway that ran along the river which was burbling along as it wound its way downstream. Some 600 yards separated the highway from the River and it was an ever choked bog of tangled vines and semi-stagnant pools. We could see the keep in question and even at this distance, there was a line of tramped snow from the drawbridge to the solid ground where someone(s) had walked up and down the river bank again and again and often over the last day.
Most likely our place.
There might have been some sign of life within and we proceeded with care, stepping off the highway and trailblazing our way through the tall snow to the keep. The croaking of frogs was constant, but it was deep and guttural, and Dizzy was unsure as its cold, snow on the ground, and frogs? Ice frogs? Um..do we want to risk it?
There were signs that someone had been back and forth across the 15’ long drawbridge a number of times, and some of them were hoof prints. So we made the decision to approach, and then summon a creature to charge the water and draw the frogs if any. The call went out and a gnoll appeared where it ran to the water…and a 10’ tall ice pale green/blue frog came out of the water, croaked once, and shot a tongue at it.
Followed by another and then 4 smaller frogs!
We ran across while the summoned creature engaged the amphibians for a bit, coming to the open gates of the keep and looked around the courtyard. Parts of a chopped up dead horse were here, tower immediately to the left, and the main home of the keep to the north and east. A few windows were there but open. Stairs led up and we could see some lights within. Lots of loose prints in the snow of people coming in and out of the keep and the area here.
We scouted a bit, Dizzy giving the all clear, and we climbed up the steps to the main foyer of the keep. Two main halls ran south and west, some older torches, a few doors, and a closed room to the northeast where we could hear voices talking. Alright.
Checked out the two passages first, no guards, some doors closed, nothing else of interest. So it was the main door. We wanted to be on the ready for them and either go in or have them come out to us – fighting in the door was not the way to go.
But at least 5 voices could be heard with the leader being Rerid and the next most spoken to person being Hrabbi. They were upset, their contact was late and the group wanted to get paid and gone from the area now. Rerid was adamant they needed to give “the wizard” one more day and then good or bad, they leave and make their way eventually to Sorton and then Thak.
The group was getting into place around the door, Dizzy was going to open it, when something made Connal turn around just in time to be leapt upon by an almost 175# wolf! It savaged the monk, ripping and tearing at him while the group was surprised. And then when they were in place, Connal turned with the wolf, back against the wall and began hammering at it as it continued to savage the monastic.
The voices inside grew excited and calls went out to “help my wolf!” and “They’ve found us!” It was weapons out and ready when the door opened and EIGHT young men between 17 and 25 came out with clubs and swords and cold weather clothes and padded armor and one of them had a damned crossbow!
We were beset almost immediately and the battle hit the three party members hard. Dizzy took two painful wounds, the wolf continued to assault Connal, others came about hitting Asher and the other two. We tried to group together but were quickly being overwhelmed. Swords swung, fists flew, and at the end of it, Asher called to Tyr and pointed and Rerid where he shouted, “In the name of Tyr, Hold!!”
And the thief leader froze in place. Along with the other wounds we had done, the poor state of the wolf, and the poor morale of the thieves, the second in command, Hrabbi, ordered the men to drop their weapons and “this has gotten WAY out of hand!”
We helped divest them of weapons, some healing was doled out, and we talked while Rerid was bound in place while held. They had been contacted months earlier by a wizard named Granmund who was looking for religious artifacts that have anything to do with the dead. He approached the pair (Rerid and Hrabbi) and arranged to give them a copy of the tube in question. He was supposed to meet them via boat this last day but hasn’t arrived.
The party had been charged in killing the thieves but Dizzy took a different stance and told them that they fought well and with skill, and Sif will judge them elsewhere, but they were to be spared and head west and away from Erylond, for if they do come back, the Church of Sif will exact a vengeance upon them then.
Hrabbi took the deal and the party was a bit bummed there was no profit for this, but they all agreed to head west and away. Handshakes were given and we tossed a “horse chunk” at the frogs who fought over it while we ran across the drawbridge and back to the Highway. Rerid, no longer held, was bent, but agreed this was for the best.
As for Granmund, they wanted to be long gone before the wizard showed up as he would not be pleased he did not get his tube and wasted time and money on this venture. Granmund is working out of one of the Stolen Kingdoms called Shadowthyrst and we thanked them and waited for them to leave before turning back around and heading back.
We arrived at the temple late at night where the Abbess met with s and was happy to get the piece back. We discussed how it happened and what we had learned. Someone had to have seen the tube for some time to make a copy of it, but it hadn’t been out of the Sacristsanct for years. Scrying? Possible. As for Shadowthyrst, its run by a sad Halfling figure and the entire land is one of misery and sadness, those who stay too long or have a weak will, often times just lie down and wait to die.
Lovely.
The Abbess offered the three of the party members a reduced rate on training in the future and a small reward for their efforts and we left feeling good with how it all played out so far.
Except…Why Granmund’s interest and how will this end up affecting us in the future?
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