Meet 63, Adv 12, 8/19/23

Arriving at the Heart of Vitalia, we had the chance to check in with the Concierge, Amathadwan, who assured us that for the rest of today and tomorrow, the Adjunct Rawanis was picking up the party’s lodgings. He looked us over and suggested that we go to the baths and laundry in the basement and then a fine meal and some entertainment to follow. A room was arranged for us on the 3rd floor and as for Hoggar, he summoned the Hotel’s Stablemaster, a ghoulish (no literally – she was a ghoul!) named Dyndrel.

She was affectionate with the wild boar and Gryg felt good enough to leaving his companion with her. She took the pig out, leash firmly held, promising to get him something “meaty to eat”. We went up to our chambers and dropped our bags and armor before heading back down to the manager’s desk. He had some attendants take us down to the basement where we were undressed and washed in a series of differing pools, each designed to relax and cleanse us. A variety of bathers “helped” us along and on completion, we were then taken to a tailor who took our measurements for a set of clothes, “Befitting travelers of your station”. From there we were invited to go to the brothel adjoining the Hotel, Grave Desires, where about half of us had some entertainment for the evening. A few of us went to the smoking room instead and mixed with the upper crust locals.

And Dizzy avoided all of it and everything and instead ate his trail rations and went back to his room alone.

We slept well and the next day we ate and early breakfast and Birthmonth the 24th at 7:30 Am, found us at Rawanis’ office. He inquired about our evening and afterwards thanked us for a good first mission. Today was something else. Grymeria has a single large area where all the growing of the needed vegetation for the kingdom takes place. West and North of Vitalia, it is referred to as The Grains and is looked after by the Reeve, a serious man named Amrain.

It seems that the Scarecrows that are used in the fields aren’t functioning correctly and that in many of the local acreages, yields are down due to an increase of insects and poor behavior by the scarecrows and the birds that are released there from the aviary to help keep the insect population down. It has crossed the Adjunct’s desk too many times and he would like someone to go and see first hand what the problem is and resolve it.

So we left by 8 Am and after making it to the Grains, were directed through the Acreage to the Reeve’s place, a half mile or so in. Each farm was about 2 acres in size and had a master farmer and whatever aids he or she needed to keep it weeded, planted, harvested, watered, tilled, and anything else needed. We eventually found Amrain who was pleased to meet us and was thankful that Adjunct Rawanis had finally sent someone here to take the problem seriously.

There were a half dozen other farmers here and they all got to explaining the problem. The Scarecrows were a mix of two types – prisoners or criminals, living or dead, who had various body parts removed but were stationed in the fields to yell and howl and thrash around to startle any birds who stayed too long as they were in danger of feeding on too many of the vegetables or damaging them inadvertently. We met a few of them and they were surly, but showed they could do the job on the knowledge they would one day be free.

The other type were a bit more disturbing as they were volunteers. Hedonists and pleasure seekers, they recognized that euphoria or other strong positive emotions (sexual and normal) were felt sometimes as waves throughout the body. But if there were “less” body (say an entire leg missing) and the euphoria was still the same “amount”, they would feel it THAT much more intensely. They were…odd…and disturbing…but they also gyrated and yelled and moved about while out on the poles effectively doing their jobs.

Maybe 30 weeks ago, one of the scarecrows had gotten a strange cut on its body and ceased to have any higher brain function. It still reacted to some stimuli, but no longer as needed. So the larger birds (the gulls and some of the crows) were not scared away and has resulted in too many insects, ruined younger crops, too much bird droppings in the soil and eventually lower yields for that farmer and field. Which meant less pay and in some cases, no bonus. If it was just one, it would be no big deal, but roughly once a week or so, another scarecrow (of either type) had gotten a strange cut on its body and ceased to work correctly. And those that did still stay, they were rotting on the poles.

The farmers wanted the matter resolved and the Reeve was hoping the group could turn something up. We took a tour about and got a heads up on a rough map of where the affected scarecrows were – almost entirely in the south east section of the Grains.

We looked over the first ones, the middle ones, the oldest ones. Any sort of clue. And we did find one some. Some green hay – undried green hay grasses in some places. There was also a thick dirty sock near a scarecrow and inside its clothing, a 3” long brittle looking blade to a flensing knife of some sort. Ok, we asked around a bit and learned that the local Hayer was a Half-Ogre farmer woman named Leolla. We went to her farm and she had a troupe of Animates working the field, dropping the green hay in long scything swaths and setting them up to be bundled. We showed her the hay and she said it seemed to be from her fields but not sure how it got somewhere else. Yes, some wind, but not enough to blow it that far.

We did note though that the irrigation trenches went all through every farm. They stretched out from Lake Isner at the Northernmost eastern section of the Grains. The thought was that if something was assaulting the scarecrows, and it wasn’t happening during the dark, it was using the trenches to get around. We went next to the farm of Drulas who had recently attacked scarecrow. A reedy individual with an enhanced sense of his importance, he was growing Wineberries and his crop was almost irreplaceable. We MUST need to find out what is going on and STOP it!. It’s grapes man. Grapes. NO! They are Wine berries! Totally different! Dizzy made sure we left before throttling the twit but it did lead us northward to Lake Isner.

The lake was fed from the Flow, a large river that wound its way through Grymeria and ended up here. There were over a dozen channels and locks cut into the banks of the lake stretching out to the Grains. Two men were armed with long wide tined rakes and were cleaning the muck, reeds, and detritus from the channel mouths. A single Scarecrow was here – but it was not an animate of any kind. Seems that when Grymeria first appeared, the farm that was here had this Scarecrow already in place. It’s become a bit of a local good luck charm for the farmers so as the clothes wear out and the hay gets old, they chip in and replace bits of it as needed, leaving the cast offs at the base of the large post to rot away.

The two men were working and watching the group. On talking to them, we learned they were simpletons. One was named Arippe and his brother said nothing. They had worked here on the farms some years ago and had jobs now raking the channels clear. As the group was looking at the lake and talking about it, the silent brother was nervous and ran off, while Arippe was pleading with them NOT to disturb the lake. Why? Don’t. Why? Just don’t ok!? But Why??

And it was then that Gryg had tossed a fishing line with a weight on the end in the lake. And then Something BURST out of it! It slammed on the ground, clad in scarecrow clothing nad wielding a set of finger knives it slashed at the line and cut it free, before leaping back in the water.

What. The. Fuck?!

We talked more with Arippe who was very sad and nervous. And Got a story from him. His family and another family with 2 young girls, 4 or 5 years ago, worked on a farm run by a terrible farmer named Milaine. He was good at farming, but horrible to the young people. He didn’t say it, but Arippe indicated that Milaine might have abused the girls somewhat. After a particularly bad day of it, the two brothers and the girls turned on Milaine and beat him unconscious with rocks. Terrified they were going to get in trouble and not wanting to bury him as he’d arise the next day, they clad him in the cast off scarecrow clothes and weighed him down with rocks, throwing him in Lake Isner and then they went back and had the parents tend to the daughters’ injuries. When Milaine did not return, the families were cleared of indenture and allowed to have their debt cleared and lives returned. Eventually a new person was assigned Milaine’s acreage and time moved on.

About 9 months ago, the water level in Lake Isner dropped. A lot. Drying up the irrigation trenches and according to Arippe – that’s when the Scarecrow arose. It was no longer “buried” and it roamed around. And has been disabling scarecrows ever since.

We went to Leolla and without saying exactly what we knew, asked her about the drop in the lake level. She confirmed it, something about something that happened up river. It was eventually fixed but things were tough for a week. And as for Milaine? She was nonplussed. He was a skilled farmer and was able to seriously get some good yields from his fields. But he was also a prick to those who worked for him and when he disappeared, no one was really sorry to see him go.

We thought about what to do next and figured we’d try to fish this Scarecrow out of the water again – but this to be ready to engage him when he hit dry land. It was almost 1 and we had just eaten some rations, heading back to Lake Isner to do what was needed.

Meet 62, Adv 12, 7/29/23

The next day was sunny and bright and the party ate a decent breakfast at the Fiery Beehive before leaving Paxian and taking the Main Traderoad eastward. We made our way through Third and decided to head to Bork Keep first and then turn north to Grymeria instead of risking the Northeast Highway and the strange Chickens that are up there. It was almost 11 when we arrived at Bork Demesne and the Chevaliers that came to meet us were surprised that we were not heading for the Keep proper and the eventual Terror Dungeon. They were even more interested to learn that we were truly going to head north and enter Grymeria. “Really? Grymeria? Grymerians often come south from that land to trade and visit, but visitors to? Not common. Be safe in your travels.”

We followed the Borkian Road north and after some short distance beyond the last major timberstands, the road quality dropped off, the thoroughfare pitted and muddy. But it was not much longer before we arrived at the shimmering border to the Sovereign Land known as Grymeria. The first one to form a bit over 16 years ago. Dizzy made some grumblings about it, murmuring that he’d be “damned if I eat anything in this place. Probably all dead people.”

We crossed over and outside of the sun seeming to shift a bit in the sky – the place appeared to be…the same. No increase in temperature, no body odor, it was just pleasant. We could see a large forest north and east of us and north and west was a rise of hills, some reaching maybe a thousand feet in height. The road here though ran straight north with no deviation. Barely 500 yards from the barrier was a walled town, the road passing right through its heart.

We closed to it and saw a sign standard indicating “Slumber”, was this town, 1 mile north was another place called “Ample” and then 3 miles from here, another locale marked as “Vitalia” with a burned star next to the name. At the wall, some 15’ tall wooden palisade with a berm or earth reverse dug around the place, the gates were open and the guards there took our name with some care, writing it down on a clay tablet. He was happy to talk with us, identified himself as Gainsil, and answered a few questions. Killing anyone is a capital crime, defending yourself is ok and expected, lawlessness is frowned upon. And all citizens need to be within any of the 11 cities of Grymeria’s wall at sundown.

“Why?”

The wolves would be out then and have free run of Grymeria at night. Great, great. Also, any animals need to be leashed. Unleashed animals are fair game for the Hunters and would be added to the food stocks. Gryg looked at Hogger and Gainsil offered us a leash for the Ranger’s boar. Six smaller towns make up the hex corners of the realm: Dour, Somber, Gruff, Kip, Rest, and Slumber. Then there are 4 larger towns, smaller cities that encompass the center 4 cardinal axis points: Fair, Amble, Pressing, and Relent. And in the center of the place was Vitalia – the largest location and heart of Grymeria. On learning that we were adventurers, and seeing our letter of introduction from Pha-iyr Carom, he suggested we head there.

Slumber. The people were a mix of living and undead. The undead were referred to as “Animates” and they seemed to be self aware. They had a strange delay in their movement and speech. But the buildings were nice, the roads clean, and most menial tasks were being done by animates. But there were some strange things too. A dead child walking a dog. And odd figures hiding on the rooftops watching everyone. We passed through the heart of the town and there was a Bookbinder here. Named Merosses, we spoke to him for a bit while we noticed a zombie…animate…reading a book! Daring to speak with him, he was named “Van” and was reading, “Parsley on a String” – a book about herbology and growth of parsley and other similar. He had died of brain fever at some point in the past and his family moved here where he awoke again and they’ve been very happy since. Um..great.

We moved further on from Slumber and headed north. The road was again, straight, neat, even, and in excellent shape and repair. To the east the hills continued and we could see a small lake or large pond ahead of us just shy of the next town “Ample”. A bridge crossed the stream that fed the pond and we came to the next location. Ample was much larger than Slumber, almost 3 times as much – and the walls reflected the city’s superior strategic importance – 2 parallel 20’ tall and mortared stone, back filled with earth between. The streets and avenues within were regular and the entire place was maybe 7 blocks square. The décor was also more elaborate and the mix of people and animate was more…lively? There was still a sensation that the places we’ve seen were off a bit, as if window dressing than substance – but the populace we encountered were friendly enough. Also, the guards here knew us already by name and description – even though we saw no messenger go ahead of us – and there had been no birds or any kind so far.

We pressed on and went through Ample, trekking 2 miles north. The hills on the west of us were large and imposing in places, and the forest to our east was thick. But we could see some industry ahead of us, a timbering crew was working on some of the trees there, cutting and culling them. There was a large lake just shy of the city of Vitalia, and a slow loving wide river, hundred feet or so long, left the lake and circled the city to the north and east. The bridge was in excellent repair that we crossed the river with, over its surface at least 25’ and composed of 6 definitive arches of stone.

The city of Vitalia was…awe inspiring. Huge and bustling, 20 city blocks north/south and East/West. The walls were 30’ in height and still many buildings stuck over the wall’s height. Colored shingles, carved and bas relief surfaces, painted and festooned, not a single area wasn’t beautified and enhanced in some manner. We waited a short time before the gate guards were able to let us in, and again – they seemed to know all about us already –building on the knowledge that we had given to both Slumber and Ample. The main guard’s name was Dorreson and he suggested that we go to the Outer Circle Council for now – our presence had been made known and an Adjunct there would likely meet with us.

As for a place to stay, we were recommended to stay at the Heart of Vitalia – a 5 star hotel not too far from the Council district. We followed the directions down the very clean and lively city. There were musicians wandering the streets, singers idly harmonizing out of windows, and everywhere were signs of art and beauty. Eventually we came to the aforenamed hotel and it was a 4 story structure that just dripped with marble and opulence. We entered the entrance hall was outfitted with a small grand piano and full smoking lounge and an indoor fountain and waterfall. The concierge, a tall and exceedingly conciliatory figure named Amathadwan, was happy to bid us hello. On learning that we were the adventuring party from Erylond he had let us know that we were very welcome to stay. Asher looked around and asked, “How much?”

14 Crowns per night for the larger room.

14…crowns.

We were out of our league. We opted to wait both inside the foyer area and outside for the Adjunct to arrive and even though an Animate girl came by to offer us a drink or refreshment (at again, ridiculous prices) we had to demur for now.

Eventually we were invited to the Outer Circle Council where we were met at Adjunct Rawanis. Rawanis worked for the OCC member Mid and even though we had come some way, OCC Mide was not going to be able to meet with the party just yet. If they could do a few tasks for Rawanis first, he would make sure that OCC Mide would meet with them afterwards. As for staying in town, he was willing to have a voucher sent to the Heart of Vitalia for a day and a half for now for the group to be compensated there.

The party was thankful and asked, what was the first task. Rawanis smiled and reached under his desk, dragging out a large wooden crate. 2’ x 3’x 2’, it was latched and locked, nailed shut, and there were a series of chains around the entire thing with another lock in place holding it closed. “I need this box buried.”

“Um…”

“Now. Take the box to the Timbers (the huge forest we passed coming in) across ‘The Flow’ (the large river). Look for the Woodward there and have him guide you to the Willow Grove. Once there, find the willow that seems the oldest and dig a hole at its base. Drop the box in at least 4’ deep, cover it up, and leave no markers or identifiers of where it is.”

“Um…what’s in it?”

Rawanis frowned slightly. “That’s not part of the purview of what I asked, is it?” He glanced at the water clock. “It’s 3:04 right now. Sun set is at 7 PM. If you are as good as you say you are, that gives you just under 4 hours to take the task to completion.”

We hoisted the box up and answered, “Time’s wasting. Let’s go.” Two of us grabbed the box and we moved swiftly out of the OCC office and to the streets. We knew we had to cross the Flow so opted to head east to the gate there. Godrick hit the box with a levitate spell and Gryg made sure that it was tied off on Hoggar. We ran east to the wall and through the gate and then double speeded it, Godrick riding the floating box like a steed as the boar ran ahead, the entire thing floating like a balloon. We hit the bridge and then turned south into the Timbers and made our way for the sound of the timbering we had heard earlier. Eventually we had a chance to meet the Woodward, a Half-Ogre named Larogius.

We explained who we were and that Rawanis wanted us to be led to the Willow Grove. The Half Ogre looked us over and then grunted, “Follow”, turning to the woods as we repositioned the box (levitation was over now) on Asher’s shoulders and followed. Larogius made no effort to help us and kept a steady pace, taking us deeper and deeper in the woods. Gryg tried to pay attention to where we were going and we followed, keeping time in our head.

36 minutes later and very tired, we arrived at a section of the woods that was only Willow Trees. “Here,” the Half-Ogre said. “I’ll meet you back at the timbering camp.” And then he turned and left.

Ok. It was about 4:30 and fanned out, looking at the willows, relying on Gryg to help us narrow down which of the 80 or so trees was the “oldest”. We felt we had a good candidate and with the 2 shovels we had, proceeded to dig. Problem one, willow trees have dense surface roots so we had to start maybe 4 or 5 feet from the trunk to begin with. And it was rough going. By 5 we had gotten about 2’ down and started to angle the hole closed to the tree as we dug deeper. But the earth was dense and we could only get 1 person truly in the hole. It was a bit after 5:20 when dirty and tired, guessed we were 4 feet down.

Shoving and pushing, we managed to get the box down the hole and at the bottom before we scooped and shoveled the dirt back into the hole. Gryg smoothed it out and spent a few minutes obscuring where we had dug and what we had done. We guessed that in a day or two, no one would be able to tell anything was amiss. By 5:40 we headed back, making it to the Timber camp a bit after 6. Larogius grunted on seeing us. “Glad you made it. Getting late.”

We left the Timbers and were heading back to town. Looking up, Dizzy noted, “Does anyone else see the sun is not behaving right?” Sure enough, it was still high in the sky even though it was pretty far to the west. “I hate this place,” the dwarf muttered as we reentered Vitalia at 6:28. By 6:40 we were back at the OCC office and dirty yet satisfied, was at Rawanis’ office.

“Excellent!” he smiled, clapping his hands. The young man was pleased. “You have earned a night with all the trimmings at the Heart of Vitalia, my friends. First matter is resolved and I am very pleased.” Godrick meanwhile had lagged behind to wash his hands and arms in the fountain at the OCC, to the horrification of the people there. “What?” he grunted, running his hands through his hair and then flicking them on the floor.

“My good man,” Rawanis said, “The Heart of Vitalia had a full set of baths and laundry on premises. Please. Avail yourself of it there. I will make sure the next day and a half is fully paid for. I am in every day by 7 PM and work until 7PM. I have a number of tasks I’d like to discuss with you and hope to see you tomorrow.”

We left the OCC with our chit in hand and were out in the street when the clocks all chimed 7 PM. We watched as the sun seemed to hang in the far western edge of the sky…and then in the space of 10 seconds, dropped down with a steady and ready alacrity until it hit the horizon and night fell. At the same time, on the eastern edge of the sky, the moon rose with the same ridiculous speed until it was high in the sky and then stopped.

Dizzy turned to the west to the Heart of Vitalia, holding his holy symbol and grumbling again, “I hate the fuck out of this place.”