Friends. Welcome back to the QQ Blog. It has been almost two moons since last we met. Children have been moved back to college, school has begun, vacations have been taken, and time, well, has just gone the way it often does.
Our troupe of questers have arrived in Greymoor as an escort to coroner/death tax collector Oswald, and there is a great deal of excitement in the village when they arrive. And, it has NOTHING to do with them. Yet.
Much of this has been described in the last post, but for this entry, let’s recap the ever-important party deets:
Carlos: Half-Elf LG Storm Sorcerer (Anderson)
Andraste: Wood Elf CG Monk (Jenny)
Thro’Viloanna Hlaendeth AKA Vilya: High Elf NG Wizard (of the Divination School) and her snake, Astraeya (Maddy)
Brynja of the Shadowaxe Clan: Dwarf CG Twilight Cleric (Heather)
Thack: Dwarf NG Barbarian (Brent)
Okay, the overwhelming desire at present is for the group is to stick close to Oswald – the guy is as shifty as a werewolf and unscrupulous enough to abandon his escorts at the first chance he gets. That being said, there’s also a desire to figure out the mystery of the Greymoor killings. So, away we go!
There are many things on the questers’ to-do list, beginning with:
Activity #1: Travel with Oswald to the residence of Sir Thames – the dead body that everyone is here for in the first place.
The knight’s home appears to be old, but not neglected (although, we’ll see how long that lasts now that the man is dead, amirite?) A fresh grave with a simple marker indicates Sir Thames has been buried in his backyard. Perfect. As they make their way back to the man’s house with Oswald, it becomes cloudy-clear that Oswald’s plans lack logistical thought.
Oswald: So, can you all get me into this house?
Brynja glances at Lawful Good Carlos, who asks, “Why do you need our tools?” Oswald does not answer, or at least in a way that the scribe’s notes indicate was satisfactory. This prompts Thack to ask if he should break the door down. Vilya sends her snake in to look around and there are no signs of disruption around the two weeks’ worth of dust. It is still very suspish, though, that Oswald needs the assistance of the group to gain access. After all, supposedly, this is what the guy does for a living.
Eventually, there’s too much talking and pondering for Thack, who finally breaks down the door with his fists. He enters first. Andraste pokes around some letters on a desk and notices that one sheet of parchment has marks upon it, and when the monk does a rubbing, she finds printing upon the page. In fact, the desktop contains evidence of two letters; one to Ulrich and one to Cullian (or Cullinan? Which is it, DM?). The letters speak of curses and swords and trees with owls carved into them. Sir Thames has been dead for two weeks, and it would appear he wrote these correspondences shortly before his death. The timeframe he writes of matches the one our players are currently operating within. Convenient!
Carlos is watching Oswald like a hawk (Brynja casts Guidance on Carlos for the assist). Pretty soon, Oswald indicates he is ready to go back to Greymoor Bend and this increases the group’s unease, as this would likely be when Ossie could bolt on them. The party, however, is not ready to go yet, as they want to check out the trees around the knight’s home; therefore, Vilya sends her snake, Astraeya, to accompany Oswald back into town.
But. Oswald freaks out a little and insists the wizard call her snake away. If she does not, he refuses to budge at all. Andraste tries to rationalize with the man, informing him Astraeya is a “sweet snake”. Despite this compelling argument, Oswald refuses to move and finally Vilya calls her snake back to her. Oswald then makes his way to the Greymoor Inn, stating he will await the party there. Once he is out of sight, Vilya sends Astraeya to the inn after him. Hahaha on you, Oswald.
Activity #2: Tree Investigation. Carlos and Vilya locate the aforementioned owl tree, but the area is undisturbed. There is no evidence of a sword being hidden here at any recent point in time. Vilya speculates the sword has not been placed here yet, as the letters indicated a full moon drop off…and Brynja the Moon Cleric informs the crew the moon will reach its zenith within the next few days.
It doesn’t appear much can be done here now, so the group moves on to Activity #3: Visiting Father Derigor. Brynja is especially excited, as Greymoor is the home of the Chapel of Selune, the goddess of the moon. And the dwarf cleric is all about the moon goddess worship. So, off to the holy place they go.
The priests and priestesses here appear to be in various stages of full moon festival preparations, and as Brynja has “Shelter of the Faithful”, she is able to converse easily with her fellow clericfolk. While Brynja begins the conversation with Father Derigor about festival details, Vilya and Andraste soon move the talk into the suspicious killings around Greymoor, and if they know the whereabouts of a local girl named Erin, daughter of George (the recent slash victim).
There is obvious concern about the upcoming festival, with the body count rising and the killer roaming unchecked. Father Derigor, like everyone else in town, appears to have very few answers, but very large amounts of concern. When Vilya asks about the Sword of the Lady (mentioned in letters at Sir Thames’s house), Father D is very interested in hearing about where she learned about that.
It’s right about now, a man named Grimmand enters the scene, and it appears that he’s here for celestial choir practice. The name rings a bell, and pretty soon, it’s discovered that Grimmy is the man who gave another man named Quentin Nary (who ended up a slash victim, btw) a black eye in an argument about the gods. When the party members inquire about this, Grim takes off at a sprint.
Thack is triggered (probably by some deer escape flashback) and overruns the man, before tackling him to the ground. “Why you run?” the barbarian grunts.
Grim: I…I panicked. Yes, Quentin Nary and I got into a fight. He questioned the gods and I defended them. With all the strange happenings and funny business around here, our devotion to the gods seems more important than ever. Nary disagreed with me and we got into fisticuffs. Believe me, though, when I tell you that I had nothing to do with his death.”
Thack: Where you when Nary died? (Since when is Thack a top-notch criminal interrogator?)
Grim: I was here for choir practice. I am a tenor. (Editorial note: Seemed irrelevant to include that last fact, but proceeded on for accuracy’s sake.)
Brynja: Father Derigor, can you corroborate this?
Father Derigor nods and states Grimmand was exactly where he said he was. And that he’s a tenor.
Thack: You know Erin? Where she live?
Father: She is the daughter of the blacksmith, and their home is located just outside of town.
After a description and better directions are given, the party embark on Activity #4: Notifying Erin of Her Father’s Death.
Upon nearing the deceased blacksmith’s home, it is obvious there is no need for breaking and entering tools. Also, all the mental red flags of our brave heroes are standing straight up at attention.
The house has been completely turned upside down.
Brynja and Thack immediately draw their weapons (mace and book flail, respectively). Vilya’s crystal glows as she detects magic around a dented lockbox on a messy desk in the house.
Carlos: Can Thack whack it?
Brynja decides to Investigate the blacksmith’s house further, and rolling a Natural 20, sees boot prints out in the snow, not to mention a key on a random rafter beam in George’s study. Trying it on the lockbox, it works, and there is a letter and a silver arrow wrapped in linen inside.
Dear Erin,
Have this. It is an elf-crafted arrow that will ward off witchcraft.
Love, Dad
Indeed.
Vilya is looking closer at the boot tracks and upon following them for several yards, she finds that they become “muddled” after they go out a ways from the blacksmith’s domicile. Upon returning to the house, she then speculates that the silver arrow is perhaps a good luck charm of sorts and does not necessarily indicate a weapon to use against a werewolf. Brynja offers to carry the box with the charm in it, and the party decides to return to Greymoor Bend as dusk is falling.
Astraeya reports Oswald did nothing out of the unusual: dinner, chatting, etc.
Carlos states that the task now is to convince Oswald to stay an extra two days in Greymoor, so that they can solve the mystery of the murders, the moon, and the Sword of the Lady. The most convincing argument will likely be the extra coin in Oswald’s pouch…as there may be more dead bodies to collect taxes from.
And this indeed is the case. Oswald is willing to not only hang out for another 48 or so hours, but he’ll also continue to pay for the party’s lodgings. Which is incredibly helpful, because Andraste needs a room for her monk-y meditations. In general, it just seems to be a good time to bunk down, supper up, and recap the findings of the day.
Things are ramping up in Greymoor, for sure. And as catchy as that saying is, it probably should NOT become the Greymoor Ministry of Travel’s new slogan. Because, here in Greymoor, people are dying as well.
With undying devotion,
Your Scribe, Heather
