Kay’s Journal, 6/11
Leaving the ruins of the old city, we follow the dagger to
figure out where we’re supposed to drop off the Mushroom Queen’s bauble. Still
travelling, we stop for the night. On 3rd watch, the watchers head
voices in the distance, speaking common. As far as they can tell, it sounds like
average-sized humanoids. The voices are coming from the ruined town, or possibly
the mountains past it. So, they are travelling the same direction we are. Pujol
thinks it sounds like they’re having a normal conversation. We armor up anyway.
We see two robed figures coming down the road. They seem oblivious to us and
our camp.
Fathom checks the dagger to see if these people are
approaching are who we need to talk to (they aren’t). I hide behind a tree,
Pujol sits by the fire and plays his shiny new harp, CornCob hangs out with
him, Abran holds his bow, and Gooseneck sharpens his axe.
The two speakers approach us cautiously, and join by the
fire when Pujol invites them. They tell him they are travelling to town to attend
a sermon, and are super enthused about it. At least, one of the men is. He’s
very talkative. The other is pretty quiet. CornCob has heard the name of the
speaker they are going to see, but hasn’t heard much specifically about him. CornCob
doesn’t think they speech should be as interesting as these guys seem to think
it will be.
The men came from the mountains, and expect to winter in the
city.
CornCob thinks they are church folk – wandering scholarly
monks. That would explain why they’re so very excited about a religious
lecture.
Pujol comments that it’s unusual for them to travel in the
dark, and they say they are trying to make the whole trip without sleeping.
Because they are idiots.
Pujol and CornCon invite them to sit down and have some
breakfast. Gooseneck notices that the quiet one is giving the talkative one a
stern look, and then he guilts the talkative one into continuing to stand.
More importantly, they reveal that their order also brews
beer, and offer to share a bit of their beverage.
I notice that one of them has a symbol branded/tattooed on
his arm. I’ve heard of the symbol; it is the mark of an organization called The
Fall. The Fall has some monks, yes, but also some assassins. They are an extreme,
fanatical organization, and very secretive.
Gooseneck asks how long they’ve been in the order. The young
one says 5 years, they older one, his whole life. CornCob asks how much it
costs to attend the lecture, and they say that it’s free to all at the temple
of Apara. They say we should totally go. CornCob asks if there’s food (they don’t
know) and how long it is (multiple talks over two days).
Pujol offers to travel with them. Out of their earshot, I
tell the others about the guy being a member of The Fall, and what I know about
what that is. Gooseneck knows that they Fall embraces a nihilistic, only the
strong survive mentality, and think a world-ending catastrophe is coming.
Fathom has heard they are not aligned with any deity, but embrace an ideology
that focuses on personal strength. Also, that they dabble in necromancy. She
thinks it’s odd that they’d be going to a religious talk.
We are outside the town of Ven, but there is a waystop
between here and there.
Pujol manages to enthrall them with his music. They ask why
we are going to Ven, and we say we are on a mission and looking for adventure.
Brother Yaris is the older monk, and Brother Marthis is the younger. Pujol asks
about the tattoo, and Marthis hides it quickly and says it’s from an older
life. Pujol says we all have shames in our past, but Marthis doesn’t like that
at all. CornCob asks if it hurt to get the mark, and Marthis says yes, but
doesn’t quite seem to know how to answer the question.
Pujol continues to ask about body marks and such, and asks
how Marthis got it. He says he was orphaned and an organization picked him up,
schooled him, realized he had a talent for magic, and recruited him to be an
acolyte. They taught him how the end of the world was coming, and to be strong
and self-reliant. He read their book, but needed to attain a certain rank to
get access to the higher mysteries. CornCon asks what kind of magic, and Yaris
says they do ‘large’ magics, no mere hedge mage stuff. Fathom asks if the
lectures they are going to are about the end of the world. It’s not, but they
think Melifithus will touch on it some.
Marthis says the organization that took him is was the Redwood
foundation. The Redwood Foundation apprentices out its foundlings to various organizations,
including the Fall. CornCob asks how old the order is, and it’s over a millennium.
The Redwood Foundation is well knows, and has representation
in many towns. They take in orphaned kids, feed, clothe, and educate them. It’s
a legit organization. They do seem to have a militant side – they run some of
their places like military academies. They do have a small (not that small)
standing militia. The militia occasionally acts as mercenaries to raise money;
other times, it serves as ‘special’ protection for towns. In those cases, it is
often true that the town leaders were raised by the Foundation.
The paranoid might think that the Redwood Foundation is
planting the kids it has raised/indoctrinated in places that help it gain
control of areas and organizations. It seems like they might also be involved
with the Fall.
Pujol asks Yaris is he has any body markings – Yaris says he
also has the tattoo, and was also a Redwood orphan.
Fathom checks the dagger, and it is still pointing generally
in the direction of town, but maybe off a bit from there. So, maybe just
outside the town? It seems to be pointing at an inn – The Rowdy Peach. She also
casts a detect magic, and sees that Yaris has a magic ring and a bag of holding
on his belt.
Pujol asks the monks where they will be staying, and they
are going to check in with the local Redwood branch and probably stay there.
We head down the road to the Rowdy Peach, where a brawl is
underway. A woman inside shouts for them to stop, and they do. The dagger
points into the tavern.
CornCob checks on the guy who was thrown out the window in
the brawl. He says it was Mabel who stopped the fight, she runs this place.
There are rowdy dwarves in there that are causing a ruckus.
We head in. This is a tavern, not an inn, so there are no
rooms to rent, just food and drink. There’s a short woman behind the bar, and
three well-armed dwarves near the door. CornCob and Gooseneck keep the dwarves
busy while Fathom looks for her contact. She spots a likely candidate right
away – he doesn’t really look like he gets the idea of ‘blending in’. The
people around him avoid him. Fathom and Abran go to talk to him, while Pujol goes
to the bartender to ask about doing the bard thing here.
Hood Guy is indeed the contact. Fathom gives him the orb; he
has no messages or further instructions from the Mushroom Queen. Fathom asks
him about the Fall and the Redwood Foundation. He’s intrigued, and asks her why
she cares. He says the Fall is an occult necromantic organization. They believe
the end times are coming and they are equipped to handle it because they have
been preparing for so long.
CornCob and Gooseneck talk to the dwarves, and find out that
the brawl was over land rights. The farmer who got thrown out the window wants
to farm land that the dwarves are mining. They mention that as far as inns in
Ven go, the Mud Worm is pretty good, as is the Gilded Blade.
Pujol asks Mabel to recommend a jeweler – he wants to get
the gem that the dragon gave him set into a necklace. She recommends the Tiny Pearl
or Johnson’s Jewelry.
We spend 3 silver on beer, and head on to the (very, very
lawful) city of Ven.
