Characters:
- Erik Longstride (Me) - woodsman and retired soldier.
- Pai Mai (KL) - martial artist from distant shores.
- Lyjol (MG) - initiate in the cult of the God Learners and amnesiac berserker.
- "The Rat Guy" (PW) - initiate in the rat cult.
- Simon "The Dwarf" (PH) - dwarven blacksmith's apprentice.
The following morning we gathered supplies (including a parting gift of healing potions from Aflak) and saddled up our horses. The ride west was uneventful until in the early evening of the second day we started descending into the valley containing the village of Parsu.
We spotted a wisp of smoke rising up from the valley floor and followed it to an upturned cart where five Broo were waiting (and failing) in ambush. The Broo charged and everyone except Erik (who has some skill as a cavalryman) dismounted to meet their attack. We were resoundingly victorious: Pai Mai's combination of martial arts kick and Ironhand disembowel at least one Broo, Erik with his mounted advantage skewers at least two others with spears and Lyjol carves up a fourth in a berserker rage. Only Pai Mai is significantly wounded in the encounter.
We pressed on a little further but when it became apparent that we would not reach Parsu by dark we setup a camp a short distance from the road. Pai Mai had become feverish due to an infection picked up from the filthy Broo weapons. Erik went off to forage for appropriate herbs and even though I failed my roll abysmally the GM took pity and Erik came back with something that treated the infection. During the night whoever was on watch (I forget) noticed two young lads on the road to Parsu. They gave our camp a wide berth and our watchman decided to stay shtum.
In the morning we passed the lads heading back the other way and engaged them in conversation. They told us that they lived in one of the remote farms between Tristrame and Parsu and had been sent out for supplies by their father. Theyadded that they would normally have travelled to Tristrame, but on a whim had chosen to go to Parsu instead. This had proved to be a mistake as upon reaching Parsu early thiat morning they had found there were no supplies to be had and had been turned around by the men of the village who were behaving "strangely"; oddly the lads had seen no women or children. Wishing the lads well we pressed on to investigate this strangeness for ourselves.
Parsu proved to be a village of about twenty buildings with a smattering of outlying farms. The "manor house" we were seeking was set a short distance for the village and consisted of a partially ruined squat two storey circular keep with a wooden palisade and gatehouse built upon a low motte. The foot of the motte was surrounded by a moat crossed by a lightly guarded causeway.
Entering Parsu we found ourselves attracting a crowd of local men all of unsettling affect. They answered our questions but without any enthusiasm; it was very clear that they didn't want us there:
Q: Who lives in the manor house?
A: "The Lady".
Q: Who is "The Lady"?
A: She is "The Lady of Parsu", she replaced Lord Parsu when he was killed by Imperial Soldiers during the Ducal Wars.
Q: Where are the women and children of your village?
A: They are up at the manor house with "The Lady".
Q: Can we stay at the Inn?
A: There are no rooms at the Inn.
Q: Who is staying there?
A: No-one, the Inn is closed.
etc.
During the exchange they also asked us a telling question of their own:
Them: How did you get past "The Guardians" on the road? i.e. the Broo
Us: What Guardians :-)
By this time we were getting nervous (and in the real world time was running away from us) and decided to withdraw from the village before the freak show became hostile. Away from the suspicious eyes of the villagers we shared our forebodings and more than one of us remarked that they had noticed red marks, possibly bites, on the arms of many, if not all, of the crowd. Erik
The session ended here.
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