Brotherhood of the Stone Fields

[Ancalagon]

Since the party in the Shard of Glorianna thread met with a TPK, I figured I'd start this thread for the new group of PCs for the continuing campaign, an adventuring company known as the Brotherhood of the Stone Fields.

The PCs are all 4th level. The members of the Brotherhood are

Decmitius, a human paladin, follower of Augustus
Domitian de Winter, a human conjurer, follower of Ore-Tsar who also prays to Toth, Aristobulus, and Augustus
Tiberius, a human cleric, follower of Augustus
Uhlgren, a half-orc pugilist
Valgard, a human warrior, follower of Augustus

More to come!

[Necron 99]

Definitely going to be interesting to see what develops with the new characters, it's just a shame that starting the new campaign is going to get hit with the breaks in between sessions now that the holidays are rolling in.

I guess for those of use that may be around, we can look at running/playing some fill-in sessions of something else.

[Ancalagon]

Game session date: 16-Oct-21

Domitian's journal

1.

The paramour of Countess Ludovingian of Beiuel is dead. Already widowed, the poor Countess is now made to suffer by the hand of a vile assassin. But why? Who wanted to strike at the Countess by killing her lover? There is not one villain afoot but two – the assassin and the one who hired him.

The Countess, doubtlessly and justifiably driven by grief and rage, placed upon the cowardly wretch believed responsible for the assassination… no… the murder, for that is what it was, that every bounty hunter, mercenary band, and adventuring company in Anglamay, Kleaves, and the Free City of Avignon will mobilize.

The bounty is two-fold: the Countess’ favor and the Hadlam Emerald. The former could be quite useful and wide-ranging. The latter, a gem the size of a child’s fist, is said to be cut with one thousand facets, enormously valuable, and with a history as part of multiple high-profile transactions. And that concerns me. So much wealth in a small, singular item may prove difficult to sell and too much of a temptation to others of low-born status and character for stealing. The bounty is contingent upon returning the murderer to the Countess alive to face her good justice. Those so doing will attract a great deal of attention… perhaps enough to make targets of themselves.

~ D ~

[Ancalagon]

2.

The Brotherhood is now committed to bringing the murderer to justice. Once in custody, I hope we might learn who hired him so we may, in Ore-Tsar’s name, rid society of two threats to the peace.

Our quarry is believed to be a man of average height, broad through the shoulders, with fair-hair and a prominent mustache. His known aliases include Louie, Eustace, Wendell, and Collum with disguises as a merchant, minstrel and other sorts of performer. If he is clever, he will have more names and guises to better blend with crowds and avoid notice. Without knowing if any of these names is his actual name, I shall refer to him as LEWC for convenience.

I expect the Brotherhood will be confronted by others also in pursuit of LEWC. I also expect many of these to be driven more by base greed than a sense of justice or what is just right. With them we must contend as well for nothing worthwhile is ever easy. For their sakes, I pray some will respond to reason before resorting to the Court of Swords.

~ D ~

[Ancalagon]

3.

Though late winter and in the midst of a driving rain, Ore-Tsar be praised it wasn’t a blizzard, we travelled the great Ursal Road which was supposedly the same route taken by LEWC. By horseback and wagon, we journeyed to Plock and the crossing of the Tot River around which the town sits. The rain was cold, the road muddy, and the journey thoroughly uncomfortable. It gave me time to ponder many things, not least of which being possible ways for the Brotherhood to benefit from the Countess’ favor and how we might use the wealth of the Hadlam Emerald.

By the time we arrived at the gate to Plock, the driving rain had grown into a storm possessing winds so fierce that we could scarcely hear each other. The muddy road became a quagmire. I wondered if the storm might further intensify into a dreaded grindelwere through which no intelligent and sane man would travel. What was thoroughly uncomfortable became entirely miserable.

The guards upon the wall signaled for us to stop save for Decmitius who approached to try and be heard over the storm. In short order we were waved forward. However, during the pause, the wagon wheels became bogged down in the mud and could not proceed. Valgard dismounted to push the wagon while I took the reins of his horse.

As the worked to free the wagon, a lone cow approached us from the south side of the road. At first I assumed it must have escaped from whatever pen contained it through a downed fence. Uhlgren also noticed the cow and shifted in his saddle as the animal continued to approach. Just then the entire front end of the cow blew apart as an enormous, chitinous-plated, lamprey-looking monster with two mouths erupted from it! The thing immediately attacked Decmitius, knocking him from his steed. Even through the considerable wind of the storm, a horrific stench reached our noses which resulted in retching by men and the neighing of horses.

Uhlgren and Valgard immediately went to Decmitius’ defense and engaged the horror. While doing so, I discerned two words from the men upon the wall and from one who emerged from the gate: Flesh Crawler. I saw Decmitius did not rise nor move at all. Fearing the worst, I borrowed power from the storm then used my staff to direct it as a narrow streak of lightning which found one of the crawler’s open mouths and travelled the length of its body which then burst asunder! Uhlgren was pelted by a few of the crawler’s chitinous plates but suffered no serious wound. Though I did what was necessary to aid my Brothers, I prayed my vulgar display of power would not weigh against us for gaining admittance to Plock.

~ D ~

[Ancalagon]

4.

When I looked back to Decmitius, he twitched uncontrollably… as one indwelt by a malevolent spirit… or more likely by a potent venom. Fortunately, the guards washed Decmitius' wound with strong drink and soon my Brother ceased his fit and began to recover. In his place, I spoke with the guard in charge, informed him that we pursued an assassin who must answer his crimes and that we sought shelter from the storm. The price to enter Plock was steep with respect to our limited funds but the flashes of lightning which began to appear discouraged haggling. The guard informed us that a standing bounty exists for slain flesh crawlers. The bounty will be needed to help us pay the considerable toll required to cross the bridge to the Kleaves side of the river.

As we entered Plock, a bolt of lightning struck a roof at the far end of town. An ill omen though I prayed otherwise and that my borrowing of power had not angered the storm. It was certainly too dangerous to remain out-of-doors any longer. We quickly made our way to the Horse Inn which had over its door the sign of Ore Tsar – shelter at last!

I greeted the proprietor as a fellow of the faith. I made arrangements for the boarding of animals and wagon, space in the common room as near the fireplace as possible for us, and learned that the bounty for flesh crawlers was 30 gold coins. Based on the prices encountered thus far in Plock, the bounty will definitely be needed for expenses. Before parting with the proprietor, I inquired if he recalled seeing a man who matched the description I provided of LEWC. Alas, no.

I conjured heat to dry my clothes then bade my Brothers to pile their wet clothes upon the floor. I then borrowed heat from the fireplace and motioned it to settle upon the garments. Warm, dry clothes would help us sleep through the night. Though sheltered, we slept in a common room among strangers. I kept watch over my Brothers for the first few hours to ensure none of low character should prey upon them.

The storm grew angry. The thunder pounded as lightning flashed inside Plock! As it did, I saw several buildings had been struck. But not the Horse Inn. I spoke quiet thanks to Ore Tsar for peace and protection under his roof this night.

~ D ~

[Ancalagon]

5.

I awoke to the sensation of cold water dripping onto my face. The roof of the Horse Inn was intact but Uhlgren’s sense of humor was less so as he woke each of us in turn with drops of water. He was pleased with himself.

Decmitius started the day by performing his Augustan morning ceremony holding his sword and recalling the names of fallen comrades and foes personally vanquished. He then tended to Valgard’s minor wound inflicted by the flesh crawler with his “laying of hands” ritual. Decmitius’ ability to heal in such a manner is always a wonder to behold and ponder. I did so for several moments.

I conducted my own morning ceremony by conjuring forth hot coffee from a mug of cold water. Decmitius promptly performed his other morning ceremony by holding out his mug and asking, “When will you learn how to turn my water into distilled spirits?” Without hesitation I gave my ritual response, “Perhaps tomorrow.”

After we broke our fasts on cabbage soup and bread, I gave the proprietor a description of our Tiberius then asked if he had seen him. Alas, no. I left word that he did, inform him that “the Brotherhood is here.” I much prefer to have all of our Augustans present while we pursue LEWC.

We departed the Horse Inn then soon found the Captain of the Guard, Levi. From him we collected the bounty for last night’s flesh crawler. We learned there are also bounties for river pirates and trolls. Plock seems to be quite the dangerous place!

After searching at several inns and taverns, we found Tiberius at the Blue Kelpie Ale House. He conversed with a man named Marinus. It turned out that we are on the right path as LEWC, under his alias “Wendell”, was in Plock only two days prior. He kept company with a man named Taddas and a woman named Inga.

~ D ~

[alester]

Domitian tired of Tiberius "writing" in his own journal, so at some point Tiberius was given a journal to use for himself. Here is his rendition of the Battle against the Scary Cow. Domitian assisted with the lettering. Anyone nearby may have heard this conversation:

Tiberius: "What sound does a cow make?"

Domitian: "Umm, 'moo'?"

Tiberius: "I thought that's what cats say."

[Ancalagon]

OOOoooooohhhh I think I'm gonna enjoy Tiberius' journal!

[Necron 99]

Lol, that's awesome.