Session 58

Date: 11/22/2015

Attending: Jake, Joey, Justin, Dave

Absent: Aaron – out of town Africa

Start Time: 7:30 pm

End Time: 10:40 pm

XP awarded: 8,000

Game time elapsed: 1 day

Enemies Defeated:  the Knights of Culminos (but only the violinist confirmed slain)

Notes:

The knights ride west into the hills, trying to make a bee line for Halvenspring. The going is rough, and the rocky hills and scattered foliage make for slow going. Shortly after lunch they notice that there is a distinct lack of wildlife in the area, and the vegetation seems unhealthy.  They press onward but keep an eye on the plant life, and slowly watch it progress into complete blight as they ride. That evening after the sun sets they spy a building on top of a hill about 2 miles distant, by seeing the light in the windows.

They press on to find a low one story inn named the Hill Pillow. Bajol detects evil and notices that the air seems filled with an evil miasma. They enter the inn and are greeted by the proprietor, a withered crone who introduces herself as Noella. The party is struck by the noticeable lack of conversation in the tap room and scans the patrons.

Against the wall next to the giant fireplace is a youth playing a melancholy tune on a violin. Across font him flanking the fireplace is a woodsman with a bow leaning against the wall. At a table a fat Halfling chortles to himself as he plays with a set of cups and dice, and at another table is a man with a long thin waxed mustache idly toying with a dagger. Three young women stare off into space at a third table, and finally at a fourth table four stout peasants hunch over tankards.

The knights swagger in, and begin talking to everyone. The mustachioed man is openly hostile, the violinist seems absent, and the woodsman is rudely reserved. The women seem in shock. Fyn steps out onto the porch and has a pleasant conversation with the fat halfing (who goes out as well) while Bajol has an aggressive exchange with the mustache wearer and the woodsman. Fyn and the Halfling realize that they are on opposing sides and both reenter the inn, right as things build to ahead with Bajol and the others. Frumious meanwhile has been trying to speak with the women, who ask for help.  He sends them (and the peasants, their servants) to their rooms. They exit. When Frumious confronts the violinist, who he has identified as magically communicating with another far distant – the violinist’s voice changes and says, “I have landed at the shore. You killed my servant, now try my knights.” Realizing that this group of adventurers serve Culminos the banished Solarian, the room immediately erupts into violence.

Bajol rather quickly slays the violinist. The Woodsman is an archer, the mustachioed man deftly fights with a rapier, the fat halfling throws knives and sneak attacks, and Noella is an arcane caster. A rather bloody battle ensues, and the Knight of Culminos fall back into the hallway that leads to the rooms. The Knights of Mist Valley follow but find Noella’s spells and the woodsman’s arrows make for hard going. Realizing that the women and peasants from before have been slain at this point, the party sets fire to the inn. They back out as the inn burns, trying to barricade the hall to trap the Knights of Culminos within. Bajol discovers a secret door in the fire place which leads down to a hidden room. The room is covered in bodies in various states of decomposition, and has a blood stained altar in the center. The party rides out into the night as the Hill Pillow burns behind them. End Session