Second Session, 20 June 2019

Valldel Amakiir - 1st Level Male Elven Rogue
Akadum Ironbeard - 1st Level Male Dwarf Fighter
Dolin Stoneflare - 1st Level Male Dwarf Light Cleric
Shiso Shinjitsu - 1st Level Male Human Fighter
Junior Lubbins - 1st Level Female Human Fighter
Bea Miglin - 1st Level Female Halfling Fighter (NPC)

24 May 981, Tuesday, Fine spring weather, partly cloudy, cool
Drigbolton

The party awakens and are treated to a large breakfast of eggs, goat
bacon, toast, etc.  They debate what to do.  Akadum suggests they
look in the woods, Nob's Spinney where some saw another something
falling from the sky.  Maybe there will be more undead to menace
the village?

Shiso is more concerned about the falling object seen
further north near the crossroads.  It was near the Laird's manor
where the Laird and his servant Godfred Whelm, cousin to the village
Headman, Unwick, lives.  They also recall that there were some old
graves near the crossroads, which might have risen as the undead in
the church yard.  Hellraiser/Junior tells them that the Laird is
strange.  He is the last of his line, and seems uninterested in
marrying to continue the line.  Also he spends all his money on
gadgets, books, and such things.

Dolin is more interested in exploring the crater here
and seeing if there are more burning or freezing things.  Valldel
tells them that he saw an old woman poking around among the magical
things on the ground and swears that two of them were floating in
air after her.  Hellraiser/Junior tells him that was simply Griya,
the village witch.  She can't really do magic, but she can make
effective potions and charms.  For the last week or so she has been
saying that part of the Moon was coming, and once it arrived she
would be very powerful.  Valldel wants to visit her.

The Headman Unwick shows up.  He is very differential to the party
and seems to think Valldel is in charge calling him a man of honor.
He asks them if the village should send for immediate help to the
Ironguard Motte.  He notes they need a new Temple and a new Priest.
How can the village function without these?  He is also concerned
about his cousin up at the Laird's house.  They have not heard from
him in some time.  Dolin and Akadum convince him to wait until
they explore the woods and the Laird's Manor.

Shiso want to visit the Blacksmith, Breag, and collect the armor
being made for him.

They decide to split up around the village, and then head north
to the Laird's manor.  Dolin and Akadum explore the crater.  They
note that there are only a couple of the burning and steaming
things left.  The others have burned out or melted away.  The
steaming things are obviously very cold and Dolin is able to
magic one and move it around.  They can see it is surrounded
by a layer of ice, but within is a glittering crystal.  They cannot
figure out what to do with either of the two things.  They note
that there small fragments of Star Metal, but whatever the thing
was is not obvious.  It was pulverized and all that survives are
small fragments.

Valldel and Hellraiser/Junior visit Griya.  Griya's hovel seems
rather more exalted than the others in the village.  Valldel notes
that her graden out front is not simply kitchen herbs.  Perhaps
she can make something of value.  Griya invites them in.  She is
a bent crone, offering them tea and asking them what she can do
for them.  Valldel asks her how she knew part of the Moon was coming.
She tells them Hecate told her, then she was able to see part
of the moon break off, and head towards here.  How was she able
to pick the things up?  She had help from "those beyond the veil"
who are able to deal with such things and obey her commands after
a proper sacrifice.  At this point Valldel notices that Griya's
large black iron cauldron is simmering away, but there is no fire
lit beneath it.  He asks her what she has for sale.  She looks
him deeply in the eyes and says, "It does not work that way, dearie.  I
can provide what you want or need...at a suitable price.  What is
it that you want?  What is it that you need?  And what are you willing
to give up?"  Valldel is frightened by her and they leave hastily.
As they leave they see Ponsafine Unwick, pretty daughter of
the Headman, heading to visit Griya.  Valldel makes a point of
avoiding her.

Shiso and Bea visit Breag the blacksmith.  He clearly has been working
all night, and has finished altering a suit of Ring Mail for
Shiso.  He makes some last adjustment and the suit fits Shiso fine.
The family is very grateful and give Shiso some iron rations.
The blacksmith has a chunk of Star Metal that Valldel gave him
last night.  He tells Shiso that he put the metal in his forge
last night, but he was unable to get it soft for working.
It is the hardest, strongest metal he has ever seen.  Perhaps
in Tealford, large town one day's journey east, or the Dwarves
in the Wreak, Dwarven underground town just south of Tealford,
and where Dolin is from, can work with it.  It is beyond
the equipment he has here.  They do promise to watch the
handful of large, heavy chunks of Star Metal that Valldel and
Dolin gathered.  The blacksmith also confirms the Laird
favors gadgets as he has been asked to repair some.

The party meets at the north end of the village and head north
towards the cross roads.  To the west on their left they
see the woods of Nob's Spinney.  There is a large pond
directly between Drigbolton and the Spinney.  Both Bea and
Hellraiser/Junior tell the party that there is great hunting
of deer and rabbits in the Spinney.  To the east on their right is
swampy land.

As they continue north and the wood draws close to the road,
a voice calls out to them from the forest.  It insults them
and tells them to stay out of the woods if they know what
is good for them.  It laments that the people of the village
kill mothers and babies.  Some in the party note the voice
is coming from a fox, that is doing a pretty good job
staying hidden while trailing the party.  They ask if anything
strange has happened, and the fox says last night he
was suddenly able to talk with the rabbits and the deer.  It
is kind of strange talking to rabbits.  Is it still OK to
catch and eat them?  Also he has never talked to human-like
creatures before.  That is all very strange.  Did anything fall out
of the sky last night?  Something did and it fell in the
middle of the forest.  Are the talking and the falling thing
related, the fox asks.  Very likely the party tells him.  They
tell him that the animals should stay away from the fallen thing.
The fox says he will do that, the villagers should stay out of
the forest, and the animals of the forest want to talk with the
people of the village to get them to agree to stop killing mothers
and children.  It is terribly sad to see an orphan or a mother
crying over her lost children.  They agree to meet again
at dusk and the fox will take them to meet the other animals, all
of which can now talk to each other and the humans, and
see what fell from the sky.

Continuing north they get to the crossroads and see that the
ancient graves have been churned up, and they can see a trail
as if something has been dragged from the graves to the road.
At this point they cannot see the trail on the road, but Bea
has some tracking skill and she is able to note the trail
continues to the east towards the Laird's Manor.  Heading just
a short way they see the chalk cliffs and the small track that
switchbacks its way up to the top of cliff where the Manor
can be seen.

They head up the steep path and see at the top it leads to an
elegant two story manor.  There are two chimneys on either side,
a domed center, tiled paths going around both sides of building,

and a few steps up leading up to black lacquered double doors.

These are smashed and a spare but nice entry hall is visible within.

Valldel enters the entrance hall, sees stairs up, two doors to the

left and one to the right.  He can hear some sort of argument

going on beyond the far door to the left.  They all enter and

Dolin listens closely at the far left door.  There are a few

voices and they are debating whether to demand the servants

come now to serve them breakfast, or whether they should go

out and find the servants.  He opens the door and sees six well

dressed gentleman in a sitting room.  They seem to think he is

a servant and begin giving him breakfast orders.  He slams the

door noting that the walls of the room had empty picture frames.

He suggests the party stay away from there.

They go through the door on the right and find an elegant dining

room with a large table.  There is a big fireplace to their left

and a door that obviously leads to the kitchen.  They can hear

a scratching sound and some whining coming from the kitchen.

Their attention is drawn to large charts on the table.

Valldel is able to recognize them as charts of the planets/bodies

of this system.  One depicts the place they live, called Kylindo,

which has fire to one side and ice to the other.  Around it is

the Moon and 12 "Dragonstars" each depicting some sort of dragon.

The other shows the whole system with a symbol that represents

Kylindo in the lower left corner.  Orbiting around it is the Moon

and the 12 Dragonstars.  Next out is the Sun with Mercury orbiting

around it.  Then follows Venus and Mars.  There is then a number

of small dots in separate orbits.  This bunch is called the Ring

of Smoke.  Beyond is Jupiter with its four satellites and finally

Saturn with its rings.  Beyond it is thought there are numerous

frozen bodies in the outermost part of the system.  Valldell does

not remember much more as he slept through most of that class.

They gather up the charts and enter the kitchen.

There they see a pile of animated bones and a pile of animated

meat, strings of sausages for arms, hams, chickens, goats, scratching

at a door just to the left.  The animated horrors attack and they

are surprised when the pile of bones skitters through the fireplace

in the kitchen and into the dining room.  They easily defeat the

two horrors.

Behind the door is Godfred Whelm, servant to the Laird.  He was hiding

a pantry filled with dried goods and such.  He tells them that last

night he and the Laird heard a crash outside.  He went out to investigate

and fled inside when the pile of bones came up from below.  There

he got chased into the pantry by the animated pile of meat.  He has

been trapped there all night.  He does not know where the Laird is,

and is anxious that the party look for the Laird.  He suggests the

Laird is upstairs at the "Far Seer".  He tells them that he and the

Laird are the only ones here, and has no idea who the six gentleman

in the sitting room are.

Dolin looks around the kitchen and notes a door out to the back

of the house.  Looking out the windows he sees a well kept garden

which has an empty plinth as its focus.  There is no sign of the

statue that must have occupied the plinth.

After an argument about splitting up, they decide to stick together.

They check the last door off the entrance hall.  It leads to a study

with shelves of books, a comfy chair, tabacco, etc.  Valldell quickly

peruses the books and sees nothing special.  There is some fiction,

travelouges, histories, etc.  He sees nothing of value.  Above the

fireplace is a glass case.  Within is a brass arm, apparently broken

off just below the shoulder.  It is labeled "The Right Arm of the

Brass Man".  No one knows what to make of it.

They begin to head upstairs.

Commentary:  Another very good session.  Continuing with the Weird the Befell Drigbolton and a glimpse of another piece of the puzzle as Ironguard Motte is from Barrowmaze which should become the focus.  Strange things happened when I went over the first session and prepared for this session and more depth appeared in the back story.

In real world matters one of the players offered to host which is great as we no longer have to play in FLGS.  While I love FLGS, the game room is noisy and talking over the noise does not make me happy.