1 clack
The mysterious and sinister figure of Gelert "Thingy" was seen hanging around Genest again.The Militia are desperately seeking a character description.
Pundits predict mass extermination ... um... that's all.... Ed.
SMALL ADS
Found: large quanity of second-hand armour. Only 1 previous owner. Pa Riddle
Statue for sale, 500L ono. Desperate Doc Bart, Mossbridge.
Strike for freedom now! Burn yer jockstraps lads, and throw off the yoke of the Granny Mafia! - Male Liberation Front, Wyldwood.
Resume of game on 15-1-95
Two new PC's joined the campaign, Bart (MarkLD), a trader's son from Mossbridge; and Ammerdale (Alan), a scion of Inksprings.
Bart, Gelert and Ammerdale split off on a get-rich-quick scheme selling Drood medicines.
Gelert, Marcus and Pan returned to the Magister's with the collected tales from Wildwood, etc; Pan was left there, studying in the library whilst his leg regrew.
Finally, Bart & co. carted a statue up to the Magister and offered it for sale.
Details
It was at Drood Central that Marcus, Pan and Gelert met Bart Waggonerson, a Drood Outlyer from Mossbridge who knows Gelert. Bart's most striking feature is his bubonic acne (PA 8). He persuaded Gelert to join him in a trading investment, buying Drood wind chimes, herbal remedies and honey spiked with hallucinogens in Wildwood with the intention of selling them at vast profit outside.
Gelert got on Very Well with a Yelornan maid called Misha, but she kept being dragged off by other Yelornans interested in her Better Interests.
Bart was approached by a dodgy type called Wilf who tried to involve him in a shady deal, and having been turned down, used the information he'd gleaned about Bart's partner in Coppertree to go there and try to swindle Ammerdale. But Sly Ammerdale was too cautious to fall for that.
Pan and Marcus found some interesting documents (maps) on Agvan's body and kept these, as they felt "his family wouldn't want to be bothered with them."
Passing through Coppertree on the way home, Ammerdale, a friend of Bart's, joined the group. He had been left on the periphery of Wildwood by Bart when the latter attended the religious ceremonies at Drood Central. Ammerdale is a lad from Inksprings, a village populated by retired soldiers, so has had some military training, which was one reason Bart asked him to come on the journey to Wildwood with him.
The PCs trundled back West, skirting Dragonrest Marsh and its mysterious scenario-like tower, feeling very vulnerable with Agvan and Manish dead and Pan incapacitated from last game. On the way back, Bart practised his patter and medicine show:
"This stuff will cure anything!", "Try this Wedding Juice - best drink it quick or you'll get a stiff neck!" and exhorting the others to affirm testimonials to its miraculous powers. "Who'll be the cripple who jumps up?"
Some mushroom tea supplied by Pan certainly invigorated one customer, convincing them they were in fact a goose...
On arriving at Mossbridge, the PCs were invited to stay at his Pa's place by Bart. However Mr. Waggoner, a carrier by trade, told Marcus he would not offer him a pallet, because he'd heard the Schwarzgelts (whom his business depends on) disliked Marcus. Marcus spent the night with Father Groatalus' mother instead, who lives in Mossbridge too.
"Snake Oil" Bart's act seemed somewhat toned down on his home turf, with far fewer outrageous claims concerning his Medicinal Compounds (Efficacious in Every Case ... if taken in moderation).
The next morning, the PCs split. M/P/G headed north to report to the Magister, whilst Bart and Ammerdale headed West to make their fortunes trading...
Shortly after the 3 intrepid blokes passed Bloodburst, a strange mist descended. They noticed the path lead through vegetation much sparser than it should be and a thin cold wind with a feeling they were in a mountainous region. Having been this way before, they knew this was impossible. Realising they were lost, they retraced their steps, only to find their way back blocked by a cliff!
Then a strange and sinister scuttling sound approached. The group beat a hasty retreat, Marcus hanging back and hiding to see what it was following them. A large (SIZ 40+) beetly thing lurched through the mists, following their trail. It scrabbled after the other two with Marcus following cautiously when Gelert helpfully shouted back down the trail, "Marcus! What yer doing back there?"
The critter immediately swung round and headed back towards Marcus, who, having been thus nominated as decoy, legged it back towards the cliff. Losing it temporarily in the mists, he climbed down the cliff a few feet and hung there for several minutes until it seemed to have left. Then he scrambled back up and followed the others, catching up in a curiously short time. The mists cleared and they found themselves back on the familiar road north of Bloodburst, where all they had to worry about was 50 cut-throats from the village.
"What the Dark was that?" said P & G. "That was Unuk-Halai," said Marcus. "Who?" At this, Marcus became exasperated. "Unuk-Halai! You've just spent weeks and weeks collecting stories about him and his ilk! Did you think they were just stories? It's deadly serious!" This gave Pan cause to ... er... think.
Arriving at Arin House, they reported their experiences (not least the deaths of their friends in Wildwood) to The Magister. Their excited ravings of the monster on the road south alarmed him, and he armed himself and led some guards down the road.
The next day, he returned. His clothes were singed and he had no eyebrows left. He seemed in a broody mood. "Did you get it?" asked the PC's. "It was a standoff," he replied testily.
As Pan's leg rendered him immobile and thus useless back home, the Magister offered him the use of his library / house whilst he recovered. However, whilst he approves of people (even Farmers) bettering themselves through study, we're talking about 6-8 weeks' hospitality & library use here, which is a bit of an imposition for him & his family, especially by a peasant. So, the offer has a string attached, to wit: Pan will owe him an unspecified but seriously HUGE service.
Gelert walked back to Bart & Ammerdale at Mossbridge. This took him via Bloodburst, where he was hassled by kids and a couple of guys with knives. A spot of fisticuffs resolved this difficulty and, after availing himself of a spare purse, Gelert lit out South, hiding in undergrowth that night until the search died down. He had aquired 2L, 40cl or about 60 days' income off his would-be robber! However, he seemed mysteriously unimpressed with his haul.
Marcus returned to Genest alone, having originally left there with 4 others. Of these, 2 were now dead; one crippled; and Gelert had ambled off somewhere else apparently totally unconcerned about his family's anxieties for him. Naturally, Marcus was mobbed by villagers demanding to know what had happened to the others .........
Whilst the others traveled to Arin House, these two had discovered that there's more to trading than buying cheap and selling high. Firstly, Bart began to be troubled by pangs of conscience (an Etyrian spirit of retribution?) and began dealing in a slightly more ethical manner. Secondly, he ran into trouble describing himself as "Doctor" Bart in Thule, where a real doctor threatened him with legal action. And finally, they discovered they could simply sell Drood drugs to local herbalists in bulk, reducing hassle and risk of lawsuits at the expense of lower profit margins.
When Gelert rejoined them, it was coincidentally about the same time as a statue fell into their hands. Aha! they thought, there's some money to be made out of this. They decided to cart it to Thule to find a buyer. They managed this, but decided not to sell to the obvious purchaser - an agent of a nouveau riche bloke who wanted to furnish his new house with all kinds of "swell stuff" - as the statue might be noticed there by, er, some tiresome people who believed they had a claim on it. So, casually handing over half a year's wages to Thule's dodgy Alchemist for a 10 second tip, they decided to offer this valuable historical artifact to The Magister 'cos they knew he had lots of history books and stuff.
Actually getting the cart to Arin House was a bit traumatic. They managed to avoid trouble passing through Bloodburst (where Gelert was worried the previous owner of that purse might prove churlish) by passing through very early in the morning, before the loafers got up, with the statue hidden under a load of turnips... eventually they arrived at The Magister's.
They showed him the statue, which lacks a hand and is obviously in a bit of a state. He generously offered them 20L (200 days wages), at which they were apparently flabbergasted. "We expected at least 500L (5000 days wages)!"
