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Straight to Summary
Village News
Farmers are blaming the increased incidence of stillbirths and deformities amongst their livestock on 'bad spirits'; a special worship ceremony is to be held at the Pelora shrine to drive them off.
An intense cloud of gossip surrounds the mysterious Rathori lass and baby staying with Marcus Woodsman (AND Mia ... in the same one room hovel! It's a scandal! Anyone with any information should report it AT ONCE to Mrs. Revarnos)
A fire has burnt most of the tavern, St. Maria's Arms, to the ground! Sir J is hiring several men for the task of rebuilding.
Militia maneuvres, late Fire Season.
Furrin News
Aquapor expects to suffer food shortages due to the plague of Pigeons which ate all their nearby crops.
Fire 35: Huge white spider, big as a house, seen running around in southern Thuleshire. Eventually destroyed by the Baron's guards.
Nasty murder in Rood
Summary
The group had just returned to Genest. Joshua moved in to Pan's house. Pan was arrested for impersonating Paniteles Woodstock. On his release, Pan, Marcus and Gelert travelled north to The Magister's to have the five blue gems found 2 games ago analysed. Mortimer, the Thaumaturgical Investigator, passed by and persuaded Marcus and Pan it would be a good idea to visit Hourglaston again...
Dramatis Personae: Pan (Charlie); Marcus (Lynne); Joshua (Alan's new character); Bart (MarkLD); Gelert (MarkB); NPCs: Praxos
Details
Joshua of course is in the "Promised Land".
He marvelled at the vast buildings of Genest; the wealth of the inhabitants; the peace and order; the extensive fields of grain; and perhaps most of all, the cows. The Char-Un horse worshippers kill most non-equine beasties.
He investigated joining a cult; Father G recommended 7M. He attended a holy day ceremony for Pelora, which he found deeply moving.
Praxos of course had to visit the late Ammerdale's family and explain that he was dead. Ammerdale's father, with some other ex-soldiers from Inksprings, gave him a thorough beating.
Pan had considerable difficulty convincing an IRS Special Investigator that he was, indeed, the genuine living original Paniteles Woodstock. Mr Paniteles Woodstock is recorded as Deceased in the official tax records, so the Investigator decreed that Pan must therefore be a living tax dodger, trying to assume a false identity. Pan was duly sentenced to the Chain Gang and spent a brutal night in Thule Jail, before the Baron heard and common sense intervened. (? Dunno about that, 'cos he was released.)
Pan had other problems. Apart from Myra, the wife, selling Marilyn, his slave, he still had the Lune Rune glowing on his forehead. Myra couldn't scrub it off, so he consulted a Dee'Zola priestess in Thule. She told him would have to do Penance to remove it. This turned out to be a form of Mind Link to a woman having a difficult childbirth, to take her pain upon himself. Pan walked funny for a few days. (Hmmm... I think the GM let him off very lightly here... after all women have to do this 'penance' all the time...)
[ Charlie had worked out a nice little rationalisation for Pan, black = white : he has convinced himself that he wasn't stealing the copper snake, but keeping it safe for the cult - he was going to return it to the Thule temple, honest! So it's not fair that he's got this Rune thing!]
Pan and Marcus went off to see the Magister to find out what the mysterious 5 blue gems were. Perforce, they must take Gelert as only he could open the box which holds them.
En route, they met a vagrant who seemed to believe himself the Count, and who sentenced them to various punishments for improper behaviour.
When they got to Arin House, the Magister cast a spell and examined the gems carefully. He decreed that the box had a magical Condition, only openable by people of a certain type sure enough; but he wouldn't say what type, as he felt Gelert might not want others to know what that was.
He declared that the gems themselves, collectively, form a matrix to summon something like a sylph, or ice storm, and these were sometimes used by the Karmanos cult for offense - i.e. these blue gems are not unique. This at least quelled Pan's fears that they were responsible for Jer catching Blue Plague.
Returning to Genest, the PCs met Mortimer again, who was looking around the area for clues as to why a large white spider had been seen chasing two men south of Thule. He believes someone is up to Something Naughty in the area, as the spider sounded suspiciously like a summoned demon to him.
As it happened, Marcus had picked up some information which, if not relevant, was at least interesting. [Whilst the others were travelling across the Grey Mountains, he had been nosing about other areas.]
Marcus revealed that he had observed some magicians performing a strange ritual at the Hourglaston ruins in Rathorela, a day or two before the spider was seen a few miles away. His descriptions of the magicians matched those of some of "The Coven", Mort told him, a secret society who had been lurking in the shadows of Carmanian history for several centuries. Mort would greatly like to see what they were up to; his further research into the history of Hourglaston turned up possible links to the God Learners, and possible links to the EWF.
The PCs decided to pay a return visit to Hourglaston...Marcus felt that first he should go and negotiate with the Rathori, at least the local clan Shaman, for permission to enter the ruins, as several PCs swore to the tribes that they wouldn't return after the Gladiator Bandit hunt.
Side information on Hourglaston gained from Mort & Marcus :
Predictions for next game: Visit Hourglaston...
Identification of previous loot:
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