Nose to the Grindstone

* The group has left Bangor on their way off the beaten path to Grindstone. The road is rough and uncomfortable. 
* We arrive at a roadside inn, Whetstone Lodge.
** A pretty cozy looking 2-story log cabin
** Inside are a couple of patrons, weathered folk (trappers, loggers, etc)
* Martha doesn’t need no help! Don’t tell Martha what to do (Alec)
* We order some drinks and sit at a table by the fire to talk
** Martha will have a whiskey (ragrets!)
* Alec subtly tries to get the attention of a man sitting by the fire a few feet away.
** A weathered man with a pipe, looks like he’s been around, a logger.
** Alec invites him to join our table for a drink and a hot meal
** His name is O’Malley (Nick Nolte w/ a beard)
* We learn that he’s never been to Grindstone, that they are a self-sufficient town that doesn’t require help from the outside. They tend to keep to themselves which they are quite happy to allow.
** They are a strange & superstitious townsfolk, and there are rumors.
* Martha asks him flat out if he’s seen any beasts with red eyes. . . he has not.
* When asked about what rumors surround Grindstone, O’Malley is hesitant:
** They are quaint folk who believe in old myths.
** An odd lot with their own church which may have been there longer than the town itself. 
* William is quiet, a death grip on his glass of whiskey.
** He seems very stressed and brooding until the whiskey starts kicking in & he relaxes and loosens his grip.
* Martha sasses the barkeep about the quality of his whiskey: “too tarte”
* O’Malley gives us some points of interest on our map
** Mostly terrain, a bear den, etc.
* William tries to self medicate to help himself sleep but fails, has a very unrestful night. 
* Martha inquires about pancakes before going to bed. She’s confused with the bed warmer.
* Signe prepares herself for. . . rest. She sits at her window in the dark staring out into the night, clutching the charcoal drawing. 
** Is she watching. . . or waiting?
** She eventually falls asleep sitting at the window.
* Alec tries to do some research on what we could be dealing with by reading the Libro de Invisibilia (uses their Advantage) and finds the following:
CHURCH  GRIM
# A creature that keeps watch over a church
# An animal is sacrificed and buried inside the church walls. Most Grims take the form of this animal
# The Grim attacks anyone trying to:
* Harm the church or its pastor
* Steal
* Desecrate the hallowed grounds
# It is a fierce and ruthless creature who also has the power to raise spirits from the graveyard in the form of black birds.
# They wander the church at night, ringing bells at midnight on the night before a villager’s death.
# Looks like a mangey, feral cat-like creature.
* Come morning, we all wake up on our time and go down for breakfast and bad (but strong) coffee.
** Martha is perturbed by being bamboozled by the bed warmer, but the barkeep surprises her with ‘pancakes’ and a lake of maple syrup.
* We depart the Inn and make our way on the final leg to Grindstone
* Alec fills us in on what they found in the book about the Church Grim
** It meets most of the criteria we’re looking for!
* As we’re passing around the book Alec notices the page of the book looks odd
** A hidden pocket in the page! William opens it carefully with his scalpel and inside we find a note from Carl Linnaeus of the Men of Letters:
NOTE BY CARL LINNAEUS, MAY 30TH, 1732
# Town of Redwood, MS
# A woman claimed the village was cursed, water filled with tadpoles.
# Blamed the source of the curse on Reverend Gran
* handsome pastor “punishing the people of Redwood for not taking him into their hearts”
# An elegant young man, asked about making decent people out of the wayward locals.
# Did not like being questioned about the curse.
# Out of the darkness stepped a creature, the largest dog with red eyes. 
* a beast not of this world
* Carl Linnaeus is one of the European founding members of the Men of Letters. 
* We arrive in Grindstone and pull up to the main house where we meet Mary Chamberlain.