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:

1. A creature that keeps watch over a church
2. An animal is sacrificed and buried inside the church walls. Most Grims take the form of this animal
3. The Grim attacks anyone trying to:
* Harm the church or its pastor
* Steal
* Desecrate the hallowed grounds
1. It is a fierce and ruthless creature who also has the power to raise spirits from the graveyard in the form of black birds.
2. They wander the church at night, ringing bells at midnight on the night before a villager’s death.
3. 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:

1. Town of Redwood, MS
2. A woman claimed the village was cursed, water filled with tadpoles.
3. Blamed the source of the curse on Reverend Gran
* handsome pastor “punishing the people of Redwood for not taking him into their hearts”
1. An elegant young man, asked about making decent people out of the wayward locals.
2. Did not like being questioned about the curse.
3. 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.