Session 01

## Session Summary

We begin our tale as all good stories must:

> *Once upon a time*,
>
>
> and Twice before the rhyme,
>
>
> Three times for mirth,
>
>
> Four for death,
>
>
> Five for silver,
>
>
> Six for gold,
>
>
> Seven for a secret never to be told,
>
>
> Eight for a tale the stars have spun,
>
>
> Nine for a gate that cannot be undone,
>
>
> Ten for the tree of forgotten lore,
>
>
> Eleven for the key to the spectral door,
>
>
> Twelve for a mirror that reflects the night,
>
>
> Thirteen for a beast that lives in spite,
>
>
> Fourteen for the world beyond our reach,
>
>
> Fifteen for a speech no tongue can teach,
>
>
> Sixteen for a dream trapped in stone,
>
>
> Seventeen for the old god's hollow moan,
>
>
> Eighteen for the abyss that gazes back,
>
>
> Nineteen for the oncoming formless wrack,
>
>
> Twenty for a raven's final verse,
>
>
> And one more for a terrible, unbreakable curse.
>
>
> It will come in a place where shadows converse,
>
>
> at the end of the rhyme, and the start of the dread,
>
>
>
> where not a single word is said.
>
>

Our journey begins on the 4th of June, in the 352nd year of the Seventh Age. We open in Lowmarsh, a smaller city to the south of Camelot, near the borders of Mercia and Gribsby.

A caravan was approaching the city, containing the fleshwarped cleric Drizella Tremaine, the changeling champion Mordred, the noble ranger Merida, and the beastkin barbarian Bigby.

Drizella had been travelling from her home of Quillwilde to Lowmarsh, seeking the Sage Hospice to find cover as a respectable member of society as a Medicaster. Sticking to the shadows of the caravan, away from the campfire, she had hidden herself from the other travellers.

Another traveller seemed to be keeping a low profile, a young boy named Mordred. After joining the caravan a few days from Lowmarsh, Mordred immediately took to Drizella. Noting that she was a fellow outsider, he tried to keep her company in the evenings.

Also on the caravan were Bigby and Merida. Merida was travelling from her home in Frigidford on a journey to discover the world. Her mentor, the witch Bessa of the Lone Pine, notified Merida of the upcoming King Tide, a period of great magical power in Evergreen, and suggested she seek out a witch’s patron at that time. She also told Merida to find an imprisoned witch in the city.

Bigby had joined the caravan seeking to stay in Lowmarsh – a democratically-elected haven for those who tend to upset the existing aristocratic or mercantile elite. He kept to himself but maintained a keen eye on those around him.

Soon, the caravan arrived at the gatehouse to the city, guarded by several armoured individuals and Medicasters. Before they could enter the city, each caravan member needed to be examined for signs of the Redeye Plague. As the travellers approached the city walls, they lined up for examination. Mordred and Drizella hung towards the back of the line.

Bigby was the first to be examined. He provided his travel details, name, and noted his desire to make his home in the city.

Merida went next. She claimed to be travelling through and received documentation for the day. She seemed confused by the process, which was in stark contrast to the treatment she received at home.

Drizella was next in line. As the guards tried to look under her hood, Drizella coughed, expelling a cloud of grave-like dust. She claimed to be looking for the Sage Hospice, and the guards pulled her aside, noting her apparent “sickness”. When she appeared hesitant to be examined, the head Medicaster offered to take her to a private room, a converted stable, to examine her. While she tried to intimidate the Medicaster away, they proved steadfast. They advised her to seek Matron Simone at the Hospice if she was requiring additional medical care.

Mordred was the last to be examined and quickly received his papers for passage through the city.

Drizella and Mordred headed straight for the Hospice, Merida headed for the Broken Bricks, the local jail, and Bigby headed for the Town Hall.

### The Broken Bricks

Meanwhile, in the bowels of the Broken Bricks, the city’s guard house and prison, the witch Sibylla had recently emerged from her home in the Brocéliande and was imprisoned after she stole some supplies in the city. Accompanied by her black cat familiar, Shan, she seemed happy in prison, where she was well-fed and housed.

She was joined by Nik Jones, a swashbuckling type who had been thrown in jail after cheating in a card game. He seemed at ease in the Bricks and was clearly familiar with the four walls of a jail cell. Nik was doing some mild exercise when he was taken by a strange vision. He felt cold surrounding him, and his room began to fill with salt water. The walls of his cell vanished, and he found himself at the bottom of the ocean, surrounded by skeletons and carcasses of wrecked ships. He knew where he was: Davy Jones’s Locker. He heard the thump of heavy footsteps, and the immense figure of Davy Jones, the keeper of the dead, appeared before him. Jones sized him up before saying, “*You’ve been on my lists for a while, boy*”. They explained that Nik’s father, Captain Hook, had used Nik’s soul as collateral. Nik’s soul was a debt that needed to be repaid. As Jones reached to grab Nik and his soul, their barnacled hand was pushed away, and strange laughter filled the air. Jones mused that Nik had been “*marked by something else*” and let him go for the time being. But not before warning him not to stray far from the sea. Nik woke up on the ground, drenched in seawater.

### Sage Hospice

As Drizella and Mordred approached the Sage Hospice, they immediately recognised something was wrong. They saw groups of Camlin soldiers being lifted on stretchers. Mordred, trailed silently by Drizella, approached a Medicaster, who explained that they had found the group of Camlin soldiers to the north, massacred by some kind of undead and a necromancer. They directed the pair towards the Matron, who could answer further questions.

When they entered the Hospice, they saw even more wounded. Drizella noted that those in the worst condition had visible bite marks and deathly pale skin. The soldiers were not long for the world. The pair headed straight for the Matron, a Medicaster dressed in the plague-doctor-esque robes of the guild and wearing a chain of flowers. After Mordred offered their healing services, the Matron directed them to examine the patients further. She noted that while they could not heal the bite marks, the Medicasters had been able to treat the symptoms.

Upon examining the bodies, Drizella realised that some of the patients exhibited symptoms of Ghoul Fever or Walking Rot, a disease spread through ghouls and which caused the bodies of the dead to rise as ghouls. When she relayed her findings to the Matron, they agreed that the best course of action was to burn the bodies of the dead or turn the sick to the elements. There was one other option, however. If they could capture a live ghoul, they could create a cure from its essence.

Mordred begged Drizella to save the soldiers by catching a ghoul, and the Matron tentatively agreed to assist in Drizella’s path to becoming a Medicaster if the pair succeeded. The Matron doubted their ability to take on such a creature and encouraged them to seek support from the guards or Chairman of Lowmarsh, who could dedicate prisoners to the task. Drizella and Mordred – spurred on by Mordred’s desire to help reform those who had lost their way – decided to ask the Chairman for aid.

### Meeting the Chairman

After arriving in Lowmarsh, Bigby found himself at the Town Hall and was directed to the Chairman, an older elf with a long moustache, who introduced himself as Lewis Short. Bigby revealed his intention to move to the town and offered his skills in battle and detective work. Lewis’s eyes lit up at the mention of detective work, and he described the recent disappearance of the town’s Treasurer, a dwarf named Thori Black. Lewis offered Bigby a deal: if he could assist in finding the Treasurer, he would help him acquire property in the city. The Chairman directed him towards Thori’s home, a wing attached to the town treasury or the “Big Box”. He gave him a written declaration and pointed Bigby to speak with the Head of the Guard, Officer Bradley.

Bigby and Merida arrived at the Bricks, a large stone building, about the same time. They briefly said hello before Merida approached the guards at the front of the building and claimed to be looking for her friend in the prison. The guard on duty directed the pair to Officer Bradley.

When the pair arrived at Bradley’s office, they were met with a great brick of a man with a square jaw and shaved head. Despite being in his office, he still wore full plate armour. When Merida explained she was looking for a witch, a friend of a friend who had lost their way, Bradley agreed to accompany her, with Bigby, to visit the Bricks’s imprisoned witch.

On the way, Bradley inquired about Merida’s bow and asked for her aid, revealing that a number of scouts had been seen coming from the south.

### The Big Box

Sibylla was woken from her midday rest when a guard was thrown into her cell. The guard twitched and mumbled and asked her for food. Fixating on food, they started to growl and lunged for Sibylla. She defended herself with a *ray of frost* and ran towards the front of her cell, eyeing her familiar for assistance. Strangely, Shan walked *through* the cell bars, looked at the soldier, and caused them to explode into dust. The cat’s two eyes split into six, and the tripartite form of the Three-Faced Lady appeared before Sibylla. The Three-Faced Lady made a request of the gnomish witch, telling her to head eastwards two hours into the woods and then north, where she would find a ritual that needed to be stopped. They offered a small favour for her services and opened the cell door. Then, without a word, they shifted back into the form of Sibylla’s familiar. On her way out of the prison, Sibylla stole a bread roll from Nik’s plate.

But Nik soon came to consciousness and realised Sibylla had broken out of her cell. Attempting to explain her freedom, Sibylla cast an *acid splash* in the lock of Nik’s cell. Their conversation was cut short by the sound of footsteps nearby and the booming voice of Officer Bradley. Sibylla rushed back to her cell to hide her escape.

Bradley immediately clocked the broken lock. Nik feigned ignorance. Bradley, of course, didn’t believe him and moved Nik into Sibylla’s cell. Then, he left Merida with Sibylla and Nik.

Merida waited until Bradley had left before speaking with the witch. She claimed to be offering help on behalf of Bessa of the Lone Pine. While Sibylla was sceptical, Shan seemed to trust the ranger and rubbed themselves against Merida’s legs. Sibylla had the sense the Three-Faced Lady was telling her to trust Merida. The gnome was hesitant to leave due to the relatively glamorous living conditions the jail afforded her, only agreeing when Merida offered her a place to live. Sibylla asked for Merida’s help in stopping the ritual she had heard about from her patron, and Merida agreed to return later that day to spring both Sibylla and Nik.

Meanwhile, out of earshot of the prisoners, Bradley explained to Bigby the details of the treasurer’s disappearance. He expressed his suspicions that the Crooked Men were involved in his disappearance. As far as the guards were aware, the Big Box didn’t open for the morning; Throri simply vanished but left his Master Key to the city. With his disappearance, the guards were locked out of the Treasury. With this information in hand, Bigby headed towards the Big Box.

When he arrived at the site of the crime, he noticed no signs of forced entry. If someone had been there, they must have been a ghost or someone incredibly, incredibly good. The only other solution Bigby could think of was that the treasurer was still in the vault itself.

### Getting the Band Together

Merida, having left the prison, headed for the Sage Hospice, which she recalled Drizella and Mordred were visiting. The three ran into each other in the Basilisk Court, an open courtyard bearing the petrified statue of a serpentine creature. The plaque next to the statue was dated to the fourth era, telling the tale of a hero who killed a basilisk by forcing the creature to gaze upon its own reflection. Mordred greeted Merida and explained the situation, and Merida agreed to accompany the pair to visit the Chairman.

At the Chairman’s office, Merida took the lead, introducing herself and describing their desire to assist with the ghoul situation. During this conversation, Mordred interjected and asked about employing the prisoners for the job as a way for them to redeem themselves. Lewis hesitantly agreed and took the trio towards the cells. On their way, he asked Bigby to join them and lend his fighting expertise.

The Chairman presented both Sibylla and Nik a proposition: their freedom in exchange for their assistance in capturing a ghoul. Lewis required their weapons and belongings to remain at the Box as collateral but offered them basic weapons for the mission. Nik was particularly hesitant but accepted a substitute longsword for the time being. Sibylla was given some more suitable rags for the journey, and Mordred offered her his embroidered cloak to keep her warm.

As they made their way towards the northern gate of the city, they discussed the mission to come. Bigby warned the party that he had a “less attractive form,” while Drizella kept to herself, humming an unnerving tune.

We end our session with the six party members standing at the edge of the Greenwood, just outside of town, with the light of a full moon rising above them.