SOTDL CAMPAIGN DIARY - HARVESTER OF SORROWS - PT 2 - 1.31.17

We began this session bringing the character Kane up to speed.  His player had been out for the first session, so I had emailed him that his character Kane was gone because he had been working on the issue of finding the collector known as Nareesh, who the Jotun Mathias was searching for.  Nareesh had been responsible for the theft of a Jotun relic called the Fang of Ages and that is what brought Mathias to the Northern Reach a year ago.  Mathias asked Kane to help him find the man responsible, since Kane is a wilderness guide and knows the area well and has many contacts in and around the city.  Kane reached out to some of his contacts and one in particular, a caravan driver, responded that he had information for him, but would only deliver it in person and at a designated meeting place.  Kane agreed and the following day he went to the lawn outside of Mercy Hill in the Grievings district to meet his contact.  The meeting time came and went and the contact never showed.  Just as Kane was getting ready to leave, a figure came walking up the largely deserted street.  The figure was cloaked and his face obscured by a hood until he came within a few yards of Kane, at which point he threw his hood back revealing his horrific face – a patchwork face that appeared to have been stitched together from various bodies!  This sight frightened and unhinged Kane somewhat and the figure move up to attack as Kane attempted to get away.  Strangely armed with a scalpel, the stranger attacked Kane, who attempted to defend himself, getting in a couple of blows before the stranger knocked him out.

As this was occurring, Mathias, Gruntbelly and Ecna were in the process of scouting out the Moore House, confronting the Rude Boyz gang out front, chasing them off and exploring the house.  They had entered the cellar and found a pile of dead bodies and a strange creature hiding in the dark.  The bald, pointy-eared creature had a large mouth with a distended jaw that was dripping a gruesome saliva.  Mathias and Ecna moved in to attack the creature while Gruntbelly cast his magic from the other end of the cellar, but the creature was fast and wiley and evaded some of those blows, managing to latch on to Ecna with its teeth and claws, drink some of his blood, enough to make the dwarf pass out.  The creature attempted to escape but was struck down by Mathias before he could get away.

The heroes then entered the back part of the cellar and found a tunnel that had been dug out of the cellar, but they couldn’t tell where it led.  They also found a large stone door that had mystical symbols etched into it, but the door was ajar and a moaning sound was coming from the room beyond. They entered the room to find Father Gregory, or what was left of him, huddled in the corner moaning.  His mind was apparently broken as was his body, which was missing an arm, a leg and his tongue.  As the heroes attempted to help, Father Gregory reacted in fear and panic, trying to get away.  Mathias managed to pick up the priest and take him out of the room with Ecna to examine the priest’s wounds, while Gruntbelly checked out the rest of the room.  Within a broken sarcophagus Gruntbelly found some folded up robes with a demonic horned head stitched into them.  Along with those, a dark skull with arcane symbols etched into the bone, a sword made of green metal, and some stained but empty bottles.  Also in the room is a book pedestal (no book) and scattered papers on the ground.  Though rotted and smeared, Gruntbelly could make out the name “Moore” and parts of what appear to be a summoning ritual that took place in this chamber.

Gruntbelly rejoined Mathias and the unconscious Ecna and the two heard someone upstairs enter the house dragging something heavy.  The two try to quietly climb back up the stairs to the first level and they find a small trail of blood leading to the stairs going up to the 2^nd floor.  They go up the stairs and find the state of the 2^nd level worse than the first, with much rotting of floorboards and destroyed furniture.  They attempt to go into the next room but Mathias’ weight is too much for the rotted floor and he falls through.  Gruntbelly continues onward as Mathias climbs back up the stairs and the two are attacked from the shadows by a cloaked stranger bearing a scalpel.  Mathias takes the lead, fighting the stranger over a pile of rotted furniture, but he falls as the stranger’s scalpel cuts draw too much blood and makes him fall down, stunned.  Gruntbelly comes back up the steps and fires off his spells at the stranger, taking him in the face and causing him to fall through the rotted floor to the next level below.  When he lands, he does not get back up.

Mathias & Gruntbelly regroup and find Kane hiding in one of the rooms on the 2^nd level.  By this time, Ecna wakes up and the group search the house for anything of interest.  They find a few interesting items, but nothing more to explain what the creature was.  They leave the house, taking Father Gregory with them, and decide to go to Kane’s home until they decide what to do with the old priest.  They all rest overnight and the next day Mathias goes to find Sgt Alyse to help with the Father Gregory situation.  She reluctantly agrees to take him until they can figure out how best to aid him without alerting those who were trying to “discourage” anyone from finding him.  Afterwards, the heroes go their own ways as Kane had to go do some work for his father.  Mathias and the dwarves head over to the Honored Dead Shrine  and Brewery for a drink and to figure out what to do with the priest when they overhear other patrons saying that the Moore House is burning down over in Grievings.

End of session.