20th and 26th December 2020

The PC's decided to sail down to Grissenwald and Black Peaks to follow up Etelka Herzen, who they had found a letter from which indicated she had helped the Nobles in Bohennhaffen with the summoning ritual.  Along the way, Ron wanted to try and sell some brandy to Castle Reikguard.  Arriving there, they were turned away.  The castle’s battlements are thick with guards in shining plate armour, and cannon barrels could be seen poking through the crenels.  

They sailed on towards Kemperbad, and sold the brandy there and bought some armanents.  In Kemperbad, someone dressed in purple managed to cut of a chunk of Grimick's hair and escape into the crowds.

They picked up some rumours and did some shopping before setting sail for Grissenwald.  They now have fishing nets!

Rumours Heard

• People are whispering, with many a nervous glance, that something bad has happened to the Emperor. He hasn’t been seen for a long time now. Perhaps too long… 
• Crown Prince Wolfgang has not left Castle Reikguard for weeks. He must have the same affliction as the Emperor?
• Crown Prince Wolfgang has not left Castle Reikguard for weeks! He must be plotting to seize the throne! 
• The Emperor’s mutant edict is suspicious. Why does he love mutants all of a sudden? Has someone close to him developed a mutation? 
• The Grand Prince of Ostland is hiring mercenaries and levying troops for an attack on Talabecland. War could break out at any time.
• Mutant corpses are regularly found drifting down the Reik just south of Kemperbad. ‘Only the other week we pulled one out of the river with bright green fur, and four eyes on stalks.’
• River patrols have been recruiting wardens in all the towns between Altdorf and Nuln. Banditry and mutant attacks are threatening trade and the authorities have decided to act at last. Good thing too!

On the journey they passed Castle Wittgenstein, which broods ominously over the river.  As the adventurers’ boat passes beneath the castle’s gloomy towers, the adventurers are hailed by a passing vessel. Its crew warn the adventurers to keep to the east bank, and direct their attention to something floating in the water.

Once human, the floating corpse now resembles a bloated fish.  The party steered around it and continued their journey.

Finally arriving at Grissenwald, where they were unable to sell their cargo of arnaments, they were approached by two drunken dwarves who kept insulting Aeslor, calling him a "dead elf" because he "stank like one".  They seemed to have a lot of money as they slammed 10 GC each on the bar for whisky and were downing whole bottles.  

It seemed that the Dwarves were from Black Peaks mine, which had been bought up by a noblewoman.  Investigating, it seems that the tribe of dwarves had sold their gold mine (which turned out to only be a dilapidated old coal mine) to "That Etelka bitch who gave us a crappy price".  Investigating the mine, there was plenty of evidence that is had been overtaken by goblins, but the mine was empty.  The Dwarves have been accused of raiding farmsteads ("how else did they suddenly get all this money?") but all the evidence points to a band of gobling being the real culprits.  The Dwarves, though, are cowards and drunkards and refuse to go after the gobboes or even into the mine.  They do eventually reluctantly agree to give the adventurers directions to Elelka's house, though.  This is where we ended the session...

News, Rumours and Gossip Picked up During the Adventure

On this post I will compile the various bits of news, gossip and rumours you hear during your adventures.  Obviously, some will be true, some completely made up, some partly true but exaggerated.

Part 3 - Death on the Reik

Wittgendorf

• Altdorf Zoo's been shut for weeks. I heard Deathclaw, the Emperor’s Griffon, went on a rampage. Probably because the Emperor hasn’t been to see him for months.
• Castle Wittgenstein is an evil place, cursed by the gods in punishment for the unspeakable sins one of the family committed a century or more back. Old Dagmar was a wizard of the worst sort, and this current generation is scarcely any better. The inhabitants of nearby Wittgendorf have fallen prey to a terrible, deforming plague, and pass along appalling tales of degradation within the castle.
• The Emperor has called all the Elector Counts to Altdorf to discuss the situation between Ostland and Talebecland, as well as the reports of anti-Sigmarite violence in Middenland. The Elector Counts are usually slow to answer the Emperor’s call -  a reminder that he is an elected monarch and not an absolute ruler - but most agree that the situation is urgent: the meeting is expected to take place any month now.
• Crown Prince Wolfgang Holswig-Abenauer is being held prisoner in his own castle on the orders of the Emperor. This is because He’s contracted permanent Galloping Trots

Kemperbad 

• People are whispering, with many a nervous glance, that something bad has happened to the Emperor. He hasn’t been seen for a long time now. Perhaps too long… 
• Crown Prince Wolfgang has not left Castle Reikguard for weeks. He must have the same affliction as the Emperor?
• Crown Prince Wolfgang has not left Castle Reikguard for weeks! He must be plotting to seize the throne! 
• The Emperor’s mutant edict is suspicious. Why does he love mutants all of a sudden? Has someone close to him developed a mutation? 
• The Grand Prince of Ostland is hiring mercenaries and levying troops for an attack on Talabecland. War could break out at any time.
• Mutant corpses are regularly found drifting down the Reik just south of Kemperbad. ‘Only the other week we pulled one out of the river with bright green fur, and four eyes on stalks.’
• River patrols have been recruiting wardens in all the towns between Altdorf and Nuln. Banditry and mutant attacks are threatening trade and the authorities have decided to act at last. Good thing too!

Altdorf

• Crown Prinrce Hergard von Tasseninck has been killed while on an expedition in the Grey Mountains. He was the only son and heir of Grand Prince Hals von Tasseninck, the ruler of Ostland. Some of them that were with him came back raving about beastmen using guns! Have you ever heard such tripe!

• The Grand Prince of Ostland blames Grand Duke Gustav von Krieglitz of Talabecland for his son’s death. He says that an assassin working for the Grand Duke murdered his son. Gustav has long had designs on the Ostland forests. Everyone of consequence knows that.

• Two more coaches have been ambushed on the way into Altdorf in the last two weeks! That’s terrible! The Emperor hasn’t done anything so far, but some of the city’s adventurous young nobles are talking about an expedition to clear the roads of bandits and mutants. Good for them! 
• A friend of a friend (or a third cousin by marriage) works at the Temple of Sigmar, and says that the witch hunter Fabergus Heinzdork met with the Grand Theogonist about his destruction of the nearby village of Teufelfeuer. According to what was ‘o’er’eard by my sister’s cousin-in-law’s third brother’s friend’, the witch hunter said that the villagers were all horribly mutated, and were seen eating human flesh!
• Emperor Karl-Franz has not been seen in public for a few weeks. He’s supposed to be ill, but the palace is saying nothing.
• The Emperor’s edict on mutants is unpopular. Everyone knows about mutants! Everyone! And everyone knows they’re a right menace!

Part 2 - Shadows Over Bögenhafen

• Don’t buy any horses from the Schaffenfest. The Watch stopped a drover from Averland trying to sell a mare with nine eyes blistered in her mouth! She’s now hanging from the East Gate.
• The Countess of Nuln’s niece had a wizard murder a love-rival at a Black Powder Week party a few weeks ago. But that’s typical for Nuln, I hear.
• The river Bögen is plagued by mutants. Three barges were sunk on the stretch from Castle Grauenburg in the last month. The graf needs to invest more in riverwardens!
• There's a tale that a twin-tailed comet was spotted above Lachenbad, but seen nowhere else.
• The Duke of Midwald was found swinging from the High Oak of Bluttal, his eyes pecked free by ravens. His people hung him for having Ulrican sympathies after he returned from Altdorf with three new wolfhounds.
• The Emperor has turned his back on the Colleges of Magic, that’s why he commissioned the Imperial Engineers School to build his new messenger towers. It’s about time the Emperor saw sense and got rid of those witches!
• My cousin recently returned from Altdorf with black hair. But it was always blonde before that. She swears I’m lying, but I’m not!
• The hamlet of Stust was overrun by mutants and beastmen from the forests. All that remains are piles of skulls and broken bones.
• Councillor Teugen only attends guild meetings in the evenings. He’s had the entire Merchants’ Guild timetables reorganised to his nocturnal preferences.
• The mists down the Bögen are getting worse. Mark my words, that means trouble!
• The sewers of Bögenhafen are no longer patrolled! What is the town council doing? Things live down there now!
• Father Huss, a bear of a Sigmarite from the north, passed through Bögenhafen last month and demanded entrance to the High Temple of Sigmar. Who ever heard of a northern Sigmarite? Of course, he was turned away!
• If you see a crow, you take it down and nail it to a crow post! Crows are the eyes of the Dark Gods, don’t you know. But don’t get them mixed up with ravens. You don’t want to attract Morr’s attention!
• I saw a whole regiment of those Trott mercenaries marching south towards Schrabwald. There must be trouble brewing in the Vorbergland.
• The Emperor has issued a new edict declaring that there are no Mutants in the Empire. The practice of exiling or slaughtering those unfortunate enough to carry some sort of physical deformity purely because of their appearance is henceforth illegal and punishable by death.

Part 1 - Mistaken Identity

• The village of Blutroch was wiped out by a mysterious disease that causes people to break out in red blotches. Make sure you stay well clear of anyone with red marks on them!
• The Emperor has a sister who is hidden in the Great Hospice north of Altdorf. She's the secret shame of the Empire!
• The road to Altdorf is troubled by bandits. Only last week, a coach failed to get through. These are troubled times, and it's about time that the Emperor started looking after the common folk.
• A holy White Wolf of Ulric was spotted in the Drakwald Forest not far from Delberz. Priests of Ulric are in the area looking for it.
• The village of Teufelfeuer was recently burnt down by Fabergus Heinzdork, the witch hunter. He discovered the villagers were in league with Daemons — something to do with them eating raw meat!
• The roads are getting worse because the Emperor is not bothering to maintain them any more — he is too busy spending money on the State Army to fix problems like the mess in Ubersreik.
• Last time I was in Altdorf it… it felt strange. It’ll be those wizards. Too many wizards in the capital, I say.
• Altdorf Zoo's been shut for weeks. I heard Deathclaw, the Emperor’s Griffon, went on a rampage. Probably because the Emperor hasn’t been to see him for months.
• The weather is going to take a turn for the worse, and it’s going to rain tomorrow.
• Don’t stray off the roads into the woods. Those who do never return: eaten by Beastmen or something far worse.
• The mayor of Grunburg was burnt at the stake a few months ago for being in league with Chaos. He was overheard talking to his cat, and fed it human blood in its milk. More than one witness testified that the mayor told his cat to: ‘Stop yowling and drink your bloody milk!’
• Strange lights have been seen in the sky to the east. They look like fire Daemons dancing among the stars.
• Colonel Sievers of the Imperial Ostlanders has returned from the Border Princes. The Greenskins must have been defeated! It’s a great victory for the Emperor!
• The road wardens are all corrupt and can't be trusted.
• This year's Schaffenfest is stated to be the biggest, most profitable, most entertaining (and probably most dangerous) yet!

13 December 2020

 After a break the saga continued.  

 The PC's playing today:

• Alan: Ron "Foul" Guttermann, a human who is a rat catcher by trade, and has a small but vicious dog named Dog.
• Ali: Aeslor Arha, a Wood Elf who is a Wizard's Apprentice.
• Cassandra: Fayth, a Human Initiate of Shallya who is fed up of religion.
• Daniel: Grimmick Grimjaw, a Dwarf who is a Student Engineer.
• AJ: Harbul Junior, a Halfling thief.

Harbul joined the party from the boat after they had defeated the ghoul and rested to heal some wounds.  Aeslor had taken the cylindrical five pointed star key which opened the trap door and everyone went through it.  The trap door led down to a secret workshop / library which was guarded by five zombies, each of whom were carrying a cylindrical six pointed star key on leather thongs around their necks. 

One of the rooms is a laboratory and is littered with alchemical apparatus. Benches are piled with beakers, retort stands, odd-shaped jars, lumps of different ores, and so on. Various esoteric calculations have been chalked on most surfaces: the walls, ceiling, floor, and bench tops. A gargoyle-shaped lectern bearing a large, leather-bound book stands in one corner.

The book is hand-written in Classical language and has copious marginalia and multiple revisions.  It contains research into the summoning and control of skeletons, zombies, and ghouls. they have not had time to read it properly.

In a study room they find a large desk, a plans chest, and a drawing board. Various ancient portraits hang on the walls.  The potraits are labelled as being the Von Wittgenstein family and the books and papers identify this secret place as belonging to Dagmar Von Wittgenstein.

Opening the desk drawer resulted in Harbul getting covered in purple ink, which exploded into his face when he pried it open.  Inside there were quills, bottles of ink (many dried up), and parchment. There is also a battered notebook with yellowing pages covered in complex calculations and notes written in a

spidery hand. Anyone with the Lore (Magick) Skill quickly works out that the calculations are to do with the orbit of the Chaos moon Morrslieb. The moon is mentioned several times in the text.

The plans chest has several antique maps showing various parts of the Empire, the Reikland, and the western marches of Talabecland in particular.  All the maps have a number of intersecting lines carefully drawn on them. One intersection in the Barren Hills has been roughly ringed.  Fayth and Aeslor  recognise that the lines of the triangle trace Morrslieb’s erratic orbit. 

Propped in one corner of the room is an ornately carved staff. It has a strong magical aura coming from it. Aeslor took it.

The books in the library are written in a variety of mundane, secret, and arcane languages. They cover many subjects, from alchemical treatises to ‘novels’ of a somewhat insalubrious literary nature. 

The circular inner wall at the centre has two 18-inch-long bars attached to the wall at waist height, one at each end. If any two adventurers push on these bars, the entire wall rotates so that a gap in this wall will align with the central accessway.  The floor here is inscribed with a glowing hexagram, or six pointed star.  There is a hole at each point of the hexagram. These holes are star-shaped, and the right size to accept the keys carried by the five zombies. There is a trap door in the centre of the hexegram but no way to open it or smash through it.  Of course, being a hexegram, with six points and the adventurers only having found five of the six pointed star keys, one key is missing.

The adventurers took some time to try and figure out where the circled area on the map they found was.  The map we were using from the 4th edition of the games was not very clear, so I swapped it with the original first edition one. 

8th November 2020

 The PC's playing today:

• Alan: Ron "Foul" Guttermann, a human who is a rat catcher by trade, and has a small but vicious dog named Dog.
• Ali: Aeslor Arha, a Wood Elf who is a Wizard's Apprentice.
• Cassandra: Fayth, a Human Initiate of Shallya who is fed up of religion.
• Daniel: Grimmick Grimjaw, a Dwarf who is a Student Engineer.

The adventurers sat around Altdorf asking after vampires and the Purple Hand, but nothing.  Some tramps did try to claim a vampire had bitten someone's legs off, and that a gold crown would help, but nothing more concrete than that, so the team loaded the barge up full of cheap brandy (plus one case of good stuff) to trade and decided to head towards Castle Reikguard, and let the Purple Hand come after them if they wanted.

Along the way, they passed through a lock (1 silver shilling, Ron in charge of steering and doing a perfect job) and as they passed one of the new half built Signal Towers, two Dwarven engineers came running out.

The Signal Towers are one of the Emperor’s pet projects to give warning of any attack or other emergency.  This signal tower is being built on the remains of an older, partially ruined structure.

‘Oi! Give us a lift! We can pay!’

Before the adventurers have a chance to question the two Dwarfs, another one comes running down to the bank. The first two fall silent as the newcomer arrives.  She glowers at them and points at the half-finished signal tower, wheezing as she speaks: ‘Unless (gasp!) you want to be blacklisted (wheeze!) with every dwarf in the Empire (splutter!) you’ll get back to the site NOW!’

With a look that is a mixture of apology, embarrassment, and appeal, the pair of dwarfs trudge back up the bank.

The newcomer introduces herself as foreman in charge of the construction of the Emperor's signal tower, apologises for Thingrim and Belegol, and explains she runs a crew of twelve engineers, all good, solid dwarfs until this job. They were hired in Altdorf six weeks ago, with an Imperial Commission to build this signal tower as specified.

‘It seemed like an ideal site. Good visibility to the next towers up and down the chain, and this ruin is sound enough for a foundation. ‘Nothing went right from the start. There were accidents and injuries. And mind, these are trained and seasoned dwarfs. They’d no business slipping off scaffolding and dropping hammers on each other. Then they started disappearing. Two more vanished only last night, leaving six. The rest of the crew are asking for danger money now. They think the place is an accursed elven burial mound, and elf ghosts are behind it all.

She offers the party 5 GC to investigate.

The wall is made from blocks of a black, shiny and completely featureless mineral. The Dwarfs have managed to complete the bottom floor of the signal tower, It is from this room that the workers have disappeared. The players quickly discover that there is a trap door in the floor, but they are not able to open it, so they try digging up the floor surrounding it until suddenly, a powerful ghoul ghoul springs into the room from it and attacks.  the ghoul is wearing what looks like a strange, cylindrical key on a leather thong around its neck.

The fight is a long and brutal one - a critical hit to Ron's hand left it bleeding badly until he cauterised it after lighting a fire in the fireplace, and Fayth suffered a broken nose, until they finally managed to destroy the ghoul with fire and retrieve the strange key from around its neck. It is a rod of iron, 6 inches long and with a five-pointed star cross-section.

This is where we ended the session.

1st November

 Missed a session last week and today's was a short one as Death on the Reik starts properly.

The PC's playing today:

• Alan: Ron "Foul" Guttermann, a human who is a rat catcher by trade, and has a small but vicious dog named Dog.
• Ali: Aeslor Arha, a Wood Elf who is a Wizard's Apprentice.
• Cassandra: Fayth, a Human Initiate of Shallya who is fed up of religion.
• Daniel: Grimmick Grimjaw, a Dwarf who is a Student Engineer.

The first part of the session focussed on shopping and deciding where to go.

There was an incident sailing from Altdorf to Fielbach where they saw a small trading boat called The Maria Borger travelling towards Altdorf.  A crew member called the PC's over as they had sick people on board.  The PC's boarded the boat and the crew introduced themselves as Hans and Karl, and said that thier Dad Bernhardt had taken sick two nights ago.  Examining and healing him revealed two small punctures in his neck. When this is brought to Hans and Karl's attention, they say: ‘That’s odd. They weren’t there yesterday, but he was just as bad. Must have been a rat or something. They’re a real problem when you’re carrying grain — get everywhere, they do, and bold as brass, too. They’ll go for you soon as look at you.’  Ron. knowing rats and looking at the size of the wounds, said, "Bloody big rat" as Bernhardt started saing things like, ’Away … keep him away … those eyes … I’m cold, so cold … don’t let him touch me … no … no …’

The PC's spotted a small silver pendant on the floor under Bernhardt’s bunk in the form of a stag’s head: the symbol of the god Taal. Berhardt sees it - ‘Mine,’ he mumbles. ‘Give it to me … give … took it off … he made me … he made me take it off …’

Hans and Karl reveal they are carrying a special cargo, to be delivered the day after tomorrow. When the boat was loaded two days ago, Bernhardt was approached by a large mercantile operation. None of their boats were heading in the right direction, and when they offered almost twice the normal rate, Bernhardt accepted the cargo.

Long story short, the cargo was a crate containing two coffins, each with a pile of dirt inside, but no vampires.  The PC's dumped the coffins in the river, and go out of there when they saw bats landing on the boat...

They then traded at the next own and decided to return to Altdorf.  On their return they asked about the Maria Borgia, half expecting Altdorf to now have a major vampire problem, but it had sailed straight through a couple of nights before without incident.

Rumours they picked up this week (will be added to the News and rumours post from September 30th!) were:

Crown Prince Hergard von Tasseninck has been killed while on an expedition in the Grey Mountains. He was the only son and heir of Grand Prince Hals von Tasseninck, the ruler of Ostland. Some of them that were with him came back raving about beastmen using guns! Have you ever heard such tripe!

The Grand Prince of Ostland blames Grand Duke Gustav von Krieglitz of Talabecland for his son’s death. He says that an assassin working for the Grand Duke murdered his son. Gustav has long had designs on the Ostland forests. Everyone of consequence knows that.

As the PC's traded and loaded their boat, they noticed two men in hats with purple feathers staring at them.  Ron called them over and they said the PC's should 'hand over the money' and, in two single blows, the party had killed them both.  A watchman came over, but he was more interested in getting bribed to not arrest them especially as Ron had said that they had come over demanding the party hand over all their money. When Ron suggested he search the bodies, he pocketed the money they had and threw a piece of paper they were carrying on the floor, which the party picked up.

The party had a discussion and have decided to stay in Altdorf for the time being and sort out the Purpe Hand once and for all...

Calendar at end of session:

18 Oct 20

 The PC's:

• AJ: Harbull Junior, a Halfling Prowler training to become a Thief.
• Alan: Ron "Foul" Guttermann, a human who is a rat catcher by trade, and has a small but vicious dog named Dog.
• Ali: Aeslor Arha, a Wood Elf who is a Wizard's Apprentice.
• Cassandra: Fayth, a Human Initiate of Shallya who is fed up of religion.
• Daniel: Grimmick Grimjaw, a Dwarf who is a Student Engineer.
• Peter: Iva Getyouoff, a Human Lawyer, who now owns property in Bögenhafen so is staying there.
• Richard: Nobber "Nobby" Hudson, a human who was a Watch Recruit who wants to be an adventurer

Playing today were Grimmick, Aeslor, Fayth and Ron.

Calendar at start of session:

Picking up where we left off, with the characters outside the Red Barn on a mission to rescue Elvira, this was met with little resistance - just three kidnappers all of who they made short work of - killing one and letting the other two run off after questioning them, which was a little frustrating: "We was hired by a tall man. Tall-ish. Not quite my size. Sort of. Looked about forty, I suppose, though it’s hard to tell with posh folks. I dunno. Middling years, perhaps. Piercing-blue eyes, he had, like ice. Right hard looking, in a soft sorta way. Or were they brown? Or maybe green. He definitely had two of them. I noticed that."

For her part, Elvira would only reveal that someone in Altdorf wanted her to do something she definitely didn’t want to do. Beyond that she refuses to explain anything. She is happy to be free though, and polite enough with her thanks. She gave Fayth contact details for a witch friend, Tartella Witchypants, over in Altdorf, and provided some training in herb lore (and a book on herbalism) to Aeslor.  They discovered that they are no longer wanted for the murder of the two Nobles in Altdorf - somebody has already been hanged for that, though there are still a few old Wanted posters up.

The rest of the session was shopping, trading and training as Aeslor needed to spend a week at the College of Magic to get his licence to become a wizard, Ron bought cargoes and travelled between Altdorf and Fielbach buying and selling for a small profit.

We left the session as the characters prepare to leave Altdorf.  

Gossip, news and rumours heard during the session has been added to the gossip post!

Calendar at end of session:

11 Oct 2020

The PC's:

• AJ: Harbull Junior, a Halfling Prowler training to become a Thief.
• Alan: Ron "Foul" Guttermann, a human who is a rat catcher by trade, and has a small but vicious dog named Dog.
• Ali: Aeslor Arha, a Wood Elf who is a Wizard's Apprentice.
• Cassandra: Fayth, a Human Initiate of Shallya who is fed up of religion.
• Daniel: Grimmick Grimjaw, a Dwarf who is a Student Engineer.
• Peter: Iva Getyouoff, a Human Lawyer, who now owns property in Bögenhafen so is staying there.
• Richard: Nobber "Nobby" Hudson, a human who was a Watch Recruit who wants to be an adventurer

Playing today were Grimmick, Aeslor, Fayth and Ron.

The game was picked up where we left off, with the characters in Josef's boat in Bögenhafen, which they have just saved from becoming a portal to the realm of Chaos, but instead of being heroes, they wanted for murder, and they know that the authorities in this town are never going to believe their own story.

At this point in the game, the calendar becomes important, so I will update that first: Yellow highlight shows where we currently are from the start date of the campaign.

Ima Gettyouoff, the party lawyer, decides to stay on in Bögenhafen and use his charm to try and smooth things over.  After all, he now has property in the town.

The rest of the party sail up to Weissbruck with Josef.  Along the way they discover that there is a new law banning the killing of Mutants - people are saying that the Emperor must be a mutant to pass such a ridiculous law.

Along the way, the come across a riverboat adrift. There is no sign of life so Josef steers toward it and it becomes clear that it has been attacked by mutants, who are still aboard.  The party kills these mutants and there is only one survivor of the original crew left - the cook.  The owners of the boat have been killed.  

Josef explains that the salvage laws are that they can apply to have the boat officially registered to themselves at the next town, and that will include the cargo - several crates of wool - which can be traded.  Josef trains the PC Ron in boat handling and explains how trading works.

Once in Weissbruck, the party have a few different things they want to do.  First off is saying their goodbyes to Josef, who is loading a new cargo and returning to Bögenhafen.

Ron registers the boat, so it is now officially theirs.  He also hires the cook to stay on with them for 1GC a week.  The cooks name is Renate Hauser.

he then sells the cargo of wool any buys a new cargo of fine brandy (and a case of shit brandy in case the Dwarf gets thirsty) and, along with the Dwarf, encounters a couple of strange men. One carries on with a normal sales pitch, the other scratches the right-hand side of his nose with the little finger of his left hand while inserting the thumb of his right hand into his right ear, palm to the front and the fingers fully extended. 

They ask what the PC's have done with Kastor, then try to shake hands, which the PC's refuse, so one slaps Ron on the back leaving a purple hand print, before they disappear into the crowd.  The two PC's try to follow them, and despite passing their tracking rolls, lose them. Ron washes off the ink stain and returns to the boat.

Meanwhile, Fayth and Aestor head off to the home of a friend of Fayth's - Elvyra, a pharmacist who has offered to teach Fayth herbalism and who can put her on the path to learning magic.  Fayth knows her from her convent days, but Fayth is fed up with religion!

Arriving at Elvyra's house, though, finds it ransacked and Elvyra missing! Windows are smashed, herbs and potions robbed, and they find a note in the mess:

Hearing noises from the cellar, they discover a little 10 year old girl hiding - Elvira's niece Liza.  She says that some men had called round a couple of nights ago and had argued with Auntie Elvira.  The next day, Auntie Elvira had caught Liza 'playing with her pretty coloured powders' and drinking her booze, and had grounded her in the cellar.  

Auntie Elvira had told Lisa she was not allowed to go to the Happy Man Inn.  Later that day the bad men had come back and taken Auntie Elvira with them, while Liza hid in the cellar.  Fayth decided to take Liza back to their boat.

When all the party were back together, and Fayth had explained what was going on, (and Liza was eyeing up the cargo of brandy), they all went to the Happy Man and eventually got directions to the Red Barn, which is where we will pick up next week.