Splinters of Faith [Sword & Wizardry: Core Rules]

Game Master Kthulhu

Splinters of Faith

Chapter One: It Started With a Chicken...

Maps: Area Overview, Lessef

After a long and remarkably uneventful journey from Bargarsport, the group finds itself on the outskirts of Lessef...

The narrow dirt path broadens into an expanse of well-trod ground and dry saw grass. A collection of ramshackle buildings sits amid the cut stumps of the cleared forest. An inn – boards covering its windows and an iron chain dangling from its front door – is the largest structure. Houses built around the inn are barely more than one-room shacks, most falling down or ripped apart for their timber. Rising above it all on a gentle hillock, a small whitewashed church marks the scattered buildings as a town. The hill is strangely unnatural, the only such rise for miles around.

A few people shamble between the buildings, eyeing new arrivals as they go about their daily routines. All of the townsfolk are old, stooped by the weight of years of hard work and harder conditions. Their wrinkled faces are mixed with sweat, dust and tears; the visible marks of their long lives of toil.

Suddenly, an old man’s voice rings out, shattering the silence: “That damned fox! It took another of mah chickens!”

Narcisse is quietly horrified to discover that her home village is so very poor. After the grace of the faerie realm, this comes as something of a shock.

Trying to stop her nose from wrinkling, she wonders, privately, why nobody makes an attempt at even basic repairs and it is on the tip of her tongue to ask someone when the old man speaks.

"How do you know it's the same fox?"

Atticus spins around awkwardly "Wha.... Well, a fox cannot be anything other then a Fox, right?" he looks up at the hill, and cocks his head to the side, as if listening to someone. "Well, Narcisse, that's quite a good question."

The old man looks at the group of newcomers for a moment, obviously trying to gauge whether or not they might be helpful...

Well, young missy, it's true that we ain't seen the fox, but we have seed tracks here and there on the outskirts o' town. And ol' Zebadiah, what used to be Lessef's greatest hunter back in the day, he sez that all the tracks we seen so far are the same fox.

Ya'll be headed towards Anvil Plunge, I take it? Still a ways ta go, round 'bout 100 miles. Gettin' a bit late, you'll probably be wantin' to spend the night here in town?

"That would be delightful" says a slight figure, who one might think was a young teen were it not for the leaf-shaped ears and almond eyes.

Gettin' a bit late, you'll probably be wantin' to spend the night here in town?

Talisek stops with the rest of the party and looks around briefly before doffing his pack and setting it down next to him. "Sounds like a good idea to me. If it's all right with you, Atticus?"

Pointing at the small church at the top of the hill, the old man tells you:

Yeh'll be wanting to head up the hill to the Bethel of Freya and be askin' ol' Almery if he'll open up the inn for yeh. You can get food and ale at the Pebble. Scaby waters the ale, but for an extra copper or three he might give you the good stuff. Just tell him Jeb sent ya.

Jeb takes a closer look at Valen...

By Freya's golden hair! An elf! We haven't seen an elf in these parts in almost twenty years!

"Wonderful! Do you perchance recall the name of this elf?"

Reckon I don't. Wasn't a very nice band, anyhow. It's said they took poor Janice Porter's little baby girl with 'em when they left. Can't prove it, but she did go missing right as they left town. Poor girl, broke her heart. Still, ol' Almery tells us that just like there's good and bad men, there's good and bad elves, dwarves, and the like. So I won't judge ye based on that...but not all might be so enlightened. I'd steer clear of Old Man Porter if I was you. First he lost his granddaughter, then his daughter died of a broken heart. He's got no love for you elves in him.

Narcisse goes very silent. She has a suspicion she knows what happened to the baby.

"Where is Janice Porter's grave? That's a sad story," she manages at last.

Valen looks pained, "I'm very sorry to hear that, and I thank you for your advice. I have no wish to upset anyone."

Jeb notices one of his chickens beginning to stray from the rest, and hurriedly ushers his remaining chickens into a small coop. As he's working, he says...

Poor Janice's grave is up there with all the rest, on Poverty Hill. I recall it's fair close to the path going up to the church. Look around, ye'll find it.

Valen nods and looks troubled.

"You are wise man, sir." he says, "I don't know if this will aid you at all but please accept this."

He takes out 2 gold pieces with the air of someone who doesn't quite know what to do with them, and offers them to Jeb.

Once Jeb is out of earshot, Narcisse touches Valen's arm.

"I thought I was saved from the plague. That was what they told me. Did they lie, Valen?"

"Could someone help me find some flowers, do you think?"

Valen takes the young woman's face in his hands and says soothingly, "No, Narcisse, they didn't lie."

He then holds her hand in his, "I cannot say what these elves did or did not do. Maybe they had nothing to do with her disappearance. I want to help in some manner, but I fear that my presence might inflame matters."

Turning to the rest of the group, he asks, "Friends, do you think we could perhaps discover what happened here, to the child, I mean?"

"Friends, do you think we could perhaps discover what happened here, to the child, I mean?"

"Sure, since we're here an' all. This place, though--y'know, I bin ta a few little farm towns, an' every one of 'em y' could hear kids out playin'. I don't care for this much."

He turns to Atticus. "Mayhap this is why y'were called here? Ta set right what can be?"

Valen Starmantle wrote:

"Friends, do you think we could perhaps discover what happened here, to the child, I mean?"

"Sure, since we're here an' all. This place, though--y'know, I bin ta a few little farm towns, an' every one of 'em y' could hear kids out playin'. I don't care for this much."

He turns to Atticus. "Mayhap this is why y'were called here? Ta set right what can be?"

Atticus starts a bit, and stiffens "May be, Talisek... I can't abide by folks not having what they need, can't abide by that at all." he looks about restlessly "The West Wind blows, and that's always been an ill omen... something's amiss here. Let's look into the fate o' the child. Let's stop by the grave first, of course."

"Ale? I like the sound of that!" Valgar's voice booms within his helm. Following the discussion of the lost girl, though, he becomes a bit more somber. "S'pose it would be right of us to repay their hospitality; the ale can wait." Having said this, he removes his helmet, retrieves a flask from his pack, opens it, and downs what remains of the liquid inside, before putting his helmet back in place.

Jeb eyes widen as he sees the gold pieces...you get the impression he's mostly used to coppers, and maybe the rare silver piece.

Thank ye, sirrah, ye're too kind.

You notice his eyes begin to mist up slightly as he totters back into his meager house.

Narcisse looks around for something to put on the grave.

Atticus pauses for a moment at the grave, paying his respects, then turns to the rest of the group "I think we need to speak with the Porters."

"Valen needs to stay away I think if Jeb is right."

Narcisse traces the name on the gravestone and looks at her elven friend and guide.

"Valen needs to stay away I think if Jeb is right."

"I don't like splittin' us up, but iffin we hafta, better it be two-an'-three than one-an'-four. I'm thinkit first, we all go up an' have Almery open the inn. We drop our packs there, then Valen and mayhap Valgard, y'stay at the inn whilst Atticus, Narcisse an' I go up to see Old Man Porter?"

"Now, my old serjeant (may Freya rest his soul) used ta say that whene'er y'split up like that, y'gotta have some way fer each group t'let the other know if there's trouble. We got whistles, or anything like that?"

Valen chuckles, "It's not an orc lair, Talisek, I think we'll be alright without whistles or bird calls. You'll know where to find me, and I don't think I need worry that you disturb a dragon in the course of your enquiries." he adds jovially.

"Hrm...well, if you think that's best, Talisek. Can't say I mind staying at the source of the ale!" Valgard follows this statement with a hearty laugh.

"Right, that makes a lot of sense" Atticus shifts his pack around on his shoulders "This pack sure is...heavy. Talisek, does yours chafe? Mine chafes..." Atticus begins walking towards the inn. "Valen, it sure is good of you to not be offended by all of this, hopefully we can change their disposition towards your people if you can help figure out what's going on here.

"Offended? Why would I be? I'm regretful that this happened, but I can understand any hostility this man may have. Perhaps I shall find some answers at this 'inn'."

"Valen would never harm anyone in that way, I'm sure of it."

Narcisse looks increasingly nervous. "What can we say to him? What can I say to him?"

"Nawp, mine don't chafe, but she be broken in good an' proper. Thought yours would be, by now...y'might have the straps too loose again."

*after a brief inspection, you realize that Atticus has NO idea how to get his pack fastened correctly*

*Trudges off towards the Inn*

As he fixes Atticus' pack, Talisek thinks to himself, "Easier'n dealin' with officers...'leastways Atticus don't lord it over a poor bloody grunt." He catches himself before he claps Atticus on the shoulder, then picks up his own pack, reseats it with an ease born of many marches, and follows.

"I hope y'have the right of it, Master Valen. This place is unsettlin'."

"You must have seen worse than this, Tally, but it really does send shivers down me. And not just because of the Porters."

"Aye, Mistress Narcisse, but there's worse and there's worse. Burned-out towns an' th' dead in stacks by roadside are part an' parcel o' a soldier's life. Seein' a place that should be healthy all hollowed out inside, like an empty husk...that's not right. Not right at all."

"Just "Narcisse", Tally," she smiles.

"I'm no soldier, but I know when something feels wrong. Let's go and find out what it is. Then maybe we can help. And then maybe, I can find out about inns as well. They don't really have them where I grew up."

A light drizzle begins to fall from the sky.

When Atticus, Valen, and Valgar arrive at Imelda's Palace [Building B on the Lessef map], they find the inn’s windows are boarded up. The run-down building looks as if it has been vacant for at least a year, and a crude sign nailed to the door states that travelers are welcome to stay for a contribution to the temple.

Valgar looks over the building with a critical eye. "Some palace this is...well, it might be dry at least. Jeb said the priest could unlock it for us? I say we hustle up that hill and make our offering, 'fore this rain gets any heavier. Dwarven plate rusts just as easy as any other..."

Atticus drops his pack, takes off his coat and drapes it over the Valgar's plate, carefull to cover all the shiny bits. "That should help!" he says cheerily as he knocks on the door "Maybe our gold can make a difference here, the folks look like they sure could use it.

Valgar grumbles at the indignity of having a coat hung over his head, but accepts the meager rain protection, holding the front up with an arm just above his visor.

Narcisse looks curiously at Valgar's impromptu rainwear and suppresses a smile.

"I don't know many people who could carry off that look Valgar."

Sorry about not posting sooner; very busy couple of days at work.

Talisek responds to Narcisse: "Iffin' y' say so, Mis--Narcisse."

Narcisse smiles openly at Tally. "That's better. Shall we go and find this church then?"

A worn dirt path leads up the rise to the small church [Building E] perched atop the knoll. Earthen steps carved into the mound have been ravaged by the elements, but are still useable. A well-kept cemetery surrounds the white chapel, and a low wooden fence keeps out the village’s goats. A small bell tower sits on the left side of the wooden church.

Narcisse walks into the church and looks around.

Talisek will follow.

Map: Poverty's Bethel

Behind the church stands a separate parsonage: the largest house in Lessef.

Inside the church, rows of pews facing a round altar of stone fill the airy worship chamber. A depression in the top of the narrow altar holds holy water. Large shuttered windows remain open at all times except during bad weather. A brick fireplace stands against one wall.

No one appears to be in the church. However, from the small house, you can hear the voices of children playing...the first such sounds you've heard since entering the town.

"Over there, perhaps."

Narciss follows the sound of the voices.

"Hey, wait fer the rest of us!"

Talisek will again follow the impetuous magic-user, muttering under his breath. "Well, if'n there's kids there, p'raps th' town aten't too far gone."

"Sorry, Tally. I'm just not that used to humans."

She pauses for the rest to catch up.

You hear the voices of two children behind the house, one boy and one girl...

I got you! I lopped your ugly head off with my sword!

No way! I saw it and jumped over it! And then I killed you, you stinky kobold!

You as you round the corner, you see two human children, the boy looks approximately eleven years old, the girl about nine. Sitting in the shade watching them is a wiry gentleman of indeterminate age. He keeps what little hair he has tucked behind his oversized ears. The two children see you, and stop their game of "Kobolds & Heroes". The man turns around, spends a moment taking in your group, then speaks in a booming voice:

Welcome friends, to the Brethel of Freya! Is there anything I can do for you?

Were Valen, Atticus, and Valgar still heading to the tavern?

I believe that was the plan, yes.

As Narcisse and Talisek head up the hill, Valgar leads the way to the local tavern. Clanking his way inside the door, he loudly announces, "Ah, all that walking's worked up a mighty thirst! Bartender, give me your best ale!" Now safe from the rain, he returns Atticus's coat, and removes his helmet, setting it down next to him as he takes a seat at a table.