The prince responds to A Boy. And let us hope my faith is restored… and quickly… for the sake of everyone here — especially Lumi.
The prince takes the ring without a thank-you.
Lord Valta sighs when the prince is gone.
You saved Lumi before, and in doing so demonstrated respect for royal properties.
I agree with the Prince: do as you should. My daughter is the future here, loved by all. Her death will reflect on you, and the entire town will remember. None will forget.
Prove them wrong. Almost as an afterthough, he mutters … and the Prince, too.
He rights the fallen portraits, and turns away to gaze at them.
The Viscount looks at you. You are dismissed, yes. Dismissed.
He follows you into the courtyard and talks along the way.
Right this wrong, yes. Is it your doing? Is it? Perhaps not directly. I cannot tell, no no, but I do know that trust has been placed in you, yes. And you have proved your worth only when the going has been straightforward.
At any sign of difficulty you have not repaid the trust of your betters — whether the Prince’s, Attendant Queen Haijyin’s, Lord Valta’s, or — most importantly — Lumi’s.
He leaves you at your door. I’m sure you will do the right thing.
Inside, there is a folded piece of parchment resting on the center of the floor. In delicate script, it says:
Special Protectors,
Attendant Queen Haijyin requests the presence of the Heroes.
For a moment, it’s as though the child is simply that. Awkward deference to the adults in the room. That said, a familiar, Samen spies a subtle, familiar, murderous gleam as the kid lately called Jack glances at him.
You are directed to the chapel. Here, the Queen is kneeling before the altar in prayer.
Her black dress pools behind her; she is wearing a curved black hennin over a black velvet caul, covered with a long black veil. A single beam of sunlight shines in through the single gothic window, high on the wall. The stained glass turns it golden in the dusty air.
There are several good-looking courtiers standing under the statue in the Northern corner; they wear very short tunics and are lounging casually, arms crossed. The statue, which sometimes changes into a deceased person from Klavek history, seems to change into Lumi before your very eyes. She does indeed look like her mother. The pale face gazes at you as the minutes stretch on.
Long minutes pass before the queen slowly stands and turns. The neckline of her dress forms a deep, thin V that reaches all the way to her waistband; she isn't wearing a chemise. The Queen sits in a pew, turns, and beckons you to stand before with a languid wave of her hand.
Protectors, tell your queen of the hunt. What have you brought me?
So… you bring your queen failure. She grimaces — her beauty changing into something else before she regains her composure.
I will give you a gift. For the sake of my soon-to-be stepdaughter first, and your reputations as heroes a distant second. My special protectors must not fail me.
You say that you saw this Huntsman spirit Lumi away. This huntsman often visited the castle; I have seen him with mine own eyes. He must have have a cabin somewhere outside town. Find him. Arrest him.
She stands; as before, you feel like a rabbit under the eyes of a hawk. Bring him to me.
She dangles a hand to her left; and a courtier instantly rushes forward, holding forth an open silk pouch. She reaches inside and pulls out a heavy, weatherbeaten silver medallion bearing the Klavek royal crest.
Take this badge. You now have the full authority of His Majesty the King and the Attendant Queen. Do not fail to hunt the hunsman, my hunters.
Samen bows to the queen. "We shall not fail you, your majesty."
”With our utmost appreciation your majesty,” Gate says as he takes the silver medallion and puts it on.
”But a question, if I may. You’ve seen this huntsman in the castle before? Regularly, or just here and there? Do you have any idea why he would have come here? Was he on some sort of business or visiting someone perhaps? I imagine someone else must know him, or have seen him too.”
I believe he did some odd jobs here and there. The servants may know more of such things.
The boy bows, expertly concealing his mistrust of the queen’s ultimate motives. "As ever, my greatest oath is to protect and serve milady Lumi. Where I have thus far failed, I shall persevere."
He raises his head and gives the attendant queen a calculating look. "What motives do you suspect this huntsman of harboring? Malice towards Lumi? Rebellion against your royal order? I take you to be a queen who values practical truths above rhetoric in private council."
Who can say why any such crimes are committed? Perhaps the huntsman is one of those anarchist ragamuffins. Perhaps he is enamored with the beautiful Lumi, driven to madness by jealousy at her betrothal.
She chuckles to herself, letting her imagination run wild in fantasy. Wouldn't that be an instructive tale — the huntsman's unrequited love, snuffed out screaming in a dungeon! And think of it: should the princess meet a tragic fate, and the heroes fail, they would be torn to bits by the enraged townsfolk who loved her so! One for your children's books, little one! She reaches out and pats A Boy's hand, as if by motherly instinct. I'm sure you will help save our Lumi, it's only a story.
As the Prince said, Do what you know you should..
She turns to gaze up at the window. It seems you are dismissed.
Cook menaces Gate with her ladle, tapping it in her hand and waiting for any sign of foul language..
She tells you the huntsman was brought in to hunt vermin several times — no one ever sees his face, as he wears a frightening a grotesque helm made of green metal. He has long brown hair, armor and gauntlets made of fine green scales, and a longbow made of the horn of a mighty beast.
The stableboy tells you that his horse has a long blonde mane and feathered legs. He can tell you where his cabin is on the outskirts of the haunted forest.
You make your wat there. The forest here is secluded, and beyons the trees you see a thin line of smoke from a chimney. There is a single dirt path leading forward.
"Given how quickly and effectively he got away last time, we should try to take him by surprise."
"We could approach with feet as soft as snow
And then a song’ll get us in the manse with but a thought."
He starts with a little fey chant that fills the lads with hope!
You follow the single dirt path that leads to the Huntsman’s cabin. The woods thin out and ahead you see a simple, one-story cabin with a steep roof and walls made of timbers stained to help protect from the cold. There are no windows. A rooster and several hens cluck occasionally from a pen to the left of the front door.
Along the walkway from the path to the door there are two beds of dark colored flowers of various types, now covered in snow but with the odd bloom just showing through. A chimney is blackened from soot, thin smoke rising into the air.
To the side of the cabin is a small outbuilding that houses the a loaded wagon.
A Gate steps on a twig and Klaytal stumbles. A woman with long brown hair steps out of the outbuilding. She isn't wearing armor, but you see a longbow made of horn strapped to her back. She draws a battleaxe, and points at you.
You! All of you! I see you there! Come out and talk — what is there for you to fear?
At the sound of her voice there's a bright flash. Six immense centipedes appear out of nowhere, placing themselves in a circle around the Huntsman.
She's completely surprised, as she was concentrating on you.
All of you are surprised!
The huntsman falls unconscious.
Three of the centipedes turn to you.
Gate and Klaytal are up!
Map is up!
Gate moves in and draws his punching daggers.
”Get away from her!”
The centipedes feast on their helpless victim!
The remaining three centipedes attack Gate! #4 charges, but blocks the charge lanes of his comrade, number 5.
They all miss, mistaking Gate's glamoured breastplate for something better.
Samen moves forward to help Gate, swinging his sword hard at the nearest centipede. "Where the hell did these things come from?"
Gate attempts to slice the centipedes to bits!
He is also very menacing!
The boy shouts shrilly, "Soilse timpeall, soilse ouyt!"
Faerie dusts streams from his mouth outstretched hand and coats the the caterpillars assaulting the Huntsman. He sings of foxes running from hounds and towards their own prey, and the other lads feel a familiar celerity in their step.
All three 666pedes are blind, and so shiney!
Two of Gates's punches hit — he drops one of the centipedes; stringy guts hang off the point of his punching dagger.
Klaytal teleports into flank with Samen and strikes true:
Centipede 1 noshes on the huntress.
Centipede 2 seems frustrated and upset that it has been blinded while its compatriot eats a meal, and moves over to defend its territory, biting Centipede 1:
Centipede 3 slowly moves towards the sound of combat.
Centipede 6 smites good and attacks Klaytal, who, upon seeing its fiendish fangs glitter with poison, parries and ripostes:
Centipede 6 drops when Klaytal darts his scimitar through its eye!
Centipede 5 attacks Gate, smiting good while doing so:
It continues to writhe and flail uselessly, doing a weirdly angry centipede dance.
The boy bends space and stands over the Huntsman, ineffectual dagger in hand. He checks the Huntsman's vitals.
"She may yet live! Protect her!"
Samen winks out of sight, reappearing across from the boy and attacking the only remaining sighted centipede.
Samen dispatches the centipede with ease; a twitching leg whizzes by A Boy’s head.
”Jack, don’t let her die! We need her information!”
Gate steps to within reach of both centipedes near him and slices and dices.
Gate splatters both centipedes! Klaytal will easily finish off the last one.
You can now investigate the grounds, and the huntsman's body.
Now that the chaos of combat is over, you can easily determine that the Huntsman is dead. While she has some neat-looking mundane gear, she doesn't look like a seasoned adventurer. Further, she was caught flat-footed while wearing no armor.
A Boy finds a strand of Lumi's hair on the body.
There is an innocuous straw sack sitting in the dirt nearby.
The cart here is loaded with household goods and valuables; there's a jutland pony hitched up. It seems as if the Huntsman was leaving town in a hurry, and you caught her just in time.
Inside you find nothing of value left — more evidence the hunstman was fleeing. There are some old books on animal training and pest control.
Here, there is a large pen hidden behind a screen of trees. There is a strange training harness hanging from a branch and random claw and talon marks on the ground.
Gate smells something in the air that he's now intimately familiar with: the dank fur of a dire bat.
Samen or Gate can also identify the markings in the dirt, which were also made by a dire bat. They look fresh, as if the beast was only recently released.
"What foul deceitful wretch has killed our only lead? There's rot and tangle in this plot. Let's stop a spell and think: Who does the hunter serve? What power weaves the threads of this conspiracy?" The boy kneels beside the huntress, arranging her as a doll into a more elegant, restful pose. He pats her head, a look of pity on his face.
"I wager this: our villain sits within the castle's walls. What motive she or he may have I do not know. Their magecraft's evident enough, I'd say. Tis not the weigh of fey to summon centipedes from hell."
Gate frowns and scratches his head.
"So, let me walk through things for a moment. This huntsman, who was actually a woman, which no one even thought to mention to us, was out here training bats to kidnap the princess, and no one ever thought that strange? I mean, really? No red flags here. Nothing strange about a woman living on her own, out in the woods, training large bats. Let's not bother keeping an eye on her. She probably just loves bats. It's probably just a hobby. I mean seriously."
He sniffs the bat harness with disdain before hanging it back on the tree.
"And so now what? We go limping back to the castle like a bunch of fools? As though we have no idea what's truly going on, because we don't? Why is it I feel like a puppet and I don't even know whose hand is up my arse?"
"I agree, Jack. This plot is of human hands, whatever it is (though I admit I have no evidence to say so). What more can we do, Gate? The huntsman is dead, though surely she did not perpetrate this crime on her own. Still, we have no captured daughter to return, nor lead to pursue. What else can we do, but return to the castle?"
Seemingly defeated, you head back to the castle once again.
Viscount Sihteeri greets you at the gate and ushers you upstairs, to Lumi's room where the Queen and the Prince await. Though well-appointed, the room seems empty somehow. The queen — fashionable as ever — idly toys with an old stuffed rabbit and tosses it carelessly to the floor when you enter. The Prince turns from the window and glowers.
You give your report: the huntsman, dead.
Prince Ruhtin clenches his fist and steps forward as if to strike you, but the queen holds out a hand.
Tut, Ruhtin. My Special Protectors mustn't be damaged!
Is the trail cold, my hunters? Is hope lost? I think not. Talk to the castlefolk — the huntswoman worked here, after all — there must be some clue that was left behind! Go!
You are dismissed from the Queen; she doesn't seem to be in the mood for conversation. You take her advice, asking around about the Huntsman.
This process of gathering information takes about 20 minutes. During this time you split up to interview several of the castle's skilled laborers, entertainers, craftspeople, and scholars.
Rewards:
- 1 +4 enhancement bonus to Wisdom if applied to any one Profession check
- 1 +4 ability modifier to Charisma for any one mostly-verbal action using that ability
- 1 +2 competence modifier to any one skill check using Intelligence, except Spellcraft
- 1 +2 competence modifier to any one Perception/Spot/Search/Listen check
- 1 +2 morale modifier (due to enhanced self-belief) to any one initiative roll
- 1 +4 ability modifier to Charisma for any one mostly-verbal action using that ability
- 1 +2 insight bonus to any one action involving animals, including monstrous types
- 1 +4 enhancement bonus to Wisdom if applied to any one Profession check
- 1 +4 ability modifier to Charisma for any one mostly-verbal action using that ability
- 1 +4 ability modifier to Charisma for any one mostly-verbal action using that ability
You find out that the Huntsman was hired on occasion to conduct pest control, and was frequently seen heading toward the old catacombs, an abandoned area beneath the castle. No one knows who built these mysterious catacombs; they’re older than the castle’s foundations and, you are told, best left forgotten.
Rumors of the Huntsman also tell of a close association that she had with a rare breed of albino centipedes; these seem to venture forth from the catacombs at odd times, terrorizing unfortunate servants. The Huntsman would always take care of this problem, and sometimes disappeared into the catacombs alone.
Samen ducks up to his room for a moment, returning dressed in an obvious mithral chain shirt. "Can't be too careful, heading down into a place like that."
"Do any of you have a light source? If not, we should find some torches."
After preparing, you make your way down past the lower storage areas, past the wine cellars, past the dungeons. You find a long and forgotten hallway that ends with a stone door — the entrance to the catacombs.
There is an inscription on the door:
A single path, one has to take,
Without a start, a cease, a break.
A single route from here to here,
The course of which begins unclear.
So draw your own conclusion, friend,
And walk the road that does not end.
For even when you think you’re done,
You’re not, ‘less through each point you’ve run
There is a strange symbol drawn in faint lines of chalk below the verse.
What do you do?
"'...less through each point...' Sounds like we need to hit every intersection as we go." Samen traces his fingers on the design as he thinks. "But what do these colored lines mean?"
"The colored lines have been connected for us. We need to connect all the others, in one continuous line. That's how I read it."
"Somehow all of that fighting knocked sense into you, Gate!" The boy picks up the chalk, examining the pattern with the others.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
A Boy, with the tutelage of Gate and Samen, completes the puzzle by connecting each dot in a continuous line to create a "road that does not end."
With the softest “click,” the door opens just a sliver; it's not even clear of the wall.
Gate rolls up his sleeves and tries to push the heavy stone door further open. However, when he puts his palm on the door he gets sucked through the solid stone! You hear his curses through the crack in the door.
The puzzle seems determined to keep the secret of what lays beyond hidden to the last.
When the last of you — A Boy — steps through the magical wall, the same soft "click" is heard from behind.
Someone has pushed the door shut behind you. All signs of the exit have vanished.
The walls in the alcove are plain brick and the floor is covered in fired terracotta tiles. It's quite warm in here.
In the room beyond this alcove, the walls are covered in horizontal clay tubes that are about about 6 inches in diameter; they twist and then disappear into the ceiling. There is a wide metal trough running along the wall, full of ever-glowing embers.
Unfortunately, you don't really have time to consider your predicament further: the space becomes brighter as two squat, brass-skinned humanoids trudge into view. Their head and shoulders blaze with manes of fire.
These fierce-looking beings drag red-hot warhammers gently — almost lovingly — through the trough as they move, stirring the embers with expertise.
One of them gestures at you and says in common, Working. Turning coals. Out with you. Out.
'Gladly, friend. The way back seems to be blocked, however, so we shall have to go forward to get out of your way."