"Renting horses shouldn't be too expensive," Ezekia says.
After arranging for transport, you head east along the Grain Way, leaving Crossings behind. You travel faster than you would by foot, reaching the tiny community of Hamlet by nightfall. It consists of a poorly stocked general store, a pub, a flophouse with a few rooms for let, an abandoned house, and a temple of the New God. A handful of bits gets you lodging and stabling, and after resting overnight, you make the ten-mile ride to Farmer Ham's pig farm the next day.
Ham is an older man in his mid-sixties. Stricken with a severe case of the gout, he uses a cane to hobble around his property and constantly smears grease on his feet. Ham is rather heavy, with a large belly hanging over his belt and muttonchops framing his wide face.
"'Bout time ye lot showed up," he grumbles. "Another of me hogs were taken last night! That makes three in total! Ye need to get to the bottom of this afore I lose all me livelihood!"
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"Besides, my good friend..."
Tabog closes Dramm's hand around the coins he was holding and begins to take dramatic steps around him in a speedy rhythm, and then toward the door as his poem comes to an end.
"Saving this pig is a government gig!
I'm sure the Madam Mayor, or Lady Ezekia;
would have a horse, or four,
To spare for the swords,
They "buy" though sometimes lie,
But never deny! That I, well we,
will do this deed, for damn near free."
And then he was out the door.
"Good morn to you as well, sir. Have you been out to the pen recently? Have you found anything usual? Heard anything during the night? Any information you can give us will help, but please! Don't tire yourself, we wouldn't want you in bad health. You've got to be tip top to feed hogs slop, we rely on your hard work, I know as well as you. Yes! I assure you no harm will come to this farm or I'll be darned."
Tabog reaches his had out to shake Ham's, a humble smile on his face.
Of course these types always think they're doing the gods' work fattening up animals and then selling them to the highest bidder, I can't remember the last time I saw anyone in the district with a decent cut of mean...
Imedren groaned at Tabog's performance as the would-be bard slipped out the door.
"Was he serious about that?"
Imedren eyed the man with a solemn nod.
"I see, a third hog was taken. Well don't worry too much Ham. We'll figure this out soon. But first I have a few questions for you.
When you first noticed the disappearance did you see or hear anything strange lately? Signs of struggle with your hog? Bloodstains? Footprints in the day?"
Ham's farm stands in the center of a field overgrown with high grass. The edge of a small forest known as Sentinel Wood stands 100 yards west of the farm. There's a small farmhouse, and a pen holding twelve hogs that is close enough to the house to make the air rich with their stench. A shed makes up the pen's back wall, and a wooden overhang features several hay-covered stalls for shelter against inclement weather.
A small graveyard behind the house holds three grave markers.
Ham scratches at his bald head. "Well, it were four days ago when I heard thunder coming from the woods." He gestures to the distant trees. "Thought that were strange. Then just last night, I were sitting inside when I saw a man with a goat's head wandering around me property! I ran for me pitchfork to chase him off, but he were gone afore I could get out there. I looked around the farm, but me eyes ain't what they used ta be. Couldn't find nothing out of the ordinary aside from me missing pigs. Maybe you young 'uns can find something I missed."
"We will certainly do our best! As well as we should, the Madam Mayor and Lady Ezekia sent us here directly. They worry for you and your farm and your village! I am humbled by their dedication to the well being of us working folk, eh?"
Ham grunts and sits heavily in a chair on his porch. He begins rubbing more grease on his feet. "Whatever. Just find this damned hog thief!"
Uruuna wrinkles her nose at the smells wafting from the hog pen. "Ugh. Let's do this quickly so we can move on to some place more fragrant," she murmurs.
Dramm is still staring at the hand holding the coins as Tabog makes his exit. He stares after the singing man as Tabog marches his way from the front door. After a long look at the other stunned members of the meeting, Dramm flatly addresses the lot of them:
"I'm pretty sure I can make him explode..."
As the rest of the group prepares to follow after Tabog, Dramm stops Ezekia during the preparations.
"Can you search for something for me while we are gone? I need a hammer. Iron... cold iron would be the best, but pure iron will do. No larger than a blacksmith's hammer. I can pay for it, of course. The price doesn't matter." Dramm's eyes rarely ever meet a conversational partner's normally, but it is painfully clear that he is uncomfortable asking this favor. He busies himself looking away and placing his money pouch on the table, removing a silver for his own pocket instead.
Ham's story is an enthralling one, despite its lack of specifics. Dramm looks surprised at hearing of the beast stalking the property at night.
"One of the twisted? Here? I thought they were just stories. Are you sure? Your eyes, as you said..."
"A man with a goat's head?"
"A fomor!" he nodded as Dramm spoke. "I'd heard but had never considered them a thing we might be dealing with."
"Let's take a look around the farm and see if there's any other signs of them, coming or going." he turned to Uruuna. "Once we take a look we'll get to somewhere better. I promise."
Ham scowls at Dramm. "I knows what I seen!" he insists.
A look around the farm reveals a recent path through the high grass. It cuts from the hog pen to the edge of Sentinel Wood.
As he glanced around the area taking note of the path he happened to glance over at the shed.
"Found something over here." Imedren said to the others as he examined the print on the shed. He then went over to the door and proceeded to open it.
"Ah yes, this just further proves your suspicions, they weren't very careful. Ham could've found these tracks... but.."
"Look at this, this must have been bare bones... That sounds like bad news..."
Tabog turns to Imedren, hoping he'd have some kind of insight, then to Dramm and finally Uruuna.
"Should've asked for more money."
The shed door is locked. From the porch, Ham shouts at you. "Hey! That's just me storage room. You ain't gonna find no thieves in there."
[i]Boy wouldn't that be funny if it turned out Ham was a cultist or something like being possessed like Candace was? It'd probably be too easy. I might also just be getting paranoid.[/ooc]
Imedren didn't immediately answer Ham and turns his head over to Tabog.
"Yeah, we're starting to run into a lot of strange things lately..."
and in a low voice he whispers.
" Hey Tabog, why don't you take Uruuna and Anophth with you and start following the trail right now, just for a little bit. I need to check something."
He eyed Tabog, catching his eye and waited for him to move. Then he turned back to Ham and started to cross back over toward the farm house.
"Yeah, just checking on something odd we found over here. Any chance we could take a quick look inside? I'm not entirely certain it's just thieves we have to worry about now."
Anophth was unusually quite during the journey, his thoughts kept focusing inwards as he paid less attention to the world outside.
When Imedren suggested he see something with TaBog, he agreed. That sounds like a good idea. I think a walk would help clear my head and focus on the investigation. What's over here, TaBog?
Ham looks at Imedren with narrowed eyes. "What do ye mean by that? Ain't nothing in there that ye needs to be lookin' at!"
Joy follows Dramm for the time being, keeping her eyes and ears open.
Dramm's inspection of the bloody skeleton print reveals nothing of value at Tabog's questioning glance.
"Strange. Very strange. I've never seen anything like this. Maybe more of the dead are helping these creatures? I am not eager to face another Patchwork..." Dramm lets out an involuntary shudder.
"I think my skills are better used elsewhere." He leans close to the group and lowers his voice. "Let me go with Anophth and Uruuna. I'm used to tracking animals in the woods. This is my element. Bog, why don't you and Joy see if you can find a way to search more of the buildings here. You're both sharper and quieter than I am. You'll be better at finding your way into places we aren't wanted."
Imedren was starting to get annoyed and the farmers response seemed overzealous but bit his response back as he wasn't certain he wanted to have a confrontation that would create animosity with the farmer.
Instead he went with another approach. "You're right. I'm sorry about that, Ham. I've just seen some strange things lately and... and our last few jobs really haven't gone that well. People got hurt, or worse, because we weren't careful enough before and I was worried for your safety." he sighed.
"I was just looking for a win here, Ham. But maybe this one we don't have to worry about so much. We've already found a trail, so we'll follow it."
"Good. See if the trail leads ye to the thief," Ham says in a surly tone.
Dramm finds the tracks of several creatures. There are hoof prints that likely belong to the fomor, as well as bare, oddly skeletal footprints in the soft ground. They lead up and down the trail, but the most recent ones go off into the high grass.
Joy notices the grass swaying slightly a dozen yards away from the trail. Something might be hiding there...
As Anophth gets closer to the unusual thing Joy pointed out, he got down on all fours and crawled through the grass to see if he could sneak up on whatever it is that's there.
Dramm is busy studying the tracks and mumbling to himself. Anophth quietly vanishes without him even noticing.
"Hoofs here. Lots of them. Looks like Ham was telling the truth and the goat men are real. What did Imedren call them? Fomors? There's something else though. Skeletal, just like the hand print..."
Finally looking up, he realizes that he is talking to no one. "Anophth?"
Thankfully it hasn't noticed you yet, but it stares hatefully through the high grass at your companions. The very sight of it is horrifying!
Anophth's mind has been warped by the demonic flesh he consumed, but for all the f#+~ery it has done to him, it has normalized weirdness and terror. The overall effect had been to protect his mind from outside influence.
He takes his staff out and strikes at the things skull.
Dramm! Over here!
There's a rustle in the grass as Anophth leaps upon something. His staff strikes with a resounding thwack, eliciting a shriek as the monster rises up out of hiding. The thing resembles a blood-drenched humanoid skeleton. Strips of hog flesh are wrapped around its body, but the remaining exposed bones drip with streams of fresh gore!
Two more shrieks sound from the field as another pair of the horrifying monstrosities rise up, hateful eyes focused on you!
Dramm rushes towards the commotion, drawing his ritual knife. He comes to an abrupt halt when he spots the ragged meat hanging from the skeletal abomination.
The creature is frightening, but bones and broken flesh are far less traumatizing than the twisted eternal life Patchwork perpetuated. With a quick motion, Dramm grabs a stone from the ground. His knife is already tracing the portal to accelerate it with deadly force.
"Tabog! Imedren! Uruuna! Over here!" He shouts, "Stay behind me, Joy!"
The stone streaks forward!
Turning away from Ham, Imedren begins to sprint towards the fighting.
Uruuna's eyes bulge at the sight of the horrid monsters. She makes a warding sign against evil over her heart. "Gods above! These things should not be!"
She quivers for a few moments until Imedren starts running towards the creatures. "Wait for me!" she cries, hustling after her husband.
As the call went out Tabog swiveled and began to quickly move toward Dramm's voice until he saw them...
"Oooooooh, s$%%."
He wasted no time getting just into range and decide to begin assaulting the far skeletons while Anophth finished off the one he already bludgeoned.
Whack whack whack whack whack!
Anophth hits the bloodied skeleton repeatedly hoping at least one of the attacks will crack that skull open.
Good, good. Crack the skull. It's their weak point. a voice says in his head. The demon inside guides him and stretches his limbs beyond the pain point to ensure Anophth injures the creature.
Triggered Action to cast Demonic Guidance. Gain 1 Insanity and take damage.
Exploit Opportunity
Anophth batters the creature near him, bludgeoning it until it collapses into a pile of bloody bones and reeking flesh!
Joy has been quietly thinking over the idea of goat-headed men, trying to build the image in her mind.
And for some reason, the disturbing thought helps her remain steady when the bloody skeletons emerge.
Determined to help, Joy stretches out her hand towards the feet of the farther skeleton, and feels the power there.
Under its bony, bloody feet.
The weeds and grass suddenly soar, impeding it.
Dramm's missile slams into the nearest monster as Imedren and Uruuna rush towards it. Joy entangles the other one with weeds and grass. Ham screams and hobbles into his house.
The near monster gurgles as it lashes out with its claws, taking both Imedren and Uruuna. The other struggles through the difficult terrain, pushing its way to Dramm!
The savagery of the attack on Imedren and Uruuna causes Dramm to hesitate as he carves an effigy into the air. He clenches his teeth with a breath and turns to the creature attacking them, ignoring the skeleton that's charging up to him. He tears the effigy with violent force. Dramm grits his teeth as lacerations trace up his arms.
The skeleton's rush is enough to reach Dramm just as he's completing his spell. A clawed hand grips his forearm tightly and wrenches it to the side. The spell misses, and deep gouges carve themselves in the ground next to Uruuna.
Anophth bolts out of the tall grass, rushing towards Dramm.
Joy draws much more power into herself, up from the earth. Her hands rise from near her waist to above her head, as her skin starts to take on a gnarled, bark-like appearance.
"I'm coming, Dramm!", she yells, becoming frantic to help. Even forgetting the risks for a moment.
Uruuna cries out in pain as the claws rip through her armor and flesh. She grits her teeth as her blood stains the grass. "Take it down, fast!" She delivers a forceful blow with her club.
The sudden assault caught Imedren off guard as he and Uruuna were cut up by this things claws, which gouged into his neck and left shoulder. He grunted in pain, nearly doubling over but managed to hold his feet as he grasped his neck. His confidence flagged but as Uruuna struck it and encouraged him he had to fight on.
"R-right! he said as he grasped his staff with both hands, letting the blood run freely down his arm and chest before swinging.
"Don't give up!" Uruuna shouts.
He'd misstepped. The wound causing his vision to blur and himself to stagger.
But her shout and seeing her fight so hard against this abomination made Imedrn's usual tactics fly out the window. Instead of giving up and retreating back, he planted his feet and pushed forward with a sudden surge bringing the opposite end of his staff back around to strike at the skeleton.
Uruuna and Tabog score solid blows, wounding the skeletal monster attacking the halfling and her husband. Imedren and Dramm come up short. Joy wards herself with oak skin.
The wounded monster lashes out again. While Uruuna blocks with her shield, it rips through Imedren, and the big man sags to the ground!
The other monster tears at Dramm's sides!
"IMEDREN!" Uruuna shrieks as her husband falls. She blinks back tears as she tries to hit the monster again, but it narrowly dodges her swing!
Anophth strikes at the skeleton with hos staff.
You clearly need my help, the voice in Anophth's head declares. You are pathetic without me. You can barely hit this walking skeleton, such an easy foe to overcome. And when you do hit, it's barely glancing off its side. Without me, your friends will die and suffer the same fate. Look there, one has fallen already.
Anophth looks over to see Imedren get clobbered. Imedren! Anophth yells out, worry creasing his face. Dramm! Help him, I've got this f*&#er!
Anophth's limbs bulge with strength, causing his skin to stretch beyond to the point of their capacity. It is painful, yet invigorating.
Anophth's sudden rush of savage power forces the creature off of Dramm's arm, but not before it manages to rip flesh from him. Dramm turns away, but Anophth sees something in his eyes as he does. Anger? Mistrust? Pain? Whatever the case, the man clearly decides now is not the time.
"I won't miss twice."
Dramm produces a stone from his materials pouch, and carves the seven points of light into the air. The stone shatters and each shard streaks towards the skeleton standing over Imedren.
"Joy, go get Imedren away from that thing! The rest of us can hold them off, but not for much longer!"
Joy does as she is told and rushes towards Imreden, trying to get them back.
The next attack by the bloodied skeleton came faster than he'd imagined. The pain was intense as it struck him through and he dropped his staff as the feeling made everything go dark.
"Stay with me!"
Uruuna's voice brings a Imedren back from the brink of oblivion!
Tabog's sling bullet goes wide of his target, as does Uruuna's club. Dramm's missiles batter it, leaving it badly wounded.
Anophth strikes the other one before he swells with demonic power!
That monster goes into a frenzy, clawing at the goblin and at Dramm.
Joy drags Imedren away from the other enemy. That monster gurgles and gibbers as it retreats and then rushes towards the distant woods, though its escape is hampered by the overgrowth.
Ahhhhhh! Anophth roars as he swings his club back and forth, trying to hit the skeleton.