"I'm afraid there's only one tavern and inn in Thorold and that's the Jolly Fox. Lucky for us, the beer is quite good, not like that weak swill they drink down south, Master Dwarf. As for the faeries, I didn't know there was one than one kind. They're dangerous is all I know."
’Well, we may not have many options, but at least we’ll know we’re staying at the best inn in town.”
The Mercenary shoots his priest friend a grin.
The two guards look at one another before one of them speaks up again. "Well, it's the best because it's the only one. You understand that, right?"
The two guards look at one another before one of them speaks up again. "Well, it's the best because it's the only one. You understand that, right?"
Yeeeeeah, he gets it.
Still, at the end of the group, Kymil silently moves forward toward the dwarf. He bends and whispers in his ear.
"Are you afraid of fairies, Master Dwarf?"
Before he left you, Dolion reminded you that he had spoken to an old shepherd named Davydh Trueworthy who lives here in Thorold who had discovered what he believed to be a secret valley high in the Moorfowls. You ask the guards about the shepherd, and their faces immediately turn serious.
"Old Davydh died just a few months back, I'm afraid. They found him one morning up on the high moors with his flock scattered about. His son Awen took over tending the goats after that, but he should be in the Jolly Fox by now. You can't miss him: tall chap with red hair."
Following their directions you find the Jolly Fox Inn without much trouble as it is located right on the central village green , which contains a few people gathered around a well. There are a few other notable buildings on the Village Square including a shop of some kind selling used equipment, weapons, and armor , an important-looking stone building that is unmarked , an a chapel to St. Ludann. Two monks with quarterstaffs can be standing around the front of the chapel, seemingly keeping an eye on things.
The Jolly Fox Inn is a two-story building clearly marked by a large wooden sign showing a grinning fox. Two 15-foot poles are planted near its front entrance.
Osseus enters the Jolly Fox, giving the two 15-foot poles a cursory inspection on his way by. Once inside he looks for a tall chap with red hair; if he sees someone matching Awen’s description he introduces himself.
”Greetings. I am Osseus Mercari; might you be Awen Trueworthy?”
Kymil slaps the gruff dwarf on the shoulder.
"Glad you could make it! It was getting a little dull with just these humans here!"
Knuckles ambles in behind Osseus but not slow close that he might accidentally intimidate the poor fellow. He looks for an empty table and gets set up for the others when they walk in.
A tall, redheaded man in his early 30s dressed in thick mountaineering clothes raises his head as Osseus calls for Awen.
"I am Awen," he says, clearly curious and a bit apprehensive about what such a motely group as yourselves might want from him.
After a brief discussion with the shepherd, it seems clear that Awen's father discovered the entrance to the secret valley in the Moorfowls about a day's journey from here through some very rough terrain. The entrance itself is hidden at the end of a deep canyon. He suggests that you bring along some mountaineering equipment, as there are some tricky climbs that would present quite a challenge for non-mountaineers.
Knuckles goes to see how much mountaineering equipment for nine is gonna cost.
I'm getting low.
I have it...no worries!! Ky will pay for it
Whew
”Was their any trouble with your father’s passing? That is to say, did he die of natural causes, and not by violence or other strangeness?”
Awen gives a smile tinged with sorrow at Osseus' question. "No, no, no strangeness. He most likely died of a bad heart, something that we'd known about for a while. We found him dead up on the high meadows with his herd one morning, so he died doing what he loved. He's buried next to my mother in the graveyard now."
Before you leave, you are advised by Awen not to go through the woods to the north to get to the location of the secret valley as it is "infested with prickly faeries and elves who don't take kindly to outsiders trespassing". Instead, he suggests that you follow the same path he and the other shepherds take to reach the high meadows on the slopes of the Moorfowl Mountains. This path leads south from the village around the edge of the forest and then to the west for a few miles before turning north just west of the forest and following the banks of a small stream. You follow that path for the rest of the day and then arrive at a small hut in the foothills that the shepherds use in the high summer when they are grazing their flock there. As it is still early Spring , the cabin will be unused. Awen advised you that there is a small spring just behind the cabin for fresh water.
After spending the night, he tells you to head toward the mountain that looks like a sleeping giant, specifically to head for its "head". The entrance to the canyon is just west of the "head". Once you have found the canyon, you follow it until it dead-ends in a cliff-face. This is where your mountaineering equipment will come in handy as you will have to scale the cliff face. According to Awen's father, the secret valley is located just on the other side of that cliff face. Awen also tells you that it is very easy to get lost in the mountains, and to try and make maps if you stray from his suggested course.
Short cuts make long delays... especially with fairies and stuff changing trails and trying to mess with us. Let's avoid em'.
”Agreed. I’d rather risk Gulluvian soldiers than fae creatures at this point.”
"Yes. Why take unnecessary risks? We're going into a legendary ancient ruin. Risks enough for anyone."
"I suppose, but I would really like to contact those elves within these woods, but I will defer to the rest of the group."
After you leave Awen you run into a young man who seems very interested in making your aquaintance. He approaches you in a friendly but slightly pushy manner and asks you where you are from and where you are headed, introducing himself as Meredith. He tells you that is apprentice to Tobler the Taxidermist and lives here in the village. After talking to him briefly he lets you know that you are not the first group to ask Awen about how to get to the hidden valley, and that there have in fact been multiple individuals and groups who have headed in that direction in the past few months since the snows stopped. If pressed for details he reveals that there were two young "serious looking" women a week or so ago, and another party more than a month ago. None of them have returned. Meredith doesn't want to sell you anything and does not seem to have any direct ulterior motives, although he does seem a bit bored. He also complains about being "trapped in Thorold".
”Perhaps they all found such riches they bypassed Thorold on their return trip, thinking it too provincial for their new wealth and status.” I shouldn’t mock him for being helpful. ”But probably not. Thank you for the warning, Awen. Hopefully we will fare better in our own journey. And Thorold is not such a bad place to be right now.”
Osseus bids him a good day before they continue on their way.
After packing up what little you brought with you, you head out of Thorold following the route that Awen suggested. The trek takes you south out of town past the sanitarrium you passed earlier and numerous small paths that fork off into the forest. You stay on the main road for most of the mornign until you reach the southern end of the wood. Just as expected, you find a small shrine at the side of the road and a smaller trail that leads off to the west and up into the hills.
The day passes uneventfully and just past sunset you reach the shepherd's hut that Awen told you about. What surprises you is that you can clearly see that someone has built a fire outside of it and perhaps a dozen men and women are gathered around it. They look to be relaxing around the fire and have not spotted you yet.
Since you are still a good two hundred yards away, it is hard to make out any fine detail, but their forms clearly stand out against the fire. Since you had not yet lit a torch or lantern, it is likely that they have not spotted you.
Elf, sneak a bit closer, eh... you can see well and hear well. Me? Not so much, and besides I clank. Yank off that armour first, so you don't either.
Kymil, with the help of Emmett, removes his armour and proceeds to sneak up closer to the fire in an attempt to see who they are and what they might be talking about while staying hidden.
Osseus hunkers down where he is and tries not to make any noise.
Kymil the elf moves nearly silently through the darkness, creeping up toward the people surrounding the fire while staying far enough away not to be seen in its light.
Once his eyes adjust to the darkness, he can see that the people surrounding the fire are clearly not woodsmen or shepherds. They seem to be a group of both male and female humans wearing long robes and woven wreaths on their heads and seem to be in the middle of some sort of silent prayer, given the fact that they are kneeling and crossing their arms across their chests. One of them is standing apart from the rest and clearly is on lookout, but he does not seem to be able to see Kymil from this distance.
As he continues watching, Kymil sees the fire begin to spark and flare, turning a shade of purplish-red for a moment. Seconds later, some sort of winged figure appears in the flames and hovers in the air above the group. Kymil isn't sure if the creature is real or merely a vision (as he can see through it with ease), but the people around the fire immediately throw themselves on the ground before it in an attitude of abject devotion.
After watching this summoning, Kymil retraces his steps back to his companions.
"Well, there seems to be a group of cultists over the hill and they just summoned some sort of demon!"
He relays to the group what he has seen and answers all their questions while getting back into his armor.
"Demon?" says Felder skeptically. "That seems... extraordinary."
Int(12):
Well maybe it was not a demon, now that I think about it. Might have been an elemental..."
He shrugs his shoulders and looks at the others.
"Now I am wondering if those were druids and not cultists?? Well, what do you want to do?"
”If they’re able to summon elemental spirits, at least one of them likely has fair skills in magic. While a surprise attack might be in our favor, I’m loathe to assault folks who may mean us no harm. Perhaps a cautious approach - some of us approach diplomatically to assess the situation, while the rest wait in hiding, ready to render aid if need be? If I’m familiar with their faith I may be able to judge their intentions - assuming they’re not immediately hostile.”
"I would suggest we go around this group and not bother them. It would seem they are out here to be away from prying eyes..."
"Indeed, if they are in fact summoning elementals or extraplanar beings, that is far beyond the scope of any magic that I have ever performed."
"I remember seeing a good place to overnight about a mile back...out of the way...near water. What do you say? Let's go back and make camp for the night and start off fresh tomorrow!"
The elf waits to see what the others think.