Varn's Hall & Varnhold
The council business was finally concluded and the Wardens set out towards the territory of Varnhold. They discussed what each of them knew of the country, its surroundings and inhabitants. Most of it seemed to be rumours and fables; stories they had heard on their travels. They decided to ask around when they reached Varn's Hall as the priests there would have more contact with the area.
They reached Gunther's Den by barge along the Shrike river. There they met with Lord Gunther and the villagers and updated them with the kingdom's expansion and listened to the local news. The next day they continued their way beside the river. Their travels were peaceful but at one point Ione was joined by a faerie dragon which alighted on her shoulder. It asked after any of its kin they might have seen and Ione told it about the other fey creatures they had met especially those in the forest to the north west.
Shortly afterwards, where the road came closer to the steep bank of the river, the Wardens noticed that the roadway had been improved and cut into the hillside to avoid the drop to the river. The road surface had also been improved recently with drains dug alongside. A mile or so further on they were confronted by two locals. One of them introduced himself as Joe Rivers. He spun them a tale about working for the Duchess and that a toll was required. He claimed that the monies collected were being used to improve the road and keep it safe from banditry for a days journey in either direction. Once the toll was paid they joined Rivers and the rest of his “River Bank Boys” in their camp. The Wardens let the men know who they were and Joe was very apologetic. However it seemed an honest scheme and Ione thanked them for their work and considered employing the system in other parts of the kingdom.
By the evening they reached Hillshome where they once more met with the locals, updated them on the news in the kingdom and heard about the local developments. Similar to many of the kingdom's villages it was good news of new settlers arriving and of increasing trade. The Wardens commented on the improvement in the road and that they were happy to see such work being undertaken and that the toll would be acceptable so long as it remained at a reasonable rate.
The next day the Wardens arrived at Varn's Hall. They noticed that the warding stones had now been completed and all bore one of Jarn's wards. Father Dodek made them welcome and let them know all he knew about Varnhold. He explained that the traders had stopped crossing into the land as the town itself had been abandoned; the population had simply disappeared. So he had no up to date information. He suggested that they travel via Varnhold Pass as it was the shortest route into the area but they needed to travel soon, before the snows come.
The Wardens kept themselves busy for a day or two. They stocked up on potions from the apothecary and Clint persuaded Brother Julian to part with an old map of the land that they had found in the Abbey's archives. Bollun, the woodsman and carver they had last seen badly injured in the infirmary, was now fit and well and thanked them for clearing the woodlands of the kobolds and the hunters. It was suggested that the Wardens take plenty of warm clothing with them as well as climbing gear including new ropes, spiked boots and pitons. It was late Autumn by now and Winter would soon make the high plateau of Varnhold difficult for travelling.
By now they had a good deal of information about Varnhold, the Dunsward and the land of Iobaria but there was still some doubt about how accurate it might be:
The land was several hundred feet above the Greenbelt and lay beyond a range of mountains; the Tors of Levenies.
Varnhold is the largest town beyond the mountains and sits between the mountains and a grassland plateau known as the Dunsward.
The land known as Iobaria stretches beyond that and stretching to the east and north; bordering the eastern edge of Brevoy itself.
Rumours suggest that the mountains are home to a race of giant cyclops and the plains to tribes of centaurs.
The Wardens decided to take the opportunity to complete the exploration of this part of the Greenbelt as they travelled towards Varnhold Pass. To the south of Varn's Hall the Shrike River tumbles over a series of cascades and as they followed the river they came upon a thirty foot waterfall just where the river was joined by another, the Crooked River, flowing from the south. The Wardens were enjoying the splendid sight and considering scaling the waterfall when they were surprised by a large flying creature which looked like a lion with wings; a manticore. It called out to them in Common asking why they were trespassing in its hunting ground. Ione and the Wardens tried to reason with the creature but it swooped down on them. The Wardens responded with a hail of arrows which resulted in the death of the creature but only after it had caused some wounds by firing its tail spines at them. The Wardens took any useful parts from the body; its head, wings, claws and tail spines, before disposing of the body.
They then followed the Crooked River south as it meandered through the area they had previously passed through when dealing with the kobolds and hunters. The Tors of Levenies rose up to their left growing higher and higher as they proceeded. The watch-tower where they had found the captured menagerie was just how they had left it; the dungeon still sealed and undetectable from the cliff-side entrance and from above. They camped there, admiring the wooded valley that wound its way towards the mountains and Varnhold Pass.
The next day the Wardens completed exploring the area and moved further up the valley. They spied a Will O' Wisp which they decided to leave alone. A few miles along the trail they saw a wolf-like creature standing in the middle of the road. It was raised up on it's hind legs and appeared to be waving its front paws at them and howling. Something had been left on the road before the creature. As the Wardens continued to approach, the creature dropped back onto all fours and loped off across the meadow and into the edge of the woods beyond. Here it halted, waved and howled once more before disappearing. The Wardens seemed to recognise the creature as the wolf-man that they had released from the menagerie. The pile of leaves in the road turned out to contain edible roots and nuts along with two freshly caught rabbits. The Wardens considered that it might be an offering of thanks for what they had previously done for the creature.
The road by now was becoming steeper and it wound between switchbacks as it climbed towards the pass. Just below the pass and above the tree line the road disappeared and a field of loose scree was the last barrier before the summit of the pass itself. At the side of the trail was a camp where a dwarf and his human servant were making camp. Barnin Longhair & his servant (dog's-body) Lorn are on a mission to climb the highest peaks in the Tors of Levenies. He had acquired a guide book from Puck's Hollow Stores and his father (a successful merchant in Restov) suggested that Winter was the best time for mountaineering. The young dwarf appeared to be stupid and snobbish to the Wardens so they chose not to try and advise him against his plans.
So after joining him for a meal and a nights rest they wished him luck and headed up to the summit of the pass. The scree slope proved difficult going but the party managed to reach the top with their wagon, horses and equipment intact. The vista from the summit showed the mountains stretching to the south, a plateau of grass stretching ahead of them and in the near distance they could make out a small town at the foot of the valley that they were about to descend into.
Dropping down from the saddle of the pass proved tricky as the scree slope provided little stable ground. But soon the party was back onto a grassy trail that led them through a tree lined valley towards the town of Varnhold which sat astride the Kiravoy River.
The town itself was deserted. It was as if the population had simply disappeared, leaving their homes and businesses intact and complete with furniture and belongings. Only a few animals scurried about and one or two birds were disturbed as the Wardens passed by.
The Wardens came to the ford which separated the two sides of the town. They crossed where they safely could as the river level was chest high in places. All was okay until T'lef crossed down stream of the others. He disturbed a river monster that had made a home in the pool below the ford. It was a dark creature with claws for its hands and a wide sharp-toothed mouth surrounded by thick strong tentacles. T'lef was surprised as the monster, a Chuul, attacked him. Before he could react he was clasped in its claws, then entangled in its tentacles. The others moved quickly to help their friend but the Chuul moved to keep T'lef between himself and Havrik and Clint who were both trying to get a clear shot at the creature. T'lef failed to break free and was by now in the mouth of the Chuul. Clint and Havrik's arrows were beginning to hit and tell by now. Thankfully neither had hit T'lef with any wayward shots but the creature was weakened and dropped the barbarian before succumbing to the Wardens' attacks. Unable to reach the safety of its lair it collapsed, fatally wounded on the river bank. The Wardens rushed to help T'lef and treated his wounds. They decided to tread more carefully whilst moving through the town. It was at this time that Havrik noticed a large crow perched on a house roof that had watched the whole fight. It now took flight as if it knew it had been spotted.
Ione decided to transform into her eagle form and flew over the town. She noticed that the fortress at the far side of the town seemed to be occupied by gnome-like creatures but the rest of the town buildings were all empty. The Warden therefore decided to head for the fortress. They planned a stealthy approach followed by a coordinated attack. T'lef would climb onto the roof of the keep and fight his way in from there. Meanwhile the others would force entry through the nearest gateway. This worked well as the gateway was only defended by dummies propped against the parapet. Once inside though the spriggans soon noticed them and attacked. Clint and Havrik fought and defeated all the spriggans they could find including one that grew to a large size before attacking them. A pack of wolves, kept as guard dogs, then joined in the fight but they were all soon killed. The two Wardens then searched the store rooms and sheds within the fortress but found no more of the enemy.
Meanwhile T'lef fought his way down inside the keep. He soon found himself face to face with the spriggan's leader who turned out to be a capable opponent. However T'lef was in no mood for formalities and quickly killed the spriggan brute. Ione had been making herself useful by firing spells through the arrow slits that the other spriggans in the garrison were trying to take cover behind. The last of these were found on the ground floor defending the narrow entrance passage. But with T'lef by now bashing the door in behind them and Ione and the others attacking from the front, no quarter was given and the last of the spiggan gang were left as dead as their friends.
So the fortress was now in their possession and they began to gather up the weapons and items within the keep and look for any clues as to the whereabouts of the townsfolk.
