KINGMAKER:
The Wardens of the Greenbelt
Entry 6.
Protecting Oakhurst, Exploring Some More & Returning Home
The decision was made to leave Jarn, Havrik and Anza at Oakhurst. Between them they completed the dedication of the chapel, erected more wards around the village and trained the locals with basic weapon skills. By the time they were ready to leave the villagers were very grateful for their help. The evening before they left Jarn conducted a service of dedication for the restored chapel and the villagers treated their guests to an evening of celebrations.
The next day, as the rest of the Wardens had not return from their travels, they set off on the road back to Oleg's via the Thorn River camp as they had previously agreed. Hopefully they would meet the others en route.
The other Wardens accompanied by Wino set off to explore a tract of land to the east of Oakhurst that their previous explorations had skirted around. The faerie dragon, Perlivash, had told Ione that a human trapper had been killed in an area to the north-east of where they now were and the group was eager to discover if it was true. A day into their exploration they discovered a cave hidden in the forest. The entrance was protected by a high wooden fence and once inside it was clear that the cave was occupied, although no one is visible. A gnome wearing a brown cassock came from the back of the cave and demanded to know who they were and what they wanted. He had an air of authority and confidence and gave his name as Leonid Strakov. His friendly demeanour soon put the Wardens at ease and they discovered that he knew about the werebats in Oakhurst and that T'lef, although bitten, had not been infected. He seemed concerned that this might not be the case for one of their friends who was not with them. It was agreed that they would bring Jarn to him and he would do his best to cure him. In the mean time he would prepare a number of health potions in time for their return.
The Wardens set out the following day to hunt for fresh meat for themselves and Leonid. During their hunt they startled an Owlbear which furiously attacked the party. William was caught in the full fury of the monsters first attack and was badly wounded but just survived as the rest of the Wardens dispatched the Owlbear. They collected the bear's feathers which they suspected were considered magical by some, the creature's beak and claws. On their return to Leonid they presented him with two freshly caught hares.
They continued their exploration and discovered the body of the dead trapper felled by his own log trap. Examining the trap it was clear that Perivash's story was true and the small bite marks on the rope pointed to a small creature being the perpetrator. From the trappers body they recovered his leather armour, longbow & arrows and a well made hand axe. Not wanting to leave his body to be eaten by animals they buried him close to the scene of his “accident”.
The Wardens then moved south towards where they had been told there were some ancient ruins. Searching the area they finally came across the ruins beneath a rock face and almost hidden from sight by the dense forest and brambles. The area had a dark pervading air about it and they decided to return later with Jarn as the ruins had the feel of a temple about them. As they were about to leave they noticed a carving of a giant elk in the rock face above, overlooking the site.
Moving further south they came upon a wide road, currently dug up with many wheel ruts. They rightly supposed that this was the road Anza had told them about which led form Oakhurst to the Thorn River bandit camp and onwards to Oleg's Trading Post. Following the road they arrived at the village of Thornhill Amongst The Woodlands. It sat upon a low hill surrounded by forest on all sides. It turned out to be a friendly and thriving place, not surprising as it sat astride a busy trade route. The town was surrounded by a strong stockade and was well served with a tavern, a trading centre, a large village hall and many well-built residences.
To project a better image to the locals Ione cleaned up the Wardens' appearance and they set about exploring the village and meeting the locals. William led the group to Wennell's the largest trade shop. It was an Alladin's cave of curiosities to the wizard and he was soon searching amongst the shelves for anything of interest. They ended up exchanging some of their Owlbear feathers and leather armour for some scrolls and a primer on magic spells and artifacts.
Walfric Isgar who they met in the tavern suggested that they visit Osred's House which stands at the top of the hill and has great views across the forest below. It is rumoured that beneath the house there is a secret passage that leads to a partially flooded cavern which contains “who knows what”. Its current resident is Emma Winbone an elderly woman who was only too pleased to show them around and took them to see the view from the third floor windows. They convinced her to let them explore the cellar of the house and discovered a crawl space that led to a cavern. This in turn linked to a larger cavern, below the level of the surrounding countryside. This cavern was very damp and held six old wooden crates containing the remains of what appeared to be four lizard-like skeletons about the size of a man. The other two crates contained the remains of very corroded spearheads and swords. What appeared to be a further passageway had collapsed and was blocked by a substantial rockfall. T'lef was all for buying some picks and exploring further but was finally convinced to leave that for another time.
To find out more Emma suggested they speak to Gyric Walwin. Gyric is the font of all that is and was Thornhill. He lives just a few doors down the hill in an overgrown and dilapidated house. For a couple of bottles of wine he told the party about the town and it's history. He recounted how, many years ago, the town originally sat in a swamp but gradually the planting of the trees drove out the lizardfolk who dwelt thereabout. Then one day without warning the lizardfolk poured into the town, through the tunnels they had built under the hill, and slaughtered all the townsfolk before disappearing to find somewhere new to live.
The next day a familiar wagon appeared through the village's western gate. Jarn, Havrik and Anza were as pleased to see their friends as they were to see them. Over drinks in The Drunken Lizard they brought each other up to date. Jarn confirmed that he had not had any problems since being bitten by the werebat but agreed that a trip to see the cleric, Leonid, was a good suggestion. He also thought it was a good idea to leave the exploration of the ruins until he had arrived.
They set out the next day to see Leonid at his cave. Jarn recognised that he is a high-level cleric and accompanied him into the recesses of the cave. Here Jarn was treated to a number of spells and natural potions to help remove the infection which Leonid ascertained was spreading through Jarn.
Later they bought the health potions Leonid had prepared for them and the Wardens gave him supplies of fresh food, writing papers and inks which they had bought in Thornhill. William asked if he could be taught how to prepare potions and Leonid agreed to this; giving William a list of ingredients to collect before their next meeting.
The next morning they left the cleric's cave. He asked them to keep in touch. Wino suggested that they might need to form a messenger service to keep in contact with all the villages and people they had met on their travels. The Wardens saw wisdom in his suggestion.
They then set off for the ruins. They entered and started to explore. Jarn confirmed that it was once a temple and from the carving he was certain it was dedicated to Erastil but that did not explain why it now had a sense of evil about it nor the stagnation of the water in the sacred pool. At that moment a growl of rage emanated from the darkness at the base of the cliff and a bear-like creature appeared walking towards them on its back legs. The Wardens defended themselves as the creature approached at a charge. Although its bellow seemed as if from an animal they heard the word “begone” within it. It reached the pool and attacked Wino but the damage done by the Wardens proved enough to kill the creature. As it lay at Wino's feet it transformed into a very old man, then a skeleton before collapsing to dust which drifted away in the wind from the forest. Almost immediately the aura of evil left the ruins, the light became clearer and the water in the pool clean and sparkling. Jarn collapsed to his knees and experienced a vision in which the temple is ruined as the evil enemies of mankind swept through in the time of Taldor. In the face of the evil forces, the priest of the temple abandoned Erastil and allowed the defilement to take place. Later Erastil cursed the priest, transforming him into the bear-man creature they have just killed. Erastil told Jarn that the restoration of her temple is now in the hands of him and his companions but that they are trusted to undertake that task. The vision left him as suddenly as it had come.
Ione drank from the pool and found the waters pure and enlivening. Wino drank the water and it cured his wounds almost instantaneously. T'lef stepped in and cleaned himself in the pool.
Now that the area had been mapped and explored the Wardens set off back to Oleg's calling in at the farm of the Kinsman family to ascertain they were still okay.
Back at Oleg's a lot had happened in their absence. Their store above the stables was now complete as was the structure around Jarn's forge-temple. The barracks were coming along well and more timber had just been brought in.
A teacher had arrived from Restov along with his wife who was helping Svetlana and Oleg about the post. Svetlana had shown interest and was being taught to read. It was agreed that Sonja Kinsman should be invited to the Trading Post so that she can start her education.
A cleric, Jhod Kavken had arrived a week or so ago and had been awaiting the Wardens' return. He is a priest of Erastil and was drawn here as he believed his god had work for him here but is unaware of what that might be. Oleg told Jarn that if it hadn't been for Jhod his temple wouldn't have been completed until after the barracks were finished.
There was a casualty being treated inside the post. He was dying from some serious wounds. He was brought in on a wagon from Varn's Hall (some way to the south east of Oleg's). When he was conscious he told Kesten that he was one of the other exploring group. They had been helping to defend Varn's Hall, a monastic settlement, against an attack by some miners and mercenaries. They had driven them off but at great cost. Apart from him there are now only three of the group left.
Oleg secretly passed Ione a letter. He told her that it had just appeared one morning on the kitchen table. From what Oleg could find out, none of the garrison had see or heard anything that night. The letter was from “J” and explains that he cannot be here in person. He has had to journey south beyond the lakes as there is something very wrong in the forest which only he can confront. It is affecting the animals and even the land itself. The Wardens should take care if coming south.
Oleg had secured a number of books for William; one is on magic and the others on local folklore. He told William that his contact should have some more useful magic ones shortly. He also gave him a supply of scrolls, parchments, inks and pens for the wizard.
Over the days they stay at the trading post Oleg is keen to hear their tales as are many of the garrison.
