[STONES] Ambushed in Ossington

[Van Dyksun]

It happened so quickly, you hardly knew how to react.

The peasants, who had before been standing in the open, are now cowering in their doorways, their eyes pleading with you from afar for food.

On the ground in front of the two-story building lies Elder Murdows, with a perfectly placed arrow in his chest. Over by the cart, the poor peasant that had been caught by the Giant Owl lies in a heap from his 40-foot fall.

The Cuckoo finishes strumming his lute with a final chord, still filling you with a final burst of courage.

From one of the buildings rushes a young woman, one arm in a cast, trying to put her armor on. She looks around in dismay, realizing that she is way too late to accomplish anything.

 

[Kaemris Tencoin]

Kaemris’ face is desolate as he gazes upon the tragic loss of life.

To the gathered villagers: Relief for your hunger is on the way from Eveningstar, good people of Ossington! Fear not: Tymora will smile again; the crown of Cormyr will soon be aware of your plight. For now, please take shelter...the Grugach may still be about. Cuckoo...your luting is truly an inspirational sound. It will lighten our hearts as we bury the dead.

To the companions, in a lowered voice: This place, this whole forest, has been stricken by a terrible curse. As I mentioned before, I believe the wild elves and the people of Ossington are being tricked or misled—and they will slaughter each other unless we find the answer. Perhaps each blames the other for the death of the crops and the loss of wildlife? It all started when the ghostly rider visited five places...

[Monte: is the woman with the cast attractive?]
Fair lady, we appreciate your attempt to aid us, despite your hurts. Is there anything Tymora can do to ease your pain? What is your name?

 

[Mahiro Satsu]

::To Kaemris in lowered voice:: The faint aura of magic :: points:: shows that perhaps our attackers were cloaked with a spell of invisiblity. Allow me to scout out that area...

 

[Van Dyksun]

The people of Ossington are cheered by your words, and visibly delight in the prospect of food.

The female fighter comes up to you and introduces herself as Tully, a retired adventurer, unfortunately pressed back into service due to the "murderous elves" and their "henchman, the horseman." (She's somewhat attractive to you based on her general demeanor and bearing, but on a pure physical scale, not even close to the very attractive Tanasha.) While she is talking to you, she is joined by an older man whom she introduces as Dyson. You can tell that he has also been recently wounded, holding his left arm stiffly as if there were a bandage covering his left chest and shoulder.

Now that you're not in the heat of battle, Aoth, you realize that your detect magic actually detected a level of magic EVERYWHERE you looked. In fact, the entire area seems to be filled with magic, concentrating itself around the standing stones (ninety-one in the outer circle, standing 30 feet high) and twenty-eight in the inner circle (each 20 feet tall). There are three "trilithons" in the center of the inner circle, each made of two 30-foot-tall uprights with a lintel-stone bridging the dozen or so feet between them. The stones have something carved into them, but you do not recognize the script.

 

[Kaemris Tencoin]

Tully, Dyson, it is an honor to meet both of you. I am Kaemris Tencoin, of the Arabellan Tencoins, a humble traveling cleric of the Smiling Lady. I assume you were wounded while doing battle with the horseman...we also met that foul blackguard on the road west of here. He fled after slaying the villagers of Ossington.

Good lady Tully--why do you believe that the horseman is in league with the elves? Do you have evidence that would point to such a conclusion? [I heal them both while asking these questions, so they are not offended...]

To the companions
What school(s) of magic are represented in the area? Aoth--can you cast read magic and try to decipher the script on the trilithons? Van, will you and Lenet snoop around where those arrows flew from? Perhaps this time the ambushers left tracks!

 

[Van Dyksun]

Dyson says, "Good cleric, your healing is most welcome, as is your assistance! I'm not sure how much this little village that Tully and I call our adopted home could have lasted much longer without some aid. We have NOT been able to plant our fields due to the constant snipers from the forest, and hunting is impossible due to that vile horseman. The three brave people whose corpses I see before me in this cart were our last hope for food--they had hoped to purchase some for us at the next town." He goes over to the cart and pulls a side panel, reaching in to pull out a sack of gold. "This is the wealth of this village--what we have left--and we offer it to you. It is the only thing we have left."

Tully nods with his words, linking her arm in his other arm even though you've fully healed both and the older man doesn't need her support. She says, "Yes, the horseman and the elves are in league with each other! They've attacked us multiple times over the last few months. We attempted to parlay with the elves, but the people we sent out to parlay never came back. Elder Murdows--may the gods bless his soul--bravely visited the scene, and he was attacked by the horseman after discovering how the party had been cruely massacred."

You discern a lingering but fading light to moderate aura of transmutation, conjuration, and divination in this area

 

[Van Dyksun]

"Kaemris, there are some faint footprints here behind one of the standing stones of the inner circle. It looks like they lead from here back into the forest."

 

[Van Dyksun]

The Village of Ossington

So you know what the village is like, see attached.

 

[Kaemris Tencoin]

[Monte, that map is an awesome! Can we “explore” it online? What number designates Elder Murdow’s house?]

Van, please keep an eye on those tracks. We may need to follow them soon.

Dyson: keep your money. This famine won’t last forever, and soon the road will be open again. Ossington will need those coins to purchase food and supplies.

To the companions
It seems to me that we’ve already found the Chapel (home of Mad Henwen) and the Circles (surrounding this very town)—we still need to visit the Old Barrow, the Red Horse, and the Secret Keepers. They all fit together in relation to the ghostly highwayman...but how?

I don’t think we should approach the wild elves immediately. I’d prefer to find a diplomatic solution to their quarrel with humans (which seems like a huge misunderstanding that has had tragic consequences), but we need more information about this ghostly horseman if we are to do that successfully.

Think about where we should go next. I’m going to take a look around Ossington.

[Monte: Does the seeming “0” on the map show the three “trilithons” at the center of town? I'll head toward that really tall building and check it out...number 3.]

 

[Van Dyksun]

Exploration

[You can explore somewhat, but be careful what you do--if you do something too extreme, I'll have to stop you and we'll have to resolve this at the next game session.]

[The two story home number "1" on the map was where Elder Murdows greeted you, and where he died. The trilitholons are indeed in the center and Tully and Dyson emerged from the tower in the middle numbered "3" on the map.]

Van says, "These tracks are quite faint, Kaemris. I'm not sure I could follow them now, much less in a day or two."

Dyson says, "Our village is very grateful for your generosity and your assistance. I wonder--is there any food you can share with us now? Some of us have gone for days now with little but gruel to eat."