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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cyronax" data-source="post: 155633" data-attributes="member: 822">Session I (Part IV)  - Long in coming......September 17th, 407 MYGareth just shrugged to Li Hai’s question, and the pair descended into the basement of the Abbey of Cherry Knoll. After a short flight of stairs, the pair found themselves in a long hallway with a few closed wooden doors along the sides and one door, slightly ajar, at the very end of the hallway. From the open door, both could see a dim, flickering light. As they made their way down the hallway, they heard a wracking cough and then a few wheezing breaths.  Unperturbed, they came to the end of the hallway. In the light of only a few candles, the pair took in the room, perhaps 15 X 20 feet, lined mostly with racks of weapons and common gear for soldiers. One corner however, was adorned with a few simple tapestries, two small bookshelves, and seated on a decrepit lounge chair was a decrepit old man, with sagging shoulders and a wrinkled face housing sad, blood shot eyes. The Abbot seemed to shake himself out of a near drunken trance as Gareth opened the door. Apparently showing little surprise at the arrival of the two strangers, the old man said, “Well, we could deny you no longer. I take you are the son of Sir Roderick,” he said looking at Gareth continued, “Please come in.”Gareth, with a deliberate smile, replied, “I thank you for your long sought hospitality Abbot Rethra. I am Gareth Steele, fourth son of Sir Roderick Steele, and I am at your and Cherry Knoll’s service.” He concluded the introduction with a slight bow, and then began to interview the old man. The Abbot seemed amenable to talk to them, in part due to Gareth’s lineage, but perhaps the empty, hopeless look that both men saw in his eyes had something to do with it as well.They plumbed the old man for information for nearly an hour. Gareth, gregarious and always polite, and Li Hai, persuasive in a direct, almost threatening way, was able to find out much. Rethra confirmed that the missing caravan was indeed related to strange men in the woods and the his own reclusive behavior, and with a quiet desperation in his eyes, he told Gareth and Li Hai the person responsible for his condition,  “Well, this all boils down to the evils of one man. His name is Chatrillion, and no he probably isn’t in the area anymore. He’s the cause for our maladies. All of my men and me are addicted to an herb known as tambrosh.”As he finished his statement, he drew a small pouch out from his thick robes. He took a pinch of the ground up herb in his hand, and showed it to both of them and said, “It resembles some sort of cooking spice doesn’t it?” The Abbot put the pinch of tambrosh back inside his pouch, and continued, “I don’t know where it comes from or how he got it, but this Chatrillion was known to us for at least the past two years as a friend. I had once thought he had had ties to the Stokan Knights, but now I really doubt it. He told us that he traveled as both an orc hunter for Eswhalon and also a dealer in strange herbs.”“Did Chatrillion have any friends in West Point? I’ve never heard of such a man before.” Gareth asked with a perplexed look on his face.“No I don’t know young Steele. In fact even before I came under that plant’s foul sway, I must say I haven’t been as engaged in my duties as I once was. My captain Michael has really been the leader of Cherry Knoll for the past several years. I think he’d tell you that Chatrillion likely didn’t do much business in your town, but I really don’t know why. I’m sorry.” Rethra grasped the pouch in his hand and concluded, “I’m a weak old fool.”Li Hai, eyes narrowing, said, “To that I think I agree,” and ignoring the surprised look on Gareth’s face asked, “So why are you telling us, two complete strangers, all this now? We come in out of the blue and you wag your tongue like alleyway snitch. If you are under this Chatrillion’s control, isn’t it pretty dangerous to tell us all of this.” The Abbot readily agreed with the Halthyte traveler that he was further risking his life by telling them. He said that up until now however, his men, led mostly by Michael, were willing to do Chatrillion’s bidding. The addictive herb, tambrosh, is only harmful if not taken regularly. The herb’s effects were tangible and for awhile it had made even the Abbot feel like a young man again. He went on to say how tambrosh seemed to give the user greater physical strength, vitality, and a greater sense of confidence. As the Abbot put it, tambrosh made “the world burn a little brighter,” in a way not even the finest of wines could.“It was only a matter of time before all of my men were addicted. Chatrillion kept us well supplied for the first six months, and all we had to do was keep the herb to ourselves, keep an eye on a few people from the village or who traveled in the area, and also give him a place to sleep when he was in town. Not much obligation on the face of it. We quickly realized however, that if a person goes for even a day without taking a dose, then they’d begin fading.”“We’ve had several men die when they were on extended patrol without an adequate supply of tambrosh. It’s just a matter of a few days without it, and then……”The Abbot continued to say that after that his men were willing to do whatever it took to keep their supply of tambrosh regular. They never even considered looking for help. Recent events changed that however. Chatrillion hasn’t come through the area since the beginning of summer, and they’ve had to painfully stretch out their supply of the addictive herb.The missing Clover Trade caravan, the Abbot told them, was related to their addiction to tambrosh because the strange men in the woods apparently worked for an agent of Chatrillion’s or someone connected to him. This person, who the strange men called simply “the master,” had repeatedly promised to deliver tambrosh to the Abbot’s dying men, but that had amounted to little. The Abbot didn’t know the identity of this agent, but he has been directing the Abbot and his men to eliminate any outsiders who would venture near the swampy parts of the forest. “Something is going on deep in the woods. Those mysterious men are in fact the members of the caravan themselves. Some of them still wear their Clover Trade uniforms, others not, but I’m sure it’s the same men. They aren’t under the effects of tambrosh I don’t believe, but someone is controlling them in a very unnatural way. I’ve killed innocent men, betrayed my village, and probably helped cover up a dangerous criminal all because of this blasted plant!!”Rethra, with a shamed look on his dying face, admitted that it was his own men who had killed the two bounty hunters who had come to Cherry Knoll earlier this summer. He said that he and his men no longer had the ability to wait for the promised delivery of tanbrosh. With a miserable expression on his face, Rethra said that without a miracle, he and his men would be dead within two weeks, given their dwindling tanbrosh reserves.Li Hai, with a quick confidence, said, “I’ll help you old man. You’re going to die unless we figure out who that is in the swamp. You need to tell me a bit more about what I’d up against however,” and with a small gleam in his eyes added, “I’ve heard that there used to be some sort of cult or mad sorcerer that used to live in the area……is that somehow related to all of this?”Gareth asked the Halthyte, “How do you know all that? I’ve lived in this area for all of my life, and I’d never heard of such nonsense.” “Its common knowledge from where I come from Steele,” answered Li Hai. Gareth quizzically asked, “And just where are you from Li Hai?”Ignoring the noble, Li Hai, said, “So I’m right aren’t I old man?”“Yes indeed Master Li Hai, you must be thinking of Radeem the Mad. He once lived in the swamps around the area that these men are protecting,” as the Abbot spoke his face became even more ashen, “but I hope you don’t mean there’s a connection. Radeem was said to have dealing with demons, gnomes, and all manner of horrible monsters.” To this Gareth exclaimed, “How could such a fell person have lived in the area, and I’ve never heard of him? This village is right next to my own fiefdom!!” “Don’t worry Lord Steele, I remember hearing that the druid Illitol and one of those strange monks from the Ghost Mountain (4) defeated him a little over a century ago.” “I haven’t heard of them either. Hmmmm…..strange.” Again ignoring Gareth, the Halthyte instructed the Abbot to give him some rough directions towards the swampy area that the Clover Trade’s men seemed to be guarding. He also asked if there was anyone else in town who might know a bit about Radeem the Mad or the men from the caravan.The Abbot said, “Talk to Cutter at the inn, if anyone knows about that sort of thing it’s him. I know he’s ventured into the woods before, and he’s heard many an ancient tale from travelers I have no doubt.”With an annoyed look on his face, Li Hai said, “Eh, I talked to him earlier, and he didn’t seem to know all that much.” And with that Li Hai began to leave by saying, “Don’t worry old man, I’ll find out who’s in the woods causing this trouble, and I’ll try to help you find some more tanbrosh before your supply runs out.”Li Hai left Abbot Rethra, even as the old man was thanking him, and made his way out of the Abbey. Gareth, confused by all that he’d heard, left the Abbot without so much as a “goodbye and good luck,” and chased after the departing Halthyte.“What the hell was that?” he asked as he caught up to Li Hai just outside the Abbey’s broken down main gate. Li Hai, “Well you were being rather longwinded back there with all of your honorifics. I cut to the chase, I found out what I came for.” Gareth, caught up to Li Hai, and forced him to stop. They were now standing halfway up the hillside from the village square. The sun was high in the sky, and it was almost unbearably hot again. The noble from West Point exclaimed, “You seem quick to go off on your own. Weren’t you the one who offered your services to me earlier? Do you still intend to help me, or… or…. what are you planning to do?”“Well as to earlier, thanks for helping me get in there. I guess you did do that much. I was right earlier when I said someone couldn’t handle this alone, but no offense, you don’t look like you’d be much good in a fight.”Gareth, attempting to regain a bit of lost confidence, quickly replied, “I can hold my own. I was trained by the captain of my father’s guard, a very capable swordsmen and an able soldier. My older brother Roderick and I once…….”Li Hai cut him off by saying, “I’m sure your master and brother were both quite capable,” and then subtly gave Gareth the once over, noting the nobleman’s confident gait, even in chain mail, and also his finely crafted longsword. Even though Gareth seemed a bit soft to the Halthyte, he finally said, “Fine you can accompany me on my mission, but let’s both understand who’s in charge okay?”“You really take yourself seriously don’t you? Well we’ll deal with leadership issues when the time comes I suppose, but for now let’s go back to the tavern. I think I know of someone who could help us with your mission.”“You don’t mean that dried up old barkeep do you?” Li Hai asked.“No not him.” And with that Gareth led the way down the hill towards Cutter’s Inn. ----------Endnotes:[4] Ghost Mountain, or Gui Shan in Halthyte, is located on Gray Moor Island, and for as long as anyone can remember has been home to a reclusive order of monks. Old-timers say that the monks of Gui Shan were once very active in the Halthyte lands of the Tsai-Nau and the Turtle Islands, but nowadays most people think that Gui Shan’s monks are little more than a myth.</blockquote>

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