Invasion

Story Four: Helping Athelfrith

What is the story about?  Aethelfrith has gained Aelfric’s permission to send the players on a few little scouting errands and so he asks them to go and look for a few things to confirm his theories. They are sent to the Farmstead on Dodd Law, a barrow in the marshes and to the top of Adgefrin Hill.

From here onwards, anything italicised is to be read to the players, everything else is for the storyteller only.

Scene One: When the priest comes calling

After the commotion surrounding the disappearance of Kendra and her parents, normal village live seems almost too quiet. You find yourselves nearly hoping for something to happen. Slowly the snow clears from the lower ground, but resolutely clings the tops of the surrounding peaks. The business with your new lands comes and goes, but other than that life is quiet.

The best part of a month passes by with no real import until one sunday in the middle of February when Father Aethelfrith asks you all to remain behind after his service. Once everyone has left he invites you all into his small room attached to the church. Various papers and books are littered around his tables. He sits and beckons for you to come close.

“I do not know if you remember or not,” he starts “but after the business last month I asked Aelfric’s permission to have you run a few small scouting errands for me at some point.” He sits back slightly and looks at the group “I have now got together some ideas and feel that I am ready to use your abilities. Most of the last month I have been studying my books and the various bits of evidence you found and have a few avenues I would like you to investigate for me. I do not mind how you go about doing it, that is your business.

The first is the old farmstead you told me about, I would like you to go and check to see if there is anything of further interest there. You said that the old man there escaped, I should very much like to talk to him if you could possible persuade him to come here.

Secondly, I am still convinced that the ancient fort on Adgefrin Hill is the seat of some local supernatural power, probably these werewolves. I would like you to go and search the area for any clues or evidence that would suggest this is the case, however given that it is still with snow I would wait until better weather to search it.

Finally there is a barrow out in the marshes to the north east of Maelmin, I have gathered that rumour speaks of an power being who is often seen prowling around it howling, though when anyone approaches him he vanishes into the mist. Some people have even seen this being attacks others and tear out their throats. As before any information you can gather for me would be very gratefully appreciated.

I am sure you are aware that there will possibly be some danger involved here, but after your performance with the missing girl I am equally sure it will be nothing to you. If you still wish to help me, I will be here awaiting your return.”

Aethelfrith then turns to his books and starts flicking through them, muttering to himself.

If the players refuse to help Aethelfrith, play the ‘poor old man’ card for all it is worth and promise you will pray for their souls even though their turn a blind eye to evil works etc and do it until the players agree to aid him. From here they basically have three choices;

·        Search the Farmstead,

·        Search the Barrow

·        Search the Hillfort

Searching the Farmstead

The trek from Adgefrin to the Farmstead takes about three hours as the group must ride/walk along dirt tracks and then climb a hill. The place looks the same as it did before. A search of the inside of the hall will reveal that someone has cleared it out and removed anything of the slightest worth. The barn is still in the same state as before, though a careful search turns up a small pot with a few dried beans in it. The beans are very hard and seem quite old. They are Bean Banes and anyone with humanity of 4+ will feel uncomfortable around them though won’t know why. Other than the cleared out Hall and the Beans, the entire farmstead is utterly abandoned, there are no fresh tracks or anything.

Searching the Barrow

The barrow is about 2.5 miles NE of Maelmin, and about 1 mile from either the road to the east or the west. It actually has nothing whatsoever to do with werewolves though, the mysterious figure seen by people is actually a caitiff vampire, Elswyth. Once she had been embraced and her sire killed, she remained in the mound and has remained there ever since with the bones and her studies.

A bank of mist hangs over the mound permanently making it near impossible to see from the road. The fog bank is about a mile in diameter and is centred on the barrow. The only way to reach it is to go through the marshes. To successfully navigate to the barrow requires an extended Wits+Woodcraft roll (diff 7), 12 success’s are required and each roll takes 15 minutes. The marsh is very wet and pools of water are lying everywhere. Sometimes the path thins so much that it appears to vanish completely. If it takes more than 4 hours (16 rolls) for the party to reach the barrow then Elsyth will be awake when they enter and will use her powers of Obfuscate to wait in the shadows and see what they will do, otherwise she will awaken when they enter her sleeping chamber. For details of the inside of the barrow, see the map.

Location 1; This is the entrance to the barrow, a narrow passage way about ten feet long leading to the main burial chamber. Halfway along are a pair of constricting stones that narrow to passage even further. The sides and the roof are made of large stone slabs.

Location 2; The main burial chamber, this is a large room about 15’ square and 10’ high. In the wall opposite the entrance passage is a small square hole with a passage leading back a few feet. Unless the party is carrying some form of light, this chamber and everything beyond it are darkness.

Location 3; The secondary burial chamber, this small box-like chamber is only a few feet square. Elsywth has actually modified the far wall and a successful perception roll will notice this. If pushed, the far wall swings around revealing a flight of crude stone steps leading down.

Location 4; Library, Elswyth uses this small room to house her growing collection of important texts. They are volumes here written in many languages, some appear to be mere scribbles rather than real languages. A successful Perception+Academics roll (diff 7) will reveal a book in Latin titled ‘The Wolf: Man or Beast?’. There is nothing else of interest.

Location 5; This is a simple store room. Shelves line the walls and there are chests covering the floor. Various herbs, bones, vials of liquid  and other mystical things cover the shelves, and the chests are lots of well worn clothes, mainly brown woollen robe sand cloaks.

Location 6; This is the room of Elswyth’s current human retainer, a man named Erik. He is a servant-cum-guard and is working at a small table in the centre of the room facing the door. He will stand as soon as the players enter the room and draws a sharp sword. From behind the desk he will ask the players what they want. Anything they ask he will answer truthfully as he knows that one way or another the players will not be leaving in the same state of mind as they entered. If a fight starts, or words get heated Elswyth will come in from her sleeping chamber (location 7) and demand to know what is going on. If the players are attacking Erik she will use her disciplines to restrain them and then she will ask them what they want. If they are just talking she will call for silence and then ask the players want they seek.

If the players freely tell her why they are in her home she will gladly talk to them about what she is doing and that there are no werewolves in her mound. She will ask why the players are hunting werewolves and if they tell her about Aethelfrith she will smile and nod. She has heard of him and has made contact with him through various retainers over the years. If they are peaceful with their talking and she learns of Aethelfrith she tells them that they are free to go so long as they do not speak of her haven to anyone. If they do, she will be very angry. Should anyone ask to borrow her book she will think about it for a few minutes and then agree, so long as they bring her something interesting back from Aethelfrith’s library the next time they come to visit.

Any players showing interest in her research will be welcomed with open arms and led through her study and library. She will explain about what she is doing (supernatural mortality at the moment) and how her research is going (very interesting). The only problem she has is that she requires more parts of supernaturals, fur, teeth, bodies anything that could help her research. Any offer of parts (e.g. the tooth or claw from the previous story) is seized immediately and she almost begs the players to do whatever it takes to bring them to her.

Location 7; This is Elswyth’s haven. There is a large stone slab in the centre of the room and not much else.

Location 8; Elswyth’s study. Tables and chairs are ranged around the room. In the centre of the room is a flat slab of sandstone with a partially dissected human corpse on it. Jars and bottles line the edges of the room on shelves, and piles of books cover the tables. Torches and candles are dotted around at intervals on the walls.

Searching the Hillfort

The summit of Adgefrin Hill is under a permanently blanket of damp cloud. At the top of the hill is a large area surrounded by a ditch and bank. There are small raised areas scattered around (hut bases) and in the centre is a large rock outcrop covered in scrubby bushes. If searched, a narrow passage is revealed leading into a crack in the rock. Torches or similar are needed to proceed into the tunnel, which slopes steeply for a few feet and then opens into a small cavern around 6’ high and 15’ across. A 6’ wide pit in the centre appears to be the only other exit from here. The pit is 20’ deep and is directly above location 1 on the map.

From the top of the hill a flight of stairs leads down into a carved out room. In the centre of the room is a pit about 8’ across. The base of this pit forms location 1. It is 30’ deep.

Location 1

The walls of the pit are wet and water trickles down, the air is still and very cold. The entire shaft is rock cut and as you descend you see that the floor is also carved from the rock. At the base of the pit are four tunnels. The north ends in a stout looking door after about 20’, the south ends in a flight of steps going up, the western passage ends in an open cavern and the east ends in a flight of steps going down, from the east you can also here water flowing. The eastern passage also side passages left and right before the steps.

Location 2

This appears to be a little used storeroom. Tables and stools are piled up against the walls. They are covered in dust, but are not yet rotten. The room is about 20’ square and opposite your entrance is another door.

Location 3

This is a room about 20’ wide and 50’ long, two tables run down the length. A large burnt out hearth is between them. The fire is long dead. Shelves filled with wooden bowls and mugs line the walls. There is a door in the northern wall.

Location 4

Larges ovens are set into two of the walls and a smoke hole in the centre of the room leads up. The other two walls are lined with shelves full of large bowls of grain. There are doors in the northeast corner and the centre of the south wall.

Location 5

This is a food storage room and is filled with large wooden chests filled with salted meats. Large sealed pots are stacked against the walls. Rubbish on the floor shows that grain and oats are in most of the pots.

Location 6

The door to this room is locked. Requires str 6+ to break down. Inside the room is a small wooden bed and a table.

Location 7

This room has a large circle carved in the floor. Blood is spatter across the rock and up the walls. Broken weapons litter the floor.

Location 8

Except for doors in the east and west walls, the room is empty. 

Location 9

The room is about 70’ long and 25’ wide. Along each wall and down the centre are large benches. They are covered in skins and blankets. It looks like about 150 people could sleep in here. There is a door is the south west corner, and in the centre of the south wall.

Location 10

There are three doors, one each in the west, south and north walls. A few barrels are stacked in the southeast corner. A stain on the floor in front of them suggests that they hold ale.

Location 11

This is a dead end, but the presence of fresh tool marks and a scattering of digging implements shows that it is still being dug.

Location 12

This room is empty except for doors in the north and west walls.

Location 13

This is a circular cavern about 40’ across with a passage exiting opposite the one you came in. In the centre of the floor is a slightly raised area about 6” higher than the surrounding floor.

Location 14

This appears to be a guardroom or similar, it is roughly 15’ square. Long benches are set against either side and a table in the centre of the room has a pair of bowls with dry flatbreads and meat in them. There is a door in the eastern wall.

Location 15

Racks of weaponry lined along the walls show this to be an armoury of some form. There are many bows, spears, saexs, swords and handaxes hung up. Shields and suits of leather and mail armour are piled up in front of the racks. Ranged across the wall behind the racks are quivers full of arrows, skullcaps and helmets. Close examination of any of the equipment shows it to be of poor quality. Any weapons are usable but two rules apply 1) they do the normal amount of damage BUT confer no other bonus to Initiative, Attack etc and 2; any botch while using the weapon will automatically cause it to break. The armour is also usable, but any botched soak roll will destroy the armour. There are 20+ of every item

Location 16

The door leads into a room about 50’ square and 20’ high. The walls are piled high with wooden boxes. Some are open and they contain woollen cloaks, linen sacks, iron spikes, coils of rope, large pottery urns full of grain, oats and corn, bales of cured leather, bundles of spear shafts, stacks of fresh torches and thousands of new arrowheads. There are enough supplies to feed and equip a small army.

Location 17

There is a pair of rough wooden beds strewn with cloaks. Items of clothing lie on the floor. Other than this the room is empty.

Location 18

This room is about the same size as the last, and has a single door set in the middle of each wall.

Location 19

A large river flows into this oval shaped cavern from the north and exits to the south through a very low tunnel. Sandy banks are on either side. You can see a passage on the far side of the river. The river is about 20’ across and looks very fast. To swim the river requires a str + ath roll (dif 8) and 2 success’s or the character is washed away to the far end of the cavern and must try and return to shore.

Location 20

This is a completely dead end.

Location 21

The roof appears to have a large furry covering that chitters, You light reveals a small hole in the ceiling that leads up. Doors are in the North and west walls. The roof is covered in bats and if the players disturb them they fly away though the hole with a great screeching

Location 22

The room is empty except for doors in the north, south and eat walls.

Location 23

This crude cavern has a short, low passageway leading south and another pass opposite the one you entered by.

Location 24

This is a completely dead end

Location 25

A very large, old and thick looking wooden door crossed with iron bands bars the way. It is locked. To break this door requires a combined str of 15, and there is only enough room for two people at a time. Inside the room are bodies lying around in various states of decomposition. Some are nearly skeletons and others appear quite fresh. There is a door in the south wall. As you enter the room some of the bodies slowly drag themselves upright and lurch towards you. Their flesh hangs in tatters over the bones and innards protrude from gashes and rents. Congealed and unmoving blood drips from old wounds as the walking dead stagger to attack you. At this sight of the zombies everyone needs to make a courage roll, diff 7 or run back out of the room in horror. Those that pass can either retreat or attack. The zombies have the following stats (Initiative pool 1, Attack pool 2, Damage pool 5, they do not suffer any wound penalties.)

Location 26

Piles of ancient musty scrolls and books line the walls. A lot are very crumbly and collapse as they are touched. There is nothing of interest in this room.

Location 27

On the floor are twelve freshly laid out dead bodies. Each has a tied bunch of herbs in its mouth. These are bodies that are about to be raised.

Location 28

This is a study or similar. A long table is covered in opened scrolls and books. Many of them are unreadable but a few are in latin and English. The titles seem to be about summoning and binding souls and spirits.

Location 29;

A small altar carved from a strange black rock sits on the far wall in a little niche. The wall beneath is stained a dark red colour.

Location 30

This crude carved cavern is quite large and has three exits in the west wall and one in the east wall.

Location 31 – 37

These are all empty and unfinished rooms carved from the bedrock.

Location 38

A very thin and crumbly looking stone ledge leads around the left hand side this oval chamber to a passage at the southern end. The ledge is only about a foot or so wide. To the right of the ledge there is nothing except an all engulfing darkness, waves of heat come up from the emptiness. This chasm is DEEP a torch or similar dropped down will keep going until it vanishes.

Location 39

The floor of this chamber slopes gently down from the edges. in the centre is a large circular hole about 15’ across, it appears to be full of a pitch black swirling liquid. Standing on the floor opposite you is a tall and quite old looking man with a cloak drawn about him as if to see off the cold air. As you enter the room he unclasps the cloak and lets it fall to the floor.

Slowly he looks at you and as he walks forwards to the swirling hole giant ragged wings unfold from his back. Lazily he glides across the hole and lands before you.