I woke up with a stabbing headache, drinking all night with peasant girls is more fun than I would have anticipated.  In a common sort of way I mean.  I stayed in bed for a while before rousing myself, I figured that visiting an abandoned cemetery is the sort of thing you want to do in total daylight anyway. 

There’s still a lot of people in town from the festival so I risked reaching into a few pockets on the way to the once prosperous (for Graltontown) Fane district.  Along the way I was accosted by a filthy beggar and had to give him a good rap on the bonce with my walking stick to get him to move along. 

My grandmother always said to be very cautious about examining a tomb so I watched it for several hours before approaching.  In matter of fact I dozed off leaning against a gate, that whiskey must have been strong stuff.  I was slapped awake by a stench so awful it felt like a physical blow to the face.  I saw before me a putrid undead figure reaching out its dripping hands towards me.  I am not ashamed in the slightest to say that I ran like a scalded dog. 

Lord Sonsts the Poor had good reason to be afraid of this place.  Thankfully due to the zombie baiting fad back in ’84 I knew how to handle this problem.  I wonder how long that would have continued if Earl Langerholters hadn’t been high on Shiver and fell into the zombie pit.  I set up a trip-line and gave a less filthy and aggressive beggar a silver to bash in heads of the two walking corpses with a chunk of cobblestone after they tumbled to the ground following my goading. 

The beggar vomited noisily afterwards and was such a baby about the whole thing I considered stealing the coin back.  I wasn’t excited about going into a tomb but there are occasionally valuables in such places so I took a quick look around with one of my candlerods. Sadly there was nothing of interest in the dusty catacomb.  Next I spent several hours gathering information.  I was able to find Ringle’s home address and determined that he has not yet found another job.  A gossipy neighbor said that he’s turning to drink.

I had lunch with Augrim, practiced my Kostelos and learned more about them and then decided to take a turn out in the crowds.  I had a very good haul going but unfortunately an eagle-eyed fellow spotted me and yelled out “thief”.  I was suddenly and firmly grabbed.  I was turned over to the mouthy fellow and his companions who in turn took me to the guard.  Thankfully that issue was solved with a hefty bribe.  

By the time that all got worked out I was ready to turn in and be done with this day.

Funds: 113 gold , 7 silver

XP: 1600

Inventory: Peasant outfit (with hidden pockets) , Signet Ring , Stiletto , Map case, quill pen, red riding cloak, candlerod (4) , dreamer’s star tea (3 servings) , poison ring, awful pendant, disguise kit (7 uses) , Fashionable Accessories, hollow heeled boot, poison locket , courtier’s outfit, different fashionable accessories , Ring of Many Garments, money belt, broken crossbow, walking stick, playing cards

Revenge List: Duke Eaglevane, Piltis Swine, Rince Electrum, watchman Gridley, White-Muzzle the worg, Percy Ringle the butler , Alice Kinsey , “Patch”, Meddlesome adventurers

Rumors : Murderous servants (70%) , exiled noblewoman (55%)

Behind the curtain – I rolled an encounter today with a diseased beggar , Ela failed her Fortitude save and now has filth fever.  In addition the 10% Meddlesome Adventurers chance on Crime Spree triggered and Ela failed the Sleight of Hand check.  Since she has no Goods I went with straight gold loss.

After my late night I was not early to rise today, but hey, nobody’s perfect.   After a brunch of dried pork loin and leeks, I called on my merchant friend, whose name I learned was Wirc.  I told him that the men who beat him wouldn’t be a problem anymore but that Piltis would probably shake him down again at some point.  He thanked me and said that he wanted me to meet a friend of his, a nobleman no less!  I agreed to meet them for dinner at Varnson’s Restaurant and Brewery.

 As I went about my business I noticed there were significantly more people in the streets than usual and there was a festive atmosphere, must be some kind of local holiday.  In the crush of bodies I decided to indulge in a little pick pocketing.  After that I sold the box of tobacco, I noticed as I walked away that the man who bought it dumped out the tobacco and was more interested in the box.  It must be worth more than I thought.  I was so upset at myself for missing it that I spent an hour considering how to get it back before realizing it was best to let it go.  I can’t stand when I make a mistake. 

I checked in with the watch but they still had no reward for me and seemed annoyed that I was asking.  I’m becoming more convinced there will be no money forthcoming.  Finally I was able to track down Augrim at a coffee shop at the very edge of town.  Being so close to the woods made me a little uneasy, and worse he seemed completely immune to my charms – he wouldn’t speak with me unless I bought him a brandy!     

He said the tribespeople were called the Kostelos and he knew quite a bit about them, on account of his mother was one of them.  I had to sit through a boring story about how his parents met and the prejudices they faced as a couple before he started telling me about them.  I told him that I wanted to be able to travel the woods freely without worrying about them and he said it was possible to become friends with the Kostelos if you showed respect to their traditions, something very few people in Graltontown cared to do.  I asked him if he would help me and he had the nerve to ask for payment!  I thought about spinning a yarn about my hardships but it was clear he wasn’t going to buy it.   After some negotiation we agreed on 10 gold up front and another 100 if he was able to get me in with the painted savages. 

The first step was to start learning their crude tongue, and the lesson began right there.  I felt quite the fool barking like a tribesman at a coffee shop but Augrim clearly was not the kind of waste time.  After a few hours of linguistics I took a fine lunch and then did some further rumormongering before meeting up with Wirc and his mysterious noble friend. 

He announced himself as Lord Sonst.  He had impeccable manners but his dress was severely out of date, even by Graltontown standards, and was looking a bit threadbare. Over a dinner of Roasted Pheasant with Ginger and Buckwheat Bread with superb dark rum he explained that he was indeed a titled man but that his family had fallen into ruin and he was quite destitute.  Since I had helped Wirc out of the kindness of my heart he wondered if I could help him as well.

He reluctantly and very fearfully explained that his family mausoleum had fallen into such disrepair on account of his financial troubles that some sort of creature had taken up residence in it – preventing him from visiting his beloved mother. The cemetery was in a part of town that was once well-to-do but was now in decline and both the guard and the church weren’t interested in his plight.  I said I’d see what I could do, Ela champion of the downtrodden! He promised that if I could help him he had a business opportunity he would share with me.  This from a man in a tattered cravat! 

After dinner heading back to the Cardshire I saw a throng of people gathered in the market square.  Investigating, I was so distracted that I was caught with my hand in someone’s coinpurse.  As they wheeled on me I shouted that a street urchin had just tried to rob them.  I don’t think they believed me but they didn’t press the issue. People will forgive a lot more than you’d think.

Making my way to a spot where I could see, I was presented with a pure Graltontown spectacle.  They had cleared off a large area and wet the earth to make a muddy field surrounded by a crude fence.  Inside two dozen or so women were engaging in some kind of wild contest that seemed to involve mostly brawling in the slime like rooting hogs.  Some lout tried to explain the rules to me – there was a ball in the mix somewhere – but I didn’t listen.  They called it “maidens and wenches” – one team was dressed in awful costume ballgowns, I suppose these were the maidens.  This was the culmination of their festival and a more unsightly exhibition I have never seen – and that includes the minotaur show at Lord Rixby’s 50^th birthday party. 

In the end one mud-spattered gaggle of teuchteresses was declared the winners, they were showered with praise and cheap beer while the losers were shunned.  Breathing through my mouth I approached the dejected also-rans and praise them for a hard-fought attempt.  They seemed shocked, apparently by Graltontown standards losing this contest made you a social pariah.  I flattered them outrageously and treated them to a hot bath and a decent meal of their own – with a keg of whiskey to boot.  It never hurts to have some brawny gals who aren’t above a little scrapping on your side.

____________________________________________________________

Funds: 229 gold , 1 silver

XP: 1000

Inventory: Peasant outfit (with hidden pockets) , Signet Ring , Stiletto , Map case, quill pen, red riding cloak, candlerod (5) , dreamer’s star tea (3 servings) , poison ring, awful pendant, disguise kit (7 uses) , Fashionable Accessories, hollow heeled boot, poison locket , courtier’s outfit, different fashionable accessories , Ring of Many Garments, money belt, broken crossbow, walking stick, playing cards

Revenge List: Duke Eaglevane, Piltis Swine, Rince Electrum, watchman Gridley, White-Muzzle the worg, Percy Ringle the butler , Alice Kinsey , “Patch”

Rumors : Murderous servants (70%) , exiled noblewoman (55%)

Behind the curtain: I got the Crime Spree event today which will last for 4 days. 

Up at dawn, I moved quickly to find where Piltis’s two goons flopped their clammy-pig flesh last night and then hurried across town to find my new friend the spice-merchant.  I convinced him to visit Piltis and grovel at his feet, in the process letting it slip the mountain of silver that he had given his men as tribute.  It took a minute before he understood what I was asking him to do, I hope he’s a better merchant than he is a schemer. As he went off on his errand I went off on my – stashing the silver coins on the two pinheads as they snored drunkenly in an abandoned cathouse.

I staked out Piltis’s candleworks and eventually saw that he was able to round up enough sober lackeys to drag in his “traitors”.  Not long afterwards several of his scarred candle-boys came out, struggling to drag two corpses to the refuse pit.  Two less minions for Piltis, and more importantly the information that for all his piggishness Piltis is a far more dangerous fellow that I would have anticipated.  I wouldn’t have thought him capable of cold blooded murder so casually. I’ll need to be more careful with that one.

I wasted another day trying to track down Augrim, who was nowhere to be found.  Before the markets closed I managed to convince a down on his luck caravan guard to give me his broken crossbow.  It looked fine for my purposes and I had no idea what I would do with a working crossbow anyway. I crossed paths with Recutio has he made a beeline after work to his favorite bar and helped myself to his house key with my deft fingers. 

His small home was decently appointed and I settled on a comfortable chair to await the master of the house.  I used my ring to deck myself out in all black leather with a bandit-mask.  I doubt any real assassin dresses like this but you have to give people what they expect. 

Hours later he came home whistling a jaunty tune that stopped dead as he entered his home and saw a deadly assassin pointing a crossbow at his chest.  I told him that I was sent to kill him but that I was more interested in hearing what he knew that was worth killing over.  After he stopped pleading for his life he told me that he had been spying on a wizard by the name of Bern for Ramos Daval and Gremag but he had been found out and the wizard was pressuring him to spy on Ramos Daval and Gremag for him instead.  His blubbering was quite off-putting. 

I told him he had to leave town right that very second and never return.  He seemed reluctant to take this very prudent advice but I was able to convince him eventually.  To set the scene I had him take off his shirt and slashed him across his chest with my stiiletto, getting enough blood on the floor and bed to make it look good, in truth I think I went a little too far as he was still bleeding pretty badly when he left.  He may not have made it far. I was able to send him off in such a fright that he didn’t take much with him, but still there was little of value to be had – a box of cheap tobacco, a walking stick and some nice playing cards.

I mixed up some tea on account of my late night activities once back at the Cardshire.

____________________________________________________________

Funds: 250 gold

XP: 1000

Inventory: Peasant outfit (with hidden pockets) , Signet Ring , Stiletto , Map case, quill pen, red riding cloak, candlerod (5) , dreamer’s star tea (3 servings) , poison ring, awful pendant, disguise kit (7 uses) , Fashionable Accessories, hollow heeled boot, poison locket , courtier’s outfit, different fashionable accessories , Ring of Many Garments, money belt, broken crossbow, box of cheap tobacco, walking stick, playing cards

Revenge List: Duke Eaglevane, Piltis Swine, Rince Electrum, watchman Gridley, White-Muzzle the worg, Percy Ringle the butler , Alice Kinsey , “Patch”

Rumors : Murderous servants (60%) , exiled noblewoman (40%)

The following morning I paid a visit to the Leadyhead estate and found that it was mysteriously closed up.  Thankfully I had lifted a key and helped myself to a silver candlestick which I sold to a limerick-spouting tradesman who annoyingly insisted in paying me in silver.  “Silver for silver!’ he cackled like a maniac.  I asked another vendor if I could “coin up” and the scalawag wanted 15%!  Since my hidden pockets were overflowing I purchased a money belt, still I felt ridiculous with all those coins clanging about my person.

I went to Alice’s little cottage to find a very distraught Alice lamenting her career opportunities.  It seems the Leadyheads had left Graltontown and left her without employment.  She seemed convinced that with the cloud of suspicion hanging over her former employer she would have no luck finding a job.  I initially thought about steering her towards a brothel but thought better of it – revenge can wait, for now its handy having someone eminently poisonable in a upscale household.  I told her I would help her find work but she despaired that her reputation would proceed her.  I suggested, very reluctantly, that perhaps she could bend the truth a tiny bit.  She as horrified of course, but eventually saw the wisdom of my plan.

Going all over this outhouse of a settlement trying to coach Alice through the simplest of lies to get her a new job as a maid may be the most tedious experience of my life to date.  But was ultimately successful nevertheless.  She was installed with the Galway family.  She was grateful of course, not really as grateful as she should have been – I just saved her from being the bottom girl at the worst whorehouse in town.  That’s people for you, no sense of appreciation at all.

I had intended to gather information on what became of Ringle, but I happened across two of Piltis’s goons being shouted at by a little girl.  They ignored her and continued on to their rancid saloon of choice.  She seemed intent on following them, but I intercepted her and doing my best to seem matronly (which wasn’t great I admit) asked what was going on.  She said they had attacked her father.  I asked her to take me to him and she led to me a small storefront that appeared to be empty. Locked in a small storeroom was a thin middle aged bald man who had clearly taken a beating.  He had just come to town and was opening up a spice shop.  I guess Piltis had sent his men to shake him down but they’re as bad as trying to racketeer as they are at everything else.

He wanted to go to the watch but I convinced him (truthfully maybe) that they would be of no help.  I promised him my aid and retired to my room at to consider the angles.  I checked in at the watch-house but they had no reward for me yet – still investigating they claimed.  They’ll probably try to rip me off the ingrates.  I mixed up some tea to ensure an early morning.   

____________________________________________________________

Funds: 251 gold , 400 silver

XP: 1000

Inventory: Peasant outfit (with hidden pockets) , Signet Ring , Stiletto , Map case, quill pen, red riding cloak, candlerod (5) , dreamer’s star tea (3 servings) , poison ring, awful pendant, disguise kit (7 uses) , Fashionable Accessories, hollow heeled boot, poison locket , courtier’s outfit, different fashionable accessories , Ring of Many Garments, money belt

Revenge List: Duke Eaglevane, Piltis Swine, Rince Electrum, watchman Gridley, White-Muzzle the worg, Percy Ringle the butler , Alice Kinsey , “Patch”

Rumors : Murderous servants (60%) , exiled noblewoman (40%)

I was up before the break of dawn and paid an early morning visit to the Leadyhead household.  Pounding on the door frantically I was greeted by the scowling visage of Percy Ringle the butler.  The panic in my eyes bought me entry where I was shortly confronted by Master Leadyhead in one of the more ridiculous night-shirts I have ever laid eyes on.  I started babbling in a flustered rush until it seemed like he was about to give me slap which encouraged me to “come to my senses” a little sooner than I had planned. I told him that poor cousin Emmalina hadn’t come back to the inn last night that furthermore when I checked this morning that her room had been ransacked!  His enemies must be moving against him and my sweet cousin had been taken!

This took an unfortunate turn when he summoned Ringle and one of his footmen and demanded to be taken to examine her room.  Despite my best efforts, I was unable to talk him out of it.  Thankfully when I took him to random inn and the owner was rude to him in response to his question, his lordship blew his stack and started bawling the poor fellow out – he went so far as to throw a stool at the cowering simp.  As he stomped back to his house I meekly suggested that given the forces arrayed against him that he may want to get out of town.  He initially dismissed the idea entirely but when I asked about what he and Emmalina had talked about he went pale as a ghost and gasped “the list!” I was summarily dismissed and he hurried off with Ringle and the footman at his heels. 

After lunch I picked up my Ring of Many Garments from Dave and then spent some more time asking around about the tribal folk in the woods.  I was directed to a man called Augrim who was reputed to be an expert on the subject.  Finding him proved to be more difficult and I wasted several hours before returning to the Cardshire.  After dinner I spent some time spreading my rumors before calling it a day.

____________________________________________________________

Funds: 251 gold, 15 Silver

XP: 1000

Inventory: Peasant outfit (with hidden pockets) , Signet Ring , Stiletto , Map case, quill pen, red riding cloak, candlerod (5) , dreamer’s star tea (4 servings) , poison ring, awful pendant, disguise kit (7 uses) , Fashionable Accessories, hollow heeled boot, poison locket , courtier’s outfit, different fashionable accessories , Ring of Many Garments

Revenge List: Duke Eaglevane, Piltis Swine, Rince Electrum, watchman Gridley, White-Muzzle the worg, Percy Ringle the butler , Alice Kinsey , “Patch”

Rumors : Murderous servants (60%) , exiled noblewoman (40%)

Morning brought a surprise – Alice was waiting for me in the common room.  She said that Lord Leadyhead was indeed looking for a lawyer, and what great luck it just so happened that my cousin is in town!  I said she would call upon the Leadyhead household that very afternoon.  Alice scurried off and I had a leisurely breakfast before heading out to buy some more appropriate clothing.

Back in my room I spent some time with my disguise kit and just like that cousin Emmalina was born.  I paid a visit to the Leadyhead estate and took great pleasure in Ringle’s fawning as he escorted me inside.  I spend a solid hour having tea with Lady Leadyhead, putting on a very pleasant façade while internally fuming.  Once Lord Leadyhead made his appearance we retired to his study. 

He made it clear that he didn’t want a lady solicitor but that he was desperate enough to listen to my pitch.  And quite a pitch it was, even if I do say so myself.  I was so impassioned and measured in my argument that I think I may have been briefly touched by Kozilek himself.  Even so Lord Leadyhead was clearly reluctant but it seemed he had no better choices.  We spent several hours in discussion of legal strategy and I convinced him that his only chance was to rat out his friends who were doing the same thing.  I got him to write out, in as much detail as he could, what is friends had done and how– so that I could corroborate these stories of course.

On the way out I complimented Ringle on his fine butlering and the Leadyheads beamed at me like a couple whose prospects were looking up.  When I turned the list over to the watch they promised me a tidy sum if it all panned out.  After dinner at the Cardshire I found an itinerate wizard by the name of Dave and commissioned him to make me a magic item.  He was a very unrefined sort, is this what’s become of the wizarding profession these days?  He seemed more like a pig-farmer than a learned man of magic.  He said he’d have my item ready tomorrow though which is a point in his favor, usually these fellows take their sweet time.

____________________________________________________________

Funds: 451 gold, 20 Silver

XP: 1000

Inventory: Peasant outfit (with hidden pockets) , Signet Ring , Stiletto , Map case, quill pen, red riding cloak, candlerod (5) , dreamer’s star tea (4 servings) , poison ring, awful pendant, disguise kit (7 uses) , Fashionable Accessories, hollow heeled boot, poison locket , courtier’s outfit, different fashionable accessories

Revenge List: Duke Eaglevane, Piltis Swine, Rince Electrum, watchman Gridley, White-Muzzle the worg, Percy Ringle the butler , Alice Kinsey , “Patch”

Rumors : Murderous servants (40%) , exiled noblewoman (20%)

I stifled a groan as I woke, stiff as a board after sleeping on the ground like a poor person.  Felix (as I learned the man’s name was) looked like he had been up for hours, his wounds were cleaned and bandaged and the camp was mostly broken down.  I prevailed upon him to skin the worg so I could present it to my “sick father” as proof that his son’s death was redressed. 

He complied and as he split the beast open a necklace spilled out of the creature’s slippery guts.  Felix didn’t seem to notice and I snatched it up deftly before he could, although I was loathe touching the grotesque thing, covered with entrails as it was.  Shortly thereafter he presented me with the awful skin, which I didn’t care to handle, but he was already burdened with the armor and weapons of his dead companions. 

Even with that encumbrance he insisted on tracking the worg back to its lair, which seemed foolish to me but he found a small hollow not that far away where the creature had stashed some valuable items.  I guess I had discounted that as an intelligent being the worg would be interested in such things.  Felix took most of it but he handed me a stack of coins that would have been a godsend to a real peasant girl with a sick father and a dead brother, as well as a wand, saying he had no use for it.  I spotted six ironbloom mushrooms nearby which I picked. 

We made our way back to Graltontown about mid-day and went our separate ways.  I was able to sell the worg-hide to a noble who fancied himself a hunter, passing it off as a genuine werewolf pelt.  I sold the mushrooms to a dwarven cook, I dislike those grubby bearded little fools but their money spends.  I found a marketplace huckster who knew a little legitimate magic that was able to identify my wand as casting the Light spell.  He led me to a buyer as well and we split the funds.  I was tempted to keep it, although I don’t know why since I know nothing of magic.  I found a jeweler to buy the necklace as well – it was quite fine and I had a hard moment before being able to let go of it.

I paid a visit to Piltis to give him some “tribute” and flatter him, he seemed to have no recollection of the night he had me dragged before him.  I felt him out a little about the possibility of enlisting his crew for a scheme more interesting then forcing beggar-boys to make candles but he clearly thought such things were not a woman’s providence so I dropped it. 

I spent the rest of the day trying to dig up more information on Recutio and making sure my little rumor-fires were still smoldering. I paid for a week at the Cardshire and treated myself to an extravagant dinner with a quality wine.  Who knew murdering forest beasts could be so financially rewarding?

____________________________________________________________

Funds: 486 gold, 25 Silver

XP: 1000

Inventory: Peasant outfit (with hidden pockets) , Signet Ring , Stiletto , Map case, quill pen, red riding cloak, candlerod (5) , dreamer’s star tea (4 servings) , poison ring, awful pendant, disguise kit (8 uses) , Fashionable Accessories, hollow heeled boot, poison locket

Revenge List: Duke Eaglevane, Piltis Swine, Rince Electrum, watchman Gridley, White-Muzzle the worg, Percy Ringle the butler , Alice Kinsey , “Patch”

Rumors : Murderous servants (40%) , exiled noblewoman (20%)

I awoke early, alive with jittery energy, I never thought I’d be anywhere near a battle in my life.  Hoped really.  Before I met up with my “brave adventuring party” I sought a small temple to Kozilek (although these rubes call him Cosi like children) the only one I had seen in this cesspit of a burg.  I gave thanks to the Butcher of Truth, the Great Distortion, the Confusion of Panic, the Trap of Enigmas , the Harrower of Thought, and asked him to watch over me on this day.

I met up with my companions at the edge of town, my friend with the eye-patch looking like he was coming off a night of drinking and carousing.  His gaze lingered on me hungrily.  I felt like I needed to bath again just at the touch of his vision. What a way to start a day. 

We set out at a fair clip but I could tell they were showing me some consideration with their pace.  Obviously I am well versed in pretending to be interested in the stories of men, but I had my fill of their war-tales pretty quickly.  Yes it was winter and you had no boots, yes you were starving and ate rats, yes your friend had his legs cut off, blah, blah, blah.  Luckily this lot wasn’t very good at picking up on social cues and they took my silence as rapt attention. 

I will admit to being a bit winded when we came to a stop, I showed them the spot where the woodsman met his grisly fate and they fanned out to look for tracks or other signs of the beast.  It was clear these men knew their business but to me it seemed we wandered randomly.  I realized quickly that this was unlikely to be a one day excursion, if we found the worg at all it could take days or weeks.  This was unexpected and dismaying. 

At some point during the day eye-patch mentioned that we were being shadowed by the tribal folks of the forest.  Who can say why?  For all I know this great wolf was their sacred beast and they all took turns being married to it for a season.  I hate these primitive types, if your society can’t make a nice wine what’s the point of it?

As night came on they built a rough camp and stirred up some awful oaty gruel-like mixture that I was nonetheless glad to have, I was famished after a hard day of traipsing around the forest.  I was semi-hypnotized staring into the flame when all of a sudden my four companions leapt to their , grabbing their spears and bows.  Off in the distance skulked the beast.  My heart fluttered in my chest but long tense minutes passed without anything happening, it was too far away to attack and came no closer.

Wanting to bring this confrontation to a head I did something very foolish, I convinced them to let me approach the beast saying I would bait it closer.  I’ve never been so frightened as when I stepped out of the campfire light into the shadows towards the low form of the worg. 

The monster demanded to know what I was doing and I whispered that I had brought him “treats” as I had promised.  He declared they were too big and strong but I was able to appeal to his ego, seems as though males of all species are vulnerable to that ploy.  He paced about quite a bit, working himself up to it , but with my coaxing he finally slipped away into the night. 

Only to burst into the camp a moment later, then all hell broke loose. In a flash the worg had borne one of the men to the ground and ripped his throat out. With a mighty leap he knocked over the leader and tore into him with his jaws.  Somehow he seemed even more massive than ever in that wild rush.  Patch fired with his bow and missed as the other man charged forward with his spear, trying to help his boss who struggled on the ground with the worg. 

The sound of the howl the worg unleashed when Patch scored with one of his arrows was ear-splittingly horrific.  I turned away from the awful scene, not half a minute later though, all was quiet.  Two men lay dead, Patch was terribly wounded, the leader of the little band was all over with blood but seemed more steady on his feet.  The worg laying dying so near the fire that it’s fur smoldered. 

While the leader was distracted I palmed my stiletto and came up on Patch with a strip of clothe as if to bind his wounds – and stabbed him through the liver.  He fell to the ground silently without a sound.  The survivor sat at the edge of the firelight for a long time, it seemed best not to bother him.  I picked up the spear of one of the fallen men, just to see what it felt like to have a real weapon in my hands.  So crude and rough – graceless.

“Your brother is avenged . . . . at a heavy price” he said to me finally.  He had a far-away look in his eyes that made me uneasy but we worked together to bury the bodies, the most back-breaking effort I had made in 20 years, and then fell into an exhausted sleep. 

____________________________________________________________

Funds: 75 gold, 25 Silver

XP: 1000

Inventory: Peasant outfit (with hidden pockets) , Signet Ring , Stiletto , Map case, quill pen, red riding cloak, candlerod (5) , dreamer’s star tea (4 servings) , poison ring, awful pendant, disguise kit (8 uses) , Fashionable Accessories, hollow heeled boot, poison locket

Revenge List: Duke Eaglevane, Piltis Swine, Rince Electrum, watchman Gridley, White-Muzzle the worg, Percy Ringle the butler , Alice Kinsey , “Patch”

Rumors : Murderous servants (25%) , exiled noblewoman (10%)

Behind the curtain: I used the vagabond stats from the Game Mastery guide for the 4 ex-soldiers, that worg was a real terror though, without a bow critical at the end I think the whole crew would have gone down.  I debated if Ela should get any XP since she all she did was hire people to fight for her – although thematically if you got XP like that it that would explain why mayors and lords and such are always hiring adventurers to do their dirty work, would also explain how they tend to be mid-level sorts.  In the end I decided to award her half XP like a cohort for this encounter since she was there and cohorts don’t always do a lot during combat.  

I was rudely awakened by the sounds of a of ruckus in Alice’s tiny cottage.  My first thought was that Piltis had one of his goons follow me and he was there and my second thought was that I had no escape route in the loft, but it was a very pretty teenage girl and what turned out to be her doofus brother.  I missed most of their hushed conversation but I gathered they were relations of Alice’s in some manner of trouble. 

The next morning Alice apologized profusely but said that despite her promises she was going to have to turn me out so Teresa Marie and Sirus could stay with her while they looked for their father, who was missing you see.  I laid a quality guilt trip on her, just for fun more than any real desire to stay in this place, and the agony on her face was very satisfying, but she didn’t relent.  She sent me out into the world with a hearty breakfast, which was literally the least she could do.

I secured a room at a decent place (for Graltontown) called the Cardshire Arms and got some practice changing my appearance, coloring my hair and adding the facial blemishes of a survivor of porridge-pox.  I sang the few common peasant songs I knew on the streets and made a tidy sum, I guess pity plays.  I cleaned myself up after a simple lunch and did some shopping, picking up the latest fashionable accessories, a fine pair if lady’s boots and a locket from a surprisingly amiable fellow selling produce.

After that I made rounds about town spreading word of the fictional homicidal servant’s plots and started letting word leak out about an exiled foreign noble who was coming to town.  While I was mingling with these Graltontown dullards I heard a rough looking group asking about woman who was looking for warriors to take on the great wolf of the woods.  I paid a lad to pass them a note and went back to my room for a quick change of appearance.  Meeting them in the common room I spun them a tale about how the wolfen beast of the woods had carried away my little brother.  In return I had to listen to their whining about just being back recently from the Ulpine front and how they were having trouble adjusting to civilian life.  I did my best to cover my boredom with feigned sympathy.  Is there anything less interesting than other people’s emotional pain?

I pulled on their heartstrings as best I could but you know these “hero” type, they never do anything for free.  A fellow in the group with a shoddy eyepatch suggested they could work for “trade” which I responded to with much sobbing and tears, the very idea! The innocent peasant girl ruse worked well and their leader apologized for his friend and said that they at least needed some money for costs.  We agreed on fifty gold, although wherever was a simple country girl with a sick father going to come up with that kind of money? I spent some time altering the boots and the locket before turning in.

In the morning we head into the woods!

Funds: 75 gold, 25 Silver

XP: 800

Inventory: Peasant outfit (with hidden pockets) , Signet Ring , Stiletto , Map case, quill pen, red riding cloak, candlerod (5) , dreamer’s star tea (4 servings) , poison ring, awful pendant, disguise kit (8 uses) , Fashionable Accessories, hollow heeled boot, poison locket

Revenge List: Duke Eaglevane, Piltis Swine, Rince Electrum, watchman Gridley, White-Muzzle the worg, Percy Ringle the butler , Alice Kinsey , “Patch”

Rumors : Murderous servants (25%) , exiled noblewoman (10%)

Behind the curtain – I decided for the Rival event someone kicking Ela out of her “home” since she doesn’t have much else to lose at this point, besides money which is a different event.

Today is the last day I had paid to stay with Alice, but she was so over the moon about me filling in for her at work so she said I could stay another week free of charge.  A paltry reward if ever there was one.  She was still pretty sickly and wanted to stay home and rest again with me taking her place at the Leadyhead house, but I was able to pump her up enough that she felt like she could do her daily work.  I figured she’d probably collapse sometime around noon.

I spent the morning going around to different shops to buy various items to make a passable disguise kit, had a minted pea soup for lunch and then spent the rest of the day singing for a few silver.  I saw one of Piltis’s goons watching me for a while.

In the evening I started spreading a rumor about household servants, tired of their treatment, plotting to kill their masters.  I’m not sure why, I guess a girl just needs to have some fun every now and then.  Then I spent some time asking around for some “brave adventurers” who might want to take on the terrible worg of the woods.  I treated myself to barbecued tiger fish with papaya before spending some time asking around about Rince Electrum.  Turns out his wife is an actress, and not a successful one, which is causing some strain in their marriage. 

I returned to Alice’s cottage where she had the most interesting tale to tell about Master Leadyhead’s legal issues.  I told her that if she felt she could without being presumptuous she should let him know that my cousin is a lawyer.  She hugged me and said that when I first moved in she wasn’t sure about me but now she felt I was a godsend.  I accepted her flattery with my customary humility and grace.

____________________________________________________________

Funds: 150 gold, 6 Silver

XP: 800

Inventory: Peasant outfit (with hidden pockets) , Signet Ring , Stiletto , Map case, quill pen, red riding cloak, candlerod (5) , dreamer’s star tea (4 servings) , poison ring, awful pendant, disguise kit

Revenge List: Duke Eaglevane, Piltis Swine, Rince Electrum, watchman Gridley, White-Muzzle the worg, Percy Ringle the butler 

Rumors : Murderous servants (15%)

Behind the curtain:  I rolled an event and got Rivalry but I’m not sure what that would mean for Ela so I’ll delay that until tomorrow so I can think about it.  I decided to treat spreading rumors like a Crafting check instead of what they have outlined in Inner Sea Intrigue – for these purposes it seems like something you should be able to make progress on rather than just yes/no .