After a delightful breakfast, as Grig and Bedeweir and those sorts prepared for our police action on Tall Elk, I gave the keep a good once over. Looting some would say, but that’s such an unfortunate word- to the victor go the spoils right? I would have taken the bulk of Lady Grace’s apparel if I could but there’s only so much room in my Secure Pocket and I like to travel light. Such a shame to leave all these beautiful gowns behind. Thankfully I found one of those magic bags “adventurers” are always rattling on about to help me with the haul, paltry as it was.
As I was exploring the underground passages and debating on entering the crypt I came upon a strange chamber that had a very ill feeling to it. It was here that I encountered the ghost of a young woman. Which is a very matter of fact way to say that, but it was a surprisingly not frightening experience. She explained that she had been murdered by Lady Grace and was doomed until wander these halls until she received a proper burial. Easy enough, I’m up to eyeballs in priests of Strider right now. The hard part was digging through the stones to find her bones which had been sealed away. I don’t envy the men I ordered to do that.
After an early lunch we made all haste to Tall Elk. Bedeweir wanted to go charging in sword in hand of course but I convinced him that maybe that wasn’t the best way to flush out a traitor. Leaving my party of armed men over hill and dale I entered the city alone in the guise of your average countrified peasant girl – one detail people often forget when disguising themselves as poor people is to lengthen their stride, they’re used to stepping over crops in fields you see.
The place was quite busy for a small frontier village – being the focal point of trade for most of the small frontier villages in the area. After a few hours of subtle inquiry I was directed to the home of one Deacon Gallows. He was a bit cagey, I could tell he was waiting for a sign or codeword of some sort but I just told him that Captain Clapham and his men were outside of town and were worried about enemy soldiers in the area so they sent me ahead. He asked all manner of questions but being the simple peasant girl that I was I had no answer for him – a tearful plea on account of several of the men being badly wounded helped. He gathered a few of his co-conspirators and some supplies and we set out to where Bedeweir and company were waiting to grab them.
Once the scheme was uncovered it turned out that the entire city council and the sheriff were in on it – some of them being agents from Vieland itself. An angry mob, swelled with national pride and violent lunacy, killed several of them vigilante style but we made sure to shield the actual spies from the townsfolk. Now on top of everything else we have to get these people to the property authorities – doing good deeds never seems to pay off. So along with everything else now Dario and Dalain are going to take the spies and traitors to Bothlar’s Hollow.
Silver lining, the unmasking of collaborators is apparently a good reason for a party because the village of Tall Elk went all out that night – the wine and beer was flowing like water and people were having quite a time. I lost count of the number of people I saw who couldn’t wait for the privacy of their homes or tents or shacks or whatever to start getting down to business. As I stood in the flickering firelight drinking my Sister Abigail’s Red Label and watching the merriment around me I thought back to the many parties I had endured at the court – generally staid, boring affairs. And even those that were entertaining somehow had a sense of desperation to them – all the fine folk in their rich clothes, it was like they were having an anxious kind of fun. These people just seem happy. I suppose when you work like a dog all day and night when you finally get a chance to cut lose you let all your worries fall away.
It was almost enough to make me envy them.
Almost.
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Funds: 12,867 gold
XP: 26,944
Inventory: Peasant outfit, wooden box, Signet ring, Ring of Many Garments, thieves’ tools, land deed, Bag of Tricks (rust), gold ring, Cap of Disguise, Secure Pocket, candlerod (9), masterwork dagger (2), succubi carving, Disguise kit (6 uses), Domiel family ring, walking stick, aquamarine, masterwork playing cards , +2 Studded Leather Armor, +2 Light Steel Shield, +1 Keen Shortspear, hematite armbands (2), mithril hair clasps (3), Sir Humperdinck memoir, Mazzmus’ Wand (unidentified), Brooch of Shielding, Potion of Invisibility (3), Oil of Animate Dead, Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds (2), spinel and peridot holy symbol of Kralten, platinum necklace, Pouch of Magic Stones, flask of acid (2), alchemist’s fire (2), giant wasp venom (10), oil of taggit (2), alchemist’s kit, formula book, Potion of Cure Light Wounds (3), Potion of Spider Climb, powdered bloodroot (2), masterwork short sword, Handy Haversack, silver ring, gold bracelet, gold and pearl pendant
Revenge List: Duke Eaglevane, Piltis Swine, Rince
Electrum, watchman Gridley, White-Muzzle the worg, Percy Ringle
the butler , Alice Kinsey , “Patch”, Heroes of the Lost Sword, Claire
Conrad, Erist priest of Strider, Riselda owner of the Sage Mirror,
Eedraxis, Skin-Taker tribe,
Kartak, Królewna & Bonifacja Trading Company, Hurmont Family, Androni
Titus, Greasy dreadlocks woman, Lodestone Security, Kellgale Nickoslander,
Beltian Kruin the Splithog Pauper, The King of Spiders, Auraluna Domiel, mother
Hurk, Mazzmus Parmalee
Rumors : Exiled noblewoman (Reoccurring), vigilante “Litheria”(Reoccurring), murderous Halfling (Reoccurring)
Teams – Labors, Brute Squad (Robbers and two teams of Soldiers)
Graltontown Buildings – Mill