The Chronicle, Session 1

The Party

• Reltoria (Tori): Common heritage, shamaness, from Gal City
• Kildun Graax: Hyperborean, necromancer, from the city of Khromarium
• Cire Leachim: Half-blood Pict, legerdemainist, from Khromarium
• Galenos: Kimmerian, cataphract, from the Fields of Vol.

Initial NPCs

• Old Nerys, herbalist, witch, and seer. Often found sitting near the town well, people-watching and offering her services to any brave enough to ask.
• Torla Red-Hand, innkeeper and owner of the Sheep's Rest, the main inn of Bryn Celli.

The Adventure

The party arrived at Bryn Celli via ship, the cog known as the Sidhe Wind. Walking up from the docks, they passed through the gate and started walking around. People were business-like, at best: the merchants would deal with them, but no one was willing to talk about local rumors, and running conversations would go silent as the party approached.

The party did note that local prices for common goods and equipment were higher than expected. Perhaps the merchants were subtly price-gouging them?

In the square, they met Old Nerys sitting by the main well, who addressed them as they were passing by. From her, they heard the rumor about The Beast of Hollow Cairn. Tori gave Nerys a silver coin for the info, and Nerys then added a rumor about Lovers' Lament.

Nerys also directed them to Sheep's Rest inn, and its owner Torla Red-Hand, for more info. Kildun slipped Nerys a gold coin because she reminded him of his mother.

They went to Sheep's Rest inn, met Torla. From her they received more rumors about both Hollow Cairn and Lovers' Lament. She directed to Dafydd Barrow-born, the town's grave digger.

Went to speak with Dafydd, in the graveyard just northwest of town, and learned some more about Lovers' Lament and the missing girl, Eilleann. He said that he'd gone to check it himself but was chased away by a ghost. He believed it was the spirit of Eilleann, come to "steal his soul".

The party decided to go to the Trysting Grove to investigate the disturbed soil. Found the grove easily enough, no encounters on the way. Investigating the area, they quickly found the disturbed earth at the base of the old oak. Also discovered some footprints heading northwest away from the area. Dug into the earth, found a young woman's body about two weeks dead (coincides with Eilleann's disappearance).

Noticed neck bruises: evidence that she had been strangled. She also had a leather thong around her neck, with a man-sized copper ring on it. Cire took the ring as evidence. They re-buried the body and tried to cover the smell so it wouldn't be disturbed by animals.

The party then followed the footprints in the dried mud, out to a different path than the one by which they had entered the grove. The footprints disappeared as the ground hardened, making tracking impossible. They continued along that path north for a short distance, and encountered a giant spider that ambushed them from above!