Characters:
Wynter Ravich (Paul)
Veblen (Ryan)
Luthien (James)
Wing Po - Bushi / Bamboo Spirit Folk (Adam)
Akrianna (Shannon)
Laura (NPC)
Wing Po arrives in town in time to hear a city alarm bell going off and guards running towards Bane’s main keep. He follows and listens as the man who seems to be in charge (Velloran) tells the nature of the emergency. It would seem that sometime during the night a young girl disappeared, and he fears that the killer has struck again. A search party is sent out, and Wing Po, who has no knowledge of previous events within the city of Bane heads toward an Inn called the Ogre’s Bastion.
The rest of the group awakens, minus Bral, Shryll, and Long Chi, who had a bit to much to drink the night before. They also hear the alarm bell, but decide that food is their priority. Wing Po enters and is greeted by the town drunk (Akrianna). He then leaves to stable his horse and find work at the secretary’s office, just outside of the main keep. The party is summoned to appear before Velloran.
The mysterious woman who was kicked in the head by Long Chi is still unconscious, and so is left with the herbalist on the edge of town.
The party arrives at the keep and meet with Velloran, who also has hired Wing Po to search for the murderer. He also tells the party of the second search party that was sent out shortly after they were. The search party was found, slain, and each body was missing a part of it. A young guard found the group beneath a small ridge just east of the city. He also sends them to find the missing girl
The party decides to investigate the murder scene in order to begin their search for the girl. They find old blood and five sets of tracks, as well as a dagger, as well as a small child sitting by a tree some ways away. She was lost with her teddy bear, and is quite happy to be taken with the group. After tracking for some time they return to the city to talk with the young guard who is being cared for at the Church of Bahamat. He tells them what he had found, and the party once again returns to the scene of the murders.
This time there is fresh blood, and a trail leads them 20 minutes south of the ridge. It is in a small clearing that they discover the remains of 7 city guardsmen hanging from the trees, each with areas of flesh removed from their bodies. The group is also briefly attacked by vines, which seem to halt their attack rather quickly. Laura, however, has vanished.
The party returns to Bane to report what they have found. Akrianna and Luthien decide to scout the woods while the others return either to the Inn, the herbalist’s or the Keep. A nasty storm is brewing. The party members find shelter, except for Luthien and Akrianna, who saw a shadowy form flitting from tree to tree deeper in the forest. At this point the storm hits full force with torrential rains and tornado-like winds. The two quickly become disoriented, and move deeper into the woods. A mud slide sends them running, until eventually they see a light coming from what appears to be a home.
In reality the light is coming from a church which has apparently been converted into a home. Akrianna and Luthien meet Celeste and her father (one legged old man) and are given food and shelter for the evening. The night passes uneventfully, though Luthien at one point hears scratching at a window.
Come morning the storm has passed, and the city of Bane is in disarray. Luthien and Akrianna find an animal print outside the window, but little else, and so they return to the city. On their way they make another grisly discovery; a mass grave that has been exposed by a mud slide. They return to Bane to report.
In Bane the group is told of the young guard’s passing sometime in the night. They regroup at the Ogre’s Bastion.
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