Aftermath

Aftermath Cast Hugh – Absent Margo – Raymond Kevin – Albus Kris – Orella Tony – Terryn (only until 6:00 pm) Season/Year: Winter 795 Date: 5/19/2007 Request As the game begins, Inrisor is still laid up healing, Filius is out hunting (trying to improve his count). Raymond is still blind, the Abbot is still in a coma, and Varetious is in charge. The bishop in Perpignan came with healers to try to help the Abbot. Varetious tries to blame Raymond, but his words are not well received by the bishop. Terryn and crew have returned from Salle se Tromper. Varetious summons Raymond. Abbot is still out. Varetious makes clear that he knows Raymond was behind his recent “illness”. He indicates that Gael is still guilty, and will pay the price. And that Raymond will pay a price as well. Unless... A villager (Jeremy) has shown up at the abbey, asking for help. The tale he tells is one that Varetious really does not want to hear. His village (East Creek), to the North and East a little over a day (St. Martin's is the closest abbey; his wife was from Prades), has been beset by some sort of “beasts” that are systematically killing the villagers. The dead are savaged, and some bodies are partially eaten. But not like an animal (or so say the hunters in the village). The description leaves no doubt that there is something supernatural happening, and the timing would lead one to believe that it may have to do with the aftermath of the fight at the covenant. Perhaps some of the creatures got away. Varetious indicates that if Raymond and his friends will go solve this problem, he will ignore Raymond's guilt, and that of his friends. Albus wants this in writing, but Varetious refuses to see him. Raymond still senses a holy presence near him (a guardian angel). The man shows them the way to the village. On the first night out, Raymond senses something unholy in the area of the camp after dark. Searching shows an area where something gruesome and smelly was. Raymond still feels they are being watched, but no sign of the source. They arrive at town late the next day. A Town Terrified The town is about 50 people (bigger than NoHedes, smaller than Prades). Mostly farming and sheep, supplemented with some hunting and fishing. There is not a church in the town. They had a church and a priest until this summer. The church burned, and the priest died in the fire. The burned hulk remains. Upon meeting the troupe, the townsfolk are split. Some welcome any help, others think these guys might be opportunists, or are maybe actually behind the killings (“they can't be from the abbey, the priest is already here!”). Things start to heat up, with a shouting match between the guide and the hotheads of the town. It looks to get ugly when another “priest” (Bertraqnd) shows up and talks the townsfolk down. The “priest” (Augustinian?) is a man named Bertrand. He is friendly, obviously knows what the magi are, and is grateful for the help. He is, obviously, not from the abbey, but the townsfolk have mistaken his origin and he has not corrected them. He apologizes for the villagers, and says that they are just scared, and with good reason. He introduces his “ward”, Evaline. She is a dour and sullen girl of 14 or so, and is mute. She carries a wooden staff with a pointed, fire-hardened end. Bertrand relates the occurrences as he knows them. He has not had much opportunity to investigate, since he only arrived around noon. He has talked to some of the locals and has put together the following: There have been a half dozen people killed or gone missing (not all the bodies are accounted for) Victims that have been accounted for had their throats torn out Graves in the church graveyard have been dug up (though not with shovels) and bodies from the graves have been eaten (all at least partially, some of the newly buried evidently eaten entirely) There is a strong charnal stench around the graves (stronger than the typical grave) The first person noticed missing was 2 weeks ago People have been found dead in their homes in some cases, out in the surrounding area in others. Those not found have signs of violence in the area where they were last known to be (either their home or where they had been working in the fields, or hunting in the woods). He fears some sort of undead creature is loose in the area (maybe more than one). From the description, the troupe thinks it is ghouls. They meet the town council, led by Elder Tremayne. The Dead Walk The first evening in town, the troupe is gathered in the ale-wife's hall with some of the villagers, Bertrand and Evaline. Raymond and Elder Tremayne, along with Bertrand, decides to bless the town. They are walking the circuit and performing the blessing when, at the ale-wife's one of the locals (Thomas) bursts in shouting that he just saw Lina (his wife). The townsfolk seem to go ashen. Evidently Lina was buried 3 days ago. Thomas must be persuaded to lead them to the place (he is obviously terrified). They go immediately, they search the area briefly, and then are attacked by surprise by a group of undead. Orella is badly injured in the fight, and Bertrand's ward reacts with lightning speed to the surprise attack, dropping one of the creatures. Judicious application of force kills or drives the creatures off (both Orella and Albus light them up with Pilum's of Fire). The troupe heads out to track the creatures (they saw one off in the trees during the attack, so start their search there). The follow a bit into the forest, and are again attacked suddenly. Gervase is grabbed and pulled into a tree. Pippen is struck and knocked 30 feet or so. Evaline attacks the creature that attacked Pippin, and drives it off. They chase, but the thing throws Pippen at the pursuers (Evaline), and escapes (though Albus does hit it with some fire). Pippen is dead, Gervase is missing. After the fight, on the way back to the village, Raymond senses something unholy. They check carefully among the group, and he determines it is Evaline. He questions Bertrand about this, and Bertrand reveals he has not been completely forthcoming with them. He swears the girl is not evil, and does serve the light, but that she shows this taint when she fights. They also find out that he is not really a priest, but is a man of faith. Bertrand claims this is his calling; he is bound to protect and aid girls like Evaline. He does belong to an order, but it is not an order in the church. Raymond's guardian angel insists on dumping the girl. Raymond demurs, knowing that he is right because he still has his faith (and God would not aid him if he were acting wrongly) and that Angels, while powerful, do not have free will and can be limited in their thinking. The angel leaves. The troupe heads back to the village. They put up Endurance of the Berserker's on Orella (for moon). The next morning, the troupe, along with some help from local trackers, head out to track the creatures. The trail peters out. They believe the creatures hole up during the day, so get the trackers to lead them to local places where they might be able to hide out. The first is an abandoned barn. They look it over, but do not find the creatures after a thorough search. They head back to town. As they are on their way, dusk falls. Five ghouls and 2 others attack the group. When Evaline injures one of the others, it heals immediately. The group fights like madmen. During the fight, Terryn is controlled by something and attacks Albus (hurting him badly). Raymond begs God's mercy, and Terryn is held. Evaline kills the creature she is fighting and it falls to dust. The group is pretty sure the other creatures are vampires. At the end, the group kills the ghouls and one vampire, and drive off the other vampire. More injuries are accrued. Albus gets a moon duration Endurance of the Berserker's as well. The trackers want to celebrate, because they are now victorious. Albus convinces them it would be premature. The Larger Problem They have to find where the vampires are hiding. The next day, they head into an area with some cliffs and overhangs. They work their way downward and under the overhangs to some small cave areas. They can smell death. They find the source is some slaughtered animals. Albus realizes this is a trap. They head out, but their path is blocked by a sudden rockfall. Albus, using Perdo and Rego Terram tries to clear the rockfall. They get a hole cleared. From within the “caves” a man and woman attack (2 vamps). They control the grogs and have them attack Terryn. Terryn holds them off. Orella is watching the hole, and is controlled by a vampire outside. She goes through the hole . Albus yells for Evaline to follow and get her back. Evaline knocks Orella out, but the vampire puts her down. By the time the vamps inside are dealt with, and Albus gets out, Orella is nowhere to be found and night has fallen. The group tracks her, through the woods and up the cliffs. Evaline thinks she knows where the vamps are headed. Since the vamps cannot cross running water, there is a faster way to get there. They go back to the barn, and begin looking around. Inside, they are attacked by a controlled Orella. Albus does not want her hurt, so the fight is protracted and produces a large number of injuries. In the end, Orella is knocked out, Bertrand and Terryn are badly injured by Orella, and Evaline is in hot pursuit of the lead vampire. With Raymond praying to augment the girl's strength, and Albus doing variants on “Pit of the Gaping Earth” to aid in slowing the vampire, Evaline kills it. The group goes back to the village to report the good news. They believe they have killed all the vampires. New friendships (Bertrand and Evaline) are made. The crew heads back for the covenant, while Bertrand and Evaline stay at the village to help.

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