Date: 20th April 2024
It's a Saturday and we're in Aldershot for session seven of Evils of Illmire.
As well as some adventuring, session seven sees the introduction of a new player; Jack.
It's a Saturday and we're in Aldershot for session seven of Evils of Illmire.
As well as some adventuring, session seven sees the introduction of a new player; Jack.
Introducing
Hailing from a remote silvan community, Wensley Battern-Berg, an elf with a wanderlust for adventure and glory had on his travels encountered stories of ancient riches lost to time and nature, and so, had been lured to the reaches of civilisation and the border-town of Illmire.
Speaking with the locals, Wensley discovered that in the past several months, several bands of explorers and treasure-seekers had ventured out into the wilds beyond Illmire. One such band was currently active close to Illmire.
Knowing it would be prudent to seek out comrades in his quite possibly dangerous ventures, Wensley decided to find this latest band of adventurers and set out for the misty lake.
Several miles later, having left behind the arable environs of the town he found himself marching into the empty grassy wilderness. Soon after this had he came upon the lapping waters at the curving lake's edge, a little further exploring and he encountered a peculiar band of travellers, a halfing, a dwarf and two mannish folk - our heroes!
There was some discussion and Wensley decided to join with our heroes on their current task - ending the threat of the fishmen.
Hailing from a remote silvan community, Wensley Battern-Berg, an elf with a wanderlust for adventure and glory had on his travels encountered stories of ancient riches lost to time and nature, and so, had been lured to the reaches of civilisation and the border-town of Illmire.
Speaking with the locals, Wensley discovered that in the past several months, several bands of explorers and treasure-seekers had ventured out into the wilds beyond Illmire. One such band was currently active close to Illmire.
Knowing it would be prudent to seek out comrades in his quite possibly dangerous ventures, Wensley decided to find this latest band of adventurers and set out for the misty lake.
Several miles later, having left behind the arable environs of the town he found himself marching into the empty grassy wilderness. Soon after this had he came upon the lapping waters at the curving lake's edge, a little further exploring and he encountered a peculiar band of travellers, a halfing, a dwarf and two mannish folk - our heroes!
There was some discussion and Wensley decided to join with our heroes on their current task - ending the threat of the fishmen.
Deep Dive
Our heroes had been unable to find any sign of cave nor passageway that might lead to wherever the fishmen had been coming from.
Instead, they had come up with a cunning plan.
Fishermen from Illmire could frequently be found eking out a living across the lake, cutting through the shimmering waters in their wooden boats while plying their trade. At any time a small number of these boats were unused and left hauled out on the shoreline.
Our heroes searched for a suitably sized stone and Socks cast an illuminate cantrip on it, then Bertha, Tia and Zach took one of the unused boats out on to the lake. Once they had rowed out to the lake's centre, they attached their ropes to Tia, who then picked up the glowing stone, held her breath and promptly jumped in!
The surface fell away above Tia as she rapidly descended, within a moment the wavering sky above had dwindled to a gloomily ineffective and undulating shafts of light. A small area around her was lit by the incandescent stone she gripped and she watched as curious or startled fish swam in or out of the light.
After a few seconds, the rope around Tia stopped abruptly, the rope had gone taut, she was a hundred foot down, the pressure was immense!
There was no sign of the lake bed, Tia dropped the stone and watched it shrink away and disappear, swallowed by unfathomable, murky depths.
The lake was deep!
Tia tugged twice on the rope, Berth and Zach hauled her up. The trio rowed back to the shore and the others.
Undeterred, our heroes decided to try again!
Acquiring another stone, they rowed out half-a-mile this time and again, Tia jumped in.
Tia again sank down through dim waters to a hundred foot depth and abruptly halted and again, a flurry of marine activity revealed itself to her in the stone's light but nothing else beyond it was visible.
Releasing the stone, Tia watched it sink, only this time it stopped after a second! It was nestled amongst the tall, gently swaying weeds that grew thickly across the lake bed and thin slats of light shone through the underwater vegetation.
No caves or entrances could be seen, Tia tugged on the rope again and was pulled up.
Not having had much success in exploring the deep places of the lake, our heroes decided to return to the logging camp. It was a few hours march back along faint, uneven trails through the half-lit, shady forest before it opened up into the camp. Our heroes found Rigdorf and asked if he had advice on finding the fishmen.
The giant woodcutter shrugged, explaining that he did not know of any way of finding the fishmen, otherwise he wouldn't have offered a reward for it and besides, he admitted, he did not leave the confines of the forest.
Our heroes decided on returning to Illmire and while travelling back along their route spied something among a copse of thin-trunked trees.
Obscured by the foliage they discovered a tall standing stone that reached above them. Decorated with unfathomable, weird markings and symbols, it seemed quite implacably ancient.
Wensley examined it closely and could attribute some sense of faint magic to it. It was far too large to move without an entire team of workers and our heroes could not discern any use or meaning for it, so they continued on to Illmire.
Late was the afternoon as our heroes reached the town, their shadows stretched long across the earth as the even sun continued its inextricable descent to the horizon. Passing through the gates, they headed to the inn and took rooms for the night.
Before retiring, our heroes decided that perhaps a scout or guide could find something at the lake they could not. As a couple of hours passed, a handful of farmers, fishermen and gecko hunters came into the bar. Our heroes managed to introduce themselves to Kel a youngish local gecko trapper, after some negotiation, he agreed to come with them in the morning.
The walk to the lake the next day with Kel was uneventful, dawn mists burnt away to reveal a lake gleaming under a cloudless morning sky.
The trapper had barely begun his searching when our heroes noticed something? With frenetically flapping wings, a small swarm of stirges, possibly roused from some roost descended on them and attacked!
It was a short fight relatively and our heroes took little damage.
Once the altercation was over, Kel popped up from his hiding place behind some bushes and resumed his search.
Our heroes had been unable to find any sign of cave nor passageway that might lead to wherever the fishmen had been coming from.
Instead, they had come up with a cunning plan.
Fishermen from Illmire could frequently be found eking out a living across the lake, cutting through the shimmering waters in their wooden boats while plying their trade. At any time a small number of these boats were unused and left hauled out on the shoreline.
Our heroes searched for a suitably sized stone and Socks cast an illuminate cantrip on it, then Bertha, Tia and Zach took one of the unused boats out on to the lake. Once they had rowed out to the lake's centre, they attached their ropes to Tia, who then picked up the glowing stone, held her breath and promptly jumped in!
The surface fell away above Tia as she rapidly descended, within a moment the wavering sky above had dwindled to a gloomily ineffective and undulating shafts of light. A small area around her was lit by the incandescent stone she gripped and she watched as curious or startled fish swam in or out of the light.
After a few seconds, the rope around Tia stopped abruptly, the rope had gone taut, she was a hundred foot down, the pressure was immense!
There was no sign of the lake bed, Tia dropped the stone and watched it shrink away and disappear, swallowed by unfathomable, murky depths.
The lake was deep!
Tia tugged twice on the rope, Berth and Zach hauled her up. The trio rowed back to the shore and the others.
Undeterred, our heroes decided to try again!
Acquiring another stone, they rowed out half-a-mile this time and again, Tia jumped in.
Tia again sank down through dim waters to a hundred foot depth and abruptly halted and again, a flurry of marine activity revealed itself to her in the stone's light but nothing else beyond it was visible.
Releasing the stone, Tia watched it sink, only this time it stopped after a second! It was nestled amongst the tall, gently swaying weeds that grew thickly across the lake bed and thin slats of light shone through the underwater vegetation.
No caves or entrances could be seen, Tia tugged on the rope again and was pulled up.
Not having had much success in exploring the deep places of the lake, our heroes decided to return to the logging camp. It was a few hours march back along faint, uneven trails through the half-lit, shady forest before it opened up into the camp. Our heroes found Rigdorf and asked if he had advice on finding the fishmen.
The giant woodcutter shrugged, explaining that he did not know of any way of finding the fishmen, otherwise he wouldn't have offered a reward for it and besides, he admitted, he did not leave the confines of the forest.
Our heroes decided on returning to Illmire and while travelling back along their route spied something among a copse of thin-trunked trees.
Obscured by the foliage they discovered a tall standing stone that reached above them. Decorated with unfathomable, weird markings and symbols, it seemed quite implacably ancient.
Wensley examined it closely and could attribute some sense of faint magic to it. It was far too large to move without an entire team of workers and our heroes could not discern any use or meaning for it, so they continued on to Illmire.
Late was the afternoon as our heroes reached the town, their shadows stretched long across the earth as the even sun continued its inextricable descent to the horizon. Passing through the gates, they headed to the inn and took rooms for the night.
Before retiring, our heroes decided that perhaps a scout or guide could find something at the lake they could not. As a couple of hours passed, a handful of farmers, fishermen and gecko hunters came into the bar. Our heroes managed to introduce themselves to Kel a youngish local gecko trapper, after some negotiation, he agreed to come with them in the morning.
The walk to the lake the next day with Kel was uneventful, dawn mists burnt away to reveal a lake gleaming under a cloudless morning sky.
The trapper had barely begun his searching when our heroes noticed something? With frenetically flapping wings, a small swarm of stirges, possibly roused from some roost descended on them and attacked!
It was a short fight relatively and our heroes took little damage.
Once the altercation was over, Kel popped up from his hiding place behind some bushes and resumed his search.
It was well into the afternoon when unfortunately, Kel declared that the search had not revealed any new information to our disappointed heroes.
Kel collected his payment and retuned to Illmire.
Our heroes had met with little success at finding the origins of the fishmen and decided to explore northwards in marshes of Illmire. There was little remaining of the day so they chose to camp close to the lake. Night came without incident but at night during the first watch, the sound of movement could be heard.
Coming into the edge of the campfire light and through the tall grasses, they spotted some giant toads heading their way! Our heroes held their ground and fight ensued.
Despite the toads' poisonous attacks, our heroes did not succumb and were victorious.
Kel collected his payment and retuned to Illmire.
Our heroes had met with little success at finding the origins of the fishmen and decided to explore northwards in marshes of Illmire. There was little remaining of the day so they chose to camp close to the lake. Night came without incident but at night during the first watch, the sound of movement could be heard.
Coming into the edge of the campfire light and through the tall grasses, they spotted some giant toads heading their way! Our heroes held their ground and fight ensued.
Despite the toads' poisonous attacks, our heroes did not succumb and were victorious.
Swampy
Shrouded by early mists that rolled off the nearby waters; morning had arrived. Our heroes decamped and hiked northwards.
The lush plant life that ringed the lake thinned out and in its place were low, gently rolling fens. An uneven, rugged and mostly treeless landscape unfurled before our heroes, populated by a variety of coarse shrubs and stubborn short grasses on the rises while bordered by sporadic stretches of water in the lowland that glinted under the sky. They could see an abundance geckoes scuttling about or basking in an ascendant sun and numerous waterfowl that perused the wetland, otherwise it was almost featureless.
Only one thing caught their attention; silhouetted against the horizon was a slight but distinct incline, something was there. Lacking anything else to explore, they headed that way.
It was tough going, slogging over deposits of foul smelling brown-black peat or wading through insect-riddled pools and waterlogged depressions. It took the entire morning but our heroes arrived at their destination after some exertion.
There was some sort of bowl shaped basin at the incline which was filled with resting geckoes and at its centre was a hole that led directly downwards into impenetrable darkness
Seemingly emerging from the soggy terrain adjacent to the basin was what appeared to be some part of building? Our heroes examined it and came to the realisation that it was a submerged roof of a sunken structure! Whatever this building was, it had been claimed by the marshes over uncountable years.
Shrouded by early mists that rolled off the nearby waters; morning had arrived. Our heroes decamped and hiked northwards.
The lush plant life that ringed the lake thinned out and in its place were low, gently rolling fens. An uneven, rugged and mostly treeless landscape unfurled before our heroes, populated by a variety of coarse shrubs and stubborn short grasses on the rises while bordered by sporadic stretches of water in the lowland that glinted under the sky. They could see an abundance geckoes scuttling about or basking in an ascendant sun and numerous waterfowl that perused the wetland, otherwise it was almost featureless.
Only one thing caught their attention; silhouetted against the horizon was a slight but distinct incline, something was there. Lacking anything else to explore, they headed that way.
It was tough going, slogging over deposits of foul smelling brown-black peat or wading through insect-riddled pools and waterlogged depressions. It took the entire morning but our heroes arrived at their destination after some exertion.
There was some sort of bowl shaped basin at the incline which was filled with resting geckoes and at its centre was a hole that led directly downwards into impenetrable darkness
Seemingly emerging from the soggy terrain adjacent to the basin was what appeared to be some part of building? Our heroes examined it and came to the realisation that it was a submerged roof of a sunken structure! Whatever this building was, it had been claimed by the marshes over uncountable years.
Swampy too
There was nothing to be found at the rooftop, so our heroes pushed on north, by early afternoon the landscape had changed once more. Ahead were anonymous flat, low black-brown sandy scrublands punctuated by dismal pools.
Our heroes pressed on and found themselves labouredly sloshing along as their boots sunk inches deep into vast muddy and waterlogged tracts, the entire region seemed extremely marshy.
Doggedly, our heroes continued.
A little further on and they spotted a change in the uniform emptiness surrounding them - movement! Closer inspection revealed a giant gecko, erratically scrabbling about ineffectively and half sunk into sandy mud.
Zach stepped forward to rescue the gecko, unfortunately he had stepped into a quicksand that began pulling him under with alarming strength and speed. Zach tried to back out but his failed movement became panicked flailing. Fortunately, Bertha was quick to act, flinging out a line to Zach who managed to grasp it and was pulled free of the sucking sand.
With greater alertness, Zach once more strode out to the gecko and managed to pull it free, the creature immediately scuttled off into the wilderness
Our heroes realised that the way ahead might be treacherous, following some discussion, they decided to avoid continuing on and turned back southwards to the sunken building in the fens.
It was an uneventful march and by late afternoon they were back at the mysterious structure.
Tia decided to try and dig down, hoping to find something below. She toiled for a couple of hours but found it hard going and failed to make any progress as muddy marsh waters kept pooling in whatever hole she was digging.
If only there was some other way downwards close by.
The day had reached its end by the time Tia finished digging, dusky orange hues blazed over a sparse landscape while the mire's ponds and pools were lit the colour of flame.
Our heroes found a relatively dry spot and camped, the night passed without incident.
There was nothing to be found at the rooftop, so our heroes pushed on north, by early afternoon the landscape had changed once more. Ahead were anonymous flat, low black-brown sandy scrublands punctuated by dismal pools.
Our heroes pressed on and found themselves labouredly sloshing along as their boots sunk inches deep into vast muddy and waterlogged tracts, the entire region seemed extremely marshy.
Doggedly, our heroes continued.
A little further on and they spotted a change in the uniform emptiness surrounding them - movement! Closer inspection revealed a giant gecko, erratically scrabbling about ineffectively and half sunk into sandy mud.
Zach stepped forward to rescue the gecko, unfortunately he had stepped into a quicksand that began pulling him under with alarming strength and speed. Zach tried to back out but his failed movement became panicked flailing. Fortunately, Bertha was quick to act, flinging out a line to Zach who managed to grasp it and was pulled free of the sucking sand.
With greater alertness, Zach once more strode out to the gecko and managed to pull it free, the creature immediately scuttled off into the wilderness
Our heroes realised that the way ahead might be treacherous, following some discussion, they decided to avoid continuing on and turned back southwards to the sunken building in the fens.
It was an uneventful march and by late afternoon they were back at the mysterious structure.
Tia decided to try and dig down, hoping to find something below. She toiled for a couple of hours but found it hard going and failed to make any progress as muddy marsh waters kept pooling in whatever hole she was digging.
If only there was some other way downwards close by.
The day had reached its end by the time Tia finished digging, dusky orange hues blazed over a sparse landscape while the mire's ponds and pools were lit the colour of flame.
Our heroes found a relatively dry spot and camped, the night passed without incident.
Hill to climb
The decision was made to go north-west in the morning.
A few hours of marching and the fens were left behind, ahead was a curious sight. Greenery that was so pervasive across those marshes had become here, thinly distributed patches of starkly exposed bare earth, gone also were the geckos, waterfowl and even buzzing insects while a unsettling silence shrouded the entirety of it.
Travelling on, our heroes noticed strange depressed mounds in the exposed patches and a little later they saw a weird shape a couple of miles ahead.
Approaching, our heroes saw a tall, almost chimney shaped structure composed of what appeared to be a mixture of dirt, dried peat, mud and clay. It dawned on them that it was a giant anthill.
Instinctively, they knew it was dangerous and ducked into the cover provided by a hollow, then watched carefully for a while.
From their hiding place they spied the dark mouth of a cave, continuing to watch carefully, they saw movement.
There were four of them, weird giant insectoid creatures, green-skinned, six-limbed and with a strange mannish countenance to them. They were grasping javelins and clearly guarding whatever lay through the cave mouth.
Mantismen!
Our heroes had heard the farmers and hunters of Illmire warn of them. Mantismen had been described as murderous, attacking on sight, dangerous and to be avoided.
It didn't deter our heroes. A discussion followed and our heroes decided in probing their defences!
Following the contours of land, they crept to an advantageous position and launched a surprise attack, loosing a volley at the guards.
One of the mantismen was immediately felled, another ducked back into the cave, then with alarmingly fast reactions, the other two unhesitatingly charged. The mantismen closed and hurled their javelins ineffectively, then melee was upon our heroes. Luckily, their numbers gave them an advantage over the two insectoid enemies who were defeated.
There was no time to take stock though, storming from the cave came reinforcements, perhaps a dozen mantismen. Our heroes retreated under a rain of javelin attacks and made their escape.
After their withdrawal, our heroes made for Illmire.
The decision was made to go north-west in the morning.
A few hours of marching and the fens were left behind, ahead was a curious sight. Greenery that was so pervasive across those marshes had become here, thinly distributed patches of starkly exposed bare earth, gone also were the geckos, waterfowl and even buzzing insects while a unsettling silence shrouded the entirety of it.
Travelling on, our heroes noticed strange depressed mounds in the exposed patches and a little later they saw a weird shape a couple of miles ahead.
Approaching, our heroes saw a tall, almost chimney shaped structure composed of what appeared to be a mixture of dirt, dried peat, mud and clay. It dawned on them that it was a giant anthill.
Instinctively, they knew it was dangerous and ducked into the cover provided by a hollow, then watched carefully for a while.
From their hiding place they spied the dark mouth of a cave, continuing to watch carefully, they saw movement.
There were four of them, weird giant insectoid creatures, green-skinned, six-limbed and with a strange mannish countenance to them. They were grasping javelins and clearly guarding whatever lay through the cave mouth.
Mantismen!
Our heroes had heard the farmers and hunters of Illmire warn of them. Mantismen had been described as murderous, attacking on sight, dangerous and to be avoided.
It didn't deter our heroes. A discussion followed and our heroes decided in probing their defences!
Following the contours of land, they crept to an advantageous position and launched a surprise attack, loosing a volley at the guards.
One of the mantismen was immediately felled, another ducked back into the cave, then with alarmingly fast reactions, the other two unhesitatingly charged. The mantismen closed and hurled their javelins ineffectively, then melee was upon our heroes. Luckily, their numbers gave them an advantage over the two insectoid enemies who were defeated.
There was no time to take stock though, storming from the cave came reinforcements, perhaps a dozen mantismen. Our heroes retreated under a rain of javelin attacks and made their escape.
After their withdrawal, our heroes made for Illmire.
Out of towners
The return to Illmire was unremarkable, day was darkening and stars were twinkling into an inky sky by the time our heroes strode through the wooden palisades and made for the Inn of the weary Wagoner. The day had been a hard slog, they booked rooms and promptly retired for the night.
Morning came, dazzling thin slips of low eastern sunlight blazed through shuttered windows, painting the room in subdued rosy gold as our heroes rose.
It was time to try and see the new mayor again our heroes decided. They marched over to the largish brick house at the northern end of the town and knocked on the door. Piedlund, butler to Illmire's new mayor answered, observing them with a distant coolness and inquiring as to their business.
Our heroes told Piedlund that they had important information about the 'balding fever' to provide to Mayor Zlatko but the servant remained unconvinced and did not grant them admission.
Stymied, our heroes prowled the exterior of the house's perimeter, straining to get a glance through any window they came across. However, they were unable to spot anything significant.
Next; our heroes decided to examine the town well again. They marched over to it and looked it over again.
Nothing had changed.
Wondering what they should now investigate, our heroes' eyes were drawn to a windmill. They discovered that it was maintained by a young couple; Deela and Lanham. They seemed friendly enough and our heroes were persuasive enough to lower their defences. After some conversation, they admitted that they found Illmire to be a unsettling place, Lanham stated that recently the carpenter had seemed 'off'.
Our heroes were surprised, it had not occurred to them that Illmire might have a carpenter. They thanked the couple and left.
It wasn't hard to find the carpenter's shopfront; an open space at the front of one of Ilmire's many gloomy homes. Our heroes could see a young man attending the shop, behind was a woman quietly going about some chores.
The young man was named Buel, he seemed surly to our heroes and spoke cold and distantly when replying to their queries. He told them his father, the carpenter was on business elsewhere, they should come back if they wanted to speak to him. There nothing else to be gained here.
Our heroes decided it was time to explore Illmire a little.
They found a general store and headed inside, it all looked pretty normal to them, although the shopkeeper did watch them closely, after a short while, our heroes left.
Adjacent to the general store was the blacksmith, our heroes could see a burly bearded man with exposed muscular arms busily plying his trade and approached.
They spoke with Magnus the blacksmith but he was not particularly talkative.
Following that, our heroes continued to walk the town, they discovered several shops as well as three farmsteads that populated Illmire. They kept exploring until they encountered what they had been told was the 'stonemason's house'.
Nestled in a quiet part of Illmire's western quarter, it was at least superficially, an unremarkable, nondescript building by the town's standards, save that it differed in a single way though, someone had gone to the lengths of nailing up wooden boards and panels across windows and the door.
With no way in, our heroes knocked and waited, there was no answer. It might have been possible that there was no one inside but the briefest flickers of movement could be seen though gaps in the boarding. They were also certain that an unrecognisable smell was coming through the gaps.
Wensley thought hard about it, he couldn't put a finger on it but felt it was 'off'?
Our heroes withdrew to a further away position and quietly watched the stonemason's house for a while. Nothing happened, they were not willing to try and force their way in, so our heroes left.
Continued exploration of Illmire revealed that the town had been involved with some kind of mining enterprises to the north, although townsfolk seemed somewhat evasive about this? Even so, our heroes discovered one of miner lived here.
The miner's house was situated in the north-eastern end of town, an unremarkable building close to the perpetually closed temple.
Emira, a youngish woman answered the door skittishly, despite some hesitancy, she seemed content to speak with our heroes. They presumed she was the miner's daughter and asked about her father. Emira explained that her father had been killed some months back in a mining accident.
She went on; her mother had taken it badly and spent her days in inconsolable grief.
When Emira was asked about the stonemason and carpenter, she could not provide any further information. During their conversation with her, our heroes had shown themselves to be trustworthy so when asked if she had seen anything strange, she gave her reply in a hushed tone.
She believed that she had heard faint screaming from the direction of the temple during the cover of darkness. Something was happening at night and she also believed there was some kind of hidden way into the temple.
Our heroes met this news with interest, they thanked Emira and left.
It was time to return to the stonemason, our heroes decided.
Nothing had changed, it was all still boarded up, they knocked on the door again and waited. There was a noise, they were sure of it, a low and indecipherable muttered voice but who was the voice speaking to?
Again, there was no answer.
Returning to the same spot they had watched the stonemason's from earlier in the day, they spent another hour watching it and again, nothing occurred.
Giving up on the stonemason for now, they decided to pay the carpenter another visit, it had been a while and he might've returned. Buel was there, they spoke with him but there was still no sign of his father yet.
Where could he be for all this time our heroes wondered? Perhaps it was something to do with the stonemason?
Dejected at the lack of results, our heroes tried another option and visited the barracks, Captain Fray was not present but his three men were. They gave our heroes suspicious glances as they walked in.
Our heroes asked the guards if they knew why the stonemason had boarded up his home. The guards gave surly noncommittal answers, it was clear they had no interest in what our heroes had to say or indeed the activities of the stonemason.
It had become late as our heroes returned to the inn, a mere memory now that the day's sun had been lost to the western horizon, candles and lanterns were winking into life across Illmire.
They were surprised upon entering.
Someone was waiting for them, they recognised her. It was the carpenter's wife, they'd seen her briefly when talking to Buel.
"I need your help,' she told them.
The return to Illmire was unremarkable, day was darkening and stars were twinkling into an inky sky by the time our heroes strode through the wooden palisades and made for the Inn of the weary Wagoner. The day had been a hard slog, they booked rooms and promptly retired for the night.
Morning came, dazzling thin slips of low eastern sunlight blazed through shuttered windows, painting the room in subdued rosy gold as our heroes rose.
It was time to try and see the new mayor again our heroes decided. They marched over to the largish brick house at the northern end of the town and knocked on the door. Piedlund, butler to Illmire's new mayor answered, observing them with a distant coolness and inquiring as to their business.
Our heroes told Piedlund that they had important information about the 'balding fever' to provide to Mayor Zlatko but the servant remained unconvinced and did not grant them admission.
Stymied, our heroes prowled the exterior of the house's perimeter, straining to get a glance through any window they came across. However, they were unable to spot anything significant.
Next; our heroes decided to examine the town well again. They marched over to it and looked it over again.
Nothing had changed.
Wondering what they should now investigate, our heroes' eyes were drawn to a windmill. They discovered that it was maintained by a young couple; Deela and Lanham. They seemed friendly enough and our heroes were persuasive enough to lower their defences. After some conversation, they admitted that they found Illmire to be a unsettling place, Lanham stated that recently the carpenter had seemed 'off'.
Our heroes were surprised, it had not occurred to them that Illmire might have a carpenter. They thanked the couple and left.
It wasn't hard to find the carpenter's shopfront; an open space at the front of one of Ilmire's many gloomy homes. Our heroes could see a young man attending the shop, behind was a woman quietly going about some chores.
The young man was named Buel, he seemed surly to our heroes and spoke cold and distantly when replying to their queries. He told them his father, the carpenter was on business elsewhere, they should come back if they wanted to speak to him. There nothing else to be gained here.
Our heroes decided it was time to explore Illmire a little.
They found a general store and headed inside, it all looked pretty normal to them, although the shopkeeper did watch them closely, after a short while, our heroes left.
Adjacent to the general store was the blacksmith, our heroes could see a burly bearded man with exposed muscular arms busily plying his trade and approached.
They spoke with Magnus the blacksmith but he was not particularly talkative.
Following that, our heroes continued to walk the town, they discovered several shops as well as three farmsteads that populated Illmire. They kept exploring until they encountered what they had been told was the 'stonemason's house'.
Nestled in a quiet part of Illmire's western quarter, it was at least superficially, an unremarkable, nondescript building by the town's standards, save that it differed in a single way though, someone had gone to the lengths of nailing up wooden boards and panels across windows and the door.
With no way in, our heroes knocked and waited, there was no answer. It might have been possible that there was no one inside but the briefest flickers of movement could be seen though gaps in the boarding. They were also certain that an unrecognisable smell was coming through the gaps.
Wensley thought hard about it, he couldn't put a finger on it but felt it was 'off'?
Our heroes withdrew to a further away position and quietly watched the stonemason's house for a while. Nothing happened, they were not willing to try and force their way in, so our heroes left.
Continued exploration of Illmire revealed that the town had been involved with some kind of mining enterprises to the north, although townsfolk seemed somewhat evasive about this? Even so, our heroes discovered one of miner lived here.
The miner's house was situated in the north-eastern end of town, an unremarkable building close to the perpetually closed temple.
Emira, a youngish woman answered the door skittishly, despite some hesitancy, she seemed content to speak with our heroes. They presumed she was the miner's daughter and asked about her father. Emira explained that her father had been killed some months back in a mining accident.
She went on; her mother had taken it badly and spent her days in inconsolable grief.
When Emira was asked about the stonemason and carpenter, she could not provide any further information. During their conversation with her, our heroes had shown themselves to be trustworthy so when asked if she had seen anything strange, she gave her reply in a hushed tone.
She believed that she had heard faint screaming from the direction of the temple during the cover of darkness. Something was happening at night and she also believed there was some kind of hidden way into the temple.
Our heroes met this news with interest, they thanked Emira and left.
It was time to return to the stonemason, our heroes decided.
Nothing had changed, it was all still boarded up, they knocked on the door again and waited. There was a noise, they were sure of it, a low and indecipherable muttered voice but who was the voice speaking to?
Again, there was no answer.
Returning to the same spot they had watched the stonemason's from earlier in the day, they spent another hour watching it and again, nothing occurred.
Giving up on the stonemason for now, they decided to pay the carpenter another visit, it had been a while and he might've returned. Buel was there, they spoke with him but there was still no sign of his father yet.
Where could he be for all this time our heroes wondered? Perhaps it was something to do with the stonemason?
Dejected at the lack of results, our heroes tried another option and visited the barracks, Captain Fray was not present but his three men were. They gave our heroes suspicious glances as they walked in.
Our heroes asked the guards if they knew why the stonemason had boarded up his home. The guards gave surly noncommittal answers, it was clear they had no interest in what our heroes had to say or indeed the activities of the stonemason.
It had become late as our heroes returned to the inn, a mere memory now that the day's sun had been lost to the western horizon, candles and lanterns were winking into life across Illmire.
They were surprised upon entering.
Someone was waiting for them, they recognised her. It was the carpenter's wife, they'd seen her briefly when talking to Buel.
"I need your help,' she told them.
To be continued.
