Session 16: A Real Bear of A Problem

We are in Corinth, a frontier town at the edge of Braeland.


 * We go to the inn looking for the constable. Anders (bartender) hasn’t seen the constable (who will be back later), but buys us a round of “dwarven beer”.
 * He says a group from House Tharashk disappeared (and nothing but bones were left), the jerk we met dragging corpses around has been trying to deal with the animal deaths, and Jagadis, a cloaked guy in the corner.
 * Also a bunch of humans drinking (including humans in armor and some farmers) and a halfling guy.
 * Vik goes over to Jagadis, middle aged human male with a big scar on his face. He tells Vik to go away. The other humans are whispering amongst themselves.
 * Asking about the attacks: no one’s attacked the actual village so far.
 * The 2 humans in armor come over and ask us if we’re adventurers coming to deal with the problem.
 * They’re trying to get something out of us. Want to be hired as “bodyguards” and we basically tell them to fuck off.
 * Vik asks the bartender if anyone knows anything. He says “the weirdos” might be up to something and it’s been tense, he keeps his head down.
 * Who’s in charge? The town guard, Captain Athol, leader of Dol’Arrah church (abbot). Who would benefit? Maybe rival farmers but they’ve been attacking everywhere.
 * We show him Mogen’s map. He points out Corinth. Vesun buys an EXPENSIVE round of the last stock from outside for the 2 farmers. One of them is very suspicious.
 * Vesun convinces them he’s on the level. One says it’s an evil spirit - sometimes the animals have been mutilated, sometimes just throats slit. The other says there was something as big as a horse with huge claws, sometimes on all fours, sometimes standing up. - He asks who the most recent victim was: farm by the river - Carris. The other guy drags him away before he can tell us more.
 * Vikrit goes over to the halfling in fancy leather (sleeping). His name is Finny Goodbarrel.
 * He says the captain is a pain in the ass and martial law has been annoying for everyone.
 * Finny says people are always complaining about various problems. He says he’s a “private musician” who’s been here a few years, lives inside the town. He looks most nervous when we ask where he’s from and why he’s here. - Mogen says we’ve had run-ins with the law and he can tell us. He drunkenly says he’s on the run here and did something ‘very wrong’.
 * The 3 guards at another table are watching us. Vik and Vesun keep watch on the guards inside while Finny goes outside with Mogen.
 * He says he stole an expensive gem from his chieftain (from the Talenta plains) and they followed him here. He starts to pass out and Mogen picks him up. He is apparently not allowed to stay at the inn anymore.
 * Cornerio is “back to normal” and asking if he’s done anything weird in the past few weeks. He remembers doing everything but can’t justify why, and is most shocked and offended at asking to be called Rio, and “why would I abandon my hammer like that?”
 * Mogen and Sarienne bring Finny back to his house. Sarienne picks the lock. They find an ornate chest and Sarienne opens it. There’s a huge gemstone - giant sapphire that looks kind of like a dragonshard with swirls in it. Sarienne picks it up and a trap is triggered. She takes the gem.
 * They come back to the inn. Sarienne goes off to hide the gem and finds a tree - “the hanging tree”. Bundle of dried flowers is at the base of the tree. She climbs into the pocket dimension and hides it there. “Death for death” is carved in the tree.
 * One of the guards (female half-elf, Istella) invites us over for a drink. They ask us some basics, then tell us Benjamin Carris recently lost 5 goats and 2 cows. Goats had slit throats.
 * She says she thinks it’s a Cyran curse. (Cyre used to be where the Mournland is) Says they’re “gypsies”. The first corpse was under the hanging tree - the other guards shoot her a look and she shuts up.
 * We all pile into 2 rooms and start discussing. Cornerio starts trying to leave with a knife and Vikrit jumps on him. He headbutts Vikrit off of him and punches Sarienne, but Vesun uses Hold Person. Vikrit bites his leg, Sarienne poorly ties him up and confiscates the knife.
 * Cornerio bolts and runs off to hide in an abandoned house. Sarienne runs after him but doesn’t see where he goes, and he hides in the rafters. Vikrit gets Rhavi and follows, so does the rest of the group. Sarienne finds stuff disturbed in a house and thinks he’s in there. Vikrit tracks him but can’t see him.
 * Cornerio starts trying to set fire to the roof, and beans Sarienne in the face with a pan when she tries to climb up. Mogen shoots acid to try to mess up the beam. Vikrit shoots Cornerio in the leg when he climbs out a hole in the roof. A mob assembles, including the town guard. Sarienne falls off the roof trying to grab Cornerio. Cornerio jumps off the roof but Vesun uses Hold Person on him again the second he lands. The guards apprehend Sarienne and Cornerio, Vesun explains, and they release Sarienne. The captain tells us we have to get out of town tomorrow and wants us to deal with Cornerio on our own.
 * Mogen goes to talk with Cornerio alone. She tries to figure out what the fuck has been going on with him. He mentions the fae realm being when this started. Cornerio is defensive but agrees he won’t run if we don’t try to restrain him, and will let us know if something comes over him again. They shake on it and Cornerio is released. Sarienne and Vikrit give him the cold shoulder.
 * Sarienne goes to rest, so does Cornerio (very much in different rooms). Mogen goes to the shop and notices a flask with “cool air” (transmutation magic) in it and buys it off the old lady. Vikrit, Tork, and Vesun go to the temple.
 * A human man (~60 yrs old with piercing eyes) answers - the abbot. Vesun does the talking and asks what’s happened. He says he’s worried someone has been trying to do a demonic ritual, but then says the gods told him it was “wild animals”. Vesun asks about the slit throats of the goats, he claims not to know about it. Another priest comes up and seems interested.
 * Once the abbot leaves, the other priest says it was him who told the abbot it was sacrifice. He says 20 years ago, group of Cyran refugees came and used a medicine that poisoned 2 people and crippled the 3rd. They hanged all the refugees; they’re all buried underneath the tree. (He’s afraid of others finding out and is ashamed of what happened.)
 * Vik asked who else was around at the time of the hanging: the blacksmith, constable, captain, abbot were around at the time. He gives us directions to the Carris farm.
 * Meanwhile, Mogen chats with the blacksmith. Then we all reconvene at the inn and go to bed.
 * Early the next morning, a commotion wakes us up. The door to the inn is open. There’s a big crowd of people at the gatehouse at the front of the town.
 * There’s a young human boy with shirt covered in blood standing in the middle. One of the guards is talking to him. He says something tore his dad up, his mom is hysterical.
 * Vesun tries to go over and heal the father, but the priests say they have it covered.
 * A tall elven man - Constable Parsons - introduces himself and asks us to help investigate. The father’s body is covered with burns and has big, deep scratches in his chest.
 * Apparently the father heard a cow making noise, went to check, and the barn exploded. Something fell on him and they dragged him to a wagon.
 * We ride out, farm is ~30 mins away. It smells like burnt flesh. Vikrit finds animal tracks outside the barn - can’t place what they are. The barn starts to collapse when one of the party brushes against the wall.
 * Vikrit casts Speak with Animals. The calf whines about its injuries and is hungry. It wandered into the barn after the explosion then the beam fell on it. Saw a large hairy 4 pawed beast, teeth like pitchforks, horrible breath, red eyes, thinks it killed everyone.
 * Vesun and Sarienne go into the farmhouse. Looks untouched. Outside, there’s a chicken coop with mutilated animals. In the field, there’s a bull charging at Mogen. It is mad and protecting the field. Calf says the beast was circling around the barn.
 * Bull says beast attacked the animals. Large mouth, walked on all fours, says it could fly. Mouth was sulfurus and scary. We reconvene. Most of damage to the neck… and not eaten.
 * We follow the trail of the beast to another farmstead: Bosko farm. The barn looks untouched, but a bunch of dead animals inside. Both doors have been torn off their hinges; deep clawmarks on outside of doors. Furniture’s been overturned, pillows have been torn open (with a dagger?). Men’s and women’s clothes strewn everywhere.
 * Inside the house, there’s a painting of an old man and woman under the bed. The (warm) body of that woman is stuffed in cabinet, broken off metal prong of pitchfork in her back. Virit finds beast tracks and something being dragged away to the edge of the forest, human and beast tracks around the barn and to the north with dried blood.
 * We decide to follow the animal tracks.
 * We go for a while, get to edge of another farm, trail disappears. There’s an empty animal pen here. Faint candlelight inside. The tracks stop right at the stone wall - also human tracks here.
 * We approach the farmhouse. A wrinkled gnome charges out pointing a spear at us. Cornerio and Mogen calm him down. He says he “already killed his animals and sold the meat.” He says he heard something last night in woods around midnight, moon high in the sky.
 * Beast is probably 6-7’ tall based on tree damage. Clawmarks are consistent with bear claws.
 * Human tracks go back to Bosko farm (one we went to). Unclear how they got there, maybe they RODE IN on the beast… old man was half-buried after mauled, dragged away by the beast. Looks like animal will probably come back to eat the guy later.
 * Mogen shares the details that Finny told him. (Mogen tells only Vikrit that they have the gemstone - only them and Sarienne know.)
 * We encounter Jagadis on our way back. He says “maybe the Constable was got by a bear”, tells us where he was and that he was looking for us, threatens us to not get in his way for “who he’s been looking for”.
 * We go where he mentions on the way back. There’s a horse tied up, constable’s tracks going into a field. Vesun flies off invisibly with messenger app and finds the constable clawed badly but alive. He also has fingers on his right hand are sliced off. Vesun heals him (invisibly).
 * The rest of the party approaches slowly. He mutters softly, “the Burrens - help me” over and over. He seems to be in emotional shock. We put him on a horse to go back.
 * We find faint tracks, tufts of black/brown fur, 3 gold coins, and a split empty coinpurse. There are old animal tracks, but can’t tell what they are.
 * We go back to Corinth with the constable, bring him to the priests for healing. The Burrens have a farm specializing in beef cattle. We tell the abbot what happened to the farmers. The farmer from this morning died despite the healing, and his wife and kid are in shock.
 * We examine the constable - Vikrit sees signs of some kind of venom or acid in the clawmarks corroding the flesh around the wound. Same with farmer’s body.
 * We ask about Jagadis - he lives in town, is a loner. We go examine his house - there are creepy skulls outside. There is magic inside the house (abjuration). Sarienne examines the door and it opens - he’s home. He doesn’t seem surprised the constable has been injured. He says his scar is from a bear, and makes a smug comment about trained circus bears when we talk about the constable’s fingers getting sliced off. We make him come to the cops with us, passing the old lady and some children. Cornerio hides and doesn’t follow.
 * We take him in. Guards are doing drills outside. Vesun starts casting Zone of Truth and both Captain Athol and Jagadis react poorly and stop him. Captain wants to talk with Jag alone. Vik and weasel listen in. Captain says they’ve been working together on something, he’s been turning a blind eye to J’s hunting. The rest chat with the guards - martial law has been a pain.
 * Cornerio breaks in to Jagadis’s house. He destroys the door to get in. It stinks of animal products. Mainly hunting trophies (but no bear-related ones), a nice chess set and some gold. He takes them and heads to the Burrens’.
 * We go inside with the captain and try to tell him what we’ve seen. He seems to listen a little bit but won’t send anyone to help us and is fixated on orcs being the culprits. Vikrit wants to have someone keep watch on the half-buried farmer’s corpse but he won’t help.
 * Mogen goes to chat with some guards in the inn. She asks about who’s been here the longest (most senior, if the captain was gone), says the half-elf guard, Istella.
 * We start going to the Burrens’. Cornerio gets there first. The farmer is suspicious and grills Cornerio, who is slightly less than helpful. We arrive. “Well our leading theory was bears…”
 * He asks us to stay overnight and set up defenses. There’s a heavy fog. Vikrit puts a tin can alarm on the back door.
 * Sarienne and Mogen hide near the barn. Tork and Vesun are in the house. Cornerio is in the henhouse with Venga (the weasel). Vikrit is in a central tree. Sarienne and Mogen have the messenger apps.
 * Tork senses the weasel panicking - something is coming from the west. Something sets the alarm off at the back door and slams into it. Tork is right above it: it’s a massive black bear - 8-9 feet tall. It’s blurring around the edges–something magical. He tries to hit it with a scorching ray, unclear if it just didn’t hurt it or it missed.
 * Vikrit tries to scrabble onto the roof. Vesun casts Sanctuary and tries to block the bear from entering. Cornerio punches at the bear with magic fists: “a flurry of blows on a blurry foe.” - Carlos is terrible.
 * The bear starts slashing at Vesun but doesn’t hurt him. He can smell its sulfurous breath. Mogen shoots a hot potato at the bear and it phases out of reality to avoid the damage. Vikrit aims at the woods (can’t see). Sarienne shoots the bear right when it phases back in. Vesun sees a hooded, humanoid figure near Cornerio and alerts everyone, then casts Bear’s Endurance on himself. The bear’s wedged in the door and tries to back out, then runs for the woods. Vikrit shoots at the bear but it phases out. Tork Mage Armors himself. Vikrit creeps across the roof to get closer to the humanoid.
 * Sarienne shoots the bear again, but can’t see it. Cornerio sees the humanoid jump on the bear, riding it, and they run. He takes off after them and leaps onto the bear. Cornerio sees the person’s face: hooded young human man with unkempt beard (no scar). He stabs Cornerio, who feels woozy, then falls off the bear and falls asleep.