Campaign Updates: Into the Woods

After a few weeks when the frequency of the Dolmenwood campaign was more sporadic than it had been in the past, we seem to be back on track. Meanwhile, the House of Worms and Barrett's Raiders campaigns continue to barrel along, with the former rapidly heading toward what is soon likely to be the consummation of more than ten years of play. 

Barrett's Raiders

The next scheduled supply run was in the late afternoon of December 7, 2000 – the date on which MLG-7 told General Summers they'd be leaving Fort Lee to head westward to Fort Pickett. Since Lt. Col. Orlowski doesn't like leaving work half-done, he decided it would be in the best interests of everyone involved if he and his unit made sure that no more supplies from the base were being funneled to New America. To that end, he asked Corporal Forest to accompany Specialist Huxley on the run. Meanwhile, other members of the unit would scout ahead, checking out the area where the hand-offs of supplies had been happening in the past, in order to be prepared.

The scouting party consisted of Lt. Cody, Sgt. McLeod, Michael, and Radosław. According to Huxley, the hand-offs happened near a side road accessible from the highway. The side road led to several industrial parks, where small businesses of various sorts were located. Most of the businesses looked to have been looted some time ago. Cody and McLeod split off to look more closely at these parks, while Michael and Radosław headed further down the road. One of the industrial parks contained a self-storage facility whose door was closed. Two men in an irregular mix of civilian and military garb, armed with rifles, stood near it. Further down the road was a large, concrete building that was apparently part of the local water authority. Michael observed two men with rifles patrolling that area as well.

The two groups radioed back to Orlowski, who told them to keep observing the guards. Once the supply truck arrived, there'd be a delay of a couple of minutes before the rest of MLG-7 arrived in their vehicles to prevent the escape of the guards and, presumably, anyone else associated with the hand-offs to New America. Everything more or less went as planned. The supply truck arrived at its designated spot near the side road. Shortly thereafter, five men, led by Denny Lagrange, appeared, with the goal of removing a couple of crates from the truck. This time, however, MLG-7 showed up, firing a warning shot from one of its vehicles. Lagrange and his men quickly surrendered.

The sound of the shot alerted the guards at the self-storage. One of them opened up a shed, went inside, and then, after a couple of minutes emerged. He then carefully closed the shed and the pair fled. Cody and McLeod shadowed them from a distance. To prevent the guards' from revealing anything to others, Sgt. Farley jammed their walkie-talkies. Cody alerted Michael and Radosław about the guards coming their way. They then laid in wait to surprise and capture them. Then, all four members of MLG-7 worked together to do the same to the guards at the water authority building. This left only their boss, a man called Layton, inside. He surrendered without a fight, just like the others. With all ten men captured, Lt. Col. Orlowski decided to return to Fort Lee so that they could be processed and interrogated.

Dolmenwood

With Emelda Wishorn now safely in their care, the question back what to do next. While Sir Clement thought that now was the time to confront Lord Malbleat and denounce him for his nefarious crimes, his companions were none too sanguine about the prospects of that working. Instead, it was suggested that perhaps it might be best for all concerned, especially Emelda, to flee the area of the Shadholme Lodge and head eastward toward Castle Brackenwold, with the goal of seeking the protection of the duke or some other powerful figure (perhaps Abbot Nedwynne?). 

Everyone agreed this was the best solution and, after a quick visit to Sir Clement's pavilion on the festival field, they departed, bringing everyone, including Sidley Fraggleton with them. Sidely desperately wanted to escape his impending nuptials to Celenia Candleswick, as well as evade the tender mercies of Sir Shank Weavilman, who had taken an intense dislike to him. In Sidley's mind, being on the run from Lord Malbleat was preferrable to that fate.

The plan was to avoid using the Ditchway road east, since, if Malbleat wanted to overtake them, it would be much easier to do so. Instead, they would brave the forest and marshes to the east, hoping to make their way to the Woodcutters' Encampment on the verge of Hag's Addle as a stopping-off point before continuing to Brackenwold. Waldra, in her travels, was somewhat familiar with the Camp and its people, so she suggested it would be a reasonably safe place to rest before resuming their journey to Castle Brackenwold. 

Along the way, the group traveled through an area reputedly inhabited by a murderous magician, another infested with the feared nightworms, and another containing trees ravaged by a recent fire. While all of these could well have been worthy of closer investigation, Waldra instead kept her companions moving forward. She did not want to slow down, lest Lord Malbleat's servants – if indeed they were coming – any opportunity to capture them. Just before nightfall, they reached the marshes outside the Camp, where the local vicar, Father Horsely, was out foraging for herbs with his dog, Clewyd. He welcomed them and accompanied back to the settlement, offering to find them a place to stay for the night.

House of Worms

With Prince Eselné's attack on Béy Sü's Temple of Sárku to begin at first light of the next day, it became ever more urgent that Kirktá figure out just what the seven items left to him by Míru did and how they might be useful in dealing with the problems at hand. Nebússa, in particular, was very keen that this matter be resolved and resolved quickly, since there was no longer much time left to investigate. Up till now, they had the luxury of being able to take their time and put things off until later. Now, they had to act. The very fate of Tsolyánu – and their place within it – hung in the balance.

One of the first items to which Kirktá and Keléno devote any effort is the thin scroll of leather that is warm to the touch and gently pulsating. After some experimentation, it becomes clear that the scroll is keyed to the thoughts of the person(s) looking at it. Any text the viewer knows to exist appears in full on the scroll, even if it's something he cannot read. The funerary mask, when placed in front of one's face, generates a low hum that affects the wearer's vision, hearing, and sense of touch, causing pain that increases over time. Kirktá eventually took it off once the pain began to induce actual physical damage to him. 

The amount of time spent experimenting with just these two items began to frustrate Nebússa, who repeatedly suggested that they needed to focus more deliberately on figuring out what all of the items did. Míru had clearly set them aside for a purpose. What was it? This led to much discussion – some of it paranoid – about whether or not Míru, as a secret priest of the One Other, had an ulterior motive in giving these items to Kirktá. What if he hoped he'd use them in a way that benefited the pariah god whom he served? Nebússa would have none of this. "Leave paranoia to the professionals," he joked.

That's when the group turned its attention to the mummified finger kept within a reliquary. Chiyé, as a lay priest of Sárku, could communicate with the dead, so long as he had the person's body or a part of it present. Why not use his sorcery to talk to whoever the finger belonged to? Perhaps he or she could shed some light on many of the questions that so vexed them? With everyone's agreement, Chiyé performed the necessary rituals and contacted the spirit-soul of the person whose finger it was – the First Tlakotáni, founder of Tsolyánu and the mysterious man who supposedly entered into a pact with the One Other millennia ago. If anyone could give them some answers, it was probably him ...