PnP:Liberation of Osoerde Turn Thirteen

Campaigns » PNP:The liberation of Osoerde » PnP:Liberation of Osoerde Turn Thirteen

Dear Rudolph,

Sorry it has been a few weeks since my last contact, but my time has been heavily occupied by my duties for William and this is the first time I've had a chance to sit down and write.

Our plans to attack the Hound have been put on hold for the moment, and our initial intelligence that he would be assaulting the Aerenwode may have not been accurate. He has not taken action and sits brooding in Killien, so William has taken the time to prepare and use our new allies from the "frog patrol" to help train some of our other men. William has been deeply occupied in this, so it freed Cerin and I up to pursue some other avenues to aid the young Duke's cause.

We have been trying to keep an eye on the status of the construction of Castle Ansion on the border of Elinie, and we decided to go meet with the Lord Earl Daouta and establish diplomatic ties with our neighbor to the north, all in William's name. So we traveled to the capital of Ansien, and along the way we saw the concern in the eyes of the people of Elinie. Even listening to their talk in the inns we stayed at, it was apparent that they were worried about Raenech invading their lands. The presence of soldiers in the southern provinces showed the lord of the land was concerned as well. I will say I was impressed by the kingdom and the order that was maintained there. It may say something about having a paladin as lord.

In Ansien we took rooms at a well appointed inn and requested an audience with one of Lord Daouta's sons, who was holding court the next day. That evening in the tap room, Cerin pointed out a woman who was watching us closely from across the room. We invited her to our table and she revealed herself as one of the lord's daughters, send there to have a more private conversation with us. We went to a private room in the tavern, and she asked about our business there. Cerin and I explained our desire to begin a relationship between the Duke and Elinie, and she addressed their concerns about making such an alliance public because it would give Raenech the excuse he needed to launch an attack. We offered to travel to Castle Ansion and do what we could to sabotage it as a sign of good faith, and she promised what aid they could until William was able to establish more of his rightful rule. We left on good terms I feel, and I hope that it was the beginning of a true ally to our cause.

Cerin and I went to Castle Ansion to investigate the place more closely, disguising ourselves as guards to move about undetected. I was amazed how easily we crossed into the structure, and how it was closer to completion than we suspected. Raenech had hired dwarven stone masons to aid in the construction, but it seemed there was some delay going on when we arrived. We were getting the lay of the place when we witnessed the cause of the disturbance. Some of the workers were complaining about a recent decrease in their pay, and we saw the guard captain arguing with the foreman about the situation. But then a striking woman wearing the robes of Belinik emerged from the half finished temple and the courtyard grew quiet. This priestess seemed to being fear to all the people there, including her own soldiers, and she sent one of her men to fetch some coin and the foreman's second. She took one coin from the money brought to her and worked some dark rite to heat it like a burning coal, the casually pressed it into the forehead of the poor workman! He screamed as it started to burn through his very skull and light his hair on fire, but she ended his misery with a single blow of the massive sword she wore, cutting his burning head from his neck.

Cerin and I discussed what our next move was, but we both knew that this evil woman would be a threat that we could not ignore. We talked about trying to gain the dwarves as allies, but we did not know if they would turn on their employers. So we opted to steal the payroll and take some steps to sabotage the construction efforts before making our escape. We also plotted an exit route in case we needed to make a quick escape. Once night fell, we set up our escape and made our way into the barracks of the officers. The lieutenant who brought the priestess the money emerged from there earlier, so we quietly entered the building. Assuming the captain would keep the money close to him, we went up to his quarters on the second floor and entered his rooms. Cerin suggested I assume the form of the priestess, playing on the fears of her in case someone awoke. We found the captain asleep, but a unintended noise started to rouse the man.

I played a hunch that despite his fear of the woman, the captain may harbor some deep desires for her cold beauty as well. I quickly bluffed the man, claiming she was in his room because she needed him to take care of her other needs. I was thankful for the training I had at the brothel of the Green Lady for this. I managed to convince him to allow me to bind him with his belt, and once he was on his stomach and looking away I let him feel Eloéle's Kiss in the back of his neck. We then took the key from his neck and opened the payroll chest, although I must admit my carelessness in missing a small needle thus activated. Luckily Cerin had a vial of anti-venom on him, and we quickly took the man's other keys and made our way out with the coin. I took the captain's form since we knew he would not emerge from his rooms, and we made the decision that we needed to deal with the cruel priestess.

We found her inside the half finished temple, praying to her dark god. We planned to use the ruse that the "captain" was there to warn her of a threat to the castle, but as soon as we entered she made it clear she had made us earlier. Thankfully her arrogance caused her to decide to deal with us on her own, although I think both Cerin and I were a bit nervous about her abilities. She was not one for banter, drawing that massive sword and coming at us like she was possessed. Her skills were great, and we had some difficulty getting past her defenses, but thankfully that sword was slow enough that we were able to keep away. Cerin drew first blood, and I managed to knock her legs from underneath her and give my friend an opening to draw more foul blood from her. But when she rose again she channeled some of her power into the blade and sent poor Cerin reeling! Thankfully it was not a mortal blow, and he plunged his blades into her black heart and sent her to her god in failure.

We placed her body on the altar as a message to the rest of the troops there, and before we escaped Cerin worked some elven magics to light the hay in the stables on fire. As we rode away back to Aerenwode, we could see the glow of the blaze and the smoke rising into the night sky. All in all, a great mission that reminded me how well Cerin and I work together. I think the mistrust he felt before is finally fading, and I think it has bolstered our resolve to finally put the Hound in the dirt once and for all.

I hope all is well with you, and may Eloéle protect your secrets with her shadow until we speak again.

Harker Graywind