THE GAME - 01

[atpollard]

July 15:
It was the evening of first day of the Highsummer Feast. The Feasting and revelry would continue for 13 more days. The older Findlings had been allowed to leave the stockade and begin the journey to finding their identity. Most would be gone for only a few days, others would leave for weeks stretching into months, and a very few would be gone for a year or more. Today, those Halflings older than age 28 who felt the call to the Finding had left the stockade.

Those timid souls that waited so many years to begin the Finding would be home in a few days, thought Belladonna Kalliwart as she sat atop Outlook Rock. Tomorrow the Findlings that had obtained the minimum 22 years of age and their Clan leader’s blessing would leave the safety of the Stockade and the Village for the first time. Belladonna would be among them.

From Outlook Rock, the highest point in the village, it was possible to see the whole village and, sometimes, one could see the ruin to the west. Most Halflings were content to wander as far as the ruin and return, content to have “tested” their courage and chosen their settled life. Of course, Belladonna, being who she was, might have already climbed the stockade and visited the ruin. Belladonna might know that it is little more than an old round building if fancy brickwork collapsing in on itself with traces of Machinery rusting buried among the leaves and litter. Probably an old Dwarven ruin, thought Belladonna, but nothing really interesting … at least nothing interesting was left among the rust and rotted wood.

Today, all she saw was the Trees of the forest that covered everything. Where would Belladonna go? Children were forbidden beyond the Stockade and most Halflings remained within The Loop (a gravel trail that encircled the land controlled by the halflings). Belladonna had never been beyond The Loop, but she had seen the Spires of the Canyons in the distance and heard stories of the ‘Trollkin’ (Humanoids) that lived in the porous canyon walls and Elves that dwelt in the great spires high above the canyons.

For now, there was The Dragging to plan for. Each Highsummer Feast, some Findling would kill a ‘Trollkin’ (Humanoid) in single combat and drag the corpse around The Loop and burn it atop a rock. Superstition claimed that as “Evil is drawn to Evil”, the corpse will draw misfortune and sickness from the land within The Loop and cleanse the land for another year.

Belladonna cared less about the superstition and more about the honor and reputation gained by the Halfling that completed the task. Perhaps that honor would be hers this year. Perhaps it would be the start of her story.

[Rex]

Belladonna

Belladonna decides to circle the loop one time just for luck and then heads for the canyons. She would have to see what presented itself and if she could handle a Trollkin.

[atpollard]

July 16:
Tran woke with the rising of the sun. Of course, no Halfling could see the invisible sun, but the plants could. “All things pass the eye of one who patiently watches and does not blink” was an old Hobbit saying. Tran had taken that saying to heart.

The Leafshires had always been known first for their great nimbleness and then for being both Strong and Clever. They were also known for their dour stoicism that most mistook for an aloofness. Oritran hardly seemed like a Leafshire at all. He hated feeling like he never quite measured up to his family as much as he disliked his name. Oritran was the name for a dour, nimble Leafshire. He was always more of a “just plain Tran”; short, simple and friendly.

Tran had patiently watched without blinking and had been rewarded by seeing what most did not … the evidence of the invisible forces at work all around us. Tran knew that even though they could not see the sun, the plants responded to its invisible light and certain flowers would even follow it across the sky. So, Tran started listening to the plants and saw the hole in the sky created where the invisible sun passed before the ever-present stars that marked the days and seasons and years with their movements. Tran even discovered the invisible sun that the plants did not see but still created a hole in the stars.

This Highsummer was Tran’s 22 year. He was finally old enough for the Finding. He was finally going to get a chance to prove that he was a Leafshire and ready to take his place among the Clan.

The decision of the Clan Keeper that Oritran was not ready for the finding this year was disappointing. The laughter of the older members of the Leafshire Clan burned and stung like a slap across the face. Perhaps Oritran was a Leafshire after all, because he accepted the decision and scorn with the same Leafshire expressionless ‘dour’ face … and Tran quietly burned with anger deep inside at the slight and the injustice.

So it was that the invisible rising sun found Tran awake and ready. As those chosen to begin the Finding gathered at the Loop Gate to receive the blessings and celebratory sendoff of virtually the entire village, a lone Halfling named Tran slipped out the Grove Gate unnoticed.

“Perhaps I am a Leafshire, and perhaps I am not. Time to find out THIS Highsummer.” he said to the rows of ancient trees as he paused to gather a few fresh herbs.

[Rex]

Belladonna

Belladonna nods to the Elder, "Thank you for your blessing." She eagerly waits starting out on her adventure.

[atpollard]

July 16:
Belladonna thanked the elder and set out with one other Halfling to begin the Finding. With the three that set out yesterday, that made five Findings this Highsummer.

Both started out heading west on the gravel path that formed The Loop, but your companion disappeared almost immediately into the forest that separated the Village from the Meadow. Belladonna smiled … everyone ran straight towards the ruins visible from Outlook Rock. She already knew that they would find almost nothing there. Belladonna continued to follow the gravel west, then the Loop curved to the south and Belladonna continued to search the path and its immediate surroundings for some sign of anything. As the Loop curved from south to east, Belladonna located a cluster of rocks and a branch in the path. The SW corner of the Loop contained a gravel path that headed west deeper into the forest. Climbing the rocks just north of the fork in the trail, Belladonna was able to see the tallest spires in the distance. Legends say that those Towers are home to the mysterious Elves, and takes from Halfling of past Findings tell you that those towers lie among the Canyons – home of trollkin and hidden treasures and the most fearsome of wild creatures.

Belladonna continued to follow the southern leg of the Loop, past the Ruin and near the western end of the Sacred Grove. It was here she located another gravel path heading west deeper into the forest.

As she passed a cluster of stones just east of the fork (south of the sacred Grove), Belladonna suddenly froze as she heard a sound. Movement across stone. Listening closely, the sound was not coming from the large rocks north of the Loop. It was coming from the bottom of the embankment that the Loop was built upon ... more than 10' down at the bottom of the steep slope to the north of the Loop.

[Rex]

Belladonna

Belladonna looks for a close by spot she can hide and watch where the sound is coming from.

[atpollard]

July 16:
Tran
Tran worked his way out of the Sacred Grove to the Southeast towards a flat-topped mound. To anyone else, it was just a hill in the forest. Tran had always been more sensitive to the earth than the living things that grew upon it – yet another disappointment for his clansmen that might have accepted his oddities if he had at least been a powerful Druid.

Tran could feel the scar hidden beneath the forest loam. A structure had once stood atop this hill. A castle that commanded the surrounding views. Tran could feel the crumbled walls and deep stone footing buried beneath the topsoil and covered by the roots of trees. Tran knew that nothing of the mighty casle remained except the mound upon which it stood.

So Tran followed the ravine to the west down through the woods and towards the ancient bedrock that pierced the surface and towered above. Scrambing down between the rocks, Tran became excited. He could feel where the stone buried beneath the soil had once been worked with tools. Perhaps he was near an entrance to the Dwarven Maze. The thought excited him.

The dry stream bed that marked the center of the ravine led to a steep bank with The Loop at the top. The dense thorny vines that covered the bank were an excellent source of berries in the warm months, but not something that one wanted to approach carelessly. Yet Tran could feel the ruins that lay hidden beneath the vines.

With a great deal of pain and a little blood, Tran forced his way through the thick vines and located the partially buried arch that opened into an ancient tunnel of wonderfully skilled brickwork. Fired clay layered in multi-colored stripes with textured alcoves formed a magnificent tunnel. Tran was certain that this MUST be an entrance to The Maze. Gravel and cobbles clattered along the floor as Tran stumbled over them in his hurry to explore deeper before someone found him and tried to stop him. Tran would return from HIS Finding with Dwarven Magic. Let them laugh at that!

His heart suddenly fell. Less than 100 feet in, the tunnel abruptly ended. Completely blocked by earth. Tran could sense that there was no point in digging it out. Whatever tunnel may have once existed beyond that point was completely gone. There was only earth and loose stones beyond. No more bricks. Apparently, this Finding was going to take longer than Tran had anticipated and finding The Maze would be harder than he thought.

Scratched and muddy from the moist earth at the bottom of the tunnel, Tran clumped back towards the tunnel entrance and grimaced as he forced his way through the vines … again.

[atpollard]

July 16:
Belladonna
Bella slipped silently from The Loop into the trees and climbed up a tree and out on a great limb to secure a hidden perch overlooking the ravine from which the sound came. She had always had a strong affinity for the plants and animals of the forest. She could sense the apprehension of the animals in the ravine. Something was down there. Something had disturbed the vines.

Bella watched and waited, hoping that she might have located a small Trollkin foraging. Whatever it was, it was moving behind the vines and making a lot of noise. Suddenly, the vines shook with a grunt and a word Halflings were not supposed to use. Oritran Leafshire burst from the vines covered in mud with a small trickle of blood on his cheek from one of the thorns. He uttered another impolite word as he struggled to free his pack from the vine.

The Leafshires were good bowman, if a little standoff-ish. Bella had seen him practicing with the others and Oritran was deadly with a bow … to himself and anyone standing nearby except the target. He seemed a little young to be out Finding, although he might just be old enough. Bella knew for sure that only TWO people received blessings to start the Finding this morning, and Oritran was not the other Halfling standing beside Belladonna when you left today.

[Rex]

Belladonna

"Hi Oritran, what trouble are you getting into down there?" She says with a wave.

[atpollard]

July 16:
Belladonna & Tran
"Hi Oritran, what trouble are you getting into down there?"

Tran froze. For a moment, his heart stopped. He was certain he had been caught by one of the Elders. As it registered that the greeting came from Belladonna, he was able to breathe again.

Belladonna saw a look of terror followed by guilt followed by relief wash over the young Halfling in rapid succession. Her greeting, it appeared, was not far from the truth.

”Hey Bella … I … uhh … nothing … errr … well, sorta nothing … kinda, like.” Ortitran stammered out the message and abruptly stopped talking.

The diminutive Halfling took a deep breath, composed his thoughts, and decided to start over. Standing tall, hands on his hips: “I’m going on my Finding. I don’t need the Leafshire Clankeeper’s permission. I am going to find The Maze and discover the secret of Dwarven Fire Magic.” then Bella heard him whisper, softly to himself, “Then they won’t laugh.”

Oritran’s stubborn, defiant stance was a bit comical (forcing Belladona to stifle a chuckle) but his stubbornness was very “Leafshire”. Only a Leafshire would challenge their own Clankeeper’s decision.

“I found an old Dwarven tunnel. I thought it might lead to The Maze, but it just stops after about 100 feet.” Oritran could not hide the disappointment in his voice. “Just a muddy dead end with lots of scratches.”

[Rex]

Belladonna

"Maybe I should take a look." She hops down and moves over to the tunnel entrance. Then works her way in and to the end of the tunnel. She carefully looks over the end area and the sides of the tunnel. Maybe a secret latch?

"Maybe we can help each other out Tran?"

[atpollard]

July 16:
Belladonna & Tran

Bella pressed through the vines, collecting her own scratches along the way, and headed down the brick arch passage. From the position of the dirt on the brick recesses, it seemed likely that several feet of the tunnel were filled with earth washed in over the years from the entrance. While her search located no hidden passages within the length of tunnel, her close examination of the brickwork convinced her that it was identical to the surviving brickwork at the ruin near Outlook Rock.

Bella knew from the old, rusted machinery buried at the other ruin that that brickwork was from some ancient Dwarven mechanism that predated the arrival of the Halflings. Whatever destroyed that machine may have destroyed this tunnel at the same time … but this was unquestionable ancient Dwarven like the Outlook Rock ruin.

"Maybe we can help each other out Tran?" said Bella.

Tran thought for barely a second before he stuck out his hand and beamed “Deal!”

Eventually abandoning the tunnel, the ‘party’ made its way back up to The Loop to finish Belladonna’s initial reconnaissance sweep. The mud quickly dried and fell off, but the scratches itched a bit. Nothing serious, just slightly annoying. Adventuring tales never mentioned the general lack of comfort among all the heroic descriptions.

The southern leg of The Loop continued east, and Tran pointed out the large hill north of the gravel path that he had explored.

"A castle once stood on that hill" said Tran, "but there is nothing left of it except the foundation buried a couple feet beneath the soil."

Just past the mound, the gravel path came to a four-way intersection. The Loop continued north, and another gravel path headed south towards some distant Elven Towers or east, deep into the forest.

Heading north, Bella could feel the life of the forest all around her. She could sense the animals. Wading birds to the east indicated some sort of lake just beyond sight through the forest. She felt the powerful energy of the Sacred Grove amplifying her Druidic link with nature as The Loop skirted the edge of the Grove.

Mid way between the Sacred Grove and the large rock along the eastern stockade of the Village, Belladonna wrinkled her nose at a pungent, oily scent. The scent was not in the air, rather Bella sensed it from some small animal. It was not a natural smell and it upset the animals near it. The source of the smell was not your position. It was in the forest northeast of the Sacred Grove and southeast of the rock, almost due east of you. It was dangerously close to the village for something unnatural to be found.

[Rex]

Belladonna

"We better check that smell out, could be something we need to alert the village about."

She begins sneaking towards the smell.

[atpollard]

July 16:
Belladonna & Tran

“What smell?” said Tran, sniffing audibly at the air. He shrugged and followed.

Bella paused as Tran followed noisily behind [non-thief, DX:4]. She made several small adjustments to the items he carried to eliminate the worst of the noise and headed out again with some distance between them.

Every snapped stick served as a reminder that Tran was not Rogue trained, but at least Bella was far enough ahead that she should see any trouble before it heard Tran.

Bella began to smell the odor for herself. Less than 30 yards away, a dark boulder rose like a spire in the forest. It appeared to be about 10’ tall and was clearly carved into a slender trunk 3’ diameter supporting a large domed top 8’ diameter. The stone was a dark brown and unlike the pale grey rocks common throughout the Village.

Bella signaled for Tran to stop and silently approached the stone tower. From 15 yards away, she could clearly see that the stone tower rose from the exact center of a perfectly circular pool of water about 40 feet in diameter. Creeping closer, the water was held in a sunken bowl of bluish-grey stone 5 feet deep and filled to the brim. The stone tower extended 10’ up from the surface of the water and another 5’ down into the water – resting on the bottom of the stone bowl. The sides and bottom of the bowl were perfectly smooth worked stone.

A rainbow sheen covered the top of the water and black blobs floated suspended in the water at various depths. The corpses of several birds and small animals floated on top of the water. The smell came from the water.

[Rex]

Belladonna

"That is nasty, poison maybe, don't touch it Trans."

She will look around and see what she can find out without touching the water.

[atpollard]

July 16:
Belladonna & Tran

Tran circled the pond, fascinated by the stonework. “It’s not from here.” he whispered as he ran his hand over the smooth surface of the blue-grey bowl. “This stone was once sand at the bottom of the ocean pressed into its present hardness an invisible force. Stone like this isn’t found anywhere near the village.” He stopped at a joint in the stone, and gazed across at the enormous size of the sunken bluestone bowl. “Someone moved it here. They carved it and transported and set the giant pieces in place.” he whispered with awe in his voice. “The brown stone in the center is not from here either. Imagine the magic that can move mountains of stone vast distances and shape it at will.”

Tran sensed something buried just below the surface outside the fountain and began to clear away the forest litter that had accumulated over it. The outside of the bluestone bowl was decorated with carved flowers now buried beneath the ground. “Strange” he whispered.


Bella circled the pond looking for clues in the forest and the water. The strange sheen floating atop the water distorted everything in the water, but there appeared to be many small dark blobs floating suspended in the water. The soft leaf-covered ground surrounding the pool clearly revealed one set of recent footprints arriving and departing from the North and spending a fair amount of time at the northern edge of the pool. Her Rogue skills detected that the footprints were from Halfling sized boots, but the bottoms of the boots appeared to be fitted with small iron studs that left a distinct impression.

Bella concentrated and reached out with her Druidic senses to touch the animals in the area. She discovered an angry squirrel that remembered the owner of the boots. Bella was lucky, squirrels saw everything but tended to have very short memories. This particular squirrel remembered the encounter because the intruder struck him with a small thrown stone.

“It was a giant, like you.” said the squirrel, who lumped all two-legged creatures together into the general category of ‘giant’. After a long, detailed account of the terrible injustice of being struck by a stone, the squirrel was able to tell you “It spent a lot of time gathering black balls from the poison water and cooking them in its camp.” From the squirrel’s description, the “camp” was a short distance away in the woods and the ‘giant’ had already left it.

A raccoon was able to tell Bella “A group of those Lumpy Halflings came here last season and placed a body in the pool. It sunk to the bottom and is still there.”

Bella returned to the edge of the water to scan the bottom more carefully and eventually spotting the blurry outline of what might be a corpse wrapped in a blanket.

THE CAMP:
Bella followed the footprints into the woods about 100 yards from the pool and located an abandoned campsite and the cold remains of a small campfire. The single occupant with the studded boots had been here and left … continuing north.

(Do you want to recover the body or follow the footprints to the north or something else?)

[Rex]

Bella

"Tran, there is a body in the water, we should dig it out, not a good place to leave a body."

She starts to try and dig it out of the pool, maybe with a hooked stick if she can find one.

"After this I found a camp, maybe from a Dwarf or Goblin. We can follow its trail."

[atpollard]

July 16:
Belladonna & Tran

The body was submerged in almost 5 feet of water. Bella located a long pole with the stub of a branch to act as a hook, but the body seemed stuck to the bottom and refused to budge. Unwilling to enter the water and refusing to quit so easily, Bella and Tran lashed three smaller branches together with vines to form a crude grapple and went ‘fishing’ for their target. The grapple caught and the corpse moved, but Bella was barely able to drag it across the bottom of the pool to the edge … the body was too heavy to lift alone and seemed to have no buoyancy.

Slightly exasperated that Tran was clever enough to know how to make a grapple yet stupid enough to just stand there and watch as Bella struggled to move the weight, Bella suggested he might want to help pull. Tran cheerfully and enthusiastically joined in, giving no notice to any rolling of Bella’s eyes. The pair of Halflings hauled the corpse out of the water, over the stone rim of the pool and onto the leaf-covered ground.

What had appeared to be a blanket was a woolen cloak that had wrapped around the body. While the victim was only a little taller than a Halfling, he had been much more heavily muscled than any Halfling. From the braided beard, he was likely a Dwarf. The water had ruined the cloak and Leather Armor he was wearing … both had begun to decompose. However, a PLATINUM BROOCH was still fastened to the cloak securing it closed. No weapons were discovered with the body, but a pocket contained 3 shiny GOLD COINS and 7 black with tarnish SILVER COINS.

[Rex]

Bella

"Look Tran, some interesting things on this Dwarf. Lets at least cover the body with some stones." She works to give the Dwarf a proper "burial".

She then says to Tran, "Why don't you hold on to the coins for now and I will hold on to the broach."

"Lets check out the trail whoever made the camp left." She heads for the trail.

[atpollard]

July 16:
Belladonna & Tran

The two Halflings laboriously dragged the corpse away from the water and into the forest where they covered it in stones to form a modest burial mound. Then Tran pocketed the Coins and Bella pocketed the Brooch before they set out following the footprints.

A brief examination of the abandoned camp turned up little of obvious significance. Tran found traces of the black poison from the Pool near the campfire stones and some discarded bones from a past meal were gathering flies short distance away … where they had been thrown and landed it would appear. A happenstance glance at the bones revealed a surprise to Bella. The end showed distinctive gnawing marks from sharp teeth and the bone almost certainly belonged to the arm of a humanoid or demi-human.

Four hundred yards from the Pool, the footprints ended at a gravel path that led to the North. It was clear from the steady track of the footprints to this point that it had continued North along the gravel.

Tran studied the gravel and announced that it was identical to the gravel that formed the Loop around the Village. What was obvious to Bella was this gravel path was not carefully maintained like the Loop. Here branches and leaves had blown across the path with no effort made to keep it clear, but the location of the path was unmistakable. Trees and shrubs would not grow here and only a few of the hardiest weeds were able to get a small roothold within the gravel. The path was a leaf-covered dead-zone that varied from 3 to 8 yards in width with a hard gravel surface that refused to yield beneath your feet.

Another 50 yards to the north brought the Halflings to a crossroad. Further to the north, the path led into the Canyons. A path crossing this one led east and west along the boundary between the Canyons and the great forest surrounding the Halfling Village.

The walls of the Canyons rose vertical and parallel with a 20-yard canyon floor separating the two vertical walls. Vines clung to the vertical walls that seemed to contain literally thousands of niches and cave openings dotting the walls. Trees and shrubs covered the canyon floor and some even grew from niches in the canyon walls. There seemed to be no uniform height to the stone walls with some barely taller than the tallest trees and others too high to shoot even a light arrow to the top. In the distance, one stone spire disappeared into a cloud.

Most of the canyon walls to the north were greater than 150 feet in height, however about 100 yards ahead, the walls on the left (west) face fell to about a third of that height with mature trees growing atop the plateau. A portion of the vines have been cleared from the cliff and a wooden ladder rests against the cliff providing access to an opening 20 feet above the ground.