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Cleenseau - Session 11

_in Taelgar, January 9th - January 12th
7 Robert I / DR 1720
Cleenseau and vicinity
on Earth: February 4th, 2024

Summary and Major Events

  • The party hears news and plans the defense at large regional council
  • Viepuck and Izgil trick Lorin Valbert into fleeing by convincing him he is being targeted by a fey for revenge.
  • The party meets with regional allies to gain assistance with the planned defenses

Rumors and Information

New People Met

Timeline

  • Jan 09, 1720 DR, evening: Ida Rosfeld rides into town with news of zombie attacks on the road and many wounded. The party rides out and heals them, with a combination of spells that leave the once-battered soldiers gleaming and fresh
  • Jan 10, 1720 DR, morning: the party returns to Cleenseau for a council of many of the most important people in the region. The council agrees to fund an expansion of Ida’s company to 100 soldiers, and to base the garrison at Asineau
  • Jan 10, 1720 DR, evening: Es*tiasilos, after a failed attempt, steals a jewelry box from Lorin Valbert
  • Jan 11, 1720 DR, morning: the party visits Asineau and speaks with Eleanor, and tricks Lorin Valbert into believing the fey are after him
  • Jan 11, 1720 DR, afternoon: the party visits Taviose and speaks with Hugh Darrow, Phillipa Northwood and Brot
  • Jan 11, 1720 DR, late afternoon: receive a letter from Rosalind
  • Jan 12, 1720 DR, morning: receive news that Lorin Valbert has disappeared and renounced his manor

Narrative

After receiving news of an attack on the road, the party rides out and heals many injured soldiers from the Army Garrison of Cleenseau. The next day, a large regional council is held, and the party organizes defenses for the entire Cleenseau region. The council hears news about what has been happening over the last few days, and agrees on a regional defense plan: Ida Rosfeld will double the size of her company, and establish a garrison at Asineau, the most central village. Robin and Viepuck effectively control the meeting, especially Robin with an inspiring speech. The representative of the lord of Asieneau, Isolde, objects strongly to this plan, and claims no dangers have come to Asineau. She is overruled by Thierry and El’s tale of a handful of zombies trying to break down doors. El follows this up with an arresting miracle: several threads from their robe drift to the ground and apparently indicate the Wyrdling is prepared to protect Asineau from zombies.

Ida Rosfeld requests 700 crowns in funding, and receives it, between the manors, the party, and Catherine de Brune, who contributes 200 crowns at the party’s request.

Later, Es*tiasilos, follows Isolde and catches her discussing fleeing with Lorin Valbert, is caught trying to steal some heirlooms. A short scuffle ensues in which Es*tiasilos (as a terrier) is struck by a dagger and bits the lord. A reattempt at stealing later is successful, although Lord Valbert remains suspicious. The party ends the evening at The Crossroads Inn, where Marigold thanks them for recovering Rose Stonebridge’s rapier, and gifts Celyn with a matching sheath.

The next day, the party visits Asineau, and speaks to Eleanor, who is sick with a wasting illness. Robin feels with some effort he might be able to cure her, but her illness is far advanced. She shares the story of Sarabeth Asa and her son. The party meets Isolde, who brings news that a wizard robbed Lorin the previous evening, and she is searching houses for signs of him. With some clever misdirection, Viepuck convinces Lorin Valbert that the Asineau manor is cursed by the fey, and that they are clearly coming for him now, because they’ve been stealing his heirlooms, which is the first sign they are coming after you. Izgil played a key role, by very convincingly casting detect magic and then pretending he did, in fact, detect fey magic. While Viepuck and Izgil spoke with Lord Valbert, Celyn, El, and Robin healed the sick of Asineau.

Later that afternoon, the party visited Taviose, where they spoke with Hugh Darrow and Phillipa Northwood, who were both amenable to helping train soldiers in the paths of the wood, especially with pay. The party enjoyed a lunchtime glass of brandy with Remy Darrow, and then visited Brot, who agreed to help with the barding for Greymalkin, and in particular, make it colorful.

The next morning, the news on everyone’s lips is from Asineau - Lord Valbert has vanished, leaving behind a will renouncing all claims to the manor. Some say he’s a coward, and fled because he is scared of the undead. Others say he fled because he got private word that something worse is coming. Still others say he is fleeing a fairy curse. And one rumor says he is deeply in debt and actually fleeing from baronial guards coming to haul him away to debtor’s prison. Whichever it is, the manor is now empty and at a critical juncture — Ida needs to plan her new garrison and move troops soon.

Over breakfast, Viepuck recounted the a tale to Robin and Celyn. He admits he might have something to do with Lord Valbert leaving, and admits:

It did not go as planned, but I think ended up the better for it. 

I had alternate plans of trying the “you have been visited by 3 ghosts” route and posing as prior lords, issuing warnings of dire catastrophes should he remain. 

Or storming in impersonating as Isolde and declaring “I have readied horses, we need to go now, they (the army for not relinquishing the major, Robin, general peasants, whatever agitated him) are staging a revolt”, running off, abandoning him about a day out and absconding with all the treasure, but not his horse (so he could ride back to town and find Isolde…)

Robin during this retelling will have expressions ranging from complete exasperation to near fits of laughter to kind of looking like he wants to throttle someone, and then says:

Viepuck, friends…your heart is in the right place, this man was a cancer and he needed to go. He was going to get people killed. We all agree on this.

That said…yes this did not go according to plan, and yes it worked out, but this could have gone a lot worse. Imagine for instance if his paranoia had boiled over a little more and he’d tried to start some sort of inquisition, dragging supposed practitioners out of their homes to be put to the sword or worse. Yes we might have intervened and stopped it, but innocent blood might well have been spilled.

This was clearly an irresponsible and irrational man, and his reaction might have been very different. I am glad this miscreant is gone from here, all I ask is that we converse on these matters before resorting to such tactics. I trust you all with my life, I hope you all feel enough trust as well to share what you wish to do.