The White Queen's Resting Place

Several days after the undead attack, Wolfgang returned to Gold Hill one morning, hoping to meet the formidable stranger.  He went to the tavern, sat with his friend Gerilynn the Prophet and ordered breakfast.  Soon they were joined by Lareth.  Lareth had heard about Wolfgang's adventures at the White Queen's palace and asked about the books and maps they'd found.  These Wolfgang was happy to share.

Wolfgang's breakfast was interrupted by a pair of deputies.  The Head Constable had his money.  Wolfgang, despite his lingering concern was eager to become rich and went with them to the Constables office.  Gerilynn and Chickie the Stick came along.  The Seargent on duty waved them by the front counter and into the Constable's shadowy council room.  The Constable himself wasn't there, but several other men were.  Wolfgang lost his nerve and announced that he'd overvalued the necklace.  "I meant to say it was worth more like two hundred gold pieces."  Was he sure?  An older men pressed him, asking why he had said the larger amount.  Without explaining, Wolfgang insisted he'd been joking about the extravagant sum.  Now all he wanted to do was leave.

"Sounds like you learned your lesson," came a voice in Wolfgang's ear-- and along with a punch in the back of the neck that sent him sprawling onto the table.  It was the Constable.  "Be off then, and consider that a warning."

Wolfgang hesitated and Gerilynn began to whisper a chant under her breath.  "What's that?" the Constable demanded, drawing his sword.  Gerilynn fell silent.

The Constable asked Wolfgang, "You sure you don't want your money?"  He was wearing the necklace and held it so Wolfgang could see it,  "Are you saying it's a present?  I've got the money waiting for you down in the treasury."

Wolfgang was torn, but Gerilynn pressed on him and at last he stalked out of the Constable's offices, muttering insults as he went.

Lareth was waiting for them at the inn.  He had a sympathetic ear for Wolfgang's misfortune and a chuckle for the young druid's insults about the Constable.  "Don't worry," Lareth said.  "He'll get his come-uppance when the White Queen returns."

Lareth explained that a powerful Queen had ruled that area long before the Constable, long before the gold vein had been discovered and played out, even before the village of Whitkey had been founded and fallen into ruin.  And she, the White Queen was coming back. The Constable, his deputies, all of Gold Hill would either submit to her or be destroyed.

"Was she good or evil?" Gerilynn wanted to know.

Lareth waved this question away. "She could be your enemy-- or he could be the enemy of your enemy-- what more do you need to know?"

From a practical perspective, they needed to know where to find the White Queen's resting place- so that they might be ready to greet her when she returned.  There was a map and they began to study it together.

Wolfgang recognized the symbol of the rising sun in the right corner of the map, it's rays shining on three distinct places.  The Midsummer ray shone on a cross surrounded by a ring of trees.  The Midwinter ray shone on cave at the top of a mountain.  An intermediate ray shone on a spot at the base of the mountain.  A piece of parchment from the White Queen's Palace referred to a key of binding and loosing and of its hiding place.  Wolfgang told Gerilynn and Lareth  about his exploration of Whitkey with Sir Henry and Sir Henry's discovery of a powerful sword.  This sword, the group decided, was the cross marked on the map by the Midsummer dawn.  The next day, the group travelled to Whitkey and Wolfgang brought the others to the grove and the white stone from which Sir Henry had claimed the sword.  Gerilynn surmised that in the right conditions, the morning sun would illuminate the white rock, especially in the days before the grove had been planted and the church built around it.  It seemed unnecessary to puzzle over the full meaning of the map-- it plainly showed the cave (tomb?) lay directly north of the where the sword had been hidden.

But now, for the first time, Gerrilynn and Wolfgang appreciated the implied scale of the map.  While the immediate area was low-lying with some grassy hills, the ground rose to the north.  Gold  Hill, itself was noticeably colder than Whitkey.  But the real mountains-- like those shown on the map, lay beyond any of the roads or trails on which they'd travelled.  The jagged horizon cut by those mountains might be several days away.

The group returned to the Inn at Gold Hill to sleep.  

Wolfgang and the Bad Dream

That night, Wolfgang began to regret putting the Head Constable under a charm. The silver necklace, he considered was obviously worth much less than 5,000 gold pieces. If the HC was gathering sacks of gold to pay for silver, his advisors might realize he was under some kind of spell. Brooding over these faults, Wolfgang wandered out of the inn to breather fresh air, consult the stars, and try to eavesdrop on the drowsy deputies who were on night watch. He was the first to see it—a column of gleaming white figures marching up the path that led into Gold Hill Center. They were animated human skeletons, brandishing rusty swords, and trailed by lumbering zombies. Raising the alarm, Wolfgang made a dash for the woods and the nearby hollow where his animal companions lay hidden. As he reached the trees, he heard the deputies beating the alarm gong. He heard, rising above the general panic, a powerful voice announcing, “I know what to do.” By the time Wolfgang returned with Wolfie and Bruno, most of the skeletons had been destroyed by a a single man, the stranger in black robes named Lareth. He stood in the middle of the marketplace, wielding his Warhammer, surrounded by bones and shattered skulls. About a dozen deputies, crouching behind boulders and tree stumps, took opportunity shots at the advancing zombies. Residents crowded around the entrance to the inn, their panic, gradually overtaken by curiosity and admiration as Lareth destroyed the last of the undead foes. Bruin took down a straggling zombie, but no one noticed. Wolfgang decided not to return to the inn at all that night, but returned to the woods with his animals.

The White Queen's Palace

The Constable wanted to clear more of his land for grazing and planting, but the crumbling ruins of an ancient palace, overgrown and infested with vermin impeded his plans.  For the promise of ten gold pieces each, he assembled a sizeable company of adventurers:

Wolfgang, itinerant druid, and after three months in Gold Hill, nearly a long-term resident

Chronos, druid adept, charged by his leaders to go and check on what that Wolfgang is up to
Thoric, recently appointed Sergeant Constable who had led the successful expedition to the Harpy’s tower
Mark the Magician, who had also established his reputation at the Harpy’s tower
Sir Henry, self-styled knight and bearer of the long-lost Sword of Whitkey
McDowell, good-natured rogue from the mountains
Abner (" Bruiser"), a burly, headstrong warrior
"Thief", An honest, upstanding citizen
Elirond, Servant of the Church of Alyan
Circe, Mysterious Mage with an unknown backstory

The group of adventurers made their way to the ruins, rumored to have been a palace or fortress of the last monarch—a queen— of a long-gone kingdom.  The two-story building was shaped like an X and still generally intact, though overgrown with moss and overshadowed by towering oaks.  At Thoric’s suggestion, they began by circling the structure.

In making their reconnaissance, “Thief” stumbled upon the body of a hobgoblin, killed it seemed, by several puncture wounds.  While puzzling over what had killed the fiend, a hairy, bird-like creature dropped from the trees onto Elirond’s back, and stabbed its long, needle-like beak into his back.  “Get it off me, get it off me!”  Sir Henry drew his sword and neatly cut the bird-thing in two, making the withdraw of the beak a simple matter.  Elirond healed himself and they completed their circuit of the structure.

As there were no other easy entry points, Abner (the Bruiser) shouldered his way in through the front door.  The entire first floor of the structure seemed to be a single large room, dominated by the white marble statue of a beautiful woman.  In exploring the room, McDowell stumbled upon more dead hobgoblins.  Mark spotted the likely killers—giant spiders that patrolled the ceiling right above their heads.  Mark killed one of the spiders while his companions loosed their arrows.

When the spiders were dead, the party looked behind a curtain and found stairs leading both up and down.  They chose to climb up to the top floor of the tower.  In surveying the upper floors, some mebers of the party lingered to rifle through the extensive library, gathering up the most interesting looking maps, scrolls, and books, and Sir Henry found a shield.   In a desk, Wolfgang found a silver necklace.

Wolfgang also found a room that opened onto a balcony filled with nasty blood-sucking bird things.  Chronos called on the overhanging tree branch to assist him and it did—sending out green branches that ensnared the nasty vermin.  Circe lit a torch.  The green branches did not burn until they were doused with oil.  The bird-things burned more quickly, as did the rotten floor boards, the interior walls, and the dry books and scrolls.

The adventurers returned to Gold Hill to claim their rewards.  The Head Constable paid them and also offered them a free night at the inn.  Wolfgang offered the Head Constable first opportunity to buy the silver necklace, using his magic to make the suggestion that 5,000 pieces of gold would be a fair price.  The Head Constable heartily agreed.  Accepting the necklace, he asked Wolfgang to come to his office the next morning to claim his money.

Sir Henry and the Sword of Whitkey

Gold Hill continues to attract new migrants, especially those of pioneering or adventuring spirit. Wolfgang encountered some of them in the tavern at the trading post. Sir Henry, a warrior, of possibly noble background and McDowell, of more obviously dubious extraction had just arrived from the Hommlet area. They introduced themselves to Wolfgang who found that they seemed trustworthy enough and began sharing information about his adventures, including his search for a relic hidden in Whitkey, and his map to a hidden tomb. Another traveler, a powerful-looking man in black, showed his own interest in the subject. After learning the man’s name (Lareth), Wolfgang let him have a look at his map.

Wolfgang, Sir Henry, and McDowell decided that they would search for the relic of Whitkey. Wolfgang purchased a cart and Sir Henry purchased a donkey. The trio of heroes set off for Whitkey in comfort and style. Along the way they were joined by Wolfie the Wolf and Bruno the Bear. To calm the bigoted donkey’s fears of being eaten, Wolfgang got out of the cart to walk ahead with his animal companions.

They drove the cart through town and found a place to hide it between an old barn, a shady maple tree, and a pile of refuse. Then they began to explore the village.

None of the ruined or dilapidated buildings looked likely to contain a powerful relic. While debating whether to explore one of them or walk through the village, the party was startled by their donkey running out of its hiding place, while shaking free of the cart, and being chased by two giant flies. The party killed one of the flies and drove off the other, but not before the donkey received mortal giant fly bites. The heroes mourned the fallen donkey. Wolfgang retrieved his magic glowing painting from the overturned cart and hid it in a tree.

After exploring several buildings and dealing with oversized spiders and centipedes, Wolfgang recalled an earlier adventure on the plateau overlooking the village. On top of that plateau, he told his companions, there were ruins of a tower. A strange undead creature had crawled out from a hole beneath the ruins and attacked them. They had been killed the creature, but had suffered grievous wounds from its terrible claws and fangs, that they had fled to the safety of Gold Hill village without further investigation.

Sir Henry and McDowell agreed that further investigation was warranted and the three of them climbed to the top of the plateau. They found the hole at the base of the tower. They lit a torch and tossed it inside. The light illuminated only excavated earth. The passage was so narrow that they could enter one at a time—and once they were inside it was difficult to mover around because of piles of coins! Most of the coins were silver, but in carrying them out, they happened upon an iron box containing loose gemstones and gold necklace.

But still no relic. From the top of the plateau, they could see the entire village and picked out buildings of interest, both on the other side of the mill pond. One was a more-or-less intact building. Smoke rose from its chimney and there was an animal tethered in the yard. Across the lane from this building was what looked like the ruins of a stone church with an oak tree growing out of a hole in the tiled roof.

The climbed down the plateau and crossed a bridge to the other side of the village. Hearing men singing inside the house with fire going, they knocked on the door. The men inside recognized Wolfgang (“the animal guy!”) and asked him to leave Wolfy and Bruno outside. “But come in and drink some beer with us!” Wolfy and Sir Henry declined the beer. McDowell accepted, and after a few sips, fell asleep on the table.

The men in the house explained that they were working hard to restore Whitkey to its former glory. If Wolfgang and Sir Henry had found their visit enjoyable and profitable (one of the men prodded Sir Henry’s backpack full of silver, then they would surely not mind paying the tax?

With a few words, Wolfgang and Sir Henry agreed that paying some silver would be the surest way of protecting their more valuable treasure. Together, the two poured hundreds of silver coins onto the table.

Their hosts complimented the adventures on their haul and encouraged them to return to Whitkey anytime. They shared some stories about the area, including stories about a White Queen or Silver Princess who had some connection to the church across the lane. They had not yet ventured inside it themselves, but reminded the adventurers to return and pay the tax should they discover any more lost treasure.

In time, McDowell awakened, and the three adventurers bid goodbye to their hosts. McDowell chastised his companions for paying extortion to the brigands and refused to pay “his share.” The party briefly discussed attacking the brigands/village council or stealing their mule, but at last decided that exploring the church was more important.

The church was small, but well-crafted. Though its windows had been smashed and the interior burned, it was structurally sound. Even the hole in the ceiling seemed to be a design feature. The ground beneath the hole was seemingly fertile. Besides the oak tree they had seen from the plateau, mulberry bushes and briars grew so thickly that one couldn’t see through the mass of vegetation from side to the other.

The party walked around the overgrown garden and approached it from three sides. In the center, obscured by vines and weeds, they found a sword embedded in a white stone. Sir Henry tried to draw it out, but could not. Wolfgang, half-translating the runes on the sword and on the stone as best he could, explained that the sword was both a gift and an obligation: whoever drew it from the stone could do so only by making a promise about the Queen. Sir Henry was unsure. According to the stories he had just heard, the most famous Queen in the area was long dead and had a mixed reputation. McDowell encouraged him to stop worrying and just make the promise. After some discussion with his companions, Sir Henry made a promise to protect the Queen’s people. And drew the sword from the stone. The sword glowed with a silvery-blue light and felt warm in his hand. Wolfbang wondered aloud why he had elected to become a druid.

The three adventurers avoided the taxmen on their way out of the village and back to the Gold Hill trading post.

Wolfgang and the Silence from the Tower

After the catastrophe with the singing bird-woman, Wolfgang committed himself to the mission of destroying it. Gold Hill sent out a plea for assistance and three adventurers heeded the call. Mark the Magician, was lured by rumors that the tower was originally constructed by a powerful wizard; he was told he could keep any magical artifacts recovered from inside. Korito, a lonely ranger of the wilds had tracked the hobgoblins to the area, and offered his services in driving them from the community. Finally, Thoric, exhibited natural leadership and was deputized as a sergeant and given a command of exceptionally brave six deputy constables. The newcomers listened to what Wolfgang had to say about the bird-woman—or as he called her a “harpy.” He explained that her hideous appearance was combine with a beautiful voice such that few men would be able to resist the sound of her singing. His propsed defense was a simple one—candle wax to plug their ears.

The group ventured toward the tower. They plugged their ears with wax as soon as they caught sight of its battlements above the treetops. They reached the tower without seeing anything. And of course, they heard nothing, but could not, without risk, confirm that there was anything to hear.

The tower had huge doors of thick wood, and was barred from the inside. They divided into two parties, with one group remaining to batter the door, while the others, circled the tower from the edge of the clearing. Those circling the tower caught sight of the Harpy peering over the battlements. Mark the Magician blasted her with a bolt of magic energy. She descended on the group and killed one of the deputies, while also sustained several wounds herself. She flew back up to the top of the tower. Covered by the deputy archers, Mark moved to edge of the clearing where he could shott the harpy again. This time, his magic killed her.

Using a combination of vines and ropes, practiced climbing skills and the assistance of others, most of the group climbed to the top of the tower. A few deputies, plus Wolfie the wolf stayed at the bottom. 

At the top of the tower, the group found the Harpy’s nest, a noisome nest of bones and filth. Under the debris, they found a trapdoor leading down into the tower. A couple of the archers removed the wax from their ears; doing so, they heard commotion from below. Hobgoblins had burst out of the bottom of the tower and had put the rearguard to flight. The group on top of the tower surprised the hobgoblins from above, quickly downing all of them. But very soon after, more hobgoblins attacked from inside the tower. But again, the heroes had the advantage of position. Mark directed his magic at the very large hobgoblin who seemed to be the leader. That monster’s sudden death put the others to flight. The party tended their own wounded, and ensured that their fellows on the ground had secured their position at the bottom of the tower. 

They were surprised to find no sign of hobgoblins in the first two stories of the tower. They found the undisturbed furnishings of the former inhabitant—even several portraits of the wizard himself. They made a careful room and deduced that a secret room existed somewhere in those top floors. They were not, however, able to find an entrance.

And of course, there were still hobgoblins to contend with. Attacking the hobgoblins from above and below, Wolfgang and his fellows quickly killed the remaining hobgoblins. They looted the chief’s treasure. The deputies noted several items that had once belonged to their fellows who had been ambushed in the forest. The group returned to Gold Hill in triumph, to be feted and rewarded by the Head Constable and the people of the community.

The next day, Kiroto and Wolfgang discussed their adventures with Gerilynn. She asked about what treasure they had found in the Harpy’s nest and they realized that in the heat of the moment, they had forgotten to search thoroughly. The trio proposed to the Constables’ office that another group should make an expedition to the tower. The Head Constable praised them for their valor the previous day, but reminded them that the tower was under his jurisdiction. He would not send more men with them and in fact he forbid them from returning on their own. Gerilynn made a show of agreeing, but of course, the three adventurers decided they would disobey the HC and return to the tower alone. A quick trip to the top of the tower and back was likely to yield great profit with little risk. On their way out of Gold Hill, they were pursued by a single deputy. Delta, one of their comrades from the previous day, said he wanted to go with them. He didn’t want pay, he wanted a full share of whatever they found. Admiring his spirit and his frankness, they agreed.

The plan went as expected. On the way there, Topher asked for Kiroto’s assistance in dealing with some giant bees. Kiroto agreed, but the others convinced the ranger that recovering the treasure ensuring that there weren’t any more hobgoblins was more pressing.

Reached the tower, the group climbed up the outside as before. They fought off the giant flies that were devouring the harpy’s corpse and searched her nest. They collected hundreds of silver coins and also found a small pouch full of garnets.

Back in Gold Hill, things didn’t go so smoothly. Delta collected his share before they reached town and took off down the highway. Gerilynn, reading his cue, returned to town, but retired to her room at the inn. Kiroto and Wolfgang headed straight for the trading post to sell the gems and buy new weapons. The would-be sellers were ushered to a back room, and they were soon joined by the Head Constable and several deputies. Belligerent at first, Wolfgand and Kiroto at last had no choice, but to admit the obvious. They agreed to pay a “tax” on their unauthorized treasure-hunting. They proceeded to sell the remains of their booty and Kiroto acquired a new bow, but on both sides, good will was replaced by suspicion.

Wolfbang and the Song from the Tower

After a couple quiet days in Gold Hill, Chickie told Wolfbang that he had decided to stay a bit in Gold Hill. Following some conversations with Brau, he had come to understand that he was risking his lif to little purpose. While Wolfbang may be destined to do great things, he, Chickie, was replaceable. Not completely replaceable. Not replaceable to himself, and that was why he was choosing a new life, assisting Brau in the Divine Workshop. He was going to become an assistant blacksmith. Wolfbang protested- he did value Chickie’s contribution to the group’s efforts. But Chickie was sure: “This is where I need to be now.” The conversation was interrupted by a deputy’s announcement on behalf of the Head Constable, summoning the following individuals, should they be in the vicinity of the Gold /hill trading post or at their earliest convenience, to the office of the Head Constable for Gold Hill and the associated domain, one druid named Wolfgang, Gerilynn, Priestess of Raud, Vulpio. And that’s all.”

The constables were in a serious mood, following the lead of the Head Cobstable, who introduced the party to “Falcon, probably my best seargent, probably the one man who knows this area better than any other man.” Falcon had gone on patrol that morning with a group of eight men. Unlike the other seargents, Falcons liked to lead his patrols beyond the main road and well-traveled side paths, to seek out traces of hidden threats before those threats manifest themselves as something larger and more dangerous. That morning, he’d taken his men off the track completely, into the forest above Topher’s orchard. They were ambushed by beastmen, armed with swords and crossbows, armored for war. His lightly-armed scouts were outmatched, and those few who returned alive were lucky to do so. He needed a new group to return to the forest, to retrieve the bodies of his fallen men and to find out where the monsters were coming, why they had come. He had heard stories about some brave newcomers, about their success against evil and powerful foes. He wanted to ask them, as a group and individually, Wolfbang, Gerilynn, Vulpio, to lead a group of deputies on a scouting mission. After a little negotiation, all three agreed. By mid-morning, they had set off, in the company of seven deputies.

They followed the path past the Buseys homestead and reached Topher’s orchard. Topher offered them a taste of his cider and they lingered until early afternoon. Beyond Topher’s the track disappeared in the forest, and they wandered on the edge of the trees, not certain what they were seeking or if they actually wanted to find it. Vulpio stumbled upon the dead body of one of the monsters described by Falcon. It looked more muscular and powerful than the average man and had a green tint to its skin and features that looked not just ugly, but evil.

Gerilynn found heavy tracks that she reasoned were those of the monster’s comrades. These led deeper into the forest and higher into the rocky hills. As they climbed, the party glimpsed above the trees the top a ruined tower. They fell silent, listening to beautiful, unearthly singing that seemed to come from the top of the tower. Gerilynn urged caution, but few of the others heeded her. The laggards picked up their pace and two deputies sprinted ahead of her. She hastened to follow. As the group reached the tower, those who arrived first circled around it, searching for a way up. On one side they found several vines and began to climb. Gerilynn used her magic to hold Wolfgang and Vulpio in place and she did her best to persuade the deputies not to climb the vines. They didn’t even seem to hear her. All but two scaled the tower. They climbed with remarkable agility and soon reached the top. Despairing of what else to do, Gerilynn, with difficulty, followed them.

As she had expected, the source of the beautiful music was a vicious-looking creature, a woman with talons and wings of a vulture. The deputies stood around, mouths gaping, entranced by her singing.

Gerilynn attacked, calling on Raud to smite the foul creature with a hammer of righteousness. The bird-woman was struck by the spiritual hammer, and attacked Gerilynn, tearing the priestess with its talons as took to the air. Gerilynn realized she could not survive a fight alone with the creature and began to climb back down the vine. The bird-woman made another swipe at Gerilynn as it returned to its nest on the top of the tower, but did not otherwise hamper her retreat.

Back on the ground, Gerilynn freed Vulpio and Wolfgang from the transfixion spell she had placed on them. Free to move their limbs once more, they both rushed to climb the vines. Happily, they were, compared to the deputies, not very good climbers. Gerilynn climbed after them and pulled them down. After multiple falls onto the rocky ground, both men finally regained their senses. Giving up on the bird-woman’s still enraptured audience at the top of the tower, Gerilynn, Vulpio, and Wolfbang, plus the two strong-willed deputies who had not climbed the tower, returned to Gold Hill.

They gave a report to the Head Constable but did not claim any reward.

Wolfbang and the Bears

Wolfgang, Gerilynn, Vulpio, and Chickie continued to explore the Gold Hill area. They came upon other remnants of the area’s past. These included a dilapidated barn infested with giant bees and a once ostentatious, now ruined graveyard haunted by skeletons, zombies, and likely worse things. Nahnyuk forbade Valu from leaving the homestead. And he instructed Wolfbang to sell his donkey, intimating that ownership of domesticated animals compromised a man’s own wildness. (Wolfgang did tearfully sell the donkey at the Gold Hill trading post. Chickie bought it back.)

During the weeks they lived on Nahnyuk’s farm, they learned that he never harvested more than a frugal sample of his grapes and honey, though with proper equipment he might have a very profitable operation. Valu had explained that it was “for the bears.” People at the trading post—Brau, the traders, the constables—all confirmed that Nahnyuk never sold his harvest. One evening, near the end of the season, when the grapes were beginning to fall off the vine, and when the warm, still air was thick with their, sweet, winey smell, half a dozen black bears lumbered out of the woods, and through the briars to feast. They began in the vinyards, tearing down the vines as they devoured the fruit, crushing more feet than they consumed. The bears moved from the vinyards to the apiaries. As the invaders knocked over one of the hives and began shovelling honey and bees into their mouths, Nahnyuk scolded the onlookers, urging them into their huts. Wolfbang and the others listened to the buzzing of angry bees and the triumphant humming of the ravaging bears. When the sun set completely and darkness settled over the homestead, the bears finished gorging themselves and returned to the forest.

The next morning, Nahnyuk set Valu, Wolfbang, and the others to work. They righted the overturned hives, and they replaced broken vine poles. The sun was hot and the work was hard, but they were motivated by a sense of purpose. (Except for Valu, who was especially sulky and often absent.)

Late in the afternoon, the bears returned. There were more this time, and they were more deliberate, finding a tangle of half-wild grape vines that they’d missed the first time, and thoroughly tearing apart the hives. Again, they stayed until nightfall.

The next morning, Nahnyuk gave the same instructions to repair the bears’ damage. Or, as Gerilynn saw it, prepare another feast for bad-mannered guests who took no notice of proper table settings. So instead, first chance they got, Wolfbang and his friends followed Valu’s example and slunk off, certain they could find another way to spend the day.

So they returned to the ruined graveyard! On a previous visit, the party had encountered walking skeletons. These macabre constructs stood as guardians on the column-lined processional that bisected the graveyard. The party had fought and destroyed several of these on the day before the bears’ first visit; all were happy to discover that these bones had been laid to final rest at last. Other skeletons, from the other side of the graveyard, were driven away when Gerilynn presented the holy symbol of Raud. While Gerilynn held the skeletons at bay, the rest of the party approached a large tomb at the east end of the graveyard. There was a door in the tomb and the door was open. The party entered, Gerilynn still warding the skeletons. When Vulpio, Chickie, and Wolfbang entered the dark vault, zombies emerged from all sides. The living intruders raised their weapons to defend themselves against the undead attackers. Gerilynn turned to present her holy symbol to these new enemies—the zombies clambered back off the walls and into their individual tombs.

But now the skeletons, seized their advantage and began to advance across the graveyard. Gerilynn instructed her friends to prepare to fight the zombies, and as the skeletons neared her, she turned on them once more, calling on her faith in Raud to keep the walking bones away from her.

This time her friends were prepared to fight the zombies, assailing the animated corpses as they emerged from their cubicles. Showing neither fear nor pain, the zombies sustained the blows without flinching; those not destroyed clubbed the party with their rotten limbs. When the zombies pressed too hard, and Chickie and Vulpio had both suffered solids blows, Gerilynn once again turned her back on the skeletons and once again sent the zombies into hiding.

The skeletons moved much faster than the zombies and the party had but a moment to catch their breath before they had to face the zombies once more. Spot the dog and Wolfie were called into the tomb to assist their human companions. Spot, like a dog, gave all. He was killed by the last and largest of the zombies, just as the walking corpse was sent to its final rest by Vulpio’s crushing war hammer.

Gerilynn healed the party’s wounded, and all prepared to meet the skeletons, gathering rocks, fragments of headstones. The skeletons approached close enough to be destroyed by a volley of thrown missiles.

The party’s reward, if any, wasn’t found in the tomb. A rusty axe was their only trophy. Wolfbang observed there were other large burial monuments, but Gerilynn firmly opposed any thoughts of further exploration. They had all been injured by the zombies, Gerilynn was exhausted from warding the undead powers, and unless they returned immediately, they wouldn’t reach home until after dark.

So they returned to Nahnyuk’s homestead. The bears were there, and their bacchanal was bigger, louder, and more destructive than ever, but the party paid them little attention, collapsing into sleep before the party ended.

Did the ursine rampage go the whole night? Surely no, Vulpio was later say that once during the night he was awakened by the pounding in his head and heard nothing outside the hut. Nevertheless, it was bears and not headaches that awakened the party in the morning. They were close, very close. The crashing sound was that of a stone wall collapsing. They were not overturning beehives, but breaking into a hut. Valu screamed. Geriynn emerge in time to see a huge black bear, standing on its hind legs, tall as a grizzly, and holding Valu to its body. Gerilynn rushed to attack it, but two other bears blocked her away. As the others—Vulpio, Wolfbang, Chickie—emerged from their huts, Nahnyuk, standing in his own doorway, ordered them back inside. Vulpio ignored him and attacked the bears that had attacked Gerilynn. At first the bears simply avoided his blows, but after Vulpio’s war hammer connected solidly with a bear’s snout, they both attacked him with ferocity, swatting him back and forth with their claws until he fell to the ground. Meanwhile, the large bear carried Valu nto the forest. His screams became more distant. Gerilynn did not follow, but instead tried to help Vulpio. The bears relented and followed the larger bear into the forest. Gerilynn tended to Vulpio. He was battered, but not seriously wounded.

Nahnyuk did not offer any explanation for the bear’s behvior. He was subdued and showed no interest in repairing his homestead or in rescuing Valu. 

Gerilynn convinced the others that they should track the bears. They put on their armor, ate a quick breakfast, and set off. Gerilynn found the bear tracks easy to follow nd the party made their way through the forest for several hours, generally in a westward direction. In the afternoon, near a large briar patch, they met a man. Big and tall, with a thick black beard, this man was as wild as Nahnyuk in appearance, but he met the party with a clear gaze and understandable speech. Yes, he had seen some bears, and he thought he knew which way they had gone. He led the party north, first down the ridge toward the road, then across the road and up the ridge toward Gold Hill. Here, as dusk was falling, the stranger announced that he had lost the trail. “But normally, if bears do things, it’s for a purpose.”

The party spent the night at the Inn. Brau agreed that if Valu had been taken aay by bears he must be very frightened, but could give them little practical advice. A few off-duty constables overheard the conversation, and waited until Brau had returned to the kitchen to give their own advice: “Be careful what you tell that Brau woman, everyone knows she’s a witch.”

The next morning, the party reported Valu’s disappearance to the constable’s office. The deputies promised to send out additional patrols.

The party returned to Nahnyuk’s homestead They found Nahnyuk in his hut, and his bed, dead, and looking very peaceful. Chickie and Vulpio made a report at Gold Hill, and soon returned with Brau and one of her acolytes, plus the Head Constable and several of his deputies. Wolfbang and Brau conducted a burial service. Someone remarked that the land on which Nahnyuk had been living belonged to the Constable. The Constable assented, and announced his plans to “turn the plan to productive use—but no need to talk about that right now.” He assured Wolfgang & co that they continue to stay on the land “for the time being.”

The next day, Gerilynn convinced the otersthat they should resume their search for Valu. /they followed the same westward path that they’d followed the day before, This time, when they reached the briar patch, they stayed to investigate, and came across two berry-stained bears lounging in the sun. Wolfbang sent the others away and spoke to the bears. They knew about the boy and knew that he had gone with the big bears. The big bears lived on the top of the high ridge. They didn’t know why the big bears wanted to take Valu.

The party spent another night at the Inn. Wolfbang didn’t like the idea because of the deputies’ rumors about Brau. He was out voted, but he didn’t sleep well, and when he saw a cat in his room, his screaming woke up the others. Two of Brau’s assistants came running. Meanwhile the cat had disappeared. The assistants assured Wolfgang tat plenty of cat roamed Gold Hill and sometimes they wandered into guests’ rooms to beg food. After the sleepy assistants returned to their quarters, the cat returned, and showed himself to be Jaroo. Resuming human form, an impatient Jaroo suggested that Wolfbang should leave the bears alone and instead consider the question of who would guard the grove in Whitkey? Deflecting questions from Gerilynn, Jaroo assumed the form of a lizard and scuttled off into the shadows.

Gerilynn was not yet ready to give up. Remembering the briar patch bears’ information that the big bars lived on the high ridge, she suggested that the party venture into areas they had no yet explored. Besides the main path that led from Gold Hill back down into the valley, there were other, more narrow tracks that led higher into the hills. Choosing one of these, they travelled for about an hour until they came upon a sprawling homestead and a pair of goat herders, surrounded by their goats. These men introduced themselves as members of the Busey family. They did see bears from time to time, but did not see any bears traveling with a bear and had no interest in discovering where the local bears made their home. They showed little interest in conversation until Chickie mentioned their combat with the evil magician. The Buseys showed restrained interest in hearing more and invited the party to one of their houses for lunch.

The party joined their hosts for a simple, but large meal, during which other members of the extended family visited to hear about Valu in the bears. No one pretended to have any useful information. In time, the Busey clan revealed that they were concerned about the disappearance of one of their own. A young man named Hem had long shown that he had little aptitude for any of the tasks associated with keeping goats. Instead, he had studied ark magic and recently apprentice himself to a traveling magician. The Buseys were glad to know that the magician himself was dead, and said quick quiet prayers of thanks when they heard that in the midst of the fighting, Gerilynn had spared the lives of at least two of the magician’s compatriots. Based on his description, one of them may have been Hem. Maybe he would return one day or maybe he had heeded Gerilynn’s advice to go away and find a better life.

But the Buseys wanted more than hope, they wanted closure. Three men of the clan asked the arty to take them to Whitkey and show them where the battle took place. The party agreed.

There was little to show. The body of the magician as gone. There were no other dead. The party didn’t tell the Buseys about the wolves who laired in one of the ruined houses and who had scavenged the magician. Nevertheless, the Buseys were grateful to the party. Thy took their leave, promising to be on the lookout for Valu.

The party stayed in Whitkey, reasoning that they could not remain at Nahnyuk’s place indefinitely. Some of the buildings looked habitable. One of the most stable houses was at last ruled unsuitable because it was so dark, being thoroughly overgrown with vines and twisted trees. The inn, Gerilynn discovered, had a weak floor. She crashed through it into the cellar and was attacked by rats the size of cats. Wolfbang let a rope and Chickie came to her aid. Moving to the outskirts of the village, the party noticed the ruins of a tower on top of a rocky outcropping. They climbed the outcopping to investigate and found a hole in the rubble. As they began to light a torch to investigate, a greenish, clawed, undead thing burst out of the hole and attacked them. It as both faster and hardier than the zombies, and most terrifying of all, its toxic touch caused near instant paralysis. Both Vulpio and Gerilynn soon found their limbs frozen. The undead thing suffered wounds from Wolfbang’s spear and Chickie’s axe, but it seemed to barely bleed. Then Chickie was caught by a clawd hand and he too was frozen. For a moment, Wolfbang considerd flight, But then Wolfie clamped his jaws around the undead thing’s leg and pulled it to the ground. Wolfbang took this moment to plunge his spear through the undead thing’s chest and pin it to the ground, holding it there until it stirred no more.

Wolfbang draggd his friends down off the outcrop. After an hour or so, they recovered from their paralysis and they all returned to Gold Hill for the safety of the Inn.