PnP:Liberation of Osoerde Turn Nine

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

Dear Rudolph,

My sincere apologies for the time since my last report, but after our ordeal in Roesone I needed some time to recover and took a personal journey. I have since returned to the company of William and his men and am back on my assigned task.

For some time the rightful Duke had talked of a place called Aamon in the Sunken Lands, and the disillusioned company of soldiers there known in some circles as the "frog patrol." He had talked of finding a way of approaching this group and seeing if any of these men would turn to his side, so when I had arrived back the men at camp had informed me that William and the others had traveled there for that very purpose. I took a new soldier along with me for aid and we headed there as quick as we could.

When we arrived, we heard tales in the local ill about the deeds the others had done in the town. Apparently several local soldiers had gone missing while on patrol and they had gone out in search of them. Apparently they had instead encountered several foul creatures known as owlbears and had a perilous time of it. Duke William had previously talked about a fascination with the beasts, but from the encounter they said they had I think his view may change.

At some point they had located the men as well, and they did not seem any worse the wear. In fact, they did not know they were missing, or curiously that any time had passed in their absence. When we rejoined them, there was also a young brother and sister who had returned after missing, also unaware of their disappearance. This event disturbed us, and we started looking into the events to find some answers. The young pair did not seem harmed, but when William searched for enchantments on them he found a taint of magic about them that he could not identify. We kept a close eye on the pair and tried to get more from them, but they seemed resistant to Ceran's elven powers of persuasion. At one point they were called away to see the Viscount by some foppish local authority, but then they were diverted to see Corporal Tooms at the local keep.

The others had made an ally of this Tooms before my arrival, so Ceran went along to seek audience with the man. William had me follow as well under cloak of magic to help Ceran, and I managed to sneak past the gates guards to follow the siblings when Ceran was stopped. They did not head to the corporal, but instead were taken to the stables to meet with an officer named Janus. I stayed hidden, and overheard them talking as if they were all in league. They were also aware of William's attempts to seek them magic in them, and talked of doing something about it. The siblings were escorted back out, but I stayed on Janus to learn more of the man. He went back to his office and there he sat in the dark, unmoving and unblinking, until he was summoned by Tooms.

At Tooms office Ceran was present and the corporal admonished the man for talking to the sibling without him. When Janus left I revealed myself and told them what I had overheard. Ceran and I left to locate where the pair had went, but upon arriving back at the inn William told us they never returned. I went out to the inn's roof to watch their hut, and informed the others when I saw a light there. We hurried to the shack and found a note from them waiting, asking us to meet them in the swamp to learn the truth of the strange events.

We all suspected a trap and took time to get ready before venturing out to meet them. Upon arrival, I felt odd. For a time it almost felt as if someone else had control of my body. I feared it was some sort of dark magic or curse, but it subsided with no lasting harm.

Ceran and I scouted in the swamp while William and the others met with the siblings and two of the soldiers who had previously gone missing. They seemed to be using the conversation to throw us off our guard, but Ceran's elven eyes caught sight of creatures moving to ambush the others. His bow rang out and struck one of the creatures, and two more jumped out at me but their claws found only air. Varg bellowed and used an enchanted javelin he found to drop the girl but the boy avoided his attack. The melee was fierce and our cause was aided by mystical webbing that William conjured. We managed to overcome the strange swamp creatures, but before we could subdue the boy and the other soldier they ended their own lives.

Again Ceran's senses alerted us to something underneath the breastplate of one of the soldiers. Suddenly a writhing mass of black tentacles emerged, lashing out at us from the bodies of the fallen! Arrows and magic made quick work of them, but some of the strange creatures escaped into the swamps. We burned the bodies of the fallen infected and took the corpses of the other monsters with us to show the town. It seems something evil lurks here, and we have vowed to put an end to it. I will let you know more once we set out again, and until then may Eloéle protect your secrets with her shadow.

Harker Graywind.