The Rescue of Felric's Redoubt

Airday the 8th of Pronus, evening.

The party collect the dead and sort through their belongings. Most of them were butchers, wearing aprons and wielding meat cleavers. A well crafted sword, some masterwork armour, and a gold bracelet are found. The cases containing poison is inspected closely by Xavier while Thorhal and Laen debate the ethics of using poison, but some of the pottles appear to be missing, and all others empty. Arnwold introduces himself and begins to spin a lengthy yarn of how he once was a knight but after crossing the wrong people, and some bad luck, he now lives amongst the rubble of a half destroyed building opposite the butchery. His only possesions are his worn leather armour, his home made shield, and his longsword. He saw the party in trouble and came running. Lyam helps the enfeebled Fjidor to his feet, and half drags him back to the cathedral.

One of the butchers was merely put asleep, and he is bound and forcibly woken. Bound and helpless, he agrees to lead them through the butchery. The butchery is empty, and he walks them through the various rooms where they slaughter and process the meat. They figure out that somewhere in the centre of the building must be a secret room, but Laen is unable to find the entry. There is a single room updstairs; the boss Baldegg's office. A search reveals a mahogany desk, a valuable looking tapestry hanging on the wall, and hidden behind it a chest of some sort fastened securely to the wall. Xavier checks it for traps, but has some difficulty opening it. Laen finds a key on Baldegg's corpse and returns triumphantly to the office to inspect the contents of the chest. Thorhal reads through some of the paperwork but finds no evidence of dodgy deals or wrong doings. He takes the surviving butcher and Arnwold outside to survey the carnage. The sound of a gas explosion grabs his attention. As Thorhal turns towards the butchery he catches a glimpse of a gush of flames, glass and wood fragments being ejected from the office on the second floor. Without hesitating he turns and runs into the building.


Somehow Xavier managed to avoid the blast of the trapped chest altogether. Laen was slightly less successful. The fine looking tapestry hanging above the chest is nothing more than ash and dust. The mahogany desk is marred and on fire. The thin walls are damanaged and smouldering and the papers on the desk have been scattered throughout the room and set ablaze. Smoke pours from fissures in the walls and ceiling, and fresh air is seeping in from below and fueling the small but hungry fire inside the room. Only the bottom remains of the chest, and what was gold coin is either molten or drooping like raclette. With some wincing Laen scoops the goopy golden mess into his cloak and heads for the stairs, meeting Thorhal on the way up. A whoosh is heard, and the room behind them erupts in flame. It's time to go.

Once outside they stand and stare at the building. Some curious bystanders begin to watch, alerted by the noise. Some minutes later city officials and work crews arrive however it is too late to save the butchery. Teams of people dowse the walls of buildings opposite the street with water to prevent the fire spreading. The party meet Sir Macflinn who interrogates them with mild suspicion, but eventually allows them to return to their inn to sleep.

Lightday the 9th of Pronus, around 2am.
Loud knocking awakens Thorhal. "Wake Up!" cries a voice beyond the door. The same incessant banging pulls Laen and Xavier from their rest. It's a deacon, and they've found another murder victim. Unable to rub the fatigue from their eyes they assemble their gear and follow the deacon. They arrive at the scene of the crime. It's quite fresh, less than a few hours old. A small street urchin has been murdered this time. As always, his throat is cut and the hoard of food he had hidden away has been gorged upon. Laen wastes no time and begins to look for signs of the killer's passing. His wolf Fang finds a scent and together they wind their way through the back alleys tracing the killer's footsteps. The tracks are fresh, and surprisingly go only a short distance. They arrive before the grandiose facade of the Bucklemaker's guildhall. As they approach the front door something makes the hair on Laen's neck stand on end, and Fang begins growling and backing away from the door. A distant, anguished scream lingers on the air and repeats in Laen's brain as if only an imagination. He's heard this before. The air is even different; still and deathless. The pit of his stomach feels as if it were a lead ball, as realisation strikes him like a slap in the face. It's the same. All the same. The guildhall is an Ulcer, and the Fat Man has retreated within.

The three standing before the Ulcer and decide on actions. They are fatigued, and being only three in number stand little chance against what awaits within. Xavier and Thorhal stand guard while Laen runs relay his dire findings to Sir MacFlinn. The news is broken gently, and taken gravely. Sir MacFlinn eyes Laen questiongly, looking for signs of falsehood while at the same time hoping desperately for them. MacFlinn says he will call a meeting of the Orders at the cathedral, and to meet there within the hour.

The cathedral begins to fill with knights from almost every order. Armed men fill the pews. Knights of Paeso, Lonusso and Equinus are boldly visible, and even a representation of elves and dwarves. Other groups are also present, bearing no identification and avoiding eye contact. All eyes fall upon Sir MacFlinn as he approaches the paupet and begins to speak. He explains that the group of investigators from Belm have discovered an Ulcer within the city limits, and that the Fat Man resides therein. A loud murmor erupts across the room, and MacFlinn bidds them silent. He explains that the church must clense this Ulcer and all within it. He requests that Helm, the acting Bishop, come forward to approve the seige. Nobody comes forward. A messenger is sent to fetch him, however on return it is announced that Helm and the two guards posted before his door have been murdered. The room erupts in questions and shouting. After some time order is restored. The priest Leodwine steps forward, and announces that in Held's absense he is the next in line for Bishop, and his first act is to approve the seige. The urgency of the Ulcer overpowers the urge to ask questions or provide accusations, and the cathedral empties into the street. A small army march through the streets of Belm to the bucklemaker's guildhall. Xavier, Laen and Thorhal are ordered to remain within the cathedral until the seige is over.

The armed forces of the church assault the guild hall. They find a myriad of twisted half realities wihtin. They are attacked by floating cloaks, and a creature made entirely of buckles. They butcher an assassin and press forward to the heart of the ulcer, where they confront a demon of gluttony and the Fat Man himself. All are butchered, none are spared.

Several days later a great festival is thrown. Although the party do not feature at the centre of it, they do receive a significant position near the middle. It's not the victory they would have wanted to have had, but it's enough to know that without their dedication the whole city could have been lost. Laen's masterwork fire retardent (resist 5) studded demonhide armour arrives by courier in the following days.

GM's Notes:

• Obstacles overcome:
  Fireball trap, CR5 => 1200XP@lvl6
  
  Xavier = 16386XP + 400XP = 16786XP (lvl6, 30% to lvl7)
  Laén = 17486XP + 400XP = 17886XP (lvl6, 48% to lvl7)
  Þórhal* = 16324XP + 400XP = 16724XP (lvl6, 29% to lvl7)
  Lyam = 10027 (lvl5, 1% to lvl6)
  Fjidor = 10027 (lvl5, 1% to lvl6)
  
  * = Cinematic Point!
  
  Well that's the end of the second main adventure in the Moving Shadow campaign by Robert Defendi.
  
  
• Deus ex machina:
  The party were a little bewildered about having the final climactic battle stolen away from them. It was a tough decision on my part. I thought, "What would any powerful church do upon learning there was a mortal threat to their existence in their city?". The answer was that they rallied the troops and sent them in. The ending I chose was far from ideal in many respects, especially those which provided closure to the open plot elements. To this end I will provide some answers which might shed some light on what's being going on. Presumably the players spoke to those who were on the front line, inspected the wreckage of the bucklemaker's guildhall, and did some asking around/research into the nature of Ulcers and how they are formed. You're not getting all the information here, but the necessary parts.
  
  
• Conclusions
  The front line soldiers who assaulted the bucklemaker's guildhall not only found the Fat Man at its corrupted core, but also confronted and slew a Demon of Gluttony. After the demon's death the ulcer began to close, so it can be assumed the demon was the root of of the Ulcer's evil. Divinations performed later on the demon's identity revealed only the name Azgúk. It is thought that Azgúk found a way to create the Ulcer inside the bucklemaker's guildhall. Azgúk's last words as his black blood bled out were apparently mocking, and said to "pass [his] thanks to the fools who delivered [him] the splinter", whatever that means. ;)
  The Fat Man was in fact the bucklemaker guildmaster, and by reputation was not at all a man known of vileness. His murderous behavior was the result of a powerful curse created through Azgúk's control of the Ulcer which rendered him unable to eat except after murder. The hunger and pain drove him mad, and eventually he succumbed to the drive of the curse. It is known that evil acts serve to strengthen and nourish an Ulcer, which must have been Azgúk's intent to feed the ulcer until it became a permenant part of Felcric's Redoubt or even engulfed the entire city altogether.
  An assassin was also encountered who seemed foreign to the Ulcer, but was lying in wait within. His corpse was dragged outside of the guildhall before the ulcer closed. Divinations linked him to the 'copycat' murders of many of the priests, although it is unknown whether he belonged to any particular responsible faction. What is interesting to note is that as a result of the murders the bishop's position has shifted several times and landed in the hands of the Old Guard priests. Felric's Redoubt's worship of God will continue as it always was, and His scriptures will continue to be interpreted by preists of the church.
  
  
• Murder Mysteries
  It's the first type I've run this kind of a game. I felt particular plotline had some room for improvement, as there was only one 'official' way to solve the murders, and the clue came too late in the game. The players were already frustrated from investigating crimescenes they didn't have any chance to really make progress on. This was of course also through my failing to communicate that they were wasting their time or to speed things up when I knew it was fruitless. If I run another murder mystery style game, I will ensure that there are multiple was to solve the murder, and that clues start arriving early.