Dave: A point of CON? Arcus feels doubly shamed. Any chance that can be gained back? He will try to take it easy for a while.
John: Sadly no, this is the mark of the succubus and it's as permanent as other characteristic loss. That's how Fethal got his nice CON 9 (many of the villagers less than 9).
Dave: One big question remaining is what the hazia fields were for, who cultivated them, and what was done with the final product. Arcus would like to ask everyone about this.
John: The villagers shamefully admit that the hazia has been grown for decades, it was planted by Fethal's father and the proceeds kept the village comfortable. Fethal dealt with some traders; people aren't sure who they were. Haloric is outraged, tells them that this alone is grounds for the whole village to be executed, let along consortion with chaos! He is furious and you can sense the violence brewing within him.
Dave: Another question is whether the ogre children had any ties to any adult ogres, especially the ones in Dyskund.
John: Ogres? The people still are in denial about ogres. The only outsiders that the children dealt with were the nice Pola folks from downriver. Old Grandpa Pola treated the kids like his own, he is a good man and generous to the villagers when he comes through. Although the villagers have spilled the beans, they still are avoiding numerous facts. They've been heavily indoctrinated and abused for years, so truth has become warped for them.
Dave: One remaining task in the village is to recover the original Visala's body and set it to rest. We should wait a day to see if the trackers get back, after that it's up to Tyson, he is the one who has to get back quickly.
John: That needs to be played out. Remember, you have no idea what's up with the trackers.
Dave: When Arcus gets a chance, after he arrives back in town, he would like to point out to Haloric that Tyson is the actual hero here, the town is saved (to be executed later) from the chaos within by Tyson's quick thinking (which also saved his head). His hope is that word might get back to Sun County, so that Tyson can get off of the most-wanted list.
John: Haloric buys the story. He trusts you and says he will speak well for all of you when he presents the facts to Count Solanthos. "Arcus, you would make a fine militia leader in the County."
Dave: If he has the opportunity, he will also try to talk up the group's heroism in this adventure, how Tarranyr saved Tyson, Caernak, and himself from the Jack-O-Bear,
John: Again, Haloric is impressed and praises your good leadership skills, Arcus. (The others likely feel chagrined that Haloric seems to think that all of the good that you've done is simply because of Arcus being a good Yelmalion leader)
Dave: how the fearless trackers Pachala, Dorgon and Caernak have probably found and killed all of the ogre children by now.
John:Now, you have no idea of this, remember.
Dave: Arcus talks about his own actions with a touch of shame, he is not proud of killing 6 ogre children who could barely hold a weapon, or that he did not kill Fethul after defeating him in a death duel (he tells Haloric that he reasoned that it was in the interest of Sun County to keep Fethul alive until the mysteries of this place were uncovered, but even so, he feels that his honor is less).
John: "Humility is a sign of grace and virtue. But forget not the power of your spear, which you have proven righteously in the eyes of Yelmalio. I would not have granted Fethal the same mercy but I understand why you did it, and if I were in your boots I may have acted the same."
Dave: By the way, John, Arcus wants to cultivate Haloric as peer and potential friend, in this context he treats Haloric as the commanding officer (it is his jurisdiction), offering his advice when appropriate. He tries to avoid any sort of rivalry that may develope.
John: While Haloric obviously feels embarassed that all of this happened in his backyard, and clearly is compelled to make what right he can of the situation, you feel little rivalry. You feel much more respect and honor from him than jealousy. He responds to your subordination with kindness and attentiveness. You get along well. He lives up to his reputation as a reasonable, virtuous Yelmalion and dedicated soldier/leader and you can tell that he thinks the same of yo
Tarranyr would like to ask about traders who frequent this area. His guess is that anyone who came here to trade in hazia might also have stopped in Queenscliffe and other nearby towns (sell trade goods inbound to avoid suspicion, gain more money to buy hazia with, increase profits, etc). He'll try to keep track of the names. Perhaps one of those traders' name will turn up else- where in a context that seems unimportant but will be suspicious in connection with Black Rock.
John: The only regular ones that Haloric knows of are the Pola steaders. Yet they only moved in ~6 yrs ago, and the hazia has been there for maybe 20 yrs, so someone else must be involved. Haloric will investigate a few Lokarnos (Sun Dome trade god) merchants who pass thru here on occassion.
Sami: I believe that Arcus' spear is non-magical? If so perhaps a well- timed comment from Tarranyr will help promote the idea that Arcus deserves that magic spear that belonged to the militia leader. Something like, "Arcus is a mighty warrior. What he can do with such a plain weapon is simply amazing."
But then, Tarranyr knows no Firespeech and no doubt Haloric isn't interested in what anyone besides Arcus has to say anyways. :)
John: Haloric has already conceded the Strongspear to Arcus, saying that he would honor it much more than its former owner (the moron Thosah Strongspear). Haloric says that it is an old heirloom of Thosah's extinct lineage that houses a spirit who knows battle magic that it uses for its master. He thinks it is blessed to work only for Yelmalions.
Tison is impressed. He is going to start following arcus around taking notes. I hope the great (formerly pink) leader is not jealous.
Once the towns folks are in sun domer hands he suggests investigating the pond. The fields should be shown to Haloric and then burned. The remaining ogre child should be interigated (For info on pali stead and anything else we can find, meeting places? Other choas leads). Assuming the pond does not eat us, he wants to see if the tree spirit is the spirit of the daughter. If so see if the earth priestest can come up with a burial ritual. See if we can divert the stream back into its own bed (to kill the field and pond and restore the destroyed village.
John:
Some of this we can do over e-mail. Haloric wants to see, and burn, the hazia of course. He takes charge of interrogating the ogre girl: "Pitiful spawn of evil, you know your end has come. Your foulness will wither in the righteous gaze of Yelm as you are staked to the ground up on the clifftop. Think of how the sun will feel as it burns away your wretched life. Think of the circling vultures overhead, the biting ants and ever-closer cackling of hyenas. Then think of this: if you speak now openly about your kin's dealings with the Pola Clan and other despicable chaos spawn, I will grant you justice and mercy. My spear is sharp and my aim is true, I can end it quickly for you. But be wary, I know your lot in life is to spin lies and deceit. The shining sky is full of truth! Out here your lies cannot hide in murky shadows or mute voices. If you lie, I will know it and I will make things very bad for you. Now talk, blasphemous worm."
What can I say? He criticalled his Intimidate roll! At first full of spite and hatred, the girl's fanged visage contorts itself into a grotesque parody of a frightened child, for a moment almost seeming innocent. She sobs:
"I am too young to die! Spare me, I will run off into the wilds and never trouble your kind again!" Haloric gets impatient, orders his two men to find a good sunny spot on the clifftop and lay out some meat to attract scavengers. They head off; the terrified girl watches them go.
"No! I will not suffer that way, it is too much for me! I am but a young one, Varloz knows more than I. The Polas were our sweet aunts and uncles. They came to the barn and showed us what parts of the humans were best to eat, and told us the tales of Cacodemon and his armies. We sang the song-of-eating-enemies-in-secret and the Mistress sent the shamaness Penliss to teach us special magics. Grandpa Pola knew many crags and caves in the hills to hide in, and took us out there sometimes to practice ambushes and backstabbing. Right now I bet my kindred are practicing this on your brutish warriors out there, hah!"
Haloric gets impatient, scowls and looks up at the rising run and says "Enough chatter. Did Grandpa tell you where to go if you were discovered? Say it now."
She sobs, "He said to split up, one group go straight for the Dyskund Valley while the others find places to hide. He knew all the caves that we might hide in, and promised that he'd find us and save us."
Haloric interrupts, "Have other chaos things been here? Walktapi, broo, vampires?"
She replies, "I have seen none, but Grandpa said that his son Nanni had special allies that would help us if we were in danger. We saw Muriah's broo messengers hiking through the desert sometimes, but they didn't come too close to town usually. Varloz knew how to contact them quickly. The Mistress always said that when we grew up, Black Rock would be a safe home for others like us, and new servants would arrive to bring us food."
Haloric has been building up anger for much of the conversation and now it spills forth. His spear flashes like a beam of light and the ogre-kid dies. "My mercy tires the more evil I hear of. Let's move on and put an end to this foul tale."