MAJESTIC ODD: Session Five, Pt. 2, and Session Six
Heading south from the ruined tower, the party discovers little of interest until it enters a ruined village. A quick survey turns up no signs of inhabitants in the ruins or much else of interest, so the party moves on. Im a field not far from the ruined town, they come across a squat obelisk, adorned with pictographs of combat. Inanna, Ivar and Scribonius all approach and each begins to hear distant, illusory signs of battle as he approaches. With characteristic verve for all things magical and foolish, Ivar decides to clamber to the top of the obelisk. At its summit, he pricks his hand and drips a single drop of blood upon the monument. For a brief moment, the area is flooded with sounds of battle, spooking the hirelings. The party decides to return when they have more information about the obelisk.
To that end, unraveling some of the numerous mysteries they've now collected, the party decides to stop for a mid-day rest at the home of Atrus, the sage responsible for bringing Penderton quickly back to health. Outside of the self-proclaimed prophet's home, they accidentally interrupt the end of a conversation between Atrus and a mysterious man, who rides away shortly after the party arrives. Atrus invites them inside to talk and graciously waters the hirelings for the party. The party peppers Atrus with questions. The worm, he does not specifically recognise, but he speculates based on the party's description that the worm is a larva specifically incubated in the corpse of the man found murdered in the ruined tower. He claims to have neither seen nor heard anything of Lucas, the man reputed to be lurking in the woods surrounding Atrus' home. He expresses his own interest in the obelisk, but claims ignorance of its purpose and function. Ivar copies out for Atrus the runes that "Loki" provided, with some minor revisions, so that the sage can consult study them at his leisure. Lastly, Ivar questions the sage about his beliefs. Atrus is evasive, but does invite Ivar--and the rest of the party--to a gathering of his cult the following night.
Setting out again from Atrus' hut, the party has a short discussion about how to handle the demon chicken. Penderton is resolute that it must be destroyed. Ivar believes that time is too short to find a way to dispatch the foul spirit and craves the power it offers in return for service. Inanna and Scribonius initially voice their reservations about working with it, but Ivar sways Inanna by claiming the demon offers wealth and changes Penderton's mind by pointing out that the demon could be used to destroy rich and corrupt merchants of Krell. Ivar does admit that having a contingency plan to do away with the demon would be wise, however, so the party resolves to complete the nightmare bird's task while simultaneously seeking a way to kill or banish it. Hopefully the service will bring them wealth and power while buying them time to work out a way of betraying it. In their hearts, Ivar and Scribonius nurture dreams of enslaving the demon for its power.
Moving south east, the party revisits the grove where Penderton was attacked the day before, as it seemed an ideal and hidden campsite for the elusive Lucas. They find the camp abandoned, with some refuse scattered around the site. Diligent searching does turn up what at first appeared to be the latrine--a patch of wet and muddy earth half a meter across. Ascertaining that it is not, in fact, a shit pit, the party begins investigating. The ground is wet with a mysteriously gelatinous substance, with a peculiar but unrecogniable odour. First they prod through the mud with a long branch, then attempt to ignite the substance (to no avail), but finally Penderton resolves to throw caution to the wind and dig through the muck with his hands. He finds the substance mildly acidic, but not enough to cause harm or even much discomfort. After searching for a while, he turns up a plain iron band.
The party studies the band, and finds no markings. Ivar attempts to heat the ring to see if that would reveal its secrets. It does not. Penderton encourages to Ivar to try it on and bleed on it a little--Ivar's preferred method of magical investigation--but for the first time since they met, Ivar shows reservations about playing with the occult. Inanna instead tries on the ring, but nothing happens. She decides to continue wearing it and the party moves on, bemused at the discovery of a completely unadorned and apparently functionless ring in a pool of mysterious gel.
Again walking south, the party encounters more ruins of the old city. Among the structures still standing are a temple and part of an old keep. The party investigates the temple first, finding it almost completely unadorned except for a rusting statue of the goddess of fate, Moira. For a lark, they attempt to put the iron ring around the statues fingers, only to discover that the statue is too large for the ring to fit upon. Finding nothing else of interest there, they move on, though not before Scribonius makes a quick prayer for guidance.
Apparently Moira heard, as the party's investigation of the old fort turns up a hiding spot in a ruined tower that once dominated the south eastern corner of the keep's walls. In that hole they find a purse, with a modest amount of gold and a silver token bearing the image of a crow. Penderton speculates that the token may be of significance to a certain 'businessman' in Krell who goes by the name of Crow--but of whether it's meant to be bartered for wealth, meant to identify his servants or meant to warn would be thieves against stealing the purse, Penderton is ignorant. Heartened by the modest success, the party turns its attention to the part of the fortress still standing. Two locked doors bar their way. After peering through the arrow slits and finding a thick layer of dust coating the inside of the building, the party concludes that entry is probably safe. Using a dagger, Penderton manages to break the lock of one of the doors.
The party lines up, weapons and lantern ready, and the door slowly swings open...