LogBroken Empires : Kanday-Jason-3

Game log for the 2026/11/08 session of Broken Empires : Kanday, as taken by Jason

3 Nuzyael is warm, clear, but foggy.

The keep is all afutter because Sir Delfydd, the Baroness' uncle, holder of Nidier Manor, arrives with her youngest brother, Twyln. Twyln is a mere stripling of 18, and is trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life. Rhys, Garnotin, and Merik all happen to be around when these distinguished guests arrive. Sir Delfydd asks to speak to the Baroness immediately, and Castellar asks Garnotin to see if the Baroness will see her brother. He finds her in the library, working on a tapestry, in company with Tamia Pesirias. Garnotin gives his message, but honestly cannot tell her what Delfydd wants, though Tamia thinks she knows. She tells Garnotin to have Castellar send Delfydd to the tower room.

Twyln comes over and starts asking questions of Garnotin in ways that seem aimed at undermining Sir Edryn. Young Ridlaye tries to deflect but eventually gets flustered and says, "I do not wish to discuss the doings of my betters." Just then, the chimneys carry the sound of Delfydd shouting loudly at the Baroness. "You've already buried two husbands and a son, will you not rest until all your male relations are deceased?" Awkward. Delfydd wants Sir Edryn sent somewhere that might teach him some discipline. Shortly afterward, Delfydd storms out, jackass son in tow, though Twyln glares daggers at Garnotin as he leaves. Sir Edryn and Sir Fayad appear just in time to have an exchange of hostile glances.

Sir Edryn promptly sits down with Garnotin and expresses an intention to take him to Aleath and get him "properly laid." Garnotin is not prepared for this in any way whatsoever. His voice gets disturbingly squeaky. Luckily, they know that Garnotin is committed to helping discover what is going on with the evil shrine in the woods.

Merik, Rhys, and Delwin decide that they will wait three days to begin their stakeout. Delwin's wound becomes infected. Merik rushes to gather supplies and sucessfully purges the infection, but Delwin is still not doing great when the time comes. They leave on 6 Nuzyael. It's cool, windy from the northwest, and rainy. As the foursome prepare, Sir Edryn shows up in the courtyard and tells them all to have a care, and assures them that he'll be listening for the horn. As they're leaving, Saraene the cook gives Delwin a cake. Maybe she has a little ol' thang for him.

The destroyed shrine does not seem to have been visited since they last saw it. Garnotin sees a thin plume of smoke in the distance (even through the rain) and points it out. Delwin leads the group in that direction. Garnotin, Delwin, and Rhys hang back while Merik sneaks closer. He finds three guys who've made a small camp, including a brush lean-to and a very modest fire. They're roasting a hare on the fire, which makes them poachers. Delwin and Merik approach, though they are detected. The huntsman carefully avoids accusing them of poaching, while reminding them at these are the Baroness's lands. They claim to be headed for Gimon, where the new salt works require workers. Delwin effectively lets them off with a warning.

Back at the destroyed altar, Delwin finds signs of two approaches, one from the west-northwest, one from the east. None of them show any sign of being used for many days. Based on that information, he looks to set up blinds. After building them, the group returns to the keep.

They discover that Sir Edryn's eye has become infected, and the local Peonian priest has taken over his care.

The group returns to the hide on the tenth. There was a brief cold snap, but it's warmed up a little. The winds are nasty, though. They see no sign of human activity. Garnotin takes first watch and almost shits himself when one of the others walks past him to answer nature's call. The 11th brings storm force winds and the risk of trees falling on our hides. They're falling on other things! The rain comes in from the side. Fun is had by none. Nobody moves around in that weather!

The eleventh, thankfully, is merely windy, not tragic. Delwin takes the first watch in the east hide, Merik in the second. During his watch, Delwin sees five men moving toward the shrine, and wakes Rhys up. Delwin follows them to the altar, and also hoots like an owl, which alerts Rhys, who wakes Garnotin. The presumed cultists stop at one point and huddle up. One passes something to the other, someone says something, and then splits off in a different direction, still not directly toward the altar. Merik and Garnotin see one guy coming in to the general altar area, and Merik tries to move in the direction of the altar. He sees someone approaching the altar with something in his hand, and then that someone freezes and runs off to the east. Delwin sees the guy who split off come back, and then a lot of conversation, after which they all head east. Delwin continues to trail them, trying to get enough of a look at one of them to identify him. They get to Gidden Wood, move right to the edge of cultivated land, and begin making camp. Delwin returns. Meanwhile, Rhys tells Merik and Garnotin everything he knows about what Delwin saw. The three of them move to the east hide to wait for Delwin, who tells them about the camp. The camp is on the edge of the land under Jeleg manor. Delwin leads the group to a spot where they can observe the suspects' camp, a ditch that's like it was put there for our benefit.

The day dawns much like the 11th - cold, overcast, and windy. Delwin and Merik can see, by the light of day, that Goyzen of Felik, a known teenage outlaw jackass, is among them. He's from over by Elanas, and one of the other men might be his cousin. At one point, favorable wind allows Garnotin to overhear them planning a sheep heist. One of them, the older one, asks Goyzen, "Do you still have it?" "Yes." "Then for all our sakes, best to try and leave it. Do you think you can find it again?" "Probably, yeah." "OK, go." Goyzen then walks back toward the altar, right past the group. Delwin and Merik follow him into the woods.

Rhys and Garnotin, hiding in the ditch, hear one of them say, "fuck, that's the forester." The criminal scum begin to panic. The older guy tells the rest of them to move, and they pack up their little camp.

Goyzen is so focused on finding his way through the woods that he has no idea he's being followed. He eventually finds the place, pulls out whatever it was, unwraps it, and puts what appears to be a fox skull next to the cow skull that Rhys smashed. Delwin steps out and says, "Goyzen, get on the ground."

The crooks head off north and east, in the general direction of Elanas. Rhys and Garnotin hustle to the manor, post haste. They go to the gate of the manor house, and a bored-looking fellow comes to see what's what. Rhys introduces himself and asks to speak to the lord of the house. The guy does not recognize him, but when Rhys shows his holy symbol, the guy suddenly realizes that Rhys was there at his brother's wedding. The lord, Anzer of Toyaren, is old, and his son Sir Aldor does most of the work. He asks for some details and then accepts responsibility for rousing the yeoman and heading off any mischance.

Delwin interrogates Goyzen, who gives only the most special dumb answers. The teenager pretends not to know that the alter was an altar, and says he was obeying someone named Fagin. Goyzen doesn't want to explain why he was here or what he was doing, but eventually he says it was an offering for "the Walker on the Heath." Merik knows that one - it's a local boogeyman story. People who have spent time out there usually believe in the Walker, or at least pretend to. The two parts of the party meet up, and return to Jeleg. They find Sir Anzer in the stables, trying to saddle a horse and join the pursuit. Rhys persuades him to desist, and Goyzen ends up locked up in the root cellar.