Hel's 36hour report
24th-26th day of the 9th month 110AE
We gathered on the Friday evening and Great Master Tarrack briefed us further on the Laird's alleged crimes, notably dealing in shadow magic, and others who had recently carried out other missions within the area of the Baron's Forest added their information. Humact Redferne was particularly informative and had clearly spent both time and effort trying to identify the source of the problems in this area.
Forewarned of gnolls and a large unidentified creature we set off to the Laird's manor, skirting the edge of the forest. As predicted, we did encounter a number of gnolls along with their undead. They also demonstrated some anarchy castings and amongst their undead were mummies which caused diseases of varying severity. All were destroyed.
We reached the Laird's manor and found the Laird's staff enjoying a night off in the barn, an encampment of gypsies and the manor itself, which was quiet. Inside the manor house we found the Laird dead and his dinner guest missing. A broken mirror was on the floor and we found correspondence between the Laird and Reeve Klo'vanus, known to others amongst our group as the reeve of the neighbouring Laird Kithrow. This correspondence included details of the mirror, apparently an artefact, as well as identifying the reeve as the likely missing dinner guest. Our priests were unable to discern information on the Laird's spirit so Marshal Bartholomew attempted resurrection, which failed.
Conversations with the Laird's staff revealed the serving girl was also missing but she was quickly located within the gypsy camp. Unfortunately she had somehow become possessed by a demon which was summoning other spirits (not demons) to the area. Unusually these spirits were life-aligned and did not attack anyone. At this time we were also attacked by death-aligned spirits and surmised that the Laird's guest had also been possessed. After Guardian Raphael forced the demon from the girl we destroyed it and I noted, despite the previous summoning of life-spirits, the demon was still capable of chaotic castings.
An explanation of sorts was provided later when three avatars appeared, claiming to be three out of four brothers dedicated to keeping extra-planar creatures on their own planes. I was familiar with the name of the absent brother, Kai, as I have patrolled with one of his followers - Demon-Hunter Naismith, presently serving with the Frostwolves. It seems that where Kai chose to seek followers and grant them power against creatures of chaos, his brothers instead made a seal to prevent creatures being summoned from the planes of life, death and order. It was not clear to me if the mirror was the seal itself, a part of it or something else nor whether the demons had been released from it since much of the conversation was about religion and outside my area of expertise but I am sure another could advise further.
Our discussions after the avatars' departure were interrupted by a gnoll attack, including casters who set fire to the manor's thatched roof. We moved all to the barn where we could stand watch more easily and settled in for the night.
Further conversations with the gypsies had revealed more information about the large unidentified creature in the forest and how it might relate to our inability to resurrect the Laird. Apparently the creature is known as a 'soul-catcher' (called a gruffalo in their language) and they had been hired by the Laird to capture this creature and bring it to him. We were able to track it to the forest's edge and, in daylight, could also see half-elven tracks following the same route.
As there was a more travelled path leading through the forest in approximately the same direction we headed out this way, encountering more gnolls and undead. We had killed several and were waiting to see if they would rise again when the soul-catcher arrived. It did not seem instantly hostile towards us but acted like an animal trying to get us away from its meal. Aware that such a dangerous creature could not be allowed to roam freely we responded by attacking and it proved both quick and resilient. It was able to cause localised earthquakes then leap away without being caught in the affected area, it could also strike swiftly and pierce armour and was capable of other assorted castings including disintegrating unprotected weapons and armour and fracturing bones. Those who could see magical or miraculous auras could see a spirit following the creature which was also capable of castings - possibly of healing, although it could be the creature was regenerating but definitely inducing fear in those attacking the creature.
This difficult fight was further exacerbated by the presence of gnoll anarchy followers and their undead but we were eventually able to kill it, as the cost of Calum Ford's life, and a great deal of injury to others, with Nab McFeegle being the only one able to keep up with it to the end. With the creature dead, its hold on the Laird's soul was released and he was able to be resurrected. I was not present when Great Master Tarrack placed him under arrest and did not hear his version of events as I was assisting others in collecting the scraps of their armour from the forest.
When I returned I found the Laird had been placed under house arrest and was being guarded by Humact Redferne and Artificer Biscuit. The rest of the patrol group had entered the nearby woodland to retrieve the Laird's apprentice, Vega, who had also been present at dinner and become possessed. This woodland was infested with shambling mounds and gnolls with druidic castings and, as we were unprepared and in need of rest, we retreated. Vega had some control over his possession but was still unable to entirely prevent order-aligned spirits being summoned.
Small numbers of gnolls and shambling mounds attacked as we rested but were easily repelled. Also at this point an unexpected ally arrived, a small griffin whom Nab McFeegle had previously rescued from a trap. After resting, we attempted to exorcise the demon from Vega but it seemed its hold on him was too strong. The gypsies advised they were herbs which would affect this resistance and, as we needed to neutralise the shambling mounds, we agreed to look for these within the woodland.
Vega guided us to the gnoll's grove and Humact Redferne was able to discern corruption within the central tree. We found the tree was sitting within a pool of diseased, stagnant water and Redferne consecrated the area to attempt to remove the taint. For reasons known only to himself Guardian Raphael decided to collect a sample of this water before it had been cleansed. The ritual seemed to be a success but the shambling mounds did not stop coming; as we later identified another corrupted area, it seems they may have had multiple sources. We also located the herbs required for the gypsies' potion and therefore returned to the manor.
The demon was removed from Vega and again, despite being nominally order-aligned, was able to cast from the path of chaos. Laird Avers requested of Great Master Tarrack that, after our meal, he be allowed to accompany us to locate the final demon, presumed to be possessing Reeve Klo'vanus as he wished to challenge the reeve about his actions. I had no objections to this and so the Great Master accepted. Before we could head out though, the demon came to us and permitted us to destroy it so it could return to the planes of chaos.
Guardian Raphael had a vision of an elder demon within the forest and we were guided to it by the young griffin and, as we approached, a visible green glow in the area. This demon was destroyed with relative ease but the reeve was nowhere to be found. We returned to the manor to find it had been attacked by death spirits in our absence and the Laird's staff animated as undead of the lowest type. The gypsy wise woman had been able to somehow ward the house and those remaining inside against the spirits and we saw this working as the undead were unable to enter.
We spent the night barricaded in the manor house and, in the morning, made plans to deal with the reeve and the ancient demon. The gypsies were able to provide us with a poison to assist against the ancient demon, which would prevent it receiving healing from any source. We set out, retracing our steps from the previous night and encountered spirits of all nine paths along with many gnolls and their undead. We also met a freedom demon and a might 'demon' bound into adjacent circles. They tried to bargain with us for information but ultimately had nothing useful to say and were destroyed.
Finally we reached a large clearing with the ancient demon, an elder gnoll, at least one gnoll necromancer and several undead. The poison was administered and seemed very effective as the demon fell to our massed attack faster than I would usually expect. The gnolls and their undead were also easily destroyed. As Reeve Klo'vanus was not obviously present we began to check the bodies of the undead to see if a half-elf could be identified, then the reeve arrived flanked by a large group of death spirits, which he ordered to attack us. He was unaffected by normal weapon blows, possibly through the use of necromancy, but was quickly taken down by the combined force of Artificer Biscuit's castings and Nab McFeegle. His body has been returned to the capital for trial.
Although we successfully removed both the demons and their source from the area, I cannot be certain if the gnoll threat was entirely removed. The two corrupted groves we encountered were cleansed and the elder gnoll killed so it is likely they will be in disarray. Before returning to the capital, I spoke with representatives of the Baron's Gameskeepers to advise them directly of our encounters over the three days of our extended patrol and what might remain in the area. I understand Humact Redferne was going to request assistance from the Humacti in consecrating the bodies of those animated as undead.
In conclusion, since the arrest was carried out by the Temple of Might, albeit with Defender sanctioning, I am not certain if the Laird is being officially charged with any crime. While it is clear he has shown poor judgment in associating with gypsies and in his dealings with Reeve Klo'vanus, being foolish is, unfortunately, not yet illegal and, in any case, he has already paid for this lapse with his life. It seems the crimes of dealing in shadow magic, demonology and being an accomplice to anarchists and necromancers can all be placed on the Reeve, by his own admission, and he has so far been executed once for these crimes. His attempt to undermine Barony authority in working against Laird Kithrow and attempting to subvert Laird Avers should also be noted although it is suspicious as to what Laird Avers hoped to achieve from this. Furthermore, I heard Vega, the apprentice of Laird Avers, mention a rumour that Reeve Klo'vanus was associated with the Brethren. It is unclear if either of these two realised the significance of the mirror or had any intention of bringing about the release of 'invocation' but perhaps they should be held accountable for this.
On the subject of 'invocation,' I am not entirely clear on its abilities or limitations but it seems that, since the seal is broken and the elder demons returned to the plane of chaos with their knowledge, creatures will be able to summoned from all the divine planes as easily as demons from the plane of chaos by those with this knowledge. Furthermore, extra-planar beings now seem able to endow their summoners with the ability to perform usually miraculous castings as spells.
As a non-Defender led mission I will refrain from commenting on the competence of other patrol members with the exception of the other Defender present, Warden Corporal Magma. Corporal Magma is clearly a competent individual, whose power was very useful and his use of it well placed. He was also quick to obey orders where given but bordered on insubordination when he had no direct command to follow, including attempting to claim authority he did not have in trying to give orders to Paladin Malleus regarding Laird Avers. His attitude towards Kingdom citizens left something to do desired, especially where they were human and he also claimed, on several occasions over the mission, that he is the High Priest of a god of chaos. If further information on his comments or the reliability of any other patrol members is wanted I can be contacted at Griffin Keep.
One last point of note relates to the gypsies present. Apparently the Laird's association with them began earlier in the year when his fortune was told by a gypsy (copy enclosed) and he then hired them to assist. Given that this led to his interest in the mirror, which correspondence shows Reeve Klo'vanus introduced him to, it must be questioned where the gypsies' information came from. They made many claims about the warding, healing and divination they could provide, some of which were substantiated. They showed detailed knowledge of herbalism, using this not only to offer healing and resistance to disease but also to provide a powerful and fast-acting poison. It seems somewhat suspicious that many of the gypsies survived the death spirit attack when the servants didn't and have since been offered employment by the Laird to replace the lost servants, and I would advise they bear watching.
Pathfinder Captain Helyanwe