Mists Over the Musarde, Chapter Three

[Lord Skybolt]

"I'm sorry but I can't really help in that department as almost all of my spells are in the category of kicking ass and taking names ." Alain's response to the idea of Charming somebody into helping them .

[Le Noir Faineant]

"I'm sorry but I can't really help in that department as almost all of my spells are in the category of kicking ass and taking names ."

Lord Skybolt FTW!!!

[Le Noir Faineant]

B.
U.
M.
P.

[ewancummins]

So it is that our heroes make their way deeper into the tangled and damp forest. Trudging over muddy game trails and through overgrown thickets, wending your way between towering stands of old growth timber, your party arrives outside the little cabin after what seems like well over an hour of marching.

From between the cracks in the closed shutter and from the crevice between the door and its frame comes a soft ruddy glow, like firelight. No loud noises come from within, but the keen eared among you may hear some shuffling or scraping sounds, now and again.

The rain still falls from the night sky. Clouds half -hide the face of the moon, and few stars may be seen.

[Adam]

Bennedict, wet and bedraggled from the miserable rain, steps up to the door. He knocks loudly, shouting "Gutten tag, we are in need of shelter. We can pay you if we can sleep under your roof."

[Le Noir Faineant]

Cirdan, as always, the last in the party, his grotesque helmet hidden under a black hood.

[ewancummins]

The door opens just a crack. Benn can see the woodsman peeking through the crack, eyeing him suspiciously. The door closes again very quickly. After a moment, it reopens. The woodsman stands in the portal, holding a hatchet. The beared rustic looks over the party.

Benn [ and the others within earshot] may have a bit of trouble with the man's archaic dialect, but he can certainly get the gist of what the fellow says-

''Ye ha' been to the witch-hold this night. For pity's sake I take ye in- only ye must swear the iron oath that ye be not false men. ''

[Adam]

Bennedict turns with an exasperated and bemused look at his bedraggled and soaked crew.

"I assure you, mein herr," he says, gesturing at the motley bunch, "What you see is what you get."

He waits patiently for the man to lower his hatchet and step aside so he can enter.

[Le Noir Faineant]

Cirdan silently watches the woodsman, his eyes red slits under the helmet.

[steveflam]

Norzak pushes past the man, and enters the cabin. "Ay, Jon get in 'ere." Once the lad is in, he asks Dorgio "Kinna ye lookit tha boy? Make sure 'es ok?"

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio dips his head towards the man in thanks as he walks into the cabin.

"Yes, Jon, are you having any wounds? Any fever?"

[ewancummins]

Once the woodsman has been reassured of your good intentions and the party is all inside the cabin, the woodmsan closes the door. He lays aside his hatchet and then clams his two barking dogs with a few soft words.


This building appears to consist of just a single room. While not especially capacious, it is dry and warm, thanks no doubt to the crackling fire in the stone fireplace. The fire is the only source of illumination besides Benn's magically glowing tree limb. There's little in the way of decoration within the room, but the place would seem to contain every basic sort of tool and provisions needed to sustain someone more or less indefinitely in the forest: a bow, arrows, an axe, a saw, fishing pole,etc. Though there's but one chair inside the humble cabin, there are several spots one might sit: a big bundle of pelts, a big falt-topped chest, a sturdy-looking low set table, etc.

Seeing that Dorgio looks poorly, the bearded man gestures towards the only chair in the room, which is positioned near the blazing hearth.
''Best ye sit nearunto the flammen. ''


After this, the man takes note of Benn's enchanted torch. His eyes go a bit wide and he says:

''Eh! False flammen! This be of your making? ''

[Lord Skybolt]

Alain after getting into the cabin he mutters a word over his mug not in sight of the cabin owner so as not alarm him and hands the mug of now full watery wine to Dorgio "Drink this I think you need some refreshment ."

[Adam]

Benn holds the torch up towards the man. "It is the making of the gods, friend, a light to guide our way." A lie, I suppose, but a small one, and one that will perhaps keep us from frightening this simple minded farmer away.

"My name is Bennedict," he adds, setting the torch down. "This is Herr Norzak, Herr Cirdan, Brother Dorgio of the Morninglord, Herr Alain, and Herr Jon. As I said before, we mean no harm to your or your home. We have simply been foiled at the keep, and lost one of our number to a creature in the woods. We have been taken far from our homes, and have lost our bearings. Perhaps you could help us out, by telling us where exactly we are, and what you know of the ghost that lives in the keep?"

[ewancummins]

The woodsman sits down on an old cask near the fireplace and begins speaking.

'' I am called Wat. Ye reck not the country? Wat will tell you of the land. All about us lays the Wood. Ye already know the road to the bald hill and the Old Keep. Go the other way on the Forest Road and ye come to the Moot Ground. Now is the moon of the traders, and Fair will be held as always. I will go there in two days' time, to trade a pig. ''