The Lies of Lundinium

While two of their number were in Brambleton (and a third was lost along the way) the rest of
The Lonely Street Irregulars found themselves waiting on intelligences and dispatches from two unlikely sources in Bolden: the Guild and the Church. The wait was four weeks, during which time the party acquainted themselves with Gawayne Newton, a bard from regions unknown. The ranger Mourning Elk, not one to stay long in cities, made a name for himself among the local farmers, both for his generosity and his protection from a trio of rogue bears that had been preying upon their flocks.



Finally, the Irregulars were sent back to Lundinium in order to discover the fate of four priests that had been sent to minister to that community. The church contracted with their favorite Irregular Thalwyn the Ever Truthful, for the sum of 1,000 crowns and sent Brother Thomas along, unpaid as usual.

Upon arriving in Lundinium, the Irregulars discovered that they were somewhat less than welcome, despite their assistance to that peculiar town on two previous occassions. After some bother, and the sudden recognition of Luftilda (who had once convened an ad hoc tribunal to deal with their former elder), they were admitted past the gates and ushered to the empty church to inquire after the missing priests. The various stories they were told were quite irreconciliable and the Irregulars looked upon the whole of the town with new eyes. Soon it became apparent that the town subsisted without work of any sort. Grain in silos had been left to ferment, artisans and craftsmen went about without working, and little was done to the city since their last visit, except to fortify the delapidated walls.

A new Town Elder had ascended and the party sought to speak to him, but instead of finding another doddering fool upon a makeshift throne, interrupted a strange ceremony in the Town Hall. Both Thalwyn, who had undisclosed adventures in a ruined ancient temple and Brother Thomas who was learned in all forms of religion, found themselves face to face with a resurgent cult of Morven the Terrible, queen of the elder gods.

A quick battle with the cultists and a hastily barred door, trapped the Irregulars within the Town Hall while the rest of the town citizens were without. Soon shouts were heard and torches and pitchforks drew out to face the party. The Irregulars managed to escape under covering fire of Mourning Elk who had taken to the walls, rather than wait among the buildings. His life was immediately menaced by two teen wizards who heretofore the party had understood to be acolytes of the church, and he was forced to slay them.

The Irregulars took the Town Elder prisoner and bundled him off to Bolden to answer for his heresy and crimes. The Prefect of Bolden was concerned about developments in Lundinium and intrigued by the Elder, but noted that the party had not completed their assigned task — they brought no word of the four missing priests. So, back to Lundinium the party went, though under cover of night.

This time, they discovered a town abandoned. The bodies of the wizard cultists had been hoisted upon pagan towers to have their entrails feasted on by carrion birds. The rest of the townsfolk had left the town to seek new lives. On the open plains, the wandering townfolk were overtaken by the Irregulars and Brother Tomas convinced a full half of their number to undergo the Rite of Reconciliation and return to the Prefect in Bolden under his guidance. The rest of the party sought five townspeople who had split from the rest, carrying among other things, the accoutrements of the cultic worship.

The trail led the Irregulars to the High King’s Highway and on a hunch they opted to journey toward Brambleton rather than back toward Heltorun. At the gates of Brambleton they discovered that no one knew of five men carrying curious implements and almost immediately doubled back for the town they opted not to investigate. They would have, but for Thalwyn’s knowledge of the Guild and its spies. He managed to discover that five men had indeed come over the wall in the dead of night. Thalwyn further contracted with the guild to keep a close eye on the building they occupied and drew the ire of The Honorable Gentleman for his breach of etiquette.

Quote of the Day: “Oh, it’s on!”