Grim Tidings in Glittermore

A group of mercenary travelers stops over in the picturesque town of Glittermore on the South shores of the Kingdom of Rath. The populace of the town proves to be as friendly to visitors as the town is scenic. Glittermore relies heavily on merchants, pilgrims and travelers who are seeking respite from the road. All is good until the party mentions that they might be staying through the weekend, suddenly their reception turns a bit chilly.

After reserving rooms at the Straw Mat, the party goes to the local church where Father Brendan and Lucia the Paladin make contact with the local priest in order to participate in vespers. While the two pious men are there, the rest of the party retires early for drinks at a public house near the town pier called, the Bull and Bear.

The Bull and Bear is filled with two distinct classes of clientele: sailors and farmers. Both groups are entertained by a wandering minstrel by the name of Tem who has most of the clientele singing along and banging mugs to each of his songs. He is evidently quite popular and his business is lucrative. During a lull in the entertainment, Duncan and Radolfo -- both accomplished singers -- start their own drinking song. It is greeted with widespread enthusiasm by all but Tem the Bard, who seems jealous, at first, but quickly warms to Duncan and Radolfo and ends up buying them a drink.

Meanwhile, back at the local church, Fr. Hallebeck has confided in the Paladin and party's Priest that all is not as well in the Town of Glittermore as it seems. In the last 30 days, the town has seen the gruesome deaths of some 32 people. Most of those deaths occurred on Firesday and Satyrsday nights when ships usually come in from sea. So far, the dead have been confined to one or two people throughout the week and as many as five or six sailors on the weekends. There may be more, he warns, but the lower class folk are seldom noticed when they go missing. The chilly reception the party received is due to the fact that the town doesn't want to alarm visitors, and most of the town works to avoid discussing the "problems" with outsiders.

Brendan and Lucia rejoin the party at the Bull and Bear and relay the grim local events, just in time to discover that two of their party members (Duncan and Radolfo) have been apparently over-served. One is unconscious, the other is considerably less robust than he was upon arrival and is complaining of a severe stomachache. Among some in the party, suspicions immediately fall to poison and upon Tem the Minstrel, who is no longer present.

After some inquiries, they make for the Straw Mat, where Tem is staying and the other guests have already retired for the night. They mean to roust him and inquire directly, but the innkeeper protests. Just then, Fenris, who had remained outside, enters the Inn excitedly. He exclaims that he saw what appeared to be a six foot bipedal rabbit making its way down the middle of a nearby lane.

Largely distracted from their concerns with Tem, the party goes in search of the rabbit and makes the rounds of the town. An hour later, they make a gruesome discovery. The local pig farmer's livestock is feasting on some human body parts. The party rangers manage to track some recent prints from the sty out to the High Kings Highway, before the trail is obscured.

Paladin Lucia vows not to sleep while the creature preys on townspeople. The rest of the party retires to the Straw Mat. When the morning comes, Lucia is no where to be found. The lantern she borrowed from Brendan appears discarded and broken by the side of a cart path.

Meanwhile the group presents themselves to the town elder who treats with Brendan on the matters afflicting Glittermore. The two of them go walking through the elder's orange grove and Brendan learns that the recent victims have invariably been prostitutes and serfs and sailors. The town, the elder explains, is the home berth of four ships which come and go with some frequency, usually pulling in on weekends and leaving, when they do leave, throughout the week. There are three ships presently in port, with one, the Southrun Queen, currently at sea.

The learned elder's theory, based on his having had some experience in the world, is that the creature responsible for these gruesome slayings is either a Werewolf or a Dwarf -- as they are the only creatures he knows that have the savagery necessary to accomplish such deeds. He explains that the sailors are generally eaten, while the prosttutes and female serfs are generally the victims of some bizzare dissection, including the removal of various organs. As the most prosperous landlord in Glittermore, with the most to lose, he offers to pay the party 100 crowns each, if they will discover and stop the evil -- as quietly as possible.

While Brendan strolls with the town elder, Traven the Ranger takes to exploring the barn and livestock of the elder's house. He discovers in short order that there is an obviously hollow place beneath the floor of the barn, with no discoverable entrance on the property. He discovers also a hutch of rabbits which earns his suspicion. He runs out of time for a proper search, before Brendan returns with the job offer from the elder.

So employed, the party takes their leave of the elder and begins a door to door search to discover the identity of the missing young girl. The come in short order upon the household of a wealthier resident of Glittermore, which has suffered a missing child -- presumed run off in the night to be with her swain, a serf's son. The master of the house and his huntsman are out with the dogs to track the wayward daughter.The party meets with him and takes him and his hounds to the pig sty. The dogs beeline from the scene of the gruesome discovery to the orange orchard at the rear of the elder's property. In the same orchard they discover the disected thoracic cavity of the wealthy man's daughter, the town doctor is called for, who advises that he can do nothing.

While the dissection harkens in some way to the diviners of Southrun, Fr. Brendan does not believe that this was a religious ceremony. However, the proximity to the elder's house is too much for most of the party to ignore. The party leads the father of the victim to the elder and demands that the elder show them all the secret place beneath the barn. The elder's refuses to admit such a place exists, and his consternation is apparent as the party pries up a board to reveal a hidden larder with a tunnel that leads to the main house. The party searches the larder thoroughly and discovers nothing of note.

After leaving the elder's house, they continue to canvas the town, with less and less success at keeping their investigation quiet. The Seafarers Guild reveals that its official explanation for the murders is that a Sea Scrag is drawn to shore with the incoming ships. The guild's advice to stem the problem is to tell members not to be out alone after dark.

The party learns that the town blacksmith has also seen a large bunny, late at night, while responding to the privy with an upset stomach. He was spared imminent death, he is sure, because he sought safety in the outhouse, and kept the door firmly closed with his feet until morning. His neighbors laugh at him to hear the story and he did not have a receptive audience anywhere until the PCs happen along.

For at least one party member, suspicion falls upon the town physcian as the dissection speaks to someone with some surgical skills. They respond to his house in order to interview him, only to find from Ronda, his assistant, that he is out tending to the birth of a child. The party agrees to wait for him while being plied with scones and tea. Fenris takes the opportunity to explore the house using his skills at subterfuge. He finds a secret and locked door in the study.

The party then uses Fr. Brendan to invite Ronda and the doctor to dinner at a local tavern, rather than see her have to cook after a day spent entertaining. She and the party leave while Fenris goes through the locked door and Trayven loiters outside the residence to keep watch. Immediately, Fenris comes face to face with a six foot costumed male, wearing the ears of a donkey and a strange set of armor made from the parts of various animals.

"Now you see how beautiful I have become," the doctor-dressed-as-a-bunny says. "My work is almost complete."

A brief battle ensues with Fenris throwing all manner of low level enchantments and the doctor wielding a short sword and scalpel.It ends with a wounded Fenris and a dead town physician. The secret room appears to be a shrine to dozens of dead villagers with tokens taken from each of the victims.

Later the same day, local sailors brag that they have killed the Sea Scrag that preyed on so many of their members. Indeed, its lair was found beneath the docks. The corpse of the creature is strung up and hung above the pier.

Glittermore is free of both its scourges.