21/11/2023 - Tension in Greenest (2)

The Village of Greenest

When they arrive at Leathen, Logan’s brother Dougal catches up with him to find out why he was summoned to Medenie and immediately supports the rescue mission.

They discuss what MacRuaidhri people to take with them. Dougal suggests taking Fraser, as he is a good fighter and it would be good to give him something to do. They agree that if he betrays them he can be executed.

Fraser clearly does not like the idea, but he is not able to weasel out of it in front of Dougal and Logan. He asks if the “Allardice bastard” coming with them. Logan says that Sam is coming with them and he will have to cope with that.

They take with them a couple of spare horses, Logan’s personal household servant, Fraser and three other MacRuaidhri men and head into the Five Peaks. One of the men has travelled to Greenest before and helps guide them there.

They travel the whole day into the Five Peaks. They soon become surrounded by trees and see very little of the local area, though they can see mountains in the distance. They occasionally encounter people on the path, but these people hide and watch them from a distance, as they are larger armed band.

They make camp for the night in a defendable area and organise watches in case of attack, but the night is quiet. Logan makes sure the watch is in pairs, in part to avoid people like Fraser trying anything.

Next Day

They continue the next day towards Greenest, following the path as best they can and when it becomes unclear they follow a generally northern and western direction, following the instincts of the clansman who has come this way before.

By the afternoon they start to approach the village, which is in a cleared around and surrounded by farmland. They can see there is a small keep in the middle of the village, as well as a church, a mill and a granary.

They are spotted and a number of armed Allardice men assemble to block their path, concerned by the approach of MacRuaidhri clan. Sam pushes his way to the front and announces himself, asking for their leader.

A burly, bearded man steps forward, wanting to know what they are doing here. Sam recognises him Blair Allardice, a clansman who Cormac did not like and sent him to command the Greenest garrison to get rid of him.

He initially does not recognise Sam, but he is soon set to rights. Blair wonders why he is associating with MacRuaidhri, but Sam tells him about the wedding and peace between the clans. Logan is the brother of Cormac’s deceased wife.

Blair has his men stand down. A skinny, bald, oddly-dressed, tattooed local man whispers in Blair’s ear and Sam wonders if he is a sorcerer. Blair asks why they are here and if they have come to relieve them of their duty.

Sam breaks the bad news that they are only visiting and are on a quest. He does offer to put in a good word with his brother if Blair helps them.

They are invited back to the keep and as they pass through the village they see a number of poorly dressed and miserable-looking peasant locals going about their work. They also see one of the houses in the village burnt down and there is a naked man strung up in some stocks in the centre of the village.

The Companions mummer amongst themselves about the state of affairs in the village.

They enter the keep and head over to the main tower. They enter a common room with a large table, where the Blair and some of the Allardice men sit down. Sam and Logan are invited to sit, but the rest are left to stand as the room is not that big.

Fraser seems offended by not being offered a seat, but Logan gives him a stern stare. Sam offers him his seat, but Fraser then backs down and says he is happy to stand.

Blair rudely demands the servants bring them food and drink faster and then asks for news and what happened at the wedding. Logan is reluctant to go into detail as it is a sore subject, but briefly bring him up to date.

Blair then asks again about why they are here. They are quiet for a moment, unsure what to say, then Logan tells him about their mission to find Edmund of Cariele, who travelled this way a few weeks ago, with a small group of guards.

The bald local leans in and whispers in his ear. Blair then remembers that young man, barely old enough to shave, came this way. He clearly did not gain a high opinion of the boy.

Logan realises Blair can tell they are holding back something and admits the boy is a Prince and it is important that he is found. Sam suggests helping them in their mission would result in him giving a favourable report back to Cormac.

Blair says he has no idea where the boy has gone and he cannot really help them. When Banquo asks what direction Edmund took, the bald man reminds Blair he stopped to see Brother William, their local Haelyn priest.

Blair then points out he has been here for three years and he asks Sam if he knows of any plans to relieve him and his men. Sam offers to remind Cormac about their fate.

After an awkward silence, Logan asks him about the issues encountered in this area. Blair tells him the locals cannot be trusted, they are slow, lazy and liars. People from outside the village pass back and forth without their knowledge, including with known local brigands and trouble makers.

When he has caught locals doing this, he has punished them, including the man strung up in the village centre. They found odd things in his house.

It’s his job here to stop the local trouble makers associating together again. When Logan suggests befriending the locals, he says that may be the lily-hands ways of the MacRuaidhris, but Clan Allardice takes a firm hand with outlaws.

After another awkward silence, Brother Gregory asks the Companions if they are planning to speak to Brother William. This prompts them to leave the Keep and are shown to the house where William lives.

William is old, white-haired, with a friendly face and rich, deep voice. He welcomes them and asks what brings them here. He then recognises Brother Gregory and they chat. Brother William is here to convert this community to the light of Haelyn. Although the locals and the Allardice people call him father, he is no priest, just a monk.

Sam asks about Prince Edmund and he recalls he was a devout young man, on a spiritual pilgrimage to the Shrine of Navron. William gave him simple pilgrim robes to wear, rather than his expensive clothing. He also advised to describe himself only as a pilgrim and look humble.

He tells them there is a settlement, more of a camp site really, some miles north of here and he thinks Edmund went in that direction.

William also tells them about a secret cult, that the locals do not like to talk about, is operating in the area. It has a religious element but he knows little about it. They have a red, flame based mark, sometimes on their forehead, sometimes elsewhere. It is similar to the Allardice symbol, but the flame goes sideways rather than up.

Logan asks why it is a cult and William does not know, but he suspects some local did something that looked like a miracle and people have started to follow him. The cult is secretive and you do not find out what it is about until you join.

William hints that the harsh treatment of the locals by Blair and his men makes his job more difficult.

Sam asks about the bald local who whispers advice to Blair. Williams thinks he is a dark sorcerer of some kind and not to be trusted. His name is Gulnar and his eyes are mesmerising. They can make men fear him - the Evil Eye. When the MacRuaidhris were here, they did not trust him, but Blair has made him his advisor over time.

Brother Gregory then gets some advice from William as to the best way to get to the Shrine of Navron, the same advice that was given to Prince Edmund. They thank him and leave.

Once outside and alone, Logan proposes that they free the man from the stocks and take him with them, hoping he will be a source of information about the area and the cult.

They discuss this and the implications of upsetting Blair. Sam decides to go to see Blair. He takes Banquo with him, using his authority as a Guardian. Sam tells Blair he is impressed with his work in Greenest and will pass on a positive report back to his brother, Cormac.

Sam says the most important thing now though is to destroy this new cult. He therefore plans to take the man in the stocks as part of their plan to infiltrate and destroy the cult.

Blair seems inclined to agree, but Gulnar then whispers something into his ear. Sam demands to know what is going on. Blair tells him that he is his advisor and he has reminded him that he needs to show a firm hand and not be seen to go soft on them. It would be better if the man is publically executed.

Blair reluctantly agrees after Sam emphasises he has the ear of this brother. They shake hands on it and Sam leaves.

Logan and Malcolm move closer to the man strung up in the village centre. He is naked and shows sign of abuse and torture. He begs for water, but Logan does not want to do anything in public.

Sam and Banquo return from their talk with Blair. It is just starting to get dark by then and the Companions give the man water, free him and put him into some pilgrim robes that Brother William gave them.

As they leave the village, heading north, Sam looks back and sees someone watching them. He notices in the twilight that the man watching them has piercing eyes and is bald.

End of Episode Two