03/05/2020 – The House in the Hills (2)
Morning Counsel
Eadbehrt finishes his watch and wakes Alexis, telling him what he saw. Alexis does the final watch but all is quiet.
In the morning they all learn about the visitation by the spirit of Joric. Leofric says it is an unhappy spirit who needs to be put to rest. They work out the spirit flew away to the north and west.
Æthelwyn tells them that north of Welburn is large wood, with the Tin Pit Hills in them, an old tin mine that dates back to Roman times. Leofric suggests going to talk to Aesc in case there was something sinister about the ale he gave Aelfric. Also, they have not spoken to Cyneric the Builder.
Alexis thinks would be more productive to head north and investigate where the spirit of the boy went, rather than just talking to people. Leofric suggests that they would be better armed with knowledge, but Alexis wants to go for a morning walk and Leofric bows to his leadership.
Witch Symbols in the Trees
They head off to the woods. As they walk, Æthelwyn suggests that the possibility of a poisoner means they should from now on prepare their own meals.
They pass through a section of the woods that is well kept and there are a few cut down trees. Beyond them, the woods thicken and their journey becomes an awkward trek through brambles and tangled vegetation.
As they approach the tin mines, both Leofric and Eadbehrt get a funny feeling and look around. Eadbehrt sees a strange stick figure hanging from a tree near them. He takes it down and examines it. He is fairly sure it is magically enchanted in some way and it has a number of possible purposes. It could mark the boundary of a magical area. It could be to deter people from approaching. It could be to warn when people approach.
Dangerous Broken Land
They continue through the woods as the land begins to rise and to going gets difficult. They are forced to scramble some of the way over places where the land has sunk. The soil is darker here, tainted a blacker hue.
A creeping sense of doom falls over them. This does not feel safe, especially to Leofric and Eadbehrt. Leofric takes out his rosary beads and chants prayers under his breath.
At the summit of a hill, Æthelwyn spots smoke ahead and they head in that direction.
A Lonely House
As they head down the other side of the hills, they see a wooden round-house sitting in a clearing, surrounded by a large, well cultivated garden and two scarecrows standing in the fields. The smoke is coming from a small chimney.
As they approach, the scarecrow appears to look at them. It has a similar look to the stick-figure they found handing in the tree on the way up here.
A young, attractive girl comes out of house carrying a basket, which she drops in surprise at the site of the strangers. She calls into the house and an old, ugly fat woman comes out.
The Old Woman
The old woman eyes them wearily and asks their business. She is suspicious and sends her daughter, Maethild, indoors. Eadbehrt uses some secret hand gestures to show he is a pagan and a friend, which she subtly responds to.
Leofric talks to her and asks for water and information. They have come from Welburn and ask if she has many dealings with them. She says that they come to here occasionally for potions or if they are in need of healing, but now with Christians becoming more common, they have less and less to do with her.
She rambles a little about the history of the area. The Romans came here to dig up the tin. It was dirty work and spoilt the land. Things still struggle to grow here, though she has done her best to create a fertile garden, helped by water from a local stream.
The Romans were greedy and dug too deep. People started to get sick and die. There is still plenty of tin in the mine, but it is not safe because people get sick and die when they go underground.
Searching for Joric
Leofric starts to discuss about how Joric disappeared and she recalls people from Welburn coming here asking about a missing boy. She says if he fell through into an old mine shaft he will be long dead.
Æthelwyn examines the garden, which is far too large for just two people. She finds a herb garden that looks to have a number of plants with medicinal properties, as well as poison ivy and other more toxic herbs.
A Lesson in Herb Lore
Leofric has the old woman show him around the garden. There are a lot of vegetables and there are signs that the garden has been expanded not too long ago. She says she is a keen gardener, it is what she does to entertain herself on the long days.
Leofric notices the herb garden and starts to talk to her about them, offering up some of his plant and herb knowledge. He soon learns she knows more than he does.
He asks about whether she has many recipes as he would like to write some down. She says she cannot read and write. He shows her some writing, but she dismisses it. He tells her it is useful to remember things. She responds that if something is not worth remembering it is not important.
Alexis Entranced
Alexis wanders round to the back of the house, bored of the conversation and just looking. He encounters Maethild, the daughter, at the back door of the house. Ever since he saw her, he has been thinking about her. She has a sexual allure for him.
She stares at him intensely and he moves over. She asks if he is a knight and he says he is only a squire. She examines his chainmail, which he allows her as he is becoming quite attracted to her.
She invites him in and Alexis sees there is a large cauldron cooking quite a lot of food, but he is not that interested. He is entranced by Maethild and they talk further. She reveals that the old woman is her grandmother, her father disappeared many years ago and her mother died.
She offers him some ale and he drinks it. It tastes a little odd but he doesn’t mind as their hands touched suggestively when she gave him the cup and she moves closer to him.
Examining the Scarecrow
Eadbehrt takes out his divining wand while the old woman is out of sight and turns around and around with it, trying to detect anything unusual. When it stops, it is pointing to the nearby scarecrow.
He heads over to it and see that it has a number of indications that magic and bindings have been performed on it. However, they do not look like wardings, more tuning to some other power. He realises the feeling an anxiety that has hung over them since they approached this place is being amplified by the scarecrow, but it is not the source of the power.
Æthelwyn comes over and he tells her what he has discovered. They check what the scarecrow is made of, but it is just simple straw, cloth and string. Æthelwyn mentions there is a second scarecrow at the back of the house.
Pagans and Christians
Leofric asks the old woman about the scarecrows and she tells him about the history of them. Though these days they are used to frighten away birds from the crops, they have an older pagan significance, the worship of the pagan male aspect God. They used to have horns, but as Christians these days do not approve of horns, they have been removed.
The old woman finishes giving Leofric a tour of the garden and meets up with Eadbehrt and Æthelwyn at the scarecrow. Leofric asks her name, and she tells him it is Agnes. When they realise Alexis is missing, Agnes goes into the house to see if Maethild has seen him.
The others outside discuss their suspicions, though Leofric thinks she is just a wise old woman.
Alexis Acting Odd
Agnes, Maethild and Alexis appear from behind the house. Agnes suggests that it is time that they left and Alexis agrees. Æthelwyn spots a well-used trail leading from the house. They leave and have something to eat, planning to follow the trail.
Alexis is acting strangely and seems drunk. Leofric examines him. He looks a little flushed and his eyes are dilated. Eadbehrt does a rune casting to see if any magic has been involved. A plant rune features prominently in his casting - he has been drugged.
Back to Welburn
Leofric stands in front of Alexis and insults Normans. Alexis absentmindedly smiles and nods. They decide it is not safe to continue and should head back to Welburn.
They trudge back to the Village, which takes a couple of hours. It is still light when they get to the Mill. They take Alexis’s armour off and putting him to bed to sleep off whatever it is he has drank.
Cyneric the Builder
As there is still some time before dark, Leofric suggests that they go to see Cyneric the Builder and find out what he knows. They others agree and they head over to his house.
Cyneric is outside and he says hello. He is large, friendly and plain speaking man. They ask him about Aelric and it is clear that while he is the Miller’s friend, he thinks his behaviour since the disappearance of his son has been disappointing.
Cyneric seems convinced that Joric is dead and Aelfric should just have accepted that and moved on. He did not take much part in the search parties looking for this boy, he wanted to get on with the Mill re-construction.
He tells them that Lord Robert paid for the new Mill wheel and had it delivered last summer. He and Aelfric then re-build the Mill.
The Old Oak Tree
Leofric asks him if he has ever had any problems with the woods. He says when he was a boy he’s sure the big oak tree there was used for tree worship, but he is a practical man and doesn’t believe in that sort of thing. He decided to use that tree in the construction of the Mill, as he needed a large and straight supporting beam. He wonders with all the trouble that has happened since if that was a good idea.
They discover that Aesc is the local ale maker. He makes various kinds of herbed Ales. Cyneric prefers normal ale. They thank Cyneric and leave him.
Eadbehrt suggests the tree attracted the spirit of the boy. He considers going to the Mill just in case Alexis was deliberately drugged to make him vulnerable to attack, but Æthelwyn says it was more likely to stop them going into the mine.