10/05/2020 – The Shrine of Evil (3)
Aesc the Ale Maker
They go to Aesc’s house and find him outside in the middle of making some ale. He has his wife take over and invites them into the house. He offers them ale and mead.
Leofric has mead, but Eadbehrt refuses and chides the others for drinking during the day. He attempts to stop Leofric from drinking, but the monk turns away to prevent him.
Leofric tells Aesc that he was told the Miller slept in on the morning his son disappeared, something that Millers do not do. He also heard that he, Aesc, has given Aelric some ale the night before. Aesc looks shocked and worried for a moment and Leofric latches onto this. He tells him that he needs in the name of God to reveal his guilt and absolve himself.
Aesc backs off, shocked and overwhelmed. Aesc falls to the floor and Leofric stands over him, demanding he reveal who told him to drug the Miller. Aesc initially denies it, but in the end says “They told me!”
Then his wife comes in the house, concerned by raised voices, asking what is going on. This breaking the “spell” and Aesc recovers, standing up and telling his rude guests to leave. Leofric attempts to continue to get him to talk, but Aesc denies what he said and does not want to talk anymore. It is time for them to leave.
Talk to Deorwine
The Seekers leave, wondering who the “they” Aesc referred to is. It could be some outside party, or someone in the village who gave him instructions. It could even be the entire village is part of some sort of cult that sacrificed Joric in a pagan rite.
They talk to Deorwine the Reeve, enquiring about what the rest of the village has been saying about their investigation. He says the whole village is hoping they will resolve the problems that they are currently facing.
Leofric asks if everyone in the village is Christian and Deorwine thinks they are. They all attend mass and even-song.
When asked about the disappearance of Joric, Doerwine confirms the whole village was mustered and they looked. Leofric asks if anyone else was involved, he says no. The Monk then asks if Agnes and Maethild helped.
Doerwine says they are not considered part of the village and the land they are on is owned by another Lord, administered from Sherrif’s Hutton. No one tends to go to the hills, so Agnes and Maethild tend to be left alone.
Doerwine’s Tragedy
Leofric questions Doerwine further about how often villagers visit the two women. When he seems to be holding something back, Leofric presses him, only to discover he lost his son, Arthur, to sickness a few years ago. Arthur liked to explore a lot on his own and one day he came back ill. Doerwine admits he called in Agnes and she came to the village, a rare occurrence, but even she was not able to save his son from the fever.
They decide to end the conversation with Doerwine and return to the Mill. They rest and eat as the evening rolls in. Alexis awakens from his sleep with a strong headache and Leofric makes him some tea to ease the pain.
Following the Trail
That evening they discuss in the Mill all that they have learn. They decide that tomorrow they should find out where the trail leading from Agnes’s house goes.
They get up at dawn and equip themselves for travel. Æthelwyn takes them a much easier route through the woods instead of over the hills until they reach Agnes’s house. They give the house a wide birth and pick up the trail, heading further into the hills. Æthelwyn notices that the tracks heading out from the house are heavier than those heading back, suggesting someone was carrying something that they left behind.
Going Underground
Eventually the trail reaches a cave in a raised hillside, but it appears to be a dead end. After some searching, Æthelwyn realises that there is a hidden entrance behind some vegetation and they enter a small tunnel that leads underground. Alexis struggles to get in due to his chainmail, but just about makes it.
The walls are black and tunnel branches at several places, with rotting wooden props holding up the ceiling. They realise they are in the old Roman mines. Fortunately, there is a trail that Æthelwyn can follow where people have walked recently and she guides them further underground.
Doorway to Danger
After a while, they come out in an open area with several exits and the trail appears to end. Alexis spots a wooden door in a dark alcove that has a strange carving on it.
Leofric examines it and says it is a maze, a structure designed to hide something from being found. There is an image of a spider at the centre of the maze.
They all get a bad fleeing about disturbing this door and are reluctant to do so. Alexis decides to act, but is unable to get a firm grasp on the sides and there is no handle.
Eadbehrt does a rune casting to try to find out what is behind the door. He learns that there is danger, powerful forces are involved but what is behind the door will also answer their questions.
Eventually, Alexis is able to spot some groves carved into the door and, after removing his gauntlets, he is able to pick up the door (it has no hinges it was acting like a plug) and move it aside.
The Shrine
An ominous gust of air blows out from darkness beyond and it is accompanied by a strong, rancid smell. Alexis tells someone to follow him with a torch, draws his sword and enters the opening. Leofric follows with a torch.
Inside the smell is worse, a combination of faeces, blood, body odour and some other things. There is some sort of roughly circular cave, with a tree-trunk in the centre, some two feet wide and three feet high. On top of the tree-trunk is a bowl, with some blood and the skull of some horned creature. There is a feeling of dread hanging in the air.
Alexis steps forward for a better look and kicks something on the floor. There are eight people lying on the floor around the tree-trunk. Their heads are by the trunk and their bodies are pointing outwards at intervals, like the spokes of a wheel.
The people are lying in their own filth and appear to be unconscious and in a poor state. They have been cut several times and the blood flowed from them to the tree-trunk. There are signs that the blood has somehow climbed up the block and is the source of the fresher-looking blood that the strange skull is bathed in.
Confronting Evil
The whole cave permeates a strong feeling of evil and darkness. Leofric takes out his holy water and begins to chant various Christian incantations for the banishment of Evil. An ominous, high-pitched shriek begins to reverberate around the cave as Leofric raises the tempo of his voice, determined to break the power of the evil magic.
After a dramatic and exhausting trial, he feels the power of the room break and the shrieking noise slowly begins to recede. It appears the evil force has been banished. The people on the floor begin to stir and Eadbehrt recognises him as looking like the spirit who came to the Mill. He must be Joric and he is still alive..
Eadbehrt then reveals that the shriek was not something opposing Leofric’s incantation – it was a cry of alarm. It will have alerted others that this place has been invaded.