Current Games
A summary of events in each session of the game.
The Seekers have been sent to the village of Welburn, north of York, on a mission to investigate why grain is not being produced. Once there, disturbing occult conspiracy begins to reveal itself ...
Nigel de Monneuile has an important Norman visitor from the South, Richard de Clare, who he wants to stay in the house that the Seekers are staying in. Fortunately, he also has a job for them.
One of de Monneuile’s secretaries, Herbert, meets the Seekers in the morning and tells them that one of Count Robert’s possessions north of York, a village called Welburn, has a problem. It has stopped producing flour and bread. It is not clear why and they must go north to the village to find out what is going on and get flour and bread production restored.
Æthellwyn tells them that she knows the place and how to get there. She can be their guide. It will likely take a couple of days to get there on foot.
They will need to take supplies for several days and Leofric asks about a pack mule or other such means of transporting them, but none are currently available. Alexis, who has a horse, can carry some supplies for everyone, but everything else will have to be carried along the way.
Herbert suggests they leave in the morning, but Alexis says it is better they leave immediately and get the mission started, which the secretary is pleased about.
They pack up their affairs and grab enough supplies for a week’s journey and leave. They decide to travel north to Flaxton and then to Welburn. Their journey is quiet and pass a number of people on the road. It is still fairly warm in the sun, but the autumn winds have begun to turn cool.
When they reach Flaxton there is not much daylight left, so they decide to stay there. Alexis uses his influence as a Norman noble to get the local village Reeve to arrange for an old storage house to be emptied for them to say in.
In the morning they head off early for Welburn. It is longer than the map in York suggested but fortunately Æthellwyn knows the way. They approach the village in the afternoon and pass a few houses, with fields and gardens cultivated and worked on.
They head for the larger Manor House. As they approach, a middle-aged man comes out of one of the houses and welcomes them to Welburn. He is Deorwine and he is the Reeve of the village, the head man. His wife watches from the door of their house.
Deorwine asks their business and they tell him they are here to see the Steward about the lack of flour and bread. He suggests the situation is a difficult one and he will come with them to speak to Rolf.
He escorts them to the Manor House and they see a groundsman watching them. Deorwine knocks on the door but there is no reply, so he knocks harder, calling out for Rolf. He apologises that the Steward’s hearing is not what it was.
Eventually Rolf opens the door. He is elderly, grey haired and has an old weathered face. He looks irritated to be disturbed until he sees it is Deorwine and some strangers. He invites them in.
The Manor House is fairly basic compared to houses in York, but it is comfortable and well furnished. They sit at a table and the grumpy old Steward orders his cook, Hild, to bring bread and wine for his visitors.
Alexis has Leofric do the talking and the Monk asks what the problem is with the flour and grain. Rolf says it is Aelfric the Miller. He claims the ghost of his son keeps visiting him at the Mill and refuses to go anywhere near it. His fears have frightened everyone else in the village and no one will go near the Mill anymore.
Doerwine the Reeve continues the story after further questions from Leofric. Aelfric’s seven year old son, Joric, disappeared about a year ago. That upset Aelfric at the time. Two months ago he came running from the Mill saying he had been visited by the shade of his son and he had tried to take him to Hell. He was much shaken.
Doerwine calmed him down and the next day went with him to the Mill, but it looked fine. Aelfric returned to work that day, but in the evening came running and screaming again, telling the same story. Joric seems to visit only at night.
It took a lot to persuade Aelfric to return to the Mill. Father Dudda, the local Priest, agreed to go with him and perform a blessing. Doerwine agreed to stay with him that night. During the night there was a very strange noise and a knocking at the Mill door. Aelfric was too scared to go to the door, so Doerwine answered. His demeanour changes and he looks less confident.
He says he saw … something, a dark figure at the door that looked like a boy. The boy reached out and called out “Da .. “ then seemed to vanish. Doerwine admits to being frightened himself and they both left the Mill.
Aelfric has not returned to the Mill since, nor will anyone else go near it. If they have experience in such matters, their help would be appreciated in getting this situation resolved, though Doerwine has no idea how that could be done.
Further questioning reveals that the Mill was re-built over the winter, which Aelfric and the builder Cyneric did most of the work on. They expanded the Mill to make more room around the Mill wheel. A big old oak tree was used from the local woods in the construction. Doerwine thinks the work helped Aelfric get over the disappearance of his son.
Rolf arranges for some of the spare rooms in this Manor House to be made up for the Seekers to stay in. Once they have unpacked and settled in, they decide to go to visit first Father Dudda, then talk to Aelfric and finally go to the Mill itself.
They had already spotted the Church which lies at the end of the road the Manor House is on and they head there. The Church is closed, but there is a small house next to it.
They find Father Dudda preparing some wine. He is a large built and overweight man with a deep voice and a jolly demeanour. He welcomes them to his humble parish, lamenting that Christianity struggles with old pagan beliefs in these rural areas.
He offers them some wine and is interested in what they have to say. He tells them about his involvement in the Mill haunting, saying he performed a blessing on the Mill but had a strong feeling that there was some other power in the area that was challenging his. He did not mention this to the villagers as he did not want to frighten them, but as Leofric is a fellow man of God, he thought it appropriate to mention it.
They thank Father Dudda for his hospitality and leave, after finding out where Aelfric lives. They go to a house in the centre of the village and find a well-tended garden with a young girl working it. Behind it are fields where others are working.
They ask the girl, Godgyfu, for Aelfric and she escorts them inside. There they meet a very elderly man, Osgar, who is Godgyfu’s grandfather. Her parents are working in the field.
Aelfric is lying in his room drinking ale. Osgar chides him for lying around so late in the day and embarrasses him into getting up and meeting his guests. He is clearly drunk though and they have a difficult time trying to question him.
He tells them his son is dead and his spirit haunts the Mill. It wants to drag him to Hell and he does not wish to go anywhere near the Mill.
Leofric tells him they need him to go with them to the Mill and he, as a man of God, will protect him. Aelfric refuses and Osgar chastises and embarrasses him for his cowardice and rudeness to their guests. Finally, Aelfric agrees to go to the Mill now, before it gets dark, but he insists that he will return here once the sun goes down.
They head over to the Mill, which has a large water wheel in a local river and they can see signs that it has been rebuilt recently. Leofric performs a blessing before entering the Mill, though Aelfric points out Father Dudda did the same and the spirit of his son still came.
They head in and see the large stone Mill wheel and more signs of recent work. Beside the Mill is a small house where Aelfric and his son used to live. They use the connecting door from the Mill to enter Aelfric’s house and look around, but there is not much to see. As they plan to stay the night, they find places to sleep.
Eadbehrt takes a room that turns out to be Joric’s old room. It has been left untouched by his father, with the boy’s possessions still in there. Eadbehrt takes a toy that belonged to Joric, hoping it will come in useful to attract the boy’s spirit.
Leofric talks to Aelfric again and learns that the night his son disappeared, Aelfric slept in, which is an unusual thing for him to do. Pressed about what he had been doing the day before, he tells them he had been given some ale by Aesc, another villager and he had drank most of it. He has always liked a good drink but it didn’t usually affect his work. As it starts to get dark, Leofric tells Aelfric he needs to stay with them and work together to save his son, but the Miller is terrified by the idea. Despite Leofric’s pleadings, Aelfric quickly leaves the Mill and runs back to the house he is staying in.
The Seekers settle down to a vigil. They sit together in the Mill, discussing what they have learnt and various possibilities as to what is going on. As it gets late, they go to adjoining house to sleep, leaving one person on watch in the Mill for a couple of hours then they are relieved by someone else.
During his watch, EadBehrt subtly uses his magical knowledge to try to close down any prot ections in the Mill and then use the toy to attract the spirit of Joric. He spell is not very successful and nothings seems to happen, but an hour or so later when EadBehrt is about to finish his watch, he suddenly gets an unusual feeling and hears a strange, strangled cry from the door of the Mill.
He opens the door and there is the form of a boy, black skinned as though covered in soot, with piercing eyes. He reaches out, saying “Da … Da …. Dad … Help me! Help … me!” Then his spirit seems to be yanked back and it flies away towards the woods north of the village.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
They discuss who will have been alerted by the shriek and assume it will be Agnes and her daughter. So, should they stay here and defend themselves or leave and fight on better ground? Æthelwyn points out they somehow need to save the people who are on the floor.
Leofric suggests that Æthelwyn, who knows the way, should leave and go back to Welburn to get help to take the people in the cave back to the village. Alexis says it depends who is coming, as her bow may be needed if there is to be a fight.
Alexis suggests that Eadbehrt and Leofric stay in the cave while he and Æthelwyn go to the entrance and see if anyone is coming. If all is clear, Alexis will stay and Æthelwyn can go for help.
They leave Leofric and Eadbehrt to look after the victims in the cave, who are awakening and starting to ask questions. Leofric speaks to them and tends to their wounds.
Eadbehrt does some divination magic and determines that the power in the cave, while reduced, is building up again to do something. There is some sort of spirit, probably inhabiting the skull in the blood in the bronze bowl, and it is drawing power to perform some sort of magic.
Eadbehrt then draws as big a magic circle as he can, surrounding it by salt and helps Leofric start to move the victims into the circle.
Alexis puts the door back mostly covering the entrance to the cave, then he follows Æthelwyn to the entrance they came in through. Æthelwyn takes out her bow and makes her way up to higher ground, while Alexis stands, sword drawn, in front of the secret entrance to the mine.
They wait and look out for a while. Æthelwyn sees a figure moving towards them on the trail. It is Maethild, moving fast and oddly smoothly. She alerts Alexis.
Maethild slows down when she sees Alexis and looks oddly at him. She tries to seduce him again, slowly approaching him. Alexis is initially affected by her as before, but as she gets nearer he sees that her face seems somehow darker. Rather than seductive, she appears disturbing and sinister.
He raises his sword and tells her to stop as she comes within a few feet of him. He asks what she is doing here. She tells him she was called, she had to come. She moves close to him and he slaps her.
She suddenly seems to change, her face becoming twisted and wrinkled, snarling in anger while her eyes roll back into her head and her nails grow into inch long claws. Alexis stabs her, his sword impaling her through the ribs. She does not seem affected by this and she slaps him in the face, drawing blood and knocking him over.
The Witch, who is now floating a few inches off the ground, then makes to move into the cave. Æthelwyn shoots her with an arrow in the arm and the Witch turns round, snarling and cursing up at her.
Alexis takes the opportunity of the Witch turning her back on him to shoulder barge her, while pulling his sword out of her. He is dismayed to see the “blood” on it is black rather than red and only a small amount of black dribbles out of the wound.
The Witch attacks him again, but his armour protects him. There is a pause while she stares at Alexis. Æthelwyn shoots her in the back and then Alexis slashes out at her throat.
She doubles over and collapses after this attack. Alexis sees someone approach but decides to finish off the Witch first, stabling her in the back of the neck down into her body. This time red blood erupts from her and she collapses.
The approaching figure is Agnes and she sees that her daughter is lying mortally wounded on the floor. She is grief stricken and shouts at Alexis, calling him a murderer. He says she attacked him, but Agnes says he did not have to kill her.
Agnes then says that “they” did this to her. She had been trying to undo that they did, but “they” are powerful. Alexis asks who “they” are and she tells him it was “The Spider Worshippers.”
They came over a year ago and set up the Shrine in the mines. One of their victims had died on the journey here and they had to find a replacement. They found a local boy in the village and took him instead. They put a spirit in Maethild as a means of making sure Agnes did what they wanted.
Alexis tries to ask more questions, but Agnes is too upset that her daughter is dead. She ignores him, clutching her daughter and singing a pagan eulogy song.
Alexis and Æthelwyn return to the cave, where Joric has recovered enough to be helping Leofric. The boy also says to Eadbehrt that he recognises him from a dream.
Alexis and Æthelwyn explain what has happened outside and about the Spider Worshipers. Eadbehrt says he has heard of a group known as Arachne, who are a cult who worship spiders. He also warns that the evil power in the cave is growing stronger.
Leofric examines the skull in the bronze bowl filled with blood. He has a feeling that the skull is slowly growing from the blood, although this is a long process.
Alexis has them move the victims out the cave, through the mines and outside, a frustrating and awkward endeavour that takes a while. Joric helps them as best he can. Once outside, they take shelter in the nearby empty cave mouth. They see that Agnes is taking the body of Maethild back to her house.
Alexis tells Æthelwyn and Leofric to go back to Welburn, with Joric and summon help, while he and Eadbehrt stay behind to look after the victims.
Æthelwyn and Leofric depart and walk all the way back to Welburn. The journey is uneventful, but once they get back one of the villagers quickly notices Joric and goes to tell Aelric.
The Miller staggers out of the house he is staying in, clearly a bit drunk and Joric runs over to him. Aelric is very pleased to see his son alive and well. These events are noticed by Doerwine, who comes out to greet them.
Almost the entire village has come out by now to see what is going on. Leofric is suspicious of everyone in the village at this point, no knowing who the members of the cult are. He tells Doerwine that the boy was in the mines, but ignores any further questions.
Æthelwyn notices that Aesc is not there and asks his wife where he is. She tells her that he went to York yesterday to buy more ale-making materials.
When Aelric questions why Joric is black and asks if this is a shade, Leofric chides him for being so foolish. Joric has been in the mines. All he needs is a good wash. Godgyfu volunteers to take him to the stream and clean him.
The villagers have been standing around discussing the return of Joric for a while and Doerwine reminds them that there is work to be done and they should return to it.
Father Dudda talks with Leofric and asks if he has found the dark power that has been threatening the village. Leofric confides in him about the evil Shrine in the mines. They need to perform a consecration. Dudda takes him to the church to get bell, book, candle, holy water and his crucifix.
Leofric goes to see Doerwine again, who is cooler towards him since he felt snubbed by the monk, but agrees to Leofric’s request for villagers to come to the mines to help rescue some people there. Doerwine will go himself, plus Rolf’s groundskeeper Wigmund, Cyneric and his son William, and Osgar, son of Osgar, who is Godgyfu’s father. Father Dudda will also be coming with them.
Aelric asks if he should come, but Leofric tells him to spend time with his son. Aelric commits to starting work at the Mill with his son from tomorrow morning.
They set off, with Æthelwyn guiding them. The overweight and unfit Father Dudda is the slowest of them and they have to stop to wait for him occasionally.
As they approach Agnes’s house, they see thick smoke coming from it. Leofric tells them that Maethild has been killed and Agnes is likely cremating her. They avoid going near the house.
It is beginning to get dark as they reach Alexis and Eadbehrt with the victims from the cave. They have been talking to some of the victims and found out that they come from various places in the north, few near to here.
Doerwine quickly begins to organise everyone to help the victims get back to Welburn, after asking Lord Alexis for his approval. They are soon ready to escort, support and carry the victims back to the village. Leofric and Father Dudda agree it would be better to confront the power in the cave during daylight and they will come back tomorrow.
They set off, carrying burning torches against the darkness and begin their return journey, which is slower and everyone is a little on edge.
As they pass Agnes’s house, they see in the darkness that there are two fires. The scarecrows have been burnt down. This prompts a discussion amongst the Seekers about Agnes’s motivations. Leofric thinks she is part of the cult, but Alexis says he felt she had implied the Spider Cult had put a spirit into Maethild in order to ensure she did what they said.
Now that Maethild is dead, she will oppose the cult and she has burnt the scarecrows that they set up. Unfortunately, as he killed Maethild, she is not that likely to co-operate with them.
The conversation then turns to Aesc and they wonder if he is a willing member of the cult, or if they have some sort of hold over him too. He has likely gone to warn the cult of what has happened, who are probably in a near-by village.
The journey to Welburn takes a while and is difficult, but finally they reach the village. Father Dudda tells them to put all the victims into the church, where there is space for them and they can be cared for.
Some of the other villagers come to see what is going on and Doerwine tells them to fetch food, water and bedding.
The victims are accommodated in the church as best they can be. Father Dudda and Leofric attend to them, while the others help as best they can, feeding them and keeping them warm and comfortable.
It gets late and the villagers return to their beds. The Seekers end up staying the night in the church and watching over the victims. One, a Welshman called Ieuen, awakens in the night, demanding to know what is going on. Leofric looks after him, reassuring him and telling him where they are. He comes from Conwy, hundreds of miles from here and he is an ironmonger and smithy.
Rationalising that, as a victim Ieuen is not likely to be helping the cult, Leofric explains everything that has happened. Ieuen’s memory of what happened to him is patchy, but he recalls men in masks coming to his house. There was something strong that he could not see, which despite being strong from working with iron all his life, held him in a grip that meant he could not move.
They then held something with a strong incense-like smell in front of him and he passed out. After that, all he recalls is strange dreams, especially a recurring one in which he is trapped in a room with a man with horns.
In the morning, the villagers return with more food and water. Rolf the Steward pays them a visit, but he seems more concerned about that is going to happen to these strangers. The village cannot handle another seven mouths to feed and there is not that much work here. Leofric is not impressed with the old man’s attitude but tells him they are likely to be taken back to York once they have recovered.
Four of the victims are awake and in possession of their wits by the morning. As well as Ieuen, there is Eawynn, whose husband is a Miller in Kirby, Yorkshire; Rand, a sheep herder from the Pennines and Tate, a fish monger’s wife from Shrewsbury in Mercia.
These seem to be the healthiest of the victims. The other three are weaker and are still unconscious. Leofric begins to wonder if they will survive, especially one of the women, who is sick with a fever.
Eadbehrt notices that, including Joric, there were eight people in the cave, four men and four women. Alexis points out that there are eight legs on a spider. They wonder at the significance of this and how long that Shrine has been there. Leofric speculates that it must be a place of power that they have chosen and brought people from far and wide to be part of their scheme.
The Seekers end up spending the morning in the church, calming the victims who have awakened and reassuring them, while looking after the rest and dealing with the constant stream of villagers coming to help, bring food and ask questions.
Doerwine asks Leofric who has done this to these people. Leofric explains at this point, knowledge is power and he needs to keep some things secret for the time being. Doerwine is disappointed but seems to understand.
Father Dudda reminds Leofric that they need to deal with the dark power in the mines. It would be better to do that during the day. Time is passing, it is already past noon. If they are to do this, they will need to set off soon.
Leofric then asks Doerwine for more help from the village. They need able-bodied men who can fight if needed. He suggests Cyneric and his son William, Wigmund and himself. They arm themselves with axes, clubs and Cyneric has a large hammer.
The Seekers discuss the details of their return to the cave. They will leave the villagers outside, as experiencing the power in the cave will be too much for them. Leofric and Father Dudda will consecrate the cave, while the others protect them.
They assembly Doerwine and his men, plus Father Dudda and set off, leaving the victims in the care of various women from the village.
On the way, they tell the villagers they are going to deal with an evil power that dwells in the mines. Cyneric asks what their role is, as he is no priest. He is told his job is to protect the Seekers and fight anyone who comes to stop them. Cyneric welcomes this. He does not know how to deal with evil, but he can deal with men anytime.
They once again avoid going too near Agnes’s house and reach the entrance to the mines. They leave the villagers on guard outside, as Cyneric is likely too big to get through the gap, being more than 6ft tall. Father Dudda struggles due to his large belly and he gets his robes dirty.
They reach the cave itself and as they consider containing it in a circle, they see a wisp of smoke rising from the skull in the bowl of blood. It is forming into the shape of a horned man standing above them. Father Dudda is terrified by this visage and staggers away from it, blabbing in fear.
Alexis and Eadbehrt also back away in fear, but Leofric steps forward, holding up his cross and chanting Christian prayers. There is a contest of power between them and at one point, the spirit tries to pull the cross from his hands, but Leofric’s grip is tight. He splashes holy water at the skull.
Eventually, Leofric prevails and the smoky spirit dissipates. He is exhausted and sweating. Father Dudda has turned a little white, but he slowly recovers his wits.
The Seekers decide it is time to move the skull. It may not be safe to touch it, so they elect Alexis to move it, as he is wearing chainmail gauntlets.
Alexis takes a cloth, which Father Dudda baths in holy water and picks up the skull. As he does so, he gets a strange, painful shock. He drops the skull and knocks the bronze bowl of blood over. It falls to the floor, splashing blood everywhere.
Alexis takes his gauntlet off and shakes his hand. It was painful but did not lasting damage. Eadbehrt does some divination to determine if Alexis has been affected magically, but comes to the conclusion that the power of the Skull is spent and that was its last gasp.
Alexis picks up the cloth that was bathed in holy water and picks up the skull with it. Leofric says these evil relics need to be taken to York Minster and locked away, to which Father Dudda agrees. He gets out a sack and puts the skull and the bowl into it, being careful not to touch them.
They consider the carvings and drawings on the wall. Leofric makes some crude copies on a scroll to get the gist of what they are saying. Eadbehrt suggests they are more symbolic than have a meaning in themselves.
They leave the cave and head out of the mine, where Doerwine, Cyneric and the others are keeping guard. The others are pleased that everything has gone smoothly.
Leofric tells them at some point in the future they will need to come and make sure the mine tunnels are collapsed. Burn the supports and make sure no one can reach that evil place, possibly in the winter. Doerwine agrees though he knows every little about mining.
They depart for Welburn and as they approach Agnes’s house, wonder if someone should talk to her. Alexis says it should not be him and Eadbahrt says he will do it. The others can continue to Welburn.
Eadbehrt sees a new burial mound in the garden and first pays his respects, then knocks on Agnes’s door. She answers and her manner is not friendly but she does talk to him.
Eadbehrt says they have taken the people from the Shrine and Agnes is not surprised. She reveals that she drugged Maethild after their first meeting, expecting them go to the Shrine that evening, but they did not. If they had told her when they were going she could have acted, but they did not. Eadbehrt diplomatically agrees they should have told her.
He asks her about the Spider Cultists and she says they come occasionally, on some of the festival days, but they always wear the masks of animals. She can tell from their voices they are not Normans and do not come from Yorkshire. She says they put a spirit into Maethild to act as a guardian to the Shrine and to ensure her co-operation.
He then asks about what they were doing in the Shrine. She says they were trying to make an angry spirit, possibly just manifesting the male aspect of the God / Goddess, to take on physical form. It was draining those poor people to do it. She says they will be coming here as they will know that their Shrine has been invaded.
Their ultimate plan is to overthrow the Normans and return to the days of magic. She gives the impression she supports their goal, but not their methods. When Eadbehrt agrees, she chastises him for keeping the company of Normans and Christians.
When Eadbehrt suggests that they work together against them, she is reluctant to commit. She says she will think about it, but appears to take one last look around, as though she plans to leave and not return. Eadbehrt tries to change her mind, but she tells him it is time for him to go.
When the rest of the party reach Welburn, Father Dudda wraps the items from the cave in an altar cloth and locks them away in a compartment of the altar in his church. They keep this secret from the villagers and the survivors, but Leofric does tell them that the evil has been vanquished.
Alexis asks if the survivors are in a fit state to travel, but three of them are still ill. Leofric says they need a few more days yet. He suggests that there is no rush, the issue with the mill has been resolved.
Alexis suggests an assessment on a daily basis and they could get a cart from the Reeve. He is keen to leave this village now. There is other evil out there to deal with. Leofric suggests they have kicked over a stone and found a nest of evil that will need to be investigated further.
Eadbehrt returns and tells the other Seekers about his conversation with Agnes, especially about the Cultists visiting during the festivals.
They have a rest and Father Dudda gathers the villagers together for an evensong celebration. Father Dudda gives a small sermon, in which he says the evil blight that he sensed a year ago in the mill after the disappearance of Joric has been banished.
Father Dudda admits he did not mention this to the rest of the village, he waited, watched and prayed. The Lord sent these four people to us to help us. The evil in the old mine has been cleansed of evil and its victims have been rescued. All is now well and they sing Christian songs of deliverance and celebration. Dudda shares the communion wine.
Doerwine has a talk with Leofric thanking for his help. He is still a little upset that Leofric did not share information with him, but he is pleased that they helped them. Leofric and Eadbehrt then ask him about visitors, especially around the festivals.
The Reeve is not able to help them too much. They do not get many visitors expect peddlers and traders from York who come every year. There are very few strangers come here and he does not pay much attention, so long as they do not cause problems.
The Seekers spend the rest of the evening discussing amongst themselves about the Cult, how they are operating and where they could be based. They are likely to be based in the north, where Norman control is weak and centred mainly around Durham. Another possibility is Wales.
Leofric has a lingering suspicion that they would need an important local, such as the Reeve, to be on their side in order to achieve their goals. Æthelwyn points out that they could be based in nearby villages and the mines themselves are part of a different Lord’s lands.
They consider the possibility of them coming for the next festival, but as today is the 27th of September, the next festival will be Samhaim, which is a big one but will not be for another month.
The morning brings mixed blessings. The survivor who was unconscious in a fever has come out of that fever, but another who was unconscious but showed no signs of problems, passed away in the night. Father Dudda arranges a burial.
The Seekers interrogate the survivors, asking for as much detail as possible about how they were captured and who took them. Most tell stories of men in animal masks surprising, kidnapping and using magic on them. They were tied up and forced to walk for miles.
The masks were pigs, dogs, horses. They could have been skulls painted and decorated or just wooden. It was hard to tell.
They discover that Aesc has still not returned from York, which is now the talk of the village.
Alexis becomes restless and concerned that the Cultists may now be coming to the village. He goes out alone on his horse to watch the roads but sees nothing.
As evening falls he returns to the church. He notices how quiet it is and there is a strange feeling in the air, like the one he felt when they first explored the hills.
While Alexis is out looking for any sign of the Cultists, in the church the survivor from the cave who had a fever begins to come around. He speaks in French, confirming that he is a Norman.
The doors to the Church suddenly blow open and a cold wind squall sweeps through the building. The skull and the bowl from the cave suddenly fall out of the altar. A nervous shiver goes down everyone’s spine. The two women from the village who were helping then leave.
Leofric looks out of the doors, but only sees Alexis returning on his horse. Father Dudda locks the skull and bowl back underneath the altar.
Alexis tells them that he did not see anything. He has a feeling something bad is going to happen, so he starts to pray.
Leofric goes outside and begins to walk around the perimeter of the consecrated area of the Church, invoking Warding and Divine Protection.
Eadbehrt goes outside to do some divination and determines that a magical field is building up in the area. Alexis suggests that their “friends” are here. Æthelwyn asks how far magic reaches and Eadbehrt is uncertain but it is can be further than line of sight, especially if they have an item linking them to the personal they are attacking.
There is a knocking at the Church door while Leofric is still doing his warding. Father Dudda answers the door and lets Aelric and Joric in. Aelric says his son is not sleeping well since he came back and wonders if he has anything to help.
Father Dudda suggests some simple things but once Leofric comes back in, he should be able to help.
Leofric finishes and comes to talk to them. He takes them in to the side chapel and examines Joric. He seems nervous and scared, saying he can hear the heart beat from the cave again. Leofric suggests that Joric should stay in the church that night and Aelric head home and rest, which he does.
Leofric then brings Joric into the church with the others and gives him food and drink. Joric says the heart beat cannot be heard in the church.
Tate, one of the survivors, begins to have an anxiety attack, feeling trapped and wanting to go outside. “They are coming for us!” Alexis tells her to relax, he will protect her. Collectively, they are able to calm her down.
The Norman survivor now comes round and asks what is going on. He suddenly remembers men in masks killing his entire family then collapses again. Alexis comforts him and Leofric gives him some wine.
Things go quiet in the church and there is just the noise of the wind. There is a growing feeling of unease between everyone. Leofric proposes holding a mass and Father Dudda leads the ceremony.
As he moves to give Ieuen, the Welshman, the Body of Christ, he suddenly knocks it out of the Priests hand. He begins ranting and shouting, demanding everyone keeping away from him. Leofric tries to calm him down, but there is no calming him down.
Ieuen heads to the doors and tries to leave. Alexis intervenes to stop him, but he is too strong, pushing Alexis away and fleeing from the church into the darkness. Alexis says it is too dangerous to go after him.
Tate has another worrying fit, but Leofric is able to calm everyone down with a sermon. Father Dudda then finish the mass and the tension begins to ease in the church. People start to doze off as the gets late.
Alexis and Leofric use rope to secure the main doors of the church and bar the chapel door.
Leofric thinks they are coming for the skull and the bowl. He asks Eadbehrt if the Cultists could start the magic in the cave back up without the skull and bowl. Eadbehrt is not sure but thinks that is highly likely. It would be necessary to burn the skull or smash it into small pieces and scatter it over a large area to end its effect.
Eadbehrt also points out with the skull in the church, the Cultists have a way to get their magic in.
Aelric suddenly starts banging on the door of the church. He demands that Joric comes out of the church, it’s dangerous and they need to get out of here. They open the doors to the church and Aelric is stood in the doorway, looking beaten up.
Behind him, at the outskirts of the consecrated area of the church, are a number of figures in masks made of branches carrying burning torches. Behind them are other figures in darker masks.
A gust of wind blows into the church, causing Leofric and Alexis to stagger back. Aelric stumbles in and Æthelwyn with Joric look after him.
Leofric tries to pull the doors closed with rope, fighting against the wind but four figures in made-shift tree-branch masks, carrying clubs and burning torches, begin to advance on the open doors. Leofric backs away as they start to swing their clubs.
Alexis raises his sword and shield and engages them. They hit him with clubs but it does not have much effect on his mail armour. He holds them off.
Aelric suddenly starts shouting in a deep voice “Give us the Sleeper from the Shrine and we will spare your lives!”
Alexis then begins to push forward, driving the masked figures out of the church.
Leofric goes to the altar and takes the skull out. He uses the large, iron cross from the altar to crush the skull into pieces, while forgiving its sins and giving it last rights.
Alexis now starts stabbing at the masked figures to force them to retreat. He stabs one of them and the others attack, but he holds them off with his shield. He stabs again and badly wounds one of them, causing him to collapse.
The large robed figure standing on the edge of the churchyard, wearing a large animal mask and wielding a staff, calls out to “Burn them”. The remaining masks figures by Alexis throw their burning torches into the church and then withdraw.
As Leofric destroys the skull, the large robed cries out in rage “They have damaged the Sleeper!”
One of the torches has landed on a hey-bale and a fire is starting. Æthelwyn and Eadbehrt move to tackle the fire, but a girl’s voice calls out behind them “look out!”
Two of the survivors, the Norman man and Rand have blank looks on their faces and are reaching to grab Æthelwyn. The last survivor who was unconscious, a small girl, has woken up and called out to warn Æthelwyn that they were coming for her.
Æthelwyn manages to finish putting out the fire while avoiding being grabbed. The Norman man and Rand close in to corner Æthelwyn and she sees that their eyes have rolled back into their heads.
Outside, as the masked figures retreat, Alexis advances into the churchyard. He sees that the main figure in robes is wearing what looks like a horse mask. Alexis finishes off the injured masked figure on the floor.
Æthelwyn puts out the burning torches in a soup pot but the Norman and Rand grab her. Eadbehrt, Leofric and Father Dudda then intervene to subdue them, with Leofric using his staff to knock out their legs and hit them in the throat. Leofric is a little rougher with the Norman man.
The robed horse-man gestures with his staff and a large, powerful man wearing a bear mask and furs over leather armour and carrying a two-handed sword moves to attack Alexis.
Alexis backs off as he advances, retreating back into the church and closing the doors. The bear-man is advancing quickly, barging into the doors which are being held by Alexis and Leofric. They are both big men and are just able to hold the doors closed. The church doors creak and begin to crack under the strain.
Alexis tries to stab the bear-man but misses. The bear man then thrusts his large sword between the doors and starts to use it to try to lever the doors open and attack those inside.
Alexis gets his shield and tries to bend the two-handed sword but is not able to get into a good position to do so. The two-handed sword is withdrawn and the weight comes off the door.
Leofric takes the opportunity to rope the door closed as fast as he can. He then leaves Alexis to defend the door and heads to the back of the church, passing Joric who asks him to help with his father, who is in a bad way. Leofric says he will come back after he has checked the windows in the chapel.
Æthelwyn, Eadbehrt and Father Dudda subdue and begin to tie up the Norman and Rand, who are still acting strange.