Diary of the Investigation of Bullford Quarry Near Pineswallow
From the Diaries of Magnus Faust, First Earl of the Salad Bar and Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx.
Introduction
Sir Philip sent me in response to a request from Rotbrueck. The Baron was concerned about events occurring near Bullford. Swarms of animals were attacking miners at a quarry near Pineswallow, putting a halt to mining there. This particular quarry supplies over half the fortification material in the Barony. Notably, Bullford itself is in the process of constructing a wall around the city, which is now considerably slowed.
Upon meeting with Sir Tom and the Baron, Sir Barnum Rochester directed me to ride immediately to Bullford and deliver the Warrant ascribed by the Baron. Once the Warrant was delivered, our party spent the night at the courtesy of Sir Michael of Bullford.
Day One
Early the next morning we set out for the quarry, which was about two hours ride north of Bullford by rough and winding trail. The men assembled under the watch of Kol Blackstone and Sergeant Leroi Jenkins proved hardy and steadfast in their march, arriving not long after Sir Rochester and myself, along with his lad, on horseback.
The quarry master Charles seemed the usual fellow. Sir Rochester questioned him thoroughly. We also met with a young lad named Arthur, whose name was passed to us by Kol, who had heard stories of the boy from a local. The boy shyly admitted to having some keen insight into the local geology, knowing just where to put his chisel to cut stone and where to find deposits of sought-after minerals.
The quarry master and others scoffed at the lad’s claims, but I noted to Sir Rochester that the boy did prove to be correct about the stone. All those we had questioned admitted the boy had warned them and they paid him no mind. When calamity occurred as a result of their tampering with the rock, whatever you may think of his claimed ability, the boy was proved correct in his warnings.
During the course of their necessary work, the miners had unearthed a large blood-red stone. It was unlike any material they had ever encountered. However, being practical men with a duty to their trade, they were uninterested in the rock, being there to mine limestone and not such queer elements.
The young lad Arthur warned them away from the stone, but they paid him no heed. In a moment of likely drunken revelry, one of the miners struck the stone with his pickaxe. They were quickly set upon by insects, which alarmed them but they soon put out of their minds. They returned to mine and were then attacked again, this time by a flock of wild birds. Later attempts to mine the location were met with attacks by squirrels, wolves, and a minotaur.
The miners fought off these attacks, but soon ceased attempting to work at their usual rate. They were able to mine for a few hours or even days after the attacks, but the escalation of the ferocity of the attacks unnerved them. The assault by the minotaur nearly caused a complete cessation in operations.
Sir Michael, the lord of Bullford who bears responsibility for these mining operations, continues to pay the miners in order to exploit the remaining opportunity to mine, and to ensure immediate return to full operation once the problem is solved.
After interviewing the principles, we began our investigation of the crimson rock unearthed by the miners. With two soldiers to guard me, I mounted a ladder to the ruins atop the mines in hopes that a less direct approach might not trigger an attack. As I drew near the stone, I felt a compulsion to touch it. Sir Rochester ordered me to cease. I felt it difficult to obey, but managed to do so. However, I felt a strange presence in my mind, as if being warned away from the stone. Sir Rochester ordered us back down the ladder.
Before we could descend, we were attacked by a wyvern. The creature’s first pass took one of the king’s men assigned to guard me. I grabbed the other soldier and pulled him to the ground with me. As the wyvern returned on its pass it struck the soldier, who careened to the pit below, nearly taking me with him.
Below the soldiers, led by Kol and Jenkins, assembled atop a pile of cut limestone and rubble. The slung their maces skyward at the wyvern, who shrugged off their warhammers. The wyvern swooped at Jenkins and then Kol, who stabbed the beast deep with his sword. Enraged, the wyvern leapt atop Kol and began to savage the warrior with its talons.
Sir Rochester boldly moved into the fray, brandishing his broadsword as he approached the massive wyrm. Jenkins and the other soldiers laid steel upon the beast, who thrashed at them with his tail as he tore at Kol with his claws. Underneath the beast, Kol drove his broadsword ever deeper, until the steel tip shone through the beast’s ribs. I leapt from the scaffolding and made my way to my fellows.
Suddenly Sir Rochester cast a spell and the limestone beneath began to take shape and rise upward toward the beast. The slab moved too slowly to penetrate the wyvern, but it shoved him to one side. Using this moment, Kol gained leverage and plowed his sword upward into the chest of the wyvern. I ascended the pile and slashed at the beast. The soldiers attacked with vigor.
Finally Kol delivered the killing blow and the wyvern fell dead on the stones. Kol rose to his feet and staggered from the pile to a shady spot below. I hurried to his side and cast a minor healing spell on him, then attended the fallen soldier. I then mounted by steed and rode swiftly to the nearby church, where I beseeched Mother Sarah to return to the quarry with me and heal the valiant men.
We loaded our wounded into carts and they rode slowly back to the hamlet of Pineswallow. I remained behind with Sir Rochester at his request. Suspecting several hours at least of calm, the miners were returning to extract limestone. Sir Rochester and I would take this moment to investigate the rock further. I met alone with Arthur and discussed his apparent ability in more detail. Later I confided to Sir Rochester that I believed the young lad Arthur had talents which could prove useful in our investigation.
Sir Rochester and I discussed possible courses of action. We deduced that there was a chance that simply covering the stone again and leaving the quarry would suffice. Sir Rochester asked Arthur if he believed that might work. The young man agreed that it might work.
Sir Rochester told us that he would need our assistance in performing a ceremony to seal the rock within the stone. The miners brought their families and friends to participate as well. Having been asked by Sir Rochester to help with the crowd, I entertained them with a story and used my magic to instill bravery in them all, lest they fear approaching the crimson stone. With great skill, Sir Rochester led us all and performed the magic necessary to seal the rock in the limestone. I immediately felt a slight change in the mana, that it had become less wild and twisted. Later I examined the wildlife and plants of the area, and noted their slow return.
Day Two
I began the day by returning to the old quarry site and scouting the woods above. The animals had returned in their expected number. Using my talents, I communicated with a squirrel and confirmed that the area was becoming habitable again. The squirrel also warned me about people to the west who were hunting squirrels.
Meanwhile, at the new quarry site, Sir Rochester used his powerful magic to shake the earth covering the untouched limestone, loosening the soil to fall to the base of the hill. The quarry-master Charles met with local Trevi and hired them to clear a trail to the new site. Their price: the carcass of the wyvern, apparently a delicacy among the Trevi.
Kol and the soldiers, while patrolling the area near the new quarry site, located an abandoned campsite. They returned and told Sir Rochester, who relayed the information to me.
I went to the abandoned campsite and investigated alone. The area appeared to be camouflaged and allowed for surveillance of the entire quarry operation. I found discarded leather and a worn old boot, then located the remains of a trail. I followed the trace of several men to a well-traveled path. The wear of the tracks suggested those passing here had headed back toward Pineswallow. I followed along and when I arrived at the mining hamlet, inquired of the locals what lay in the other direction along this path. Whitewater, they told me, which lies on the other side of these hills and trees near Greywater.
Day Three
Sir Rochester dispatched me to inquire among the citizens of Pineswallow and nearby Whitewater. While I was away, he exposed the limestone and allowed the quarrymen to return to laboring. Additionally, Sir Rochester tasked the mason and soldier Kol to design a bridge that would allow transport of the cut stone over the treacherous ravine, through which no cart would travel. Sir Rochester then used his magic and masonry skill to construct the bridge from earth and cut stone. The solid bridge in place, Kol then labored intensely to craft Sir Rochester’s mark and Masonic symbols, forever cementing the record of their wondrous craft.
In my investigations of the villages, I discovered that there are many bandits who live in the hills and make their living stealing from farmers or hamlets. There are also many families who have chosen or been forced by circumstance to live in the forest. These people live a subsistence existence, often through gathering wild fruit and vegetables or keeping small rudimentary gardens.
I returned to Pineswallow and rested overnight.
Day Four
After a good night’s rest in Pineswallow, I went out to the new quarry to inform Sir Rochester of my findings. During my absence, Kol and the soldiers had discovered more abandoned campsites like the first. These camps were all within line-of-sight of each other, and had strategic views of the quarry and Pineswallow. I discovered a dead wolf nearby and spoke with one of the crows who lurked near. To my fortune I establish a good rappoire with the crow, who led us through the woods to a trail before my link with him was broken. But the trail was heavily traveled, and led further to the west. Kol dispatched a man to bring Sir Rochester, then waited with the soldiers while I went deeper into the woods along the trail. The trail led on and on, so I returned to the others, where Sir Rochester had arrived.
The entire party then began to move along the trail. We followed it for many miles until we came upon a cottage near a small pond. A woman tended a garden. I approached her and told her our business. She bade us to drink at the pond to our leisure, and agreed to trade a bag of apples for a good hatchet I had in my possession. We inquired about bandits and she told us of a group she knew to be in these hills. We bade her good-day and continued on the path.
We eventually arrived at the base of a hill, where we heard the sounds of revelry from over the ridge. Sir Rochester ordered us to continue up the path. A sentry hidden up ahead heard our approach and fled. Kol rushed up the hill and over the ridge. The rest of us pursued him. At the top of the ridge, we saw that the ground became treacherous as it descended into the valley. The path ahead wound down the side of the hill. Kol leapt from one bend and landed on his feet in front of the fleeing sentry. The frightened sentry ran into Kol and bounced off his armor and fell to the ground. Kol drew his broadsword and held it over the lip of the fallen man, whose lips quivered in terror.
The remainder of us soon arrived at Kol’s side, our approach thankfully occluded by a spur of stone and earth. Sir Rochester and Kol interrogated their prisoner. Not wishing to disturb them, I slipped into the woods to launch my own plan of action. Reasoning there would be a sentry near the town, I approached the village through the woods with stealth. As I made my way along, I saw someone near the village give a signal. Turning to look back up the ridge behind me, I saw someone signaling in return. I began making my way through the woods to where I had seen the man signaling ahead of me.
Soon I found myself near the sentry. Leapt upon him, surprising him. He froze and I dispatched him quickly with my knife. From his perch I could see into the village, where they were dancing and singing in celebration. I looked back up to where my fellows should be. Seeing Kol, I waved to him to let him know I had taken care of the sentry. As the party made their way down the path, unknown to the town, I sat at the sentry’s post and waited for my companions.
To be continued...