After the initial shock, we ended up taking a seat at Thorpe's dining table. Old Guard heated a pot of tea while Ethel informed us how they ended up down here.
Lord Felix is not FROM Llanercost, despite the Baron being his uncle. He was born and raised in the region's capital of Berxley, where he serves as a Special Investigator for the Margrave. And he was sent specifically by the Margrave herself to investigate the issues plaguing the region. Pun intended.
Lord Felix might be more than a little eccentric and somewhat obnoxious, but as Old Guard stated last night, the Lord takes his job VERY seriously.
Lord Felix is not a man of half measures. So not only did he bring with him a band of Mercenaries that serve the Margrave personally, but he also brought with him one of the best [Apothecaries] on the continent. He wanted to be absolutely thorough. And he most definitely was.
I mean, it isn't as though Llanercost hasn't requested aid from Berxley in the last few years since the sickness or the soil issues started. Ethel says the Margrave has sent countless supplies and [Doctors] to quell the aches upon the Barony. And those were the first things that Lord Felix and Sir Gilder investigated.
And Lord Felix was clever enough to know not to leave anything up to chance. So he took extra precautions before he left. Making it clear that he did not want his uncle to be informed of his trip. So he arrived in town completely unannounced, and before he even attempted to approach the Baron's manor, he began his investigation immediately.
Within only a day after arrival in Llanercost, Lord Felix was already heavily suspicious of his uncle's own court. And perhaps even of the Baron himself. Things were not adding up on closer inspection.
Not only did they find out that the supplies Berxley had sent were never distributed, but the healers they had sent were either on death's door...or already dead, seemingly from the sickness itself.
This bewildered Sir Gilder immediately. [Doctors], and especially [Apothecaries], have powerful resistances against poisons and diseases. So to find out that they, too, succumbed to it was highly alarming. But even more so, incredibly suspicious.
Ethel clearly recalls Sir Gilder's hauntingly specific response to Lord Felix was, "If this sickness is powerful enough to breach through the resistances of healers no less skilled than I, then this entire town should be a graveyard with none spared. Many may have died already, but certainly not enough to drag down healers even half my level. These, my colleagues, were clearly stricken with something much more insidious."
Gilder posed that the sickness is far too inconsistent with its victims. And was even more put off with the idea that it had somehow spread to the food supplies in the storehouses as well. From his findings, the disease is very unlikely to be airborne and most obviously spread through bodily fluids. But items stored in the storehouse are protected through resistances of their own against things like rot and pests. And the people who work in the storehouses were clear of any sort of disease. It should have been nearly impossible to infect them with anything until the food had LEFT the storehouse.
This was when Gilder and Lord Felix discovered that our harvest seemed to be more resistant than the rest and wanted to find out why. But at that point, the Baron had discovered Lord Felix was in town, and the investigation was immediately made more difficult...
Ser Ethel picks up her tea and takes a sip. "Suddenly, the Baron himself barged into the storehouse and was absolutely furious. But Lord Felix is particularly good at getting other nobles to put their guard down. Mostly by acting like a pompous fool." She chuckles, shaking her head as she leans back in the wooden chair.
Thorpe sighs, clutching onto a darker bottle of ale that he had grabbed for himself. The exhaustion from our hunting trip has crept back onto his face. "I'm guessing that after he caught wind, suddenly the staffers in town got real unhelpful..."
Ethel nods at Old Guard's assumption. "After the first day, no one would give a straight answer anymore. And we were avoided like we were the sickness itself. Even the Mercenaries Guild was being sheepish. But that only spurred Lord Felix and Gilder on even more. So we had to find other sources." The armored woman clears her throat. "My [Ranger], Arric, has an old tribe mate who hangs about a gamblers' den called The Whisper."
Thorpe grunts as he takes a swig of his ale. "Yep. I still end up there whenever I pass through. Good place to get a feel for what's going on outside if you've got the silver for it."
Ethel groans, not looking too pleased. "Aye. And we had to cough up quite a bit of silver to get anything out of the bastard. But it was worth it. It's how we heard about the caravan from the Alder region, as well as all the other Brigand raids that have happened so far. But even the rumors about the Brigands have left me somewhat irked. We confirmed that the raids did indeed occur, but they seemed far too coordinated to just be desperate Mercenaries."
She leans forward and gives a pointed look to Thorpe. "I sent Steppan with half of our band to investigate the remains of Alder's caravan, and it was no small group either. They had at least 3 dozen guarding it, judging by the remains. But Arric says there couldn't have been more than a dozen attackers. Not to mention the concerning signs of destructive magic used. And with their tracks pointing them this way. It was too much of a coincidence for us to pass up. Too many arrows pointing in this village's direction. So Lord Felix pushed hard on his uncle to let us travel this way..."
The Baron was against the trip at first. He was aware of the Brigand rumors, but passed them off as mere hearsay. But the news of the caravan from Alder seemed to shock him quite a bit. He knew that supplies were being sent, but hadn't heard any word of their progress since the initial messages. With this new information, he agreed to support Felix's trip to our village and made it an official order by his office to investigate.
Ethel and Steppan's band originally had 14 members. But before they left Llanercost, Baron Mayorga assigned 6 other Mercenaries to their retinue. Stating that he wanted to make sure his nephew is well defended while traveling so far from the Barony. The Baron's advisor emphasized that the Mercenaries were hand-picked from the best C-Rankers that the town's guild had to offer. And Ethel's [Ranger] confirmed their levels and classes with no issue.
The trip went rather smoothly as well. They ran into little resistance other than the occasional monster. But even those tended to just fight for a bit before running off. And the Mercenaries tagged onto their retinue knew were experienced and knew the route well enough to guide them.
But as they were almost halfway up the final trail to our village, Lord Felix's carriage tripped a [Force Mine] trap hidden on the road. The front of the carriage was blasted apart, and the horses were killed by the shrapnel.
All hell broke loose.
Skilled arrows rained in from either side of the forest. Wounding a couple of Ethel's men, but their defenses came up quick enough to spare them. But just as her band rallied up to defend, the 6 extra mercs with them used the opportunity to attack. Quickly devolving the situation into an absolute blood bath.
Ethel's group was able to wrestle control of the situation, dispatching the traitors. But they were no pushovers. And with the archers still firing from the trees, it was not without loss. 6 of her own band lost their lives, and the attacking archers managed to escape into the forest. And trying to give chase would be suicidal.
Their carriage was destroyed, along with a lot of their supplies. In unfamiliar territory and possibly being watched by more assailants. And with the rumors of a local Village possibly giving refuge to the Brigands, they knew they might be heading straight into another trap. So they grabbed as many supplies as they could carry and moved on foot. Stopping to stow their supplies in the brush when they were getting close, just so they could fight without being weighed down.
Suffice it to say, they were genuinely shocked to see that the village was pretty normal. Lord Felix took back control of the situation when Ethel and Steppan were unsure of us still. But my mother's actions in helping the Noble bring the supplies they stowed helped to alleviate that as well.
Ethel sits herself up straight as she lets out a heavy sigh. "We were starting to ease up, but then we barged in on that meeting last night." She awkwardly smiles at Old Guard. "As you can guess, your inclusion put us right back on our guard. Especially after checking your level earlier this morning. Lord Felix does NOT like that you aren't on the village's census."
Thorpe drinks back the rest of the ale in his bottle before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Yes. I will have a conversation about that with him tonight. The last thing we need right now is for us to be suspicious of each other. Cause believe me, we have every reason to be concerned as well with how suddenly you lot showed up."
The [Knight] gives us an apologetic look. "Can't blame you there. And Lord Felix was perfectly content with keeping this village in the dark, unfortunately. But an old Spearhead Capt. is not someone that I can easily distrust."
The old man gives a wry smile. "It definitely has its uses, sometimes."
Ethel returns the smile, setting her teacup down after another light sip. Folding her plated arms over her chest as her serious expression returns. "Now...I've been honest. I think it's time you were, too." Her brows furrow at the two of us. "You said you have a good enough reason to be suspicious of us as well. And I am assuming it has to do with your run-in in the Ardennes?"
My chest feels like it's tightening up. Bent forward over the table with my head ducked low and nursing my cup of tea with frequent little sips. Sending a glance up towards Thorpe, who meets it with a nod. The old man reaches over to give my shoulder a gentle pat.
Old Guard returns his attention to Ethel as he leans forward as well, resting his elbows on the table and threading his hands together. "From the sounds of it, the people we ran into on our hunting trip were most definitely the same ones who hit the caravan from Alder. They had a wagon with them stocked with weapons, armor, and foodstuffs."
I nod along in agreement with Thorpe's thoughts and lift my head away from my tea to add in as well. "I heard a few of them mention attacking a caravan recently while we were tied up..."
Ethel immediately grimaces at my addition. "They captured you?"
Thorpe lets out a low hum. "Yes...We ran into them initially while being chased by a VERY persistent Kite. And they helped us kill it." He admits, chewing on his lip some. Likely not enjoying giving Dreyfus credit. "Their leader was a caster named Dreyfus. Had a Hascan [Beast Druid] as a bodyguard. But their whole group was just a little over a dozen, not including a [Cook] that Dreyfus had in servitude. I thought after killing the Kite we'd part ways and that'd be the end of it. But they followed us."
The [Knight's] eyes widen at that. "A [Mage] and a [Beast Druid] is a terrifying combination. But I can't help but hear the WAS part of that explanation. Are they no longer an issue?"
Old Guard gives her a rather dark look. "They won't be a problem..." He answers bluntly. "The Hascan ambushed us about 3-4 days southwest of here. He crippled Liore, but I managed to kill him." He explains, checking on me with a glance. "Unfortunately for us, 3 of his stealthier cohorts were waiting for me to drop my guard. Got poisoned...managed to kill one that got too cocky, but we passed out. Woke up in their camp, where I was tortured for a few hours until Liore woke up."
I take a deep breath, my heart already racing as the events flash through my mind again. My brain wants me to step outside, but I just can't let myself cower away from it. "I saved Dreyfus's life during the fight with the Kite. So he took a liking to me. Wanted to make me his new bodyguard or something...and...so he..." My lip quivers as my throat tightens up. The underside of my eye twitches. I try to speak more, but it feels like I've lost function in my mouth.
Thorpe's hand rests on my shoulder gently, giving me some much-needed support. "He forced her to kill me...some nonsense right-of-passage thing. If not for a wild gambit she pulled with the bottle of Healer's Draught I brought along, I'd be stone cold. But her quick thinking let me turn the tables on them."
Ethel can definitely tell I'm still struggling with it and is giving me a very sympathetic look. And I want to appreciate it, but I just can't help but feel mortified. I should feel good about what I did and about surviving it all. But that feeling just doesn't appear. Just more nauseating sadness at it all.
Thorpe squeezes my shoulder, continuing to hold on. "I killed most of them. Two others were done in by monsters. And Liore handled the last one." He states simply. "We couldn't salvage much from their camp that wouldn't slow us down, but I at least grabbed a few things. More importantly, we brought their [Cook] with us. So I can introduce you to him later. I am sure he has a lot more information you can use."
Ethel doesn't look relieved by any of that, unfortunately. Her brows are thoroughly pinched inward. "I would appreciate that. I hadn't expected to get such a solid source." She admits, before her frown deepens. "But that isn't everything, is it? Because killing rituals and subservice don't sound like any disgruntled mercenaries I've ever heard of, Mr. Thorpe."
Old Guard simply nods at her. "You are right. Because they weren't." He responds, matching her gaze fully. "And that is where I unfortunately have to complicate things for your investigation."
The [Knight's] face twists into a grimace, appearing almost ill. "So I was right..."