Freaks & Facades - Session Five: Consequences of Bravery

    Greetings, our fans both foul and fair!  

    Welcome back to Freaks & Facades!  To Session Five: Consequences of Bravery!  

    During the previous session, our beloved Freaks decided to intervene in the attempted murder of the mischievous vigilante, Night's Vengeance!

    Powers were revealed, conspiracies were unearthed and the night ended on disagreement (and fear at having revealed one's truer self).  Our friendly-ish Freaks went to bed disheartened...  

    For Campanula has a dark kingpin, willing to destroy entire lives and households...  

    And our group of new strangers has intervened in their dark machinations...  

    Can they truly work together to unmask this corrupt conspiracy, or will they continue to not meet eye to eye?

   Come along with us, at the dawning of a new day, to see our group wake to see what rippled out from their actions!  

Warning: this is a horror campaign setting, so bear that in mind before reading.  Possible triggers include: mentions of violence and death, riots/protests being broken up violently, muscle body horror, mentions of murder/mutilation, animal death, blood, bone manipulation/skeletal body horror, etc.

*starts projector*

• Our group slowly wakes up after such an exhilarating night, in the forests of Campanula--far north in the seductive and insidious realm of Dementlieu...
• Pryrrish is the first to wake up, as an elf her people meditate through visions rather than sleep.  For years now, even so far from the land she knows, the Tome hasn't let her have a rest without shadows dancing through her mind...
• Fenri is next to rise, with the dawn, to pray to her god (however distant he may be to her now).  The sun above is still warm and bright amid the autumn foliage.  But the gap is still there...
• Channa luckily was able to get some sleep; her dreams were strange and hinted at violence after the night she had.  Her earth familiar, Iggy, has been acting strange since last night.  She realizes it had stared oddly at the corpses that had fallen in battle...  And that some bloodstains have dried upon his rocky body...  
• Solange dreads waking up.  She isn't used to being awake and aware during the day.  As a Moonlit Watchman of St. Leonburg's Cemetery, her last shift (possibly her final one) was on the night rotation.  
• And as for Schrödinger--as a noble-born Lamordian, he dislikes waking up early and on the hard, cold ground.  He misses his feather bed at his parents' castle in the mountains.  And he wonders how to get a message to them after his ordeal in Ludendorf...
• As the group packs up the camp, they plan to return to Campanula--to check in on their new acquaintance Vincente Quint, who is actually the masked rapscallion Night's Vengeance.  His vigilante persona has a target on his back, and a massacre now framed upon him; and the group collectively (if some begrudgingly) believe they should stay to see what occurs in Campanula.
• Schrödinger and Fenri give one another a wide berth...  She is still hesitant to be anywhere near him, unsure of what he is.  But, secretly, she's also afraid of hurting him--her healing gift has never caused pain to another before.
• The group takes their new wagon back into the village of Campanula.  It's plain to see that the town's people are now very worried about something.  Children aren't playing in the streets today, and doors and windows throughout town are shut up.  A crowd is heard in the town square, waiting outside the town hall for the Magistrate's announcement.
• Vincente the stableman--and Night's Vengeance by night--is at the nearby town stables, and the party finds him worried about the news.  The people of Campanula have heard rumors about a massacre occurring during the night!  
• From out of the town hall, the Magistrate presents himself to the crowd.  With a heavy heart he reveals that yes, it was Night's Vengeance that massacred the good Bonmot family during the night!  Killing both Monsieur and Madame Bonmot, their three adopted children, and a widowed friend that was living with them.  There were no survivors.  And evidence has "proven" that the masked vigilante is responsible.
• As the crowd begins to murmur, doubt upon Night's Vengeance's motivations growing, Vincente is scared that his attempts to disrupt the status quo has cost good people their lives...  If he continues as Night's Vengeance, will others pay the price?  
• He's not sure what evidence was planted to frame his alter ego, but apparently some people did notice the chase last night...  Quite obvious with the Flying Wolves hooting and hollering on horseback behind the fleeing vigilante.
• Seeing this cover-up being fed to the good people of Campanula, Fenri slips away from the group!  She is determined to tell these people the truth of who ordered the death of their friends and neighbors!  
• She finds a place to stand beside the square's communal fountain.  It takes a moment for anyone else in the party to notice the halfling has wandered off.  Only upon hearing her voice do any of the Freaks suddenly realize what she's up to!  (This is the first sign of Fenri's growing chaos gremlin energy...)
• Determined to tell the good people the truth, Fenri gathers up her courage and begins to proclaim the real truth!  She defies the Magistrate's cover-up, and outright reveals it was the Flying Wolves that committed the massacre.  They were paid to do so by Baron Montagne!  He is truly to blame, and the Magistrate probably knows all about it!
• Schrödinger slips around the crowd and attempts to quell Fenri's proclamation--fearing the repercussions of such inflamed rhetoric spreading.  And though it was trustworthy, the group is without any concrete evidence of these claims; aside from the words of a dead woman...  But though he tries to pick her up and carry her off before she goes too far, Fenri resists him and continues to proclaim the truth as she knows it!!
• Her words are extremely impactful upon the crowd; all listen to the little halfling's proclamation, and their passions are inflamed!  This cannot stand in the eyes of the people of Campanula!  The injustice of it all!
• So the peasantry of Campanula begin to riot!  Oops!
• The rioting crowd grab anything they can get their hands on, and begin to rise as one!  Towards the town hall!
• The Magistrate flees and shuts himself inside with his clerks and guards, terrified of the angry peasants!  With a collective effort, the mob tears off a support beam of the town hall's porch and turns it into a makeshift battering ram!
• Bam!  Bam!  Bam!  Justice for House Bonmot!
• Everyone is shocked by this turn of events!  Vincente is frozen to the spot; as a native to Dementlieu and a vigilante dissenter of the gentry's rule he should not be surprised why such words would cause this reaction.  Especially from such a charismatic halfling with an aura of goodness surrounding her!  
• Solange and Pryrrish hide in the shadows of the town stables; not wanting to draw attention to themselves. 
• Channa rushes over to Fenri and Schrödinger  Both the halfling and lordling are seeing this riot with complete surprise!
• What has Fenri done?!  People are going to get hurt!
• Hoping to stop this madness from escalating, Fenri rushes from the fountain and into the mob!  She prays to Pelor for his divine strength to inhabit her, just as she did when she attempted to escape the burning tavern back in Greyhawk...
• However, something goes awry with the divine inhabitation of strength!  Her arms suddenly grow to an enormously bulky and lengthier size--muscles twitching and spasming, hands grossly out of proportion!  This is not how the divine strength of Pelor has inhabited her before!  Is this a consequence of the spiritual distance to her god in this new, mad land?  
• Still, despite the sudden change in her physical body, Fenri pushes her way through the mob!  She is kicked and pushed around a bit, but she makes her way to the front!  Against an entire squad of the rioters, the malformed but incredibly strong halfling wrests the battering ram from the mob's hands and holds it above her head!  She demands the people listen to her and stop their rioting!  A few up front do pause at the sight of the halfling priestess, if only for a moment...
• With this mob beating upon the town hall, it doesn't take long for the Magistrate's response!  As soon as Fenri starts to quell the riot, the group hears his anxious yells from within the town hall: he wants the guards to fire upon the mob!  And so they begin to do!
• The mob of townsfolk begin to panic as musket fire rains down upon them!  Fenri is horrified at such a scene unfolding!  
• Schrödinger rushes along the crowd's outskirts to catch up to Fenri!  He calls to the guards at the hall's upper windows, demanding they stop firing--he beseeches their better natures!  If the Magistrate wants musket fire then fine, but the guards should instead fire into the sky!  Not upon their friends and neighbors!  Luckily, they take his advice without hesitation, though the sounds still cause the riot to break apart like a swarm of rats!
• Approaching reinforcements are soon be heard, and Schrödinger successfully scoops up Fenri!  They flee down a sides street, away from the sounds of panicking peasants!  Channa, Pryrrish and Solange join them.  Vincente is left alone to witness the riot's consequences, the ripple effect of all his vigilantism, and hides back within the town stables!
• The group ends up near the town's southern wall, in a small alley with a snoring drunk nearby.  Everyone chews out Fenri for her rash decision and the consequences thereof!  She is determined she did the right thing; but the crowd's reaction was totally unplanned in her mind.  
• Solange, as a Dementlieu native, reveals that tensions between the nobility and peasantry have always been high...
• There have even been several nationwide anarchies within the Dementlieu's past, though Solange doesn't really know much about any that happened before the Anarchy of 707 BC, before the appearance and attempted invasion of the nation of Falkovnia.
• A stifled cough startles the group!  Standing nearby, having gone unnoticed entirely, is a man in servant's livery.  Deep blue with white lining; a noble's sigil upon his chest stands.  He holds a blue envelope in his gloved hands for a Lord Schrödinger... 
• The sigil is of a black mountain and a howling black dog before it.  The same sigil Lord Isaac and his father Baron Montagne wore on their clothing the day before!
• Schrödinger takes the letter.  It is from Baron Montagne...  It is an invitation for him and any of his companions to afternoon tea with the man himself!  
• He must have learned of Schrödinger's noble title through the Magistrate, after the currency exchange arrangements the previous day.  
• Clearly the letter was written that morning--never anticipating the riot that just occurred...
• The servant departs once the letter is delivered...
• The group is puzzled and unsure if they should go.  
• On one hand, Baron Montagne might be a villain who demanded the deaths of an entire household.  
• On the other, they have no hard evidence other than the word of the post-alive Falconeater.  
• And, the Lamordian social etiquette kicking in, Schrödinger says it would be insulting to refuse!  
• But first they have to get out of Campanula while the guards are  on high alert!  People will be looking for Fenri especially, as the de facto instigator of the riot!
• Making their way through the town, with guards searching the streets for rioters, the group somehow makes their way to a secondhand clothing store.  Everything inside is at least two to three years out of fashion for Dementlieu...  Though tempted by an ugly mint and emerald green coat-dress, Fenri decides to purchase a headscarf and a simpler overlay gown, hiding her curly hair and appearing as an entirely different halfling.  
• Schrödinger also decides to acquire some clothes as well; in the Dementlieuse style, for the tea party to come.   Plus he abandoned most of his luggage at the inn in Ludendorf...
• With Fenri's sunny disposition and boundless curly hair hidden, the group is able to get to their wagon and slip out of the town.  They trek through the roads west of Campanula, where the nobility live on large forested estates.  However, they have some time before they are expected...
• Our band of beloved Freaks decide to investigate the Bonmot estate!  They can gather any clues and evidence to prove Night's Vengeance is being framed!
• The Bonmot family land is mostly small paddocks, outbuildings and meadows, with a large but simple farmhouse at the center.  However, the signs of the massacre are terribly, terribly obvious as they approach!  
• There are corpses left and right outside the front door, where they were destroyed by blades and hooves!  There are no signs of life, apart from simple forest creatures and a single town guard, approaching the group's wagon.
• The lone town guard orders the group to depart!  This is an active crime scene.  Though his compatriots have been called away to quell some riot happening in town, he is determined to keep the scene secure.  And without a writ of permission from the Magistrate he will not be tempted to let the group investigate.
• Apparently, an investigator has been called from the city (Port-a-Lucine) and nothing should be disturbed!  
• That will take days for them to arrive; leaving plenty of time for someone like the Baron to further plant or discard evidence!
• So the group decides to investigate without the guard noticing!  Solange will keep an eye on the guard from the forest surrounding the house, while Fenri and Schrödinger sneak in through the back!  The rest will stay with the wagon just out of sight, in case the group needs a quick getaway.
• Fenri sneaks carefully through the back sheep paddock, stifling her fear at seeing even the animals were killed!  
• Schrödinger takes a slightly different approach.  He assumes his full skeletal armor form. If he's spotted the guard will think he's a monster, and not the redheaded nobleman he spoke with.  
• Fenri is very uncomfortable with Schrödinger's appearance, so the two split up within the house.
• The farmhouse is in complete shambles.  People were riding warhorses throughout the halls and rooms, and many of the bodies were killed with bladed weapons.  Bulky boot prints are obvious on the bloodstained floor.  The Flying Wolves were definitely here.
• Night's Vengeance rides his black stallion, a lighter racing mount.  And he wields a rapier!  His mount and weapons could not have done such damage!  And there are no marks of his small riding boots in the marks upon the floor.
• Someone has painted "Night Has Come" upon the walls with the victims' blood.  Garish and very obviously planted.
• A rapier has been stuck into the dining table of the house; as if to link Night's Vengeance to the crime scene.  But upon further inspection the weapon was stuck in a hole dug out with an actual sword...  
• Fenri becomes overwhelmed with the sights of the Bonmot children, and what they suffered through.  Meanwhile, Schrödinger has compiled extensive notes of the crime scene, and realizes secretly that the Bonmots were only posing as a traditional family--they had their secrets... 
• The guard outside eventually notices movement in the house, and attempts to investigate.  Quickly, Solange signals to the group inside, and uses her disguising veils to appear as a random woman she saw from the village.  She lures the guard away, confusing them, while her investigating companions sneak out the front door.
• Channa and Pryrrish meet the three and drive off!  The investigation team reveals all they came across; if the evidence is brought up in an official inquiry it will certainly exonerate Night's Vengeance of the crime.
• Any investigator worth their salt would have to recognize such evidence of a cover-up! 
• Feeling confident, and Schrödinger and Fenri feeling some form of pleasant camaraderie having worked together, the group decides it is time to take tea with the Baron.  
• Through the winding, western roads they wander, until they come across the drive to the Montagne estate.  The group notices a great many dogs lurking among the carefully planted trees along the drive
• With her swirling eyes, however, Pryrrish realizes that most of them are just stone statues...   
• The Montagne estate is a large house that reminds the group more of a hunting lodge than a palatial manor.  It seems the Baron has no taste for the other gentry's near-palatial aesthetics...  
• Fenri dons her disguise, and the group has their wagon taken by the Baron's stable servants.  Several guards with muskets stand at the ready outside the house.  
• There are about five fancy carriages parked around the stables, each with its own set of liveried servants.  How many of Campanula's elite are here for tea?
• Schrödinger presents his invitation, and our group is led into the Montagne manor.
• To speak with a man that ordered the death of multiple, innocent people...  Including children...  

    

    What business does the mysterious Baron want with our group of beloved Freaks?

    Can they hide the truths they uncovered from him?  

    Find out next time on Freaks &Facades!!

    Session Six: Teatime at House Montagne! 

Thank you for reading!

Love,

 Aboleth Eye