Knave

  Name: Ved Kith (AKA Kirit)  |  Class: Fighter 5  AC: 16+1| HP: 60/60 | Hit dice: 4/4d10  SR Abilities: SDice: 1/4d8  1/1d6 | Action surge 1/1 | 2nd Wind 1/1 LR Abilities: Luck 2/2     Attacks Extra attack, and off-hand attack Rapier +6 1d8+3 Light crossbow 80/320 +6 1d6+3 | Saves Str +3 | Dex +3 | Con +4 | Wis +1 | Int -1 | Cha +0; | Maneuvers Precision attack | Menacing attack | Trip attack | Parry | Riposte | DC 13; Ved nods in silent appreciation of the departure of the solo scouting party. It was times like this that he was glad he never learned to be quiet. The sneaky ones get all the dangerous jobs.

A few days later... The Society is gathered for its weekly meeting in the private back room of the Eagle and Child, complete with display of significant weaponry, boards of former members, and occult histories of the region. The corner bar is stocked well, if not extravagantly. Alice is present, but she doesn't seem inclined to take the lead or direct proceedings. She turns the pages of an old book idly, glancing every so often at the wards on the door- and window-frames, as though checking they are still there.

Heather Nonameyet  AC: 14 | HP: 19/19 | Hit dice: 2/2d10 LR Abilities:  Taunt: 2/2 | Fearless 1/1 | 1st Level 2/2 AttacksShortbow 80/320 +7 1d6+3 P || Handaxe 20/60 +5 1d6+3 S || Hoopak (sling) 40/160 +7 1d4+3 B || Hoopak (spear) +5 1d6+3 P; | SavesStr +1 | Dex +5 | Con +1 | Wis +3 Adv vs Fear | Int +1 | Cha -1; | Spells+5 attack, DC13 Hunter's Mark; Ensnaring Strike | Sheet As the time approaches, Heather finds a high point with good cover of the approaches to town, and good concealment. With a bit of luck, she'll have the first warning of any attack. With a lot of luck, she might be able to send some arrows at them.

  Name: Ved Kith (AKA Kirit)  |  Class: Fighter 5  AC: 16+1| HP: 60/60 | Hit dice: 4/4d10  SR Abilities: SDice: 1/4d8  1/1d6 | Action surge 1/1 | 2nd Wind 1/1 LR Abilities: Luck 2/2     Attacks Extra attack, and off-hand attack Rapier +6 1d8+3 Light crossbow 80/320 +6 1d6+3 | Saves Str +3 | Dex +3 | Con +4 | Wis +1 | Int -1 | Cha +0; | Maneuvers Precision attack | Menacing attack | Trip attack | Parry | Riposte | DC 13;   "Alright, let's see if we can't finish this job today" Ved doesn't rush in, and the swords aren't drawn yet. He advances carefully, crossbow raised. Two bolts fly in quick succession, but the light crossbow isn't powerful enough to cause much of a dent.   OOC: Move 30 feet West

I wasn't able to move my token, will try from my laptop later

It's not too hard to find a linguistics expert in these parts, and for Sophie it's a simple matter to convince one of them, a Dr Christopher Friend, to take an interest in her little puzzle. He listens to the words as she repeats them a few times, then gives his opinion. What is being concealed here? "Definitely a Scandinavian language. Maybe Norwegian or Icelandic? But not quite. Old Norse? Kirkju is church. Gamli is an old thing or old person. Hm He consults a couple of books, and then Google Translate. "The author or speaker seems to be addressing an "old one", and enquiring why they align or ally themselves with the churchmen. And then they make a demand for service, or obedience possibly. It's an unusual dialect if it's Icelandic." What was it going to do? Sophie remembers the compulsion that she felt in The Dream, and feeling the same feeling when she probed Sigurður's emotions. The creature was trying to make her into a thrall, or at least put her to some use. Fortunately, she was protected by not understanding the command when it was given in Old Norse. Sigurður, an Icelandian, wasn't so lucky. He is being controlled, at least partially, by this creature.  

Hal gets two things that day: a reputation among the Jesus ladies as an excellent masseur, and a growing realisation that his visions had not just been for show. They had given him something; changed him in some way. He's not just a kid that inherited a weird family business. He himself has been made weird through it, pushed into strangeness. It's not just what he does anymore; it's what he is now too.

  Name: Ved Kith (AKA Kirit)  |  Class: Fighter 5  AC: 16+1| HP: 60/60 | Hit dice: 4/4d10  SR Abilities: SDice: 1/4d8  1/1d6 | Action surge 1/1 | 2nd Wind 1/1 LR Abilities: Luck 2/2     Attacks Extra attack, and off-hand attack Rapier +6 1d8+3 Light crossbow 80/320 +6 1d6+3 | Saves Str +3 | Dex +3 | Con +4 | Wis +1 | Int -1 | Cha +0; | Maneuvers Precision attack | Menacing attack | Trip attack | Parry | Riposte | DC 13;   "Yeh light me up magic man. I'm no use in the dark." Ved grunts at Aaliyah's quip. "I probably got brothers and sisters all over the place, Ved cut quite a path through the continent back before he retired. That's why I only chase blondes, redheads and non-humans."  

i don't have much in the way of range, but I can go wherever

They'll do it, if... For a moment, Sophie thinks her ploy has failed. The kitchenette seems the same as always. But then the shadows begin to grow longer, defying the light to reach out and spread across the ceiling and wall. The room becomes black. The air becomes cold; cold enough that she sees her breath. Sophie feels rather than sees the monster appear behind her, seemingly from no where. When it speaks, she can tell its mouth is right beside her ear. The voice is deep and resonant, and freighted with coercion and compulsion. Sophie feels sure that if she understood the words, she would be hard put to find the willpower to disobey. Fortunately, the language is unfamiliar to her, she hears meaningless sounds: He-vi thoner thu thessun kirk jumon num, gamli? Clearly a question of some sort. Thona meer nu na. Vertu myn. The forcefulness of this obvious command is claustrophobic, even though she can't understand or obey. The monster vanishes from the Dream. For now.  

Annika reads, and reads, and reads. She learns a lot that she didn't know about magic, and she reads a lot about monsters. The problem is that this Barrowwight lord, this draugr, whoever they are, isn't possessed as such. They are in their own body, even though it is dead, and as such are tied by many tethers to it, much as a living person is. She is forced to turn to some of David's collection, more obscure works. Finally, she finds something. To pull a soul from its own dead body is a specific process, with very specific requirements: First, the body must be near the placed where it died. Second, the body must be physically held in place. Third, it requires two people to use magic from opposite sides of the body: one to push the spirit and one to pull at it. If all this can be accomplished, the spirit will move on as in a normal death, and the body will become an inanimate corpse.

  Name: Ved Kith (AKA Kirit)  |  Class: Fighter 5  AC: 16+1| HP: 60/60 | Hit dice: 4/4d10  SR Abilities: SDice: 1/4d8  1/1d6 | Action surge 1/1 | 2nd Wind 1/1 LR Abilities: Luck 2/2     Attacks Extra attack, and off-hand attack Rapier +6 1d8+3 Light crossbow 80/320 +6 1d6+3 | Saves Str +3 | Dex +3 | Con +4 | Wis +1 | Int -1 | Cha +0; | Maneuvers Precision attack | Menacing attack | Trip attack | Parry | Riposte | DC 13; Ved trails along behind the group, bleary-eyed and extremely hungover. Maybe a little drunk still too, who knows. His eyes, skin and scars have the look of a man who's had a rough life, and spent a lot of time outside. His clothes are patched and stained. But his armour and weapons wouldn't look out of place on any parade ground in this part of the world His hands go to his hilts, belatedly, as the newcomer speaks. Ved looks him up and down. "Yeh that seems about right. He fits right in. Another total weirdo. This is about vengeance for you huh? Not gold?"

Things go to hell Keeper Hard Move: turn their move back on them The sleep lab is part of Sophie"s department, so it's easy enough to get access and have a look around. She finds the used equipment without much effort either. Only a few hairs remain attached here and there. She pulls each strand loose with care, and bundles them together, then texts Annika to come over after lectures. When she meets the budding witch though, she's disappointed. The few wisps of hair aren't enough of a token for Annika to use as a focus for her magic: she needs a full lock of hair for it to work as a token. Of course, not everyone is so limited. That night, when Sophie sleeps, she dreams as always. The dreamscape is a forest once more, and she sets off in search of Sophia. But she can't find her. The child must be hiding somewhere. Sophie presses on, deeper into the trees. The woods now are no cheery picnic spot, but a dark mass of clutching branches. She hears the sounds of a child crying softly, as though trying not to be heard. Slowly, Sophie approaches the noise, when a twig cracks behind her. She whips around just in time to see a gaunt, skeletal figure passing through a gap in the undergrowth. It burns with a black flame, and disappears into the trees. OOC: Take -1 ongoing while your dreams are stalked by this figure and Sophia runs and hides.  

Heather Nonameyet  AC: 14 | HP: 19/19 | Hit dice: 2/2d10 LR Abilities:  Taunt: 2/2 | Fearless 1/1 | 1st Level 2/2 AttacksShortbow 80/320 +7 1d6+3 P || Handaxe 20/60 +5 1d6+3 S || Hoopak (sling) 40/160 +7 1d4+3 B || Hoopak (spear) +5 1d6+3 P; | SavesStr +1 | Dex +5 | Con +1 | Wis +3 Adv vs Fear | Int +1 | Cha -1; | Spells+5 attack, DC13 Hunter's Mark; Ensnaring Strike | Sheet Having taken advice from those present, Heather heads out into the night again, following game trails across the short distance. When she arrives at the ravine, she waits an hour to make sure no lookouts, scouts or patrols come near. She works quietly, setting her traps. The first is a line of thin wire, stretched across the path at the right height to hobble a cantering horse. The next is neck-high to a horse rider. She continues, varying the height and the gaps. Enough to slow them down a little maybe, give them pause for thought as they approach.

What happened here? David digs into his records, and makes a few discreet enquiries with contacts around the city. Mr and Professor Andrews led quiet and unassuming lives: he was a partner in a London actuarial practice, she was a Professor of Economics, with a research focus on Development Economies. They had two grown-up sons, one studying at the University of Edinburgh, the other working in Australia. They were walking back from a late dinner party at a friend's house when they were killed. The police assumed it was a hit and run, because of the violence of the injuries, but its now clear that a Barrowwight ambushed them and beat them to death. They were buried one atop the other in Mr Andrew's family plot, some of the last spaces remaining in St Sepulchre's Cemetery. It seems that they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.