Piedamonte Hooks

Whodunnit?
Leu Septime Rivet, "Bebe" of Cartel Cachot, is dead, presumed poisoned.

Septime was Mam Itria LeLouche's lover. Mam Itria and her husband Sieu Giuliu LeLouche are holed up in a townhouse in Vieillard - Itria has lost some of her privileges and can no longer keep quarters in the Wedge. She will be struggling to look after her menagerie of wildcats. Dedalera has headed straight to her side in support.

Other people visiting Mam Itria:


 * Gemma the "spec ops" probability mage (also an agent for one of the High Dragons)
 * Aelaf Elson, Albion diplomat, adventurer and sexual polymath (his own titles)
 * Fioca will turn up
 * Marcus and Seianthi are in town, staying in Seianthi's yurt in the slums.

Also in town: DomNa Pepito de Carros y Aequi and Dona Unata de Carros y Aequi - THEY ELOPED! They're here to avoid scandal down south in Cimmaron until everyone in Cartel Cimmaron gets over themselves. Apparently the family mage Sabio Francisco de la Plata was NOT pleased and is having a massive magical sulk.

Successors
Maistre Athos D'Arcourt (esquire), son of Sieu Jimy D'Arcourt (big landowner, current Papa of Cartel Cachot). Pale, scholarly, in his early 20s. Athos likes to match his blacks - and he seems far more interested in magic and travel than in farming.

Mamselle Felicienne Castile, daughter of Sieu Damon Castile (owner of the orphanages and elves-only club). She's mates with Fioca and shows alarming signs of idealism.

Marcus Neandros, Moonfire of the Pines - bit of a dark horse contender but Seianthi will want to shoot her shot and sponsor the lad.

Political nonsense
Vestfal has sent not one but three couriers, each under a flag of truce and each delivering a different message. Each candidate for Bebe has a chance to align themself politically depending on how they respond to the offers/threats coming from Vestfal. They can earn support or enmity depending on their choices - as well as reap some commercial gains to help them in their 'electoral' campaign. Many members of the Cartel are bribeable: some are afraid of hostilities over the border, some profit from them, some of them are nationalistic or fervently religious - some not.

Courier One: Pumpernickel (Two), a fat little human of carefully androgynous appearance, dressed in understated but expensive navy blue, representing the Vestfalian Friendship League. They present themselves as moderates, and would like to broker some formal peace talks set in Piedamonte. However, they do seem a little toothless and bureaucratic (slight EEC vibes). They talk a big talk and present themselves as the true ruling power - but a clever Yiuri may be able to discern the limits of their true power. The Friendship League blames recent military action and "unapproved troop movements near the Ladinh border" on a group called the Broederbund - an interventionist faction of military expansionists. The Friendship League appears to be based a long way from the border, off on the West coast of the continent, they claim they only just heard of the trouble in Lago.

Courier Two: Gwafa (M), a Yazid dwarf - possibly the first Yiuri's ever seen in person. Gwafa has a deeply tanned and striking face with three fine horizontal lines tattooed across his aquiline nose and cheeks. His hair is cropped close, and he is shivering terribly despite wearing a lot of layers and a rabbit fur hood. Gwafa represents the Federalists - actually several different cultural groups who want more autonomy and cultural rights within Vestfal. Gwafa presents a scroll signed by several local leaders. Tamerlan, the current Yagthai Khan of the Iberiyan nomads, has brushed gold leaf, magic and blood across his mighty thumbprint in the top corner. The Ros chieftains Ragnvaldr and Ingifastr have printed their names in careful capitals, right next to each other so none can claim precedence. Yiurii can also recognise three rune seals down the bottom, where dwarves tend to sign contracts: one is an Y'd family - an offshoot of the powerful Cohen priesthood, with a three-stave signet - and two demoted Gopnik families have made their signs: the Kusnetzov anvil and the Solokov falcon. This could be a powerful and well-armed alliance, assuming it could hold.

Courier Three: Thania (F), a Vestfalian goblin, representing The Sons of Remus. It's a cult for people who hate cults... an anti-cult? Thania is kitted out in maroon wool robes with hints of gold at the cuffs, and the emblem of a setting sun on the lower hem. She delivers a manifesto penned by "the prophet Aldus" for "all the tribes of kin who have been slighted by unjust divinity" - promising liberation from the influence of "so-called gods or mighty tricksters". It appears that the Sons of Remus have accepted renegade elves and the odd dwarf into their ranks, and found a cosy home in atheist Vestfal. Seianthi may have more detail for the party on the myth of Remus. Thania is super keen to use Delemont's Giant-constructed citadel and fey-infused location as a "cleansing site" where anyone who is in an unwilling deal with god or demon can become free again.

Can Septime come back?
It's a real possibility - they were most likely poisoned rather than, say, stabbed so that the murderer can't be identified if Spetime goes to ground and comes back sentient.

Who's our actual cuplrit?
Auguste Rivet - Septime's own cousin - did what he did best and paid someone to get Septime out of the way, to clear a path for Damon Castile to puppet his daughter Felicienne into power. Rivet knew the Vestfalian moderates were going to reach out, and he wanted to corner a trade deal.

Rivet is a booze magnate and Castile runs at least one exclusive club - a likely setting for them to make a business connection. Rivet has no child of his own and wouldn't be an obvious suspect. Felicienne has no idea about any of this skulduggery and would absolutely work to expose her father if the party - and Fioca - can prove there's grounds for suspicion.

investigating poisons and concoctions
A druid or a dedicated alcoholic could conjecture that a toxic tincture could be cooked up in a distillery. Teucer the blue-on-blue-eyed potion goblin will take a "hands-on" approach to analysing the poison by microdosing it. To get proof, the party could break into the distillery and look for suspicious ingredients or alchemical traces - Teucer can make up "flypaper" which is like a litmus test for the particular reagent.

follow the money
Given Septime might be back to testify, one assumes a third party dunnit. That means someone got them to do it. Bribes or a contract assassination seem like a strong option. It happens to be a bit of both, as it turns out. Roquette will know the poisoner from her jaunt through the Wedge's kitchens with Santiago and Constanza. A kitchen hand, Amelie, did the actual slipping of the brew into Septime's hangover cure. She's a nice kid and terribly guilty about the whole thing. She thought that her boss, Maman (Mam Dora Edilia) was behind it all: Amelie was acting on the orders of the sous-chef, Leo and had no idea exactly what she was putting in Septime's drink. Leo smuggled the poison in via the regular spice shipment to the Wedge. He decided off his own bat to 'subcontract' the dirty work to Amelie but he was meant to do the deed. He's a heavy drinker with gaming debts and a huge bar tab - like so many hospo workers - and used to hit up the back door of Le Perroquet Vert on "slow days" with his hospo pals. That's where he got recruited by Castile's lackey Amado Santiago (Two), lured by a nice fat fiscal promise and the chance to fuck with Septime (Leo's kind of a sexist and racist hog). Amado themselves had been promised full control of Le Perroquet Vert once the Castile family took their destined seat up in the Wedge.

strange movements
The party could investigate various seedy corners of Piedamonte and work out if any of the local nobles were seen in places they shouldn't be seen. And what about Septime? Where did he get drunk? Their road might have some false turns into scandalous sex farce, but eventually they'll trace steps back to Castile's elves-only club, Le Perroquet Vert. Getting in there may require some pointy ear disguises, or a trip to Le Fabuleux for some heavy glamours. Ozile Neanmoins is still in Itria's pay - while her savings last - and can help with some snooping and disguising.

The Lost Boys
The party receives a message while at Delemont, via orange crow, from Les Pyramides. It's written in dwarvish. The sender is Elena (F), a Gopnik who lives in Les Pyramides and works in Les Parrains - she has stolen a piece of old scroll parchment to write the message.

Three Gopnik youths, Masha, Vanya and Vasily are stuck inside some Desh ruins north of Piedamonte. They went in there as a coming-of-age trial - it's common for teenagers to go into caves or abandoned buildings, find some sort of treasure and bring it back as proof of bravery. They were fairly well prepared and brought food and water with them, as well as whatever protection they could find. Elena begs you to find out if they are still alive, and to rescue them if possible.

The House of the Faun
The Deshi house isn't too unusual for this part of town - outwardly, it looks like a smaller version of the pyramid structures that the Gopniki often scavenge or use for housing. The House of the Faun is a bit further north from the other structures and hasn't been quite as thoroughly looted. A huge tree, with purple spring blossoms, is growing up from one corner of the square pyramid. The outside is overgrown but the party should be able to find an entranceway eventually.

The top floor is fairly well lit, in part because there are holes in the ceiling, as well as the usual big skylight in the middle of the dwelling. Many surfaces are overgrown or slippery. Searching here reveals a room with three crude sleeping mats and a camping stove, presumably used by the Gopniki explorers. There is also a large nest of aggressive rollbugs in the root base of the tree - they are armoured and good at grappling with intruders, and have a nasty bite.

Amid the traces of teenage exploring and the remains of a drunken bum who came in here to die (and who might have a little treasure on him - a little lapis elephant amulet), a careful investigator might see traces that someone else has been this way - someone prepared, thorough and not a dwarf.

The underfloors
A handsome staircase flanked by statues of Desh poets and warriors leads down to the second floor. Only the areas round the skylight are lit. Great cascades of vines with blue, star-like flowers sprawl down into the darkness - the central shaft extends down into blackness. There's no obvious stairway further down from here.

This floor has some opulent detail, quite water damaged in places, including some erotic statuary of Deshi courtiers copulating, and a dancing faun-like creature holding hands with a monkey. There are also carved reliefs featuring mammoths and in one side room, a faintly luminous fresco of what looks like an old star map - though not all the stars are perfectly aligned, some seem to have been painted deliberately out of position. The moon is also whole in this fresco.

If the party is unlucky, the floor will give way underneath them. If they are lucky, they will realise that the Gopniki kids fell to the basement and probably have no way out... but the party can lower a rope. If the party falls down with no rope, they may be able to find a water channel that flows out of the basement and south to the underfloors of the big Gopnik temple in Les Pyramides. Non Gopniki aren't exactly welcome there...

Massimo - elven explorer from Lago, older gent, went looking for "archaeological" purposes.

The kids
Masha is a big dumb ox of a boy. He's the one that got them into trouble

Vanya has a nasty broken ankle and is feverish. He's the brains of the outfit. He found a little glowstone which is the group's only source of light - all their torches and lamps went out a while ago.

Vasily is actually Vasilisa (F) and has had the most success at mapping out the tunnels down in the basement. She has also managed to come across a very interesting looking relic - a carved stick, which she has used as a splint to stabilise Vanya's ankle.

The Big Fight
The Torno kicks off the Spring War season and is held on the first week of Spring in Piedamonte. It's a chance for people from different factions and adjoining cities to show off their prowess in martial arts and sports, before everyone officially goes off to war.

Your party is asked to participate for a few reasons. Firstly, there is a cash prize for most contests, which would help you establish and repair Delemont. Secondly, the Torno is a good way for your group to establish themselves professionally as something more worthy than the common adventuring rabble. But lastly and most importantly: it's a rare last chance to check out the agendas of some key factions before everyone starts openly fighting. You might even be able to persuade some factions to change plans, or form short lived alliances, under the cover of the Torno.

The tournament has several rounds. You have to take part on Day One or Two to enter in subsequent events.

The Days
Day One, The Proving. This a sort of all-in array of team battles involving feats of acrobatics and strength on an obstacle course. Teams of up to 6 compete, with a mix of in-ring and out-of-ring teamsters. Healers, diviners and other supporters play a big role. There's an unofficial bardic magic contest that night

Day Two, La Chasse. This is a cross country event, with elements of orienteering, hunting, ambush and survival. It's held in Foret Barbare and watched by umpires from different magical schools and factions. La Chasse is presented as a mini quest, with checkpoints to find in the woods, foes to overcome and various amulets to fetch back.

Day Three, The Joust and Wresting

Day Four, Target Shooting (this year, firearms are being tried out for the first time!) and the Inventor Expo

Day Five, Savate and Fencing

Day Six, Mage Duels and Wassail

Day Seven, Ritual of Peaceful Parting - after this, war season is open

Day One
This serves as an introduction to each faction's team composition, a few notable faces and their overall tactics.

The course involves navigating obstacles and moving terrain elements to burst or capture pinata like targets. Teams earn more points for bringing back their targets intact than for destroying them.

The Houses:

Venere livery is very colourful and the contestants are here to party. Exotic faces include Sarah Shamor the Y'd wrestler, and Semira, a bard and tracker from Meli (one of Venere's colonies). Lenzo uses ranged skills to take out a target by severing the string on which it hangs, and Ignazio catches it safely.

Otranto is dressed in black with a black snake pattern. Notable competitors include Clodoveo and Laerzio, brothers and members of the House's ruling family, who are incredibly charismatic and fun. Pomeranius, the corpselike family consigliere, is there creeping everyone out.

Pontevecchio play it very fair and honourable, but their bodyguards look super rough and seedy. Leilani, the Ningalu prize fighter, impresses on the obstacle courses.

Speranza have some hired mercs, including an Iberiyan called Tamaz who is quite limber and adept on the course, and a Janjarri called Aelaf Elson. The stars are their mages who are here for the mage duels. The mages mostly buff the athletic competitors and don't try to take out the targets, which backfires.

The Cartels:

Cachot is the party but also Kyrill the Colossus, whose strategy involves physically breaking the machinery on the obstacle course.

Del Flor has a super exotic team: Begonia the alraune sharpshooter who destroys a few pinatas, Malik the Erebi fencer, Fetu the Ningalu form Pele who is another fighter type - and Almira de Riveira, another noble who is quite dextrous. Their most fabulous team supporter is Carabosse (Two), a senior elven cleric of Atina who wears fancy vestments and has Big Preacher Hair.

Vilaverde also has an exotic team! There's the red elf Inala from New Albion, Ranpy and Koia from the Mad Isles are absolute mad lads and break several laws of physics. DomNa Adenor is there too, though she saves her strength for the joust. But the most startling team member is an alraune called Dedalera whose M.O. is to cast charm on the other competitors. When Dedalera appears, Mam Itria is very upset and leaves her box seat for a moment.

Cimmaron's team are all shorties except for JoaoNa (Two) who is a truly massive wrestler. Dona Corona de Carros, young heir to the family is here for target shooting and takes pot shots at some targets. Cimmaron introduce themselves with a recruitment campaign for Fortereza Bastion - all very patriotic.

The evening's bardic concours is won handily by House Venere with some incredible glamours and compelling suggestion magic. Semira is particularly enchanting.

Day Two
La Chasse is in familiar territory (ish) - the riverside areas to the West of Foret Barbare. Teams hunt on foot for targets, which may be marked with paint or magic, or shot at with darts to signal capture. The targets are marked in white and orange. Magical adjudicators and raven familiars watch for signs of foul play. Some areas of forest have beasts in them, others are steep or have river hazards. The more remote and difficult markers score you more points. Everyone has from an hour before dawn till an hour after sundown to get back to basecamp and add up scores. Ambushing other teams is fair game, though instead of slaying your opponents you mark them with paint, stun them or trap them. No bloodshed, broken limbs or fatalities allowed.

Your main competitors are Begonia from del Flor, Inala from Vilaverde, Otranto's gang which tries to sabotage literally everyone, and Aelaf who keeps popping up to say hi to you and gets very distracting in a familiar Lilybet-ish way (if quizzed, yes, he does know the Brandagamba clan and they are meant to be "great dreamers"). House Speranza uses life force disguising magic to try and ambush other teams; it works, but they are cautioned not to use it in future years, as it makes it harder for the adjudicators to check that they have reached their checkpoints.

Day Three
The Joust doesn't have many non noble entrants because horses are kind of rare. Tamaz makes a few gains for House Speranza with his amazing riding, but he is not used to the lance and doesn't make the final. The Joust is DomNa Adenor's passion and she wins many points for Cartel Vilaverde. Otranto fields an utterly brilliant jouster all in black armour, who unhorses her at the final, only to be revealed as an empty enchanted suit! So DomNa Adenor VIlaverde wins it - and Otranto just showcased an amazing invention, which was their whole ploy.

Wrestling
Kyrill the Colossus has coached Roquette as far as he is able but advises her that this is about learning, not winning - the lessons she gains here will make her an incredible fighter. Local hero Maciste has a go in the public 'open ring' heats but is obliterated by Tamaz from Speranza, who rides him like a bronco and wins the crowd over.

Sarah the Y'd wrestler (Venere) has a bit of a rivalry with Kyrill and will try to teach Roquette a lesson - however, she has some weaknesses, mostly involving being tauntable and insecure. Fetu (del Flor) shows off some slippery Ningalu grappling but needs regular moistening to stay effective. Ranpy and Koia (Vilaverde) do utterly mental tag team things that should not be physically possible. Clodoveo and Laerzio (Otranto) do a good showing for noble boys, and have a great partnership, but Kyrill and Roquette will outmatch them in tactics and trickery. JoaoNa is pure heavyweight monster power and has ridiculous amounts of sheer staying power, very Undertaker-like vibes.

Day Four
Target shooting is super varied - there is archery, darts, magefire and - new for this year - gonnepowder shooting. Each context has its own rules: archery is done with buttes, darts works like 'plinking' - holes in suspended card targets that move to different ranges on inches. Gonnepowder target shooting is done on a longer range with heavy targets.

Cimarron have some competent but middling longbows, and Dona Corona de Carros who is using some sort of long fieldgonne with incredible long range accuracy. Lenzo from Venere is the only truly great archer. Otranto are focused on the expo and don't field any shooters. Del Flor's Begonia does amazingly in darts. Aelaf Elson pops up in the darts round and so does Inala - neither of them use metal. Magefire is hotly contested between Dedalera the Vilaverde alraune, and the Speranza mages. Then Carabosse, the cleric from House Pontevecchio shows up for a 'friendly' exhibition. They call on the goddess Atina and quickly obliterate the competition's scores in accuracy and speed - an absolute embarrassment for the proud Speranza team.

The expo features an earnest and impressive display by House Otranto - bound spirits and armoured suits - some capable if intellectual war machine designs from House Venere and a hilariously, deliberately inept showing by House Pontevecchio's Lorenzino di Credenza.

Day Five
Fencing is hotly contested. Cimmaron fields a competent but conservative fencer who doesn't place. Del Flor's Malik and Almira de Riveira show different styles with a showdown in the final. Almira using speed and precision while Malik plays with range and his curved weapon like a desert adder. Inala, the druid from New Albion, takes the field with a magical bokken of burnished ebony, and does pretty well.

Kyrill the Colossus is the main tireur for Cartel Cachot in the savate round. This is his element and he brings years of cunning with him. He instructs Roquette to watch and learn from these bouts. Fetu the Ningalu is back again and considerably more savage now that he can use his legs and tail at full strength. Pontevecchio's Ningalu team member Leilani also participates - this seems to be a form where Ningalu really excel. Everyone laughs when Aelaf Elson shows up to fight, but they stop laughing when he whips out his own tail and shows off a lean, aggressive muay thai style.

Day Six
Mage Duels! House Speranza absolutely wipes the floor with everyone else, as if they are making up for their embarrassment at the shooting range.

Today is also Wassail day, so after some prizegivings everyone parties hard. House Venere party the hardest by far, though House Otranto is surprisingly lively despite their grim livery and dead-looking advisor. During the night's party, some assassins are surprised by Pomeranius, the aforementioned creepy advisor to Otranto, in the act of trying to bump off Carabosse the del Flor cleric. The assassins were using life force disguising magic to try and slip under the cleric's guard (as a powerful Divine mage they can pick up on lifeforms nearby). Unfortunately, that trick does not seem to work on Pomeranius, who, surprise surprise, outs himself as undead in order to squarely pin the blame on House Speranza for the assassination attempt.

Day seven's Ritual of Peace is a muted affair as House Speranza have already been kicked out of the Torno early in disgrace.

The Aftermath
Whatever glory and money the party has managed to earn is soon overshadowed by news that the Speranza delegation and their condottieri are attempting to start Spring War season as legally early as possible they are making a beeline through the Fertile Swathe territory, up along the canals. (they are headed for the Heath but this isn't immediately obvious).

Carabosse invokes Atina's aspect as a war goddess and is quite literally on a one person warpath against the House. House Pontevecchio and House Otranto will both jump to take action. Cartel del Flor will make supportive noises for Ponetevecchio and on behalf of their own cleric, but be oddly slow to back this up with troops. Carabosse leaves in a huff by themselves to go exact revenge.

Neither del Flor, Cimmaron nor Vilaverde want a war in the Heath. The risks of disturbing the area's wild magic, or disrupting the harvests that keep Ladinh fed, are too great. The cartels (and House Venere) feel that Speranza generally acts in Ladinh's best interests, and want more answers before they punish the wayward House. Perhaps there is some grander plan in play here.

As for Cachot - they want more intel before they divert troops away from the Vestfalian border. And Speranza could be good allies, in the right conditions...

Caps of White and Red
The party is summoned to report in to the Ministry of Affairs in Piedamonte's Jeun district - the tax man cometh, and he has a mission for you.

The Ministry is an imposing building, almost like a fortress unto itself and constructed to look very stern and simple. Corridors bustle with the figures of functionaries and clerks. Otherwise unmarked doors pop open in the walls from time to time, and errand girls run out clutching sheafs of scrolls or bundles of tally sticks and punchcards. The building is mazelike and full of small nooks, DMV style booths and antechambers. The Ministry's petty officials all seem to wear shades of blue and sometimes little white hats, more of a dress code than a uniform.

The party's contact at the Ministry is Etienne Clavier: a pale, spindly elf on his second Pass, whose body bears the marks of a less than successful reincarnation. He remains sickly and skinny, and his fingers are cold to the touch, like those of a corpse. He has deep brown eyes, thinning brown hair, uses no magical glamour and wears thick, fur-lined indigo robes. Etienne offers everybody black, strong coffee (a novelty) out of a large, elegant blue and chrome samovar - one of the few luxuries in this bleak establishment. Etienne gives the parry the following summary:

Cartel Cachot's financial interests would like you to investigate the settlement of Delemont. It's a village south of this city, in the foothills of the snowy Dardani Mountains. Delemont appears to have gone completely silent soon after the coming of winter - we have received no letters, no visitors or word of trade, and most vitally for the interests of the Cartel - no taxes have been paid for last quarter. Piedamonte's garrison is busy fortifying against winter raids from across the Vestfalian border, and we need trustworthy scouts to feed us more information.

Our main concern: Has the village seceded to Cartel Cimmaron? Or has some other kind of disaster befallen the villagers? Either way - we must resolve this before the Spring Wars begin. Mam Itria LeLouche has recommended you as trustworthy and discreet agents. We leave the investigation in your hands. We can prepare a humanitarian response to make the settlement productive again: or, a military response may be called for. We... would prefer not to have to resort to the latter.

Stopping in Piedamonte
Piedamonte's citizens are quite superstitious and leave out bowls of milk for their household guardians (the elves and goblins call them lares, the humans and people descended from Vestfalians call them tomtes).

Town tavern rumours will reveal that a lot of Delemont's original population were decimated by a war-band, about a generation ago. A new group of farmers settled in after that: various kooky folk, but plenty energetic. They were planning to fortify the village against summer wars and revitalise the settlement. The newcomers also put in some orders for mining gear and a big crucible - seems like they were trying to smelt metal and make their own farming tools. The 'kooks' were proudly self-reliant, and it seemed they were surviving nicely without too much intervention from the big city.

Locals will caution outsiders to be wary of rockfalls and small avalanches down south. Spring is the real avalanche season but the mountains are still treacherous. Watch out for little bears and the odd puma, too.

The Dardani aren't impassable, but round this area to the south hey become very steep. Winter falls heavy in their shadow. The path to Delemont was once a paved road, of sorts - it's very overgrown, and small trees have pushed their way through the cobblestones in many places, but it's still easier going than clambering through the forest. Foret Barbare, the big forest itself, is a wild place full of hazards.

Thierry the Hermit
Around where the deciduous trees' leafless canopies give way to huge, straight green conifers, a little goat-track branches off the main path to a little cabin, nicely maintained with plenty of fresh moss on the roof (and a dusting of snow). A fire is lit and the chimney is smoking. This is Thierry the Hermit's place.

Thierry (human, M) is of mixed ancestry, part Ladinh part Erebi. He keeps goats, practices a little hedge magic and generally stays clear of elven affairs. He has staunchly refused to pay taxes to Cartel Cachot for years - not that he is wealthy to start with. To keep the city watch off his back, he'll heal them or give them little blessings on their travels. Thierry can read and write in both linguafranca and Erebi script - very pretty cursive. He wears a lot of alpaca and goat-hide wraps, but otherwise doesn't seem to mind the cold. His goal is to live harmoniously with nature, take only what he needs and teach himself wizardry as he gets older.

If Thierry decides he likes the party, he will share his disapproval of the Delemonters' lifestyle - too wasteful, not respectful of the gods, "a bunch of dreamers". He may allude to the forest's savagery, but also the kindness of the 'little guardians' who have helped his goats find their way home on many dark nights. He has a saucer of milk out, as well as a nasty looking puma trap next to his meat-locker (a wooden structure up on poles). There's a lot of smoked goat meat in the meat locker, and bunches of herbs to keep it all smelling nice. Little 'eye-bears' sometimes sniff around his stash in the winter, but he seems confident that he can scare them off.

Delemont and its surroundings
The village of Delemont traditionally grows legumes and squash, very fine blueberries and a lot of pasture crops. They keep goats, alpacas and the occasional vicuna (a camelid with very fancy wool, like a Merino sheep). The surrounding rocks grow plenty of medicinal herbs. In the nearby mountainside there are veins of coal, and the villagers have dug a shallow mine inside an existing small cave system. There's also a source of bog iron to the East, so the locals can smelt their own iron farming tools.

The village sits with its back to the mountainside: and further uphill, shielding the houses, is an unusual and large stone wall, made of hexagonal columns that seem to sprout straight up from the rock. They say the Ggantija once lived here.

Set in front of the stone wall is a keep. It's been built in three layers: the base features large, weathered masonry blocks, the bottom floor appears to be a Deshi dwelling, though it doesn't disappear into large underground chambers - more a temporary outpost perhaps. Finally, elves or humans have added stone and brickwork to extend the tower upward so that scouts can see above the canopy of conifers for miles around.

The village encounter
The conifers thin out around the village - some have clearly been felled to make room for pasture. The party sees, near the side of the road, an unusually large chunk of masonry as tall as a human and wide as a dwarf, lying among the grass. On it, the remains of a goat lie spreadeagled into quarters - the intestines are missing and the carcass is buzzing with flies. This is a day-old kill. A condor circles lazily overhead, waiting for you to move on so it can eat its fill.

Next, the party comes across the village mill - still mostly intact, but its doors have been ripped from their hinges and grain is scattered on the floor - mostly barley, oats and millet. There are small flecks of dried blood here also. The blacksmith adjoins the mill and it is totally ransacked - the open forge pit has had its stones knocked over, the smelter is intact but someone has left dents on its surface, and iron tools lie dented and strewn around in the straw. The blacksmith's hut itself is smeared with old blood, and what is left of the blacksmith and the miller remains in the hut, dismembered and dried out. The cool mountain air has preserved the bodies a little, but they've been dead for about three weeks. A clever tracker will find two small footprints in the remaining gore. Or are they bootprints?

Between the mill and the village is a barley field - the stalks left to rot in place, about a metre high. The field is full of traps - very simple ones, sharpened sticks in the soil, hidden among the grain stalks, but treacherous going. Avoiding the field means taking a path around to one side, where various animals, humans and a goblin or two lie in pieces. The path is slick with blood and the smell is overpowering and nauseating. Among the corpses, you spot a puma feasting on the carrion. You can make noise to scare it off, fight it or avoid it.

The madcap fight
A wooden stockade bars the way to the village proper. On one side it is well constructed but to the other, it's as if its builders had stopped making an effort. There are gaps big enough for Lilybet to squeeze through.

The homes inside the stockade vary from nicely built stone cottages to filthy shacks. Overall, the place looks like it was not well managed - and its invaders have caused a lot of mess, bloodshed and destruction too. Somewhere in the village square is an old fountain which is now filled with old, oozy, crusty blood and gore. There is also a large charnel pit filled with the corpses of villagers.

The entire stockaded area is infested with madcaps - little creatures, only 2 feet tall, but strengthened by bloodlust. They wield sickles, scytheblades and human sized knives with surprising ease. They wear bloodsoaked, pointed caps and are a terrifying caricature of a garden gnome. They have driven iron hobnails and strips of metal into the soles of their bare feet to make improvised shoes.

If the party chooses to wait till dusk to enter the stockade, they'll get warned by Lazio and Nanette, scouts from Las Crias, and escorted to a safe place to wait out the night.

The madcaps will attack with slings and they have very good aim. Their bloodlust will cause them to quickly rush the party and attack up Close - if the party wears Elek's amulets the madcaps will do be far less successful at biting with their nasty pointed teeth or kicking with their hobnailed feet. These madcaps are also hungry and short on fresh blood, so they won't prove as resilient as usual - but there are dozens - at one for every adult in the village. It's a numbers game.

If one of the madcaps gets a bite on the party, that person will need to roll CON and if they get a 6 or less, they suffer a -1 STR debility. A well aimed kick to the head will mean the victim gets -1 Forward on their next attack as they are gouged with hobnails. Weapons with Reach will keep them at bay - for a time.

Things that penetrate a madcap's skin: cold iron is best, steel does less damage than it should. They react to non-complementary fey magic in a spectacular fashion, often melting or even catching fire. Speaking of fire, they don't like it at ALL and will try to go around it, not touch it. This includes pools of direct sunlight.

Each dead madcap goes >pomf< and vanishes leaving a single magic tooth behind. The tooth makes fey like you, plus they're quite useful as spell reagents.

The Friends
The party awakens in the night to the sound of a gentle, hummed lullaby. Every one of las Crias is fast asleep, along with the pack animals and dogs. Alongside them, dozens of little fey are brushing and braiding the children's hair, tucking blankets and moss round them, and a low, soothing glow lies low over their sleeping forms, golden like the first rays of morning sunlight. You bear witness to the gentle side of the fey.

Each child in Las Crias has its own Lar - if the child is a goblin - or Tomte - if the child is a human. Uncorrupted Tomtes have nut-brown skin, curly dark hair and bright blue eyes; reminiscent of Lilybet, but smaller at 2ft tall. Lares are freckled and mottled with bright red hair and green eyes. They have the large hands, big noses and prominent eyebrows of goblins, and they are even tinier than the Tomtes.

Each member of the adventuring party also manifests a spirit that reflects that adventurer's identity and inner desires a little bit. They decline names (and you shouldn't name a fey anyway, it's rude) - but will answer to 'Friend of Elek', 'Friend of Roquette' and so on. Friend of Yiuri is broad, stocky, has tanned skin and a generous blonde beard. Friend of Roquette stands slightly taller than the other Tomtes and she has extra muscly arms. Friend of Elek has big fish-like eyes that glow like a blue flame, very pale skin and manifests a bit like the cute side of Smeagol. Friend of Marguerite is a tiny 'baba' who looks like a matryoshka doll. Friend of Aldo the cleric is confused about how to present, till Aldo tells them to 'just be yourself' and they turn into a cairn of mossy pebbles. Each of the fey is wearing cast off clothing or rags that the character have discarded in the course of their lives - Roquette's Friend wears discarded knickers and slips from various trysts, Yiuri's Friend is wearing his frilly christening robe from when he was a baby, Elek's Friend is dressed in bandages and busted bits of leather belt, Marguerite's Friend is wearing her favourite handkerchief - lost a few years ago - as a tiny headscarf.

It appears that the presence of kin in these mountain parts spontaneously generates the existence of little fey. The Friends explain this as "the mountain king makes us" - it is quite possible they mean the literal mountain. Clever animals don't spawn fey equivalents as often, or just fleetingly - something to do with the complexities of kin and their psychology. If given attention and respect, they prosper and help their kin companion prosper in return. If ignored, the fey lose purpose and become starved and somewhat tortured. When the adults of Delemont refused to propitiate or acknowledge the fey, the fey responded by trying to make the place discouraging, so the kin would move away. They blighted crops, caused accidents and even started making the men of the village infertile. Nothing worked - if anything, the village adults became more stubborn about staying. But the children always believed, to a certain extent, and they were more innocent in their desires anyway - so the Friends of the little ones didn't go mad.

The Friends tell the party that their lost madcap brethren are under the influence of a "new king", and beg the party to kill no madcaps if possible, believing that without the "king" they will revert to their usual chaotic but ultimately good selves. Elek's amulets will help, and the Friends will support the party as best as they can to break through to the heart of the village and liberate their kin. The Friends also confirm that cold iron displeases the madcaps, but fire - especially the fire of the sun - will also weaken them.

Trollkoenig
Inside the bottom floor of the great keep is the former residence of the village Headman, Coulisse. He is long gone, and in his place is one big, stinking, nasty looking troll. It has a single Cyclopean eye and it is staying indoors out of the sunlight (it doesn't see so great in bright light and fire - even the sun's fire - hurts it).

Trollkoenig wields the back half of a dead elk for a weapon, picking it up by its legs and beating the party with the bloody end. It acts like a large club, but it should be possible to disarm Trollkoenig or pulverise the carcass - it's not that resilient. Trollkoenig has impressive natural armour but if you can get sunlight to shine inside, it will suffer a penalty on its attacks and will lose some of its toughness.

Trollkoenig will howl for any remaining madcaps to aid it - in the event the party has sneaked through somehow. However, if the party bars or shuts the door, or uses flame, salt or iron filings as a barrier, the madcaps will take time to break inside. If Trollkoenig is defeated, the madcaps will transform back into tomtes/lares and no longer be evil or suffer bloodlust - instead, they will start tidying up the scene.

The troll has a hoard in another room, safe from any fire the players dish out. Players will find not just the village's supplies (stockpiles of food, alcohol, clothing and tools) but it appears Coulisse, the village headman had been collecting nuggets of raw metal - silver, tin and perhaps even a lump of moon ore. In Coulisse's opulent bedchamber, you can find a nice black velvet cloak embroidered with silvery stars. Those with religious knowledge will remember that Kyric, the Prince of Lies, has this as one of his symbols.

Coulisse the headman also kept journals and almanacs detailing the goals behind setting up Delemont, recording harvests and progress with opening up the mine, and noting births and events in the settlement. You can see no new births recorded in the last two years of the village's history. Coulisse's journals become increasingly paranoid, vague on actual crop yields and more concerned with the activities of certain villagers (especially Emmeline the schoolteacher, one of the few villagers who wouldn't sleep with him).

It is clear that Delemont was set up as a completely secular utopian community, by several family groups who felt that the gods had not been kind to them. Worship of gods and the supernatural were banned, and the children of the village that were born after Delemont was repopulated, got raised communally. Things were already going badly before the madcaps turned up, it seems.

A good search of other village buildings reveals a large storehouse where the villagers were kept captive and gradually butchered to sustain the madcaps and the troll. Emmeline, the former schoolhouse teacher, has hidden some notes in this building, detailing the madcaps' raid, which followed an accident in the mine. Emmeline speculates that the troll was lurking dormant under the mountain. She also says Coulisse fled when the troll rampaged. Emmeline's last scribbled note, written with her last stick of charcoal, reads: "I hope the children are safe".

Las Crias/The Foals
All the children and adolescents in the village were sent to take shelter in the mountains, along with a herd of prize vicuna, alpaca and llama. They also have three large woolly sheepdogs (Bobo, Kiki and Ubu) to protect them. The leaders of this group of kids are two teenaged human girls - Fioca and Laura and a teenaged goblin boy, Marcus.

All but the very smallest kids know how to handle themselves and can tell the adventurers more about what happened with the lares/tomtes and their village. The younger kids seem to have been neglected by the adults and aren't very traumatised by the massacre. The teenagers remember a time when they had parents, before Delemont and the commune. They seem embittered and determined to make a better job of things than their elders. They express an interest in rebuilding, but also say they would like to have some 'grown-up friends' to help them out with the authorities. Nobody in Las Crias really trusts the big city folk.

If the players report back to Piedamonte with their findings, they can get a tax exemption for Delemont and some support to help the kids rebuild the town. Piedamont's administration will ask that Las Crias appoint two local representatives: a 'children's tribune' and one of the party, to make decisions as a pair about the future of the settlement - since the kids are too young to represent themselves in court.