Vis Hunt

Give 'em twenty pawns of Corpus vis. Corpus is always useful. But how do I structure the story? The vis is contained in skulls, human skulls, piled in pyramids in a cave somewhere. Three pyramids, one of which consists of only one skull, one of five, and one of fourteen. A faerie who is trying to build a reputation as a creature to be feared. So the final act is a confrontation with the faerie in its cave.

The preceding action is finding it, following up the rumours and tracks. Juliette's evidence is the tracks of the beast, and its actions. She suspects that it is magical and thus a likely source of vis. However, she hasn't been able to find out where it lairs, only a general area. Thus, the party goes to that general area and starts scouting around. The area is around Whaw, up in Arkengarthdale. When they get to the hamlet, they find ample evidence that something is around: the peasants are terrified, moving in groups even by daylight. They latch eagerly on to the group as long as it looks competent, which it almost certainly will, and probably mob Godwin as the person in charge. At first, they all talk at once, but after a while Alfred manages to get them quiet, and tells his story.

Alfred is quite tall, although obviously getting older. He seems to be still healthy, and he is obviously both scared and upset. He tells of a devil that comes in the night and takes people away. This devil is twenty feet tall, with claws that glow red and a mouth that never closes, from which drips boiling water. It moves faster than the wind, and grabs its victims before they can do anything. It has taken twelve people so far, including Alfred's eldest son, and they are terrified. People are leaving the village if they have anywhere to go, but they have heard that it has also struck elsewhere. They want the magi to deal with it, or leave now, before they become its victims.

Some skill at tracking is needed to find it. Play up the moors. A roll of 12+ leads them straight to it, while rolls of 9+ don't get them lost. Under nine, and they actually lose the trail. Under nine, and they have to camp on the moors, return to Whaw, find that someone else has been taken, and follow the trail again, with +1 to the roll. 9+ and they are going the right way, so the faerie attacks their camp when it finds them on the way to the village. If it can get someone, it carries them off, otherwise it flees when wounded, and they can follow it the next day. If they get 12+, they find the cave, and can plan the attack.

The cave has a fairly narrow entrance, with two short side passages that lead to dead ends. It opens out about thirty yards into the hill, into a cave fifty feet across and thirty high. There is no light inside.

The faerie is ten feet tall and thin, with long arms and legs. Its hands are especially long, with bony fingers tipped with glowing red claws. Its head is lupine, and acid drips from its fangs. It stinks of rotting flesh, but it can move quite quickly, and climb the walls of the cave with great ease. It can also see perfectly well in the dark. In the main cave, it can attack any one member of the party every turn, and then disappear back up into the roof. In the passage, it can't get past people, so it has to stand and fight. It can be lured out into the passage. It is mindless and will simply attack. Not mindless, but vicious. If it is badly wounded, it will try to escape, rather than fight to the death. If it does escape, it will be angry with the magi.

Faerie Might 20

Claws: 1st +15 Atk +8 Dam +10 (double penalties due to intense pain)

Bite: 1st +8 Atk +6 Dam +15 (+5 on the following round unless the acid is immediately washed out)

Dodge +9 Soak +10

OK 0/0/0/0/0/0 -1 -3 -5 Incap

5 pawns of Perdo vis in its body. No other treasure, since the peasants weren't rich. Faerie Aura 2 in the cave.