In Hendenburgh
Hendenburgh - May 31
People
Factions
Locations
Prologue
Lady Hendenburgh called Yewtree to help with all the bodies in the village. Razzy, Gunther, Lorenz, Varg and Harald travelled north by boat.
After meeting at the Church for the night, they are told by a drunk priest that they cannot sleep at the church another night. They walk the muddy and wet, abandoned streets of Hendenburgh.
The boathouse-morgue
On a soaking morning, Yewtree and Gunter visit the boathouse morgue, run by Elisabeth. The two notice the bodies are missing organs, and Elisabeth explains they came like this. She also explains she has been removing other organs to see if something is wrong with them. Yewtree presses her that the bodies need to be buried, and he is allowed to do so for two of the five corpses in the morgue.
Loathing love
Harald guides the others to the blacksmith’s house. Gregory is not home, and Harald knows precisely where to find him.
However, instead of being inside the inn, Gregory sits outside. He says that the Widow Winstaple, the innkeeper, despises him. This is strange; Harald remembered that she was fond of the blacksmith. Gregory has bought something from the Crones to make the Widow love him.
It did not work as expected.
Inside the inn, Mrs Winstaple confirms she wants to see Gregory go and ask the group for their help.
Aelfwin’s estate
The group gathers and meets the guards’ master. Oliver recently led a large group of townsmen into the forest to put an end to the scourge of the hounds. Despite heavy losses, they managed to kill three of the dogs. However, the bodies disappeared after only a few hours. Oliver is convinced that the pack cannot be eliminated by ordinary means. Aelfwin, Harald’s uncle, and a mad but good hunter, died fighting.
Harald pays a visit to Elisabeth, and she hands him his uncle’s body. Yewtree buries him, like he did with the other two earlier in the day.
In the afternoon, the group take a boat to Aelfwin’s estate. The location is in an abandoned and crumbling building. But it is possible to camp within the walls. And this is what the group does, in the rat-infested lodge, albeit drinking some fancy whiskey they’ve found in the basement.
The beautiful crones
The next morning, they travel upriver. They go deep into the Kryptwood. A horrid scene of a family of deer lies lacerated by the riverbank. Not eaten.
The Crones’ cottage and garden of herbs and flowers are well kept. Beautiful young women receive the group. Amongst them, Winnifried is the most beautiful of all. Their leader, the Matriarch, compliments the beautiful cravat worn by Razzy, the bunny.
They explain the misunderstanding with Gregory. “A love potion? I thought it was a loathe potion!”
Beyond Gregory’s love issues, the group also ask the Crones about the devilish hounds. The Matriarch tells them she would write a banishment letter to the hounds if the group convinces Sly George, from the Highwaymen, to marry Winnifried, as agreed in the past.