The Horror of Wookey Hole
Date: Autumn 1191
Godwyn plundered some vis from one of the famous mystical landmarks of Britain and managed to escape the dark horror that dwelt there.
Characters
Synopsis
Wookey Hole Cave is one of the mystical sites Godwyn discovered from his book of Magic Lore. According to legend, the cave called Wookey Hole was once the lair of a witch, who was turned to stone by a saint from Glastonbury (perhaps Joseph of Arimathea himself?)
Still searching for vis with which to enchant a Talisman, Godwyn set out with his trusty grog Thomas decided to check the cave and see whether the petrified witch was a vis source. It wasn't a long trip and on the way they stopped over at the city of Wells.
Godwyn stopped by to see the church, as is becoming his habit whenever he visits a large city. A cathedral was being built in the city but since construction had started only about fifteen years earlier, it was far from complete. The church was built near a sacred well dedicated to Saint Andrew. Godwyn and Thomas made a "donation" to the church and drank from the well, to see if it made them feel any different. To Godwyn's surprise, it did: the wolfish aspects of his personality were suppressed leaving him calmer, more rational, and more docile.
Later that day, Godwyn tried some experiments to find out whether Saint Andrew's well also suppressed the social effects of The Gift (he tried to pick up a barmaid and found out the loathing engendered by his Gift was still in full force). With his wolfish personality inhibited, he uncharacteristically backed down from the barroom brawl that threatened to erupt and retired to his room.
As the pair were leaving the city, the guardsman at the gate stopped them and demanded to see their hands. Normally Godwyn would have stared the man down with his Piercing Gaze but he was still feeling unusually docile and compliant. The guard explained that a nearby lord was having horses stolen and had ordered his stable-hands to dip the reins of his horses in blood to mark the hands of any thieves. This disturbed both Godwyn and Thomas quite a bit but since their hands were clean they were allowed to leave. The guard also noted that the lord had offered a pound of silver as a reward for finding the thieves.
Godwyn and Thomas proceeded to the cave. The river Axe flowed directly out of the cave mouth. Some initial scouting of the area had turned up horse tracks but no sign of human activity. Godwyn assumed wolf form and ventured into the cave a bit. Since it seemed safe and there were no human scents, he returned to human form. Thomas had bought a lantern back in Wells so they were able to explore deeper than natural sunlight could reach. Before long, they found the petrified witch seated by the side of the river.
Some spontaneous Intellego Vim magic revealed the "statue" contained vis. Godwyn identified the exact location as a small, petrified pouch clutched by one stony hand against the witch's heart. He used a spontaneous Muto Terram spell to make the petrified hand pliable enough to work the pouch loose. At that point he received a nasty surprise: a winged snake sprang forth from under the witch's hand and attacked!
The snake spat venom at Godwyn but it was blocked by his Parma Magica. Thomas and Godwyn tried to counter-attack but snake was too nimble: it evaded them and flew out the mouth of the cave, leaving a stench of brimstone in its wake. There was little doubt as to the nature of the serpent, but neither was there anything Godwyn or Thomas could do to catch it.
There were horse tracks along the river inside the cave. Godwyn and Thomas suspected danger but decided the reward for finding the horse-thieves was worth some risk. After all, in their poaching days they had broken the draconian forest laws of England for far less! Before long they reached an underground lake, the bottom of which was strewn with discarded reins and a few animal bones. With a shudder, Godwyn realized what sort of creature probably dwelt there: a kelpie. He paused only long enough to cast a spontaneous spell to fetch a handful of the reins off the bottom of the lake, then beat a hasty retreat.
Returning to Wells, Godwyn and Thomas discussed how to collect the reward. Godwyn was anxious that his Gift would cause the lord to accuse him of being the horse thief all along, so he left the reins with Thomas. Generously for a magus, he offered to divide the reward evenly if Thomas would collect it. For his part, Thomas was afraid his criminal brand would get him into trouble, but Godwyn habitually cast Disguise of the New Visage on him to hide the brand whenever they entered town. They agreed that Thomas would collect the reward while Godwyn awaited him at the church.
It was not hard for Thomas to persuade the guard that he knew where the horses had gone. He was escorted to the lord's keep and granted immediate audience. The lord insisted that Thomas immediately lead him back to the spot where the reins had been found. Godwyn had warned Thomas that a kelpie should not be approached by fewer than five armored knights, and Thomas was able to make the lord take that warning seriously. So Thomas, the lord, and five knights rode back to the cave.
There, in the underground lake, they found an angry kelpie. It was in the form of a beautiful but fierce-looking black horse standing on the surface of the water. One of the knights, named Sir Michael, fell under the kelpie's spell and waded out toward it. Before the eyes of the horrified onlookers, the kelpie reverted to its true form: a mass of slimy seaweed. It shot forth long tentacles and dragged Sir Michael down to his doom. Thomas, the lord, and the surviving knights fled for their lives.
The lord invited Thomas to a feast to celebrate the solution of the mystery of the stolen horses. Thomas had to briefly meet Godwyn for a fresh casting of Disguise of the New Visage but since the feast started after sunset that wasn't much of a problem.
The difficulty came when the winged snake-demon made an appearance at the feast. Shadowy and insubstantial, it flitted about the rafters, inspiring avarice and ill will. The lord presented the pound of silver to Thomas as promised, but soon the other guests at the feast began to argue over it. One of the knights said it should go to Sir Michael's widow and he should take it to her. A priest declared that part of the silver should be given to the Church in remembrance of Sir Michael, and so on. Thomas had the uncomfortable experience of being a commoner with a pound of silver in a room full of greedy, drunken, armed knights. He made an excuse of going to the privy and tried to slip out by a postern gate, but the gate was guarded and the guard recognized Thomas as the man who was due to collect a pound of silver. So the way was shut and he was forced to return to the feast.
Later in the evening, the lord offered Thomas an escort back to town. Thomas managed to get both the knight and the priest to accompany him, so neither would have a chance to rob him because the other was watching. Even so, as soon as they reached town he darted down an alley to escape. He made his way back to the inn where Godwyn was waiting.
The two made it through the adventure all right, with two pawns of vis and a pound of silver to show for it, but they agreed that splitting up is not a good idea.