Session 24, The End of Autumn

General Summary

After arriving in Weingarten, the party made their way to Herbstende to speak with Count Alisanne Penrose about the Merry Men's activities in the area. As they reached the castle, they briefly encountered Mistress Genevieve Artois, one of the members of the Circle of Starlight and a classmate and friend of the Countess' who'd stopped by to visit while taking care of business in Sweetvine. As she left, she passed Firion a note, mentioning that it was a message from the Cat Prince (even though he was still disguised as Leon).
Once Luca, Tiblamir, Firion, and Vaegon joined the Countess in the parlor to discuss the mission, the Countess quickly voiced her suspicion that they were working with Firion on his quest to bring the Smiling Knight to justice. She even revealed that Duke Tyrell had sent letters to his bannermen alerting them of his son's mission. Knowing this, the group admitted to working with Firion. In turn, the Countess admitted that she too suspected that the Smiling Knight hasties to her county given the fact that the Merry Men do not harass them, and instead seem to be protecting them from monsters and other bandits and supplying the small folk in the area with food, medicine, and other supplies stolen during their raids. They also spend an unnerving amount of time just watching the castle from a distance. She's heard stories of the brutal attacks occurring around Castle Caerlight, Treustadt, and even recently around the roads of Valkyris Citadel. She thinks the Smiling Knight must bear some sort of vendetta against the upper nobility of Spatengrove, but has never heard of any Merry Men with special abilities like the ones the party had encountered. She also advised that "friendly" Merry Men sightings occur most around Sweetvine and the roads between Herbstende and Castle Caerlight.
After Vaegon and Tiblamir brought up Bell's Canyon, the Countess revealed that the mysterious phrase they'd been hearing was actually tied to a local folk tale originating from the native elf and halfling population about a witch named Mother Gloam Eyes who'd divided the tribes and turned them against each other before escaping into a different plane of existence using the power of an Elder Tree. Bell's Canyon is supposedly the space where Mother Gloam Eyes and her family now reside, plotting and waiting.
After their conversation, the group departed Herbstende and decided to head towards the town of Sweetvine to continue the investigation into the local population. As they left Herbstende behind, they spotted a massive owl creature with a humanoid head fly into the night with it's prey; a deceased farm worker. Continuing into the woods, they were attacked by a pack of distorted looking sheep creatures that seemed to be controlled by a formidable goat-man who attacked them with powerful spells, nearly killing Tiblamir and succeeding in killing the party's horses. The next day, Vaegon, Firion, and Tif decided to go ahead to Sweetvine and bring back new horses while te rest of the party remained behind.