Session 9: Escort Judge Chapman

On the morning of 17 Aers, 530, the town of Blood Ax still hung heavy with smoke. The acrid reek of fire and spent smokepowder lingered in the streets. The Deputies of Monroe once more sought out Sheriff DeRook, asking what course of action to take next. The weary but grateful lawman charged the young Deputies with an escort: Judge Chapman, long overdue from his ranch, was to be brought safely back to town. Trouble was expected, though in what shape none could yet say.

The Ride Out
The Deputies gathered what coin they had, purchased riding horses and provisions, and rode eastward along Blake Road. The first day passed without incident, and their roadside camp was undisturbed. But late in the afternoon of the second day, their trail turned strange.

A little girl stood by the roadside, clutching a headless doll. When asked of her parents, she let out a shriek and fled into the brush. The Deputies gave chase, but she stayed eerily just out of reach. In flashes and glimpses, her figure vanished through the trees—until suddenly the scene bent and shifted.

The Farm and the Angel
The Deputies burst into a clearing around a small farmstead. A shimmering arcane barrier encircled the farmhouse, and within stood a tall radiant figure with wings of light. Around the yard lay the butchered remains of the Porter family, bloodied shovels and pickaxes still slick beside them.
This celestial being named himself Ishim, Captain of the Celestial Hall of Law. His words were few:

“None may enter. None may leave.”

Within the barrier, Judge Chapman and two bodyguards pleaded with the Deputies. The Judge warned them of Alden Jabobs’ ghost—come to claim his vengeance. The spirit itself appeared, gesturing to the pickaxes and shovels, which rose of their own accord and attacked. The specter vanished as the Deputies fought off the animated tools, suffering only minor wounds.

Revelations
Judge Chapman explained the cause: Alden Jabobs had feuded bitterly with Adam Porter. In the last of many disputes, Chapman had ruled against Alden. Jabobs’ shade now sought revenge—against the Porters, against Chapman, and any who stood between.

Hoping for answers, the Deputies rode for the neighboring Jacobs farm. They found it stripped bare—only foundations and rotted lumber left standing. Curiously, they uncovered three foreclosure notices, each from a different bank. Broadening their search, they discovered the boarded-over Jacobs mine, its entry now marked only with scattered warning signs.

The Haunted Mine
Within the mine they found an odd stone altar: among puddles of spent wax lay a lead tablet, a decayed journal, and a surveyor’s stake. The meaning of these items remained unclear.
As the Deputies searched further into the branching tunnels, a new terror arose. From a dark side-passage stepped Dead Joel Porter, leveling a blunderbuss. His first shot went wide, and battle was joined. Deputies regrouped as shadowy horrors—wraithlike forms of living darkness—poured forth to join the fray.
Joel, now a towering wight, fought with cold hammer-fists and a paralyzing pale gaze. His undead resilience tested the Deputies sorely, but weight of numbers, steel, spell, and arrow finally brought him down. With his fall, the lesser shadows dissolved back into nothingness.

Closing of Session #9
Bloodied and weary, the Deputies took stock of their wounds and the deepening dark. Choosing caution, they made camp within the haunted mine, setting watch and gathering strength for what awaited come dawn.

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