Fenside

Fenside is a village in Yent.

About 200-300 people live in and around the village. Lying between a mountain range to the north, a vast, dismal swamp to the south and barbarian-inhabited hills to the west, it's a remote, little-trafficked place. There are no major settlements on the road to the east until the town of Blunn, about four days travel away. The bridge about halfway between the two settlements is the semi-official boundary of Fenside county, but the area outside the village proper is basically all lawless wilderness.

Most people in Fenside are either small farmers or peat collectors. Peat caravans make up most of the town's regular trade.

Six Dwarves moved to town about six months ago and were widely suspected of being up to no good. No one's quite sure how they make a living. They often quarrel with the local shopkeepers.

Lord Draycott is the earl of Fenside; however, he rarely comes to the village except when obliged to. He spends most of his time at Draycott Keep, a short distance to the west. The people of Fenside tend to be sympathetic towards Lord Draycott, but suspicious/contemptuous of those around him. His all-hillmen guard worry

King Oswalt is Fenside's sovereign; the village lies at the very edge of his domain.

The Inn of Beans
The Inn of Beans is the village's only tavern. A shabby place, but the ale and milk is cheap. Thomas Beans owns it. Glottis, a mediocre and vengeful bard is usually found here. Aldus the monk was murdered here. Gall Cloek was a frequent patron during his time here

Fenside Monastery
A monastery rests on a mountain overlooking the town; the monks are widely held to be dangerous heretics. They come to town for supplies, but except for Aldus, rarely socialised with the townspeople.

They have quite an impressive five-story monastery. About 30 monks seem to live here. They seem friendly enough, sharing their gruel with the party and letting them stay the night.

They have a bridge they can cut down in times of trouble.

The Party in Fenside
At the start of the game, the party had received a letter from Felix Widefield saying he'd been framed for the murder of Aldus in Fenside and needed them to save him from execution, through ransom or rescue.

Session 1
During Session 1, the party traveled to Fenside. The journey was perilous; they encountered two groups of bandits, a pack of wolves, and nearly died of hypothermia searching for shelter during a rainstorm.

On their first night in town, a troupe of actors asked the party to rescue their lost member, Velasco, promising them his magic boots. The party traveled to the Bullywug Bathhouse and rescued him, but he weaseled out of giving them his boots.

Session 2
The next morning, the party met Gall Cloek when he officiated a pig's execution. Lord Draycott was to execute the pig, but Alistair Humbolt used magic to make him miss the pig's neck and instead sever a few of his guard's fingers. Fen Widefield killed the pig before it could escape, and all rejoiced.

The party investigated the murder of the monk Aldus, which had been witnessed by three townsfolk who the party determined had no reason to lie. Suspicion fell on a mysterious merchant who had been buying drinks at the inn all night, but seems never to have been seen before or after; there's no record of him at the village's trading post.

Finding themselves at an investigative dead end, they instead decided to kidnap the monastery's head librarian, a monk named SOMETHING. They spent a night at the monastery, then absconded with him the next morning. They'd been told by Lord Draycott not to tell the monks that he was behind the librarian's arrest, but Fen told another monk that they were working for him.

After trading the monk for Felix, they left town, only to be ambushed by Lord Draycott's guard at the bridge.

Rumours Gall knows from his time in Fenside

 * The nearby monastery is widely mistrusted by the townspeople. There are rumours that the monks are dangerous heretics.
 * Lord Draycott only leaves his keep when he’s obliged to. Older townsfolk say he used to spend much more time in town, but grew reclusive after nearly dying from a terrible illness. His son also got sick and is permanently bedridden.
 * Draycott’s closest advisor is Grodin, a potion-seller and witch-doctor who helped heal him and now tends to his son. People hate Grodin– some think he’s deliberately poisoning the son so Draycott keeps him around – but tolerate his presence out of sympathy for Draycott.
 * Draycott’s keep is staffed with men from the barbarous western hill clans, not people from Fenside.
 * Six Dwarves came to town about a year ago and took up residence in an old house. No one’s quite sure what they’re up to. They’re constantly getting into petty disputes with tradesmen and shopkeepers. Some townsfolk want to run them out of town.