The fighters in the party (Ab Siddy [Darryl], Elrick [Ian], Sean [Shane], Baron [Deacon], Joseph [Chris] and Art [Jeff]) had mistakenly engaged with eight O'Neill rebels. Three of the O'Neills were dead, with two unconscious and three still standing. Elrick and Sean were injured in the exchange. The rest of the party sheltered in the wagon; the non-combatants Thomas [Kevin], Sister Margaret [Charlotte], and the three girls Orla, Brigid and Eileen.
Sister Margaret said some words over the fallen, and then they were buried. The party then put the unconscious ones on the wagon, and the other three walked beside.
After an hour's trip south, they came to the secret pathway to the O'Neill fort. The group split up here: Art, Joseph and Baron continued with the wagon south to Bandon Bridge, and the rest headed to the O'Neill fort. They stretchered the unconscious ones to the camp.
Catriona was away - she was away until Monday, and the camp was run by a Lieutenant Casey.
The party stayed the night. Sister Margaret did her best to tend the unconscious ones. But one died during the night from extra injuries sustained when Sean tried to help.
Sister Margaret did her witch-finding in the camp to see if there was anything suspicious here. The only thing that made her stick shake was Ab Siddy. And shake it did; in spades.
Sat 5-Jul
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| Elrick's septicemia |
It was a quiet night.
They left the O'Neill camp, returned to the road and walked to Bandon Bridge to reunite with the rest of the party. Elrick's gunshot wound had gone septic and was now a weeping mess. The helpful English soldiers stationed there offered him the gunpowder cure, but he respectfully declined.
Sister Margaret tended it dutifully with some first aid. There was a church in Bandon Bridge, so she tried curing his wound with her magical Chapel Heal, but with no success.
Sun 6-Jul
In the morning they left Bandon Bridge and headed for Kinsale. There was an English patrol en route who had not heard of the TTTT. So the wagon was summarily searched and the Spanish match-locks and gunpowder was threatened with confiscation. But some fast-talking and dropping hints about Colonel Cholmondeley manage to assuage the patrol.
They arrived in Kinsale just after lunch.
Sister Margaret happened to be checking with her witch-finding stick in the streets. Ab Siddy stood out like a sore thumb, of course, but she got a very strong indication coming from below the party's TTTT wagon.
Upon closer investigation, there was a pig skull screwed into the base of the wagon. They instantly suspected a Pig Peeker. Their coach had been in the Witch-finder's possession in Corke for two days, so his men could have done anything to it. And their Pig Peeker had been confiscated, but this one was a bare skull and wasn't clad in pickled meat, so they didn't know if it was theirs. And as Art pointed out, it could well be a Pig Hearer, or a Pig Sniffer or a maybe Pig Locator, if they exist.
It was unscrewed and dutifully crushed into splinters with a wrecking hammer.
Elrick needed to rest a few days to let his wounds heal, so that presented an opportunity for Ab Siddy to go herb-hunting. So he and Art left Kinsale and headed north into the wilderness to search.
Mon 7-Jul
Ab found two batches of healing herbs.
Tue 8-Jul, New Moon
Ab found one batch of healing herbs and one of love.
Wed 9-Jul
Back in Kinsale, Ab stewed up the herbs in a cauldron to make four potions (3 Heal, 1 Love). Herbs distilled into potion form was the best way to preserve their magic [ -1 per week ]. Trying to preserve the herbs by drying degrades faster [ -2+ per week ]. Or doing nothing was even worse [ -3 per week ].
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| Witch-finder's Coach |
He summoned Sister Margaret to report her progress, and was not at all impressed when she admitted she didn't know where Ab was.
She surreptitiously tried her witch-finding stick in his vicinity. His heavy iron coach went off the scale, but he himself did not register at all.
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