The Duel
Despite the formidable stature
and strength of his foe, Magnus hews down the giant with three mighty swings of
his axe while remaininguntouched. Magnus considers taking the giant’s
greatsword, but decides to leave it propped up against the tree.
Having defeated the tree’s champion, the company may now enter it and explore. Andre takes the lead, finding a staircase within the tree that leads down to a great, dimly lit chamber filled with gold.
Gold Lust
The company descends into the
chamber and marvels at the heaps and piles of gold coins scattered about. They
also discover several freshly dead corpses, presumably of the people Maurice
saw enter the tree the previous night. Pierre inspects the corpses and
discovers that the three individuals seem to have killed one another. The
wounds are disturbing and gruesome, involving knife thrusts, teeth, fists, and
fingernails.
Pierre also discovers a folded piece of parchment on one of the corpses. This parchment is an identical copy of Andre’s treasure map.
As Pierre conveys his findings to the company, several of his companions are overcome by gold lust. Magnus’ three recruits, Jim, Jules, Garnier, Frieda, and Sabina all hurl themselves onto the gold, attempting to stuff as much of it into their pouches, pockets, and clothing as they can. They soon realize that they will have even more gold if they are able to dispatch one or several of the company’s other members, and soon begin to fight amongst themselves. Garnier and Jules seem to revel in their madness, using it as an excuse to vent their mutual dislike of one another.
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| GOLD! |
Maurice, for his part, resists the lure of gold just enough to scoop up a heaping pile of coin in his hand and make for the staircase. He manages to avoid being noticed, thanks to all the confusion and shouting, and retreats up to the surface, spoils in hand. As he climbs, he thinks he hears mocking laughter coming from somewhere nearby but does not stop to investigate.
Back in the chamber, the company tries to restrain their maddened companions as best as they can. Cuts and scrapes are given on both sides, Frieda’s hat is torn nearly in half by the weight of the gold she has poured into it, and Sabina has been tackled, garroted, and netted after firing her new pistol into Sir Henri’s leg.
The company hauls their afflicted members up the staircase and out into the open air. The touch of the dawning light purges the gold lust and returns everyone to normal (though Jules and Garnier still want to kill one another). Maurice manages to not shed tears as he realizes that, in the morning sunlight, his handful of gold coins have turned to lead slugs.
Magnus suggests burning the tree down. The rest of the company agrees and gathers tinder from the nearby woods to place around the tree. Once a sizeable pyre has been built up, Magnus beheads the giant, throws the head at the base of the tree, and ignites the kindling. Urged on by a strong, springtime breeze, fire races through the piled wood and the dead tree. The tree is soon engulfed and collapses, sending thick, greasy black smoke skyward.
The company, hoping that their act will prevent other treasure hunters from dooming themselves in the accursed treasure room, return to Colmar.
In Colmar
The company returns to the King’s
Arms, where they are greeted warmly by several of the pilgrims. There was some
concern when the company did not return to the inn on the previous night, but
Henri the innkeeper insisted that, “oh, my good masters are all fine and well.
I’d wager they’re out and about, performing righteous deeds and setting the
Ruinous Powers to rout. I expect they’ll be back before too long.”
Nevertheless, the pilgrims are pleased to see the company safely returned. They also remark on Henri’s great knowledge of the pilgrim’s path and on how nice it is to have some time to rest and take in the local sights, for a change.
The company splits up to take baths, rest, eat, drink, and deal with the fact that some of their number had been ensorcelled by a pile of false gold. Several of them privately decide that they want to be well shut of Colmar and the whole treasure business and hope to leave as soon as possible.
A few of the company ask Andre where he got his map. Andre tells them it was sold to him by one of the fisherfolk he met at Castle Carcassonne.
Maurice’s Errand
Maurice, following a tip given to
him by a one-eyed woman, visits a posh herbalist’s shop in Colmar’s market
district. He and the herbalist engage in a bit of verbal vagaries before it
becomes clear that Maurice wants to buy poison and the herbalist wants to sell
him poison.
In the midst of all of this, Maurice notices that he is not alone in the shop. Through a break in the curtain that leads into a back room, he sees a tall, short-haired woman sitting on a bench. The woman is stripped almost to the waist and is currently dressing her left arm, which is covered with a variety of fresh injuries. Maurice also notices that the woman bears a tattoo of an eight-pointed star on her shoulder.
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| The Tattoo in Question |
Maurice becomes enamored of a jar of manticore venom and haggles with the herbalist for a final price. He ultimately agrees to buy the jar for several crown, one of the gems he pried off the dead ship, and the promise to distribute “certain pieces of literature” on his travels. To this end, the herbalist hands him three neatly folded sheets of parchment.
As Maurice leaves the shop with
his jar of lethal poison, he peeks at the folded parchment. To his utter
non-surprise, he finds that they are identical copies of Andre’s map.
