I met the outsiders in the treasury, a mixed bunch of chancers if there ever was one. The Duke’s son directed us to search the armoury. The special magic sword missing and the room sealed. We’d need that sword to slay the beast of these parts some folks say. The armoury had been opened perhaps once from the scrape marks by the door in recent weeks. Looking round the armoury we discovered a thin wall, so we knocked through the wall. The room behind was an old gaol, with eight cells.

In one corner in a cell, was the remains, entrails, broken bones, skulls and the like of two people, a peasant girl and a guard perhaps were the most likely people. They had been gnawed by some animal monster. A tunnel in the ceiling can be seen above. A carpenter was sent to board it up. We did not venture into the tunnel it being too thin for us.

Then a guard raised a cry. The duke’s elderly mother had died of ‘exposure’. We went to the outside to the scene of her death. She’d taken her warm outer clothes off so would have died soon, being frail and all. We asked a guard about the timing of when she left. He said she’d gone out a couple of hours before and the priest had gone with her.

We made off to see the priest. He got angry with us and said he’d been praying all morn with his apprentice. In search of somewhere to piss, I found myself in his chambers, just noticed that there was only priestly trappings there.

We reported to the Duke’s son. He was upset that we got the priest riled up.

With the Duke’s health failing, word from the servants at dinner was that his son’s marriage to lady Catherine would be brought forward to tomorrow so that he would be a fit and proper married heir to the estate.

In the eve a message was waiting for us ‘Come downstairs at Midnight and see the coven’ or some such. Thorny the bastard son of the Duke spoke with us. He’d had the same message, band up and investigate he said. We said that made sense, not that anything makes sense.

Only ones I half trust are these outsiders. Priest seemed like he was telling the truth, but then the guard is a liar or there is magic at work.

The beast is around here and we need to weapon to kill it. Maybe it’s a changling beast so might be a man or beast at any time. We still need to explore the rest of the castle. As the cell wall was whole there must be another way of the beast getting out of the tunnel. We need to find that part so we can investigate the tunnel or block it up. That’s what I have a notion too anyway.

Editor’s note: Olsen refers to Uther as the Duke throughout, despite Lord Uther not actually holding this senior military title. This is probably a local peasant affectation, referring to the most senior local lord as the Duke.