The Elk run circles around us!

After the father and son duo head off toward Diamond bed, the group continues heading East. After a few days Wurm is starting to hate camping and traveling. They find a large clearing (wheat field). What is strange is that there is the symbol of Noir in the Wheat (like a crop circle). It can only be seen from the sky, but it is a clear that this is the "sign" Wurm was looking for. Mordilane finds a dead tree not too far off and is enamored with it and starts to peal off the dead bark. Once he peals off all of the bark, the tree appears to be made of fused bone. 

One of the areas of the crop circle (the tombstone portion of the Noir symbol) seems strange. After stepping within the circle, time seems to slow down. They determine that this area allows time to slow down by 1 hour per minute, giving the person time to rest or study and pray. 24 hours in the area  =  only 24 minutes in real time. A great find indeed. 

Wurm places down the foundation stone seeing a perfectly dug hole to accept it and feeling quite confident that this is "the place". After placing the stone a caravan arrives with a group of 13 masons. The leader of the group introduces himself as Master Mason Bierson Remley. He explains he is on a mission from god to build a church. He comes up with a quick sketch of the first chamber which will encompass the area around the strange time altering portion of the field. He also sets a stake in the ground of where the eventual front entrance will be which will look at and be centered on the bone tree 200 yards away. 

Bierson gives Mordilane a page of sheet music. Once he starts to play, a herd of Elk arrive at the site and start to run in a circle around the area. This piece of sheet music seems quite special as after he finishes the song, the entire page changes to a new song. 

The masons start pulling stones from bags of holding and begin work. The adventurers leave and head further east towards Evonmar. When they arrive, Mordilane finds one of his flyers hanging in the blacksmiths shop and immediately goes to work of drumming up excitement for his upcoming performance. He works his way through the community and finds himself in the company of Duke Orek Isenwood. The Duke is smitten with the Bard and invites him and and his friends to stay at his guest house on his estate. 

A formal dinner is produced for the "out of towners". A whole pig is presented and the group enjoys a quite lovely and elegant dinner.

During dessert a scream comes from the main entrance. One of the female servants has been murdered. Her vocal cords and entrails strapped around her, hanging from the girders above. Her eyes are also gone/ removed. 

Everyone heads back to their quarters. In the morning the Duke and several fully armed soldiers arrive at the guest house. He is not happy. He gives the group 12 hours to turn over the murderer before he is forced to call upon the clerics in town to speak with dead and call out the culprit. He assures the group that if they give up the member of their party that did such horrible deeds, he will be merciful. But if they don't, then all members will suffer the same fate as the murderer. 

12 hours....