The Relic continues....

The man, a rather disagreeable looking fellow, greeted them. Next to him burned a small fire into which he was throwing bits of paper.  He introduced himself as Mr Shannon, the gamekeeper for the forest. On enquiring about Prof. Harrison he explained that he had found Harrison's body himself and appeared to take great delight in telling how it had been ripped to pieces by some wild animal. Shannon, or Ted to his friends, also said that he had previously seen Harrison on a few occasions working about 500 yards in the other direction but knew little else about him. When the group enquired as to what he was burning, he growled that it was his own business what he did in his own home, and then advised the party that they should leave the forest by nightfall as "things happen here after dark". The party left, wondering if the "things that happen here after dark" involved Mr Shannon.

As the group made their way in the direction Shannon had given them, they passed the woman, whom they presumed to be his wife, who was sitting under a tree. She appeared in some distress, and looking over her shoulder at her husband, she warned the party that they were in danger and should leave, but before anyone could say anything she hurried back to the house, leaving the party even more confused. After following the route and finding no sign of Harrison's work, the group decided to turn back and return to the village where maybe further information could be gleamed.  Dr Viljoen, unsurprisingly suspicious of Mr Shannon, suggested they slip back across some fields and approach the house from a different direction which would then enable them to spy on him.  A few others agreed to this and bravely set off while the rest returned by the main track. 

While the second group was approaching a fork in the road they spotted movement in amongst the trees. It was Shannon, who, on spotting them, bolted into the wood. The group walked unhurriedly, to where he had been. Within the trees in a small clearing they saw a pentagram, drawn in chalk dust. In the centre was a clay tablet about the size of a book, marked with a crucifix and other strange runes. Of Mr Shannon, there was no sign. Hiram Grumbacker threw caution to the wind and picked up the seal, and as he did so there was, (or at least supposed to be), a bright flash from the centre of the pentogram. He fell to the ground unconscious. The others attempted to revive him but were unsuccessful; so, taking the tablet with them, they carried him back to the house.

Meanwhile the others had made their way back to the house to find it seemingly deserted. Entering the small walled garden they looked at the ashes of the fire. Amongst the scraps of paper they found a half-burnt and bloodied shirt, and also a small pocket book which on further inspection appeared to be Prof. Harrison's field diary. Luckily the thick cover had protected the pages within sufficiently enough to make it still readable. The diary revealed that Harrison had spent the last two weeks investigating the site and digging a few exploratory trenches to find evidence of the medieval monastery. It also explained that he had rented the cottage from Shannon, who had pestered him throughout his stay. One night he was awoken by the sound of an intruder who fled with some of  his research notes. Despite Harrison giving chase, the thief escaped with the help of an accomplice waiting in an automobile. It was while in pursuit that Harrison discovered a clay tablet matching the description of the one found by the players in the pentagram, only he claims that it was emblazoned with a glowing cross. He seemed to recognise this item from his research and writes excitedly that he may have found one of the holy seals which surrounded a holy relic, which tales told was buried within the monastery.

After other such incidents, the professor sent the telegrams which summoned the party then returned to the house, stating that for safety sake he would hide what remained of his research notes and other artefacts, along with a rough sketch of where he understood the other holy seals should be, using the one he found as a reference. It was then the diary ended. The players were now (quite rightly) deeply suspicious of foul play and decided that they would set about looking for the hidden papers.  A long search of the grounds brought no success, and as some of the party sat outside deciding on what else to do when Mrs Shannon appeared from around a corner. She appeared startled at first, which quickly turned into anxiety as she said that she had something very important to tell them. A meeting place and a time was arranged, and she disappeared again around the corner, so quickly in fact it was as if she had gone round the back of the house and climbed in through a window.