ER:Heamish

From The Heretic Knowledge Vault

In the universe of Errant Road, Heamish is a small town on the road between Saus and Emerylon. It has been visited by player characters and NPCs as they investigate the mysterious disappearance of Father Egbert, a significant plot line. No corresponding town is known to exist in the Poe-verse.

Heamish is viewed as a wide spot in the road with the usual small-town accouterments: inn, a general store or two, a small temple of the Veracian Church, and so on. Some of the action takes place at and around the temple, apparently a one-man operation featuring the elderly priest Father Rilus. If there are any other priests or nuns at the temple, they have not put in an appearance, but Father Rilus' housekeeper Hildegard has played a small role in some of the proceedings. As usual for small towns in Veracia, the temple follows the "Orthodox" branch of the Veracian Church, and most of the townsfolk are also of this denomination, sometimes making it uncomfortable for members of other denominations -- a significant plot point.

Heamish appears to be situated in agricultural country, at the foot of a low mountain ridge known as the "Sleeping Sexton." Farm country extends to the south, while a mine is set somewhere in the terrain of the Sleeping Sexton itself. The combination of agriculture and mining makes for a town that, while hardly upper-crust, is at least reasonably well off from a material perspective.

Player character Argus Cleiviein and NPC Brother Miguel journey to this spot as they search for Father Egbert, having learned that Egbert's sister, Mildred Hamael, lives here with her husband Wilbur and children. With Hildegard's help, Argus and Miguel conduct an interview with Mildred Hamael that doesn't really reveal much of anything, but does get interrupted by a visit from a giant beaver, which is dispatched by Mildred's son Jason with a single word: "Die." This, it's fair to say, captures Argus' and Miguel's attention, particularly since the talented lad discloses that he learned this little trick from his old man, a military service buddy of Father Egbert's. Stay tuned; the last shoe has surely not dropped on this encounter.