Session II

Session 2- April 28, 2007

Disclaimer: Some of you reading this may recognize certain names; if I have stolen a name from you, rest assured I know I have, and I use it for an NPC because I like how the name matches the race/character type. If you recognize the name as an NPC or PC of mine from a previous campaign...as you no doubt will with two, in particular, that are mentioned in this post...please do not make comments revealing what you know about the characters attached to those names, since my current players don't know anything about them. And, for my current players, I am not just re-treading an old campaign, but I am using elements and plot-threads I've used before, to see how they play out with a different party and different circumstances.

No massive run-on sentences this time, I promise.

As you may recall from the last post, the party had subdued the human man known as Garth of Thaliost, and his elven companion, who remained unnamed. A thorough search had turned up two sets of ID papers for the woman, one blank, but still notarized by House Sivis, making it a felony in most of Khorvaire. The second named her as Kaloei d'Phiarlan, which we remember is the name of one of our intrepid heroes.

After thoroughly tying up their unconscious foes (a task made more difficult by the utter lack of "Use Rope" skill amongst the party) the party gained the following important tidbits from Garth; a finely crafted light crossbow, a pair of plain daggers, three vials of unidentified fluids, a key (hrmm) and assorted scraps of paper written in cipher.

Coded papers mean the bard's time to shine! Bring on that "Decipher Script" check.

Oh. What's that? You rolled a 3. Back to utter uselessness for you, lute-plucker!

All Kaloei was able to discern from the papers was that they represented correspondence between Garth and someone with a "Y" figuring prominently in his name. A thorough search of the barge commenced, uncovering a sizable smuggler's compartment with an assortment of goods typical of the kind smuggled out of Thrane (exotic peppers, silver, artwork) as well as a locked strongbox. Hmm.

As Kal and Sol discuss just who is going to attempt to open that box with the key they found, the party is struck by how desperately they need a rogue. Then they realize that with the key, a trap probably wouldn't go off anyway. (I let them off easy- what kind of paranoid operator keeps his strongbox trapped to the point that the traps have to be disarmed even when he uses a key? Not the kind who gets taken down by 1st level adventurers, that's what kind). Inside the strongbox were the following; 3 stacks of freshly minted Thranite platinum, a small sack with 5 red gems, apparently rubies, and a piece of paper. On the paper? Six names, with a line drawn across the first 3, and the last:

Aldaryn ir'Mentir

Lhas Terask

Vidania Acker

Pietra of Whiteroof Ward

Riann Nagel

Agate Corleis


Further interrogation of Garth reveals little; his female companion is named Elazarre, but that's all he knows about her, except that he was ordered to aid her however was necessary. Seems he was really a bagman, there to meet with a contact named "Iyerke," feed him names, and pay him off. (Ah, the lowly bagman; is there anyone more vulnerable, less capable, and less appreciated in the shady world of schemes and plots? I think not).

With night now firmly settled on Fairhaven (and nursing serious wounds) Sol and Kal decide to drag their captives off to the nearest Watch station. A bored Watch Corporal on desk duty, named Bacher, is suddenly overwhelmed by the actual apprehension of criminals and presentation of evidence (Garth as a smuggler, Elazarre as a forger). What Sol and Kal failed to take into account was the fact that Soledyn doesn't have ID papers...which means the Watch is obligated to detain him and attempt to establish his identity (I just love it when players stumble into something like that; it's a free license to interrupt their plans). Fortunately for him, there is an Aerenal Embassy and he is a member of the Deathguard with a strong family history; an envoy is dispatched to that Embassy to see if identity can be established.

Luckily for him, within a couple of hours a representative of the Deathguard...the equivalent of a high-ranking NCO (Elves don't have sergeants, right? I mean, it just doesn't sound right. An elvish sergeant? Gnomes, maybe. Halflings? Possibly. Dwarves? Absolutely. Dwarves are perfect sergeants, born to it. But elves? Picture R. Lee Ermey, only ethereally beautiful, pointed ears, flowing hair, spewing curses..."I didn't know they stacked dragon-shit so high in Aerenal"...it just doesn't work) named Ederrion Jhaelian shows up. Tall fellow. Thin. Masked. Armed. Spooooooky.

He points out that Soledyn can prove his identity very simply; Kal averts her eyes, there is some rustling as Sol pulls down the straps of his pack armor, and Ederrion goes away satisfied, claiming he will send over a representative of House Sivis to draw up identity papers for Soledyn, and that he'll start issuing him orders. After all, four years isn't all that long for the elves, and Sol is still a member of the Deathguard.

Eventually, after repeating their story several times, Sol and Kal are allowed to leave the Watch house, but told to stay in the city, and leave an address they can be contacted at. Giving the Cask and Flagon as their address, off they go to investigate.

Then, remembering they're injured, they seek out a House Jorasco enclave, negotiate the price of simple healing and cots for the night (ten gold apiece- two of their "liberated" platinum coins) and then they rest. Well, rest like elves, which is to say, float above the covers in the lotus position, then wake up with perfect hair and bright eyes, refreshed, ready to face the day. Go team Elf!

Finally, all healed up, they set off to investigate. First up is figuring out just who are these people on the list and how to track them down. Seeing as how they were still close to Whiteroof Ward, they decide to go ahead and investigate the name "Pietra of Whiteroof Ward."

Deciding the best place to start is at a local joint for breakfast, they make discreet inquiries. One nat 20 on a Gather Info check later (plus the glint of ready coin) and a waitress is telling them what she knows of Pietra of Whiteroof Ward; a half-elf of Fairhaven, of the itinerant river-gypsy half-elves, she was barely more than a child when, "ten or twelve years ago," her family's boat went up in flames. There were only a few survivors, but the girl was left without family. A hired hand, a dwarf by the name of Duvrin, was given stewardship and custody over the girl, and the last anyone heard, the two of them had set off to Sharn.

Ten years makes for a cold trail, but it was about the best they came up with. The only other info they came up with regarded Lhars Terask. A veteran of the Last War, he disappeared a scant few weeks ago. People he knew him, including Torth, the owner of the Cask and Flagon, say he came back from the war a bit cracked. Big deal; lots of vets came back from the war cracked. But apparently there were a few incidents around his neighborhood, of people, especially kids who though it a fine prank to sneak up on the veteran whose nerves were shot, becoming absolutely terrified of him. When he disappeared, not too many people were asking questions.

On to the Cask and Flagon to see what became of their first captive, the changeling thug from the Dark Daggers. Turns out that the gnome bagpipe player who shares the stage with Kaloei, name of Flimble, went ahead and took said thug home, back to Kreelo, the leader of the Dark Daggers. His reasoning, to Kaloei, was that she oughtn't burden herself with the emnity of people like Kreelo. And, he brought back a message; the Dark Daggers were working with Garth purely as a matter of smuggling, offering their help and taking their cut. They had no interest in drawing the emnity of a Dragonmarked house, and the thug who signed on to do so would be dealt with. Satisfied with that explanation (and looking a little odd at Flimble, who they had previously known to just be an innocuous little pipe player, but was now dealing with criminal gangs and positively dripping with weaponry) they sought to do some more investigating, but were then summoned off to the enclave of house Phiarlan. Kaloei's father, it appeared, wanted a word with them.

And he did have a word with them. Several words. The Watch had informed house Phiarlan of the assault upon one of their heirs. Kaloei was summarily bidden to return to the house enclave, to either teach or perform with a Phiarlan-approved troupe, and to quit her obligation to Torth forthwith.

So, naturally, she went back to the Cask and Flagon to play her lunchtime set. And play she did, well enough to earn a few silver. During her performance, though, two figures slipped into the bar; Corporal Bacher, and an unfamiliar one. Dressed in fine but plain clothing, visibly armed with a longsword, with a businesslike air about him, the man introduced himself to Kaloei as Urik Rorham. Not a Watchman, though Corporal Bacher clearly deferred to him. He requested Kaloei speak with him, and, no stranger, perhaps, to the needs of discretion, Torth dismissed all customers from the area of the bar (following the old D&D rule that all tavern owners are retired soldiers/adventurers, Torth is a veteran with an old but well-maintained bastard sword hung over the bar, so people listen when he coughs) . His interest lay in her and her friend's apprehension of Garth of Thaliost. And where was her friend, one Soledyn Lumenars (wisely, Sol had vanished into a corner of the inn)? Well, at any rate; Garth was a known associate of a person Urik was interested in, one Iyerke d'Tharashk. This Iyerke was, he went on to say, perhaps connected to the disappearance of some Aundairian citizens, but he had as yet been unable to convince the Sentinel Marshals to look into the matter. Kaloei reacted to the mention of disappearances visibly, especially once Urik dropped some names; Aldaryn ir'Mentir, Lhas Terask, Vidania Acker, Agate Corleis. With keen senses (and a high sense motive check!) Urik pressed the point; what did Kaloei know?

At this point, Sol and Kal decided to come clean; they showed Urik the list, they explained what they'd found and how and why. Urik Rorham explains that he is in need of some assistance; that while he serves the best interests of Aundair, his resources are not without limits, and what he'd very much like is for someone to take a trip to Sharn and see if they can track down this Pietra of Whiteroof Ward, and perhaps determine what connects her to the other names on the list, and why Iyerke and Garth were interested in her. He knew of an Orien caravan leaving in the morning, and could arrange passage, if they agreed right now. He'll give them the name of a contact in Sharn, and arrange for them to keep him informed via Sivis messaging services; there'd be a Sivis detachment with the caravan.

They agreed. The caravan leaves when next we meet.