Session IX - The Big Reveal

With the side quest settled, the party regrouped and gathered back at the pad they'd rented. They also wanted to check up on whether Iyerke d'Tharashk had shown himself in Sharn, as they'd heard he might have.

Quick note; Aga, the orc fighter, decided she'd seen enough unnatural stuff and left. Similarly, Cyria left in the middle of the night, with a note saying that a life of adventure was not what she'd hoped it would be.

Gideon, resident Inquisitive, had been tasked with checking that out. He had learned a few things.

1. Iyerke was in town.
2. He was probably at one of the Tharashk enclaves, which were basically 4 separate Inquisitive's offices run by the house.
3. He refused to use pseudonyms.
4. He was considered something of a rising star in the house, a bit of a Dragonmarked prodigy, and expected to do great things.
5. The nearest Inquisitive's Office to Holdfast- the dwarven neighborhood where Duvrin lives- is Kurt Kundar'Ashta's.

Meanwhile, a message came (through their cut-out at The Drunken Dragon) that Morgrave University had hired some professional Inquisitives who wished to interview the party about the killings that occurred there (Oleg, ogre, flind #1).

It was decided that Kaloei would head to talk to the Inquisitives at Morgrave, and Adan would go check out Kundar'ashta's, trying to see if Iyerke was there. Kaloei would go alone while Gideon and Sol would flank Adan in case things got rough.

Kaloei went and interviewed with a human male named Sigor, who said he was there from...Kurt Kundar'Ashta's agency, hired to make a full report to the Sharn City Watch. He asked many questions, trying to trip her up, especially about the fact that they dragged one still living Flind out and left him bound in an alley. Kaloei's keen senses detected that Sigor knew the answers to questions he was asking, especially questions about Daask and Cavallah. Eventually the interview ended and Kaloei was free to go, but Sigor asked if she would make sure that her companions came to see him as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Adan went to Kurt Kundar'Ashta's and met the proprietor, claiming to be carrying a message for Iyerke d'Tharashk, who might be found here. Kurt offered to take it for him and deliver it, but Adan demurred. He insisted (with a bluff check) that if Kurt touched a paper while he (Adan) cast an Arcane Mark, it would prove that he had attempted to deliver it and was unsuccessful, and would be able to collect some, if not all, of his fee. Kurt smelt a rat. He said he'd get his retained arcanist out front to doublecheck what spell was being cast. A kobold came hopping out- the retained "Arcanist," apparently. He and Kurt (who was, btw, human) jabbered at each other a bit in Orcish. Adan deliberately didn't cast a spell and claimed it had fizzled for some reason, and he'd try again.

Kurt snatched the paper and flipped it open. Adan reacted quickly and cast Blinding Color-Surge, a great spell which blinded Kurt and made him (Adan) invisible for a few rounds- enough to get out of the door and several hundred feet away. Sol and Gideon were comfortable enough with Adan to know that a swinging door, a gust of wind, and a jabbering kobold coming stomping after was enough to know they should just melt away.

Everyone reconvened at the house and Adan was (slowly) talked into going to see the Inquisitives at Morgrave. As Gideon said, "Worst comes to worst, we'll just beat him senseless and get you out of there." Adan, after all, had just been at Kundar'Ashta's, albeit in disguise; he was very afraid of being made. Gideon was told to stake out Kundar'Ashta's place; he'd demurred from following him because, as he said, "Kundar'ashta's better than me, and if I try to follow him, he'll make me. Staking out his place, I'll have a chance, but not following him."

At any rate, when Adan walked in the room, he knew it was a setup- he knew the man set to interview him. Sigor d'Deneith, one of Adan's old compatriots in the Sentinel Eyes- a unit of Deneith spies formed near the end of the Last War, because Deneith was tired of buying information from Phiarlan, Thuranni, or one of the national intelligence services. They'd been headquartered in Metrol, so needless to say, there weren't many Sentinel Eyes left.

Adan immediately turned to walk out of the room but Sigor begged for him to listen. Adan told him he had 30 seconds. Sigor's spiel went something like this;

"Adan, listen; the people you're with, they're dangerous. That elf, the Aereni...he's got an Aberrant Mark. And you don't understand what Aberrant Marks mean. They're dangerous. Those who have them are twisted, cursed; most of the governments knew this. So did Phiarlan; that's why they keep lists, Adan. Lists. They monitor them. But now there are those smart enough to try and gather them and control them. This comes from top people in our House, Adan. Top people. You can join us. I'll cut you in. You can walk right in and join with us, they'll take you. You have to trust me."

Adan's answer was; your house. Not mine.

And he left. And he kept walking, and was planning to just leave, period. To just get on a slow boat to Zilargo and leave Sharn behind.

Then, as they were leaving the University District, Gideon intercepted them;

"I was watching Kundar'Ashta's place and they..Iyerke, and flunkies...showed up with a girl, a half-elf. I think it was Pietra. They got her while you were away."

Adan was faced with an immediate decision; run, or go try and rescue Pietra. His original commission was to find Agate Corleis, and he reasoned she might very well be wherever Pietra was.

On they went to Kundar'Astha's. Iyerke, with four flunkies and Sigor, were leaving, carrying two large crates. Time to throw down.

It was a tough battle; Adan was gut shot and knocked out in the first round. Same happened to Gideon and Kaloei; Iyerke is a brilliant archer and he was on the money tonight.

Also, Iyerke was strangely hard to hurt, as no weapons but Kaloei's really inflicted harm. Sol and Gideon's weapons mostly bounced off of him.

The flunkies were brought quickly under control; Sol's dog and Adan brought down Sigor (Adan and Gideon were both brought back into the fight by Kaloei's cunning use of Cure Light Wounds). It was a near run thing; eventually, Iyerke was a mere 3 hp from being out of the fight, as Adan had hit him with a severe non-lethal damage fatigue spell. He turned and started to bolt for the edge of the platform the district was on, intent on simply leaping off; Kaloei speared him through the gut and dropped him.

Adan wisely suggested they quickly get inside and they did. Inside one crate were several boxes of dragonshards; inside the other was an unconscious half-elven girl. When they let her out, ungagged her, she immediately attempted to burn Iyerke to death, with some sort of fire-based spell-like ability.

They packed Sigor into a crate, and Adan went out and bribed a passing sky-cab to not ask any questions as they carted the whole lot to Holdfast, and Duvrin's house.

They got there. The cabbie said nothing. Pietra was thrilled to be home; Duvrin was happy to see them and greatly indebted. But Duvrin had business. Iyerke and Sigor were quickly stripped and lead downstairs and strapped into chairs. Torches were lit. Feet were put into stocks. Gideon, Sol, and Kaloei went upstairs to the "club room" to have a drink with Reeve, the warforged bodyguard. Duvirn's staff artificer was set to work looking at the various plunder.

Sigor sang like a canary. Iyerke proved harder to break. Sigor claimed that he was hired out from top people in Deneith; that he knew they were snatching people off the various lists the governments and Dragonmarked houses had maintained- which first meant snatching the lists- of Aberrant Dragonmarked folk. He knew Daask was providing muscle and the war in Lhazar was involved; once properly broken, that's where the Aberrants were headed. For use in a war.

Eventually Adan charmed Iyerke, and got almost the entire story, or as much as he knew.

1. They had targeted Kaloei because her father was in charge of Phiarlan's "list," and they wanted to try to get at him for it; they suspected it was more complete than many others.
2. He was serving the particular interest of Baron Zharask Kundar'Ashta, one of the Tharashk Triumvirate.
3. This was big; bigger than he knew. "Layers within layers," he said.
4. Lhazar was connected. The war there was a part of this.
5. Master Sculptor Haradeen was dead; had been for 2 years. He'd been replaced by a medusa and a changeling playing his part.
6. There were other medusae in Sharn, playing the same role; turning captives to stone for easier shipping.
7. Several statues had gone out on a ship to Lhazar just a few hours prior.
8. Daask was not making jewelry. They were making collars; with the right bonded pairs of Siberys shards, those with Aberrant Dragonmarks could be made to serve the whim of another. Daask was involved, too, though perhaps just as muscle.
9. The Dragonshards Daask was working with dated to the War of the Mark; they'd been used by King Tarkanan's people.
10. Deneith was definitely involved, though not the House as a whole, just select elements.

Adan was shaken to his core; eventually he revealed his background...and the growing Siberys dragonmark on his body...to the party.

Duvrin told his story; he'd been a loyal citizen of Breland and a member of the Dark Lanterns of the King's Citadel, a part of a special unit of Aberrant Dragonmarked agents. Eventually the King shut down the unit, and his advisers tried to have them all killed. Duvrin and several others got away. As he said, "After spending 60 years slowly dying for King and Country only to be tossed aside because I was 'dangerous,' I couldn't stomach living in Breland." He went to Aundair with a comrade; one of Pietra's parents.

Their family's boat burned when Pietra manifested her Dragonmark, as she slept and dreamed. He had saved her, but couldn't save her parents. He brought her to Sharn, because he knew others of his kind were there- but that was all he would say of those former comrades.

This was all quite a blow to Kaloei, who'd learned all her life that those with Aberrant...or, as Duvrin suggested, "non-standard" Dragonmarks were monsters. Now to know that they were being hunted...to be used in a war...she couldn't think even they deserved that.

Adan, for his part, said he'd seen firsthand what war meant, that he'd lost too much to it, and even if he'd felt he'd long since cut all ties to House Deneith, he couldn't stand to think that their noble traditions were being perverted...especially to start another war.

The party is not quite sure what to do; perhaps follow the statues, perhaps guide Pietra to safety. Duvrin says they need to help him decide, but he will back their play; he can send Pietra to "the ancestral homeland," as it were, the Mror Holds, where Tharashk will not come get her, and that he can hire changelings to play her part in Sharn, as well as other places to create false leads.

But what the party does next is undecided; should they wish to return to Aundair to report to Urik Rorham, he will see to it. If they want to go to Lhazar, Prince Lorrister managed to find enough sponsors to have an old airship refitted and crewed, and is looking to hire hands and mercenaries, and it would be a ride there.

To dig deeper and see where the threads lead? To stop a war, perhaps? Or to protect the life of an innocent girl, cursed with a power she never asked for, until she is somewhere safe? That is the decision the party faces.