Session VI- Welcome to Sharn

At the close of last session, the party had managed to gain the trust...and the help...of Magana Corleis, Enchantress, Professor at Arcanix, and aunt of one of the disappeared folk on the "list" they got way back in Session I, Agate Corleis. Dropping the name "Urik Rorham" got them some credibility, apparently.

At any rate, Magana sent them off for the evening, saying she'd be of no help till the morning at any rate. That night, back in The Black Dog, Cyria settled in to try her hand at making potions, Kaloei remembered how to play the lute, Adan (the new fellow, for those who might not recall) took it upon himself to see about altering the traveling papers of the party (going to need those to get into Sharn) and Sol...well Sol probably sharpened his axes.

There was some discussion over just how to get into Sharn; it was ultimately decided that the fewest changes that needed to be made, the better. Sol suggested what those of us in gaming circles know as "the old Wookie prisoner trick," that is to say, just have Adan pose as a bounty hunter having captured the rest of them.

This was quickly dismissed. Wisely, as well; Sentinel Marshals and House Tharashk are much more competent than Stormtroopers and Imperial officers. The average white-hat detachment in a Star Wars game (or Star Wars movie) couldn't pour piss out of a boot with instructions on the heel. Sentinel Marshals might have a shot at getting the ground wet.

It was decided they'd pose as a family of farming elves come to Sharn to make offerings at a temple of Arawai (it is late summer, the 21st of Barrakas, and moving towards harvest season).

Anyway, in the morning, Magana had managed to procure a scroll of teleport (she can't quite cast greater teleport) and asked where they wanted to be set down. She could try for inside Sharn, but that would be fraught with peril, not to mention potentially detectable by those with nefarious intent. Alternately, she could set them down outside First Tower...but then they'd be on their own when it came to getting in. However, once inside, well...no one ought to be looking for them there, and they might be able to act with impunity...for a while.

There were some moments of hilarity at the gate, as the "Evenstars" talked their way in, on the strength of good Disguise and Forgery rolls. (On a side note, the way that Disguise and Forgery can work is one of my favorite parts of D&D; the DM makes the roll using the player's total skill bonus, and doesn't let them know the result until the deal goes down. That's awesome. Theoretically, as Adan's player pointed out, the perfect game would involve the DM making all the rolls...but what fun would that be?)

At any rate, they made it in...welcome to Sharn. Only Adan had ever been there before; Sol remained stolidly unimpressed. He still refuses to wear shoes. Kaloei was thrilled to find civilization. First order of business was to find the embassy district...Ambassador Towers, in the Upper Wards of Central Plateau. Sol set off to get a new set of traveling papers from the Aerenal embassy, and Kaloei and Cyria did the same at the Aundairian embassy. Adan has...several sets of traveling papers...

Annnnyway, Cyria and Kaloei had some problems:

"We lost our traveling papers to bandits on the road."
Clerk, quizzically: "Then how'd you get into Sharn?"
Kaloei:
Clerk: "I'm waiting."
Kaloei flashes cleavage, dashes away to regroup.

Eventually they just got in line for a different clerk, told a more coherent story, and got new papers. They also asked for an appointment with Tamir ir'Windarn, an upper secretary- the contact they were told to seek by Urik. They were told they'd hear from him in a day or two.

Meanwhile, Adan went off to try and scare up some information; first, he sought out word of who to speak to at Morgrave University regarding Dragonmarks; he was referred to a Professor Oleg, of the Arcane History department.

Second, he sought word of who might be into human trafficking; he heard that the place to go asking about that was down in the Cogs, where he ought not go without some serious muscle around him. So he put that thought off for the time being.

The party made plans to meet up at The Drunken Dragon, an Inn of note in the Adventurer's Quarter. While there, Kaloei and Soledyn got a message from the Embassy asking them to come see Tamir ir'Windarn. They took Cyria, who, when ushered into the presence of the secretary...middle aged, rotund, balding, dressed in finery...was asked to leave, because she was most certainly not one of the people Urik had told him to expect. He asked for any information they might've yet found and asked that they check in with him every other day. He also recommended they find an Inquisitive who knows Sharn better than they do. All the best Inquisitives are members of House Tharashk, so they wanted to stay clear of them. Tamir said he'd heard decent things about an Inquisitive Agency called Skysedge Investigations, run by some fellow named Gideon.

They regrouped, rested and decided to seek more information in the morning, starting with seeking out Skysedge Investigations; this proved more difficult than they had expected, as, when scouring Skysedge Park for an office, they found nothing. By asking around they find that, office or no, Gideon can sometimes be found hanging around the park. Eventually they track him down; a large fellow, sitting on a bench, reading and smoking a pipe, soft-spoken, calm, reserved.

Kaloei immediately entered negotiations with him, giving him a list of things to look into, for a 5 day retainer of 250 silver pieces.

(Note: I think that's way low, but it's the book rates for non-Dragonmarked Inquisitives. I went with it because I figure Gideon's just starting out, really).

The list was as follows;
Pietra of Whiteroof Ward; where is she? who is Duvrin? are they still in the city?

Cavallah? (He was taken aback by this name).

Agate Corleis

Riann Nagel

Urik Rorham (deciding to check up on their employer. tsk tsk.)

the statues? any connection between Cavallah and Lord Admiral Lyrien?

Thus employed, Gideon told them to meet him after 11 at The Broken Tailfeather, a...tavern...down in a lower ward.

First things first; they decided to check in at the Lhazar embassy to see if the statue destined for Lord Admiral Lyrien, the Lhazar Consul in Sharn, had arrived yet. They were informed that yes, it had, but, in light of "recent events" the Admiral had thought it politic to cancel the gala that was to accompany the unveiling of the statue. Public viewing, however, was available for the price of 5 silver pieces a head. They paid their money and were ushered into the back. Adan quietly cast a Detect Magic to see if the statue had any aura.

Two things of note were learned; one, the statue was not the same statue that had been with the caravan. It was high quality work, worth thousands of gold pieces, and done on the same subject, an Aundairian farmer...but it was not the same. Second, it had no magical aura.

Uncertain what to make of these developments, the party split for the time being.

Adan headed for Morgrave to meet with Professor Oleg. It took some doing to even get into his office. Professor Oleg, it seems, is a nervous sort; he kept a wand trained on Adan for much of the time, asking "who are you with?" and giving voice to concerns about "the ogres." Adan adopted a thorough and believable farmboy persona, giving his name as "Kerth." He said he'd just come into Sharn, taking a break from "farmin' the goats," and he was in town looking for information about...a rash.

Adan, it seems, may be growing a Dragonmark...a large one. According to Professor Oleg, there were some very exciting things happening in the skies these days, some astrological formations that haven't been seen for thousands of years...since the War of the Mark, even! It could be that his rash was related to that. Perhaps it might be an Aberrant dragonmark!

Kerth wondered if that was anything like what "those nice Vadalis fellas who come down to help us with the goats have."

Professor Oleg, his concerns about the ogres long since forgotten, continued to hold forth about the War of the Mark, and Aberrant Dragonmarks and so on and so forth. Eventually, they were interrupted by a knock at the door, which put Oleg back into full wand-waving paranoia. There was, in fact, an Ogre at the door- albeit one with his hair washed and held back, wearing clean leather armor, and carrying an enormous sword on his back. Granted, he smelled awful...really awful, and his skin was full of boils and sores, but he was clearly an Ogre who was trying.

Oleg seemed delighted to see him, and introduced him as Karg. It was understood that Kerth's meeting was over, and Adan set off; however, he paused at the door to listen. He caught a few things;

"Know where they're being held...Daask...can't do any more...I'm sorry..."

Meanwhile, back with Team Elf!


They decided to catch the speech given by Prince Lorrister of the Heavenly Fleet; if you'll recall from a previous post, he is seeking allies in his opposition to the overthrow of Prince Ryger in the Lhazar Principalities; according to him, there is an alliance of fleets...the Cloudreavers, the Diresharks, and even elements of Ryger's own Seadragons...have besieged Ryger at his own stronghold of Regalport.

The Prince emerged from the Temple of Dol Arrah, on his own, with no entourage or bodyguards, wearing bright blue leather armor and carrying a simple cutlass at his side. There was a scaffold erected for him to speak from, and rather than ascend by stairs, he unfurled his large white wings and flew to the top, and began to address the crowd that had gathered. His speech was to the point;

"When I set off for Lhazar, 4 years ago, you laughed at me. You mocked me. Most predicted I would be dead inside a fortnight. And yet I here I am. Even now my fleet seeks to break the blocake of Regalport. I have made advances, though none miraculous. And now, treachery and darkness threaten to send the Lhazar Principalities, and all their peoples, too, back to the days of lawlessness, of piracy and rape and murder. And you and your lords and your kings will stand by and watch it happen, all because we are too far to your north to be bothered by. Prince Ryger was treated as an equal, and Lhazar as a sovereign nation, at Thronehold, when the war ended- and if this were happening in Breland, or Karnath, or Aundair, none of your kings would stand for it. I tell you now that if Khorvaire lets this happen, you will pay a heavy blood-price."

That was more or less the gist of things. They followed him for a second speech, which was highlighted by his shaming of Lord Admiral Lyrien by calling him out, and asking him to name specifically whom he served, which Lyrien would not do. Otherwise the speech was much the same.

Flash forward to finding The Broken Tailfeather. It was down a ways, in Olladra's Forge, a lower class tavern district, and notable for the red lantern hanging over the door. They were a few hours early, so they had time to survey the "menu," which included drinks, bar food, and reasonably priced love for all races. Nobody partook of anything but drinks, though Cyria seemed only to hold back because of the presence of her comrades.

Eventually, Gideon showed up, after 11, as he'd said. He was in his working clothes; a long black cloak, armor beneath, and a bloody big sword on his back. He'd done quite a bit of legwork and had preliminary reports on much of what they'd asked, but only preliminary;

Pietra of Whiteroof Ward: Known to have entered the city with Duvrin almost a decade ago. Status since then uncertain

Duvrin: "I found that in some veteran bars, they speak of this dwarf with a reverence reserved for dead heroes...and yet, as near as I can tell, he's now a heavy for one of the guilds of thieves...House Tarkanan. Assassins, or so I've heard. Seems to be the same fellow."

Cavallah: "Ogre. Leader of Daask. Daask is at war with the Boromars (the party, of course, is clueless as to who the Boromars might be), and the little bastards would wipe them out if Daask would just stay still and fight, but they won't. She's tough and dangerous, probably down in the Cogs, and no, I don't know why she'd be buying art. Especially expensive art."

Agate Corleis: No word. Some brief mention of someone matching her situation coming into the city, but I couldn't make the timing right. Given when she disappeared from Arcanix, and when she was rumored to be seen here...she'd have to have crossed the distance in a matter of a couple of days.

Riann Nagel: Nothing. Sorry.

Urik Rorham: Far as I can tell, this man doesn't exist. Now if you'll pardon me, I have work to do- work that entails staring at the door and making sure no one causes trouble.

Thus informed, the party headed back to the Drunken Dragon to consider their next move.

More to come in Part II, later.