Session 1: Welcome to Phlan
General Summary
An extract from the humble tome’s of the epic “Through Darkness Until the Light; The Fall of an Empire” by Saramonus the Pure ; lover, bard, free spirt, official chronicler & part time accountant. Volume 1, Chapter 3. Fickle Fate had drawn the three together; Dustinby, a young, sorcerous Gnome looking for acceptance and far away from home, Atlendor, a bitter ex-soldier concerned only where his next meal was coming from and IIdreth, an elf ranger, venturing from his wanderings amongst the forests to be amongst the city folk in search of his mentor. Little binds the men together except a common cause to eat (and in some cases, drink heavily) yet scholars frequently argue as to what exactly drew the three together, to this table, on this night, in this very tavern, none can quite say. However, all would agree it was be the first in a chain of events that would shake the world of Faerun to its very core. Tonight, would be the beginnings of a legends and rise and fall of powers untold. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A hooded man, who gave no name, using only a Harper pin as his currency. All knew the Harper reputation, an organisation of spies and informants spread across the land, devoted to the fight for balance and equality. This was no ordinary patron. His ask: that our virgin leads attend a rendezvous disguised as merchants, trade his fake diamonds for whatever draconic item they had and, most importantly, place a Harper pin in secret on one of their whereabouts. They would do the rest. How could our (very much broke) heroes refuse? Setting off for the meeting place under the light of the moon, they found the abandoned barn that served as the meeting place. Using a cunning disguise & guile, Atlendor posed as the merchant’s husband & Dustinby, her idiot savant. Making the trade they discovered that the draconic item in question, a mysterious dragon egg, was in fact but a fake! A slight of hand and a distraction later, the stealthy Ildreath had secreted the pin one of them, but not before they saw him! As if that were not enough, a half-orc thug and his bandit underlings approached, their left ears clipped and demanded the egg or their lives. Treachery was abound! A fake trapped egg explosion later, the elves escaped through devious means leaving our plucky fighters to defend themselves, the half-orc charging forwards with a roar. Two further bandits dropped from the rafters, only to temporarily trap Dustinby with their nets (for whom no mere net could hold the nimble midget for long) and stab a surprised Ildreth to within an inch of his life. Dustinby fared better, whom with a dash of magic dust blinded a score of the assailants and ran to the barn doors to cover their escape. The half-orc simply shrugged the fantastical colours and continued his duel. Atlendor, in a glorious show of defiance, traded him blow for blow and refused to give quarter. All the whilst, the wily Dustinby, using his cunning, conjured a ball of flame. In the ensuring pandemonium, the thug flinched but for a second, allowing Atlendor to land the killing blow, the thug’s final moments to be consumed by the flame. The death of their leader, the barn afire and most of them still half blind, the cowards fled the scene, leaving our heroes victorious, if not blooded. [Editor’s note: though some suggested have suggested that Dustinby purposefully set fire to the barn and initially tried to lock the doors to seal both friend and foes alike to claim the gold, this is pure slander & heresay of the greatest order]. Returning to the Madame Frouse’s bleeding, singed and in one case near death, they were victorious. The Harper congratulated them, paying them their due and informing them that the clipped thugs were no doubt in the employ the Welcomers, Phlan’s local Thieves Guild. Not content for the meagre payment for services rendered, they ensured they got a payment worthy of their near blood sacrifice. That night in celebration, they did drink the bar dry. Except Ildreth, whose main focus of the evening was the avoidance of death, to which he succeeded after several days. A dour and middle aged priest by the name of Brother Keefe approached them mid-meal in the Tea Kettle. A Priest of Kelemvor and Keeper of the Dead, he explained he helped maintain the cemetery just outside of Phlan, but strange occurrences had been afoot. After hearing of our heroes exploits, he wanted to hire them to investigate Xandria Welltrann’s crypt, a woman who many believed had draconic connections. Letting the priest lead the way, he took them to the crypt without delay and it was here they discovered that the human’s bones were not only draconic but also many were missing. Whilst they pondered this turn of events, the crypt sealed itself shut and they were forced to evade a lethal gas trap with only their wits, leading to the discovery of an underground crypt. Fighting off re-animated skeletons and a near duel to the death with zombies, only put down when the magic maintaining them was destroyed, they discovered clues a most foul; Necromantic magic beyond their comprehension was at work and somehow involving dragon kin. Perhaps the name “Raxill” would be one they would encounter again? For clearing the Crypt, Brother Keefe gave them his humble gratitude, plus their promised gold, a scroll of protection from good & evil and revealed his links to the Lord’s Alliance, an organisation of trained and skilled men funded by the leaders of Faerun to maintain stability and order. Something was afoot in Phlan. In the meantime, Ildreth once more required emergency aid to remove his own arrow from his kidney and our adventurers once more retired for drinking and rejoicing.
Rewards Granted
Gold Pieces
| Value | Item |
| 200 GP | for planting the Harper Pin |
|---|
