Session 7 Report
General Summary
After a night's rest, the party wakes up. At Fimdie's Tavern, the group heads downstairs to see Maya having a picture drawn up by her father-- which promptly gets plastered on a wall under a sign that says "Banned." The sketch looks a lot like Jett, who the party notices is not in her room. As Big Richard checks on Little Richard outside-- who has been drenched after it rained overnight-- the guard captain Welford approaches as his shift ends and asks if he has a license for Little Richard. Welford tells Big Richard where he can find a notary to test for a new license. The group, finding that Welford is the captain of the guard, are reminded that Lieutenant Gambrell, who they had met on the road, wanted them to inform the authorities of the situation with Finn and the suspicious caravan in Fallwood. Welford says that they should see the Baron but mentions that he has been busy as of late entertaining a delegation from abroad. Welford tells them they can mention his name to the Baron's gate guards if needed, though he has no particular authority over them as the Baron's guards are his personal retinue. Deciding to take care of some errands and shop, they ask Welford for directions and are sent to the town square. At Crenshaw's Inn, Jett is greeted by a large man sitting at one of the tables when she comes downstairs. Taking off his hood, the man reveals he is an orc, with a face marked by tattoos and pierced ears. Surmising that Jett is interested in earning money, the man asks to Jett to do a simple task for him: deliver a letter to a similar looking man in the Lying Goose tavern, located downtown in the city of Cressen. He gives an advance of 50 gold to Jett and promises that another 50 gold will be given by the recipient once she delivers the letter. Before Jett leaves, the man warns her not to open the letter or he will know. Jett meets back up with the group as they arrive at the dwarf Bezzen's smithy. Bezzen is willing to buy the party's extraneous gear pilfered from their enemies but notes that most of it is damaged, broken, or of poor quality to begin with some at most he can use it for scrap. Lephnut lies and says that the half-plate armor they are trying to sell (taken off a hobgoblin corpse) is an old family heirloom and receives a slightly better offer for the pile of loot from Bezzen, who sympathizes with those having to sell off precious items in these hard times. Bezzen doesn't take their leather goods and is unable to offer them any light armor to buy as his purview is in metalwork. Instead, he directs them to a shop around the corner in the alleyway-- the tannery of the huntsman Dubar. Bezzen warns them that Dubar is a bit crazed and likely to stab someone if crossed. The group enters a shop adorned with furs, mounted heads, and stuffed bodies of all manner of animal and meet the eccentric human hunter known as Dubar. Dubar is the only one so far to not be disgusted by the various dead body parts Big Richard carries around, and is actually ecstatic to see some goblin ears, which he eagerly buys to add to his jar of pickled ears. Big Richard also manages to sell the worg pelt he was carrying and gifts Dubar some goblin teeth to add to the man's necklace. Big Richard is interested in buying a bag that will protect body parts from spoiling, as well as preventing leaks and odor. Dubar says he can custom-make such a bag but Big Richard is not satisfied by the pricing. When he tries to negotiate pricing, Dubar makes it clear that he does not haggle and Big Richard decides to buy a regular backpack instead. As the party leaves, Dubar notes that if they decide to get rid of Little Richard, he can carve up the elk for them. The huntsman's giddiness at the prospect creeps out the party, though Big Richard keeps it in mind as an option as the repeated questions from guards of a license combined with Little Richard's attempts to escape captivity make him think it's best to get rid of the beast soon. When they go to the castle gate to see the Baron, the gate guards stop them and say that the Baron is busy. After some convincing and invoking of Gambrell's and Welford's names, the guards agree to let the party in but later when the Baron has wrapped up his current business. As the party passes time, Big Richard settles on freeing Little Richard. He takes the elk outside the Southern gates and tells Little Richard he is free. Little Richard promptly sprints away, though Lephnut pulls out his crossbow jokingly. As night falls, they head back to the castle and are allowed in to the lobby where they see two figures in golden robes and wearing white, featureless masks walk out of the Baron's chambers. Shortly after, the Baron leads the group to the banquet hall for dinner and says that he's heard good things about them, as Halston joins them all for dinner. The Baron reveals that Halston is an old friend of his and a member of the Special Research Commission. He explains the history of the Commission as having been created decades ago by the King's father Bernham who, trying to rehabilitate his family's reputation as militaristic warmongers, implemented a national law allowing researchers to bypass many political and bureaucratic barriers in Ostren in order to better facilitate their research. He found that having many intelligent individuals able to spread themselves around the country and be seen as a non-threat became very useful for the purposes of reconnaissance and spying and the Research Commission in present day operates as both the loosely affiliated research group it appears as to the public, as well as a secret intelligence network for the government. The party then explains that the news they bring is related: they met Finn, also of the Special Research Commission, and his guards in Fallwood, and later meeting Lt. Gambrell with the real supply caravan to the village, found it suspicious. Baron Distow agrees and says it is concerning but lines up with some theories he's had. He explains that there have been mysterious disappearances and people acting strangely and this might be part of it. The larger picture is that he's discovered that the official word from the capital on the manner of King Barnabas' death was a lie: the king did not die by natural causes but by a suspected murder. The Baron also believes that there are some people-- or some things-- impersonating important figures in the government that may be stoking the current conflicts in Ostren. The Baron then asks the party to travel north to Cressen and investigate his liege Lady Anna. He believes that Anna may have fallen prey to these imposters as well but cannot yet prove it. Not wanting to bring to suspicion to himself, he believes an unknown band of adventurers like the party may be useful in discovering something. Though he does not know the best way to investigate Anna, he does provide some possible avenues for how they might meet her:
- Earn an audience with her by gaining a heroic reputation in the city
- Finding a way to crash the formal events that Anna attends and hosts
- Encounter her in church, when she prays without the presence of her guards
Character(s) interacted with
Captain Welford (Unknown Orc) Bezzen Dubar Baron Distow
