Episode 4: Merchant Mayhem Report

General Summary

Dark Days of Tyr Episode 4: Merchant Mayhem Here's the latest session. I'm out of town for a bit so there won't be another game until the end of the month. This game took place on 7/29/19  

Characters Included:

• Nak Half-Elf Rogue   Pyrrhus Half-Giant Fighter   Galegar Torros Half-giant Fighter/Barbarian   Jinx Halfling Mystic/Monk   Tahireh Elf Mystic

 

Session Setup:

  "You've all found yourselves at edge of the Smith's district at the gates to the Golden City, the place where the Senate, the School of Thought, and the Templar Bureaus reside. The 30' tall walls are watched by Templar guards, relying on rare crossbows instead of magic. None are let in, even those of you who had dispensation to do so (although you were able to get word to Agis and get paid). Rumors surge through the crowd. You've heard some of them before, others have changed or been exaggerated, and some are new. "  

Rumors:

 

• A) A band of looters are burning warehouses in the Artisans district on the north side of town. B) A tribe of belgoi has infiltrated the city and is luring citizens to their deaths C) Food is hard to find in the warrens as small merchants are afraid to put out there wares in fear of being robbed by hungry ex-slaves. D) Elves are robbing nobles in the Nortern Noble district and carrying away the goods outside the city E) Kalak has returned and is punishing the Senators and Templars. F) A group of miscreants is walling off square in the Warrens and has cut off access to the well. G) The Merchant Houses have cut off access to the Merchant District forcing those without coin to travel throug the Warrens since the nobles have cut off access too! H) A patrol of Templars has been cutoff and surrounded by an angry mob in the Artisan's district I) A tribe of Gith have taken over a section in the Warrens and are terrorizing the locals. J) Ghosts are rising up form UnderTyr possessing people! K) Fruit is rotting on the vine in the fields since there are no workers to pick them.

A templar called down from the walls. “If you want to help the city and are able bodied, speak with Captain Zalcor.” Just then the large gate opened and a human man dressed in the purple cloak of the Tyrian army moved forward flanked by half-giant guards. As people moved forward Zalzor said the city was paying 2cp/day for help. He began choosing from the volunteers and assigning them with jobs.   Jinx, Nak, Galegar, Pyrrhus, and Tahireh were chosen and given a mission to the Merchant District. Apparently someone was holding up traffic and not letting people through the district, forcing them to go through the warrens to get out of the city. Zalcor implored everyone to limit bloodshed if possible. Not much more information was available so the group headed to the district.   The group rounded the ziggurat and saw a small crowd trying to get into the district. Two half giants could be seen holding people back, the group pushed their way to the front and found a line of turned over carts and wooden spikes creating a fence. Soldiers wearing the livery of House Vordon, a black diamond on a red field were questioning those who wanted into Iron Square. It appeared that the guards were only letting through those who had coins in their purses. Nak recognized the lead guard as he had been a slave in House Vordon before the slaves were freed. After a moment of discussion, Nak convinced Sebni to allow them through.   As the group passed into the merchant’s district and into Iron Square they noticed a distinct lack of people in the district. As they walked toward House Vordon to find out what was going on they were approached by a small group of Tsalaxa guards. Tsalaxa is an aggressive house from Draj and these guards had the Draji look, wearing few clothes, armbands, and feathered jewelry. The Tsalaxan’s attempted to extort some money from the characters, but they were rebuffed and after some posturing from both parties they parted ways. Getting to the House Vordon Emporium several of the characters spoke with Ata, one of the agents showing product. The group looked at jewelry, cloth, and other items. Pyrrhus purchased several bolts of fine cloth for a cloak. Nak went to the attached outdoor stables to talk with his former master, the beasthandler Coran. He also noticed that Talara Vordon was in, a cousin of the house patriarch Thaxos. Talara had always been kind to Nak. Pyrrhus spoke with a few of the local Vordon guards.   In all they learned that there had been roving bands of looters breaking into merchant emporiums. The looters didn’t fight back, they just ran when confronted. They didn’t really steal anything, more or less just broke windows and doors. After that orders came down to prevent people from coming into the square unless they had coin to spend. They also learned that House Troika might have something to do with it.   The group decided to stake out House Troika. Jinx and Nak climbed atop the roof of Vordon’s emporium then over to the top of Shom’s to get a better view of Troika’s small emporium. Tahireh went into the emporium to see what she could find out inside escorted by Galegar and Pyrrhus. Inside she met Asher, the owner and caravan manager for House Troika. After viewing his wares she found out he was readying a caravan and needed a few more hands in the coming days. Tahireh offered the services of the half-giants. Initially Ashur declined as the caravan wasn’t ready to go for several days, but after a short negotiation he took Gelgar and Pyrrhus on to guard the emporium.   As the day wore on Jinx and Nak decided to see if they could find out more about the emporium from it’s roof, so they climbed down and crossed the street. When they climbed up they had to cross the fortress emporium of house Stel and were chased off by a Stel guard patrol despite Nak calling out that they were on Senate business!After Tahireh left the emporium she ran into the Tsalaxa guards outside the Tsalaxa emporium where she was having a drink. The guard, Nochtitli, was friendlier this time around and revealed that it was suspected that Troika was a front for House Vordon.   All the watching of House Troika paid off as a human dressed in leather armor entered the building for a short while, then left without purchasing anything. He seemed suspicious so the group followed him and learned that he was a messenger to Troika and the message given was to “send more thugs that evening”. After even more intimidation by Pyrrhus it was revealed that it was Nizsim, the Vordon Master of Caravans who sent the message to Troika. With this information in hand Tahireh went to find the Tsalaxa guard and convinced him to hide the messenger until she needed him.   Galegar went back to House Troika and asked Ashur if he needed any additional work. He said he did and laid out the details. Several dressed up Troika guards would come in dressed as ex-slaves. They would enter the Iron Square the look like they’re looting, when they’re just breaking doors and windows. They’ll then make it to the north exit while the Vordon patrol chases them from the south exit. The guards wouldn’t hurt them, just chase them. When they were done they were to loose any other chasers in the warrens. Galegar agreed and waited.   When the others came they were given the same instructions and let into Iron Square when no one was looking. The “looters” began breaking windows and doors, causing havoc. The characters quickly subdued a couple of them. Pyrrhus dropped one with a well-placed spear throw. The others fled and the characters let them run, they had what they needed. After a quick interrogation they revealed the same instructions as the messenger. It seemed as if Nizsim Vordon, the Master of Caravans, was attempting to control a portion of the city, perhaps with an eye on future growth?The group picked up the tied up messenger from the Tsalaxans and with the looters in tow they decided to take them to Talara Vordon. The thought was that keeping the troubles internally would give the characters an advantage in future dealings with Vordon and perhaps some immediate coin.   The captives were brought in, however, Nizsim was there and he demanded they be turned over to him. Luckily for the group Talara was nearby and she demanded to hear the claims. After hearing what the captives had to say she took them and Nizsim to see Thaxos. Talara promised that the situation would be handled and that the Vordon guards would be removed. Talara offered coins in payment…or a favor of House Vordon. After some discussion everyone took the Vordon favor.   With that the characters returned to Captain Zalcor and made their report…and were paid.   Epilogue:   The next morning Nak was helping with the animals and he was surprised to see Nizsim walking gingerly through the emporium, blood could be seen seeping through his tunic on his back. It looks like Thaxos Vordon gave Nizsim a whipping, but he was still around. He gave Nizsim a look to let him know this was not over.  

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Character(s) interacted with

Sebni - House Vordon Guard Coran - Nak's former master Ashur Troika - House Master of House Troika Nizsim Vordon - Master of Caravans for House Vordon Nochtitli - Tsalaxa guard Talara Vordon - cousin of Vordon Patriarch, Thaxos Vordon