Episode I : The Plaza of the Last Call Report

General Summary

Dramatis Personae

Valkia: A fire genasi cleric of Anu (PC)
Kellen: A gnome wizard (PC)
Orlayax: A black dragonborn thief (PC)
Watcher: A nature magic wielding warforged who is working with the watch (PC)
Khasos: Leonine owner and proprietor of the Inn of the Last Call.
Wilxif: Kellen's gnome travel companion.
Luna: The eladrin roost-keeper of the Inn of the Last Call.
Elspeth: The young earth genasi ward of Valkia, acolyte of Anu.
The Black Hand: A criminal organization known for protection rackets and assassinations.
The Dustmen: The guild that controls the teamsters and other non-water transport through Anaxas.
 

Prelude

The night started off with a burglary, a dinner, and a murder. The situation only got worse from there.   As Orlayax cautiously crept along the southern wall of the Inn he heard the woosh of air in front of him and a loud thud into the stone and timber wall beside him. A crossbow bolt protruded from the wall. He quickly glanced around to see one of the assassins he saw earlier reloading the crossbow. Orlayax broke into a sprint aiming to make for the corner of the Inn and get out of sight. As he rounded the corner, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. Another bold grazed him as it thudded into the wall.   Kellen sat at the great round table. He and Wilxif dined on roasted pig and fresh fruit from Wellington. He and Khasos began to discuss the business that drew him to the Plaza of the Last Call with Khasos showering praise on his old friend Mehira. As Kellen begins to ask Khasos about his matter, Abelard comes into the room with Luna following him. He tells Khasos that there is a commotion in the plaza and asks him to come close. Khasos asks Kellen to follow him and they both walk quickly through the Inn while Luna and Wilxif stay in the dining room. Outside, Khasos walks past the fountain with Kellen beside him. They see a priestess near the ruined forge, in the park they see two dark figures approaching a warforged standing near a body, a dragonborn comes running around the corner to the south and they see the crossbow bolt from the guildhall as it grazes him.   The blood of Aelard still ran down his arm as he watched the assassins retreat into the wooded park. Watcher looked around and noticed the guards at the guildhall were no longer there. Before he could determine a best course of action, Watcher saw a commotion outside the inn. A Leonine and a gnome appear in the courtyard. Watcher recognizes him as the proprietor.   It was just supposed to be a quiet evening and a quick inspection of the forge and temple before a delivery of stone and timber tomorrow. Valkia stood outside the forge, envisioning what it would look like in the future and excited about feeling the warmth of the forge again. She heard a loud thud from the south of the Inn, followed by the doors to the Inn opening. Khasos and a gnome walked hurriedly outside just in time to see the dragonborn running around the corner and a crossbow bolt fly by him.  

A Group Effort

Wacther sees the assassins making their way back over to him. As he draws closer he sees the Tiefling he had briefly ensnared earlier as he draws a sharp elvish blade from him cloak and throws it with a side-arm at Watcher. The shot is on target, but Watcher manages to dodge. Near the Inn, Kellen asks Khasos what is going on and whether the dragonborn is friend or foe. Valkia readies her shield and mace while the Dragonborn continues his sprint across the plaza and flattens himself against the eastern wall of the temple. Khasos points up into the window of the guildhall where the crossbow bolt came from and growls over to Kellen, "He is a friend! The Black Hand are after him!". Watcher moves towards the Inn and his keen senses he detects the presence of another figure crouching and walking near the side of the ruined forge. A priestess has entered his view near the Inn as well and he yells to the trio warning them of the presence of the new threat.   Kellen moves towards the dragonborn and sees a long shadow cast from the far side of the forge. Hearing the shouts of the warfoged approaching him in the distance he picks out the outline of a dark clad figure with a blade drawn and his instincts kick in. He utters a brief phrase and aligns his fingers. A small ball of flame forms and he pushes it towards the figure. The ball of flame strikes him square in the chest and causes his cloak to burn. In a panic he begins to try and pat out the fire which dissipates on its own. Valkia, seeing the gnome send a bolt of fire over to the far side of the forge and hearing the commotion walks over to the forge and see the assassin recovering from the flame attack. Valkia sees the blade and swings her mace which lands with a sickening thud, striking the man in the side of the head and sending blood spraying over the stone plaza. The assassin collapses onto the group and the blade clatters as it falls. Khasos runs towards the dragonborn seeking to provide additional cover. Watcher continues to move towards the Inn and moves to put the pond between him and the assassins. He utters a few quiet words and lashes out with his nature magic, wrapping the tiefling with a lash of thorns and pulling him into the pond. Another dark clad assassin appears near the guildhall to the south, exiting out of the door to the west and running towards Orlayax. She stops at a cart as she notices the others aiding the dragonborn and then gives a chopping signal. As she does that, two more assassins drop off of the roof of the Inn near Kellen.   Kellen spins around in time to see the assassins from the roof now standing up with weapons drawn. He summons his bolt of flame again and unleashes it against the closest attacker who is hit squarely by the bolt. He staggers at the blast but continues to approach. The assassin in the pond stands up and runs to move closer while the one on the far side of the pond moves closer to Watcher and throws a deadly looking dagger that Watcher narrowly avoids. Orlayax runs toward the assassin near the guild hall and throws a dagger. It strikes her in the shoulder and she winces in pain. As she turns to the wound, red hair drops out of her hood and she hunkers behind the cart. Valkia utters a prayer to Anu, the Father, and the sound of a hammer hitting a forge anvil sounds across the plaza. Dark flames catch fire to the victim of Kellen's firebolt and he cries out in pain as the flame engulf him. His desiccated corpse falls to the ground. Khasos sprints to keep up with Orlayax and draws his greatsword in preparation and tells him to find cover. Watcher continues to move towards the rest of the defenders. He utters magic words and lifts his hands up slowly and vines move from his body and dig into the ground before shooting up from under the stone plaza and grabbing at the assassins following him. The tiefling manages to dodge out of the way but the slimmer one struggles to move out of the way and the vines grapple him. The surviving assassin near the Inn moves to Valkia and slashes at her with his sword. She blocks adeptly with her shield. The female near the cart gets up and sprints to the door near the guildhall. As she opens the door and runs inside the dwarf sniper steps out. He levels the crossbow at the dragonborn and lets fly with another bolt. Orlayax dives out of the way and the shot goes wide.   Seeing the priestess in danger, Kellen lets loose another fire bolt and launches it at his opponent. It hits the attacker but only a glancing blow. Valkia swings at him and he blocks and parries the blow. Both assassins pursuing Watcher move towards him to try and close the gap, with the Tiefling moving further as the other spends time to break out of his entangling bonds. Orlayax moves out of the way for Khasos and slides alongside the barn to the east of the guildhall. Khasos charges forward at the dwarf and swings his greatsword in a large arc. The dwarf drops and rolls and the blade slices where his neck was a moment ago and bites into the wall of the guild hall. Watcher moves closer to the Inn and tries to lashwhip the tiefling assassin but he dodges again. The dwarf sniper recovers from the attack by Khasos and runs back behind the guildhall while the assassin by the Inn makes another attempt on Valkia this time missing her completely.   Kellen again blasts the assassin nea the Inn and this time he erupts in flames and crumples intoa pile or burnt skin and cloth. Valkia turns around and begins to advance on the assailants pursuing Watcher. Orlayax runs around the corner after the dwarf with Khasos hot on his heels. Khasos sheaths his sword on his back and lets lose a handaxe that embeds itself into the back ot the dwarf who stumbles a bit but keeps running. Watcher, seeing Valkia approach turns to face his pursuers and moves toward the tiefling. The two assassins, seeing the gruesome and fiery deaths of their comrades, begin to retreat back towards the woods.  

A Hidden Menace

Watcher notices out of the corner of his eye another warforged deep in the woods. He is clad in black but removes his hood as he comes into view. His head is boxy and rectangular with two columns of 3 greenish glowing eyes running down his face. Shortly after seeing him, Watcher's vision blurs, a sickly green light edges it's way into his vision. Feelings of hatred and loathing enter his mind and he hears low rumblings telling him to attack the priestess. He shakes his head and mumbles a chant and finds a calm. The green light fades, his vision returns. He shouts out, "Another in the woods! Mind Control!"   Kellen proceeds to follow the Priestess and Warforged after the assailants heading towards the woods. He eyes the one on the east of the pond and lets loose another fire bolt which hits the assassin and causes him to stumble. He picks himself up and sprints towards the treeline. His partner had split off to the west of the pond to try and separate the people who were once marks and now pursuers. Valkia utters another prayer to her god and another hammer on anvil sound echoes across the eastern part of the plaza. Just as before the dark flames consume the target and he falls to the ground near the pond. Both Khasos and Orlayax continued the pursuit of the dwarven assassin with Orlayax jumping down from the side of the plaza and slicing open a gash in the dwarf's back. Still, he ran.   Suddenly screams erupted from the Inn of the Last Call. Panicked patrons began to run out of the front of the Inn. Many of them, met with the corpses of the attackers, let out further screams and chaos began to ensue in the atrium. Khasos, Valkia and Kellen heard the screams and stopped in their tracks, turning around to head back to the Inn. Orlayax pursued the dwarf a little ways further before stopping. Watcher approached the Tiefling, hiding behind a maple tree, when the tiefling kneeled, dropped his sword, and calmly surrendered. Detecting no trace of deception in the young assassin, Watcher put the man in manacles and began leading him back to the Inn.  

A Message and a Threat

Kellen walked up to the crowd in front of the Inn just as Khasos was returning from the guild hall. It was Wilxif who first approached them and yelled to Kellen, "They've taken the girl, Kellen! The nice elf lady from the roost!".   Aging Abelard broke through the crowd and spoke to Khasos, his voice crackling with age and worry, "My lord, they left a message for you inside."   Khasos looked visibly upset and then looked around for the rest of the defenders. When he spotted the young dragonborn he approached him and said, "I believe you have something for me, my friend. I'm sorry the risk was greater to you than expected." Orlayax hands Khasos the journal or parchment from a bag under his cloak and Khasos eyes it warily.   As the defenders gathered Khasos looked over the group and smiled. A curious warforged with a strong connection to nature, a priestess of Anu, a gnome wizard sent from an old friend, and a dragonborn thief. "Come, follow me my friends! We have things to discuss."   Khasos quickly turned to Abelard and told him to fetch some kitchen staff to assist with directing the patrons either back inside or to their homes. He then turns and walks into the Inn and through the entry room. He opens the door to the rotunda dining room and bids the group to enter. Inside their are meats and potatoes, fruits, wine, and a honey ale. Some of the chairs are knocked over and pictures and tapestries on the walls have been visibly disturbed.   Khasos bids everyone to sit and eat while he sits and inspects at the papers handed to him by Orlayax and the note left by the attackers. Valkia suddenly realizes she has not seen Elspeth since the attack and will inquire about her. Khasos calls for Abelard and direct him to check on Valkia's young ward. He shuffles out of the room and as he passes Valkia he pats her on the arm and says, "I'll be back quickly, my lady."  

The Truth About Plans

Khasos rises and begins to speak. Frustration and anger evident in his tone. "Thank you all for your assistance tonight. Some of you I know, and others I do not, but I want you all to know that your assistance tonight is welcome. I know that all of you are here for different reasons, but fate has transpired to bring us all together. I must ask your assistance in this matter and will owe each of you the debt of a favor." Khasos picks up a cup of wine and drinks deeply before continuing.   "As you may already be aware, the ruling houses fight with each other. They rarely resort to open violence but rather work through intermediaries. This could be guilds, watch members, merchants, and,” He pauses briefly and looks around, "darker elements that act as proxies. Many of the houses make open the claim that House Khai-Aldra are not welcome in their ranks, but the Khai-Aldra control the mints and bank and with that they hold great power."   Khasos paces around the table and then points to Orlayax, "My young friend here brought me the manifest of a shipment heading to Talonhome. This is a shipment of weapons due to be delivered four days from now, under the cover of darkness when all of the moons are absent from the sky. While I am concerned about the Black Hand, prior to tonight my primary concern was where the weapons are coming from. For the safety of the Plaza and its inhabitants, I need to know who is sending the weapons. I can only presume the Black Hand found out about these weapons and seeks them for themselves. They have been trying to cement a place for themselves in Talonhome in recent years."   Khasos stops pacing in front of the fireplace and as he turns to face the flames his head drops. "The note left by our assailants was a ransom. The Black Hand wants me to turn over the manifest by sunset tomorrow or they will kill Luna. They will kill my daughter." A gutteral growl can be heard as he clenches the note in tightly in his hands. "So, I must ask, will all of you aid me in returning my daughter?"   Everyone considers this for a moment and then Kellen speaks up, "I think we should make a copy of the manifest and give them that. That way we can track the sender and rescue Luna." Khasos nods in agreement.   Valkia speaks up, "Where did they take Luna?"   "There is a ruined forge about a league to the east of here. They said to bring the manifest there."   Abelard returns to the room, "Sister Valkia, Elspeth is in the room. She wishes to speak with you."   Khasos interrupts, "Master mage, if you would start copying the manifest I will see to the rest of the group. Please call upon Abelard if you need anything."  

Quick Takes

• The Inn was assaulted by 8 criminals.

• 3 assailants escaped, a dwarven male, a warforged, and an unknown female. The dwarf and female were injured.

• One assailant was captured. He is a Tiefling male.

• The other 4 were killed, 3 of which were burnt or charred quite extensively.

• The enemy warforged appears to have the power to dominate others

• The attack seemed to be either an attempt to steal the manifest or a diversion to abduct Luna (or both).

• The Inn was mostly undamaged other than some knocked over furniture and a broken window in the kitchen

 

Loose Ends

• Where is the shipment of weapons coming from?

• Where is the shipment going?

• What happened to the captured assailant?

• What does Elsepth want?

• What is Khasos's story?

• When will the stone and timbers for the forge and temple arrive?