Light a Candle for Your Window Report
General Summary
It is a cold, dark night in Vespmar - the dead of winter, in more ways than one. Tafeld is no less affected by this bitter chill than any other place in the grim country, with muddied, black snow that had slightly melted from the sun during the day and has frozen now that it has become night again, making dangerous solid masses that are not only liable to cause someone to slip, but also could crack a person's head open should they fall upon it. Despite the dreary and deadly cold outside, The Rusty Blade Tavern is lively with people, both locals and travelers, looking for a drink after such an exhausting day. A red haired elven minstrel strums her lute and sings quietly - more for atmosphere than to draw the room's attention towards her - and the barmaids run quickly between tables, delivering drinks. Rishaa Parbat, a dark skinned woman with black dreadlocks and a serious demeanor, sits with an elderly woman who presses a gold pouch into her hands, thanking Rishaa profusely for her assistance. Rishaa refuses to take the gold, claiming that she rescued Geraldine's (for that is the old woman's name) daughter, Marilyn, because it was the right thing to do, not because of any reward. Still, Geraldine Codswallow insists on paying for Rishaa's meal, which Rishaa reluctantly accepts. Upstairs, Dimitri Markov sits with a sketchy halfling woman wearing a red cloak and gloves, one of which has the head of a raven painted in red on the back of it. This woman is Squawk, a member of the criminal group known as the Red Ravens, and she has met with Dimitri upon this day to enter into a deal with him to find his father, lost in the wilds of Lorannis. To be truthful, she seems rather uninterested in helping Dimitri beyond the money he can offer. She sets a (rather absurd) price of 25 gold a week until they find Markov Sr., which she promises will be before the end of the year (about five months from now). Dimitri agrees to this, but says he doesn't have the money right now to pay up front. He does, however, give her 100 gold to start out, with the promise of more to come. Squawk seems agreeable to this, and pockets the coin before scuttling away. Another figure sits on the ground floor, having her evening meal, but she seems distracted. Reading and scribbling in a notebook as she chews absentmindedly, Marianne Snowden looks up to see a familiar face: Dimitri. What their relationship is is not so much stated by either of them, but as she approaches him to say hello, both seem deeply uncomfortable with each other's presence. Marianne, however, does make an odd warning for Dimitri: if he notices anything gold on the walls of the tavern, he should leave immediately. Dimitri, bemused, agrees. On the first level of the tavern, things have gotten more rowdy. The minstrel has drunk a bit of wine, and her playing has caught up with her inebriation, becoming more wild and free. She grabs her companion, a bard by the name of Rickee Lee, and leads him in a merry reel across the room, singing joyfully to one another. Nadine Vermillion, the minstrel appropriately dressed all in red and sporting a head of curls of amber, has become quite the object of affection for Rickee, and as they sing and play together, he begins to clumsily flirt with her. Thankfully, Nadine is quite the boisterous woman, and when met with such advances, responds in kind - teasing the young bard incessantly, always too far away for a kiss but close enough to let him chase her for one. At Geraldine and Rishaa's table, Geraldine has begun to interrogate the young woman about her life, as most older people do. Rishaa, clearly uncomfortable, does not respond to much beyond one word answers or vague platitudes that eventually fend off the kindly old woman, who heads home soon afterwards, not wanting to wait for it to get much colder. As Marianne and Dimitri sit and make awkward conversation, Marianne realizes that it has suddenly gotten very quiet in the tavern. In panic, she stands and looks towards the mantle, where she sees that the stag head has a golden crown hanging from one of the antlers. Now in terror, she runs for the doors, Dimitri close behind her and very confused by her reaction. The doors are locked, unfortunately, and everyone but Marianne, Dimitri, Rishaa, Rickee, and Nadine have left. Marianne explains that when that crown is hung, the locals vacate the tavern, for after the doors are locked anyone inside is never seen again. She begins to try and beat down the doors, but they are too thick and broad to break down. It is at this time that Rickee turns to look at Nadine, and sees her standing, face vacant, skin pale, and eyes glassy, as the last of her vitality is sucked out of her by the vampire that had been hiding in this very building, waiting for his meal to be served to him by the townsfolk. He tosses her body to the side and advances on the others, planning to add them to his feast. Unfortunately for him, Rishaa and Marianne are faster and stronger than he expected, beating him within an inch of his life and tossing him in the fire in the fireplace. Marianne as well during this fight shows her true form as her body rips out of her skin, exposing fur and fangs, which push out her more humanoid teeth with vicious abandon. But the pain and trauma of this transformation does little to slow down the barbarian, who manages to land the final blow and slay the vampire. Rickee, drunk and a bit disoriented, can't do much but yell to the vampire about how he's sure that the vampire's mother would be very disappointed in it. He's too focused in Nadine, in making sure she's alright. He sings her the same song they had sung together earlier that evening, hoping to heal her with his healing word, but it is to no effect. Nadine is gone. The party searches the vampire's ashes and uncovers trinkets and gold, but also interestingly, a seal belonging to Count Nathara, the long presumed-dead lord of Vespmar. What could it mean? Marianne decides to try beating down the door again, but this is also to no avail. It was made to keep people in. Rishaa, however, discovers a way out: a cellar door, leading to a loading dock for the various foods and drinks that stock the tavern. It is dusty and grimy, and is lined with piles of ash, which seems strange but far less important than escaping this place - which they soon do. Marianne offers to let them stay with her for the night, and everyone accepts, retreating to her home to wait out the seemingly endless night....
Rewards Granted
- a ring of mind shielding
- 32 gold coins (32 gp)
- buergerite (brown tourmaline) (18 gp)
- orange-red garnet (26 gp)
- pink topaz (27 gp)
- half-plate (600 gp)
- a seal belonging to Count Nathara, presumed-dead lord of Vespmar
- Dimitri stole a good quantity of wine from the Rusty Blade
- Marianne has all of the gems
- Rishaa took the ring of mind shielding
Character(s) interacted with
- Geraldine Codswallow
- Nadine Vermillion
