Episode 3: The Investigation Begins

The party awoke around 6 AM on the day of Ciun, the 8th of Vlaihr in the year 2272 feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Kasek and Feadog both emerged from their rooms, meeting each other in the hallway and decided to head down to the girl’s room to plan out their day. Celindriel began the day doing stretching exercises as Levkaria and Ceona awakened. Ceona began her day by pulling a carved feather pendant hanging from around her neck, and used it to begin writing on one of the pieces of parchment acquired from the Dusty Tome Bookstore. As Celindriel answered the door to let Kasek and Feadog in, Ceona hurriedly finished her letter. Much to everyone’s astonishment, Ceona held the feather pendant over the finished writing, and with a flash of golden light, the parchment disappeared.

Kasek enters the room and asks permission to take a sample of some of the black ichor that had dried on Levkaria’s fingernails after she attempted to wipe the fluid from her face. She allowed it, and he examined the sample trying to determine its composition. Kasek detected bits of blood, but was unable to determine the other components within. Kasek asked how Levkaria’s knife wound was, and she revealed her wound had been completely healed and didn’t trouble her further. Ceona then mentioned to the group that it was obviously poison -- not a magical attack, to which Kasek wondered how Levkaria came to be poisoned. They each mused how most poisons -- whether ingested or inflicted -- were fairly quick-acting, so how was the poison administered without their notice?

Feadog then inquired as to what specifically happened to Ceona during the whole incident, and Ceona admitted that her god Ilmater seemed to have directly interacted during the event -- of which he has done once before, though the part where she ‘died’ is a new experience. At the mention of Ilmater, Levkaria’s eyes grow wide in astonishment and awe at Ceona. Ceona asks Levkaria if she still remembers Ilmater despite her amnesia. Levkaria nods and acknowledges that Ayuruk (Ilmater) helps and protects her. Ceona explains to the group that Ilmater helps those who are helpless and are suffering. He alleviates their pain by taking the pain and suffering upon himself instead. Ceona states that suffering is sometimes a step towards better things, and Levkaria nods in agreement as she lightly rubs the scar on her head she received after being severely beaten in the slave pens in Bhaevor.

The party began theorizing that perhaps the food that Levkaria ate while in the interrogation room when the party first met with Berny Page might have been where she was poisoned. The party theorizes that there is a possibility that perhaps Berny Page poisoned Levkaria, and is leading the party down a sinister path. They devise a plan to not reveal that anything is out of sorts with Levkaria and gauge his reaction -- whether he is surprised to hear she still lives or not.

The party decides to get some breakfast, but is hesitant to take Levkaria out in public out of fear for her safety. They decide to see if the Innkeeper Drossa Diggle would be willing to watch the Tiefling while they head out for a meal. As they descend the stairs, they find the halfling asleep at the front desk still wearing her night robe, clutching the empty minor healing potion flask and snoring loudly. The party roused Drossa and inquired as to what happened when she went to fetch the Captain of the Town Guard during Levkaria’s incident. Drossa said she went to the Town Guard Barracks and banged on the door, but there wasn’t an immediate response, so she rushed back to the party. Kasek then asked if Drossa had any other staff that works in the Grinning Kobold, and Drossa revealed that the business was ran entirely by her. The party, after seeing Drossa had dark circles under her eyes and was still attempting to wake up, decided it would be best not to have Drossa watch the Tiefling and sent the halfling Innkeeper to bed. After a moment debating on what to do, Kasek decides to stay behind and watch her while the party fetches the food and returns. While the others are out, Kasek makes an attempt at small talk, but both he and Levkaria wind up awkwardly staring at one another in the room.

Meanwhile, Celindriel, Ceona, and Feadog made their way to the Tasty Gull Eatery, passing by the Temple of Valkur and the Iron Lady Smithy while enroute. Inside the Tasty Gull, they met with the owner named Marger Gren who took their order and served them a delicious home-cooked meal while also slightly proselytizing to them about Torm and Valkur. The players gathered the food and returned to the Grinning Kobold Inn to eat -- making sure to also acquire a dish for Levkaria.

After finishing their meal, the party began debating again on what to do with Levkaria while they check in with Berny Page to begin their plan to bring Tela Cliffoak in for interrogation. The party decides to head downstairs and knock on Drossa’s bedroom door. After hearing Drossa snoring loudly, they continue to bang on her door until she answers from behind a multi-lock locked door. The party attempted to persuade Drossa to watch Levkaria, but fail to do so after mentioning that they feared for Levkaria’s safety since individuals were possibly looking to do Levkaria harm. This frightened Drossa, and she adamantly refused to solely watch Levkaria and went back to sleep, locking a few more locks after closing the door.

Ceona decides to stay behind with Levkaria in the room while Celindriel, Kasek, and Feadog head over to talk with Berny Page at the Hirane Town Guard Barracks. Berny is sitting behind his desk, and stands and greets the members as they come in. They exchange pleasantries with the players asking how Berny’s evening was. Berny stated his evening was fine and that there were no disturbances...at least from what he could tell. Berny then asks if the members are prepared to have him bring Tela in for questioning. The players hesitate a moment before Kasek speaks up telling Berny they are having problems with what to do with Levkaria. Kasek checks for any subtle reactions from Berny over hearing the information that Levkaria is still alive, and Celindriel checks to see if Berny could be potentially lying about not being disturbed during the previous evening when Drossa went to bang on the Barrack’s door. Kasek doesn’t detect any sign of lying from Berny, nor does Celindriel; Berny appears to be telling the truth and doesn’t appear to be a part of an effort to kill Levkaria. Kasek tells Berny of the incident that occurred during the evening, to which Berny is genuinely concerned. Kasek tells of Ceona nearly dying as well, but she was spared by her deity as she is a Holy Warrior, to which Kasek adds “Much like you used to be”. Berny grumbled slightly under his breath at the mention of this and slightly rolled his eyes -- both Celindriel and Kasek took note.

Berny admits the whole affair seems incredible, but wonders how Levkaria came to be poisoned. Kasek suggests it might have been the food Berny gave her when she was in the interrogation room. Berny grew nervous and worried stating that he and most -- if not all -- of his guards have eaten that food. The upstairs of the Town Guard Barracks has multiple beds for the guards, and Berny has a bedroom at the end of the room. When Berny retrieved the food, he grabbed bits and pieces from the other guard’s stations and from within his room. The food comes from the Barrack’s storeroom, and because of that, Berny is hesitant to believe his food was poisoned since neither he or any of his guards are currently dead.

Berny and the party go over the timeline of events from when they found Levkaria up to her showing the effects of being poisoned and are somewhat stumped. Feadog theorizes it could perhaps be a magical attack of sorts. Berny tells the members that magic is not his forte, however he suggests they check with Edraele Trisyra at House Caldel, as she has probably studied the arcane due to her elven heritage. He also states that if they’re worried about Levkaria still being poisoned, they could check with Vyncis Marte at the Temple of Valkur who has the ability to cure poison.

Feadog then asks, quite pointedly, if Berny was having a conversation with Edraele while they were at the What Ales You Tavern the previous evening. Everyone notices Berny blush, and he admits that he and Edraele have a fondness for each other and are engaged in a secret relationship. It has to remain a secret due to Lord Andel Caldel having expressly forbid them to see one another out of fears of impropriety. Berny admits no one in the town cares that he and Edraele are seeing one another, however they have to keep it secret in order for both he and Edraele to keep their jobs. Berny also tells them that Edraele is in possession of a signet ring that allows Edraele to send messages to Berny, to which he can respond. Berny admits that perhaps Lord Caldel has a point as it could lend itself to corruption -- the Advisor and Counselor of the Lord being in a romantic relationship with the Captain of the Town Guard. Feadog states that each of them are suspicious of Lord Caldel being corrupt himself. Berny told Feadog and the others to be careful saying such things. He doesn’t disagree with Feadog’s statement, he merely tells them to be careful saying that openly.

Kasek then asks what would happen if Lord Caldel is deposed. Berny states that what would more than likely happen is King Alwyn Nede of Laskea would appoint a new Lord to Hirane similar in fashion to when Andel Caldel was appointed as Lord after his brother passed away. Celindriel pressed him on how exactly the last Lord died. Berny told them that James Caldel was the previous Lord of Hirane who passed away approximately 9 to 10 months ago. Both James and Andel lived in House Caldel, but James grew ill suddenly and his health quickly deteriorated, and subsequently passed away. His illness was similar to the flu, and eventually James passed due to water on the lungs. King Alwyn Nede then appointed Andel Caldel as the new Lord.

Feadog asked Berny is anyone suspected if James Caldel’s illness was in fact an illness and not murder. Feadog spells out the coincidence of the timing of Hirane’s troubles following that incident -- Andel Caldel assuming Lordship, the Waterwitch appearing and operating, the mysterious strangers visiting. Berny admits he himself has at times thought about such things, but he has to be careful with such notions. He states he must have concrete evidence before making accusations.

Berny then tells the party that he was having second thoughts about bringing in Tela Cliffoak. He suggests the party target Rilanor Minun's house instead since Tela’s house is more or less a pigsty, and Tela doesn’t seem like the type of person to yield any useful information. Rilanor, on the other hand, is more intelligent, and may have useful information. The party agrees. They make a plan for Berny to give them 20 minutes, enough time to get into position for Berny to pull Rilanor in for questioning. Berny warns the party that once he brings Rilanor in, he can maybe hold him for a total of 20 to 30 minutes before Rilanor storms out. Berny wouldn’t have any right to hold Rilanor, so he would have to let him go. Berny then asks if the party is capable of carrying out their investigation into Rilanor’s house. Looking to assuage Berny’s fears, Kasek states that Celindriel is capable of opening any locked door, so breaking in shouldn’t be a concern. This piques Berny’s interest, and he begins asking the party as to what each of their specialties are. Celindriel merely states “I get things done that need to get done”. Kasek merely states that he is a “Hunter by trade”. Berny is suspicious of both these answers, but then looks at Feadog, who incredulously exclaims “Have you not heard of my abilities?!?” Berny admits he has in fact ‘heard’ his abilities, and leaves it at that. The party quells Berny’s nervousness over their ability to find useful information, but Berny warns the party that Rilanor is going to know that something is up. Kasek suggests Berny bring Rilanor in to merely question him about Tela, which may make Rilanor less suspicious. Feadog makes the suggestion to remain outside of Rilanor’s residence as a lookout, leaving Kasek and Celindriel to work their magic. Berny agrees to this plan.

Berny then asks if the party had an opportunity to inquire about the mysterious individuals that had visited the Grinning Kobold in the past. Kasek described the individuals and that they only visited the Temple of Valkur while in town. Berny made note of how the timing of their initial visit coincided with Lord Andel Caldel beginning his reign as Lord of Hirane. The party then mentioned that they were ready to begin their plan, and Berny wished the party good luck. With the time now being slightly after 9:00 AM, the party makes note they have 40 minutes to get into Rilanor’s house, find any incriminating information, and get out without being detected.

The members return to the Grinning Kobold Inn and make their way back upstairs to Ceona’s and Levkaria’s room. Ceona had been keeping Levkaria busy by describing Verchei to her in hopes of bringing her memory back. Levkaria began to remember basic details, such as snow and the frosty sea, but nothing else of consequence. They all tell Ceona of the plan and begin wondering what to do with Levkaria. Feadog mentions he has a disguise kit and they could potentially make her look inconspicuous. Worried about having enough time to make Levkaria look convincing, Kasek decides to get his disguise kit and help as well. With all four players working on giving Levkaria a makeover, they succeed in making her look as a passable human within 5 minutes time. Kasek assigns duties -- Celindriel unlocks Rilanor’s door, Feadog is to stand watch out within the courtyard, and Ceona as backup lookout, with Levkaria sticking with Ceona. Feadog is to play music if the coast is clear, but should stop playing if there is a problem. The party agrees and heads out to enact their plan.

As the party emerges from the Grinning Kobold, they see Berny along with two guards leaving the Town Guard Barracks. Feadog begins walking towards the fountain located in the center of the Hirane Town Square. Celindriel, Kasek, Ceona, and Levkaria stealthily make their way north through the town’s alleyways, and then cut east, and then south coming in through a small alleyway just north of where they initially found Levkaria.

While out in the town square, Feadog notices two Town Guardsmen standing at the corner of the Temple of Valkur looking in the direction of Feadog and Rilanor's House -- the same two guards that the party first met when disembarking from the Anellas. Feadog walks over to the Guards and convinces them to join him in the Town Square for a performance he intends on giving. They follow him back and he manages to position them in such a way where their backs are to Rilanor’s house.

The others make their way to the back of Rilanor’s house and find a locked back door to his house. Celindriel peaks around the corner and sees Feadog begin playing while trying to distract two Guardsmen. She deftly moves over to the backdoor and nimbly picks the door without a problem. The four make their way into the home.

Meanwhile, Feadog’s performance begins to draw a crowd, and several individuals begin forming a circle around him. The guards eventually lose interest and return to their post, however their direct line of sight is lost on Rilanor’s house due to the gathering crowd listening to Feadog.

Inside the house, the first room encountered appears to be a kitchen / dining area with a dining table, table chairs, a pantry, counter, and various canisters and pots containing foodstuff. The dining room is joined by a hallway that leads to the foyer of Rilanor’s house, and a stairway is visible leading up. Celindriel immediately dashes upstairs as Ceona quietly chastises her to check for traps. Ceona and Kasek both walk towards the foyer which has a door to the left and the right of the front door. Kasek chooses to take the right room, and Ceona and Levkaria decide to take the left room.

Kasek enters what appears to be a study with a desk equipped with a quill, ink, parchment and bookshelves lining the walls sparsely populated with books. Kasek searches the desk drawers and finds them all to be stuffed with parchment with Rilanor’s writings. Not wanting to spend extra time deciphering the contents of the writings, Kasek grabs two large fistfulls of paper and stuffs them in his pockets. He proceeds to search for a hidden compartment, latch, or button on the desk but finds nothing. He searches the bookshelves, but does so delicately as he notices the shelves are rather dusty. Not finding much, he decides to join Ceona.

Celindriel finds Rilanor’s bedroom upstairs. A small unmade bed, crumpled clothes on the floor, a nightstand, a desk with a quill, ink, and parchment, and a bookshelf. Celindriel immediately searches the drawers of the desk and finds a similar situation as Kasek. In a hurry to gather what she can, she too grabs two stacks of paper and places them in her possession. She heads back downstairs to find Kasek and Ceona.

Meanwhile, Ceona and Levkaria discover a study filled with unusual plants. A table occupies the center of the room with some parchment and potted plants, a couch at one end with a small table on either end, and some bookshelves. Ceona examines the plants, but doesn’t glean much information from them, other than they look to be somewhat neglected. Levkaria walks around the edge of the table and bumps it with her hip, knocking a potted plant over which shatters on the floor. Levkaria apologizes profusely and makes an attempt to clean the mess, but Ceona notices a small folded piece of paper where the potted plant had been. She grabs the piece of parchment just as Kasek and Celindriel come into the room. Celindriel examines the plants and notices there appears to be Nightshade, Orchids, some Cacti, and a small radish plant.

Outside, Feadog had tossed his hat on the ground in front of the crowd encouraging the townsfolk to give tips while he played. Feadog’s ability to play the pan flute was on full display as a large crowd had gathered around cheering him on. Looking over at the Hirane Town Guard Barracks, Feadog noticed an individual that he didn’t recognize emerge from the Barracks looking slightly red in the face and seemingly cursing under his breath marching in his direction. Feadog immediately stopped playing and thanked the crowd for their wonderful patronage. As the crowd dispersed, the individual (Rilanor) was having difficulty weaving between the people on the way to his house. Feadog then stepped up and engaged Rilanor in conversation, hoping to delay him.

Back inside Rilanor’s house, the members heard Feadog’s playing stop. Leaving the broken potted plant, the party members exited the house, with Celindriel making sure to lock the back door on her way out. The party then proceeded back the way they had come sneaking through the alleyways around the northern half of Hirane.

After a brief moment of Rilanor growing impatient with Feadog, Rilanor calls for the Town Guardsmen by the Temple of Valkur and informs them that Feadog is bothering him and that they should take care of him. Rilanor then proceeded to his house as the Guards lowered their spears on Feadog demanding he march with them to the Barracks. Feadog attempted to talk his way out of any problem, but wound up receiving the butt end of a spear in his belly, knocking the wind out of him. He then agreed to follow them and the three marched towards the Barracks with one Guard confiscating Feadog’s coin-filled hat.

The party members emerged from the alleyway just north of the Barracks in time to see Feadog being led inside. Once the door closed, Ceona and Levkaria went back to the Grinning Kobold Inn while Kasek and Celindriel remained outside the Barracks to eavesdrop.

The Guards handed Feadog off to Berny inside the Barracks, reporting to him what had happened. Feadog tells Berny he doesn’t know why he’s there, and accuses the guard of stealing his hat full of money. Berny asked for the hat and placed it in his desk drawer. Berny stated he could process Feadog from this point, and wanted the guards to return to their post. As they left, Kasek and Celindriel made themselves inconspicuous. Berny then asked Feadog if the party was successful. Feadog admitted that he wasn’t sure since he was the decoy. Berny tossed Feadog his hat then told Feadog to have the group find him later that evening at the What Ales You Tavern around 7 PM, but wants the group to come in some time before him so as to not raise suspicions. Feadog wanted to know how he should leave as just walking out the front door would look suspicious. Berny takes Feadog and forcefully throws him out the front of the Barracks, cursing at him to “Not let it happen again!”. As Berny went back inside, Feadog dusted himself off and counted out the coin he received from his performance, a total of 5 sp 17 cp. Satisfied, Feadog, Celindriel, and Kasek return to the Grinning Kobold Inn to investigate what they had pilfered from Rilanor’s house.

The time in the game is now 10:30 AM as they begin to make their way back upstairs to Ceona’s room. Ceona and Levkaria were waiting in the lobby for the others to arrive and followed everyone back upstairs. Levkaria quietly whispered her apology to Ceona for knocking over the plant as they ascended the stairs, and Ceona attempted to calm hear fears. Once in the room, Levkaria returns to her corner on the bed and keeps to herself looking slightly nervous. The others all begin rifling through the documents they found from Rilanor’s house. Celindriel’s papers are notes taken related to plants (such a observational notes) and papers used as scratch sheets of paper for getting his quill working properly. Kasek’s papers are some notes based on ship arrivals and cargo delivered, but the notes are rather vague. For a Harbor Master, the notes he takes gives the impression that he doesn’t really care about keeping accurate records. The folded piece of parchment that Ceona found seems to offer a clue. The parchment reads:

Ceona reads the list out-loud, and Celindriel acknowledges the plants mentioned are all poisonous. The party recalls that Levkaria had mentioned that she heard the three men that assaulted her speaking about “Tears for friends”. The party assumes the ‘Tears’ is the poison, however they’re not certain if the poison is intended to hurt their friends, or are for sale for their friends. The party begins to wonder about Rilanor’s association with Ennen Kytson, the town’s herbalist. They wonder if the two might be working with one another, and even possibly romantically involved. The party then begins to discuss the possibility of using some of the acquired documents to potentially forge a letter from Rilanor to give to Ennen Kyston in an effort to make her divulge information to them. Feadog speaks up and mentions he is quite good at forging, much to the astonishment of the others. Celindriel, Kasek, and Feadog all begin to eye one another suspiciously, while Ceona feels she has been completely honest about who she is with everyone and considers herself an open-book. The party decides not to attempt to forge a letter as the plan may backfire on them.

Kasek worries about the broken pot and Feadog waylaying Rilanor while enroute to his house, not to mention that Feadog is already on the bad side of both Sylrith and Tela. Kasek warns Feadog that he may have a target on his back now. Feadog claims it seems to be the way of this town, however the group suspects this isn’t the first time this has happened to Feadog. The party begins to press Feadog on his background. Feadog admits that the last town he was in, a situation arose which required him to skip town quickly, but that was as a result of one person, not three which he is currently at odds with. Ceona considers Feadog a delight and doesn’t understand why the others are pressing him for more information.

Kasek changes the subject and mentions to everyone that he and Feadog had a conversation with Rosla Grurim the previous evening, and that he believes there is an opportunity for earning some coin with attempting to find his missing daughter. Kasek also suggests their next move should be questioning Ennen Kyston and inquire about the tears. Kasek also suggests visiting the Temple of Valkur. Regardless of what they do, the party all agrees they need to warn Berny immediately and not wait to meet him later that evening.

The party heads back over to the Hirane Town Guard Barracks with Levkaria in tow, and walk in on Berny Page talking with two Guardsmen. Berny tells the party these particular two guards are trustworthy, and tells the men to take a break while he meets with the players. The guardsmen head upstairs as the party informs Berny as to what they found, specifically that it appears the criminal gang is making poisons. Berny asks if the group has confirmed this, and the party acknowledges that while they haven’t confirmed that the items on the list they found are indeed the same poison that struck Levkaria, it is obvious that they are poisonous in nature by themselves. Berny reminds the group that he cannot act without concrete evidence, and suggests that the party finds out exactly what the items on the note actually do. Kasek informs Berny that due to them knocking over a potted plant, chances are their little break-in will be noticed. Berny suggests this could potentially be used to their advantage as it may force the criminals to act. The party divulges their fears about the criminals striking Berny, however Berny feels confident that he is somewhat safe, as his murder would bring the King’s Guard into Hirane to investigate.

The party mentions that their next move is to check with Herbalist Ennen Kyston to learn more about the items on the list. The party asks if Ennen is close with Rilanor, and Berny tells them that Ennen is terrified of Rilanor as she is another of the townsfolk that is being strong-armed and threatened by the criminals. Berny reveals that any time he’s spoken to Ennen directly, it’s obvious she covers for the criminals out of fear for her life.

Kasek asks Berny the name of the two guards that brought Feadog in, to which Berny reveals their names to be Gilson and Liam. Berny also reveals that their normal shift is from 6 AM to 3 PM, after that he isn’t really sure what they do.

Berny suggests speaking with Ennen Kytson at the Leaf it to Me herbalist shop about the poison would be the best next step, or speaking with anyone else in town with interest in unusual liquids, potions, poisons or the like. Celindriel asks what Berny thinks of Vynics Marte, to which Berny admits he is a good man. However, Vyncis’ acolyte is revealed to be a strange individual. Berny says the man is mousy, reclusive, and socially withdrawn. Ceona asks if this acolyte seems to be the type of man that interacts with strange men wearing gray robes with vials of liquid on a sash across their chest, to which Berny says yes since that is the exact same attire the acolyte named Athyen Eddyns wears. This extremely piques the party’s interest and they press Berny for more information. He doesn’t have much more to offer and merely tells the party that both Athyen and Vyncis lives on the Temple premises.

The party suggests Berny has his two trustworthy guards keep a watch on him throughout the evening as they fear for his safety. Berny agrees he can have them do that, and the party makes their way back outside.