Session 2 - Peril in the Shadows

General Summary

4th - 6th of May, 1542   The party returned to Harlaton after rescuing the children, and celebrated at the The Pitcher and the Pitchfork. The townsfolk that were there were cheerful and congratulatory (this being the last night of the market) and several farmers bought the party at least one round of drinks. Hilda, for her part was also generous on the pours.   Tobin played music for the evening, and one song in particular stood out, The Lament of Dalraith's Chain, which spoke of the deeds of Lothar Parlfray and his defeat of the evil cult in The Hardlow Woods, nearly 100 years ago.   Afterwards, everyone went their own way for a couple of days, until Gordrenn sent Bron and Albin to fetch each of the characters. It turned out he'd made arrangements with Hilda to host a private meeting with the party for a special favor. Hilda and Tobin served a well prepared meal to the group, and thanked them again for the rescues of Bron, Albin, and his daughter, Katrin. Still something weighed heavily on his mind, and he eventually came to the point of his meeting. He wanted to request that the group deliver a letter to the wizard Thauster in Thurmaster. He said he was concerned that the simple life of Harlaton may soon be too much for his daughter, and he wanted to have her apprenticed to the wizard. He offered the party 20 silver pieces each, as much as he could afford, to deliver the letter and return a response.  

The party accepted, and eventually discussed plans to leave in the morning. During the discussion, an altercation broke out, and Chi Natsu lost his temper and attacked Maura. Tempers were quickly calmed and it became apparant that Chi had acquired a magical dagger from the Blacksmith. Maura and Theo investigated the dagger and found it to have inscriptions in several languages, all saying simply, "War". The dagger is terribly sharp, and Theo was able to detect an aura of Necromancy surrounding the dagger itself. Sharos reasoned it was definitely evil of some sort. Theo and Maura together realised this was what was known as a Bellicose Dagger. The question of what to do with it remained unresolved, however.   In the morning, the party left Harlaton on the road to Milborne. The weather was pleasant, and traveling the road was easy. Farms became more and more sparse until about midday, when all that was left was sparse scrublands and a copse of trees here and there along the road. Travel was uneventful for most of the day, but as evening approached, Ava Millerani and Theo noticed birds circling overhead in the distance. The party continued on, eventually coming across a small battlefield along the road. 4 bodies lay on the ground, and seemed several hours dead. Wagon tracks lead offroad to the east, towards The Thornwood forest. The party debated the next course of action - head to Milborne and send someone back, or follow the trail to the culprits. At first, it seemed that descretion would be the better part of valor, but in the end Ava convinced the group that there may be survivors that needed to be rescued, and the bandits would definitely have any valuables on them.   Tracking the wagon was easy, as the ground was soft and the wagon was obviously carrying something heavy. Eventually, they come upon the group of bandits, with 3 remaining hostages and the wagon itself. The wagon was a cage, inside of which prowled a full sized griffon. Combat ensued, with the leader, a blonde man in leather armor, shouting to "get the spellcasters!". Theo snuck around behind the wagon, and spooked the horses into running. They took off, pulling the cage with them. Ava killed the leader, and the 6 remaining bandits immediately stopped fighting, and became confused and lethargic. At that point both Theo and Falcor noticed a strange fishy smell emanating from the bandits.  

Unanswered Questions

Why is a shopkeeper in Harlaton using the Baron's crest to send a letter to a wizard in Thurmaster?
Why are the bandits looking for spellcasters specifically?
Why do they smell like fish?

Rewards Granted

The Bellicose Dagger - Chi has it.
 

Experience Points

300 xp Bandit fight
100 xp Clever thinking for the Griffon
50 xp for Quinneon Burrfoot, Ava Millerani, Chi Natsu and Sharos for adding character profiles to World Anvil.

Character(s) interacted with

Gordrenn - Party agreed to deliver the letter to Thauster in Thurmaster
Carlanis - The unnamed leader of the bandit party, killed by Ava Millerani
Brokkrin Basalthammer - (offscreen) Dagger stolen by Chi Natsu