DoIP - Session 03 - Report

General Summary

24 Mirtul 1492 DR (Campaign Day 2)

Draco and Marth listen to the opening remarks of the Zhentarim members. Each person gives an account of their most recent activities. When it is their turn to speak, Draco and Marth give an abridged version of their recent quests, convincing the group they were only interested in the money. Halia, the chair of the meeting, stresses the negative impact the dragon in the area has had on business, and all the members agree that someone (but definitely not them) should deal with the dragon.
  Draco and Marth speak up and call out the two other gnomes, saying they overheard them talking about something that could defeat the dragon on their walk to the miner's exchange. The two gnomes are not happy about being eavesdropped on or put on the spot in front of their fellow members. However, they don't deny that the gnomes of Gnomengarde could have some weapon or other that could aid in the defeat of the dragon. They make it quite clear to the group that they will not be making the journey.
  Draco and Marth volunteer to go to Gnomengarde and retrieve the weapon if it exists. They ask the two gnomes for some proof that they have perission to enter the gnome kingdom, but they two admit that they themselves aren't welcome back, so their word wouldn't get them inside. They do, however, provide the pair with a map to Gnomengarde. Halia steps forward and offers to write a letter to her cousin, Gemna, who works directly with the kings of Gnomegarde and should be able to grant them entrance.
  Draco and Marth make their exit once they receive the letter before any of the members realize they aren't supposed to be there. It is well past midnight by this point, and the surrounding town is deathly quiet. The silence is so total that they can hear the clatter of falling armour and weapons from inside the Lionshield Coster as they walk past.
  The two decided to investigate and circle around to the back of the shop. Here they find the back door window broken and the door itself ajar. They realize someone has broken in and is robbing the shop. They proceed into the back porch with caution. They can hear movement in the room up ahead. Draco quickly ties a tripwire across the door to the other room before heading inside. Marth stays behind to watch the back door. It is too dark to see much, but it is clear that this is the back storage room of the shop. There is a clattering sound as something runs across the items on the floor into the room ahead.
  Draco pursues the robber into the next room just as Marth abandons the back door and heads deeper into the shop. Draco emerges into the main storefront behind the counter. The windows let in enough light that he can see a small creature running across the room to the front door. The creature tries desperatly to pick the lock on the front door as Draco leaps over the counter to confront it. Marth enters the storefront in time to see Draco grab the creature and pick it up.
  They realize the creature is a kobold and interrogate him. The kobold admits to breaking in, but only because he needs a new sword because his is broken, and he has no money for a new one. A quick search reveals a broken dagger that the kobold had been using as a sword. Marth offers to give the kobold one of his daggers if he promises not to steal anything else. The kobold agrees and accepts the dagger. As soon as Draco sets him down, he disappears into the darkness and runs for the backdoor. They hear him trip on the tripwire that Draco set up but then get back up and keep running. The kobold is long gone when Draco and Marth return to the back porch.
  As Draco is retrieving the rope he used as a tripwire, Linene Graywind, the owner of the Lionshield Coster, charges through the back door with two town guards and accuses Draco and Marth of robbing her store. After a tense exchange during which the pair is nearly arrested for burglary, the two convince Linene that they are not thieves and, in fact, catch the actual thief but let him go. She lectures them that this was not their decision to make but allows the two to leave.
  They make their way back to the Stonehill Inn, seeing only one other person on their way: a lone individual standing at the Shrine of Luck. They decide after the night they've had to leave this person be and head to bed.
 

25 Mirtul 1492 DR (Campaign Day 3)

Having returned to the Stonehill Inn in the early house of the morning, Draco and Marth sleep in until nearly noon. When they come downstairs for breakfast, they find Bandit and Cratchit waiting for them. The whole dining room is buzzing with rumours surrounding the attempted break-in at the Lionshield Coster. Draco and Marth tell their friends only a few details of the previous night, not willing to risk angering the Black Network by revealing their secrets to someone who might be listening. As Marth catches Bandit and Crachit up to speed as best he can, Draco overhears a conversation about a white dragon attack on his home city of Neverwinter, where the dragon attacked the Southern Gate.
  After breakfast, the group decides to head to the Phanadlin Miner's Exchange to sell some of the gems and other items they have acquired on their adventures so far. Halia is serving other customers when they arrive. She is haggling with a pair of dwarves over the value of their wares and succeeds in ripping them off, blaming the low price on the dragon in the area. Once the dwarves leave, she asks the group if they heard about the break-in the previous night, commenting that whoever it was clearly didn't know what they were doing as they didn't even manage to steal anything. She is clearly fishing for information as if she knows Draco and Marth were there. The two do not comment on the incident and instead begin haggling over the price of their own wares. They eventually come to an agreement. Halia offers them a price that is less than what the goods are worth elsewhere but more than she would offer non-Zhentarim members. As the group leaves, she asks when they'll be making the journey to Gnomengarde, but Marth tells her that it is their own business, which she respects.
  Next, the group heads to the Lionsheild Coster to purchase weapons for the upcoming journey to Gnomengarde. Draco gets the feeling that they are being watched but cannot spot anyone following them. Linene is not happy to see Draco and Marth and initially orders them out of her store, still not fully trusting them. Marth convinces her to sell them what they need, but she overcharges them for everything.
  Finally, the group begins to head for Barthen's Provisions to stock up on supplies for the journey. As they walk, Draco finally gets a glimpse of something following them in the alleys between the buildings. He manages to get ahead of it and comes face to face with the kobold thief from the night before. The kobold has taken a liking to them since Marth gave him his new "sword" and because Draco is a dragonborn.
  The kobold introduces himself as Karl, and the group invites him to travel with them. Karl accepts eagerly, grateful for the protection. He sticks close to Draco as they walk to Barthen's, flinching away from anyone who gets too close to him. Other than an occasional glance in his direction, the townsfolk do not react to Karl's presence.
  The group acquires their supplies at Barthen's, including a map case for their mep to Gnomengarde, and Karl buys a blowgun and some darts. They decide to head back to the Stonehill Inn to plan their trip to Gnomengarde, agreeing to set out first thing in the morning.

Character(s) interacted with

Halia Thornton, Linene Graywind, and Karl.