Session 273 - Blood in the Rain
General Summary
5th to 7th of Peonu (Second Month of Spring) 726TR
Location - On the road a few miles out from Kiban in the Kingdom of Kaldor.
Part 1 – Blood in the Rain
Rycon, Dryueh, and Valeria are traveling to the town of Kiban but are forced to seek shelter under a stand of trees from an intense Spring downpour. Suddenly a flash of lightning and a break in the squall illuminates a horrific scene. A boat has been drawn up off the rising Nephen river, and nearby men lie dead, bloody corpses being hacked at by three short, raging, beastly humanoids. What are orcs doing in the middle of the civilized Kingdom of Kaldor? The one man still standing takes a glancing blow to his head and falls to the ground. Before the orc can finish him off, its attention is drawn to the heroes. With malevolent glee, the foulspawn charge.
This is the first time the heroes have fought together, and they perform well. Rycon moved forward, guarding the approach striking with his katana, while Dryueh darts in and out of concealment, striking with bow and rapier. One of the orcs attempts a flanking attack but is stuck and dazzled by Valeria's shadow magic and numerous well-placed sling stones to the head. The orcs require a lot of killing, being seemly happy to fight on despite grievous injuries that would otherwise incapacitate or kill outright a human. Nonetheless, they are eventually destroyed.
Part 2 - Silan the Forger
The injured man awakens and introduces himself as Silan, and he is furious. Someone wants him dead, specifically be believes, the wizard Kaharis.
Kaharis was supposed to meet with him to pay him for completing a job, but instead, he was ambushed by these hairy brutes. He hints that this mysterious job may not have been entirely illegal and asks the heroes to track down and deal with this treacherous wizard, then he will tell them more.
Part 3 - A Dangerous Wizard
The adventurers attempt to sneak up but are spotted. The orcs charge forward, and the man's skill with magic is considerably stronger than the characters expect. Although Dryueh and Rycon deal with the orcs quickly enough, the Wizard summons a Flaming Sphere that rolls toward the party. Dryueh dodges, but Valeria is enveloped and falls unconscious from the pain. Dryueh and Rycon encircle the wizard, and despite his obvious arcane talent, his head is sliced in twain.
The appreciative Silan provides the heroes with some background events after they assure him that they will not inform the authorities. He describes himself as a "Writer of documents," i.e., a forger, and was hired by the wizard to craft an amendment to the will of the recently deceased Lord Wyant of Thadel Manor. This forgery states that the late Lord Wyant's desire is to give a small parcel of land, the Tuzmyr Embankment, to his bastard Brother Lord Falun of Nynte Manor. This land is nothing more than a worthless wasteland unsuitable to be converted to cropland.
The will and the forged amendment are stored at the Church Of St Amarab in the nearby town of Kiban. Silan wants revenge for his betrayal and attempted murder and, on principle, wants to undo the crime for which he has not been paid. The will is due to be read in three days, and he would like the heroes to make the amendment disappear, and he is willing to pay. He knows the location of a magical cloak and will happily pass this on to the heroes as a reward.
The heroes agree to help, and the group travel to Kiban.
Location - Town of Kiban in the Kingdom of Kaldor.
Part 4 - The Ghost of St Amarab
After arriving at Kiban, the party considers sneaking in and removing the offending document. Silan believes his contacts in the Thieves Guild know of a secret way into the Church Of St Amarab and organizes a meeting with a representative.
The team visits a dimly lit tavern, meeting in a back room with a shady character who does not give his name. They learn that the thieves had a secret entrance into the church's crypt used to "Purloin trinkets"; however, it has not been utilized in over 30 years. Decades ago, a thief disappeared on a job. Another searched for him the next night, returning in shock, shivering with white hair and burn marks on one side of his body. All he could mutter was "Saint Amarab Ghost!" and he fell unconscious, dying of a heart attack later that night. The entrance to the underground passage is located in the cellar of one of the local Coopers and has not been used since.
Concerned about the ghost, the Rycon visits the church named after Saint Amarab to learn more.
Serolan Ceowald is helpful, and the pair get along well. He happily tells Rycon of Saint Amarab's great deeds, proudly shows the church's relics, and after some subtle prompting, agrees to show Rycon the crypts where the revered saint is interned. The pair travel down into crypts where Rycon views the stone casket of the saint, the most elaborate of the eleven stone coffers. One coffer at the back is wrapped in chains with a paddle lock. When asked why, the high priest replies, “Thieves plagued my predecessor. He discovered that they enter through that coffer, so he wrapped it in chains. I remember he chuckled when he said he has a nasty “surprise” ready for any thief.”
Rycon asks permission to do a holy vigil in the crypts, and to his surprise, the priest agrees to allow him to pray overnight. As one final indulgence Rycon asks to purchase a holy book, particularly one detailing Saint Amarab's great deeds. Serolan Arnkel shows Rycon the temple's busy scriptorium and library. The crafty knight deduces that the temple records must be kept upstairs.
The Plan
The party comes up with a cunning plan. Rycon will hold a vigil in the crypt, praying by himself overnight and reasoning with the Ghost of Saint Amarab, if it were to materialize, and otherwise offer assistance to Valeria and Dryueh, who will sneak in via the underground passages.
To be continued.
NPC Interactions
Serolan Ceowald Arnkel.
Challenges
Killed 3 x Common Orcs.
Killed 2 x Common Orcs and 1 x L3 Wizard.
Saved Silan the Forger's Life.
Rycon impressed the High priest of Kiban's Chruch of Larani.
Rewards
3 x Healing Potions, minor.
Created Content
Temple of Larani - Church Of St Amarab.
Related Reports
Order of the Lady of Paladins.
Order of the Spear of Shattered Sorrow.
Player Characters
Valeria - Human - L1 Shadow Sorcerer.
Rycon - Human - L1 Fighter.
Dryueh - 1/2 Elf - Rogue (Thief).
