Session 27: Bridges and Burnings
General Summary
Brief party updates: At the beginning of the session a portal will appear approximately 8 feet in the air and Ice will fall unceremoniously out of it. A mysterious purple crystal is embedded in his forehead that pulses with a level 23 spell beyond anyones- be them NPC or PC- ability to even detect. It causes everyone within 15 miles of Ice (including Ice himself) to see nothing weird or odd about him suddenly appearing and disappearing randomly, or indeed to have a mysterious purple crystal pulsing menacingly in his forehead. Also, Ice shows back up with another ring. No one finds this odd or notable either.
Also, for Joe's character, here's the retcon: a previous job put him in touch with Hurda. When the bomb went off and the suspicions put it on the other side of the bridge he approached Hurda and said he wanted to help. She assigned him to the group when she met the party. His character said and did all the things Tark did- Tark was there as a faceless NPC who already left.
The party is on their way back to the Golden Dragon Inn, walking with Feldspar Merrlin and Ninarin, when they are ambushed by the Purists. Twin brothers fly up from under the bridge and cast fireball, focused on Ninarin, whom they injure. Moments later, Arges flies up to join the fray and almost magically forces her to walk off the edge of the bridge. Quick thinking by Toox helps save the day. Feldspar is furious and tries his best to protect her.
The party takes injuries, but take out the magical twins quickly. They also disrupt Arges' concentration, keeping Ninarin safe.
Soon after the fight begins, Dox appears behind one of the archers and executes him. Unfortunately, her inexperience leads to her being taken hostage. Feldspar, wholly focused on protecting Ninarin, asks Celosia to help Dox to the point of saying please, which seems to have cost him something internally. :-) Ripper saves Dox from the first assailant. Then the Edhellen comes screaming up behind the enemy soldiers with Tarryn Rowntree, Simon Twoorb, and Ripper's warforged companions. Simon bails out of the vehicle while it is still moving and fires a blunderbuss at point blank range, saving Dox. Unfortunately, the blunderbuss also misfires, injuring Simon (for more on how they arrived see Simon's Big Adventure).
The fight begins to wrap up, with Arges bailing and the party mopping up the rest. Dox takes their leave (and shares a tender moment with Feldspar). Feldspar demands one of the enemy fighters be left alive. The fighter is defiant, but is bound and tossed into the back of the Edhellen. Toox loots the corpses and finds they are meager fighters with fancy gear. She collects 4gp from the lot, and Hult tosses the majority into the lava as soldiers from The Kennels under Sergeant Clint and House Deneith approach from one end, and a contingent of the Znir Pact from the other, the latter led by Hurda and Xor'chylic himself.
Sergeant Clint tries to take the wagon, the party, and it's content back to the Kennels (against the party's wishes), furiously claiming they had left without authorization. Xor'chylic declares the wagon and all of it's contents to be property of Droaam, and Clint is left with no recourse. Xor'chylic begins probing minds- a painful process- and orders everyone associated with the Golden Dragon Inn is to be held, especially Rossys Fernmouse. He bends the will of the House Deneith soldiers to carryout the instructions, and sends the party to assist. Xor'Chylic himself does not appear to be in any hurry.
The party rush to the inn and stop the people trying to escape before the rest of the soldiers arrive. Rossys, in particular, is making a run for it until Celosia casts hold person. She's then tied up by Ice and Toox, and then magically "muted" by Feldspar. The second floor of the inn is on fire, and burning hot. The soldiers arrive and take over corralling the patrons. As soon as the situation is under control, Feldspar goes into the fiery inn and helps himself to a lot of alcohol. Ice, Hult, and Toox do likewise and help themselves to their fill.
After an uncomfortably long pause Xor'chylic appears, with Hurda and Ninarin close behind. The illithid moves through the crowd, probing. He first selects a handful of people he deems innocent. Hurda pays them for their losses and sends them on their way. He then moves through the rest. Some the illithid kills through the power of his mind, the victims simply collapsing. Another group Xor'chylic has taken back to The Throne, their fates are unknown, though they will likely envy the dead.
Lastly, Xor'chylic comes to Rossys Fernmouse. The House Ghallanda representative had been magically silenced by Feldspar, but was clearly begging for her life. Xor'chylic considered her, then had Hurda turn the halfling to stone. With that they took their leave, with Hurda explaining they would be summoned for their prescheduled meeting with Xor'chylic tomorrow afternoon.
The entire affair is brutal and violent. Celosia Senho, Tarryn, and Simon leave the scene of the executions and find Niniarin in their midst. She gives them each a magically-infused leaf to help numb the pain. Celosia gives a magical spice pouch to Tarryn, and a set of Orog spices to Simon. Both are overwhelemed with the gift. Ninarin even shares some notes on the Ogre spices. Simon falls immediately in love.
After Xor'chylic and party have left, Feldspar, who is purposely very drunk, explains that messing with the now-petrified Rossy will only ensure the person who does will take her place. He and Ninarin take their leave.
The party decide to pursue lodging on the other side of the bridge. Hult takes them to an inn he knows, and most of the party beds down for the night. Ripper stays the night in the wagon with the prisoner, allowing Tarryn to sleep in a bed (but at the cost of 10gp to revive his familiar to maintain communication). Toox sneaks back to the brothel for a conversation with Dox and some... comfort (for more on this, see Toox's Night).
Around 5am a detachment of Znir guards show up and position themselves around the wagon. They politely inform the party they have been ordered to ensure the wagon is safe and secured. They permit the party to enter and leave as they wish, and the wagon can be moved around town, but that's it. The guards have no idea what the long-term plans are, but a DC 12 Persuasion check discovers they expect the party will get more information when you meet with Xor'chylic that afternoon. As to the prisoner, they were given no instructions whatsoever. They're fine with leaving him where he is, but see no risk in taking him to the Throne if the party wishes.
The guards are extremely professional and dangerous, but they are also polite. There is no sense no hostility or ill intent. They fully appear to be a group of soldiers just doing their job.
Toox returns around lunchtime and shares important information she learned from her night (for more on this, see Toox's Night).
1. Surprising no one, Clint was secretly a regular at the brothel. Once discovering how important and terrible he was, they would often let him ‘stay the night’. Once he was engaged, Dox would slip out with his badge and clothes to take care of small matters. Clint never had any idea.
2. The Dragonmark House leadership is in a panic. All of them. Desire to expand into Drooam seems to be extremely strong, but the Daughters have flipped from practically begging to almost refusing, and the houses haven been scrambling to respond. A House Ghallanda inn being burned to the ground and their agent being publicly executed? An entire unit of House Deneith being enthralled (however briefly) by an official agent of Drooam? And now, rumor has it, Sargent Clint has gone missing… last he was seen gibbering in a little ball on the bridge. Ripe is hearing rumors Clint is dead, and she is inclined to believe them, though she doesn’t know how or why.
3. The “full members” of the Pursits have a Symbol carved into their skin. It matches the same symbol for the cult and the criminals you’ve dealt with previously.
4. The Purists have come out of nowhere- there have always been racial tensions, but nothing organized or particularly dangerous. They went from non-existent to full terrorist attack in less than 3 months.
5. Rossy was a Purist sympathizer. Not a member, of course, but she was very much turning a blind eye to the Purists in her inn. None of the changelings seem to be overly concerned with her punishment, but the general sentiment is leaving her in the middle of the street is probably a step too far.
6. None of them have any idea what will happen with the prisoners taken to the Throne, but no one expects to see any of them again. The executed were the lucky ones.
Also, for Joe's character, here's the retcon: a previous job put him in touch with Hurda. When the bomb went off and the suspicions put it on the other side of the bridge he approached Hurda and said he wanted to help. She assigned him to the group when she met the party. His character said and did all the things Tark did- Tark was there as a faceless NPC who already left.
The party is on their way back to the Golden Dragon Inn, walking with Feldspar Merrlin and Ninarin, when they are ambushed by the Purists. Twin brothers fly up from under the bridge and cast fireball, focused on Ninarin, whom they injure. Moments later, Arges flies up to join the fray and almost magically forces her to walk off the edge of the bridge. Quick thinking by Toox helps save the day. Feldspar is furious and tries his best to protect her.
The party takes injuries, but take out the magical twins quickly. They also disrupt Arges' concentration, keeping Ninarin safe.
Soon after the fight begins, Dox appears behind one of the archers and executes him. Unfortunately, her inexperience leads to her being taken hostage. Feldspar, wholly focused on protecting Ninarin, asks Celosia to help Dox to the point of saying please, which seems to have cost him something internally. :-) Ripper saves Dox from the first assailant. Then the Edhellen comes screaming up behind the enemy soldiers with Tarryn Rowntree, Simon Twoorb, and Ripper's warforged companions. Simon bails out of the vehicle while it is still moving and fires a blunderbuss at point blank range, saving Dox. Unfortunately, the blunderbuss also misfires, injuring Simon (for more on how they arrived see Simon's Big Adventure).
The fight begins to wrap up, with Arges bailing and the party mopping up the rest. Dox takes their leave (and shares a tender moment with Feldspar). Feldspar demands one of the enemy fighters be left alive. The fighter is defiant, but is bound and tossed into the back of the Edhellen. Toox loots the corpses and finds they are meager fighters with fancy gear. She collects 4gp from the lot, and Hult tosses the majority into the lava as soldiers from The Kennels under Sergeant Clint and House Deneith approach from one end, and a contingent of the Znir Pact from the other, the latter led by Hurda and Xor'chylic himself.
Sergeant Clint tries to take the wagon, the party, and it's content back to the Kennels (against the party's wishes), furiously claiming they had left without authorization. Xor'chylic declares the wagon and all of it's contents to be property of Droaam, and Clint is left with no recourse. Xor'chylic begins probing minds- a painful process- and orders everyone associated with the Golden Dragon Inn is to be held, especially Rossys Fernmouse. He bends the will of the House Deneith soldiers to carryout the instructions, and sends the party to assist. Xor'Chylic himself does not appear to be in any hurry.
The party rush to the inn and stop the people trying to escape before the rest of the soldiers arrive. Rossys, in particular, is making a run for it until Celosia casts hold person. She's then tied up by Ice and Toox, and then magically "muted" by Feldspar. The second floor of the inn is on fire, and burning hot. The soldiers arrive and take over corralling the patrons. As soon as the situation is under control, Feldspar goes into the fiery inn and helps himself to a lot of alcohol. Ice, Hult, and Toox do likewise and help themselves to their fill.
After an uncomfortably long pause Xor'chylic appears, with Hurda and Ninarin close behind. The illithid moves through the crowd, probing. He first selects a handful of people he deems innocent. Hurda pays them for their losses and sends them on their way. He then moves through the rest. Some the illithid kills through the power of his mind, the victims simply collapsing. Another group Xor'chylic has taken back to The Throne, their fates are unknown, though they will likely envy the dead.
Lastly, Xor'chylic comes to Rossys Fernmouse. The House Ghallanda representative had been magically silenced by Feldspar, but was clearly begging for her life. Xor'chylic considered her, then had Hurda turn the halfling to stone. With that they took their leave, with Hurda explaining they would be summoned for their prescheduled meeting with Xor'chylic tomorrow afternoon.
The entire affair is brutal and violent. Celosia Senho, Tarryn, and Simon leave the scene of the executions and find Niniarin in their midst. She gives them each a magically-infused leaf to help numb the pain. Celosia gives a magical spice pouch to Tarryn, and a set of Orog spices to Simon. Both are overwhelemed with the gift. Ninarin even shares some notes on the Ogre spices. Simon falls immediately in love.
After Xor'chylic and party have left, Feldspar, who is purposely very drunk, explains that messing with the now-petrified Rossy will only ensure the person who does will take her place. He and Ninarin take their leave.
The party decide to pursue lodging on the other side of the bridge. Hult takes them to an inn he knows, and most of the party beds down for the night. Ripper stays the night in the wagon with the prisoner, allowing Tarryn to sleep in a bed (but at the cost of 10gp to revive his familiar to maintain communication). Toox sneaks back to the brothel for a conversation with Dox and some... comfort (for more on this, see Toox's Night).
Around 5am a detachment of Znir guards show up and position themselves around the wagon. They politely inform the party they have been ordered to ensure the wagon is safe and secured. They permit the party to enter and leave as they wish, and the wagon can be moved around town, but that's it. The guards have no idea what the long-term plans are, but a DC 12 Persuasion check discovers they expect the party will get more information when you meet with Xor'chylic that afternoon. As to the prisoner, they were given no instructions whatsoever. They're fine with leaving him where he is, but see no risk in taking him to the Throne if the party wishes.
The guards are extremely professional and dangerous, but they are also polite. There is no sense no hostility or ill intent. They fully appear to be a group of soldiers just doing their job.
Toox returns around lunchtime and shares important information she learned from her night (for more on this, see Toox's Night).
1. Surprising no one, Clint was secretly a regular at the brothel. Once discovering how important and terrible he was, they would often let him ‘stay the night’. Once he was engaged, Dox would slip out with his badge and clothes to take care of small matters. Clint never had any idea.
2. The Dragonmark House leadership is in a panic. All of them. Desire to expand into Drooam seems to be extremely strong, but the Daughters have flipped from practically begging to almost refusing, and the houses haven been scrambling to respond. A House Ghallanda inn being burned to the ground and their agent being publicly executed? An entire unit of House Deneith being enthralled (however briefly) by an official agent of Drooam? And now, rumor has it, Sargent Clint has gone missing… last he was seen gibbering in a little ball on the bridge. Ripe is hearing rumors Clint is dead, and she is inclined to believe them, though she doesn’t know how or why.
3. The “full members” of the Pursits have a Symbol carved into their skin. It matches the same symbol for the cult and the criminals you’ve dealt with previously.
4. The Purists have come out of nowhere- there have always been racial tensions, but nothing organized or particularly dangerous. They went from non-existent to full terrorist attack in less than 3 months.
5. Rossy was a Purist sympathizer. Not a member, of course, but she was very much turning a blind eye to the Purists in her inn. None of the changelings seem to be overly concerned with her punishment, but the general sentiment is leaving her in the middle of the street is probably a step too far.
6. None of them have any idea what will happen with the prisoners taken to the Throne, but no one expects to see any of them again. The executed were the lucky ones.
Rewards Granted
1 potted fern
4 gp
Report Date
25 May 2021
Primary Location
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