Session 35: Surrounded Ground
General Summary
The party retreats to their rooms where they begin to gather information. Ripper has some luck with his sprites. They follow the older man from House Cannith back to Little Dura. He greets others warmly and shows no signs of discomfort. The recipient of the note, a female halfling from House Ghallanda, retreats to her room and has a brief moment of contemplation. She then takes the note and burns it to ash. The sprite successfully recovers the ashes and escapes with them.
Meanwhile, Hult visits his lamp and is given an note emphatic note from his patron: "THE THREAT HAS NOT PASSED. KILL THE HISTORIAN QUICKLY. FIND THE COLLABORATORS." Hult takes these instructions very seriously. He demands the party summon Endinwel Cromelon, but is willing to allow the party to question him first. Torture is mentioned, which causes a bit of conflict. Endinwel arrives, believing he is simply being invited to continue collecting information, but once pressed his story starts to fall apart pretty quickly. Ripper neatly sidesteps the issue of torture vs. execution by casting Contagion. Endinwel does not react well. Order takes the opportunity to read his mind and confirms Endinwel is working for the demon in exchange for fame and glory. He was tasked with gathering information on the party and relaying it back. Finally, while they couldn't find his contact they did determine the contact is at The Great Crag. To do this, Order uses a magic ring that causes her extreme pain, and leaves her very thirsty. This mind probe also finishes off the weakened historian, killing him. A search of his person finds the symbol on his lower back, as well as a detailed journal on every member of the party.
Celosia uses the Mirror of the Past to see what else can be learned about the man with the portable hole. It doesn't reveal too much. It shows him sitting alone contently in Little Dura, his family (presumably back in Sharn), and his time as a child. All of this helps Toox finally remember where she'd seen the Jeweled Dagger before. Years prior her curiosity had led her to follow a group of The Boromar Clan's people carrying an expensive looking case into the back of a casino she was working. She shifted to look like a guard and followed them back. The dagger was in the case, and was treated as an item of great import.
Afterward, Inkwell informs them the Znir Pact have taken a member of House Thuranni into custody for the murder of a member of House Phiarlan. The party's attempts to gather information were thwarted by incompetency.
Next, Inkwell informs the party the Ghaash'kala are getting... pushy. They are demanding to personally strip search everyone in the mountain for the Symbol. Several members of the Znir Pact are already being searched. An area has been set up for the searches to offer some privacy.
After some discussion the party decide to use this as an opportunity. They submit themselves for search first- an extremely thorough affair- and then send for specific allies (Hazel d'Orien, Don Jon Raskin, and "Melody" Valesnath) and request they, too, submit to the search. They do, and are cleared.
With a small group of people they believe they can trust, they then reach out to two more individuals- Merrix d'Cannith, the head of House Cannith in the The Great Crag, and Daric d'Velderan, one of the heads of House Tharashk. Both of the men not only arrive but submit to the search without issue. They talk with each other casually as they submit, and when finished the position is made clear. Time is running out. Another attack is coming. While the House heads submitted as a courtesy, they also expect this to be resolved. The Daughters, the Houses, and the Ghaaash'kala are running out of patience. Tensions are rising. If the party can't come forward with a plan that keeps these disparate groups happy someone is going to take matters into their own hands.
Meanwhile, Hult visits his lamp and is given an note emphatic note from his patron: "THE THREAT HAS NOT PASSED. KILL THE HISTORIAN QUICKLY. FIND THE COLLABORATORS." Hult takes these instructions very seriously. He demands the party summon Endinwel Cromelon, but is willing to allow the party to question him first. Torture is mentioned, which causes a bit of conflict. Endinwel arrives, believing he is simply being invited to continue collecting information, but once pressed his story starts to fall apart pretty quickly. Ripper neatly sidesteps the issue of torture vs. execution by casting Contagion. Endinwel does not react well. Order takes the opportunity to read his mind and confirms Endinwel is working for the demon in exchange for fame and glory. He was tasked with gathering information on the party and relaying it back. Finally, while they couldn't find his contact they did determine the contact is at The Great Crag. To do this, Order uses a magic ring that causes her extreme pain, and leaves her very thirsty. This mind probe also finishes off the weakened historian, killing him. A search of his person finds the symbol on his lower back, as well as a detailed journal on every member of the party.
Celosia uses the Mirror of the Past to see what else can be learned about the man with the portable hole. It doesn't reveal too much. It shows him sitting alone contently in Little Dura, his family (presumably back in Sharn), and his time as a child. All of this helps Toox finally remember where she'd seen the Jeweled Dagger before. Years prior her curiosity had led her to follow a group of The Boromar Clan's people carrying an expensive looking case into the back of a casino she was working. She shifted to look like a guard and followed them back. The dagger was in the case, and was treated as an item of great import.
Afterward, Inkwell informs them the Znir Pact have taken a member of House Thuranni into custody for the murder of a member of House Phiarlan. The party's attempts to gather information were thwarted by incompetency.
Next, Inkwell informs the party the Ghaash'kala are getting... pushy. They are demanding to personally strip search everyone in the mountain for the Symbol. Several members of the Znir Pact are already being searched. An area has been set up for the searches to offer some privacy.
After some discussion the party decide to use this as an opportunity. They submit themselves for search first- an extremely thorough affair- and then send for specific allies (Hazel d'Orien, Don Jon Raskin, and "Melody" Valesnath) and request they, too, submit to the search. They do, and are cleared.
With a small group of people they believe they can trust, they then reach out to two more individuals- Merrix d'Cannith, the head of House Cannith in the The Great Crag, and Daric d'Velderan, one of the heads of House Tharashk. Both of the men not only arrive but submit to the search without issue. They talk with each other casually as they submit, and when finished the position is made clear. Time is running out. Another attack is coming. While the House heads submitted as a courtesy, they also expect this to be resolved. The Daughters, the Houses, and the Ghaaash'kala are running out of patience. Tensions are rising. If the party can't come forward with a plan that keeps these disparate groups happy someone is going to take matters into their own hands.
Report Date
23 Oct 2021
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