HHI Session 26: Betrayed by Your Own Drinking Buddy
General Summary
Month 6, Week 1, Year 908
With a new day on their hands, the Seeking Scorpions gathered information about potential suspects for the recent killings. Siegfried wondered it politics played a part in the killings, seeing as all of the victims were part of a pro-war faction seeking to join the side of Oda Clan in the Oda-Kiri War. Kawa Clan's leaders maintained an official neutrality during the war, perhaps explaining some of the recent conflicts in the city. To investigate these hunches further, the party gained an audience with Magistrate Tabata to discuss the threat of this bout of killings. The local treasurer proved reluctant to spend his political capital on a band of mercenaries, but a 500GP bribe from the party was enough for him to arrange a dinnertime audience with the Magistrate. Certain customs would have to be enforced for this encounter: all of the party's weapons must be laid out in front of them for the magistrate to see, the party could not speak unless spoken to by the Magistrate, and upon leaving the Magistrate's chambers they must bow out of respect for her authority. After a productive afternoon of shopping the party reunited for this vaunted meeting with Magistrate Tabata, decked out in silk robes of ruby red flanked by powerful-looking samurai. The Magistrate appeared to be aware of the party's recent scandals in Sanjuro City, but she was willing to look the other way if they discovered the killer in a timely manner. Siegfried and the others suggested luring out the killer with a magistrate look-alike, but Tabata refused to besmirch the court's repuation with such a tactic. So as night fell, the Seeking Scorpions headed over to the barracks to meet with Cpt. Katashi. He was deep in his cups by then, and the party got him even drunker at the Frosty Blade. Mavis was stuck in a all-day conference call with the Gatekeeper, so the other Scorpions would have to keep Katashi entertained on their own. Their patrol of the city started at the docks, empty save for a couple of human sailors stuck with guard duty. Katashi led them on a winding patrol around the city's perimeter, too drunk for the party to argue with. After a few blocks Cpt. Katashi asked the party about Mavis' Deck of Many Things, saying that he sensed some magic from it. This set off alarm bells in the party's mind, seeing as one of the killer's victims had owned a collection of magic items. When the party proved reluctant to call on Mavis, Katashi showed his true form and blasted the group with a 'Cone of Cold'. Ithilwen fell unconscious in a matter of seconds, leaving Ownka and Siegfried to face Katashi alone. Once Ithilwen was revived the party dealt some damage to Katashi, even as he transformed into a giant blue monster with icy claws and a giant glaive. Siegfried called for someone to help out in the fight, and Ownka was knocked unconscious by Katashi's 'Sleep' spell. Somehow Siegfried survived long enough to negotiate with Katashi, getting the oni to hold off on attacking until Mavis arrived with the Deck of Many Things. Everybody stopped fighting despite some close calls, and Katashi was allowed to draw as many cards as he pleased. The first card, Ruin, stripped Katashi of all his wealth and titles as he was left with nothing but the clothes on his back. The second card, Donjon, sealed Katashi's fate as he vanished from this plane of existence into parts unknown. Shaken from the night's unexpected turn of events, the party headed back to the barracks to present what little evidence they had about Katashi's involvement in the killings. A new Captain of the guard met with them that night, saying that Katashi had been fired hours earlier for his rampant drunkenness and gambling. The new captain of the guard appeared open to the theory that an unhinged former captain of the guard would turn violent after being fired, so the party was allowed to retire to the Frosty Blade for the night. A new day dawned on Kori, the town free of the fears of a killer lurking in its midst. The city's treasurer rewarded the party with 300PP, expediting their ship's passage through the canals so they could leave town by the end of the day. All for the better: if Mavis had learned one thing from her days-long call with the Gatekeeper, it's that he wanted them to get to Kita Outpost as soon as possible. With the money raked in from the past two days, Siegfried decided to tag along to see what this Gatekeeper was all about.
With a new day on their hands, the Seeking Scorpions gathered information about potential suspects for the recent killings. Siegfried wondered it politics played a part in the killings, seeing as all of the victims were part of a pro-war faction seeking to join the side of Oda Clan in the Oda-Kiri War. Kawa Clan's leaders maintained an official neutrality during the war, perhaps explaining some of the recent conflicts in the city. To investigate these hunches further, the party gained an audience with Magistrate Tabata to discuss the threat of this bout of killings. The local treasurer proved reluctant to spend his political capital on a band of mercenaries, but a 500GP bribe from the party was enough for him to arrange a dinnertime audience with the Magistrate. Certain customs would have to be enforced for this encounter: all of the party's weapons must be laid out in front of them for the magistrate to see, the party could not speak unless spoken to by the Magistrate, and upon leaving the Magistrate's chambers they must bow out of respect for her authority. After a productive afternoon of shopping the party reunited for this vaunted meeting with Magistrate Tabata, decked out in silk robes of ruby red flanked by powerful-looking samurai. The Magistrate appeared to be aware of the party's recent scandals in Sanjuro City, but she was willing to look the other way if they discovered the killer in a timely manner. Siegfried and the others suggested luring out the killer with a magistrate look-alike, but Tabata refused to besmirch the court's repuation with such a tactic. So as night fell, the Seeking Scorpions headed over to the barracks to meet with Cpt. Katashi. He was deep in his cups by then, and the party got him even drunker at the Frosty Blade. Mavis was stuck in a all-day conference call with the Gatekeeper, so the other Scorpions would have to keep Katashi entertained on their own. Their patrol of the city started at the docks, empty save for a couple of human sailors stuck with guard duty. Katashi led them on a winding patrol around the city's perimeter, too drunk for the party to argue with. After a few blocks Cpt. Katashi asked the party about Mavis' Deck of Many Things, saying that he sensed some magic from it. This set off alarm bells in the party's mind, seeing as one of the killer's victims had owned a collection of magic items. When the party proved reluctant to call on Mavis, Katashi showed his true form and blasted the group with a 'Cone of Cold'. Ithilwen fell unconscious in a matter of seconds, leaving Ownka and Siegfried to face Katashi alone. Once Ithilwen was revived the party dealt some damage to Katashi, even as he transformed into a giant blue monster with icy claws and a giant glaive. Siegfried called for someone to help out in the fight, and Ownka was knocked unconscious by Katashi's 'Sleep' spell. Somehow Siegfried survived long enough to negotiate with Katashi, getting the oni to hold off on attacking until Mavis arrived with the Deck of Many Things. Everybody stopped fighting despite some close calls, and Katashi was allowed to draw as many cards as he pleased. The first card, Ruin, stripped Katashi of all his wealth and titles as he was left with nothing but the clothes on his back. The second card, Donjon, sealed Katashi's fate as he vanished from this plane of existence into parts unknown. Shaken from the night's unexpected turn of events, the party headed back to the barracks to present what little evidence they had about Katashi's involvement in the killings. A new Captain of the guard met with them that night, saying that Katashi had been fired hours earlier for his rampant drunkenness and gambling. The new captain of the guard appeared open to the theory that an unhinged former captain of the guard would turn violent after being fired, so the party was allowed to retire to the Frosty Blade for the night. A new day dawned on Kori, the town free of the fears of a killer lurking in its midst. The city's treasurer rewarded the party with 300PP, expediting their ship's passage through the canals so they could leave town by the end of the day. All for the better: if Mavis had learned one thing from her days-long call with the Gatekeeper, it's that he wanted them to get to Kita Outpost as soon as possible. With the money raked in from the past two days, Siegfried decided to tag along to see what this Gatekeeper was all about.
Rewards Granted
- Ithilwen Donnabháin bought Vials of Poison (x5), Arrows (x60), and a woodcarver's kit
- Siegfried Windspear bought Northern Territories-style splint armor
- The party obtained 300PP for finding the dealing with the town killings
Character(s) interacted with
- Soma - a dwarven woman in charge of the most profitable blacksmith forge in Kori
- Magistrate Tabata - a human woman and leader of the city of Kori. She refused to help the party in their ruse to lure out the killer, but she rewarded them for apprehending the killer and expedited their move out of town
- Cpt. Katashi - a dwarven man and former captain of Kori's town guard. He turned out to be an oni responsible for the recent killings, but he was quickly dealt with by two of the worst cards in the Deck of Many Things
Featured Players
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