Session 15 Report

General Summary

The Red Sashes sat down at a table, in Titta Morco’s section. Titta immediately told Jenivar Albyn who they were and about their history with the party. Jenivar then took it upon herself to wait on their table, informing all the waitresses to keep away. She also had Sinjin Fairchild go inform Captain Brice of their presence. Captain Brice came to the inn as one of them was being particularly hands-on with Jenivar, to which she was clearly to take exception. The captain introduced himself to them and set them straight. The Red Sashes, looked superficially eager to comply. Torren of the Red Sashes came to the bar and booked three rooms, engaging in a quick banter with Auren Sylynn, clearly recognizing him. The rest of the party’s work day was awkward. Red Sashes came and went throughout the day. At times there were as many as ten of them in the inn. That evening, after the late shift, Haymin’s Heroes offered to walk Astri and Wynvar home. Jenivar agreed with this idea and made it clear to the waitresses that they would be escorted home. The next day, August 9, 496 AV, Haymin’s Heroes endured another awkward day of the Red Sashes’ presence. Again they noticed their comings and goings. In particular, they noted how two of the bandits would leave and would not be seen for the rest of the day. Then an hour or two later, two different bandits would enter the Home Away From Home. They surmised that they were changing shifts, possibly guarding their most recent score. They were convinced that the Red Sashes had something to do with the recently missing caravan. Early in the day, a man arrived at the inn and walked straight to the Red Sashes’ table. Marak Quinaro greeted the man by closing his eyes and nodding slowly. The man returned the gesture in kind then sat down at their table. Titta stayed close to their table and eavesdropped. Auren and Gellir watched this interaction from a distance. Gellir commented that he had heard that this greeting was used by the Unseen, an assassins’ guild that was said to operate throughout Velen. After the conversation at the Red Sashes’ table, the man and Marak nodded at each other, again with closed eyes, and then the man left. Titta came to the back and recounted what had been said to the others. Their conversation sounded like it was in code, something about exchanging stuffing for hats, a flock of birds, and a recipe. They surmised the Red Sashes were trying to offload goods they had recently stolen. After their shift, Haymin’s Heroes followed two Red Sashes out of town and tailed them through the forest south. Eventually, they lost sight of them in the growing darkness of the evening. While Titta was looking for tracks, the two bandits tried to ambush them, only giving themselves away at the last moment as a footfall fell upon a dry branch on in the grass. A battle ensued, two bandits versus the seven adventurers in training. In the darkness, things did not go very well for Haymin’s Heroes, though in the end, they were victorious. However, four of their members had been seriously wounded in combat, Selia Roselyn Maxwell, Titta Morco, Mogi Delvin, and Pyzar Zim. Ladigo Farthon’s amulet could only revive three of them. So they were forced to carry an unconscious, but stable, Titta back to town. Before they did so, however, an amusing suggestion from Sinjin led to Auren to arranging the bodies in a manner that they were holding hands, hoping that when found it would allude to a forbidden romance between them. When they reached the inn, Jenivar attended to Titta immediately with a magical healing potion. She questioned them vigorously as to what had happened. They then all set out to alert the guards as to the fallen bandits in the woods. As the majority of the group and Jenivar walked to the watch headquarters across the street, Auren surreptitiously slid the other way. When Jenivar noticed he was missing, they followed and caught him before he left town. After hearing his explanation of the bandit corpses, she chuckled, but led them all back to alert the watch, not really worried at what the town guards would think. They spoke to the watch and recounted the events of that evening. Jenivar then returned to the inn while the party led a group of guards to find the fallen bandits. That night, the scene was cleaned up and the bodies carried away. Haymin’s Heroes eventually returned to the inn to rest for the night. When they awoke the next morning, they found that the Red Sashes had already checked out of the inn. In conversation with Jenivar, they mentioned the coded communication between Marak and the mysterious man the day before. Jenivar immediately told the party that the Red Sashes had definitely robbed the caravan and were trying to sell their stolen goods. The disappearance of the two bandits the party had defeated had probably scared the Red Sashes away. She then left to inform the guard. She returned with Captain Brice who had the party lead him and his men to where the fight with the bandits had occurred last night. From there, they searched for tracks to follow. They eventually came across a cave along the lake where ruts from a wagon could be found in the ground, along with several footprints and hoof marks from horses. They followed these until they reached the road where they caught up to the Red Sashes leading a horse drawn wagon to the south. Captain Brice ordered the party to remain behind while his men confronted the bandits. Most of the Red Sashes escaped, a few on horseback, most on foot. A couple were cut down near the wagon, and one surrendered. The bandits left the wagon behind in order to make their escape. Captain Brice let them run, content with recovering the stolen goods. He let the captive bandit go, telling him to warn the others that they are forbidden from returning to Karavale. The bandit ran away towards the south, after the others. The next several weeks passed by relatively uneventfully. The Shadow Network had seemingly retreated into the shadows after recent setbacks. Haymin’s Heroes did not get into any significant trouble, and Karavale again seemed pretty peaceful. The twentieth anniversary of the Home Away From Home was celebrated on August 18, 496 AV. Jenivar’s birthday was celebrated on September 14, 496 AV. The former involved many drink and food specials which drew in a healthy local crowd. The latter involved much drinking and dancing, with Jenivar the center of attention. Brice seemed happy at the opportunity to celebrate her birthday without the presence of Haymin. And the party used some of their coins to purchase a necklace set with a sapphire to give to Jenivar as a gift. The following week on the 20th, the Harvest Festival was met with the usual feasts of hardy, rustic meals. And on the 22nd, a party for Captain Brice was prepared in honor of his birthday. As he did every year, he celebrated his birthday with some of his friends and most loyal guards at the Home Away From Home. Jenivar ordered special ale and fresh lamb for the evening’s enjoyment. In the morning, she sent the party to the butcher to pick up the lamb. On the way to the butcher, as they crossed through a familiar alley, Haymin’s Heroes were accosted by seven rogues in black masks that covered the upper part of their faces. It was in the morning, in bright daylight. The party was not expecting such a brazen attack. The rogues knocked them all out quickly, using saps. When they awoke, it was several hours later. They were each shackled to the wall, in a small room with a single closed door. The foul smell of sewer water permeated the air. Pennig and Fisher were nowhere to be seen. Haymin’s Heroes struggled with their bonds, but to no avail. Eventually, a man dressed in black, wearing a full mask over his face, entered. Using a disguised voice, additionally muffled by the mask, the man introduced himself as the Shadow. Selia, Titta, and Auren paid close attention to him, listening to how he talked and watching how he moved, looking for something that would give his identity away. The Shadow revealed to them his plan to destroy the Home Away From Home, killing all the partygoers inside. The Shadow and his men had set several barrels of Gnomish blast powder along four support pillars in a sewer junction that happened to be directly under the inn. They would light the powder, causing the structure to collapse into the sinkhole that would be formed. He told the party that they should be safe in this room. He admitted he knew them and liked them, having listened to many of their stories. He offered them a place within his Shadow Network, though he did not really believe they would join him. He said he would give them time to think about it. But that he would ultimately kill them if they refused. Then something that he had said, a word that they had heard before, sparked something in Selia’s mind and led Titta and Auren to the same conclusion. The Shadow was Gellir, the morning bartender at the Home Away From Home. The Shadow walked away, leaving the party shackled to the wall as he went towards the junction to finish his ultimate plot of destroying Captain Brice, his most loyal guards, and Jenivar Albyn, all in one fell swoop. Watching him go, Haymin’s Heroes struggled vigorously against their bonds, but they strong iron shackles would not give. After several minutes, though, the door opened and in came Claran Thel, the lackey of the Gray Wolves. Claran told them what the Shadow planned to do, and where the junction could be found. He told them to go and delay his efforts while he ran to the Home Away From Home to get help. Then he proceeded to unlock their bonds with a key. Sinjin recommended that he give Pyzar the key, who had been unlocked first, then run to the Home Away From Home while Pyzar unlocked the rest of them. Claran did as he was told and rushed off. As he did, he yelled back that he had their pets at his house. Haymin’s Heroes found their gear in the next room and readied their weapons. They then began to follow Claran’s directions through the sewer. After one of the bends, they saw the Gray Wolves across the water. An awkward pause from the Gray Wolves followed, but Haymin’s Heroes continued without stopping, bent on thwarting the Shadow. Around another corner, they ran into two rogues who apparently believed them to be the Gray Wolves returning. Haymin’s Heores managed to get the jump on them and dealt with them with only one significant injury. Ladigo’s amulet healed Mogi and they continued on. Finally, they reached the junction. The shadow stood in the center while four of his men worked on setting fuses to the explosives around the four pillars. The party engaged in banter with the Shadow who at first seemed happy to gloat and brag of his master plan. But eventually, the Shadow realized that they were stalling for time. He ordered his men to kill them. The battle that followed was hard fought by Haymin’s Heroes, but in the end, the untrained adventurers were not enough for the four rogues. However, they had managed to down two of them. Mogi was the last one standing, while the others lay bleeding, in and out of consciousness in a surreal daze. The last two rogues got the better of Mogi, disarming him as one grabbed him and the other prepared to finish him off. Then a dagger pierced the attacker’s throat. The one holding Mogi looked down the sewer tunnel and warned the unseen assailant not to move. But his words were cut off by a dagger into his mouth. In rushed Jenivar, dressed in leather armor and wielding a rapier. She tossed Mogi a sack and told him to tend to the party while she moved towards the Shadow. Before Mogi could heal the others with the potions in the sack, Jenivar had bested the Shadow, displaying adept skill in battle. A few moments later, Captain Brice and his men entered. Brice looking at Jenivar as if he had seen her for the first time. Captain Brice took the Shadow, who was still alive, captive. The two men Haymin’s Heroes had defeated were also arrested. The other two were dead. The city watch took care of the explosives and cleaned up the junction. Jenivar left them to it while she took the haggard Haymin’s Heroes back to the Home Away From Home. At the inn, she let them clean up and invited them into her apartment to talk. She showed them a painting of her adventuring party, the Emerald Striders, from over twenty years ago. They recognized Haymin and Jenivar. She pointed out Merrywind the Mellifluous, the party bard. There was Edmar Maratino, cleric of Magus. And finally, standing next to Jenivar was Dyora, the party wizard, whose face in the painting had been replaced by a hole that had been poked through by a sharp object. She told them how they had adventured for five years. Then, after a lucrative payoff, Dyora and Edmar were engaged to be married. The wedding was set for May 4, 476 AV, the Festival of Flowers. On May 3rd, Jenivar hosted a bachelorette party for Dyora at the Fearless Huntress Inn while Haymin hosted a bachelor party for Edmar at the Enchanted Mug Tavern. Jenivar told them how their revelry was interrupted by news of Edmar’s death. Drunken accounts claimed that a severely inebriated Haymin set off to hunt after a green dragon after hearing a rumor that it was in the forest nearby. Edmar, also drunk, went with him. Merrywind was left at the tavern, passed out on his table from too much drinking. When Merrywind awoke and heard what had happened, he gathered some patrons from the tavern and set out to find them. What they found, however, was the green dragon over the half-eaten corpse of Edmar. The dragon was chased away, and Haymin was found passed out in the grass a short distance away. No matter what they tried, Haymin could not be roused. He finally awoke the next morning. Dyora blamed him for Edmar’s death and attacked him with her magic. Haymin did not fight back. Jenivar and Merrywind managed to stop her, but an irreparable rift in the party was formed and the Emerald Striders was ended. Haymin remained in Rowadin and founded Heroes for Hire. Merrywind moved back to West Andaria and founded the Legacy Theater. Dyora remained in Rowadin and ingrained herself in the Guild of Mystic Arts. Jenivar moved to Karavale and opened the Home Away From Home, seeking to retire from adventuring for good. After telling the party this story, she agreed to train them, or have them trained, especially if they are going to continue with this silly idea of becoming adventurers. They each made or reconfirmed their choices. Selia, the wizard, Titta, the ranger, Auren, the rogue, Ladigo, the druid, Mogi, the battle sorcerer, Pyzar, the fighter, and Sinjin, the monk.

Campaign

The Heart of Embril

Protagonists