Session 63 Report

General Summary

Auren Sylynn approached the naked man and put a cloak around him. When he did so, he realized that he was engulfed in a bubble of silence. When Auren stepped away at least five feet, he could hear again. The man cound not utter a sound, despite clearly trying. They surmised that he must be a spellcaster and bound in such a way to prevent him from using the Mystic Arts. Titta Morco suggested that Pyzar Zim use his Mindlink ability to communicate with him. Pyzar did so and they learned that his name was Aldon Dein. He was a bard and had been shackled in such a way by Rowen Farrington, the magistrate of Mantle, Kainan. Aldon had been caught in a compromising position in Mr. Farrington’s bedroom with Liza Farrington, the magistrate’s wife. After roughing him up some, Rowen Farrington’s guards stripped him down, placed the Shackles of Silence on him, and left him out in the middle of wilderness last night. Despite the complexity of the magical lock, Auren managed to pick it open. He then kept the shackles and put them in his Bag of Holding. Aldon Dein was very thankful to Haymin’s Heroes for freeing him from the torture of being silenced. He explained to them his situation and offered to buy them a round of drinks at the Grim Lark Inn in Mantle, where he had been renting a room. He assured them he had some money stored in his room. They gave him some spare clothing to wear and then they journeyed to Mantle, Aldon riding on the back of Pyzar’s horse. Titta also offered him some food after learning he had not eaten since yesterday. They spoke along the way, getting to know each other more. He seemed interested in the party’s stories and promised to sing their praises for helping him. When they neared Mantle, Aldon cast Disguise Self to make himself appear like an adventurer to fit in the group, and to prevent the local guards from noticing him. When they reached the Grim Lark Inn, he dropped the disguise and went in. Aldon spoke with the bartender and told him that he had lost the key to his room. The bartender remarked, “Again?” and gave him a spare, warning him that he would have to charge him for it if it could not be retrieved. Aldon then went upstairs to check on his things and get dressed in his own clothes. When he returned, he was dressed in a more stylish and flamboyant manner. Though he did not bring down the clothes they had lent him. He then sat with Haymin’s Heroes as they had lunch. They told him they would be looking into a local sect of Doom Bringers and that they had an address they were seeking. Aldon gave them direction to Timber Street and wished them luck. He would be trying to retrieve the key to his room. They told him to be careful. As the party was leaving, they overheard Aldon speaking to the bartender about his tab. Titta walked over to inquire and learned that all of his possessions were missing from his room, including his money. She gave him twenty crowns to cover his expenses and the drinks he had purchased for them at dinner. Aldon promised to pay her back once he retrieved his belongings. Haymin’s Heroes then went to 17 Timber Street. It was in a residential area of the city, a large house with several rooms. They knocked on the door, but there was no answer. They went out back and saw some kids playing behind the house across the yard. Auren went over to the kids and asked them about who lived in 17 Timber Street. He learned that it was a Mr. Smith. He was a nice man and often had many visitors. They did not wear black and purple robes like Auren had asked, but they had seen one man once that looked like he might be a wizard. Auren gave the kids two nobles and they claimed he was even nicer than Mr. Smith. The party then decided to sneak into the house. Selia Roselyn Maxwell would cast Invisibility from the wand on Auren and he would sneak in through he back door. Then he would open the front door and let the party in as if he was Mr. Smith. Everything went as planned and Pyzar knocked on the front door to keep up appearances. Inside the house they split up and looked around. No one was home. The house was neatly decorated and it appeared tidy. Auren found black and purple robes in the wardrobes of the three bedrooms. He also found a pair of ceremonial daggers. Titta found a map in the office, tucked at the back of a drawer in a scroll case. The map was in a similar style to the map they had to the Temple of the Eye in the ravine southwest of Rowadin. This one had a skull labeling a location southwest of Mantle, in the Lioden Peaks. The knew this was where they needed to go. The found nothing else of interest in the house and returned to the Grim Lark Inn. They would rest for the night and leave in the morning. Aldon Dein was not at the Grim Lark Inn. They waited around and eventually had dinner, but still, he did not appear. Titta asked the bartender and learned that Aldon left to try to retrieve the key to his room. Titta then asked him if he knew were the magistrate lived. The bartender did and pointed her in that direction. Haymin’s Heroes then walked towards the magistrate’s house. He lived in the finer part of the city. But before they reached his manor, they saw a group of city guards leading Aldon Dein away. Off in the distance, a man appearing like nobility was speaking to another guard. When their conversation ended, the noble walked off towards his manor and the guard rushed back to catch up to the others. Titta approached the guards and learned that Aldon was being arrested for attempted burglary. The party then followed the guards, but kept a safe distance. The took him to the guard station but did not bring him in. Instead, they loaded Aldon into a carriage and then drove away with him. Haymin’s Heroes continued to follow and eventually saw the carriage stop at a warehouse at the northwest edge of the city. The guard took Aldon inside. Auren snuck in through a side door and overheard the guard talk about heating up a pair of shears while wondering if Mr. Farrington would do the deed himself or have one of them perform it. Haymin’s Heroes then formulated a plan to rescue Aldon before the magistrate arrived. Selia turned invisible with a spell from the wand and then walked in while the party waited a distance away at the next warehouse over. She found Aldon strung up and naked with guards around him nearby. She grabbed most of his gear which was piled up about fifteen feet away and attempted to hide it under her cloak to keep it invisible. However, between his clothes, backpack, and lute, something stuck out. The guard so this and were surprised. Before they could do anything, though, Selia reached Aldon and cast Dimension Door, taking him away to where the party waited next door. Titta told Aldon to get inside the Bag of Holding and get dressed, and she put all his gear inside with him. Then they walked back to the Grim Lark Inn. They went straight to one of their rooms and let Aldon out. They told him that it would be best if he left Mantle. He agreed. For the night, he would spend it in one of their rooms. They shacked him with Ladigo Farthon and Pennig, despite his request to be with Kyrie Eleison Thatcher-Stone and Selia. A short while later they heard a commotion in the hall as it sounded like guards were searching Aldon’s room down the hall. They hid Aldon in the Bag of Holding again and waited for the commotion to die down. When it did, they let him out again. The next morning, they snuck Aldon out of the Grim Lark Inn and Mantle in the Bag of Holding. Titta gave back his room keys to the innkeeper and told him Aldon would not be returning. They road with Aldon for a short distance to the east. He had decided to return to West Andaria, where he said he was from. After a few miles they wished him farewell and good luck. He told them to look for him at the inns and taverns the next time they were in West Andaria. Then Haymin’s Heroes doubled back, circumvented Mantle and found the southwest trail depicted on their map. On December 1, 498 AV, they were nearing the Lioden Peaks when a pair of chimeras flew up behind them and attacked. One of the creatures breathed fire from its red dragon head, while the other breathed a stream of acid from its black dragon head. Though caught by surprise, the party reacted quickly and took only minor injuries from the breath attacks. Mogi Delvin was at the rear riding on Bolt since Ladigo had to be central to affect everyone in his Easy Trail spell that radiated from him. Fisher was next to Mogi. Ladigo cast Downdraft and brought the chimeras crashing to the ground. The rest of the party then pounced on the creatures with sword and spell. In the end, they made short work of them. They took the heads off of one of them with the idea of making another wall decoration for the guildhall. They took the heads from the chimera with the black dragon head, reasoning that they already had Raknakeen, the Flametongue’s head mounted. They kept as much of the neck on each as they could in the hopes of being able to pose them somewhat when the taxidermist makes the trophy plaque out of the goat, lion, and dragon heads. The next day, they felt they were near to the location on the map so they had Ladigo fly high as an owl and scan the mountains for any signs of their destination. This proved fruitful as Ladigo saw a structure built into the side of a mountain cliff some distance up. A trail led up to a wall with a large wooden door. Behind this structure was a courtyard area nestled between cliff walls. At the back of the courtyard were two towers connected by a piece of a building that was built into the mountain. On a raised platform at the bottom was a door that led into this stronghold. Atop the towers were two men on each. Decorating the strip of roof connecting the towers were four gargoyles. Ladigo returned to the party and reverted out of his Wild Shape. He told them what he saw and they formulated plan of attack. The party dismounted and left the horses tethered at the base of the mountainside, then began up the trail to the compound.

Campaign

The Heart of Embril

Protagonists