Chapter 3: Prose and Cons
The party decide to trust Night Watch, rest at their camp for the night, and resume conversation in the morning...
Session 8: Day 11-12
1/11/2022 - 1/12/2022 As the rest of the party turn in for the night, Jacob inspects the spellbook found in the Syndicate hide out further and finds some of the spells have annotations to make them effective. He then rips out the pages and tosses the book into the fire with some hesitation and Izumi approaches him. She tells Jacob that she could smell the Hero Dust he was holding but wanted the whole story before bringing it up in front of his companions. He shares his feelings on his personal way of coping and while she sympathizes, she is appalled by the very existence of Hero Dust and insists he destroy it. The two strike a deal and Jacob hands it to her to toss in the fire before going to bed. The next morning, the party wakes up to the Night Watch foot soldiers now in normal civilian clothing - which Izumi later reveals to be her idea for gathering intel by blending into inconspicuous vocations. Izumi also proudly takes responsibility for giving Collum his scar and she is the "demon panther cat" Dalyla mentioned to the party, which is her coy way of giving Izumi credit and emphasizing their shared distaste for Collum. Epon approaches them to continue the conversation on what they were doing at the Syndicate Hideout, and again butt heads with Jacob despite Izumi defending his confrontational attitude being caused by exhaustion. Izumi is originally entertained by the exchange but eventually steps in to mediate for the sake of collaboration, siting Dalyla's trust in the party. Epon scolds her for her relationship with Dalyla taking precedent over Night Watch but ultimately acquiesces to being more civil. All the while, Quinby riffle's through Epon's pockets without the Dragonborn noticing and pulls out a small bag of dust. He catches the Kender after the fact and snatches the bag away, Epon is very impressed that he was able to pick his pockets without immediately noticing. As a sign of respect, he tosses the bag to Quinby. In the spirit of cooperation, Epon shares his thoughts on the current situation and his history with the man currently hunting the party - Theo Magath. During The War of Opinion, Theo was a legion commander and Epon's senior officer. His tactics were ruthless and reckless, focusing on winning or surviving at whatever the cost. Epon recalls a particular losing battle where Theo ordered a unit of 300 Gorefire Minotaur to the front lines - with the plan being to use them as decoys to cover for his retreat - none of the Minotaur survived. This enraged Epon, who did not know the Minotaur were being left for dead until after the fact, and he immediately resigned from the military. Feeling slighted, Theo branded Epon a deserter and fugitive to the Kingdom, so the knowledge of his war crime went unpunished. Epon offers the party some assistance in their predicament at the request that if they engage Theo that the party bring him to Epon alive so he can confront him in person, but will also accept Theo’s head. He then pulls out a ledger similar to the one the party found in the Syndicate hide out by Skiple and shares his findings from deciphering it: which unfortunately only contained locations of small shipments or dead ends, written strangely like prose, but also the first letter of each deciphered sentence perhaps coincidentally spelled out "Thedevil.” He asks if the party also noticed this with their own ledger, they check and find theirs spells out "Hithereroland" - which sounds like nonsense to everyone. The party and some of Night Watch then set out back to Northbrid. Along the way Quinby asks Izumi to play a game of hide-and-seek, which she gleefully accepts. The rest of the party attempt to exchange Sending Stone contacts with Epon and Izumi but the one Collum gave them appears to have lost its connection to its "parent" stone - implying someone in Danrest has severed the link. However, Epon has one of his men create new ones for the party and exchange contacts that way, saying it's probably better they no longer use the Fandelian Militia stone just in case Theo could track them with it. On the outskirts of Northbrid, the group parts ways with Izumi and Epon, who advises the party find out what the Kingdom knows about them - because if they don't know who the party is now, it's only a matter of time before Theo is able to extract it from Collum. Epon expressed his respect to Juan and Quinby, specifically telling the Kender than his quick hands and unassuming nature would be an excellent asset to Night Watch if he chooses. Izumi fondly bids farewell to Quinby, hoping they can play again soon, and to Zocra hoping they can establish a professional correspondence. The party discuss their next moves and come to the conclusion that they should break into Danrest Prison - where Collum would be held and Theo is stationed as warden. As they enter Northbrid, the party notices a larger presence of guards than when they first came the town. They eavesdrop on some guards' conversation and learn they have no idea about the identity or appearance of the 4 people they're looking for, easing the tension for now. The party makes a stop at Berod Anvilbelly's tavern to procure inconspicuous travel to Danrest. He has recovered from his last encounter with the party and stands up for himself saying if they want to have a business relationship in the future the party better stop exploiting him and start treating him like a partner. With that water under the bridge, he recommends a trust worthy sailor that will get them into the capitol port...Session 9: Day 13-15
1/13/2022 - 1/15/2022 The party arrive in Danrest port and make their way to "The Salty Seaman" tavern where Olati knows an old Revelry League crew mate Shanks. They find the pirate drunk in an alley and missing an arm, apparently he lost it when The Plank King kicked him off his ship and that he has been acting really erratic lately chasing "some damned sea witch." The party ask him about how he escaped from Danrest Prison and Shanks shows them a sewer grate they can use to enter the prison on the bottom floor next to some torture chamber, but only at low tide. The party then go to find Rook Rustle, a small time drug dealer Jacob knows. He talk about the time where he got really high and "flew" over the prison and saw two clowns before getting knocked out. Rook has a blueprint of the prison, which Jacob trades a his pound of Bull Cap for. Finally, the party make their way to "The Wooden Wall" tavern where city guards often drink and gamble. They meet a group playing a game of cards and the party joins them to get more information on the prison. They reveal that Theo is becoming progressively more insidious lately and some other useful information to help the party in their prison break. They also mention that a Minotaur terrorist was brought in recently. The group wait until nightfall so Olati and Zocra can sneak in through the sewer while the others disguise themselves to try and pass Juan off as a prisoner transfer from Skiple. Zocra makes his way into the torture chamber to find Collum being beaten for information about the party, but it would seem that Collum has not given them up. His torturer mentions that he knows one of the 4 people they are looking for is a Minotaur, which Collum snidely replies: "Oh yeah, I remember now. His name is Tyrus Clovehoof." Zocra sneaks up behind the torturer and rams an arrow through the back of his head, to Collum's horror. He is very upset that Zocra just killed one of his countrymen, and is confused why the party has come to save him at all. Santiago is also in a locked cell and asks Zocra to free him but Collum protests. Unable to resolve the tension, Zocra locks Collum, Santiago, and Olati in the torture chamber and plans to return for them later. The rest of their party smoothly make their way up to the roof of the prison, where the guards were going to hold Juan until Theo comes to interrogate him. Jacob, Quinby, and Juan take down some guards and when they receive a call from Collum on Olati's sending stone...Session 10: Day 15
1/15/2022 The party on the roof ignore and hang up on Collum in his belligerent state and choose to forgo the search for Theo in favor of finding the room Quinby saw with all the treasure. They neutralize and circumvent a few guards on the way but just at they finish looting the room, an alarm sounds throughout the prison. Jacob opens the nearest cell freeing the prisoner inside to cause a distraction for their escape. Jacob feels a familiar sense of dread as the shadowy figure emerging from the cell behind them and likens it to his feeling he had with his encounter with the psychopath Connie Liver - the serial killer who assaulted Sharieth Balwenys. The party locks the only exit door to his cell block hoping to contain him within that section of the prison. Meanwhile, Olati and Zocra come to an agreement with Collum to live to fight another day, focus on their escape, and resolve tensions when free and clear. Collum openly states his intentions to investigate the terrorism accusations against Santiago once everything is resolved. They make a break for the sewers as guards swarm them, followed by the rest of the party. Thinking quickly, Zocra uses his Ring of Obscuring to create a fog cloud to cover their escape and the group reach the docks safely. The party look for "the one armed man" Epon said would meet them at the docks once the party retrieved Theo, however he is no where to be found - assumedly because they do not have Theo with them. Without a means of hiding or escape, they instead contact Izumi who directs them to a nearby safehouse in the basement of "The Salty Seaman." After providing the tavern keeper with a Night Watch code phase Izumu gave them - "The cover of night betrays the wicked" - he offers them sanctuary and a keg of ale for the night. As the group settles down they converse and reflect on the night's events. Santiago tells the party he has no idea why he was arrested the previous day for treason and that he was in Danrest hiring mercenaries for High Mount at his brother Javier Bloodmane's request and Collum did not identify him as the Minotaur they were looking for. Collum, now chugging down ale in a state of resignment, offers up some information he's observed about Theo when he was first arrested. He recounts there was something noticeably more dark and sinister about the already ruthless Theo, who tortured Collum with a staff that produced necrotic magic - which Jacob deduces must be a Rod of the Pact Keeper only useable by Warlocks. They surmise that Theo has made a pact with a demon or devil - which is strictly taboo in the Kingdom of Fandaniel that is closely allied with the Light - but it is unclear whether this is directly related to the Syndicate at this time. Collum is ready to offer up anything - even his life - to restore his name, honor, and justice against the real traitor Theo. However, he spitefully outs Zocra as being a hired plant to keep an eye on the 4 other party members from the start. Even through Zocra is reasonably upset, the party accept him regardless and site that their bond has grown stronger than some petty constable's machinations. Finally, the group brainstorm a plan to expose Theo's corruption and decide to go with Quinby's idea to use Collum as bait to lure him into an ambush at a near by local provided by Izumi...Session 11: Day 16-18
1/16/2022 - 1/18/2022 Waking up the next morning, the party sends a message to Theo instructing him to meet them at the ambush site in 2 days with the promise of exchanging Collum for their freedom. They then proceed to sneak Collum and Santiago past the guards patrolling the port to the boat arranged by Night Watch to get them out of the city and to the ambush location. Once the party arrives, Santiago requests that he return to High Mount for his safety and to relay what has happened to him in the city. Collum makes no comment to Santiago’s absence and continues on in uncharacteristic silence. The group plans and sets up their ambush and await Theo’s arrival. Jacob’s fox familiar scouts for Theo’s approach and returns to announce when he does. The traitorous Magister has a legion of guards and begins negotiations for the trade. Jacob taunts Theo, attempting to instill doubts amongst his men and his words of reason begin to resinate amongst them. Noticing things are beginning to turn against him, Theo makes the first strike by conjuring a magical prison. The party non-violently subdue the innocent soldiers just following orders and focus on Theo. Backed into a corner, an illusory voice from Jacob commands him to unleash the demonic power he holds. Believing the voice to be his demonic patron, Theo obliges and plunges his rod into the ground - summoning a horrific demon with bladed hands. His soldiers look on in shock as they watch their commander do the unthinkable. The knight Theo brought with him immediately turns his aggression towards the demon, but is caught by the monster’s bladed hands. He attempts to free himself from the demon’s grasp but fails and is instead set a flame before being thrown at Olati, incapacitating them both. The other soldier turn and flee in fear, and Theo ruthlessly disintegrates one proclaiming while their cowardice. It seems the tides of battle are turning in the favor of the warlock and his demon until Theo suddenly fiend breaks free from his control and it turns its aggression on its summoner. It charges Theo and splits him in two with its bladed hands and returns to attacking its original foes. The group are finally able the bring down the demon, who disappears with a familiar “pop” sound. With the battle won, they investigate Theo’s body to find his torso is branded with the emblem of the Vellen Crime Sundicate - a mark they saw once before on Sken. The knight introduces himself as Levi Doyle, who Collum recognizes as a respected man in the Fandelian Military, and offers his thanks to the party for revealing the true traitor. However, when the party go to collect Theo's head for Epon, Levi initially protests he needs it all for evidence but Jacob is able to convince him there is enough proof without it and entreating that this act will result in more allies for the likely battles to come. It is now time to debrief what has happened to the Kingdom with Levi’s testimony, the evidence left by Theo, and Jacob’s Encoded Thoughts of the battle’s events to clear Collum and the party’s names…Continuing from Chapter 2: Stalking the Syndicate
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