Kinsavarik Part Two: Spooky Boogaloo

General Summary

The tavern

The Muffins and their newfound companion, Hushed Candle, continued their investigation of the town of Kinsavarik, and the surrounding mystery. After gathering their senses in the tavern, the party begin to test some hypotheses about the mystery. Borgan wracked his brain for any memory of the halfling bard present in the drawing of the Muffin, but couldn't recall anything of substance.
Inside of the inn, Kauth theorized that the eerie silence they experienced in the tavern the previous evening might have something to do with everything happening. She tapped her connection to her god, Kelemvor, and centered a globe of silence on herself. During the eerie silence, Hushed Candle caught a glimpse of a face peering in the window, which she saw reflected in a small steel mirror. When she looked out the window, however, there was nothing. Running with the evidence she had, she began to search outside of the window using the mirror, but couldn't see the face. Borgan joined the effort, and together they glimpsed a gray-white stalk or trunk of some sorts, about 5' in diameter and towering above a building. Whatever was at the top or bottom of the stalk wasn't viewable from the angle of their vantage, prompting the Tabaxi to climb out the window and perch along the roof line of the tavern. She was taken aback by the pink haired gnome seemingly effortlessly following her to her perch, her ears flattening like bird wings as she assessed the situation.
A gut instinct drew her eyes northward to the manor on the hill, and then to a small guest house on the back of the property. She couldn't tell what exactly drew her attention, but instinct had often served her well before. She dropped to the ground and set off without a word, and the gnome followed quickly. Borgan was distracted en route by some small, child-sized (or Halfling sized?) footprints between the tavern and the Temple of Ilmater. He couldn't tell much else about the tracks, and found himself wishing their tracking experts Tengo and Nike were still with them.

Hornhall

Deciding it was smarter to catch back up with the mysterious Tabaxi, Borgan hurried along, and soon was joined by the other Muffins. The group traversed the property surrounding the manor, finding a sign dubbing the home "Hornhall." However, the guest house seemed to be of more interest, and Hushed Candle led the party through the unlocked front door. Inside of the home, they found it tidy and sparsely decorated, with little evidence of occupancy. The only evidence they found on the ground floor was a moldy half-loaf of bread. The group continued to search the home, working their way upstairs. Borgan found a desk and began to investigate, finding a locked drawer. The gnome identified the trap on the drawer, but fumbled his attempt at disarming the poison needle, injuring himself slightly but managing to resist the toxin. While he was working on the lock, Hushed Candle went downstairs and continued her search. She found a partially burned scrap of parchment in the fireplace, and snatched it up. Upstairs, Borgan finished opening the drawer and found a cryptic written note emblazoned with a stylized squid, or kraken. Perplexed but determined to decipher the message, the gnome withdrew from the rest of the group and began working diligently. Finding nothing else in the guest house, Kaz suggested everyone move on to the manor and see if they could learn more.
The group entered the manor through the back door, and found themselves in a lavish, but seemingly empty home. They found their way into a grand hall, and quickly located a small side room that served as a study. The room was in disarray, with books and scrolls strewn across the ground. The parchment on the desk was mostly ruined by spilled ink, but a single leather bound book had a few pages still legible. The book seemed to be a personal ledger of Albers, the apparent homeowner, and contained financial records of personal loans from his treasury. One line in particular drew the attention of Borgan and Kaz... "For Dessarin Valley Mining Expedition, Tucker's Hollow. 5000 gold pieces." The two could never forget their brush with death in that sleepy hamlet as the supposed miners and a pair of mages massacred the villagers in search of Borgan's penteract. In addition to the ledger, the party found a small cloak clasp with imagery of a kraken on it, and a letter inviting Albers to gamble at the Golden Goose casino in Yartar. Kaz, Borgan, and Kauth had all been in Yartar previously, and all but Kauth had been in the casino aboard the Grand Dame.
The party continued their search, finding a grand sitting room complete with a harpsicord and fireside seating surrounded by trinkets and gifts provided to Albers. The clues seemed to indicate that Albers served Kinsavarik in an official capacity, perhaps as the mayor or town elder. Borgan continued his decoding efforts while the others found their way into a nearby library room. The room was full of books, with some seemingly rare enough that it would've caught Borgan's eye had he not been already distracted. As Hushed Candle perused the library, Borgan yelped with excitement. He had solved the cipher! Kudos to Amber and Andy for their collaborative efforts here. The note was written from Aidan Gil, the person Hushed Candle was seeking in town, and stated that while the package was delivered, something was wrong, and he awaited direction from his master(s). Whatever package he referenced, perhaps it had something to do with the mysterious happenings in town? Who did he deliver it to? Why? What was inside of it? The clues they had collected thus far seemed to indicate Aidan Gil had been sent to Kinsavarik to deliver a package, perhaps to the mayor Albers himself. Whomever sent him required secrecy, given the cryptic message, and somehow kraken imagery kept appearing in multiple locations, and connected to multiple people. Aidan Gil's note. Mayor Albers' home. Where else had they seen this imagery?

Report Date

19 Mar 2020