HotDK 20: “Murder Most Foul”
After a hearty breakfast of roasted bear, poached eggs, and a new hot beverage from the exotic lands of Chult, which Arthur, the Innkeeper of The Brass Wain, calls “café” you pack up and start the last bit of the journey north, but not before Malice autographs the chair from which he dispatched the fake nobles. Arthur even asks permission to tell people that Pubert and the Iron Gnome stayed at his inn that others that might have inclinations of cheating him will know that he is your friend and be less likely to try.
After a slightly longer day than usual the caravan rolls into Daggerford where you are granted a couple of days furlough while the caravan resupplies for the rest of the way to Waterdeep. Before leaving Daggerford, the Rargir and Brehanna are hired on by Achreny since the teamster they were working for is not continuing on to Waterdeep. Also, two new passengers join on – a mysterious female Gnome, who seems interested in your group, climbs aboard Enom Toburn’s wagon but more interestingly (at first anyway) is the human male that the cultists take on as a passenger.
The morning after leaving Daggerford, the Gnome approaches you all at breakfast, takes Pubert’s bowl of oatmeal and rummaging around in it with her dagger for a moment pulls out a tiny sliver of something. She explains it’s a bone sliver designed to uncurl once inside your guts to slice you up from the inside and kill you with internal bleeding then says “we’ll talk tonight” and walks away. Despite her suggestion that all your bowls may contain them, no others are found.
That evening she introduces herself as Jamna Gleamsilver. She explains that she doesn’t work for the same people that you do, but that she is on your side – namely that she seeks to find out what the Cult of the Dragon is up to and to try to stop them. She suggests that you create some kind of distraction or at least keep an eye out while she tries to get into the Cult’s wagons to snoop. She also tells you that the human that joined the cultists is a Red Wizard of Thay named Asbara Jos.
Pubert feigns drunkenness and approaches the area where the cultist are camped, challenging anyone to a game of chance in which he’ll put up the sword of Langderosa as his bet. One of the cultists, the one that once told Pubert he didn’t deserve such blade and that he dishonors the memory of its former owner, says he’ll bet 50gp against the sword in a game of Three Dragon Ante. Malice intervenes and insults are exchanged (at least from the cultists) but again a fight is avoided when other caravan guards arrive to try to cool things down.
The next morning the man is found dead – stabbed in the back; the wound apparently caused by a short blade, but longer than a dagger would do. The cult members accuse Malic as his scimitar is just about the right size to cause such a wound, plus they point out that they had had words the night before. Most of the rest of the caravan comes to Malice’s defense, and even Asbara Jos oddly enough seeks to defuse the situation. When someone suggests checking their wagons for any missing items, though, they quickly back down and it’s largely agreed upon that a bandit in the night not part of the caravan must have done this, but for the rest of the trip Malice is eyed with even more contempt by the cultists than before and the night time guard is tripled.
Finally, after two months on the road from Baldur’s Gate, you arrive in Waterdeep. The caravan for the most part begins to disperse as you reach the Trades Ward, but you notice that the cult wagons continue onward toward the northern part of the city. You receive you pay and letters of recommendation from Achreny as well as a promise of work should you choose to join the south bound caravan which leaves in a ten day. But you have no time to sight see or have lingering good byes as your group, now joined by Jamna Gleamsilver, needs to keep track of where the Cult is taking all that loot.