Session 15 Report

General Summary

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Pōtiki took the strange wolf corpse to the woods and left it there. The townspeople meanwhile finished putting out the fire and returned to their homes and beds. Tyna Brushgather told Bain de Soleil that she’d meet them tomorrow to regroup. Suiadan Innion went back to The Grey Claw Inn and upstairs to the rooms. Not bothered by which room was theirs, he stopped and settled down for a cry in the doorway of a random room. Pō having disposed of the wolf corpse returned to the inn and tried to find Shu but was too tired they didn't see him and gave up and just went to bed. Harthe found Shu on his way to bed himself, and Shu revealed his true name. They had a heart to heart. Shu was shaken and told Harthe that the wolf was not meant to be there and he thinks that it’s from his home. Harthe asked what that means and what's next for the eladrin, but Shu was unsure. Bain went upstairs and found the two there talking. Bain prestidigitated a sun over the upset druid's head. Shu was comforted by it and went to sleep. Bain found a blanket in the room and Harthe helped her get Shu into bed. They then went to bed themselves. Sleep came easily to everyone, though Shu and Pō had unsettling dreams.

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The next morning, the party gathered downstairs for breakfast and Tomira did not charge any of them for their meals or drinks. Bain was put out when the others point out that it was probably because they saved the town and not because of her music. They discussed plans for the day and beyond. Bain told them that she wanted to talk to Lavinia Antovia's father and investigate what he might know about magic because it might help her get in good with The Silver Whisperers. They discussed how they might be able to make him talk, with options ranging from magical means to the more blunt non magical means of violence and intimidation. Bain told them about the suggestion spell she had recently learnt and tried to demonstrate it on Harthe. It didn’t work though. Harthe revealed that he also knew that spell and tried it on her but it also failed. Bain tried it on Pō next, telling them to tell the group everything about their patron. Again the spell did not work. Pō posited that if the man is a powerful mage it probably would not be any good as the demonstrations showed. They decided to use a combination of 'good guard/bad guard' and 'carrot and stick' approaches. They then speculated whether they could sneak into the house uninvited. Pō told them he could now walk through walls. They discussed sneaking in the house and letting the others in. Shu drank a double shot of whisky with no food for breakfast and avoided looking at anyone. Pō shook him to get him to look at them and suggested that maybe the bad magic affecting them is also what’s affecting Shu. The group wandered toward the house. While outside, Bain asked if everyone is able to be move quietly. Pō expressed doubt about their ability to do so, so the tabaxi gave the firbolg some bardic inspiration in the form of bolstering words and encouragement to help them through. Bain told the group that she would go around the side and sneak in. Shu wandered off briefly and returned in the form of a wolf. Pō, not immediately recognising him, pulled out their sickle but the others stop them and Shu backed up. Pō asked "Shu is that you?" and Shu raised a paw in response and the warlock put their sickle away again. The group found a door around the side of the large mansion home. It looked to be service entrance. The door was locked so Bain used a knife to jimmy it free. It worked but it made a bit of a racket. Pō suggested that before anyone go in that they check for traps as she had heard that it's a thing that people have and do and that this was a powerful mage's house. Harthe casted detect magic to check for any magical traps but found nothing suspicious. Bain looked for any pressure pads or trip wires but also found nothing so the group cautiously ventured inside. They arrived in a large kitchen, clearly having been once used by a contingent of servants. The room looked all but abandoned, covered in dust and grime save for a small corner that looked to be recently cleaned and used, presumably by the new guests to the house. The smell of forgotten ingredients wafted from one or two of the cupboards. Alerted to their arrival by the sound of Bain busting the lock, Lucca Antovia came running down the hallway and was surprised to see them. Harthe lied to the young boy telling him that they were there to help clean the house. The boy believed him and called his sister over. Shu hid behind the kitchen island so as not to alarm the children in his wolf form. Harthe and Bain did a good job of faking out kids, Bain using an illusory unicorn to entertain the kids and conjuring an unseen servant to clean the kitchen, lending weight to Harthe's story. Harthe asked the kids questions about their time at the house and the situation. The kids complained that their parents and the grandfather have just been talking and arguing a lot and spent all their time upstairs so they'd been entertaining themselves running around and playing and exploring the downstairs area. They commented it was very dusty and a bit smelly. Pō asked the kids if they had discovered any secret passages. They describe the dumbwaiter and the laundry chute, with Jennivere Antovia commenting that she had got stuck in the dumbwaiter at one point. Harthe baited the kids into a game where they were 'secret agents' finding all the hiding spots in the house and exploring the house without being discovered. The children got into the game and led Harthe, Bain, and Pō into each of the rooms of the downstairs part of the house. They discovered a library with furniture covered in dusty sheets and books behind dusty glass doors of bookcase cabinets. Harthe was immediately drawn to the books and at first distracted the children with drawing pictures into the dust on the glass doors, but when he opened one of the doors, it interrupted their doodling and drew their attention and questions were asked. Bain distracted them by suggesting she take them to go see how the unicorn was going in the kitchen. They were happy with this idea and rushed off with Bain close behind. While Harthe, Bain, Pō and the kids were out of the kitchen and exploring, Shu took the opportunity to do his own exploring. He sniffed out Lavinia and Bryson's room and lay in front of their closed door listening. He heard them talking about her father and how long it would likely be till he died and what they needed to do. Harthe with Pō's assistance took advantage of the absence of the children to explore the titles in the bookcases. Most were not in a language he was familiar with, he suspected the language to be variations of Elven but he found a series of books on the history of magic which he and Pō pulled off the shelf and into the bag of holding. He also found several books about a far off nation called Yvas and skimmed one book before dumping it into the bag of holding as well. While skimming he learnt that it was a mageocracy and noble elven bloodlines dominate the leadership of the country. They then found a large bureau desk beneath a dusty sheet and rifled through the drawers. They found a family tree of an unknown family called 'Shropp' with members including Grand Magister Garniv Shropp, Lady Lar'ella Shropp, Voltarn Garniv La'narl Shropp, Lady Renee Shropp and Envina La'rella Shropp. Unsure of who the family were but deeming it significant, they pocketed the parchment and a seal set they found too and some birth and marriage and death certificates. They then returned toward the kitchen and met Bain and the now bored children at the corridor and suggested they continue the game by sneaking quietly up the stairs. Halfway up the stairs the children get startled to find a wolf (Shu) at the top of the stairs and part way down the hallway. Harthe settled them and explained he was a friendly wolf and would not hurt them. Lavinia opened the door and saw Shu and screamed, slamming the door shut again. Moments later Bryson opened the door telling Lavinia she was being foolish and there couldn't possibly be a wolf inside and she must have imagined things. He then spotted Shu also and yelled out, slamming the door shut again. Alerted by the noise, a door at the end of the hallway opened and Lavinia's father stepped out. Pō strode down the hallway and tried to intimidate and bully him back into his room.