Session 3: Partners, Perytons, and Posh Inns

General Summary

The session began with Kale, Alena Birch, Rodan Spice, and Tork (referred to hereafter as the party) on the Southern edge of the O-nak Sand Druids sun festival on the evening of the summer solstice. Alena Birch purchased 25 arrows from Sovik who said Russel would have appreciated them being sold to help defend the caravan. Tork went and purchased supplies for a picnic (boiled birds and two flaggons of ale) before searching for Zirk. He feared his search was fruitless until Zirk appeared near their caravan splinter stating he was going to be traveling with the group for a day before splitting off from the main group. Tork invited Zirk to a picnic which they had together on the edge of Zirk's cart. During this Tork told him about his childhood and how he lost his horn as Zirk shared some about himself and how he is hired security for magical beast parts and payments for such back and forth between the Gu'us Empire and the The Poisar Alliance. Near the end of the shared meal Tork asked Zirk if he liked him, and Zirk said he did, but time would be needed to tell how deep these feelings would become. They parted ways for the night and the party slept until the next morning.
The joint caravan group set out the next morning heading directly south. The day was relatively uneventful (Corris's wagon suffered some spokes breaking on a wheel which required minor repair) and they eventually made camp for the night. Before turning in for the evening the party did some various tasks. Alena Birch stayed alert, scanning the horizon for trouble but found none during the beginning of her watch. Rodan Spice sought out a seedy looking individual, an elf with sharp features who was a traveling companion of Zirk and wore long brown robes. Rodan Spice provided him with his riddle (see Session 2: Sand Druid Parties are the Best Parties) to see if it rang any bells, but all the elf had to say about it was that air doesn't have a color. After trying to coerce the elf into paying him for wasting his time, Rodan Spice left the individual. Kale attempted to read the stars and omens they might present. A constellation of six stars he recognized stood out and he experienced on almost an animal level that something was wrong with the fabric of reality, even though it was just beginning. Tork had another conversation with Zirk who agreed to help Tork fight against the man who had taken his horn when the time had come. Zirk told Tork to ask around for him either in Pesh or Zatan. With their various goals accomplished, they all headed to bed for the evening with Alena Birch taking first watch.
Around 2AM the party was woken up by a loud screech as the Caravan was under attack from a group of Perytons. When one attacked the party, they worked in concert (Alena Birch firing her bow, Kale using Faerie Fire, Tork attacking with his greataxe, and eventually Rodan Spice sticking his head out of his cart to fire a final shot with his short bow), the beast was felled. Unfortunately, Rodan Spice's words of "Rodan Spice saves the day once again" were cut short as another beast attacked, tearing into Rodan Spice and knocking him unconscious. The party rallied and another short but estatic fight took place. Kale cured Rodan Spice's wounds and Alena Birch's arrow, Tork's greataxe, and Kale's Stray form and minituare fireball killed the Peryton just as it was ripping into the top of Rodan Spice's cart and attempting to rip out his heart.
Kale took a souvenir from the fight, a talon from one of the downed beasts and Tork took an antler he carved down into a jagged Peryton antler short sword. Alena Birch and Tork then went and checked in on the rest of the caravan. Rodan Spice limped around at this point and Alena Birch healed him as Sovik told them luckily no one died and that Rodan Spice's cart would be repaired by the next morning before setting out.
The next morning the caravan's split ways with Zirk's group separating from the party's and heading off to the West towards Pesh. Before they left, Tork told Zirk they needed to fight again as they were currently tied with one win each. Zirk agreed and suggested they meet again on the autumnal equinox in Zatan. They then embraced for an extended period of time with them both realizing they had found something special that had the potential to grow into a deeper partnership. The rest of the party's travel with the Minaric Caravan splinter group was uneventul until they reached Gorsac.
Once at Gorsac, Sovik gave them an overview of the city, reminded them that the laws of the Fisk Empire were enforced here, and upon a gentle reminder from Alena Birch paid those who worked as guards 50gp for their work. He left the group exasperated to rejoin the now whole Minaric Caravan which was camping on the Northern edge of the city as the party joked about the king.
Going to the business district, the group sought out the Midal Inn as per the instructions of the individual who had obtained the Doresak Desert treasure map for them. The guards at the door would only allow one of them to enter given their appearance, and so Rodan Spice went in with the dwarven guard and asked for a room. The desk manager Silverback Olasin stated the price at 50gp/night, and given evidence Rodan Spice could pay, allowed his compatriots in. They together rented Suite 1 on the third floor of the inn. Upon taking off upstairs, Alena Birch reminded Tork that they needed to ask about Ason, and when prompted Silverback Olasin gave them the key to Suite 2 on the third floor.
On the third floor there were only two doors off the landing marked "Suite 1" and "Suite 2". The party first investigated their suite, a spacious five room suite with a balcony facing the docks and Strait beyond them. The central room had a table with chairs and large area rugs, then had two opposing rooms, each with two fine beds of mahogany and nice linens as well as a washroom with tub and chamber pots. Finishing their exploration of their room, the party went to Suite 2. This suite was a mirror of theirs but without any furnishings. An investigation of the room revealed the balcony overlooked the barrels where the camber pots were dumped, there was something dried and brown on the floor of one of the bedrooms, and one of the washrooms had a well worn path between it and the main door. Further examination of the wash room revealed nothing until Kale used detect magic and noticed the floor had an aura of conjuration magic. Tork looked at it intently before standing up and locking eyes with a figure who had seemly appeared out of nowhere in the corner of the washroom.
The figure had an eye patch covering his right eye as well as a scar extending below the patch. His hair was just fuzz on the top of his head and receding. He wore fine stamped leather armor and his hands were tattooed on the backs with talons. He introduced himself only as "The Talon" and offered a job for the party to prove their worth. He said he had clients who wanted the house of a wealthy businessman (Mervin Delse) broken into in Gorsac and any information on his travel plans, business associates, ledgers, etc., copied and provided to "The Talon". For completing the job without being caught or leaving a trace, they'd be given 1500gp. If they were caught, the reward would go down to 1000gp as "The Talon" would need to cleanup. They were given roughly a week to perform the job, told where Mervin resided, and told to meet "The Talon" in this same space once the job was complete. With this, it was well past dark and the party returned to Suite 1. Upon returning, Tork realized he no longer had the key to Suite 2 and the Session ended for the evening.
Report Date
05 Jan 2023
Primary Location
Secondary Location

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