The Elfsong Tavern. Meeting Tarina. Pirates arrive.
22 Eleint, The Year of Twelve Warnings (1494 DR)
Baldur's Gate, the Sword Coast
Captain Zodge of the Flaming Fist has tasked the group to go to the Elfsong Tavern. There they are to meet with a spy named Tarina who has been gathering information for the Guild, an influential criminal organization in Baldur's Gate. Captain Zodge said Tarina should be able to provide the party with information about the Dead Three and their murderous followers.
Provided with copper badges baring the Flaming Fists' coat of arms, the group found themselves acting on Captain Zodge's behest as he tried to gain information about the murderous followers of the Dead Three, the gods Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul.
Glindo, who grew up in Baldur's Gate, led the others to the Elfsong Tavern.
Elfsong Tavern was unlike the dozens of other taverns spread throughout the city in that from time to time, the disembodied voice of a female elf filled the tavern with a melancholy song, giving the establishment its name.
The ballad wasn't loud enough to disrupt conversation, but most patrons stop speaking when the elfsong began, then resume only after it ends. The truth was many customers frequented the tavern in the hopes of hearing it. Those who spoke Elvish could understand the lyrics, which lamented an unnamed lover lost at sea. No one was sure how the spirit came to haunt the tavern, just as no one could predict when it will be sung again.
As the group entered the Elfsong Tavern, they found themselves immediately enveloped by the heat and noise of a busy taproom. On one side of the entrance stood a hulk of a woman, who’s clearly got some orc or even ogre in her bloodline. On the other side of the door was an empty suit of armor – not just ordinary armor, they realized, as the empty helmet moved to glance at the group for a moment, before returning its eyeless gaze to the taproom.
The room itself was filled with a wide variety of patrons, all of which carried at least one weapon – and, in some cases, multiple – while either discussing and laughing loudly or engaging in hushed conversations in private booths. Two young men served the tables, while a middle-aged man standing behind the bar gave a slight nod to the new customers entering his establishment.
The hulking woman put a hand on Saer Justinian's shoulder as he and the other moved into the taproom. She flashed the paladin a smile filled with missing teeth. What little teeth remained were stained nearly black. "Evenin' lover. Me name's Skoona. I gets off at two past midnight. Wanna make a baby after?"
The others with the paladin giggled as quietly as possible so as to encourage a violent response from the bouncer who looked like she could break a tree log in half with her bare arms, without even breaking a sweat.
Saer Justinian gently took Skoona's massive hand off his shoulder but held on to it for a few seconds. "Your offer is genuinely flattering, but I'm afraid I'm going to be too busy to take you up on that generous offer. Perhaps--"
Suddenly, a loud crash followed by intense shouting from above silenced the taproom. A few seconds later, a disheveled, elderly woman stumbled down the stairs.
At the bottom, she turned back and shouted back up the stairs. “A fine lot you are, pushing an old woman down the stairs! Fools too – I wasn’t asking The All-Seeing to help me cheat, I asked him to help me uncover the real cheater. Yes, I said it – should be Tarina kicked off the table, not me!”
Aeolond turned to the others with him as he began walking towards the stairs. He watched as the old woman stood and walked towards the front entrance. "Well, we know where Tarina is."
The upstairs windowless dining room was lit by lanterns hung from the rafters. Rugs covered the wooden floor and helped dampen the noise from drunken patrons gathered around two large tables, eating and playing Baldur’s Bones, a popular dice game played throughout Baldur's Gate.
A bard troupe comprised entirely of four gnomes introduced themselves as Bardcore and began playing a set of songs, including a cover song titled "Nothing Else Matters" by a famous band called Magellica who was apparently touring along the Sword Coast.
A slim human woman sporting short-cropped black hair and dressed in leather armor turned to the adventurers as they reached the top of the stairs. "Oh, I thought you were Falten with our orders. Falten! Where in the Nine Hells are you with those drinks? We're dying of thirst here!"
"Are you Tarina?" Saer Justinian asked. He moved to stand closer to the woman.
"That all depends," the woman asked in response. "Do I owe you money?"
Saer Justinian pulled a chair and sat across the table from her. "I'll make this quick and clear. We've been told by Captain Zodge you owe him a favor. We've been sent to collect on it. You have information we need. And we need it now. People are dying. They're being murdered by cultists. Captain Zodge said if anyone would anything about cultists killing people in the streets, you would. So speak up. What you know could help save lives."
The woman took a drink from her near-empty cup. She didn't seem moved by what she heard. "Sure. But what's the rush? It's customary to play a round or two of Baldur's Bones before talkin' business. Who's interested?" Tarina picked up a set of dice and rolled them in her hand.
The paladin was quickly losing his patience but urged the others to go along with Tarina's charade if it'll get them the information they desperately needed.
Glindo and Laythin offered to play.
During the game, members of Bardcore took a break.
Moments later, the tavern was filled with the ghostly lamentation of an elven woman.
Glindo told his fellow adventurers the voice was that of an elf spirit known to haunt the place. However, on this one occasion, the spirit was singing not of a long-lost lover but of Elturel. This surprised everyone, who had never heard the spirit change its tune. Those who understood Elvish heard the lyrics:
O sing a song of Elturel
Of water, woods, and hill
The sun dawns on her ruddy cliffs
And fields green and still.
This land of long-abiding joy
Home of the strong and brave
Renowned by all, across the realms,
And never once a slave.
O sing a song of Elturel
When foes are at her door
Her fields torn by cloven feet
From some infernal shore.
Arise the mighty Hellriders
Take up your swift, keen swords
Then charge into the hellish fray
And scatter devil hordes.
O sing a song of Elturel
And when the night does fall
Sleep safe beneath Companion’s light
Until the dawn does call.
We’re bound by mortal covenant
That only ends with death
And so we’ll sing of Elturel
Until our final breath.
When Nicaster shared the song's lyrics with everyone, Saer Justinian told them he had heard that “the Companion” referred to in the song was the name given to the artificial sun that burned over Elturel, protecting the city and its surrounding lands against undead.
One word from the song also stuck in everyone's memory: “Hellriders.” They recalled that Captain Zodge used the term to describe the knights of Elturel. The Hellriders were so-named long ago when they descended into the Nine Hells on horseback to fight devils.
Saer Justinian turned to Tarina. His slammed his closed fist on the table. "Tell us what you know. Now!"
Tarina was visibly shaken. "Al-alright. I'll tell ya what I know. I--."
She was suddenly interrupted by a loud voice from downstairs.
"I knows ye’re here, Rhonda – or Tarina is it? That old bird said as much, swore it on her All-Hearing or All-Knowing or All-Something- god! We even pricked her a little to make sure she wasn’t tellin’ no tales!”
Tarina stood up and looked towards the stairs.
"What is it?" Nicaster asked.
“Tymoras's luck! Captain Cadavrus found me!" Tarina said, her voice shaking. "They’s going to kill me and ain’t a soul in here who’ll dare do nottin’. ‘Cept ye lot, that is. Ye’ll have to, if ye want to learn what I knows ‘bout dem cultists ye’re lookin’ fer.”
The group looked at one another.
"What's the plan, everyone?" Aeolond asked.
"Simple." Saer Justinian said. He stood up, drew his sword and readied his shield. "We keep Tarina alive."Session played on January 2, 2021
The Elfsong Tavern
Tarina
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