Session 148 - Spies, Schemes and Heads in a Sack

General Summary

28^th Kelen (Third Month of Spring) 723TR

The story so far

The heroes have destroyed the former Priestess of Halea, Danisa Chatil, who became an undead monster in her efforts to appear younger and more attractive.

Now they plan to uncover the secret war plans of King Chafin III.

The continuation of Session 145 - Flies of Death and Decay.

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Location - City of Golotha in the Kingdom of Rethem.

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Part 1 - Reward

Ameline, art by Artbreeder

The party meets with Queen-Mistress Ameline Horga of the Church of Hidden Beauty and informs her of the destruction of the traitorous Danisa Chatil, the former Heptarch of Halea. They agree to keep these events secret. The Church of Morgath, who granted the "gift" of undeath onto Danisa, would seek bloody retribution if they ever found out who was responsible.

The heroes are rewarded with Coins of Good Fortune and invited to the next religious service. Yureb will probably attend.

Part 2 - Spies

The heroes now seek to uncover the war plans of King Chafin III of Rethem. First, Yureb singles out a sergeant of the King's Guard and gets him drunk and then deeply indebted bad luck at gambling. From the imprudent sergeant, Yureb learns the King and his allies will be holding a Council of War in three days. The meeting will take place at the Grand Temple of Agrik. The temple's High Priest, Sir Klyrdes Bisidril, a friend and staunch ally of the King, currently holds the office of Primate of Agrik and is Grandmaster of the Order of Mamaka, Master of Steel, has arranged a meeting with the various Agrikan Fighting Orders.

Chafin III, by Artbreeder

The heroes are circumspect, aware that magical warding on the temple will prevent those with supernatural abilities from gaining access through magical means such as teleportation or scrying. They devise a simple plan; Quazzy will take on the appearance of one of the temple's slaves and send in her familiar in rat form to the conference room; meanwhile; Yureb will sneak in using his invisibility; while Athena and Lucinda lurk nearby, ready render aid if required. The heroes also develop a plan of escape. However, a hasty escape is unnecessary; the operation works perfectly.

Surveilling the King as he meets the senior leadership of the fighting Agrikan fighting orders; the Red Shadows of Hepra, the Cohorts of Gashang, the Companions of Roving Doom, and the Warriors of Mameka; Chafin demands the Agrikians put their petty squabbles aside and work together to finally put an end to Tormau and his rebellion. The King insists internal divisions can no longer be tolerated and by flattering, cajoling, and making various veiled threats and promises, Chafin sufficiently browbeats the Grandmasters of the Agrikian Fighting Orders to cooperate, for now.

The King and his allies detail their plans, at Midsummer, the highly mobile Companions of Roving Doom shall launch an attack en masse, on the Barony of Ithiko. Hoping to catch the Sisterhood of the Crimson Dancer and Athena's mercenaries by surprise and eliminate them or push them back to the barony’s major defensive strongholds. Further, the Companions of Roving Doom are to burn all in their path to provoke a response.

It is expected the Earl of Tormau's Army of Hohnamshire will be forced to send a relief force to Ithiko to assist his allies. However, the royal army supported on either wing by the Red Shadows of Hepra and the Cohorts of Gashng march north, and with speed and surprise, attack the Barony of Tormau. If Tormau’s castle can be taken or invested, while the bulk of Tormau’s forces are out of place, the Royal Army will be positioned to successfully put an end to the rebellion.

Part 3 - The Wrong Heads

As the heroes make their escape into the seedier part of the city, Yureb spots something unusual. Three rough-looking men are making their way to the Trident Inn. One is carrying a sack, and Yureb's sharp eyes spot is the outline of three human heads. Poking out of the sack are locks of silvery-white hair. Intrigued, the heroes follow him into the inn.

The Trident Inn is famous for the blood pit, a natural sinkhole about 7ft deep filled with crystal clear water and bones line the floor. Within swim scores of bizarre armored fish-like creatures, Hygith - the Barer of Bones. Also, a squad of Cohorts of Gashang are noisily drinking.

art by Black Isle Studios

The men turn out to be Bounty Hunters and show the heads to a sleazy-looking man. Each head is of a young woman white to silver-haired and pale skin. All bear a vague resemblance to Quazzy. The Sleazy Man pays each bounty hunter a gold crown, although Yureb, who has studied coins, notes something off. Quazzy, who is currently using the appearance of a dark-haired woman, reads the surface thoughts of the men.

The sleazy man's mind is clouded and slightly alien; however, she picks up a few stray thoughts. "This ones hair has been bleached white, I will pay anyway, I don't want to discourage the hunters," "I hate this world and want to return home," and "The Mistress, Quazzy sees the mental image of the Raven Woman, will be pleased."

Satyr, art by Leo-Lee

The sleazy man throws the heads into the blood pit, where the piranha-like Hygith rapidly tears the flesh off. Meanwhile, Yureb moves closer and examines him, noting discrepancies. His shadow does match his form, he must be using a magical disguise. He bumps into him and observes the outline of a horned humanoid, a satyr-like creature.

The party waits until late in the night until the man and the bounty hunters retire to their accommodation for the night. Yureb sneaks up on their room and wedges their doors shut. Quazzy telepathically communicates with the creature, who is mediating and reveals that she is nearby and offers to help him travel home. He responds immediately, waking the bounty Hunters, Dimension Doors back into the tavern and immediately identifying the heroes, easily seeing through their disguises. A quick fight starts, and although he strikes hard with his is decaying touch and enchanted thin blade, he is quickly slain. The heroes are too powerful. The remaining bounty hunters, slowed down by the door wedge, arrive just after the creature is cut down. They decide discretion is the better part of valor and disappear into the night.

On the body, the heroes find four gold coins. These look like Khuzan gold crowns but not from any of the Harnic Kingdoms. Yureb suspects they are from another world and could, with some difficulty, be used to locate or open a doorway to that world through a Faeries Circle. Quazzy is more concerned that her enemy, the Raven Woman, could be used to track her location and asks the corpse a few questions. The corpse is happy to answer but offers little in the way of helpful information. However, it says that he has been ordered not to send his hunters into the Kingdom of Melderyn. The party trade the four strange gold coins with the innkeeper, who does not appear particularly at all fazed by the brawl and bloodshed in his Inn, for two standard gold crowns. Golotha is a rough city.

Part 4 - Sowing Confusion

The heroes, having observed a detachment of Cohorts of Gashang staying at the Inn and decide to sow some chaos. Yureb sneaks into one of the knight's rooms and incapacitates him. Quazzy then puts Sir Bethrin under a charm and easily convinces him that Sir Scarow, the field commander of the Cohorts of Gashang, is a traitor and severely working for the enemy. The bewitched knight says he will dutifully report this to the Order of the Eight Demons who dominate the Cohorts.

To be continued.

NPC Interactions

Queen-Mistress Ameline Horga of the Church of Halea.

Master Innkeeper Kardis Ernaldin.

Cohorts Knight Sir Bethrin.

Challenges Overcome

Uncovered King Chafin's war strategy.

Defeated the Fey creature.

Tricks an Order of the Cohorts of Gashang Knight into believing Sir Scarow is a traitor.

Rewards

Each character acquire 3 Coins of Good Fortune.

Related Reports

City of Golotha.

Temple of Halea - Church of Hidden Beauty.

Chafin III, King of Rethem.

The Trident Inn.

Hygith - the Barer of Bones.

Sir Scarow.

Players Character Status

Athena the Banshee - Level 19 Paladin of Vengeance.

Yureb - Level 19 Arcane Trickster.

Quazzy - Level 5 Necromancer and Level 14 Warlock Disciple of Desridaen.

Campaign

The Uncivil War - Campaign Complete

Protagonists

Quazzy

Athena

Yureb

Report Date

23 May 2021

Primary Location

City of Golotha

NPC Companion

Dame Lucia Kalormar, Athena's Aid

Lucia Kalomar, art by Artbreeder

Hygith - the Barer of Bones.

Hygith, art by Attacus

The Raven Woman

Raven Woman, from festivalclaca

Coins of Good Fortune

These are also called Thalia Coins, named after Halea's Handmaiden Thalia, the Princess of Fortune.

These Magical Silver Coins have a bell inscribed on one side and a dice on the other. They will bestow luck and good fortune on the holder.

The holder rolls d10+10 when acquiring the coin. When making an Ability Check, Saving Throw, or Attack Roll, the holder uses this number rather than rolling. After use, the coin will lose its magical properties and turn into a standard silver piece.

The Cohorts of Gashang

Cohorts of Gashang, art by Columbia Games