Session 336 - Spy Mission
General Summary
Spring 727TR
The Story So Far
The King is dead. Long live the King.
King Minigath, after ruling the Kingdom of Kaldor well for thirty-three years, has been assassinated. Sir Conwan Elendsa has been crowned King, but the former King's bastard sons have contested this. Meanwhile, in the background, the mysterious Esoterical Order of Lothrim is up to no good.
The City of Tashal is held by the usurper Sheriff Maldan Harabor who is currently in rebellion against Kaldor’s rightful King, Conwan Elendsa. The city is under siege but in good spirits as it receives supplies from the west along the Salt Route. To hasten the end of the rebellion, the party considers ending this lifeline. Can they stop the trade caravans?
This is the continuation of Session 335 - Ghost of the Sewer.
Location - City of Tashal in the Kingdom of Kaldor.
28th Kelen 727TR
Part 1 – Infiltration
The heroes decide to infiltrate the city’s castle, Caer Elend, and learn what they can of the trade caravans, one of which has arrived only a day ago. They prepare by employing their contacts, scouting, and disguises, during which they learn that the recently arrived caravan has some important documents for the usurper Sir Maldan Harabor.
Then, at night, they bluff their way past the guards, enter, and move about the castle, initially undetected. They run into various locked doors, which Dryueh skilfully picks but must deceive or stealth their way past patrols. In the process, they stumble into the Royal Alchemist, Ertol Dracayne, but he is easily duped as he explains his new anti-fungal cream to Dryueh.
The last and most difficult challenge is to sneak into the castle’s constable’s office. Here, the party resorts to magic. Dryueh teleports between the shadows, and Rycon uses his magical cloak to glide through the stonework. Valeria uses Dimension Door.
Part 2 - A Dispatch from the Thardic Republic
The heroes quietly search the constable’s office, finding a dispatch addressed to King Malden Harabor with an official seal of the Thardic Republic Senate. Using a heated knife and files, Dryueh skillfully removes the seal with minimal damage.
To Sir Maldan Harabor, the rightful King of Kaldor, etc and all.
On behalf of sympathetic allies in the Republic, we will continue to supply the City of Tashal with the necessities of life at the agreed discount and generous loan rates.
However, I must warn you that the self-styled Lord of Trobridge and the Royal Toll guards at that outpost are unreliable. I suggest you fortify their resolve with men loyal to you.
I wish you all the best in your noble endeavors.
Senator Nolarm Setris, on behalf of the Silver Consortium.
What to do? Valeria, who has excellent penmanship, authors another letter, much less friendly, indicating the cost of supplies will be renegotiated and omitting the potential disloyalty of the Royal Guards and Lord of Trobridge. Valeria does a half-decent job of forging Senator Nolarm Setris's signature, and Dryueh skilfully attaches the seal. The party escapes via the window and scales down the castle walls undetected with the original dispatch.
The next day, they decide to travel to the remote and isolated settlement of Trobridge Inn. This is a key trading waypoint along the Salt Route on Kaldor's border. Can they stop the supply wagons?
Location - On the Salt Route between Tashal and Trobridge Inn.
1st Nolus 727TR
Part 3 - Shadows on the Salt Route
On the way, the party easily deals with some large bile-spitting monitor lizards, but Valeria has greater concerns. Tonight is the night of the new moon, and the omens are bad. She is sure that her nemesis in the Plane of Shadows may be planning to send his minions to kill her. She pinpoints a nearby nexus point where the Shadow Plane and this world meet using the knowledge gained from her magical book, The Twilight Calamity. This is where the shadow creatures would likely emerge. The party prepares an ambush.
Early in the morning, not long before the first lights of dawn, they are not disappointed; the shadows darken, and an opening between worlds forms. Two horrors step through. One is a huge rotting winged gargoyle-like undead monstrosity, and the other is the top half of a floating skeleton with four arms. As the party sneaks up on them, they feel their life force being sapped, but caught by surprise, the giant gargoyle is quickly obliterated. The floating skeleton was harder to deal with, entrapping the heroes in bone-chilling ice and slicing them with bony talons. Nevertheless, it is also destroyed. Valeria has killed yet more minions of Zykayda, the great Shadow Dragon.
To be continued.NPC Interactions
Ertol Dracayne - Royal Alchemist.
Player Characters
Valeria - Human - L14 Shadow Sorcerer
Background - Magical Experiment.
Archetype - Beastmaster.
Rycon - Human - L14 Fighter
Background - Rebel Knight.
Archetypes - Liberator Champion/Dual Weapon Warrior/Swashbuckler.
Dryueh - 1/2 Elf - L14 Thief Rogue
Background - Scout.
Archetypes - Vigilante/Medic/Shadowdancer/Wizard.
Next Session
Rycon
Dryueh
Valeria
The Twilight Calamity
An ancient book of shadow lore and rituals.
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