Session 06: The Village of Homlett Part 1

General Summary

After almost a week below ground in the Sunless Citadal, and a brief moment of joy at returning to the light of day, our party found themselves rushing in a life-and-death situation, not their own lives at risk but that of Sharwyn Hucrele. They had recently rescued her from enslavement to the Gulthias Tree, but following the evil tree's demise, found her life energy quickly fading.
Rushing back to Oakhurst, our adventurers rushed to the local cleric, Dem "Corkie" Nackle, pleading her to heal Sharwyn if she could (at this point Sharwyn had passed out and was literally being carried by the party's local friendly barbarian).
The ritual was begun, each party member bringing something to the table -- Medran using his arcane intelligence to search for the seed of Sharwyn's curse, Frank aiding with his cleric healing abilities, Elrohir singing a song of inspiration over the group, and even Grumm guarding the door from intrusion. The ritual lasted hours, hours that seemed to last days for those involved, but after much blood and sweat, things calmed and Corkie declared the ritual complete. Sharwyn was cured of the Gulthias Tree's curse -- or as much as one can be of such things -- but whether or not her body would recover was yet to be seen. Sharwyn's mother Kerowyn thanked the adventurer's repeatedly, a sobbing mess, and refused to leave her daughter's side.
Grumm had felt out of his element with all the magical hubbub going on, but little did he know his guarding of the door would be of the utmost necessity. As the ritual progressed, a mob of angry villagers, led by Mayor Vernor Leng, approached the cleric's cottage. Apparently while the destruction of the Gulthias Tree had freed Sharwyn from its control, it had also freed the twig blights. Without Belak to control them, the hundreds of blights he had created over the years set out attacking farms, culminating in an "assault" on Oakhurst. Many lives were lost and people injured.
Kerowyn defended the party's actions and rebuked Vernor for even blaming them at all. The attack was inevitable, and at least this way it was uncoordinated. Reluctantly, the Mayor relented, begrudgingly thanked the party, and sat with Kerowyn at Sharwyn's side.
The party spent the night at the Ol' Boar Inn. Medran enjoyed his time drinking the puny humans away in a drinking contest. Elrohir played a few ditties before retiring to his room. And Grumm enjoyed a night of gambling and pranking, paying off a bar maid to go to Elrohir's room for a massage appointment. Elrohir was awoken by the feeling of someone touching his back, and, in a panic, almost attacked the frightened young woman, who promptly apologized and stormed downstairs and threw (most of) Grumm's money back in his face.
The next morning the party regrouped and met up with Kerowyn at her shop, who thanked and paid the party for their service to her. Although hoping to buy items, the party found little of use in the small village's general store. However, it was Grumm, of all of them, who noticed something strange. A permit, mounted on the store's wall, had handwriting that was oddly familiar. It was written and signed in the hand of the province's Baron. The group had seen their own death sentencing in a similar hand, but that was not what he was remembering. Pulling out the encoded note found in Belak's study, Grumm made a shocking revelation. The note appeared to be written by the Baron!
The party met with the Baron before leaving Oakhurst, hoping to find any information about the Baron as subtly as they could. Eventually, they let Vernor Leng know what it is they suspected, who, despite great hesitation, agreed that if the Baron was working with the evil druid something must be done. The group showed him the note, and he let them know they would likely need to enlist the help of a codebreaker to decipher the encryption, a skill not normally associated with honest individuals. Our group would need to find a thieves guild, but where?
Homlett seemed the most likely answer, knowing that somewhere there their "friend" Horus was working for a thieves guild known simply as "The Hand." With great haste the party headed down the main road toward Berich, leaving Frank behind, who hoped to help and learn cleric things from Corkie.
On the road to Homlett, the group met a friendly traveling halfling shoe salesman and joined him on his trip. However, as night fell, the group was attacked by a group of bandits. Staving off the assault and freeing an owlbear from servitude to the bandit captain, the party got some sleep before making their way to Homlett in the morning.
Finally in a proper-sized village since looting the Sunless Citadel, the party spent the day exploring, shopping, and exchanging coins to more manageable amounts.
Following a lead, the group made their way to the local chapel to St. Cuthbert, a saint known for his mighty hand of justice. Inside the chapel, the group found a secret passageway leading deep into the earth. It opened into a large cavernous space. They had found the Hand.
Among the group of dark clad individuals, one stuck out. A red, horned tiefling female sat on a stone throne on a platform above the others. It was she who discussed with the party, offering them the service of a codebreaker in exchange for a hit. They would need to assist the guild in the murder of the Baron's son, who was coordinating bandit raids on merchants in the province from an old abandoned moat house south of Homlett. The group agreed, if not with some hesitation.
Will the group go through with this assassination? Are the Hand to be trusted? Will the party stick with the name "Dawnbreakers?" We find out tonight.

Report Date

24 May 2018