Session 6: Secrets Uncovered

General Summary

Morning came and the party rose after the events that transpired the night before. All except Jork who had fallen into a magical hibernation. Thylius decided to attempt to wake him. The rest left him to his work for the rest of the day.
Vexna who was the first to awaken went downstairs with Jenny and sat down for breakfast with the somewhat pummeled Wilfrick. Varinel came soon after and was stopped by Thylius who told about what had happened and that he was going to fix it. Varinel then went downstairs before Yujin ran past him with a bucket of carrots, and then went outside to feed the horses. Varinel, ignoring the animal-loving gnome, got some breakfast sat down next to Vexna and Wilfrick. The two began to discuss what they were going to do next. Vexna insisted that she couldn't leave Honeyport before solving the strange disappearances and witchhunt that was going on. Varinel who had just come over a lead on the red velvet clan, leading towards the capital, was more than willing to ignore the troubles of the town. After a while, Madame Jeanne who had observed them from afar joined in on the discussion and a compromise was made where they would all leave in three days regardless of whether the troubles were solved or not. 
The party then split up even further. Vexna and Jenny made their way to the smith Balder to fetch the blunted sword and buckler they had ordered. They also bought a strongbox that would prove useful later. Varinel went to the wagon craftsman Thomas to see how the wagon they had ordered was coming along, and he found that it was almost complete. He inspected the craftsmanship before leaving for the general store The Content Townsman to sell some of his stuff. Lastly, Madame Jeanne went to find a herbalist in town. She found out that the herbalist Roberta had been the first to be convicted of witchcraft and hanged. In order to find out what had become of the wares that the herbalist had kept in her hut, she made her way to the town hall. Along the way, she met up with Vexna and Jenny who were also going to see the mayor. 
They made their way to the town hall and each got a meeting with the mayor Jonathan Gravemore. Madame Jeanne went first and she got not only find the names of those responsible for the executed's possessions, but also the names of all the democratically elected members of the town council. They numbered six excluding the mayor himself. It was Argus, the owner of the general store; Frickard, a trader from the harbor; Simeon, the captain of the town guard; Roberto, the town baker; Thomas, the wagon craftsman; and Johnny, who weirdly did not have any notable profession. He also finds out that in all the cases of witchcraft all council members voted for a trail except Johnathan. She, however, was only interested in the herbs that the convicted might have had,  that she may use for poisons. So she made her way to Argus who along with Simeon would have taken care of them. It was then time Vexnas meeting and she managed to clear up some debt with the mayor relating to Jenny and her inheritance, and they left the office with a sack of 900 gold. Vexna put this gold in the strongbox she had purchased and gave the key to Jenny, seeing as it was her money. She had also managed to get written permission to further investigate the witchhunt with all the authority that Jonathan could provide and set out to do just that. 
Outside both Vexna and Madame Jeanne met up with Varinel who had been looking for them to try and coordinate their efforts. They also met up with Yujin who had been riding around and conversing with their horses Shadow and Light. The party decided that Vexna and Jenny would get some of the guards who had tipped Vexna of to what was going on in order to bring some credibility to their investigation. Varinel and Yujin would accompany Madame Jeanne in her search for herbs, starting with the general store. Madame Jeanne entered and started to question the fat half-elf Argus on where the herbs had been taken. He told her that Simeon had probably burned it all somewhere and that it could not be recovered. Meanwhile, Varinel manifested his phantom Stefan, to the amazement of Yujin, in an incorporeal form to search the general store to see if there were some herbs hidden around the house. Instead, they found a mysterious book among some candles in a hidden compartment in Argus' closet. When Madame Jeanne exited Varinel told her about what he had found and they decided to return tonight and investigate further. But before that, they decided to look for Simeon, but to no avail. The town guard by the barracks said that he was investigating the latest disappearance. But when they looked for him at the crime scene he was nowhere to be found. They instead entered the late herbalist Roberta's hut, which was conveniently located next door. Inside they found a chest hidden beneath the floorboards. After melting the padlock with some acid they managed to open it. Inside they found a letter, some nettle herbs and a recipe for nettle soup. Madame Jeanne took the herbs and the recipe, whilst Varinel took the letter, and Yujin took the destroyed padlock. They then made their way back to the tavern, except Yujin who stopped by the smith Balder and asked him to make a necklace out of it. He agreed to do so tomorrow. Then gnome then also returned to the tavern. 
In the meantime, Vexna, Jenny and one of the guards named Borin, managed to new and interesting evidence at the crime scenes. They found a piece of chainmail from a town guard uniform, marks from a sword and traces of blood between the floorboards. They found these traces of blood in the previous crime scenes as well. After investigating all the crime scenes Vexna decided to seek out Balric, the town armorer and the one who makes the town guards armor. He indeed confirms that the piece of chainmail was made by him, although he was kept unaware of where it was found. With some persuasion and flattery, Vexna managed to gain access to the inside of his workshop. Well inside she managed to sense some evil presence from within the foundation of Balric's forge. Unable pry any further she thanks the dwarf and makes her way back to the tavern. 
The party reconvenes for dinner and discusses what they have found. They also open the herbalist's letter without breaking the seal, which according to Madame Jeanne belonged to a noble family at the king's court in Freywharf named Cinderbreeze. The letter was addressed to Marius, which they figured must be the noble Marius Cinderbreeze. It appeared to be her uncle from the contents of the letter, where she wrote about how talks of witchcraft begun and how she was confronted by Thomas and Argus prior to the disappearances and her conviction. She also wrote about how she thanked her uncle for helping her escape to Honeyport. The party realizes that Roberta Cinderbreeze was hiding her nobility. The party begins to make plans on how they are to address these circumstances. Vexna had found a pattern where a person disappears and three days later a witch is accused and it had already been two days since the latest disappearance of Jordan Gwenstock, the tailor. Thus she pressed on the urgency of time. They decide that Madame Jeanne and Yujin would search the house of Argus to investigate the mysterious book, and Varinel would investigate the house of Simeon. Vexna then leaves the group with Jenny and returns to their room. 
When the two enter their room they are jumped by a hooded figure wielding a dagger and a shortsword. Vexna pushes Jenny out of the room and tries to fend off her attacker. When his initial attacks fail, the figure steps back and activates a scroll that creates several illusions of himself, making it difficult for Vexna to see which is the correct one. After some fighting, the party downstairs takes note of the noise and rushes to see what is going on. When they enter the assassin tries to escape but is caught in the last minute by Vexna who knocks him to the floor, knocking him unconscious. She then gets on top of him and heals his wound so that he won't bleed out. When he comes to it they bind him and interrogate him. First to no avail, but when Vexna begins to talk about his mother and how he isn't making her proud, he finally breaks down. He tells them that he was to make it look like Jenny had killed Vexna and then killed herself. They release him and Vexna goes to bed after a heartfelt conversation with Jenny.
The rest of the party wait for a bit in the tavern before heading out to investigate. Madame Jeanne and Yujin disguise themselves a bit before looking for a way into the house. Yujin also decides to disguise his wolf Eila, by putting a bed sheet on top of her and cutting holes for the eyes. He then takes some rope and binds it around the wolf so she won't slip on the sheet. Inside they manage to find the book as well as a symbol on the wall behind it. A symbol that Varinel and Vexna might find familiar. The book was written in undercommon and abyssal, and thus didn't reveal much outside of that. The two then leave the house and return to the tavern. 
Varinel managed to get to the barracks, on top of which Simeon has his office and living quarters. There guards stationed outside the door to the house, but by manifesting his phantom, Varinel can pass through the walls of the house. On the bottom floor, he found a storage area where there might be some evidence locked away. On the upper floor, he found Simeon's office as well as the captain's bed. Curiously he also found another man in bed with the captain. He went back to the office where he then had Stefan manifest in a physical form. He then rummaged around in the captain's workspace and found two letters. He decided to open them both. The first was to Roberto and talked about how he would take her of his son. The second was to Johnny and simply read that it was time for his choice. Variniel took these letters with him and returned to the tavern, where the party then all got some sleep to then decide what to do with this new information in the morning.

Campaign

Stories from Scaelor

Protagonists

Varinel Trislar

Elf
-Level Spiritualist 3

Vexna

Human
3-Level Silver Champion

Yujin

gnome
-Level Druid level 4

Report Date

29 Feb 2020

Primary Location

Honeyport