Tavern Tales 7

Most of you will have already heard about the fire in Mikel's town, with dozens dead and hundreds left homeless. Since gossip and rumour, and a few too many tankards, have a tendency to distort the tale I am here tonight to lay before you the unvarnished truth about those responsible.
A few months ago Abel Tamrin, brother to the renowned Captain Hugh Tamrin, left on a trading trip. This wasn't considered unusual, as he frequently left town to oversee various deals. What was unusual was where he ported. Unbeknownst to any in Mikel's town his destination was the elven port of Barren Cairn. Why he was there we can only speculate, but it appears he met up with a group of adventurers that had troubled this region some months past. Some of you may have fond memories of a couple of them, as they supposedly dealt with an attack of ankhegs. But what if I told you those creatures were planted. Imported deliberately to provide a group of ne'er do wells a thin coat of respectability. Surely not? You cry. Well let me tell you, Lord Avarin has been tirelessly seeking answers on how the creatures got here and it emerged that Abel had been the one to import them, and had his close friend Wesley, the vile cleric of Tarin, plant them near your homes! Whatever new scheme Abel and his deceptive friends were cooking up in Barren Cairn, it was important enough for them to openly slaughter several people to keep it quiet. Lord Avarin has himself spoken to several witnesses and there can be no doubt that Abel the traitor was directly involved. As these villains fled Barren Cairn, in one of Abel's ships, one of their number burnt down the docks, slaying many innocent humans, gnomes, and halflings. Incensed the elves sent a fleet to Mikel's town and demanded that Lord Avarin turn over Abel. As we have come to expect from them, the elves blamed the entire town for the actions of one man, and threatened to raze the town if Abel was not turned over. Though the steel guard hunted high and low, they could not find him, and so Lord Avarin could only wait for the elves return.
As they had threatened, the elven armada returned. Too impatient to even wait for their own deadline, the fleet's mages began unleashing bolts of lightning into the docks. Those who hadn't already fled had no chance of survival. As if this deadly assault was not enough, there then followed a landing of troops from the elven ships. But it was not elf warriors that swarmed onto the docks, instead it was human and Dragonborn mercenaries. Whether these raiders had been lured by the promise of plunder, or were tricked by the elves, mattered little as they began slaughtering their way into town. The steel guard met them bravely, but were slowly pushed back by weight of numbers. Seeing defeat rapidly approaching, and with the lives of all those in Mikel's town at stake, Captain Tamrin went to Lord Avarin and offered to turn himself over. Though the loss of Hugh would be a bitter blow, Lord Avarin was persuaded that it was the only option. The elves proved willing to accept Hugh in lace of his brother, but with a few conditions. Among these was a requirement to post bounties for Abel and his co-conspirators. Though Lord Avarin was initially reluctant to agree to any additional terms, his doubts melted away when he saw who the bounties were for, after all he had already put out bounties on some of them.
So the crisis was averted, and the damage contained in the area near the docks. But while our leaders negotiated a peaceful solution, those ultimately responsible for all this death and destruction were hatching another plot. Using the chaos as a distraction, those that had conspired with Abel, snuck into the castle grounds. Clearly advised by Abel, this group, which included some of those listed in the elves bounties, went directly to be of the vaults below the castle. Moving with unnatural speed, they quickly assassinated the few guards, including Big Glm. Even the castle's ancient defences were n match for this group, accompanied as they were by a demon. Yes, I said a demon. A towering figure crowned with hair of flames. Whatever they were after lay behind the legendary sealed doors of the unbreachable vault. Unfortunately we are unlikely to ever know what was in that vault since the stripped it bare, before making off with a portion of the treasury. As they left the castle, they once again demonstrated their unearthly powers, moving like wind and leaping from the top of the castle walls. Various citizens attempted to their escape including a priest of Virid, but Uruloce, the serpent of fire, lived down to his name and set several buildings ablaze as a distraction. As the priest attempted to battle the flames, the thieves managed to slip away.
Later that night another group of brave citizens encountered the fiendish thieves. Though reinforced by a unit of steel guard, the powers of darkness proved stronger. Over a dozen were slain in the blink of an eye by sword and flame. And then what was a tragic loss of life, turned into a calamity. Uruloce, not content with the slaughter of those who tried to delay them, unleashed his flames on the surrounding buildings. Multiple buildings were ablaze in seconds, and it wasn't long before the entire street was ablaze. Only the brave actions of Lieutenant Sauros, who has taken over as acting captain of the steel guard was any of the west side of town saved.