Murder in Hammerfast: Game 24

General Summary

The Company of the Furies: Eumenides finished the process of settling into Hammerfast, was joined by a new halfling priest of Brandobaris, investigated the prospector Carthain and discovered he is engaged in smuggling operations, and began investigating the murder of Tathik Glodreddi, the town’s chief tax collector. The Company, though a premonition dream discovered that Hammerfast may fall to an invasion of chaos and evil, and learned that it can easily kill two and half dragons at least, before being defeated. The Company has obtained a cryptic message:
The Circle of Stone will cause the Cult of the Dragon to destroy Hammerfast unless the Circle can be redirected.

Laws of Hamerfast

The Company met with Judge Beldrin Longbeard, and Lord Commander Tenkar Stoneshield at the Hall of Justice who explained the laws regulating wizard magic users. Dwarves do not cast wizard spells, and all the towns within the areas under the control of the dwarves in the Inner Reaches closely regulate spell casters. Hammerfast's specific conditions for mages to reside within the town:

They must help the city in a time of need, which would most obviously be an attack, but could be lesser requests.
They cannot cast spells without prior permission, or reporting afterwards. Using spells to physically or mentally attack or spy on others is forbidden. The Company can obtain a blanket authorization, if approved by Judge Longbeard and Lord Commander Stoneshield. The Company has obtained permission to use magic to create potions and to teleport outside of Hammerfast to the city of Atlan in the Barony of Atlan. In fact, the Company is encouraged to teleport to Atlan for legitimate trading purposes.

Katheroi of Hammerfast

The Company met the two known Katheroi humans in Hammerfast, Eberwin of Shorfeld and Almabister. Eberwin serves as the representative of Sentinel Fortress when necessary, but has no official status other than being responsible for the good behavior of and investigating crimes against any Katheroi.

Rye Proudfoot

A ragged halfing priest of priest of Brandobaris showed up at the door The Company of the Furies Hammerfast with an unusual warning that the Cult of the Dragon is afoot and wants revenge against the Company for defeating Calastryx, the great two headed black dragon. To ensure that Rye did not reveal any secrets in case he was captured, Rye was provided little information about the Cult of the Dragon, other than their goal is to bring back armies of dragons, which previously attacked Fultar during Arrival of the Great Worms soon after the Guar Conquest. Rye passed the test of Guilhem de Quéribus's magic truth telling ring, and the Company has brought the proud and hairy footed half a man into their fold.

Carthian's Gang

The Company decided to investigate Carthian's gang, and choose to inquire with the priest of Moradin, Grond Silverstar who had some unknown dealings with Carthian and ultimately stopped Carthian from killing, or at least attempting to kill, the Company in Sentinel Fortress At Last: Game 12. Rye Proudfoot sought to gather information from the Swiftriver Clan, the main halfling family in town. Rye talked with the elders of the Clan in Halfling Square, but was rudely run off by Hugo Swiftriver, the clan historian, after Rye suggested that the was looking for potentially illegal work. Rye gained more information from Tharn Swiftriver, a scout and explorer in the Swifriver Manor. Rye did not enter the Swiftriver Clan Home or speak to the clan matriarch Dara Swiftriver. Grond also helped locate Carthian's hideout outside of town, and expressed support for bringing Carthian to justice, if in fact he was engaged in illegal activity, but also stated that murdering a man that is a long time trader in and with Hammerfast would be highly disfavored. Rye Proudfoot and Twim snuck into Carthian's hideout, discovering that it was filled with boxes of goods that were likely being smuggled into Hammerfast, including jars of liquid that could be the black tar like mass used to poison humans, humanoids and demi-humans into exploding weapons, furs, and weapons. In the camp, were many of his followers, including the warrior Judith Egina, the bard Amira Foukal, the priest of Ohgma Ossian, the kenku Haruto, the halfing Serlek Undertoe, and the scouts Roul and Guiscard. The Company reported back to Grond, who agreed that now was the time to report these likely illegal activities to the authorities. However, it is possible that they are just storing items that will be lawfully imported into Hammerfast and the appropriate taxes paid. Determining whether Carthian is paying his taxes will likely require raising the issue with the Head Tax Collector Glodreddi and the Lord Commander Stoneshield.

Return of the Dragons?

The morning after scouting out Carthian's hideout, the Company awoke to Hammerfast being attacked by frost and fire giants, waves of flying demons, orcs, and black and red dragons. In rapid fire combat the Company defeated two dragons before being nearly slain, only to awake in their beds in hot sweat. Instead of a real attack, the Company was given a vision of what will happen, if the Cult of the Dragon is able to return to Fultar. The Company was able to slay two dragons, without preparation of spells for the specific combat, and obtained the message above about redirecting the Circle of Stone to avoid allowing the Cult of the Dragon to destroy Hammerfast.

Murder in Hammerfast

The Head Tax Collector Tathik Glodreddi has been murdered, and, because he is a Katheroi (the only dwarf Katheroi in town), Eberwin of Shorfeld has the responsibility to investigate the murder. Eberwin does not have the skills to do such an investigation, and delegates his duty to the Company. The Company is brought to the Hall of Justice, and the Lord Commander Stoneshield has brought most of the major law enforcement officials to inform them that the Company should be provided all reasonable and lawful assistance in their investigation. The meeting includes Thora Longhammer (sergeant of the Westgate Guard), Tras (the human sergeant of the Eastgate Guard), Quila Stoneshield (the Lord Commander's daughter and the official Guard Recordkeeper) and Hammerskart Goldspinner (Head of the Trade Ward Guard). The Company are provided the following potential next steps: 1) the only person with a known grudge against Tathik GLodreddi is Renny Opalard, a dwarf cobbler that can generally be found at the Foundation Stone; 2) review the body and scene of the crime; 3) investigate his place of work, Revenue Hall; 4) talk with the various guards, including those who found the body; or 5) talk with his halfling servant boy, Bram Funtoes. The Company reviewed the body and scene of the crime and talked with Bram Funtoes. Some key pieces of information the Company learned are:

1) that he died at about 6 pm;
2) that there were two dwarves in his room when he was killed, one smaller than the other;
3) his room was ransacked but nothing obvious appears to be missing, other than the dagger he wore;
4) Quila Stoneshield was Tathik's secret lover;
5) Funtoes danced for him before his dinner, and Tathik was unusually agitated that evening; and
6) Tathik's murdered repeatedly slashed and stabbed him with a small, edged weapon in a manner like someone who was not skilled with the weapon.