Session 4: Something is Rotten in Little Ferry - Act II Report

General Summary

Odrinsday the 8th of Harvestide in the year 3025 AF The Fate Bound spent the night in the The River's Rest taking a long deserved respite under a roof in clean and comfortable beds. A sunless dawn greeted them as they awoke; rainy and windy with clouds that threatened much of the same for the coming day. Druss had a surprise in store for his friends. Each of them found an invitation to breakfast waiting for them in the morning. Our heroes made their way downstairs, luckily Tenzin suffered no ill effects from the alcohol he had been tricked into drinking the night before. They entered a private room to find an incredible breakfast laid out for them. Bacon, eggs, pastries and honey awaited them on the table. Druss was awaiting them there and he looked like he was ready for a military inspection. He was clean shaven and well clothed as he welcomed them to the table with a smile. As the Fate Bound ate, Druss spoke to all of them from the heart. He told them that he believed that they all had great potential, especially if they committed to work more as a team. As a combat veteran he offered to help train them and provide advice if they were willing. He did not want to be there leader, but more their mentor and guide. He stressed that they should embrace who and what they are and not run from it. He made some suggestions advising Leonardo that he held his sword too low and that he should raise it to be more on his guard. He warned Arveer that he needed to be more tactical and patient and not rush headlong into danger. He also suggested that Shayne use a disguise to hide the fact that he is a Drow to make it easier for him to move about the city. The Fate Bound agreed with Druss and spoke more about their plans during the meal. The food was so good that they benefited from the effect of a Fate Bound Feast for the rest of the day. The heroes decided to split up as they had many different tasks that they needed to complete. Tenzin headed to the temple of Morwen while Gilligan was tasked with buying a disguise kit to use on Shayne. Arveer, Druss and Leonardo went to visit the parents of Quinn Jacoby at their shop M & B Leatherworks in Northside. It was raining hard outside so Shayne and Iados decided to remain at the River's Rest. Tenzin strode through the rain toward the Temple Square heading directly to the Temple of Morwen. As soon as he arrived he made a generous donation of gold and knelt down to pray. Lydia the acolyte he had seen the previous day waited for him to finish and approached him. Tenzin asked to see Sister Amalia because he wanted to ask her about the symbol of the Empaths because it still troubled him. Lydia told him that she was not available today so she started up a conversation with him. Lydia wanted to know more about how he had trained to be a cleric of Morwen. She had trained at the temple and was impressed that Tenzin had essentially learned on his own. When she asked to see his holy symbol, Tenzin told her had never made one. Lydia happily offered to make one with him. She told him that each cleric's holy symbol was made from wood and the shape of it was determined by each individual cleric. The two agreed to meet for lunch and go out and craft a holy symbol. Gilligan was tasked with finding a disguise kit that he could use to hide Shayne's features. He went down into the common room and found Merry's Merry Minstrels eating breakfast. He decided to approach them about the disguise kit. He introduced himself to an elf who was busy writing something on a piece of parchment. The elf introduced himself as Saranday Telendrae. He told Gilligan that he did not have a spare disguise kit, but he could get one for him in a couple of days and they haggled until 28 gold pieces was agreed upon for the kit. Saranday invited Gilligan to the troupe's performance in the evening and the halfling gladly accepted. He asked for a part in the piece and was playfully mocked by the leader of the troupe herself Merry Trumblefoot. Arveer, Leonardo and Druss headed out into the storm to find M & B Leatherworks as directed on the poster that Arveer had taken as they entered Little Ferry. They found the shop in Northside, a mom and pop establishment run by Brett and Martha Jacoby. Eager to hear any news of their son Quinn the couple welcomed the heroes in out of the rain. Martha became very distraught when she heard the bad news that Quinn had disappeared into a mysterious portal. It was all too much for her, having to deal with the grief of losing a child and now being told he was somehow elsewhere. As Martha sobbed with grief, the heroes asked Brett when and how Quinn had gone missing. The craftsmen told him that their boy had been on a hunting trip with his friend Cory Arnbyte on the other side of the river. Cory's father Colwyn Arnbyte sent out search parties to look for the missing boy, but they all came back empty-handed. Colwyn has offered a reward for the safe return of Quinn. Before leaving, Arveer and the others assured Martha that they would get to the bottom of this and if possible return Quinn to her. Druss ordered a custom leather cape that he wished to pick up by the end of the week. They then left to head back to the The River's Rest. In the late morning, the heroes all reconvened at the inn at a table near the fire and recounted what had happened to them. As they spoke, Rory Harfoot came over to Shayne and handed him a piece of paper telling him that a street urchin had dropped it off and asked that it be given to him. Shayne opened the letter and found that the page was empty save for a single black "X" that had been scrawled onto the page. The expression on his face immediately turned grim and his companions noticed it, asking him what was wrong. Shayne whispered that it was a message meaning he was marked for death. They questioned Rory about the boy who delivered the message, but he told them that many messages are delivered in this way and the identity of the boy would be almost impossible to discover. The heroes decided to head back to their room to speak about this in private.

The Black "X" Safely back in their rooms, Leonardo spoke up and told his friends that the time for honesty between them had come. If they were going to stand by each other's side then they should all come clean about their past. Leonardo then showed his friends his sketch of the symbol he had seen in his dreams and confided in them that he is searching for the meaning behind the symbol. He knows that it gives him power, but he does not know why. Arveer then rose and speaking from the heart told of how his siblings had been tortured, beaten and killed by the Green Blades and that now only his sister remained. The last he had heard was that she was a prisoner in Garrison, but he is no even sure if that was true anymore. Iados stood beside Arveer and promised to help him find his sister and then confided to the group that he wished to face his father, the devil that had spawned him, in an effort to find his own destiny. Tenzin bared his chest and showed them all the strange symbol that marked him as an Empath a chosen one of Morwen. He asked that they keep this secret as he was still trying to learn what it all meant for him. Shayne told them that he left the Shadows as he did not wish to become a killer and that now his past was coming back to haunt him. Gilligan told them that he secretly wanted to be better than his father and that perhaps they were all meant to be together as he too had past dealings with the Green Blades and the Shadows. He then broke out into a rousing song. Druss reminded his friends that they still had to meet with Sergeant Baldwin and Goren Apfel to follow-up on the kidnapping leads and Comet Spawn appearances and that they should get to it. Tenzin and Leonardo headed to the temple of Morwen to meet up with Lydia and agreed to meet with the others at Fort Highwater later. Iados and Shayne decided to head directly to speak with the sage Goren Apfel while Arveer, Druss and Gilligan wished to speak with Colwyn Arnbyte about the disappearance of Quinn Jacoby. Trudging through the rainy wetness, Tenzin and Leonardo went to meet Lydia of Morwen for lunch. Upon arrival they realized that the storm was going to prevent them from heading out to the countryside to search for the materials for Tenzin's holy symbol so they stayed in the temple. Lydia explained that the most important aspect of the symbol is that it must come from your soul. Each one is different and she showed him her holy symbol which was in the rough shape of a "Y" made of braided twigs and covered with colorful ribbons. Tenzin thanked her and looked forward to making his own symbol. Leonardo asked about his symbol again and was reminded that he should seek his answers in the temple of Dalana. The two friends then headed off to meet their companions at Amber Hall. Iados and Shayne presented themselves at the gates of Amber Hall and asked to see the sage Goren Apfel. They were told the he was currently indisposed and that they could wait for him if they liked. As they waited Brad from the Riverguard happened to pass by and he stopped to say hello. He told them that many strange things had been occurring in the streets since the light had appeared in the sky. People seemed to be going a bit crazy, reporting seeing animals with multiple heads and other strange creatures. He also told them that they had a prisoner in Fort Highwater that claimed to have seen a three-headed dog in the street, but she that she had clearly gone mad. Arveer, Druss and Gilligan knocked on the door of the impressive looking Arnbyte mansion in the Cliffside district. The door was answered by a butler who promptly told them that his master Colwyn Arnbyte was not at home. The heroes asked if they could wait for him and were quickly told no. The butler would let his master know that they had called and if his master wanted to see them he would send word. Our heroes told him that they were staying at the River's Rest and that they needed to speak with him urgently. They then headed to Amber Hall to meet up with the others. Wet and dripping, all of our heroes met up at Amber Hall and after a short wait were invited in to speak with the sage Goren Apfel. They were led into the castle and then immediately headed down a flight of stairs to a candlelit chamber filled with bookcases, tables filled with bottles and experiments and many stuffed heads of various creatures mounted to the wall. At the center of the room, under a large chandelier was a large table with the dissected body of the Comet Spawn the heroes had brought back from the Druthain Wood. Stooping over the specimen was a man with a long, white beard, wearing a blue robe and holding on to a staff with gnarled old hands.

Goren Apfel Our heroes soon learned that Goren was quite hard of hearing as he constantly asked them to repeat what they were saying or answered questions oddly as if he was not following along. As he spoke though, they realized that he still had his wits about him and his insights into what had might be going on were valuable. As the sage listened to their descriptions of what had happened to them and of the portal and the lights in the sky he told them that it was most certainly not a comet, for comets would appear in the sky for much longer periods of time. He was not sure what it was or what the portal was, but he was sure that the creature on the table was not of this plane. His best guess was that it was from the astral plane, most likely brought her by whoever or whatever had created the portal. He surmised that the gnolls, or at least their leader, had been possessed and directed to kidnap the children possibly with the intention of using the life force of the children to bring in these creatures from the astral plane. He asked that they keep him apprised of their investigation and then asked them to leave. The heroes now headed toward Fort Highwater and decided to first visit with the prisoner that Brad had told them about; the woman who claimed to have seen a three-headed dog. When they reached her cell she was babbling incoherently and slowly banging her head against the wall. She kept saying, "I saw it! I saw it! It had three heads!" Tenzin feeling a surge of power from the symbol on his chest reached out and touched the woman. Immediately, he felt energy leave his body and enter the woman. As she was cured of her madness, Tenzin was weakened and dropped to the floor in a heap. As he looked at the symbol on his chest he saw that one of them had now vanished! The woman had now come to her senses and introduced herself as Rebecca Thames a woman from Dockside. She calmly and coolly thanked them and told them that she had indeed seen a flash of light and then a three-headed dog had emerged from an alley way. She did not remember much after that. Still reeling from what Tenzin had been able to do, the heroes went to visit Sergeant Baldwin to ask him what he knew about the kidnappings. He greeting them gruffly and went straight to business telling them of the others that had gone missing. Quinn Jacoby the 14 year-old son of Brett and Martha Jacoby owners of M & B Leatherworks in the Northside. He disappeared on a hunting trip with the Cory Arnbyte the son of Colwyn Arnbyte a wealthy shipping merchant that lives in Cliffside. They questioned him and discovered that Quinn had rushed off to find a deer he had shot and never returned. Colwyn sent out search parties for the boy, but no trace of him was ever found. Warick Splintershield a 20 year-old dwarf serving as a cook at the Temple of Dalana was ministering to the poor in the Greyside district and never returned to the temple. Lars Balaran of Southside a 15 year-old human boy. He told his mother that he thought he was being followed by men in dark hoods, but she thought he was only saying that to get out of his job on the docks so she regretfully did not report it. Marlene Erwin the 13 year-old daughter of Gregor and Nettie Torsten. Gregor is a Knight of the Shining Circle now stationed in Little Ferry. She disappeared one day on her way to services at the temple of Dalana. An eyewitness account was discounted as the drunken vagrant that saw the abduction claimed the he saw a shimmering light appear in an alley and that the girl disappeared after stepping into it. The vagrant, a dragonborn named Svegrin, is currently being held in jail. Jonila Quillen the 16 year old daughter of Thom and Ariel Quillen who live in Northside. He is a retired adventurer who now serves as a bouncer and caravan guard. Jonila disappeared a week ago in Dockside after seeing her father off with a caravan to Hilltown. She never returned home and there were no witnesses to her disappearance. The heroes told him of the woman and three-headed dog and Sergeant Baldwin was surprised as he had clearly thought she was delusional. He told them he would put some men on it right away. They also asked to see the prisoner Svegrin and he called a guard to show them the way. The heroes were once again led into the dungeons. As they approached the cell, the prisoner scoffed at them asking what they could possibly want with him. He was a scraggly looking red dragonborn with bloodshot eyes. They asked him what he had seen and he responded bitterly saying that it did not matter as no one would believe him anyway. Arveer then approached him and speaking in draconic asked if there was anything else he could add. Svegrin looked him in the eye and told him that if Arveer could get him out of prison, then he could tell them more and not before. After consulting with his friends they convinced Sergeant Baldwin to release the dragonborn into their custody. Together, they all headed to Greyside to Bloody Bill's at the request of Svegrin who wanted food and drink before he told them what they wanted to know.

Svegrin It was raining even harder now as they entered Bloody Bill's and ordering up meat pies and ale they all took a seat and dug in. The food was excellent and so was the ale. After downing a beer and taking a few bites of the meat pie, Svegrin began to tell his tale. He was a bit embarrassed as he told them that he had been asked to trick the child into that specific alleyway. Just as he was about to reveal who had asked him to do it, his head collapsed down into his meat pie, a barbed dart sticking from the back of his neck! Glancing quickly at the doorway, the heroes saw only a dark cloak disappearing from view in the wind and sprang out in pursuit. It was still raining outside and a drunk was in the doorway blocking the exit. He proved to be tough to get around as the heroes were loathed to attack him. Once out in the street they glimpsed the hooded figure heading into an alleyway looking to disappear in the bowels of Greyside. They continued in pursuit only to find the way blocked by a vendor trying to push his fruit cart through the mud. Shoving the vendor aside, they saw their quarry scramble up a drain pipe and then across a roof. Everything was slick with the rainfall so climbing up the drain pipe and across the roof was a challenge. Tenzin was the first to make it up onto the roof and he saw the killer below him pushing against a locked door in an alleyway. This was the chance he was waiting for. He leaped off the roof and grabbed the villain long enough for his friends to arrive and together they subdued him. The heroes found an abandoned building and quickly forced their way inside to question the assassin. He was wearing a dark cloak and hood with brown leather armor. At his waist was a dangling chain with a piece of metal shaped like a swirl with a black dot at its center. He told them that he was a servant of Thydos the god of the warp and that soon the world would know the cleansing power of chaos once again. Clearly a fanatic, he refused to reveal to them why he had killed Svegrin in cold blood. He would only say that there was nothing they could do to stop what was coming. The prisoner even started goading Shayne, begging the drow to kill him. Druss and Arveer stepped aside to talk quietly. Druss pointed out that they did not know who they could trust in Little Ferry so they would do well not to turn this fanatic over to the authorities, and as it appeared he would not talk that perhaps it would be best that the heroes put him out of his misery. Arveer reluctantly agreed and the two returned to the group. What happened next is still a blur to our heroes. In what seemed like an instant, Shayne's sword was out of its scabbard and slashing across the neck of the prisoner. He fell to the ground, his life bleeding out. Leonardo was shocked asking why Shayne had done such a thing. As the others watched, Tenzin rushed to the victim's side holding out his hand palm downward on his neck. Soon after Tenzin's body went rigid and a surge of energy jumped from his body sealing the wound on the neck of the assassin and bringing him back to life. Tenzin collapsed into his friend's arms passing out, while the victim stirred as if awaking from a dream. The assassin said his name was Malcolm and that he did not recall why he was there or who he really was. He claimed to not remember why he had killed the dragonborn, but he new that he had done so. As he rambled on, he too neared collapse. The heroes decided to take Tenzin and Malcolm to the temple of Morwen. Leonardo and Arveer discussed the events of the evening, clearly bothered by what had occurred. Arveer, visibly shaken confided in Leonardo that it seemed every decision that he had made seemed to be leading the Fate Bound down the wrong path. As they arrived at the Temple of Morwen Tenzin and Malcolm fell into an uneasy sleep. A restless sleep that many of the Fate Bound shared, for the events of this evening would go on to haunt them. So ends session four.

Character(s) interacted with

Merry's Merry Minstrels Known throughout Northern Valoria, Merry's Merry Minstrels are a bardic troupe that have taken up permanent residence at The River's Rest in Little Ferry. Lydia an acolyte of Morwen serving in the temple in Little Ferry. Saranday Telendrae an elf who is a member of Merry's Merry Minstrels. Brett and Martha Jacoby proprietors of M & B Leatherworks. Their son Quinn Jacoby is missing. Goren Apfel sage to the Amberhall family. He is investigating the corpse of the Comet Spawn. Sergeant Baldwin of the Riverguard he gave the heroes information about the kidnapped children. Brad of the Riverguard he told the player's of an insane woman who had been imprisoned. She claimed to have seen a three-headed dog. Rebecca Thames a woman from Dockside who claimed to have seen a three-headed dog. Malcolm an assassin that killed Svegrin he was captured and killed by the Fate Bound only to be healed by Tenzin who used his powers as an Empath to do so. He is now sleeping soundly in the Temple of Morwen Svegrin a dragonborn vagrant implicated in the disappearances. He was killed by Malcolm before he could give the heroes information about the kidnappings.

Campaign

Into the Maelstrom

Protagonists