SESSION 20A: FUNERAL FOR A PYTHON VIPER

April 27th, 2008
The 8th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

It was only a few all-too-short hours later before they were rousing themselves out of bed once again.

Ranthir was one of the first to wake up. For several days he had been eagerly looking forward to reading the sealed letter that the Iron Mage had given to them at Castle Shard during the Harvesttime party. He had placed the letter on his bedside table the night before, and the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was the letter lying open.

IRON MAGE’S LETTER

My dear friends—

I am sorry that I could not deliver these instructions to you in person so that I might answer all of your questions. But, sadly, necessities of another nature will make that impossible by the time all of the particulars are known.

By the time this letter opens – which shall be no later than the ninth day of Kadal, if all goes well – the particulars will be known, and thus I have ensorcelled this parchment to reveal them to you.

On the twenty-first day of Kadal, the Freeport’s Sword – a privateer vessel from the Teeth of Light – shall arrive in the Docks of Ptolus. It carries a crate bearing my seal – a plated visor beneath crossed wands.

I ask that you report to Captain Bartholomew upon the arrival of the vessel, collect the crate, and keep it safe. I shall return for it no later than Nocturdei.

I stress that all of this is of the utmost importance. Many lives could be placed in great danger if the crate is not kept safe from the others who seek it.

THE IRON MAGE

(more…)

SESSION 19C: SHILUKAR’S END

April 13th, 2008
The 8th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

TORTUROUS PLANNING

They left the Foundry. After a brief discussion they decided to take Shilukar to Greyson House: They didn’t want to take him to the Ghostly Minstrel. They didn’t think they should take him to Castle Shard until they’d gotten the secret of the cure out of him. And, given the fact that it was one o’clock in the morning, there didn’t seem to be anywhere else they could take him.

But it was also decided that someone should take word to Castle Shard. For this task, Ranthir volunteered. They performed a cursory search of Shilukar’s body, removing anything that seemed valuable or mysterious – a magical potion, two vials of alchemical fluid, a ruby ring concealing a magical pearl, a minor spellbook – and then packed Ranthir into the first carriage they could find. A few minutes later they found a second carriage to carry them up to the North Market and Greyson House.

When they arrived, Tor and Agnarr bundled Shilukar up to the house while Tee paid the carriage master a rich sum to make sure he’d “forget he’d ever seen them”. (“Of course, mistress.”) Then she moved to join the others.

But as she crossed the porch into the house, Tee noticed that there were large scrape marks – as if something heavy had been dragged here. She followed them into the house and saw that they led towards the trapdoor in the kitchen (which led down to the cellar and, from there, to Ghul’s Labyrinth).

There was a moment of panic, but then they remembered that they’d deliberately sold the knowledge of this place to the Erthuos. (At least, they hoped that’s who it was.)

In any case, they did a quick survey of the house to make sure they were alone, and then sat down to a serious discussion about what methods of torture they would use to loosen Shilukar’s tongue. The general consensus was ear-eating and hand-chopping. The shock they had once felt in seeing Agnarr bite a man’s ear off had disappeared. Life was hardening them… (more…)

SESSION 19B: BENEATH THE FOUNDRY

April 13th, 2008
The 8th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

SEARCHING FOR SHILUKAR

Agnarr strolled into the entrance hall.

“What’s going on?” Tor demanded.

“They think we’re Shilukar.” Agnarr grinned. “Which is probably for the best.”

Agnarr jogged up the stairs to Tee’s side. Seeing the doors he blanched in much the same fashion she had.

With Agnarr guarding the stairs, Tee and Elestra quickly searched the rooms. For the most part they were small quarters with minimal furnishings – utilitarian barracks. There was one room that was slightly larger than the rest, but although the furniture was slightly more luxurious it was still almost devoid of personality. Elestra did find a copy of the Book of Vehthyl laying next to the bed in this room, and this she gave to Dominic.

Since Shilukar had not been found, the depressing possibility that he had escaped began to set in. Agnarr and Elestra began arguing again about why he had attacked the Shuul here in the Foundry. What had he been looking for? The cure? Had he found it? Or was it still here?

Dominic and Tor, meanwhile, decided that their best hope of finding Shilukar again before the morning deadline would be to question one of the thugs that were apparently working for him. They weren’t sure how badly they had been hurt, but hopefully Dominic would be able to use his divine powers to wake them up.

Ranthir and Tee decided to search the Foundry again – Ranthir using his abilities to detect magical auras and Tee with more practical means. They didn’t know how much time they would have before the Shuul returned, so Tee’s efforts would have to be fairly cursory.

But no sooner had the search started, then Tee’s sharp elven eyes spotted scrape marks on the floor of the materials storehouse leading straight into a wall. The magical explosion Shilukar had set off had obscured the marks somewhat, but their meaning was still clear: There was a secret passage right where Shilukar had disappeared from her view.

Tee smiled. “It looks like we won’t need those thugs, after all.” (more…)

SESSION 19A: ROUTING THE SHUUL

April 13th, 2008
The 8th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

Elestra grabbed a couple of the rifles out of the crate she had pried open and handed one to Ranthir. Ranthir smiled. His magical skills were not yet very advanced, and so he had often felt like something of a sixth wheel whenever they had found themselves in a tight spot. The firepower he held in his hands now might help him to be something more than an observer.

Agnarr, thinking this was all a good idea, wedged his toe under one of the rifles that had fallen from the hands of the Shuul agents lying before him. With a quick jerk he flipped it up into his left hand, keeping his greatsword clenched in his right.

The Foundry was rocked by an explosion, accompanied by a massive gout of flame in the materials storehouse.

The two Shuul agents passing below Tee in the second foundry stopped in their tracks for a moment, frozen in shock. Then they began to turn back towards the front of the building…

Unfortunately, Ranthir’s reactions were faster. His ears recognized the aural hints that told him the explosion was a magical extrusion of primal fire, and he leapt towards the nearest door. Ripping it open he was confronted by the two Shuul agents. The agents arrested their turn and lowered their rifles at Ranthir. “Who are you?! Don’t move!”

Agnarr reacted quickly, shoving Ranthir out of the way and taking his place. “We’re friends! We’re trying to stop Shilukar!”

“Get out here!” (more…)

SESSION 18C: THE SMOKE OF THE FOUNDRY

March 22nd, 2008
The 7th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

ON SHILUKAR’S TRAIL

They headed back to the alley. This time all of them headed down the alley. A few moments later, the mysterious informant had again slid his away into the alley. (Elestra leaned over to Ranthir, “That’s a neat trick. I wonder if I could learn it?”)

“I wasn’t expecting to see you again this soon,” he said. And then, catching sight of Tor: “And who is this?”

“Master Torland of Barund.”

“A pleasure to meet you. My name’s Shim. Now, what can I do for you all?”

“We need to find a thief named Shilukar.”

“And there’s a catch,” Tee said. “We need to find him by morning.”

Shim seemed to ponder it for a moment. “That’s a tall order. If it can be done, I’ll need a payment of 7,000 marks. And even if I fail, I’ll need 500 for my efforts.”

It was expensive, but they were out of options. They agreed and paid him the 500.

The carriage ride back to the Ghostly Minstrel – including a stop at the Hammersong Vaults to withdraw the cash they would need if Shim was successful – was subdued. They were excited by the prospect that they might soon have another opportunity to capture Shilukar and recover the idol from him, and they all took the time to congratulate Ranthir again on his quick-thinking, but they knew that they had a long wait ahead of them.

When they reached the Minstrel they quickly retired: Their long and busy day had exhausted them, and Ranthir in particular would need time to rest and prepare his arcane rites for the challenges of the day to come.

Unfortunately, they were not destined for a full night of rest and recuperation: Shortly after midnight, Elestra woke to find Shim sliding between the panes of her window.

“I don’t know what you’re doing in Agnarr’s room, but Shilukar is planning to attack the Foundry in the Guildsman’s District in less than 30 minutes. If you want him before dawn, this will be your only chance.”

Elestra quickly roused the rest of them. Tee saw to paying Shim and then they were off as quick as a carriage could carry them – their muscles still stiff and their bodies exhausted from their exertions. (more…)