Session 3

General Summary

The party reconvened at the Ruddy Fishwife at the end of April 9th, and found a package waiting for them. Feng opened it to discover a veteran's cane wrapped in two notes. One was simply a word in Elvish, meaning "come to life." The other said "A token of my gratitude. Meet me tomorrow night at 6pm in the market square. Bring Gaius." Cyras claimed the cane and discovered its magical nature: saying the command word will turn it into a non-magical longsword, but it works only once.   The next day, the party went about their business. Slint noticed a fellow lizardfolk, obviously part of someone's retinue and likely a bodyguard, but did not converse with him. Mrek and Feng constructed a makeshift stretcher for Gaius . At 6pm, the party convened in the market square, where they were approached by Lady Tiberia. She had two demands of them: return Gaius, and return the samples he took on the island. They handed Gaius over, but hesitated about the samples, wondering what she needed them for. She said that they would be used in scientific experiments, and extolled Aniara's scientific prowess in fields such as medicine and transportation. The party was suspicious, but didn't want to make such a powerful enemy, so they eventually agreed to hand over the samples in return for 60gp from Lady Tiberia's belt pouch.   Mrek asked if Lady Tiberia knew why the Orkhon, as well as other minority races such as the lizardfolk and yakfolk, had been excluded from the Congress of Volscia Mera. She said that the Blackmere was represented by the goblin queen Gort Agort, though she felt that Queen Agort was mostly representing herself. As far as the Orkhon, Lady Tiberia said that Edward the Wolf of Doria had insisted that the orcs not have a seat at the table. Mrek immediately made it his goal to confront Edward.   Lady Tiberia departed after agreeing to send her man Cornelius to collect the samples the next morning. Slint promptly bought six glass vials from a nearby glassblower. Back at the Ruddy Fishwife, the party was accosted by beautiful birds of paradise that seemed to have lain in wait on the roof of the tavern, but which scattered when shooed away. The group saved a tiny bit of each of Gaius's samples (four vials of blood and one of tentacle goo) as well as the bulk of the gargantuan brainstem (which they mentioned to Lady Tiberia, but which none of the elves had seen). The next morning, Cornelius came as planned and retrieved the samples; he didn't seem to notice that a little had been removed from Gaius's vials.   The next few days passed uneventfully, with the exception of more avian harassment. Ludwig the Lucky knew that the birds were common pets for the wealthy. Eventually Mrek cast speak with animals and asked a bird what it was doing. It said it was sent by its master, and Mrek sent it away with a note for its master, saying that he would meet him any time. The next day, a huge number of birds woke the party by beating at their windows, and when admitted, dropped three scrolls. These proved to be invitations to a party: "You are invited! Number 6 Cliffside Lane, Bywater! April 17th, 10pm! -Lord Halfrigger".   The party did some investigating into Lord Humbert Halfrigger. He is an extremely rich noble of Volscia Mera who is notorious for his eccentricities. He throws lavish, decadent parties for the wealthy, keeps birds, and has three wives (in the Aniaran style; Lady Tiberia has six husbands). He is from an old noble family of merchants, though rumor has it that originally, the Halfrigger family bought their noble patent rather than earning it.   The day before the party, a surprising messenger arrived: a Dorian cavalry officer. This man urged the party to come with him, as Edward the Wolf wished to discuss an urgent personal matter. He led them to the Well-Founded Sailor, an upscale inn, where Edward and Lord Stephen Bryce met the party in Edward's suite. Mrek challenged him immediately about the absence of the Orkhon at the Congress. Edward admitted that he requested that the orcs not be invited, though not why, and informed Mrek that Tiberia had only told him a half-truth: Aniara had also demanded that the Orkhon not have a seat at the table. He did not know why, and would not say why Doria did the same, but admitted that he had been ordered by his Ruling Council. Mrek and Feng emphasized that the minority races ought to be represented, making the point that they were essential members of society, as evidenced by Edward coming to them for a favor now.   Lord Stephen told his story: he was recently very ill (and didn't look much better now) and had a fever dream in which he saw the door of his family mausoleum open and heard his mother's voice telling him to retrieve something precious. Lord Stephen is originally from Volscia Mera, and the mausoleum is here. He asked the party to explore the mausoleum and bring back any family heirlooms they found. His parents' generation were adventurers, so the mausoleum is protected by traps and curses, though he did not know any more than that. In return, he would pay them for any pieces they returned; there is something in particular that his mother wants him to find, but he does not know what it is. He is confident he will know it when he sees it. Edward also agreed to speak to the Ruling Council again on behalf of the Orkhon, though he promised nothing, and to aid Feng in his research if possible.   The group decided not to explore the mausoleum until after Lord Halfrigger's party. Slint had a special poncho made in the colors of Halfrigger's birds of paradise. On the night of the 17th, they walked up the slope of the city to the Bywater neighborhood, which sits on a high cliff overlooking the sea. They were stopped at the bottom of the driveway by a dismissive guard, who only allowed them in after seeing their invitations and realizing that they were "those people" Lord Halfrigger had told him about. At the door, another guard double-checked their invites.   Lord Halfrigger himself welcomed them, but was upset that they had dressed up, rather than coming in their armor and weapons. It quickly became clear that they'd been invited as a sort of entertainment for the rest of the crowd, all rich nobles, to add a frisson of danger to the party. Halfrigger welcomed them in despite his disappointment and offered drinks of blood-red wine in silver skull chalices. He introduced them to his family: his three wives, Anrietta, Verona, and Lystra, and his two sons, Maldris and Rance. As the party began, Ludwig performed a song that was subtly satirical of Lord Halfrigger, his love of birds, and his family's supposed purchased nobility. The crowd loved it, though Halfrigger was obviously displeased, but couldn't show it in public.   Ludwig and the others were approached by a dark-haired, dark-eyed young man carrying a deck of cards. This was Lucarno, who said that as a fellow entertainer, he appreciated the performance. He then offered to read the party's fortune...

Rewards Granted

-Veteran's cane from Londes, Tiberia, claimed by Cyras Siannodel -10gp each from Londes, Tiberia for the samples (only 4gp to Belle)