Session 10: The Man In The Crimson Mask
General Summary
No session video this time! Unfortunately, the audio source that was selected to be recorded was the wrong one, so the only audio we hear the entire video is mine. Apologies for the technical issues!
Chapter 9: The Man in the Crimson Mask
As Mia returned from death, the party spent a few moments regrouping with each other and the Golden Shield. Deciding that the situation in the city needed to be handled expediently, Siegfryd of the Golden Shield requested the Mighty ASSes to go to the town hall and protect the city's leadership - Estienne Tallbrook, in this case. The ASSes agreed, and quickly set off through Maplemoor toward the Town Hall, where they quickly discovered the signs of a battle. Town guardsmen lay dead, as well as a single Casaerdrin with scaling along their cheek. There was no sign of Estienne Tallbrook.
Upon further investigation, the ASSes discovered one guardsman was not quite dead, and they helped heal him. The guard explained they'd been attacked by Casaerdrins after most of the defenses were diverted to assist the city, and Estienne had been pushed back into his office. After a quick investigation, the ASSes discovered signs of a body being dragged, as well as multiple sets of footprints leading into the city. Setting off in pursuit, the party discovered they led to a noble manor. Indra received a boost to access the upper story window, while Torcanimir went around to the front. Both Mia and Brooklyn remained behind to guard the side door.
Inside the manor, Indra engaged in some thievery to claim a jade statue before investigating around. While not finding anything on the second floor, the downstairs led her to discover a poisonous snake curled under a dead body. After frantically - and with marginal success - breaking down the locked front door, Indra and Torcanimir reunited in the entry hall of the manor. Meanwhile, Mia and Brooklyn discovered the side door was unlocked and went in to investigate. They found a back room where a swarm of snakes were resting, and quickly retreated to gather the others. With their full strength gathered, they slew the snakes, discovered a hole in the floor, and descended into the depths.
At the base of the ladder, the ASSes found themselves face to face with the corpses of a pair of humanoids, as well as a snake hidden in a chest between them. Brooklyn helped slay it, then sent Eden forward to investigate. However, a Duergar on watch was alerted to their presence and fled to alert the rest of his party below. After slaying the scout, they realized their stealthy approach was blown and came closer to parley with the Casaerdrins. A man wearing a crimson mask spoke to them, and remained less than impressed even when threatened with a confrontation with the Golden Shield. He departed and ordered the release of Estienne so that he could die with his rescuers.
In a brutal battle that followed, the party and a pair of Casaerdrins were all injured considerably. However, Estienne was extracted safely, and the Casaerdrins were forced to retreat. Realizing that they were lucky to escape with their lives, the ASSes helped Estienne back through the tunnel to the manor. After a quick rest to bandage their wounds, the party returned to the Town Hall, noting as they went that the battle seemed to be ended. At the town hall, they found Siegfryd, a dwarf named Camigwen from the merchant's quarter, and Governor Eldreth waiting.
After receiving the report of what happened below, it was revealed that the Man in the Crimson Mask was looking for information on something called The Well of Lysth. While pressed, Eldreth refused to divulge more information, stating it was a secret only shared at the highest level of governance. The conversation then turned to how word of the possible incursion should have been transmitted to Waethern's king, but apparently had not been. Untrusting of the magical messaging services, Siegfryd declared that he would see about how best to proceed, inviting the ASSes to join him at his manor for refreshment.
