Session 8 - Always A Step Behind Report

General Summary

Looking at the carnage, Xenovu is not able to handle what is happening and decided to say goodbye and leave town with his family.   Inside the house, carnage lies before them with six bodies brutally killed and the living smashed up. Alvord lies unconscious against the fireplace, his sword hand severed at the wrist. Alvord is taken to the church for healing, but it is unknown if his hand will be able to be recovered without finding a more experience cleric. The rest of the party that stayed at the house began to search the bodies, finding that one of the attackers was Erik, a city guard that was known to Ewan. The authorities were called to the scene and the group split up to try and collect info from their contacts, except Asai, who decided to stay in her wagon and sleep until the authorities wake her up with their investigation.   Mirielle heads off to investigate names on the list attempting to correlate them with the people who have gone missing. She was able to match all the missing names with people who have been taken with my force or by unknown means. There was no obvious correlation between star and bird markings on the list compared to how a person went missing or what the family knew of it if they had one. Surge made his way to the Arcanium branch to keep eye on the possible return of "Sindri" or anyone else who may go inside, after a few hours though, other than a few people who tried to visit no one expected came. Stig decided to look into the Trading Company to see if could gather any info. Seeing there was a large fenced supply yard, he investigated as much as he could, but other than noting wagons being loaded, an unclimbable fence, and a large iron gate protecting the supply yard along with some guards.   Ewan had sent a raven earlier to Arawynn to met up to see if she had any info from the noble circles. Before their meet, Ewan heads to Rixie's to check on her. He finds her safe and gets a reading of Giselle in a dark place that is moving with many voices and six other arcane auras near her. Meeting at their usual spot in the park he fills her in on the recent tragedies he's faced, but sadly other than comfort for his losses, she says the nobles are just as surprised as this intrusion as the town is, but her younger uncle, Gwenion, is investigating and there was once an old smuggling farmhouse in the northern wood from back during Lilathris's investigating days that she had shut down many years ago. They part ways exchanging gentle flirts and they make their way back to their respected homes.   With everyone returning to Pendragon they arrive in the midst of the guard's investigation of the scene. Learning more of the attacks, they learn that three of them were town guards (Phillip, Robert, and Erik), one a stockboy from the local general store, a bard known to play the town frequently, with the final person however being unknown. After the guards wrapped up their work and cleared out the bodies, the group gets the thought to check the prisoner they arrested from the bookstore fire. Arriving at the barracks to a very busy Sergeant at the front desk they are eventually shown back to the prisoner. Upon inspection, he is found dead, poison with Midnight Tears, and checking the guard schedules find that one named, Altes, was responsible for the prisoners' well-being the previous day. Altes did live in town and known to have a wife and child.   The group then starts making plans to investigate the northern farmhouse and break off to prepare themselves. Ewan goes to check on his father status, Surge writes a letter to Ayers University hoping to get in contact with an Aether expert, Asai goes to check on her contact response and buy a compass, Stig shops for an herbalism kit, while Mirielle restocks on spell components.

Character(s) interacted with

Arawynn, Rixie, town guard, clerics