Session 4: Report

General Summary

Members of the party finished up their relaxation in the baths. Then, the evening continued at the inn in Keld. There was singing and dancing, while the party chatted with a few other members of the tavern. They learned that the roads out of town towards Steepguard were closed by Torgga Redeye, the Magister of the town, and the caravan leaders were a bit stressed by this. Huggar inspired the bard to spend the last parts of the night with a long night of Dwarven Throat Singing. Yemi had a late-night visitor. In the morning, Zita and Zeno went hunting on the outskirts of the city but had an unsuccessful hunt. Nedda went out and bought some fruit. Ava and Huggar went to the Rael Tradehouse to exchange their equipment. Huggar noticed that the Tradehouse is a wide-open 'mall-like area.' He went to talk to the Mason's stall, while Ava went looking for breakfast. Huggar demonstrated how to make a stone knife and noticed a large painting of the Rael family hanging on the wall. Ava spoke with a short, portly woman with ruddy cheeks who had leatherworking tools and asked about the warehouse. She learned that it is the "Rael Tradehouse," created by Henri Rael, Lord of Steepguard, and the late Saffine Rael, to provide orphans with skills to contribute to society. The orphans come to the Tradehouse from the Rael Orphanage, where they are taught by artisans. Ava and Huggar also learned that Rilsa, the daughter, took over her late mother's role in finding and bringing back orphans to the Orphanage. Saphine had a soft spot in her heart, and her daughter carried on in the caregiver role.   The party came together for breakfast as they had agreed the night before. They headed just outside of town to discuss Ava and Huggar's new discovery about Rilsa Rael. They went to speak with Torgga. Yemi passed a very upset Ohtil in the hall outside Torgga's office. The party entered the room and had a discussion with Torgga. They learned that the road to Steepguard was closed because people had been going missing, most recently a wagon of children from the orphanage who were in town to visit the Rael Tradehouse. The town guard went out in search of the children, but they also disappeared. Yemi noticed a list of children with notes about their personalities and skills, along with a ledger for taxes paying House Rael, and an unfinished letter addressed to Sidney Collins at the Rael Orphanage: "It has been a week since the children left; please let us know they have arrived safely. We have heard nothing." The journey should have taken at most four days. They were provided with a writ to get them through the guards on the road. Along the road, they found a collapsed tower structure. Upon beginning to explore the structure, they were attacked by a few crawling hands and skeletons. The party dispatched their attackers.