Session 4 - Biding Time Report

General Summary

The afternoon sun shone overhead as the party left The Clumsy Guard and made their way back to The Beggar's Dog. As they settled into a quiet corner in the back of the inn, Olut and Lerissa share the details of their meeting. They reveal that Davren Thenrus didn't show up as planned, but instead a second in command met with the duo and proposed a deal. The second believed that it was time for a change in leadership and that they could work together to kill two birds with one stone. The second could arrange for the party and Davren to run into each other in a dark alley, thus removing the leader from the picture and giving the party their body to take back to the Burmerian Council of Defense for a reward.   At this revelation, a chorus of questions spilled out from the rest of the group. Prince wanted to make sure that the group would still get paid for their work, to which Lerissa assured him that they'd have the encounter arranged within a week and that the body would be theirs to take back to the Council. Liber asked how they could keep in touch with this second, and Olut explained that he had contacts within the city that could transfer messages between them.   With their major quest put on hold, the party discussed their plans to spend the time while waiting for the signal from the second. Haeni suggested that they pick up a quest from the notice board, and so the group packed up their things and headed into the center of town. At the notice board, the party struck out a quest to escort a caravan to Fairshore, and the message requesting aid in Ashcliffe, as they would take the group well longer than their quiet week to complete. A hastily scribbled note tacked to the board asked for help in finding a missing friend, so the group headed to meet the contact at the Sewley Tannery.

At the tannery, the party asks for Aric, and from the back a young human appeared, excited to see a response to his notice. Aric explained that his friend Evin Guillon went fishing on an inland lake in the forest north-east of town several days earlier, but had not yet returned. Trips of this length were out of the ordinary for Evin, especially without warning, so Aric had begun to worry and posted the notice. Liber asked for more information about Evin and the lake, and Aric provided a description of both, telling the party this his friend was a redheaded human in his early twenties, and that the lake was several miles to the west off of the main road toward Fairshore. Details in hand, the party said that they would look for Aric's friend when they found themselves in that area. As they turned to leave the tannery, Olut's pack bumped against his leg, and he remembered the collection of wolf pelts inside. Turning back, he asked Aric if he could get them processed. Aric agreed, and for a price of 5GP, he took the pelts and said that Olut could return in several days to pick up the tanned hides, or to sell the finished leather.

On their way back to the Beggar's Dog, the party stopped by the notice board again, looking for another job to pick up. The next posting that caught their eye was from the city watch, looking for an investigation into missing weapons stolen from a stockpile. As they leave the quest board and make their way to the watch-house, Lerissa turns back and pulls the poster of Davren from the board, tucking it into her pack.

The city watch building was a bustle of activity as guards rushed from door to door around the large entrance hall. Near the doors, a halfling sat behind a desk and waved the group over. When they explained that they were inquiring about the missing weapons, the receptionist excused herself and stepped into a room off of the main hall. She returned shortly after with a dwarf who introduced himself as Lieutenant Earthpike and thanked the party for their interest in what had become a cold case. Earthpike explained that an armory near the north gate of the city was broken into in the night and that a dozen swords, shields, spears, and helms were stolen. Liber asked if the group can check out the armory, and the Lieutenant gave him a key, explaining that the smashed door was replaced, but otherwise, everything was untouched since the break-in. He explained that the equipment hasn't been spotted in the city since, and it's easy enough to get replacements, so the stakes on recovering the weapons are really more to save face for the watch and to get these weapons marked with the city seal out of nefarious hands. The party thanked Earthspike for his information and headed out into the cool evening toward the guard post at the gate

As Liber opened the newly repaired door to the guard shack, the state of the interior matched Earthpike's description. A single desk stood against the wall, and all around it, empty weapon racks were overturned across the floor of the 8'x8' room. A single helmet and a broken spear were all that was left from the presumably well-stocked arsenal. The party split up and began to canvas the area, searching for clues in and around the building. Liber was the first to spot a well-faded track in the dirt outside the building, presumably from the point of a spear or sword dragging through the dirt as it was begin carried away toward the city's gate. Olut investigated inside and found a bead carved from bone wedged between the floorboards. Haeni immediately asked to inspect it, and after a few moments, proudly concluded that it was tribal in origin. Liber took the bead and tried to identify any magical effects it may have while the rest of the group continued to search. Finding nothing on both fronts, the party decided to call it a night and retire back to the Beggar's Dog.

Back at the tavern, Haeni opened a tab for the party, covering the group's meal for the night. They asked Tarla to reserve rooms for the night, and she promised to set a group aside for as long as they needed. Over dinner, the group spent some time getting to know each other as Prince asked for details about his new friends before quickly getting the questions turned around on him. Liber asked the drow if the rumors of his past are true, and Price confirmed, telling the group about his clan, and the devastation that befell them. He explained that he found his sword, Babushka, in his father's hands after the calamity, and has since adopted it as his own. Liber mentioned that the details of the event reminded him of similar events in Osana, but he couldn't remember the specifics and promised to help him do further research. After dinner, the party split up into their separate rooms, planning to meet in the morning to decide what to do the next day.

On the route from her house back to the Beggar's Dog in the morning, Lerissa took a detour past the general store, partly to investigate a notice board posting, and partly to clear her head after a restless night. She found the store closed, and resumed her trip to the Beggar's Dog, taking her seat quietly around the table. Over breakfast, the group discussed their plans for the day, and as they paid their tab they agreed to investigate the last quest on the notice board, asking for Greethen at the general store.

As they arrived at the Harfoot General Store, the elf inside was just unlocking the door when they entered. The group asked if the Elf was Greethen, but he explained that his name was Eamon Harfoot, and that Greethen was asleep in the alley next door. This sparked a discussion in the party over taking the job, as Olut worried about the means that this man would have to pay them for their services, but as they had already made the trip, the group decided to at least have a talk with him.

Outside, Greethen was just rolling up his sleeping mat when the party approached. He jumped as Prince said his name, then rushed over, asking if they had come to answer his notice. Greethen explained that a thief had stolen his late wife's wedding ring and that he had chased the thief into the marsh north of the city, where a great creature had emerged and swallowed the man whole. Greethen admitted that he did not have much with which to reward the party, but that he would be eternally grateful if they could return his ring. Lerissa said that they would keep an eye out for the beast if they were in the area, and the group bid Greethen farewell as they headed back to the city's gate.

As the party left the city, they headed north along the main road, following their best guess as to the path of the weapon thieves. After just half an hour of walking, the open fields on either side of the road turned to marshland, and their boots began to stick in the mud with each step. Prince was the first to spot the waving tentacles in the muck just off of the path in front of the group. The first plan suggested was to move past the buried creature, but at Prince's insistence, they attack the monster. A fierce battle ensued, and as the group emerged triumphant, Prince began digging into the creature's rancid entrails in search of Greethen's missing ring. Haeni produced lavender-scented handkerchiefs to help the group ward off the smell, and after a few minutes of watching Prince search, he came up with an old ring, still clasped in the hand of a partially-digested man.

As Olut began to magically clean Prince, for everyone's sake, the group moved a way up the road, out of the marsh, and into the beginnings of a small forest along the road. There they rested while Liber investigated the ring for magical properties, and the rest of the group cleaned the muck and mud from their clothes and weapons. After about an hour, the group rose refreshed and headed deeper into the woods.

Character(s) interacted with

• Aric Seamon 
• Gendren Earthpike