Under Cloudy Skies: RPG Session 11

General Summary

“You turn around the corner to the alleyway, and you see not just the orange-haired boy, but three other cloaked figures there.”   “Oh no.”   “Two of them begin to bring daggers out from their belts-“   “I say, “So, funny story…” then I’m going to run for it.”   ~An actually funny story

 

Honourable Mention:

“Daz, the king of being nice to retail workers.”   ~In response to Daz's comment about the bathmaids doing their best.

 

Dramatis Personae

Heroes of the Story:

Gúrda Thérun, a Frost Dwarf druid from the wild North;

Geort Adanar, a human paladin fighting the good fight;

Melé Alkabahar, a human avenger seeking glory against evil; and

Daz Dromégar, a human bard searching for help with a task.

At the Caldia Bathhouse:

Alti, the owner of the bathhouse; and

three angered patrons; itching for a fight.

At the store Books of Wonder:

Egert Kalendé, a jovial lover of books and the owner of the shop.

At the Fox & Spoon Inn:

Meti Lódrages, a lawyer with a secret; and

A selection of hooded figures and nosy waiting staff.

In Redfort:

Óldagar , an older man in charge of the Red Tankard Inn.

What Happened:

Following their collection of the reward for clearing out the ruined villa, the party went to check out the Adventurer's Board for new tasks. Immediately, the recent repair of the board stood out, along with a strange coincidence; one of the posters on the board was a wanted poster for Meti, the kind man that the party had met previously at the Caldia Bathhouse. Now know by the pseudonym "the Faytouched", Meti was wanted for a pair of murders and suspected "rebellious actions". This surprised the group, but they decided to go and check out the bathhouse to see if Meti could be found.   Arriving at the bathhouse, there was at least a thirty minute wait to get in, even if the group were only there to talk to Alti, the owner of the place. A trio of muscled men took offence when they were told this information and slapped one of the bathmaids in anger, which escalated into a fight between Daz, Geort and Melé and the three men - Gúrda refused to get involved due to their small size. After injuring one of them and knocking another to the ground, the three thugs ran off, which had the added bonus of getting them nearly to the top of the line. Talking to Alti, she admitted that Meti had winked conspiratorially at her for seemingly no reason, and confirmed that the man on the posters was the same Meti that the group had met. Otherwise, she was of no real use, and the group thanked her and went on their way.   Daz and Gúrda went to Books of Wonder, and they both made some purchases. Daz purchased a scroll which had the ability to turn one of the party members into a tree, and Gúrda bought a book on the history of the Deranti Forest. Reading through it, they learned about the ruined cities of Algard and Calteri, which were to be found to the west of the capital. Deciding that this was the likely location for the bandits, they decided to leave for these ruins in the morning. Geort found a guidebook for the city that he used to find a good inn for the night: the Fox & Spoon.   At this point, the party split in two; Daz and Melé went to see if they could scry the exact location of the bandits without having to search the entire Deranti Forest, while Geort and Gúrda went ahead to the inn. For Daz and Melé, the trip to the College of Mages to ask for their assistance was a costly one, for the cost of such a ritual was well outside of their ability to pay. Instead, they went back to rejoin their fellow party members at the inn.   Arriving at the Fox & Spoon, Geort and Gúrda were greeted by Meti Lódrages, the owner of the place - who was not the same person as the possible criminal Meti they were pursuing. Also in attendance was a strange figure in a hooded black robe who bolted the second that Geort and Gúrda began to approach him. Thinking it might be Meti based on the figure's physique, the two ran off after him. Due to a runaway cart, Gúrda got behind and Geort caught up to the figure. Discovering that this figure was instead a young boy in the service of the Thieves' Collective, Geort was nearly captured in return when three other members of the Collective came to the youth's aid, and Geort went back to the inn and the startled group of Gúrda, Daz, and Melé.   Once they had gotten some privacy at the inn, they wondered aloud if the Thieves' Collective was related to the bandits' recent attacks. Unfortunately they were overheard by a passing servant at the inn, who was delivering their food for the evening. They were willing to overlook it because he seemed to be nervous at having dropped their food, which gave him away. In spite of their distrust of the inn, they went to sleep, keeping watch in case something shady was going on.   Sure enough, another servant came in the middle of the night to listen in, but another failure to use discretion in this matter meant he was discovered and caught by Melé, who was on guard duty at that point. He gave away that Meti had put him up to it, and that he meant nothing nasty by it. Melé let him go, but not before making sure that it wouldn't happen again.   In the morning, Meti came himself to apologize for the poor manners of his staff, but it didn't take long before he was telling the party about his situation. The Thieves' Collective helped him build the inn, and in exchange they forced him to spy on his patrons. However, he was successful at convincing the party that the Thieves' Collective only had a bad reputation and were trying to look out for the poor people of the Empire.   With that, the party went out into the blinding rain of the early morning and started their journey to the Deranti Forest. After a long day of travel, they arrived in Redfort just in time to find a room at the Red Tankard. They went to bed for the night in preparation for more travel in the coming days...