Could you spare me a match, I've got a bridge to burn --

After a triumphant defeat of the death cult sex ring zombie cabal, and successful rescue of the blacksmith's daughter, and the successful (tho unplanned) rescue of the noblewoman, we were given a surprise visit by our erstwhile noble sponsor, Decius Culus, a handful of the escapees from the night before, and a small cadre of noblemen.
 
One might have expected praise. A handsome reward. A firm handshake and a pat on the back. A knowing nod of recognition of the powerful, dangerous work we accomplished on behalf of the city.
 
As they say, I figured wrong, with a capital R.
 
Turns out, one of the dudes who died, Collateralus Damageus, was the son of a nobleman. Turns out further, the folks who appeared to be "commoners" were all pretty fucking friendly with the nobles. And it turns out even further that this group was generally supportive of the kidnapping/raping/murdering/undeading behavior of the group. Also, all of the damning evidence we were able to produce (the dead ghouls, the letters proving the conspiracy, the two damsels in distress who attested to our bravery and heroics in rescuing them) all apparently didn't mean shit to a single one of them. Add all that up, and they wanted blood, specifically that of Dagos.
 
Which is fair, because in that moment, I wanted blood too, specifically that of any noble. I would be damned before I saw them arrest a single one of us, and I would be eager to take as many of them along with me on my journey to damnation as I could.
 
Things were progressing just fine, lines were being drawn, and it was almost all but clear that our choices were limited to allowing the immediate arrest of Dagos. Which meant that either we spring him from jail later and become outlaws, or we just slaughter every last one of those fuckers and become outlaws. I argued that the latter path would feel way better, and might help us all find closure on the betrayal we were all feeling. I was excited to draw them into the hallway where I could cast lightning bolt a couple times and take out a swath of them in one go.
 
Alas, in the end, we wriggled out way out, agreed to pay for the little fucker's resurrection, with the agreement that Dagos would publicly apologize. Which I guess was better? But it hasn't slaked my thirst for revenge on the whole lot of them. (Although I gotta admit I was pretty proud of the apology Dagos wrote up.) Once the nobles left, Decius Culus became really chummy and we talked for a while about city defenses, where they were weakest, his fears of a civil unrest, etc. (All of which I will secret away as good intel in case there is an opportunity to overthrow the current noble rule, but I'll keep that to myself lest I alarm the party with my anti-bourgeoisie radicalism.)
 
The one positive of the event came from a surprising source, the husband of the bitchy noblewoman we saved -- he gave us a lot of great information, including a lead on some cannibal island dwarves, a wedding, and some vampires. Which sounds like the beginning of a joke, but I hope is the beginning of an adventure.
 
I also spent a fair amount of time with the Kobolds, and in the company of Koto Crag-Claw, who also provided us with some important clues, including information about an Empire of Ghouls, which arose about 100 years ago in the Vampire kingdom, and of the Darakhol, a special class of ghoul who can hide/project their ghoul stench, some of whom are even spellcasters. Clearly, we ran into at least one of these during our battle. And, as with all things undead, I am trying to find the threads that tie back to what's happening back home. I need to create a map and stretch a red cord between all the various leads I've found to see if that helps.
 
Meanwhile, worth noting as well, was an orc/hobgoblin raid on the roadhouse, and we sighted at least one orc on a Warg watching us. No battle ensued, and I am left to wonder the extent of that group, and its intent. Time will tell, but maybe they'll all ransack Rennes while we're gone. I'll give them directions to the town.
 
...And I won't mind if you lag behind, I'd like your company with my axe to grind...