Episode 13: From the Ashes
General Summary
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Show spoiler
2:00 AM - 14th of Vlaihr, 2272
Ceona Haloren and Celindriel Bryleth continue riding towards the Temple of Torm's Coming, eventually reaching the front gates which are closed and multiple guards are gathered keeping watch. The guards assume a defensive posture as Ceona and Celindriel approach, and demand to know their business. Celindriel tells the guards that they have returned with news of the assassins. One guard looks somewhat skeptically at the others before disappearing into the gatehouse while the others keep an eye on the two players. Time passes as Celindriel and Ceona wait to gain entrance.
Meanwhile, Kasek Bonebrewer and Feadog Mhor decide to return to the Temple of Torm's Coming with the now unconscious Xalyth T'arr. Kasek asks the Wolfhound if he would be willing to allow them to drape Xalyth on his back, and Wolfhound responds favorably. Kasek ties her to the Wolfhound's back, and they all begin walking towards the Keep. As they walk past the now burnt and destroyed Temple of Pursuance and Memorial Atheneum, Kasek's vision begins to take note of the civilian corpses still littering the plaza. He begins to notice that several civilians appear to be wearing a similar design and color robes. He inspects a corpse wearing the robe, which is blue in color and has a crest sewn into the left-breast, and determines them to be a follower or worshiper of Mystra. He begins to inspect the corpse for wounds, and instead finds the tell-tale signs of the individual having died from the effects of the Midnight Tears (Silver Raven Blend) poison. Kasek decides not to disturb the dead any further, and the three continue towards the Temple of Torm's Coming.
Back at the Temple entrance, the guard that had left into the gatehouse re-emerges with Ivoire de Montauban in tow, and she greets Ceona and Celindriel. Ivoire asks the whereabouts of Kasek and Feadog, and Celindriel informs her they will be along soon with a prisoner. Ivoire decides to wait, and both Celindriel and Ceona inform Ivoire of everything they had seen since they split with Ivoire, Barriltar, and Frig Rhaegnhal after fighting in the Crescent Dream Inn. Eventually Kasek and Feadog arrive at the gate to join with Celindriel and Ceona. Ivoire inspects Xalyth and checks to see if she is still alive, and is satisfied that she's merely unconscious. Ivoire commends the group for returning with Xalyth alive, and comments that maybe now they can "Get some answers". Celindriel tells Ivoire that they "Can certainly try, but these kind don't typically give up much when questioned." Feadog states that "This group is experienced in getting information, though." Ivoire nods, "Good to know. Well the Queen is sleeping. Morrice is, of course, still trying to manage things as best he can. Barriltar is in conference with Morrice discussing the possibility of resurrecting the King. Unfortunately, the stash of diamonds we normally keep for such an emergency has been absconded with." Celindriel comments that this all seems extremely well-planned. Ivoire admits that "Unfortunately, we kept them all within the Court of Righteousness." Kasek asks what the diamonds specifically have to do with resurrecting the King, and Ivoire informs Kasek that diamonds are needed as spell components in order to actually cast the spell.
Ceona suggests that perhaps they could seek out jewelers within the city, and Ivoire states that they are already tracking jewelers down and making inquiries. Feadog asks if the Queen herself has any jewelry that could be used. Ivoire admits that while the Queen does have diamond jewelry, no single diamond is of sufficient quality for the spell. Kasek then asks about how long they might have in order to obtain these diamonds. Ivoire isn't certain on the amount of time, but she says that time is of the essence. Kasek then begins to inform Ivoire of what they had seen regarding the attackers boarding the Greward Hewe. Celindriel tells Kasek that she had already filled Ivoire in on the details, and Ivoire motions them all to follow her back into the Keep.
Temple of Torm's Coming - 2:30 AM, 14th of Vlaihr, 2272
Inside, the Temple is busy with guards conducting searches and keeping watch while attendants also scurrying about hurriedly. Ivoire leads the group down the hallway to the Order of the Golden Lion Guild Hall and takes them inside. She points out a series of doors at one end of the hall, "Over there you'll find beds for you to sleep. You all look exhausted. In the meantime, I'll take Xalyth down to the cells and make sure she's secured." Celindriel cautions Ivoire "You may want to have someone keep an eye on her. The last few people we've had dealings with have killed themselves as soon as they were captured." Ivoire asks "Have you searched her?" The group looks at one another, and come to the realization that they have, in fact, not searched her. Kasek immediately begins patting her down, and Celindriel lends a hand. While being somewhat rough with the search, Celindriel investigates the buns in her hair and discovers a vial of purple liquid which Celindriel assumes is Purple Worm Poison. Kasek finds a set of keys for the Crescent Dream Inn, but little else. It would seem that Xalyth relieved herself of any unnecessary items, weapons, and armor before plunging into the ocean to swim out to the Greward Hewe. Celindriel hands Kasek the vial of purple liquid, and he gives Celindriel possession of the keys. While the group searches Xalyth, Ivoire walks over to the bedrooms,opens the doors, and checks on the general condition to make the group feel welcome.
Ivoire returns and collects Xalyth, and wishes the group a good night. She departs, closing the door behind her and the group begin to settle down for the evening. Each room has provisions for individuals to take a bath, and each member chooses to get clean after exploring the sewers and before bedding down. After getting clean, Feadog and Celindriel go to bed, while Ceona leaves the guild hall searching for Levkaria Yumaia. After spending some time looking, she decides to ask some nearby guards. The guards are unaware of her whereabouts, and Ceona tells them if they see her, to direct her towards where they are staying. They acknowledge the request, and Ceona returns to her bed and goes to sleep for the evening.
Kasek, meanwhile, begins to examine the vial of reddish-pink liquid he had received some time ago in Hirane. Wolfhound jumps up and lays on the bed as Kasek begins experimenting on the liquid with his poisoner's kit. After experimenting for some time, he determines the liquid isn't poisonous and comes to the conclusion that it is meant to be a potion of some sort. On a hunch, he takes a dollop on his finger and tastes the liquid. His gaze falls upon the Wolfhound after tasting the mildly sweet liquid and suddenly is overcome with a strong urge to scratch the Wolfhound behind the ear. He gives the dog affections, but the compulsion to give the dog scratches quickly dissipates after a few seconds. Kasek squints his eyes in thought and then dips his finger again into the vial and offers it to the Wolfhound, who laps it up happily. Kasek then notices the Wolfhound staring at him rather attentively, and Kasek instructs the dog to go and collect food out of his backpack. The Wolfhound immediately jumps down off the bed, goes over to his backpack, retrieves some food and returns to Kasek with it. He drops the food on the ground at Kasek's feet, but then shakes his head as the effects of the potion wear off. Noticing the food on the ground, the Wolfhound then begins to happily eat it as Kasek scolds him and tries to shoo him away from it. Feeling slightly bad, he gives the Wolfhound one ration. Kasek then determines the liquid to be Suggestion's Embrace, a potion that acts similarly to a suggestion spell. He tucks it away feeling rather proud of himself for discovering its secret, double-checks that the door is locked, and goes to sleep for the evening.
Sometime around 4 AM, Levkaria walks into Ceona's room and curls up in the bed. Ceona spoons her protectively.
10:00 AM - 14th of Vlaihr, 2272
The party awakens roughly around the same time after hearing some noise coming from the Guild Hall. Fresh, clean common clothes are folded and stacked neatly in a chair near the entrance of their rooms, and the fine clothes they had worn to the Royal Dinner appear to have been collected and removed from the rooms. The group suits up and exit their rooms to find Cefri Zendroft on the second level of the Guild Hall working with an alchemy set along with Barriltar Bhandraddon who stands behind her instructively. On the couch in the center of the main room is Neyola Veldoris who is busying herself researching through several books, and Frig Rhaegnhal sits beside her sharpening her impressive two-handed Axe. The party announces their presence to the room, and Barriltar descends the stairs and greets them.
He informs the party that he has Cefri Zendroft working on making the antidote for the Midnight Tears Poison using the recipe the group had given him. He reveals that she will eventually come up with a way to mass-produce the antidote and disseminate it into the general population, however he reassures the group that the Queen will have the first few batches. Feadog asks if there is anyone keeping an eye on the Queen, and Barriltar assures him that she is being well protected. Ceona then asks if there is any chance the party themselves could receive some vials of the antidote, and Barriltar agrees it would be wise to do so. Barriltar also tells the party that Xalyth is also being watched by Ivoire, who has assumed the duties of guarding the entrance to the Court of Righteousness after Stordon Stilldream was slain the previous evening. He trails off a moment after saying that, then adds "Well, we lost a lot of good people last night, unfortunately." Celindriel asks if Barriltar has taken an opportunity to sleep himself, and he states that he's slept here and there, and it's enough as there are more important issues to deal with.
Kasek asks if a ship was dispatched in pursuit of the Greward Hewe, and Barriltar says that a ship was dispatched approximately 3 hours ago. It took some time for the crew to assemble, and for it to be provisioned before setting sail. Kasek tells Barriltar that he is able to debrief either Barriltar or Morrice regarding the ship as he has some knowledge of the ship itself. Barriltar tells Kasek that he should certainly give the information to Morrice, who will then disseminate the information appropriately. Barriltar then asks what the party intends to do for the remainder of the day. Celindriel states that she needs to get word to Aennamar since someone had vouched for Xalyth T'arr. Barriltar tells her that Morrice would be interested in learning more about that as well. Kasek then says that they should just speak with Morrice before making any decisions on what to do. Barriltar tells the party where to find Morrice, and also tells them that they are certainly welcome to come back to the Keep any time they would want. Ceona asks if there is anything Barriltar could give them that could vouch for them as friends of the realm, such as a signet or signed letter. Barriltar proceeds over to a wooden desk and rifles through it before returning with small emblems with the crest of the Golden Lion displayed prominently on it. Barriltar instructs the party that these emblems will identify them as friends of the Order of the Golden Lion. While the emblems themselves do not carry any authority with them, it will signify to those with knowledge about them that those who carry them are considered trustworthy friends of the Order of the Golden Lions, and by extension Barriltar Bhandraddon himself. The group thanks Barriltar for the emblems, and places them in their packs. Barriltar then wishes them luck in their endevours, and then proceeds back up the wrought-iron spiral staircase to the second level of the Guild Hall to continue working with Cefri Zendroft on creating antidote.
The party leaves the Guild Hall and walk back up to the front entrance of the Keep to the Chamberlain's desk where they find Bram Denskem, Morrice Barrett, and Elmorn Renan standing around the desk pouring over a map of the city. As the party approaches, Elmorn signals to Morrice who turns and greets the party as they approach. "Good morning, I hope you all slept well. I'm certainly interested in learning what you discovered last night. We've also uncovered some details which I would like to go over with you if you are all free to speak before heading out?" After the party looks at one another a moment, Kasek speaks up stating "We are free, however we are slightly concerned about our property at the Crescent Dream Inn considering there is no keeper there." Morrice tells them that they posted guards around the Inn since it is considered a crime scene. Kasek nods and agrees that they are then, in fact, free to talk. Morrice asks that the party follow him and leads them back down the hallway and into the first room on the left. Inside, the party finds the room to be a small living area with nice chairs, couches, and furniture and paintings. Morrice politely asks that the party have a seat, and then closes the door behind him as he joins them. He sits and begins rubbing his face, the exhaustion of the previous night's events starting to show.
Morrice starts by asking the party what it is that they have found out. Kasek begins by saying "Well, as you obviously know, there is a massive Drow infiltration as part of this attack, and our tracking eventually led us to the Crescent Dream Inn where we had a fight with our own Innkeeper...along with several other Drow." Morrice asks "And that's who we currently have being held in the cells, correct?" Kasek nods "That is the one." Celindriel chimes in by saying "She was posing as a Moon Elf". Morrice frowns slightly as Kasek continues, "We eventually tracked her to the Industry District and found her along with several others at the mouth of the sewers trying to swim to a boat called the Greward Hewe." Morrice pulls out a piece of parchment and begins making notes, and then asks for Kasek to continue. Kasek asks if Morrice is familiar with the ship, and Morrice nods and states he is well familiar with it. Kasek then says "Well, then nothing more needs to be said about it then. But it seems like a significant piece of information in learning who might be involved." Celindriel then adds that "In addition to them, we also found followers of Mask. Were you aware of those as well?" Morrice nods, and then says "Why don't I tell you what it is we know, and you might be able to help fill in some of the missing pieces."
Morrice Barrett Debriefs the Party about the Attack
The Drow
Morrice says "From what I can gather, over the past several weeks or months, these individuals slowly began arriving into our city. This 'Moon Elf' Innkeeper bought the Crescent Dream after being highly recommended by a diplomat of Aennamar...", Morrice indicates to Celindriel "...who you would know, since it was your Father. The letter of recommendation was merely a reference letter, it wasn't a personal recommendation. We got the impression he was merely interested in promoting Moon Elf business and interests within the city. The details he gave regarding her sounded like he knew 'of her', but not necessarily on a personal level. So our Admin and government offices vetted her and found everything to be in order and allowed her to purchase the business. Shortly thereafter, she began pushing any customer who wasn't a Moon Elf away from the Inn which allowed her to quietly and slowly assemble a small Drow army within the Inn." Kasek speaks up and asks "You just discovered all this from her?" Morrice shakes his head and says "No, we've managed to put this together over questioning individuals after last night's events. We investigated the Inn after Barriltar and Ivoire informed us that a fight had taken place there. Upon investigating the Inn, we found several wounded and dead Drow up in the rooms. It looked like they had been in a battle and returned to the Inn to possibly recuperate. Afterwards we did some further investigating by asking around, and several eye witnesses in the Elven District stated that these individuals had been residents of the Inn for quite some time."
Celindriel asks "What did you find out during the vetting process? Did she have a long history?" Morrice shakes his head "No, there wasn't a lot of information regarding her history, but nothing raised any red flags. And to be perfectly honest, we typically have very little to vet when it comes to Moon Elves." Kasek asks "Did you confirm that the letter is authentic?" Morrice nods, and both Celindriel and Kasek both ask in unison "Do you still have it?" Morrice says "Yes, I can arrange to have it delivered. It resides within the Government offices in the center of town." Kasek then asks Celindriel "Do you have any way of contacting your father to see if he actually wrote the letter?" Celindriel frowns slightly and states "I'm going to have to go through mundane methods of sending letters. I don't have any direct way of asking."
Followers of Mask
Kasek ponders as Morrice continues, "So, aside from what we found at the Crescent Dream Inn, we also know that followers of Mask began arriving in our city about 3 months ago. They started taking an interest in the Temple of Pursuance and the Memorial Atheneum, and took up residence within the sewers and among the seedier elements of Sestatrea -- thieves' dens and the like. They amassed quite a following, and apparently when the time came, they launched an assault from the sewers alongside the Drow. The followers of Mask attacked the Temple of Pursuance, and the Drow attacked the Memorial Atheneum. The Drow immediately set fire to the Memorial Atheneum, and the followers of Mask entered the Temple of Pursuance and looted all the artifacts the Temple protected." Celindriel lets out a gasp at the news, and Morrice continues gravely, "As soon as they escaped with the artifacts, the Drow set fire to the Temple of Pursuance, and then both groups descended into the sewers. The two groups went their own ways, but going by the information we have regarding the fight you had, it would seem the Drow returned to the Crescent Dream Inn while the followers of Mask escaped through the sewers and eventually onto the Greward Hewe along with the artifacts." Celindriel asks "Were there any particularly dangerous artifacts?" Morrice nods grimly, "A few. When the Golden Lions teleported down to the scene, they witnessed the remnants of the two groups descending into the sewers, and a small group from each broke off from the main group to attack the Lions. A pitched battle broke out along with the City Guard, and eventually Barriltar, Ivoire and Frig went after the Drow, while the others went after the followers of Mask. Eventually they came upon a Troll, and decided to turn back."
Celindriel nods and says "Yeah, we saw that Troll. That might actually be something you may want to take care of." Morrice states "Well, the Troll is actually a resident of the sewers, he lives down there and cleans up any trash. We also found the Kobolds you slew, who are also denizens of the sewers and help keep the sewers tidy." Celindriel and Ceona both begin talking, saying "Well, we left some alive....three....it's a breeding population. They breed like rabbits, so..." Morrice waves his hand and says "I'm not particularly worried about it. If need be, we can always import more. But eventually, the sewers did empty and most of the bodies escaped the Troll's grasp. He did clean up a fair number of them, but there were followers of Mask among them. From what we gathered, those who perished were a group that stayed behind to give the group escaping with the artifacts the time they needed to get away with their ill-gotten goods."
The Greward Hewe
Morrice continues, "The Greward Hewe being involved is concerning, though, since last I heard, the Zhentarim had blacklisted Captain Eneth Ratcley." The party notices Levkaria beginning to fidget at the mention of his name. Morrice continues "Last we heard, he had fallen out of favor with one of the major slaver houses of Bhaevor, and through whatever influence they go through to make a claim, ended up placing a bounty on his head." Ceona nods, appreciative of a bounty being placed on a pirate. Morrice says "As a result, the Zhentarim and the Order of the Black Hand more or less disowned him and sent him from the Emerald Basin. I'm not entirely certain that is accurate, though. If this was such a coordinated effort...either he is doing it because they offered him good money for it, or he's working for the Zhentarim still. If there's good money to be made, these are certainly well-connected groups, and he stands to make a hefty profit. He's away from his home waters, so he's more than likely looking for any way to make some coin."
Followers of Mystra Slain
The group ponders the news a moment before Celindriel asks "Is there anything else?" Morrice rubs his forehead and says "We did realize that the poison that killed the King, and Hadrian Feldhan, the food taster, is the same poison that decimated all the followers of Mystra..." Celindriel closes her eyes and says a short prayer at the realization of the loss of life. Morrice pauses a moment, and then continues "...as well as Nyla Droverson. As soon as they teleported to the plaza last night, she fell as well." Celindriel asks "Is there anyone that could communicate with the Lady's College?" Morrice nods and says "Molara Starspell is a graduate of the Lady's College. She's fine, nothing happened to her during the attack, but she is intending on traveling back with Elmorn Renan in the morning." Celindriel asks "Does she have ways of communicating long distance?" Morrice says "I believe they have that ability." Celindriel asks if she can speak with her before they leave, and Morrice nods at her request.
Firen and Tosra Korsk
Kasek then abruptly asks "What about the Korsks?" Morrice looks at the group, "Well, I was hoping you had good news for me." Celindriel begins by saying "We had no sign of them when we entered the sewer, maybe a smear of blood, but that was all." Kasek adds "We did see where their paths diverged quite early into the sewers. It appears that they may have fled separately...at least that's how it looks to me." Ceona quietly speaks up, "This may completely be the wrong track, but when we were in the hallway leading into the Court of Righteousness and we found the body of Stordon Stilldream who was guarding the door, he was stabbed from behind. Someone got in through the window, stabbed him, and then came into the Keep." Kasek suggests "Or they were opening up an escape route for the Korsks." Ceona nods "Yes. They could have been doing that, but why would they need to? The King wasn't poisoned at the Dinner. What would they have on them that would have given them away? Why would they need to escape? Maybe they were here to finish the job in case it didn't work, but..." Morrice interrupts "So you're trying to understand why the Korsks showed their hand?" The party all nods, and Morrice continues "Because it would seem they made off with the Helm of Truth from the Court of Righteousness. Another important artifact." Celindriel face-palms at the news, and the rest of the party looks somewhat deflated. "The Helm of Truth is pivotal to the Church of Torm and to how we conduct Court proceedings."
Ceona interrupts "Who exactly are these two people again?" Morrice explains "Well, I've done some digging, and I'm somewhat embarrassed that I didn't investigate them more, but Firen Korsk came to Laskea about a year ago and started spreading a lot of money around. He started buying businesses that had to do with growing food, harvesting food, transportation of food, warehouses, silos, bakeries, etc. Tosra is a graduate of the Lady's College, and they met when Firen was buying businesses in Laskea, and got married soon after. But from what I hear, they're not necessarily...interested...in one another." Celindriel nods, "I got that impression as well." Morrice continues "I assume because it's known that Firen has different tastes." The party nods at that assertion. Celindriel says "It sounds like a marriage of convenience of one form or another." Morrice then adds "That's as much as I can glean about who they are. I don't have any more information on their past, or where they came from outside of Laskea."
Kasek asks Morrice "Where did you say all the Drow were escaping to, and the Maskarrans? Did you say they all escaped on the Greward Hewe and the Drow went another direction?" Morrice nods, "The Drow decided to head back to the Crescent Dream Inn, which is somewhat confusing to me, because why didn't they attempt to escape by sea as well? Either they didn't plan on escaping -- they were planning on making a last stand, or they were planning on filtering back out as easily as they came in." Kasek rubs his chin, "Maybe they had another escape route they planned on using?" Morrice admits that it is a possibility. Kasek asks "Did you take any more prisoners?" Morrice shakes his head. "Unfortunately no. Most of the Drow we encountered in the Crescent Dream Inn had perished. When you went in with the Golden Lions and fought the remaining members that were there, those were the same individuals tending to the wounded upstairs. Without them, the injured perished as well. We have so far been unable to recover any other surviving Drow other than Xalyth T'arr, and unfortunately no surviving Maskarrans were recovered either. And it looks like, given the weapons they were using, we have determined any that were wounded on the way out were killed by their own members. That's about as much as we can determine, along with the fact that this all started with the luncheon that was held by our wonderful businessman Firen Korsk for the followers of Mystra, and the King and Queen." Kasek pauses a moment before asking "One question...why isn't the Queen dead?" Morrice states "The Queen actually wasn't feeling that well during the luncheon, so she didn't eat anything." Celindriel asks "So the intent was to kill her as well, and to send the Kingdom into chaos." Morrice agrees "We were very close to having a serious crisis." Kasek asks "If that had happened, what would have happened?"
Missions/Quests Completed
Set of Common Clothes
5 x Order of the Golden Lion Badge
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Celindriel Bryleth
Feadog Mhor
Kasek Bonebrewer
Ceona Haloren
Report Date
30 Aug 2018
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