Session 10
General Summary
The Path to Tal Podere (1st – 4th Frostend)
The Midnight Ride:- After a hard three-hour ride, the party reached Dockhouse at midnight. They identified the town as a former military encampment now reduced to a small ferry hub.
- Moving on to the halfling community of Hillstead, the party spread word of the Lich King's rise. Beck struggled with homesickness, while Dubak engaged in a cooking session with the gnome Chef Garrett, learning the recipe for BBQ Scorpion Tail. Mariana traded baking secrets, learning to make Cinnamon Bagels.
- Asira bought a cast-iron cook set for Dubak and essential supplies, while Haldrick declined a +1 shield because it cost too much gold.
- Arriving in Tal Podere on the 3rd, the party met Master K’dar Stonefist. Despite a "kill on sight" order from Noreeno, Haldrick convinced Stonefist of their honesty. Stonefist revealed his own suspicions that Noreeno is hoarding troops and supplies for a private agenda.
- While waiting for word on Linus, the party spent significant time studying their artifacts. Haldrick made steady progress on The Book of Norvus, and Asira successfully unlocked three new levels of study regarding the Orb’s properties and ownership.
- As of 11am on the 4th of Frostend, the party is officially exonerated in Tal Podere. Stonefist is helping to track Linus’s movements, and the party is staying at the local inn while they wait for an opening to strike.
Rewards Granted
Character(s) interacted with
Dockhouse
- Damon & Tannis: Flophouse Oweners
- Magistrate Whitman: Halfling
- Verrick: Dwarf Veteran Blacksmith
- The Marvelous Garrett: Travelling Gnome Chef
- Magistrate K'dar Stonefist: Dwarf
Notes
1st of Frostend
- The horses ride hard for about 3 hours, we reach a bridge where we show our papers to Illidyan soldiers and continue on, reaching Dockhouse around midnight.
- Dockhouse is about a dozen buildings, named after it’s prominent Dock house, the town itself is small and seems only there to support the large ferry. The only buildings of note are a flophouse, a long banquet/town hall. There is one dirt road going through town. There is one area north of town that looks like trapped and torn earth that looks like a fair may have taken place there. It was held by the army when they thought transport of goods and soldiers on the ferry may be important, but as the Illidians captured more territory to the north it was abandoned by the military.
- Haldrick identifies it as a large army encampment
- We provide our papers to another soldier outside of Dockhouse who asks why we’re there. Dubak explains the situation with the Lich and that we’re just passing through. He tells us there is a stable and a flophouse around the corner for accommodations for us and our horses. Dubak talks to him briefly about fishing and water creatures.
- Dubak, Haldrick, Marian, and Beck head to the flophouse to arrange accommodations. The hosts are Damon & Tannis. 1 gold per person per night, a dwarves woman brings down drinks and cheese.
- Asira tends to the 5 horses in the stable and they are resting well for the evening. She heads to the flophouse and meets up with Mariana.
- Dubak heads upstairs to talk to Damon about sea creatures. He can tell there is a grain of truth of Damon’s stories, but he is a bit of a blow-bag and likes to embellish.
- Haldrick deciphers another page of The Book of Norvus.
- Asira deciphers the first level of Knowledge on the Orb.
- We sleep for the night.
- In the morning Dubak makes Bacon & Eggs for everyone.
- Asira checks on the horses after asking Tannis about anyone matching Linus’ description and she answers some questions about Hillstead and probably soldiers stationed there.
- We tack up to leave, we’re headed for Hillstead.
- In the road on the way there we encounter 4 soldiers, Mariana tries to talk to them to figure out if any of them is Linus, but they say nothing. We follow them for a while, they branch off on a road to the west and go to Tal Podere.
- We decide not to follow them and continue on to Hillstead.
- Medium sized town, halfling community, open field turns to farmland. Many houses built into hills, the halflings seem aloof but friendly. The town proper is small and quaint, there are mostly halflings but a few humans, dwarfs, and elves also present. There is a small town hall, an 3-story inn with a stable attached, it’s built into a cliff. Right next door is a tavern called the “The Little Big Bar.” There is also a dock with fishing boats.
- Dubak looks for a travelling food-stall vendor but doesn’t see any, he does however spot a tavern called “The Little Big Bar.”
- Haldrick and Beck head into the tavern and gets an Ale from a Halfling from the bar. He pays 2 copper and asks for the latest news.
- He talks about the war, the soldiers coming through, and the famed gnome Chef in the kitchen.
- Beck is feeling homesick and misses his pregnant girlfriend. So he orders a second Ale. Haldrick stays to comfort Beck.
- Asira looks for a stable where they can water the horses, and sees one attached to an inn, the woman inside offers accommodations, 6 silver per person and free for the horses, if we don’t stay it's 2 silver per horse.
- Dubak heads to the docks and talks to some fishermen who complain about a lack of fish. He gets the skinny on the travelling Chef.
- The Chef is known for stews, mutton’s, and roasts.
- He asks for the prices of the Speckled Trout per pound and the Striped Bass, he buys 10 of each for 1 gold and silver.
- Dubak heads to the tavern too.
- Haldrick ordered delicious tavern food for 2 silver and saved a bite for Dubak to try, he also thinks it’s delicious and identifies notes of cinnamon, traditional gnomish cooking.
- Dubak puts the 20 pounds of fish on the bar and offers to cook it with some time in the back with the Marvelous Garrett.
- Haldrick yells “Cook Off!”
- Dubak meets the Chef who seems very pleased to meet another “member of the culinary arts.” The Gnome is excited to learn about cooking seafood and to teach Dubak some of his gnomish techniques. Dubak gives Garrett these recipe options:
- Fried Fishwich
- Spaghetti and Clams
- Dubak wants to cook something with exotic meats. Dubak gets a recipe for BBQ Scorpion Tail. They spend the evening collaborating on the recipe.
- Asira asks Mariana to locate the party and relay the information about accommodations to them. (We all pay 5 silver for our accommodations, paying 1 silver as a tip.) They all agree that we’ll stay tonight and Asira hands the reins to Mariana and goes back into the Inn. We get a 5 for 1 accommodation situation and we take care of the horses.
- Asira heads into the town hall to talk to the magistrate, warning him about the Lich King and so trying to get information on the elite soldiers and get an insight into Linus.
- Mariana goes to the tavern to talk to Garrett about baking, she teaches him how to make “Salt Rolls,” which he picks up well. Garrett gives Mariana a Cinnamon Bagel.
- Asira and Haldrick go to talk to Verrick. She asks if he will share about his time as a soldier. Haldrick discerns that he is a dwarf from the same archipelago and asks Asira to ask him about Dennis. He would have been happy to fight for the family.
- Years ago when he fought for the queen (who knows one has seen in a decade-she’s an elf).
- Haldrick and Verrick share a conversation in Dwarvish where he relays that Haldrick should see Master Stonefist in Tal Podere, that they are all on the side of the dwarves.
- Deemed trustworthy, Asira tells him about the elite soldiers' control and asks about Linus, he says he’ll keep an ear out.
- Haldrick ask about his wares, he could make him a +1 shield for 1,000 gold, he passes.
- We warn him about the Lich King and tell him that we told the Magistrate as well so word is spreading.
- Dubak finishes cooking and talks to Garrett about cooking outside.
- Mariana is finishing baking bagels and brings them back with cream cheese.
- Beck is still drinking his sorrows at the tavern.
- Haldrick attempts another page of The Book of Norvus, and gets better at deciphering but doesn’t finish a page.
- Asira learns a little about the Ownership of the Orb, eats free food at the Inn, and goes to bed early.
- Dubak heads to a Halfling temple for the Goddess of Chaldira.
- He informs the Halfling he meets about the Lich King.
- Everyone is at the inn and sleeping.
- Asira goes to check on the horses and prepare them for a day’s journey.
- We all set out to Tal Podere at 7am, it’s a 3-4 hour journey. Nothing out of the ordinary except showing papers once. Owl heads to the woods to hunt for a while. We arrive around 11am.
- Tal Podere, a medium sized city, less than half the population of Crossway. There is a dock that looks like it deals mostly in shipping. It seems a little “old-west” with deep wagon ruts through town, there is a town hall, an inn around the corner, mostly humans and elves here, but the occasional dwarf (including the magistrate).
- Master Stonefist is an elderly dwarf who gets excited to see another dwarf. Haldrick takes point and says we were sent to see him by Verrick from Hillstead.
- The master received a letter from Noreen saying we should be killed on site. He asks us to give an account of ourselves. Haldrick explains our situation. The master believes Haldrick.
- He holds up a hand to Haldrick to say that they will speak about Dwarven business later.
- Asira tells him about Linus and he says he thinks we can help each other. He tells us we can stay at the inn for free for a few days.
- Haldrick has a private conversation which he later relays that Stonefist thinks he is a spy for a third “Dwarven Party,” and Haldrick doesn’t correct him.
- We spend the evening: fishing, deciphering, and relaxing.
- Haldrick succeeded on 1 attempt to decipher The Book of Norvus
- Asira and Mariana took the horses for a long walk to a field and hung out for hours, Asira succeeded in deciphering 3 new areas and levels of the Orb
- Upon waking until about 11am:
- Haldrick succeeded on 1 attempt to decipher The Book of Norvus
- Dubak went wandering around the docks to get the lay of the land, get need-to-know, etc.
- Beck seemingly stayed in his room at the inn.
- The magistrate calls us to counsel at 11am:
- He formally pronounces us innocent of the charges Noreeno placed on us. He says he’s been suspicious of Noreeno for a while (appointed to Crossway after capture), he keeps requisitioning supplies and troops, and Stonefist believes he is hoarding supplies and keeping troops that will be loyal to him. Stonefist sent a spy to Crossway, and reported back that things were stable there (so Noreeno was full of it), but lost contact with him.
- Regarding Linus he says that if we give him a description he can keep an eye out for him, and try to order him to go somewhere else where we can do something about it. If he does show up, there is limited time so we should hang around for another day or two.
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