II.2.3 A More Direct Approach

Session Preface

A predawn glow slowly washes over the city spread out beneath you. From the northern hills, you watch as rays of sunlight stray through small cracks in the persistent clouds that loom over Daggerford. Dew rests on the grass beneath you, the scent refreshing after an evening spent in the dust and dank of the mushroom infested dungeons. A soft breeze carries from the east, bringing with it hints of the smoke of cooking fires. Farmers from beyond the city walls move through the fields, a few packing carts and making their way towards the central gate. Yet even in this pastoral peace, the morning light is not enough to cast out the shadows hanging over the city and the tranquility of the moment is perhaps insufficent to put you at ease, for there is still much work to be done and justice to be wrought.

Session Summary

As the day begins, the companions make their way to Sir Isteval's home once more where they find his apprentice Kobach deep in her studies and the knight more despondant tahn ever. Pax and Aethuriel share the updates of their last few days and the retrieval of the artifact. They spend an extended conversation deliberating their options, but with a brief window of opportunity in which the duke and duchess don't know they have the staff, all of their options, whether it be chasing down a lead about strange deliveries or trying to discover the succubus' true name, seem too slow. Ultimately, they come to the conclusion that they need to remove the duke and duchess from power without leading the city into an open revolt that would cause unnecessary bloodshed and chaos. To do so, they plan to see out Yaldronno in hopes of striking a deal with him in exchange for information and support.
Before heading to rest after the exhausting evening, Aethuriel inquires into Sir Isteval's distant and dejected responses. Sir Isteval reveals that the day before, he lost a case and as a result, a young girl was separated from her aunt, the only surviving family of a house fire a few years ago. In his frustration, Sir Isteval got himself kicked out of the guildmaster's hall. He shared with Aethuriel his sense of purposelessness, being too old to fight with a blade and now without his recently found means of making a difference. Aethuriel consoles and comforts Sir Isteval, offering him words of encouragement for continuing to seek out ways to bring light into the darkness in whatever form he can. With that, Aethuriel returns to their accommodations for a much needed rest.
In the late evening, Pax and Aethuriel are jolted awake by the sound of heavy footfalls and a door being forced open. Downstairs, a muffled voice announces Sir Isteval's imminent arrest for harboring the known criminal, the Devil of Daggerford. While Aethuriel draws a blade to immediately defend the knight, Pax discovers guards ascending the stairs towards them. He and Aethuriel dart out the window, landing in the alleyway below, narrowly escaping detection. Forced to leave Sir Isteval and Kobach to their fate, the two press on, still weary, to the Lady Luck Tavern in search of Yaldronno.
In Yaldronno's exclusive thirteenth table pocket dimension, he invites the two to join him and Elivyre at the table for a game of sharing intel. The two take turns sharing something the other doesn't know. Over the course of the game, the party learn that the duchess receives secret deliveries during curfew hours of small crates filled with vials of blood. When Yaldronno eventually loses the game, Pax and Aethuriel get to ask a single question to which the firbolg must answer truthfully and fully. When they ask what his support in their coup will cost, he set the price as a position as a guildmaster and in exchange, offers the aid of Elivyre, who will join the companions in breaking into the ducal castle. Yaldronno also arranges for a subtle entrance through one of his contacts in the duke's stables. On their way to the castle, they also reconvene with Kaledus. The warlock eagerly joins in their efforts to overthrow the duke and duchess through direct means.
The four party members are snuck into the ducal castle complex by hiding in barrels, but a change in delivery plans sees them sent to the storage rooms in the basement on the opposite side of the castle from their destination. Under the cover of invisibility, Kaledus creates a distraction, setting a series of carts on fire, giving the party time to stealthily make their way across the open courtyard in the midst of the chaos. Once in the southern wing, the party navigates their way through hallways and stairwells until they are blocked by more dense patrols of guards. A prestidigitation effect distracts the first set of guards, while Pax's Devil of Daggerford reputation is sufficient for another set of guards to surrender and retreat. Before long, the party find themselves on the cusp of the duke and duchess' living quarters, having not yet alerted the castle to their presence.

Session Overview

Date Played:
July 22, 2023
Party:

• Aethuriel
• Pax

Time Passed:
Marpenoth 22 AM - Marpenoth 22, PM 1493
NPCs:

• Sir Isteval
• Kobach
• Yaldronno
• Elivyre
• Kaledus