Masters Session Five
General Summary
In Salisgrad, Dunner and Thistletop heard rumors at the Halfling Hearth Tea Room about an opportunity at the Docklands linked to the local lighthouse's extinguished beacon. Investigating, they utilized the city's arcane Caravans, magical carriages guided by runic pathways that cost a few silver pieces to travel in.
Arriving at the Docklands, they noted local customs like a left-hand palm-out greeting and bowing heads near obelisks of protection, possibly out of reverence for Prince Voronov or to avoid obelisk surveillance. At the Leviathan Docks, they entered the rundown Laughing Goblin tavern, where they met the bartender, Imizael, and waiter, Mar, who recommended the tavern's cabbage soup.
Mar shared rumors about the beacon's mysterious extinguishing, hinting at Sokol Keep's haunting and suggesting the adventurers talk to Guard Sergeant Hurn or visit House Sokol’s administrative office for more details. However, a brawl erupted between angry dockworkers and two mercenaries concerned about their friend Grim, a missing Black Gauntlet guard at the lighthouse.
After the brawl, the adventurers learned about Sergeant Grim's financial troubles, his friendship with Igan Sokol, the quartermaster of Sokol Keep, and rumors of a hidden treasure beneath the keep.
The adventurers set out to Sokol Keep on Thorn Island, finding it mostly abandoned except for the groundskeeper, Darvag, his wife Shandra, and their son, Rorin. They spoke of Igan's devotion to Iomedae, something considered unheard of in the city of Salisgrad, which was ruled through the worship of Iomedae's nemesis, Asmodeus.
The adventurers found Grim and his guards guilty and exhausted in the reliquary beneath the keep, in an ancient temple devoted to the demon lord Dagon. After confronting them, Grim admitted to murdering Igan out of greed when the young man wanted to destroy the treasure in the temple, deeming it "tainted with evil." Grim, angry and greedy, killed the young man while the other Black Gauntlets watched and did nothing. The adventurers allowed the guards to flee but killed Grim. Despite returning Igan's body to the shrine of Iomedae, the spirit haunting the keep felt betrayed by the lack of justice, refusing to lift the curse, leaving the lighthouse's beacon dark.
Rewards Granted
- In Igan's quarters, a small pouch containing 5 platinum pieces (pp) and an old, tarnished silver holy symbol of Iomedae was hidden inside a hollow bookcase. Once the boy was returned to the shrine of Iomedae, the holy symbol remained with Igan.
- On the third floor of the lighthouse, 20 gp hidden in a hidden compartment in one of the bunks.
- Igan Sokol, on the altar in the Jade Idol room, carried a wand of Identify (10 charges).
- Grim and the Black Gauntlet guards scavenged approximately 100 gp in coins of various mintage and antique art objects from the reliquary, which was the combined treasure of the temple.
- In the Jade Idol room, each hero pulled a jade chunk 100 gp.
Missions/Quests Completed
- Guard Seargent Grim was killed for the murder of Igan Sokol. It was deemed "self-defense."
- The four guilty guards fled with some jade and did not answer for their crimes.
- The lighthouse remained dark.
- REWARD: 0.5 XP
Character(s) interacted with
- Imizael (bartender) and Mar (waiter, real name Markoth Hasslepond), who worked at the Laughing Goblin.
