Adventure Log: Session 4 - The journey home

General Summary

Continuing from the previous session... Immediately after the fight, there was a sound and snap of magic from below, seeming to indicate the gnome Karl'rok Red Moon Clan kicked over the edge had teleported away somehow, or conducted some other kind of magical escape. Locke Pickering investigated the cave at the rear of the large cavern and found a hastily drawn arcane circle surrounded by some candles and similarly rushed runes drawn on the ground. It was obvious this was the portal the robed figure had mentioned previously before setting his minions onto the party at the start of the fight, now sadly inert. There was also a note left laying on the ground, written in a neat and curling hand in charcoal. It read: "You honestly thought you'd catch me? Ryia's little pets, still chasing after so long. You cannot stop us now. Give up and let fate take its course. Our time has come again. CM" Meanwhile, Karl'rok investigated the corpses of the two warriors slain during the fight, while Kurtwood Grey unblocked the door, ahnd Grok Ak'tar ensured the baby in his care was safe and uninjured. Hilda Jekyll Hyde joined Locke to check out the portal circle in the cave after a few moments. On the body of the man the group first fought back in the warehouse in Immoria, Karl'rok found a large iron key, and crumpled note that had two odd statements written on it. The note looked as if it had been opened and re-folded many times, and had multiple moisture stains much like it had gotten wet somehow. The note said: "...settle with Marsi somewhere on the coast with little Rickard... ...he died because of me..." On the other body, Karl'rok found several potions which he pocketed, and a rather high quality sword made of a fine material, soon sheathed and taken with him. Nothing more to find here the group made their way back to the locked door they found on the way in, figuring the key may open it. It did. The room beyond contained a desk, set of shelves, and fireplace, all of which had been very recently set alight and freshly burned to disrepair and beyond recognition of what they may have looked like originally. The group set about investigating the room, and soon enough several clues were found: a sheet of paper in a badly burned book on the shelves, a scroll that barely survived the fire in the hearth, and at the very back of the bookcase, a small and ornate dagger in a small box. The sheet of paper was a list of names, that simply read: "Gloriana Redstream Rime Bori Goldback Merryweather Littlebottom" The scroll, however, was mostly written in a language no one could decipher. It also contained several arcane symbols which Hilda tried to make out, only being able to identify one or two very roughly, the schools of conjuration and evocation. Though the scroll was almost entirely unreadable, several lines had been translated into common below, and said: "The Seeing Eye The Silver Blood The Fresh Heart The Living Body" Nothing more to be found within, the group left the mine and made their way back to the horses waiting outside, heading back to Immoria. Camping for the night was uneventful, and soon the party were back on one of the main roads to the city. Whereon they soon came across a cart by the side of the road, with a seemingly broken wheel, and a father and his two sons asking for help. Bobanon flagged the group down and explained the cart hand broken, and he and his sons Bobrek and Boblaf couldn't fix it alone and would the party help? After a little discussion, Karl'rok, Locke and Kurt were about to help, when Hilda used a spell to grow Karl'rok in size, making him tower over the men! This caused Bobanon to let something slip, and it turned out he and his sons were planning to rob the party. A short interrogation ensued at the hands of the towering Karl'rok, mostly, and it turned out that the Bobsons had been woodworkers in the city, but their workshop had been burned to the ground by The Red Hand recently and they had nothing else to do but turn to attempted highway robbery. Eventually Karl'rok convinced them to head to the City Watch Headquarters in Immoria to help the city watch... or be arrested. They gladly accepted. Later in the day, the group came across three large wagons containing what appeared to be multiple families. Chatting to the two women, an elderly half-elf called Ariana and a young halfling named Esmell, it transpired that the caravan train was travelling from a village called Ripplestone to find settlement in Immoria. Their whole village had been wiped out after a woman had visited claiming to be a healer who could aid them, and soon after everyone had started exhibiting terrible plague-like symptoms, bleeding from eyes, nose, mouth, every orifice, until they died barely days later. The disease was so contagious that they packed up anyone who hadn't been in contact with the sick or infected and left immediately, leaving those behind to die, having driven out the woman who Esmell suspected was some kind of witch. Finally back in Immoria, the group returned the rescued baby to Farmané Littlebottom who was very grateful, offering her assistance in future, and then the group retired to The Rookery for the night to rest and recuperate, Karl'rok having been told that Jacus Trom needed to speak to everyone the following day. While relaxing in the bar, the party spoke to Ebryn the innkeeper and asked whether there had been any other Red Hand activity while the group had been gone, to which he wasn't sure, however he did mention that the well-known money lender and investor Applebaum had been robbed the night before. And at that, the party slept.