Shadows in the Harbor Session 34
General Summary
Letting the Boss Know
The party, triumphant from their battle with the Warforged, returned to Hardingham Keep to both return Matilde Carson to her cell as well as update Viscount Montgomery Silverbane about what they had found. During the trip back, Matilde looked at the party with new eyes and a new perspective. She wasn't exactly in awe, but she was certainly leaning towards their side of things. Still, she was worried for herself as her life and the hangman's noose literally hung in her future. Malark reassured her that they would put in a good word for her. They arrived at the keep, dropped off Matilde back in her cell and ran into Aldar Duskstone briefly. They provided a quick update to their investigation and then headed up to find the Viscount. The party passed several servants, attendants, and minor nobles in the hallway on their way to the Viscount. It was a busy day in Hardingham Keep and the Viscount was a busy man. The party entered his chamber again and provided him an update on their excursion out to the docks. He appeared concerned and yet relieved that the party had found and handled the threat of the Warforged in their city. They put in a good word for Matilde, highlighting how she had led them to the site without any problem. Malark did his best, but the Viscount indicated that he would have to think about it. In the meantime, he urged the party to head to Arrowport to cut the head off the snake as it were. They knew that they had several days before the next ship was set to depart to Arrowport, so they decided to get some answers. They walked through the hallway just as before, but this time as they passed by the servants they felt a chill in the air. The hair on the back of Damakos's neck stood on end as the temperature dropped. All four servants in the hallway stopped dead in their tracks, a vacant look came across their face. They all turned to the party simultaneously and in unison spoke."Your actions have been disruptive, but you trifle with powers you know nothing of. Cease your activities lest you incur the wrath of the King in the Darkness." - Possessed servantsNot knowing what to make of the threat or the titles "King in the Darkness" or "Lord of the Spidered Throne," the party realized they needed answers. Baron Deeplight recognized the name as being that of an ancient Phasnoshi noble, but the name escaped him. They headed to the Mage's Guild.
Looking for Answers
The door to the Mage's Guild smiled upon the arrival of the party, revealing its true mimic nature. It opened up without issue this time, revealing a largely empty building. It must have been a slow day at the guild. The only person present was Denisse Hillstrike who welcomed the party with open arms. The party entered and updated Denisse on their most recent encounter. They all agreed that it took some particularly dark and powerful magic to remotely take control of multiple persons and speak through them like that. Coupled with the two titles that they had learned, Denisse was at an impasse. She would need some time to research the library there.Let's Go Shopping
The party needed equipment and they had time to kill as well as a bunch of gold burning a hole in their bag of holding. Off they went to a couple of shops across town. They sold off their swords to Xavkas Nildinn, a blacksmith at Gorge 'n Forge, while selling the two spell scrolls they had to Denisse; the guild was always looking for spell scrolls for their members. Before they departed, Fel'Shu opted to stay behind and work with Xavkas to learn some answers as well as forge some throwing stars. While the party went onto Qi'faren Elesh and his alchemy shop for potions, Fel'Shu petitioned Xavkas for information on the materials used in the Warforged. Xavkas investigated the piece, amazed at its craftsmanship and stunned at its mere existence, and concluded that it was made with Shadowiron which is commonly found in the Underdark. Fel'Shu asked to silver several of the shuriken. Xavkas said that he could do it, but that it would cost more. Fel'Shu offered to trade more of the Warforged parts for the work. Xavkas, eager to work with the equipment and the material, graciously accepted while Fel'Shu continued to assist. The rest of the party headed over to Qi'faren's alchemy shop. Qi'faren appeared to be somewhat nervous with their arrival and rushed through his usual pleasantries. The party purchased 15 healing potions and before they could continue, Qi'faren began ushering them out, claiming he was busy despite them being the only ones in the shop. They were fairly tired by this point and they needed rest. Damakos, Tim, and Baron headed back to their home to rest and get some dinner. Meanwhile, Malark stayed behind and listened at the door of the alchemist's shop. He was behaving suspiciously and Malark was determined to get to the bottom of it. He could hear two voices on the other side of the wall despite Qi'faren being the only one in there. Curious. He found a dark corner and waited, watching the front door for about an hour.Hello, Little Bird
Tim, meanwhile, felt peckish and went to dinner at the nearby Golden Griffin Inn, a posh multi-level establishment serving a higher order clientele. Tim approached the maitre d who looked him up and down across his snooty demeanor. Tim requested a table, but the maitre d resisted, instead suggesting that Tim find another establishment that "his kind" would like better. Tim began to grow frustrated at this treatment. He had been nothing but polite but this snooty little asshole was refusing to sit him! Just then, an elderly gentleman came down the stairs and seemingly recognized Tim. He grew excited at this celebrity sighting and greeted him warmly. The maitre d was thoroughly embarassed. The elderly man, identifying himself as Eldric Ironwood, refreshed Tim's memory as having met him briefly at the banquet in the keep a few days earlier. Eldric was clearly very excited and told Tim that he would tell his wife about this chance encounter. The maitre d, now apologizing profusely for the confusion, offered to take him to the best seat in the house. Finally Qi'faren emerged from his shop. A wave of his hand turned off the faerie lights above it and he covered his face with a hood. He proceeded to make his way through the narrow streets of northern Castleport with Malark on his trail. Within a few minutes, Malark watched this otherwise arrogant yet refined elf merchant enter the Plain Jackal Inn. This wasn't Malark's first encounter with inns of this sort, and he knew that this was the kind of place that folks like Qi'faren didn't frequent nor did they belong there. He must have been there to meet someone. He gave it a few minutes before walking in himself, finding Qi'faren sitting alone at a table on the far end of the establishment. He was back-to-back with a strawberry blonde human woman. Nobody seemed to notice him yet. He took a seat at a nearby empty table, far enough away to keep from being noticed but close enough that he could hear the conversation. He overheard Qi'faren apologising for the delays, but that there had been complications. The woman chuckled at this and told him that Elara Vex was on her way and would set things straight again. She laughed at the fact that bodies always seem to turn up whenever she's around. She was about to mention who she was coming for, but in that moment the waitress got in the way and Malark couldn't hear. The conversation continued for a bit more, once again interrupted by the waitress doing her best job. This time when she left, he noticed that Qi'faren had just walked out the front door and the woman was nowhere to be seen. Malark continued nursing his ale and picking at his stale bread, when a familiar voice spoke to him. "Hello, Malark. You cost me a pretty penny the other day. But here you are!" It was Natalya Danamark and the two of them were now side-by-side...Rewards Granted
- 400xp per player for advancing the plot
- 100xp for Fel'Shu for great roleplaying!
- 100xp for Malark for great roleplaying!
Report Date
20 Sep 2024
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