The Wax Symbol

Criminal Activity

The Party learns about the wax symbol from the town blacksmith, and uncovers a nefarious plot...

The Party woke in the morning to breakfast and conversation in The Marvelous Prince Tavern. After a couple of laughs, they went and visited Evyn Rose, the local blacksmith, at The Glowing Fabricator. He informed them that the wax seal The Party had found on a bugbear's body belonged to Lord Henry Byrne, a regular customer of Rose's. He was last spotted some time before on a hunting trip with his Master of the Hunt, Liam Carr. At the Byrne Manor, Typhon attempted to gain information about the whereabouts of Lord Byrne. Huntsmaster Carr informed him that they had gone on a boar hunt a few weeks earlier, but he was told to turn back by the Lord himself. Lord Byrne entered the woods and was never seen again. An appearance by Lady Joanna Byrne ended with her in tears at the thought of her husband being dead. However, a successful insight check by Typhon revealed that while she did indeed care for her husband, she didn't care that much.   The Party listened at the door and it became apparent that the two were lovers. After calming down Lady Byrne, Carr readied his gear and headed into the Brimland Woods. The Party successfully followed Carr to a secret meeting with an armor-clad hobgoblin. The hobgoblin, obviously the one in charge, made it very clear that he expects no trouble if they're to live up to their part of the bargain. A failed stealth check caused the hobgoblin to summon a bugbear and two goblins. He then departed the area.   Typhon used his crowd control skills to place a goblin to sleep, while Bloodbane and Sir Didymus engaged the charging bugbear with arrow and steel. A well-placed shot downed the ferocious bugbear, while a mighty swing of Bloodbane's battleaxe cleaved the creature in two. Seeing that the situation wasn't going so well, Carr ran to the south and the remaining goblin headed north.   Vigwalin healed Sir Didymus's goblin-inflicted wounds, while the group began their interrogation of the slumbering - now rudely awoken - assailant. They learned the goblins had a camp with about 20 members in it about five kilometers to the southeast, and that Lord Byrne had been killed... and eaten. Typhon ended the goblin's life shortly after, as he provided no more information. The party must now decide whether to go after the goblin camp, or bring justice to Huntsmaster Liam Carr...   The decision was made to track down Liam Carr and bring him to justice. The Party tracked him through the woods for over an hour, but the help of Sir Didymus's wolf made the work that much more precise. As the rain began to come down - for the third day in a row now - all hope seemed to disappear as the scent seemed to vanish. Fortunately, Typhon noticed that the tracks seemed to indicate that Liam was likely much closer than they expected. A few minutes into their search, an arrow rang out, striking Sir Didymus in the chest. Liam called out to the group, cautioning them to turn back. Vigwalin, in the form of a wolf, and Bloodbane charged, in an attempt to close the distance. Vigwalin got there first, but Liam was too quick and a solidly place blow with his short sword forced Vigwalin back into his natural form. Bloodbane launched his javelin at Liam, tearing through his thigh. Typhon was eventually able to subdue Liam with a last ditch sleep spell.   Liam woke up a few minutes later, bound and angry. Bloodbane's imposing frame and general presence intimidated Liam into divulging to the Party that the whole thing was Lady Byrne's idea. The plan was to provide material support to the goblin horde in exchange for protection from the coming tide. This was in contrast to Lord Byrne's intent, which was to rally the local forces and request support from the government for soldiers to combat the goblins. Liam explained that he had been acting as the go-between Lady Byrne and Evyn Rose for weapons manufacture. Liam further explained that he had led Lord Byrne into the woods that day a few weeks ago, and delivered him to the goblins who killed him most painfully and slowly, and goblins are prone to do.   When the group realized they would get nothing more of use from Liam, they agreed to tie him to a tree. Typhon and Bloodbane decided to have an archery contest at Liam's expense. Liam's last words, "Shoulda gone for... the head" came as Typhon did just that, impaling Liam's skull to the tree with a well placed arrow. The Party decided to rest for the night there in the woods, but it would not be so easy.   A patrol of two goblins and a bugbear, drawn in by the group's campfire, assaulted the group in the middle of the night. Fortunately, the group woke up just in time to combat the assailants. The group quickly dispatched the attackers, with Bloodbane cleaving the bugbear in half and Sir Didymus dropping a goblin at range with his bow. The group decided it would be best to retire to the relative safety of The Marvelous Prince Tavern back in Hillfar. The Party must now decide what to do with their new found information regarding Lady Byrne's treachery...