Session 395 - Conflagration
General Summary
The Story So Far
Ash - An expert in the occult and a skilled monster hunter. Ash uses his talents and budding alchemical expertise to battle what people fear most for a price.
Ryobi - A monk of the embattled Order of the Warriors of Mameka. Ryobi is given an important mission: retrieve the holy blades containing the souls of his brother knights, which were lost in the recent Rethemi civil war.
They are joined by Vinzent, a bard with a morbid demeanor and a haunted past.
This is the continuation of Session 393 - The Moth.
15th Peonu (Spring) 728TR
A mysterious young woman calling herself the Moth has information on the location of a Mamekan Holy Sword lost during the Battle of Rylosin Forest five years ago. She will deluge the heroes with that information after they perform a small task, sabotaging a birthday gift to Baron Bothal Yonan.
The heroes believe they have successfully completed this task.
Location - Ebery Manor in the Kingdom of Rethem.
Part 1 – Payment
With some enthusiasm, the Moth tells the party about the Baron's birthday celebration. "It all went splendidly," she says. When the Baron opened his gift from her fiancé, the unfortunate lord Gaheris Suvaent, the bronzed skull in a frame swiveled looking at the Baron. Then, the covering plate fell off, revealing the Larani iconology. It caused quite a scandal. The Moth's fiancé was disgraced, and her father agreed for her to be instead married to his younger brother, Sir Vigato Suvaent. Ryobi believes the hapless Lord Gaheris will not be in this world for much longer.
Nevertheless, the Moth happily discloses everything she knows about the missing sword and offers unsolicited advice.
The sword was claimed by Sir Mica Kasli of Kasli Manor, Baron Bothal's bully boy. Sir Mica has a reputation as a thug and brutal warrior, even having a personal fighting pit which sometimes fights. He also passionately detests Ryobi's Order of the Warriors of Mameka, with two brothers falling to the Mamakan knights during the Battle of Rylosin Forest. Sir Mica took the sword and had it concealed somewhere in his manor. "As a point of pride, Sir Mica will not willingly part in it."
Kasli Manor is only a short ride near Baron Bothal's Keep of Quiso. The manor building is a sturdy four-story tower with a fighting pit nearby.
Sir Mica has half a dozen close companions, all skilled thugs, and his uncle, the manor's chaplain, a Priest of Agrik of the Order of Hepra the Mace, is also a resident. But the Moth informs the party that Sir Mica visits City of Golotha once every couple of months to attend the Gladiatorial Pamesani Games and the city's brothels and has just left with Kasli manor some of his friends.
Strangely, the Moth does not recommend kidnapping Sir Mica's wife and planning a trade for the sword. "The man is not sedimental and probably wants a new wife anyway, as this one has not produced any heir." The Moth's thought processes are devious. However, Ryobi would never consider such a crude tactic.
Location - Kasli Manor in the Kingdom of Rethem.
Part 2 – A Fire in the Fields
The heroes consider options; they will sneak into Kasli manor in the evening and attempt to find and recover the sword. Ash creates a distraction; using a candle as a timer, he plants an alchemical bomb in a wooded section of the nearby fields among several small barrels of oil. He would prefer to set the fields alight, but this is spring, and now there is little to burn. The hero's plan works perfectly; the guard on the roof is distracted looking at the fire, and the Priest of Agrik, accompanied by two thuggish guards, leaves the manor to investigate.
Vinzent Levitates the heroes up the tower, and they sneak onto the roof into the manor's third floor unnoticed.
Part 3 – Things Turn Bad Fast (as per usual)
The heroes find themselves in a spiral staircase that opens to all floors. They almost run into a servant planning to watch the flaming spectacle from the roof but narrowly avoid detection, as does Ash, who almost stumbles into a hall filled with half a dozen rough-looking warriors.
The party enters a room filled with astrology charts and Agrikian iconology. This must be the chamber of the manor's chaplain. The heroes hear talking in the next room. With no other locations to check out, they decide to kill the inhabitants quickly and silently.
The party charges into the room to find two men seated by the fire immersed in conversation; one is a heavy-set soldier, and the other a more refined character who looks unsuitable for combat, possibly a merchant or scholar. Things initially go well; the warrior is badly injured but, at the last moment, bellows out a cry for help just before being cut down. "Where is the sword?" Ryobi demands from the merchant. He is terrified and doesn't have a clue; he claims to be a visitor. Killing an innocent was not the plan of the plan, so Ryobi knocks him out, and while Ash ties him up, Vinzent examines the corpse. Casting Speak with Dead the bard asks several questions of the corpse. It responds in a pained voice.
Question “Where is the Mamekan Sword?” Answer: "In a hidden cabinet in the lord's bedroom."
Question “Which floor is the lord’s bedroom?” Answer “Second.”
Question “Is the hidden cabinet trapped?” Answer “I hope so.”
Before the heroes have time to consider their options, the alarm has been raised, and they hear the heavy footsteps of guards coming closer.
Part 4 – Things Get Hot
The remaining armed warriors in the manor quickly rush into action. One elderly soldier runs to guard Lady Kasli's chamber while five more men rush upstairs to deal with the heroes. Ryobi casts Grease before a doorway, which slows the enemy, causing several to slip and fall prone, easily targets for Ash and Ryobi to deal with. As the guards are bunched up, Ash can't resist throwing a vial of Alchemist Fire at them. This sets fire to the floor and a nearby table filled with documents. This small fire is manageable, but Ash decides to lob another vial, and soon, the conflagration is out of control.
As the fire grows, the old guard evacuates Lady Kasli while one guard rounds up the servants to get water buckets to put out the flames. This is too little too late. Ash and Roybi eventually kill the four guards and consider options. They free the merchant they had knocked out and bound; then Ash quickly prepares some elixirs, which impart limited Fire Resistance for himself and Ash. Vinzent is out of luck. Now, the heroes go downstairs after telling the servants to run and find the Lord of the Manor's bed chamber, where they believe the missing Mamekan Sword is hidden. On the way, they avoid the growing fires and murder another guard.
Part 5 – The Sword of Dobrzyn
Half the bedroom is aflame as the fire has worked its way down. Ryobi spots a hidden compartment in the wall by the fireplace and finds the holy Sword of Dobrzyn while Ash loots the bedroom of anything valuable he can carry.
Adding to their woes, the manor's chaplain, a dangerous-looking Priest of Agrik, accompanied by two well-armed thugs, who were investigating the fire near the fields started as a distraction, are closing on the exhausted burglars.
To be continued.
NPC Interactions
The Moth.
Created Content
Nothing this week.
Related Reports
Player Characters
Ryobi - Human - L8 Monk
Background - Temple Guard.
Archetypes - Barbarian/Fighter.
Ash - Human - L8 Thaumaturge
Background - Weaponcrafter.
Archetypes - Alchemist.
NPC Companion
Vinzent - Human - L8 Bard
Background - Cursed.
Archetypes - Blessed/Disciple of Thalia.
Next Session
Kasli Manor
NPC Companion
Vinzent
He is a skilled minstrel who is infamous for his depressing performances and bad luck.
Clan Kasli
Clanhead: Sir Mica Kasli.
Holdings: Kasli Manor.
Liege: Baron of Quiso.
Kasli Keep
Dobrzyn's Sword
Comments