Session 07
General Summary
It was September 1st 660AR and our heroes had just arrived in the town of Pembrose. They settled
into the Lonesome Drake inn and looked around. Lynott's man servants ordered them food and
drinks and sorted their rooms. A couple of bottles of Pembrose Red were delivered to their table
and some of the ales brewed here in the inn. The place was homely and comfortable although
Lynott's servant reported that the innkeeper, Boris Stenker, was a grumpy so and so.
Drax spotted two dwarves in the inn common room, bought a few ales, and introduced himself to
them. They were Odger and Culwert, brothers who ran the local weapon and armour smiths
respectively. Drax spent the entire evening in their company discovering that Odger was very
chatty and Culwert less so.
Elijah spoke to the landlord and found out that the vintner who produced the quality Pembrose
Red was a man named Regis Baum. He apparently often visited the inn of an evening and the
landlord promised to point him out to the halfling when he came in. Sure enough, this happened
later that evening and Elijah approached Regis and his wife Winifred. He introduced himself as a
fellow wine merchant and promised to visit their shop the next day.
Elijah couldn't help but notice dangling from Winifred's neck was a delicate silver chain on which
hung a stunning diamond. An inch long it was cut into the shape of a hexagon cylinder and Elijah
thought it must be worth around two thousand gold imperials. He struggled to take his eyes of its
beauty.
Meanwhile in a corner of the bar a young wood elf hunter by the name of Fett sat and listened
subtly into the party's converstaions. He asked some of the locals whether the singer and talemaster, Elwynn, was in town and discovered that he hadn't been here for some weeks. One
merchant fresh in out of Bostwick told him that the minstrel had been at the Goat's Beard Inn in
that village earlier in the week.
Lynott also spoke to some of the locals. His line of questioning was about dragons. This sparked a
big debate in the common room. One local told of the great dragon Bezzalt who laired in the
infamous Dragonspire mountain to the south. This dragon would regularly raid the valley for
cattle and sheep and occasionally was known to have attacked farmsteads and killed and eaten
people. There was some confusion about if there was more than one dragon in the region, and this
was not helped by Drax claiming that there was supposed to be a golden dragon in the area and
maybe a black one too.
All through this time Dorian and Jaina sat mostly quietly at their table, supping on wines and
watching and listening, learning much and saying little.
The night finally drew in and the party retired to their beds. They had a comfortable night's sleep
and awoke before dawn well refreshed. They had already planned to travel to Lord kyle mansion
the next morning, following up on news they had heard in Endhome and also a poster which they
had seen in the inn, telling that Lord Kyle wanted "Brave Adventurers".
As the group trudged up the road to the manor house they saw Fett, the elven hunter from the inn,
on the road ahead. It seemed he was also interested in finding out about Lord Kyle's problems.
Two guards on the gate in leather armour and with spears let them into the three story manor
house where they were handed over to the butler. He lead them into a parlor where they were
asked to wait. They couldn't help but be impressed with the manor house. Marble stairways led up
to the upper floor. Oak panels were everywhere. And in the hallway were two suits of platemail.
After a while the group were ushered into the drawing room where a young looking Lord Kyle sat
behind a desk. In front of the desk stood a dark coweled figure whose face they could not see. This
was clearly one of the infamous Trade Lords. He finished his conversation with Lord Kyle with
what sounded almost like a threat, then turned and looked at the party. He paused for a second and
then unexpectedly bowed to Lynott and then to Lord Kyle before leaving the room.
At this stage Lord Kyle appeared overwhelmed and then began addressing Lynott as "Your
Grace". It was quickly apparent that Lynott was actually royalty and then, putting two and two
together the group realised he was Prince Lynott Snow, third son of the Ice King. Jaina, who was a
shrewd judge of character, realized that Lord Kyle was actually unimpressed with Lynott -
probably because the prince, being third in line to the throne, had shirked all responsibility and
swanned off to live a life of fun and excitement as an adventurer.
Lord Kyle invited the group out for a hunt. They rode his horses out into the extensive hunting
grounds around his manor house where they discovered that Fett was an excellent shot with his
bow.
Whilst out on the hunt the group took the opportunity to quiz Lord Kyle about various issues.
Lynott managed to get out of him that he was under pressure from the Trade Lords to improve
security in the Valley. It appeared that more and more merchants were being attacked and robbed
by goblinoids and the Guild were not happy about it. Lord Kyle was thinking about reestablishing
the valley militia again, but for that he needed a base. He needed Quail Keep.
Lynott asked him about dragons and the valley and he was told about Bezzalt the red dragon who
hunted in the valley occasionally. He also mentioned that the Minx brothers, a pair of local
rangers, reported seeing a green dragon in the skies above the Forest of Nin. So it seemed there
might indeed be at least two dragons in the area (ignoring Drax's claims about a gold and a black
one).
Jaina asked Lord Kyle for more information about Quail Keep, as she knew that a valuable relic of
Pelor had been hidden there before it was abandoned. He told her that the Scarlet Feather clan of
Hobgoblins, who it was believed had been wiped out ten years ago, had returned and now laid
claim to the keep. Apparently Constable Wershaw knew lots about the keep as he was stationed
there years ago when he was part of the garrison there. The group decided they would talk to him
when they returned to the town.
Returning to the manor after the hunt, Lord Kyle asked if the party would agree to help him return
the keep to his control. They agreed a reward of two hundred gold imperials each to retake the
keep. Shaking hands on the deal, the group left and walked back down the path to the town. Fett
had been included in the deal and was now a defacto member of the team. For now at least.
Back in Pembrose Lynott went and saw the constable and got more details on the keep. Constable
Wershaw was a half orc, gruff and to the point. Lynott found out that the keep was square with
fifteen foot tall stone walls. It had a sqaure tower in each corner and numerous buildings in the
middle. In the main hall - at the back of the fort - was a staircase leading down into the dungeon
which had a few cells and a storeroom or two.
Elijah went and bought a quality shortsword from Odger the dwarf smith. The blade was perfectly
balanced, the handle wrapped in a beautifully comfortable leathers, and the rune of Odger the
weaponsmith was carved into the blade. It was a masterpiece. While talking to the dwarf Elijah
found out that Odger had forged a greatsword for the leader of the Birds of Prey five years ago.
Apparently this half orc had been looking to get the blade enchanted by a wizard but whether he
had succeeded in this was unknown.
As Elijah left Odger's shop Drax walked in. Drax asked Odger about Keli and Deli, the two young
dwarves from Stoneheart who he had been charged to find. Odger remembered them and said he
thoguht that they had headed for Bostwick about two weeks ago on the trail of the legend of the
Birds of Prey. Odger agrred to tell them Drax was looking for them if he met them again.
Elijah went and visited Regis' winery and got the full tour of the place. The two began tentative
discussions on maybe working together but nothing was decided and no prices were even spoken
about. He saw Winifred there and again was amazed by the beautiful diamond pendant around her
neck. The winery was very plush and it was clear the Baum's had a lot of money.
Meeting back up at the inn the group decided that it was too late to head out too the keep now so
they settled down to a fun evening in the tap room, drinking beers and wine and eating their fill.
They continued to make a few friends in the town.
The day dawned wet, cold and rainy on the 3rd of September. The group set out for Quail Keep
through the rain down a winding trail which was muudy in the autumn weather. There was even
an old signpost pointing the way. About three hours wet trudge later the group arrived at the keep
which stood cold and imposing on the edge of the Forest of Nin.
It was much as Constable Wershaw had described. Stone walls with battlements upon which they
could spot hobgoblin guards. A scout around showed no secret ways in that they could discern.
There was no main door but in the doorway two carts were parked. These were filled with many
twigs and oily rags and they completely blocked the entrance. The group huddled in the rain about
a hundred feet away - out of easy bow range for the hobgoblins and hoping to remain unnoticed
for now. They could tell that the hobgoblins were alert. Dorian, the expert on hobgoblins, related
to the group that hobgoblins were unlike their orc and goblin cousins - they were organized and
military by nature. These would not be likely slacking off on guard and would be hard to catch
out.
After discussing a few options the group decided to see what would happen if they lit up the carts.
Fett knocked an arrow, Elijah lit it up and Fett fired it straight into the cart. The tinder ignited into
flames with an audiable whoosh. The hobgoblins, much as Dorian had predicted, reacted with
military discipline. A shout went up. Guards appeared on the battlements. Fett was spotted and
within seconds scarlet fletched arrows began to rain down on the area where our heroes were
gathered. Fortunately they had judged the distance well and the hbgoblin short bows were
struggling for accuracy at that range through the rain and wind. But the group decided to pull back
into the safety of some nearby trees anyway, just in case.
The group huddled together in the cold rain, watching the cart burn by the fort. The hobgoblins
did nothing to put the fires out but simply remained vigilant and on guard. The group settled down
to make a plan. How were they going to storm a keep full of alert, well prepared and disciplined
hobgoblin soldiers...?
Report Date
10 Apr 2024
Related Plots