Leafturn 8th-21st: Travel to Guesclin, the Grand Fabrique, and the Dwarfman's Guild

General Summary

On passing the trials of arms at the Cenobium, the party set off for Guesclin along the northern road. On their way, they encountered a party of soldiers from Guesclin escorting criminals back to the city for judgement (among them Guy Sharpe, Croaker Norge's former enemy). Upon nightfall, the caravan is attacked by masked bandits, who seek to free the prisoners.
With the help of the Cenobites, the guards kill or incapacitate all the bandits, and on questioning them find that the leader is a deposed noble, Arnault de la Croix, of the halfling household of Poncelet du Toit, Lord of the Galona in the Avin valley. He leads the party back to his liege lord in the hills north of the Cenobium, where they are treated with respect. Despite this, Mountain Storm decides to pick a fight with the lord, and is challenged to and wins a duel against Sir Bureau Renou, Eldritch Knight champion of Lord du Toit.
Before leaving, Croaker Norge manages to convince the leader of a band of halfling women, the Giant Slayers, to join the expedition to Rainstar Island simply by paying them wages owed by Lord du Toit. They break away from the camp in small numbers and join the caravan a week or so later headed to Guesclin.
Once in Guesclin, the Cenobites drink, eat and buy supplies from mundane and magical shops alike. They also make a deal and take a down payment on the silk shipment from Master Pierre Ducos, which they later break in favor of a deal with the Dwarfman's Guild. Of course, this angers Ducos, who it is assumed is responsible for the shadowy assassin that tries to kill Tao Redsun at the inn while the party sleeps one night. After thwarting the assasination attempt, the group rendevous with their caravan, escort it back to Guesclin, and go into hiding again in the cellar of the Dwarfman's Guild safehouse.
Declan Lorch, the guildmaster, informs them that Ducos has a bounty out on their heads, and that it's time to get out of town. He has arranged passage for the group on the Azar's Ray, a long and sleek ship with deep blue sails of silk and 10 oars. Smuggling the group out through the sewers in the dead of night, they silently board the ship and pull away into Silverflash Bay, seeing glimpses of Sea Elf guard towers beneath the waves and a patrol mounted on dolphins. As Guesclin's Golden Tower winks out of sight as day breaks, the group is introduced to Captain Farokh Darasha, who tells them about their journey ahead and warns of the dangers of the open ocean.

Report Date

23 Nov 2021