A Noise in the Night Vol. 2

General Summary

The Ambush

Breaker was soundly asleep in his tent until he awoke to footsteps outside. He cut the tent to collapse on the two assassins intent on capturing the bounty on his head! Once outside, he yelled for help! Meanwhile, Mo was also awakened by strange noises outside her window at her room in the inn. Two assassins burst threw the window. Mo used her flying ability to maneuver herself expertly out of harm’s way and onto the roof. The assassins followed. Once Breaker’s cry rang out, the residents of Beyonder’s Blades awoke and finished the fight. The four assassins were captured by Bane and Irond and kept under Tobey’s jurisdiction.

A Deal

Ephyra summoned Mo and Breaker to her office the next day. As they entered, they realized Ephyra was exhausted and tired from the last night’s events. She sat at her formidable, wooden desk with Bryn, the archeologist from Ballarad, standing next to her. “How many assassins have there now been?” Ephyra asked Breaker. He thought to himself, the final count around twelve assassins. He told Ephyra so. Ephyra sighed. “We have a quest for you.” Ephyra explained that the residents of Beyonder’s Blades were frightened by the unpredictable ambushes. Although the attacks were focused on Breaker, there was a chance one could go wrong. Therefore, Ephyra asked Breaker and Mo to find the mysterious Black Phoenix in Ballarad and dispose of the threat to keep the settlement safe. She offered them a thousand shins to divide amongst their party and offered an extra 275 after haggling to make sure the group included Sih’Teel. Additionally, Bryn offered them seven midnight stones for bartering or reselling. The party had the morning to prepare and then would leave on a refurbished spacecraft that afternoon. The group, consisting of Breaker, Mo, Dante, Tidran, and Sih’Teel, met with Chelvin, the aeon priest, before heading off to Ballarad. He gave everyone weapon upgrades in gratitude for discovering the spacecraft in the cave. Once the party was ready, they met the charming Finn Holden at the inn. He lazily strolled their way and introduced himself. Breaker and company boarded the spacecraft and took a two day trip to Ballarad.

An Investigation in Town

Finn landed the spacecraft in the town square of Ballarad. After giving the party a commlink device to contact him, he strolled off to the nearest inn. That led the party to split up and go to different inns. Mo, preferring high class luxury, elected to stay at “The Inn of the Raised Hand.” Breaker sighed but agreed to do the same. Tidran and Dante chose the humble “Ballarad Inn” which cost significantly less than Mo’s choice. Sih’Teel also picked this location but then walked away from the party to do some investigation on the Black Phoenix on his own. Once the question of the inns was settled, Breaker visited an old contact at the Ballarad Prison. The Warden greeted him gruffly. “Do you have any people to put in prison?” He asked. “No,” Breaker said. The Warden explained that shortly before Breaker arrived, a prisoner named Craix went missing. Breaker commiserated with the grumpy turnkey but then asked for any leads on the Black Phoenix. “The Black Phoenix? Aye, everyone knows where the Black Phoenix appears. He’s at the Colossus Theatre listening to the musician, Aster, two times a week. But it’s the catching that’s hard. Once you get your hands on the Black Phoenix, he vanishes like a puff of smoke!” The Warden gave Breaker a tip to talk to Satina at the Observatory. He mentioned that Breaker could get information if he traded Midnight Stones to key people. Meanwhile, after Tidran and Dante rested, they received a tip from the innkeeper that the Observatory was a good place to go. Following the odd suggestion, Tidran and Dante walked to the Observatory and met Breaker and Mo at the house’s entrance.

“The Stars are Bright Tonight”

After the group compared notes, Breaker knocked on the front door of Satina’s house. The astronomer opened the door and greeted them. “The stars are bright tonight!” She said, “But what grim news darkens your faces? Come, come in, and have drinks. All I request is that you leave your weapons at the door.” Tidran elected to stay behind and hold everyone’s weapons. Breaker, Mo, and Dante followed Satina into her parlor. Breaker explained that they were looking for information about the Black Phoenix. Satina demurred to reveal anything without the hearer of the secret drinking a mixture that would cause them to forget the source of the information after the conversation took place. Dante decided to be the guinea pig. Satina sent the other two party members out and led Dante into another room. She revealed that the Black Phoenix was really Renick Duvald. Renick, the son of a once-affluent merchant father, headed Duvald Mercantile in Ballarad. The family made their primary living off of Midnight Stones which had grown in plenitude after the Jade Colossus rose out of the earth. Since their living dwindled, the family lost much of their riches and place in society. Renick had been sending assassins to capture Breaker in order to claim the large bounty on his head. He hoped to rebuild his family’s business with the money. Dante asked a few questions to clarify the information and wrote notes on a pad of paper. Once he was satisfied, Satina gave him a drink of forgetfulness. Dante wandered confusedly out of the room, wondering why he was there or what they had talked about. “The stars are bright tonight, are they not?” Satina asked agreeably as she led him out the door. “The stars are bright tonight,” Dante agreed brightly. The group met outside Satina’s doorstep and listened to Dante’s notes. They decided to go back to the Inn of the Raised Hand and decide on a plan of action together.

Ghosts in the Mist

On their way back, the group was mysteriously surrounded by six figures clothed in black! As the group readied their weapons, the assassins disappeared like puffs of smoke. A sign from the Black Phoenix? No one knew. They continued on their way to the inn where they met Sih’Teel. Sih’Teel was surprised at the amount of information his friends were able to uncover. He told them that he had a contact that he wanted to talk to in the morning. To celebrate their good progress on the investigation, he ordered two rounds of drinks for everyone! After more deliberation, Breaker, Mo, Tidran, and Dante decided that they would check out Duvald Mercantile in the morning and catch Renick before he disguised himself as the Black Phoenix. With their plans set, Tidran, Sih’Teel, and Dante departed to their inn while Breaker and Mo went to their room.

A Fight for their Lives

Mo calmly sat in the only bed in the room and read a book under the soft light of a glowglobe. Breaker tried his best to make himself comfortable on the ground with a spare blanket. Breaker was sound asleep when six assassins broke through the window in the room and forced their way in! They surrounded Breaker and attacked him all at once! Breaker attempted to dodge only to find that he had been poisoned! His reflexes, usually bright and quick, were slow and sluggish. He fought with the assassins but was wounded several times. Strangely, five assassins hung back from the fight while the leader targeted Breaker specifically. It became an epic duel as sword clashed against falchion! Mo attempted to help by throwing her knives at the leader but her attack missed. Finally, the battered and bleeding Breaker attempted to flee the fight. He jumped out of the window and climbed down to the street below. The assassins ignored Mo and followed after Breaker instead. The lead assassin fired and arrow and hit Breaker. Breaker winced but then fired his pistol at a large vat of ale outside the inn. The liquid gushed out of the broken barrel and impeded the assassins from successfully catching Breaker. Breaker ran to the Ballarad Inn and desperately knocked on Tidran’s door. Tidran let him in and found out what had happened. A sleepy Dante joined them in an minute. Mo arrived a few minutes later, having followed Breaker to the inn once the assassins were gone. The befuddled Sih’Teel joined the group as well. “Someone is after me,” Breaker told everyone, still wounded from the fight. The group decided to set a rotating watch and stay in the same room. Suddenly, a portal opened. Farren and Sirkel walked into the room. They both carried small crates. “Thank you!” Farren called to Gwydeon as the portal closed behind them. Exhausted, the group kept watch through the night and waited for the morning where they would confront the Black Phoenix.

Rewards Granted

1375 Shins to Divide & 7 Midnight Stones

Missions/Quests Completed

Find the Identity of the Black Phoenix

Character(s) interacted with

Ephyra Bryn Chelvin Finn Holden Satina Gwydeon

Report Date

14 Mar 2020