Session 22: The Inquisition
or: I Wouldn't Do That If I Were You...
General Summary
Dawn-Midnight, 13th of Drawingdown
The group rises at dawn and begins to plot their next moves. They only have a short time before they are expected at the Citadel, and decide to make a move against The Greenlake Wizard. Claire writes a note reading "Bring it, bitch", but is unsatisfied with her calligraphy and wishes she had perfume to apply to the paper. Kaiess suggests they make ink using some of his charcoal and ashes from some of Claire's incense. While Claire works on this project and the second draft of the note, Kaiess heads to the marketplace in the early hours of the morning to get supplies to build a trap. When he returns, the note is finished. As the ink dries, Kaiess builds a mechanism on the inside of the large chest his friends took from The Great Wizard Rudolphus. When triggered, the trapped chest will snap a bear trap shut on the hands of anyone who opens it carelessly. Claire folds her beautiful note and places it in the chest, Kaiess sets the trap, and they send the chest back into the Ethereal Plane.
In the last hour or so before they are needed at the Citadel, they discuss their plans for what to do at the inquisition. They decide to try and be as useless as possible without aggravating the people in charge and avoid incriminating themselves. Knowing her own limitations, Claire decides to avoid lying at all and speaking only in half-truths with as little detail as possible. They have breakfast at the temple—goat milk and potato porridge with melted cheese, examined first by Claire with Detect Poison and Disease—and head to the Citadel.
The guards let them into the courtyard, and they see a larger guard presence outside the Citadel than there was the last time they were here. Ivy Drake the night manager at Traders' Hall and the middle-aged couple they saved from the blast zone are being escorted outside by guards. Claire attempts to flirt with Ivy by offering her a shoulder to cry on in these scary times, but she is nervous and stammering, which Ivy interprets as a response to the trauma of being at the center of the attack. She gives Claire a warm hug and proceeds on her way out of the inner circle of the city.
The group approaches the guards and Kaiess asks if they will need to surrender their weapons again. The guard tells them that yes, they do, and apologizes for the inconvenience. He also asks to see their magical identification, which they show him. Claire turns over her weapons and gives the guard her "holy symbol—the gold necklace Kaiess pulled from the body of the skin bat—and leaves her true holy symbol tucked away under her winter clothes. She has left her enchanted clothes at home, not wanting to make her connection with Dwarf-kind more obvious. Conor gives them her holy symbol of the Harvest Mother and her sword, leaving her druidic staff tied on the back of her backpack in the hopes that it will be seen as just a walking stick. No one asks her to give it up. Kaiess follows the orders to the highest degree, turning over everything that could be used as a weapon including his fishing tackle, bear traps, shaving kit, and chef's tools. He keeps his crossbow bolts after asking the guard for permission to do so. Kaiess tells the guard to be careful of his new crossbow, which he's named Big Bertha. The guard, who introduces himself as Jamison, lets Kaiess know he's a crossbow enthusiast and will take good care of her. Kaiess offers to let Jamison test fire the bow, and the guard tells him he will take him up on it after they are released from the inquisition. He asks them if they are under any illusion magic, and they tell him they are not, at least to their knowledge.
Jamison leads them inside to the hall they met the Duke in last time. The doors are closed and no sound passes through at all, even though when they were last here, they could hear conversation in the hallways even when the doors were shut. After a few minutes of waiting, another witness is allowed to leave and the group is shown inside. A line of translucent, faintly glowing runes marks the threshold, and once the group crosses it, Jamison's voice on the other side goes silent.
A witness stand has been set up in the hall, as has a table near the dais that holds the charred remains of the automaton. More people are here than the last time, and more guards are standing by as well.
On the dais:
- Duke Tymor, in his usual spot
- An elderly looking man in grey robes, a mace and chain around his waist—he's sitting in Councilor Alons's chair, and the group thinks he looks like a priest
- Sir Gervas, again in a spare chair
- Cleves, wearing nicer dark purple robes this time instead of a dirty leather apron—he's holding a crystal sphere over his head
- Captain Wheatflow of the City Guard
- 3 City Guards in leather armor with green trim—a young human man with red hair, a human woman with one arm, and a half-orc woman with the sides of her head shaved and a long braid running down the middle of her back
- Councilor Alons
- Sadon Farlight
- 2 mages—a very elderly, hunched human man and an ageless, genderless half-elf—both in deep blue robes
- A court artist, hard at work at a small table in a corner of the room
Captain Wheatflow's Questions:
- Claire: after leaving the Duke's hall the day of the attack, she and her friends went to Traders' Hall for dinner. She describes in great detail the delicious food they had there. They went to bed in their rooms, she took her armor off for the night, and they were woken up when the automaton began to attack. They fought it, it kept attacking Claire, it began acting weirdly once it was defeated, and they locked it in the room because they were afraid it might explode. The blast damaged a lot of their property. The group went around the inn trying to help other patrons.
- Conor: To clarify, the automaton woke them up when it picked the door to their room.
- Claire: It jumped on her and stabbed her with needle-like blades on its hands, some of which are still visible in the wreckage pile.
- Conor: It could crawl on the ceiling.
- Claire: It moved weirdly, and earlier it acted like it was a person.
- Kaiess: He saw it in the tavern before the attack. He recognized it as wearing the same clothes. He noticed it was moving strangely, like Claire said—too smoothly and quickly to be natural—though he didn't think much of it until after the attack was underway. When asked to clarify what he observed the automaton doing in the tavern, Kaiess said he had only caught a brief glimpse of it as it walked upstairs.
- Claire: They knew people were hurt, and while they didn't know what kind of blast it had been, they knew it looked weird. They went into nearby rooms to drag people to safety and heal them.
- Kaiess: They helped evacuate people from their floor. After salvaging his damaged belongings from his room, he went downstairs to make sure someone had gone to get help—his story can be confirmed by Ivy Drake.
Cleves' Questions:
Why they thought the automaton was going to explode:
- Claire: It had begun to act "funny" after they took it down. They thought it was going to do something, but weren't sure what.
- Kaiess: Offers to clarify, as he was closer to the automaton than she was when the fight ended. He explains that the automaton had an orb in its chest that began to spin very rapidly after the rest of the machine had gone still ("spinning fast like grandma's whisk when she's making cookies in the kitchen") and he was afraid that it would fly out of the machine and "make a doggone mess of things", so they "yote it into the room" and shut the door behind it.
- Not to any of their knowledge.
- Kaiess: They knew because Conor had emerged with burned skin after going into the blast area to save people, even after the explosion had ended. They told the Captain so he would not screw the pooch with the investigation.
Claire asks if he is speaking to the Regent, and he ignores her, yielding the floor to Sir Gervas. Kaiess taunts him again, thanking him for moving on so the inquisition doesn't bark up the wrong tree.
Sir Gervas' Questions:
Why the automaton seemed to go after Claire in particular:
- Claire: She has no idea if it was, but it was stabbing her. She didn't know if it was going after just them or not.
- Conor: Prefacing that she means no offense to Claire, Conor explains that in many scraps they get into with monsters, Claire is often the prime target as she is physically the weakest of the three of them. Claire acknowledges this, but fakes offense.
- Kaiess: Confirms the truth of Conor's words, adding that the only time he remembers being attacked first instead of Claire was when they were attacked by the Ophiro, which took him out rather quickly—"though obviously, it didn't do a super good job since I'm still here. But, anyway..."
- Kaiss and Claire: Kaiess tells the assembly that yes, they're attacked regularly by monsters, more often than one might think. Claire speaks over him, saying that they are travelers and run into dangerous creatures a lot while out in the wilderness.
- Conor: Tells Sir Gervas to ask Sadon Farlight about how many monster heads they've brought back.
Do they know who would have done an attack like this, or who could have?
- Kaiess: He tells the room that he knows the attack must have been done by a powerful mage, and they only know of one wizard—Cleves—but he states that Cleves probably wasn't involved as he probably has no reason to want him or his friends dead. Probably.
- Cleves: The wizard calls out to the sphere, saying, "Let the record state that they are now accusing me of this attack!"
- Kaiess: Corrects him, saying that they don't think he did it—and he doesn't think he would have the balls to.
Do they have any enemies with the power to do something like this?
- Claire: Lies (poorly) and says no, they're merely travelers, and begins to elaborate on the simple tasks they do for the people that hire them.
- Kaiess: Begins to talk over her, loudly, saying that he's never met anyone who could do something like this.
High Priest Hengli and Duke Tymor decline to ask the group any questions. The Duke calls a guard over to him and whispers something in his ear, after which the man leaves through a back door behind the dais. He then tells the group they are free to go. The three leave the hall, and as soon as they pass over the rune barrier, Kaiess tells the others that he hates "that little runt."
The group notices that the guards stationed outside are different ones than had been there when they went inside. Jamison—and all of their belongings—is nowhere to be seen. A blond guard approaches them and asks them to follow him, but he indicates a direction away from where they entered the Citadel. They ask him where they are being led, and when asked where they are supposed to be going, tells them they have been requested by the Duke but he can't say more right now.
They follow him deeper into the Citadel and up a flight of stairs to a door, which he opens and asks them to wait inside. Inside the room is a fireplace with a stuffed green drake head over the mantle. She is able to sense that the guard is concealing something from them, but doesn't seem to be actively planning to attack them. They go inside, and he locks the door behind them. They do not hear him walk away.
The room they have been led to is a trophy room of sorts, longer than it is deep, and decorated with horns and pelts from animals both magical and mundane. In the corners of the room are taxidermy trophies of an owlbear and a direwolf, both posed menacingly. In the flickering, dim light of the dying fireplace, the stuffed creatures cast dark shadows across the polished stone floor.
The wall opposite the fireplace is lined with portraits, most depicting people who look very much like Duke Tymor. One is a wedding portrait of a younger Duke and a woman with dark hair. One painting is covered by a black silk cloth—Kaiess pulls the cloth away, revealing a portrait of a teenage girl with blonde ringlets looking very stiff in a ruffled, high-necked gown. Conor gasps, recognizing her as Sarah Darkwood—who she calls "Justice Lady". Kaiess is taken aback, realizing that Conor and Claire know her, and asks them to put him in the loop. Claire promises that they will and urges them to stop talking about this right now. Kaiess hangs the cloth back over the portrait and checks behind each of them hanging on the wall. All he finds are cobwebs, which he pockets.
The three are locked in the room for several minutes, and boredom begins to take over. Kaiess tests his walloping bolts on Conor to see if they knock people over even when he just throws them. They do. Claire taps on the door and asks the guard outside how long they are supposed to wait before the Duke arrives, but she gets no response.
Claire mentions to her friends that yes, they might be about to meet with the Duke, but there is also every possibility that they will meet someone else—or that they're being held in this room as prisoners. Kaiess asks the others to see about putting the fire out and checking on the potential of using the chimney as an escape route. They debate using the Light spell after the fire is out, but Claire worries that it would reveal that she still has her holy symbol with her. Kaiess lights a torch instead. Conor extinguishes the fire with a cantrip and looks up. The chimney is wide enough to stand in, extends two or three stories up, and opens to the sky, but is closed off with a metal grate. Kaiess mentions they have 40' of rope and the inside of a chimney seems very climb-able. They throw the torch into the grate to relight the hearth.
Kaiess begins to pick the lock on the door, but a hand on the other side grabs the handle. A gruff voice says, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." He apologizes and backs off.
Kaiess is bad at sitting still for this long. He climbs on top of the direwolf and finds that it isn't very sturdy. He very gently dismounts. Claire suggests that he play tic tac toe with her. He's familiar with the game, and they play to a tie.
Conor hears footsteps approaching the door. They all rise, Claire crumpling the tic tac toe paper and putting it in her pocket. Conor moves to stand in front of Claire. Kaiess stands behind the door, holding his two unique crossbow bolts—the adamantine and walloping bolts—behind his back to use in case of emergency.
The door swings open and a pretty young woman sweeps into the room. She has olive skin, round eyes, and curly auburn hair. Her dress, low cut and off-the-shoulder, is big and bouncy. She introduces herself as Alythia, someone who works personally for the Duke. Alythia speaks in an exaggerated Valley-girl accent with a lot of cutesy slang. She gives the appearance of being something of an airhead. As the door once again locks behind her, she announces that the Duke has a career opportunity (not a job offer) for them.
Claire, checking to see if Alythia is real or an illusion, touches her bare shoulder as she introduces herself. Alythia flinches and tries to block her touch, but misses. Claire apologizes and explains her concerns, to which Alythia giggles and says, "No! I'm totally real!"
Alythia explains that there is "a lot of really scary stuff going on", including King Bradley's murder and the courtroom that "blew up" in Redcrest, and the higher-ups think it's all connected and something big is going on behind the scenes. The Duke wants the three of them to investigate and figure out the who, what, and why of these attacks.
When asked why the Duke would hire them and not rely on official channels, Alythia tells them that of course the Crownsguard and other factions are working on this, but the Duke wants an outsider perspective. They fear that many within the Varellian hierarchy may be involved, especially as King Bradley was murdered by one of his own Crownsguard. The group's resume, she says as she plays with some of the taxidermy in the room, shows that they're good at killing stuff, which is really respected in Crowhill. They are also magic users, so they're likely more experienced with this sort of thing than others would be. She tells them that this job is "100% under the table, so don't tell anybody!" If they succeed, she says, money will never be an issue for them again as the Duke always pays his debts. They won't get famous for this, though, as they have to keep it a secret.
Kaiess hints that if they're interested in powerful mages, they should investigate the Hew House, which not only manufactures magic items but sells them to all sorts of people. She asks if he's been there, and they tell her no, they only know about it by talking to people who sell magic items. When asked how soon they plan to leave Crowhill, Kaiess tells her they're planning to leave for Ostabek to see his family within the next 24-48 hours.
Claire tells Alythia that they're interested, but need time to think about it before they answer. Alythia asks that they give her an answer before they leave the city, and when they agree, she tells them her people will be in touch tonight to hear their response. She wishes them luck, and they're led outside and out of the Citadel.
Out in the courtyard, they meet up with Jamison who returns their weapons. He asks Kaiess if he can fire Big Bertha, and Kaiess agrees. They go around the side of the Citadel and he fires a bolt into the side of a stable stall. It's got a lot of kick. Conor asks Jamison if he can take them to see Favian Mobray in the archives, and Jamison agrees. They're allowed to keep their weapons this time, as the archives are on the other side of the Citadel and Jamison will be staying with them.
They find Favian hard at work transcribing a scroll. Kaiess and Jamison stand out in the hallway swapping stories (Jamison's is about how one time he saw a really big owl). Conor asks Favian if the archives keep lists of people who work in the Citadel—it doesn't, but Favian says he knows a lot of the people who work here and might be able to help them find a name if they give him a description of the person they're looking for. Conor clarifies that she isn't looking for a name, per se, but is more trying to figure out a person's role within the Citadel. Favian says, "If you're talking about Councilor Alons, I'm not supposed to talk about that." Claire asks about the kind of messengers employed by the Citadel, and is told they hire couriers, long-distance messengers, and carrier pigeon keepers. They discuss the people who advise the Duke, and Favian admits that Cleves freaks him out. Cleve's pet bat, Steam, is pretty cute, though. They thank him for his help, and Conor tells him he's a good boy. Favian is perplexed as to what they even needed, but seems happy to have helped.
The group leaves the Citadel and returns to the temple to eat and discuss what to do next. After lunch, they return to their cell where their roommate Alys is fast asleep. They talk about leaving town first thing in the morning, as soon as Claire's armor is ready to be picked up. When Claire asks them, Kaiess tells her he's very interested in accepting Alythia's deal and Conor says that while she is also interested, she needs to discuss it first. The way Kaiess sees it, they can still check on his family in Ostabek while working on this mission as this is likely also connected to The Greenlake Wizard, and if they're already investigating this, they might as well get paid. He makes an elaborate metaphor about how if something sounds, smells, and shits like a bear, it's likely a bear. Claire questions his leaving out something looking like a bear as part of the criteria, but Kaiess says a hunter would know they were tracking a bear long before seeing it.
Though they are all mostly in agreement, Claire expresses her fear that when they were in the Citadel, this meeting with Alythia was a plot to entrap them in some political mess, and she still feels like it might be. She suggests they leave at dawn, and give their answer via the Sending spell once they're safely away from Crowhill. Kaiess mentions they can buy her new armor so they can leave even faster. Claire seems a little disappointed by this, as she'd hoped to do something (Ivy Drake) before leaving, but declines to explain what that is. She tells her friends that it was something unimportant and personal, and not serious enough to delay leaving for. It is suggested that they contact the Duke directly using Sending so that they can determine if Alythia's offer was truly his idea.
In case he's listening, Claire verbally insults Cleves, calling him dumb and stinky and saying he looks like a rotten egg. For good measure, they also insult the Greenlake Wizard, saying he's a creepy pervert who doesn't get out much and likes to spy on "girls, guys, and babies."
They go to the market to pick up their repaired items. Claire's armor isn't finished, so she trades it in for a new set at a slightly discounted price. Next, they stop by Trader's Hall to pick up their livestock and cart. Kaiess buys a cage for Jeremy the Goose while he's there and sells the mule and cart at market at a loss.
They begin their journey out of the city. A guard at the middle gate stops them and, when they inform him they're leaving, tells them "I wouldn't do that if I were you." He isn't going to stop them, though, and they pass through. The three of them sprint through the fields between the middle and outer gates, Jeremy honking angrily as the cage bounces around on Kaiess's back. Guards at the outer gate stop them and also tell them the same thing, down to the wording. They leave the city gates and start to head for the hills.
Claire Sends the following message to the Duke:
“Hello, this is Claire, Conor, and Kaeiss. We are interested in the career opportunity set forth by your servant Alythia. You can reply to this.”
The spell fails.
Claire tries again, this time contacting Alythia. She responds, saying:
“That’s super awesome! I need to give you guys some things, so like… don’t leave. Can I meet you in the western barracks at sunset?”
They debate just leaving town without meeting her first. Claire thinks this is probably a trap, but the others mention she's likely giving them information or tools to help them. They don't come to an agreement, so Kaiess announces he's going back into town even if he has to go on his own. He leaves and heads back to the city. Claire and Conor quickly debate what to do next, and Conor says she doesn't want to leave him to face this on his own as she fears for his safety. They follow him into the city, back in past the middle wall, and wait in the residential district near the western barracks until sundown.
A guard sees them waiting and motions for them to come inside. He leads them through the armory and to a staircase, and tells them to go upstairs. They do, and find Alythia sitting on a bunk in an empty barracks. She is once again bubbly and happy to see them, and thanks them for deciding to come back into town to hear her out.
She produces a wooden box and pulls out a scroll. She gives it to Kaiess it's part of a linked pair of magic items, and that the Duke has the other one. It's a more secure method of communication, as spells like Sending can be intercepted or blocked. The reason their spell failed, she explained, is that the Duke was still under the protection of the runes in the inquisition hall. The runes block any communication or monitoring that doesn't originate inside the rune perimeter, but that if he had the scroll with him, he could still talk to them. Claire starts to test it out, but she is told she will have to attune to it first. This is a security protocol, she says, so that anyone who finds it can't just "send the Duke dirty pictures." This scroll is special, Alythia says, in that multiple users can attune to it.
Claire asks Alythia what year she's from. Alythia smiles and tells her she's from 2005, and guesses that Claire's from sometime in the 90s. They talk about how they're both from the West Coast in the U.S., and Alythia says she's "from the Valley." When asked, Alythia explains that the last thing she remembers from her time in the future was being pulled down by the undertow while swimming in the ocean. After that, she woke up on the beach outside Bellmoral, got a job, and has worked in Varellia ever since. Claire asks why she hasn't left, since Varellia is pretty homophobic and terrible. Alythia says that she has stayed in cities as much as she can, and hasn't gone off into the wilderness for fear of being attacked by monsters. Besides, she says, she assumed that everywhere in the past was just as backwards. Claire tells her that at least from the small bit she's seen, Rosany seemed less openly bigoted, and suggests she visit it sometime. Claire also asks if Alythia changed her name in to fit in better, and Alythia tells her no, it's the name she was given by her parents. A little surprised, Claire tells her that she's never met another Alythia before—Alythia says she's met a lot of Claires.
Alythia explains that this plot might be working to destabilize the continent or start a war. For that reason, she says, "The Duke won't be mad if you can't bring them back to like, face justice or whatever." Dragging her finger across her neck, she tells them killing the party responsible is a valid way to complete the mission. If they, do it, however, there are stipulations. She produces a dagger with a bone handle and a deep groove in the blade and begins to twirl it between her fingers, explaining that the perpetrator should ideally be stabbed with this weapon to finish them off. If that can't happen, they should at least stab the body with the knife after the fact. This is, she says, to give the Duke proof of their death, the person's identity, and confirm that they're finished for good.
Alythia tells Claire that she hasn't let on that she's from the future, as she feels like it would become unsafe for her if she did. She confides in a whisper that even the Duke doesn't know. She tells them good luck and disappears upstairs.
The group leaves the barracks and heads out of the city, making their course towards a detour in Steepwick before heading north for Ostabek. They decide to start walking now, even though it's after dark, and try to find a cave near the foot of The Silverstrike Mountains to make camp in for the night. The moon is bright enough that Kaiess can see. As they travel, Claire seems irritable for some reason.
A few miles out, they find a wide stump that has had hundreds of copper pieces hammered into its bark like scales. It seems like some kind of good-luck ritual. They all three hammer in a copper. Kaiess produces hiking snacks for them with Goodberry, and feeds one to the goose as well. A few miles later, they are passed by a herd of aurochs heading south. Kaiess tells them not to worry, his group means them no harm, and they continue on their way.
About 15 miles out from the city, Kaiess begins sensing his surroundings for the presence of cave-dwelling animals. He notes the presence of a few hibernating cave bears in the area and leads them past those to a shallow cave currently only inhabited by bats. They make camp inside. Kaiess produces more Goodberries and leashes Jeremy to a stalagmite so she can roam during the night without running off. He explains to her that he expects her to behave, but wants her to be able to stretch her legs and rest where she wants to. He makes a little bed for her in the cage and leaves the door open. He then sets up two bear traps near the mouth of the cave, warning the others of their presence.
Claire and Conor ritually cast Detect Magic. The first thing they see is a mote of divination magic hovering nearby. Claire waves to it and flips it off. Kaiess mentions charms that were worn in his hometown, some for birth control, others for luck, and others to suppress divination magic. He's unsure if they work, but says they should look into getting something like that.
The scroll is magical, and reads as a source of evocation magic. The bone-handled dagger does not read as magical. After about three minutes, the divination sensor fades away.
The group begins their night's long rest.
Rewards Granted
Group: Magical Scroll, Non-Magical Spooky Bone Knife
Kaiess: Handful of cobwebs, goose cage, +13 GP profits from the mule/cart sale, his life
Claire: new armor, her life
Conor: her life
Kaiess: Handful of cobwebs, goose cage, +13 GP profits from the mule/cart sale, his life
Claire: new armor, her life
Conor: her life
Missions/Quests Completed
The Bear Trap is a Surprise Tool That Will Help Us Later
Court 2, Electric Boogaloo
Not a Job Offer, a Career Opportunity
Another Visitor from Claire's Time
Get the Hell Out of Dodge, Part II
Divination Magic: Confirmed
World's Best Dog Award (Falcor, reigning champion)
Court 2, Electric Boogaloo
Not a Job Offer, a Career Opportunity
Another Visitor from Claire's Time
Get the Hell Out of Dodge, Part II
Divination Magic: Confirmed
World's Best Dog Award (Falcor, reigning champion)
Character(s) interacted with
PCs
Claire Blackwell
Kaiess Knolltun
Conor Oakenriver
NPCs
Ivy Drake, night manager of Traders' Hall
Jamison, Citadel guard/crossbow enthusiast
Duke Tymor
Sir Gervas, Varelllian Crownsguard
High Priest Hengli, Temple of the Shield (Crowhill)
Cleves, Court Wizard of the Citadel
Captain Wheatflow, Crowhill City Guard
The Regent of Varellia, attending the inquisition via magical Skype
Alythia
Alys Goldback, embroidered cloth merchant
Jeremy the Goose
Murphey the Mule, probably a mule burger by now :(
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