ASFTD: Session X

General Summary

In the top of the Sleeping Wyvern Tavern, in the town of Kleinhaupt, Elijah was finishing up a lucrative game of Sultan’s Bluff with Notker and his companions, in which he had managed to win himself a respectable amount of money. With the game over, Notker, acknowledging Elijah properly for the first time, dismissed his companions, so that the two of them could talk more privately. Elijah filled Notker in on the fact that they had been able to secure 19 of the prisoners into the service of Linde Frankesen they had set out to intercept earlier in the day, and that they, Linde Frankesen and her guards stood ready to act when the time came. Notker was clearly pleased to hear this news, and informed Elijah that he would set the plan in motion, and that they would be able to draw a crowd to protest against Baron Theobald Hohensten, and his actions, and attempt to pressurise him into giving concessions within 1-2 hours. With that, he gave a few curt orders to the people assembled in the upper room of the tavern, all of whom got up and left to carry out Notker’s orders.
As Notker stood up himself and began to lead Elijah back to the downstairs of the tavern, he began to speak to him about what might happen next. As the two descended to the ground floor of the tavern, they were too slow to realise that the two Humans who had tailed the party into the tavern in the first place, and who had successfully approached Finn and Thorwald with a task that the two had accepted, were still in the tavern, and they both moved in to attack. Their target was clearly Notker, who was struck straight off by a dagger thrown at short range, that had clearly injured him quite badly. As pandemonium broke out in the tavern, Elijah moved in to engage the two men, and found unexpected aid in the forms of a Halfling Rogue who had been drinking in the tavern, and who leaped in to assist. Their assailants, who turned out to be agents of Valentin, were clearly hell bent on killing Notker, but Elijah and the mysterious Halfling were able to dispatch them both, and took Notker back upstairs to stabilise him, Seeing that Notker was in a bad way, and would need extra assistance, Elijah left him in the care of Rain, who was just about recovered from a heavy spell of drinking that had rendered him useless in the fight that had just happened, and the Halfling, who introduced himself hurriedly as Merric, and he set off at speed across the town, in an attempt to track down Thorwald, or some of Notker’s own men who might be able to help him.
Whilst all of this was going on, Finn and Thorwald had made their way to the Royal Flower Inn on the other side of the town, as they followed up on the job that had been given to them to find a Dwarf named Magnus, who had apparently been slandering the ‘boss’ of the agents in the Sleeping Wyvern, who they both still believed still worked for an unknown party named Lukas. As they entered the Royal Flower, the pair realised that this was not the kind of establishment that they were used to, as the Inn was incredibly smartly presented, with a fine interior made of high quality polished wood, and semi-private booths that were occupied by patrons wearing rather expensive clothes, and who clearly were very moneyed. Approaching the bar, Finn and Thorwald ordered a (an incredibly expensive) drink as they began to scan the place to see if they could spot a Dwarf matching the description they had been given, with a large bulbous nose, a rather impressive moustache and an incredibly loud voice. Hearing and seeing a Dwarf of this kind in one of the nearby booths, Thorwald moved in to engage him in conversation. As he did so, Finn, having a rather entrepreneurial brain wave, began to approach other tables, posing as a waiter, and used his own money to buy cheap bottles of wine and pass them off to the punters as much more expensive bottles, and pocket the difference in the process.
Approaching the booth, Thorwald found Magnus, talking drunkenly and animatedly to a rather bored Human, who was more than happy to clear out when Thorwald whispered quietly in his ear and slipped him a gold piece. Before Magnus could launch into a full flow of stories with which to regale his newly appeared companion, Thorwald discretely but forcefully ordered him to step outside with him, as he had offended someone who he ought not to have offended. Nervously, Magnus began to move out of the Inn, with Thorwald and a much richer Finn close behind. Once out of the Inn, they led Magnus round the side of the building to a small stable clock, where they began to grill him as to what rumours he had been spreading about Lukas, a name they quickly realised that Magnus had no knowledge of whatsoever. It quickly became apparent to the two of them that they had been sent to find Magnus under false pretences, and realising their mistake, they began to lead Magnus back towards the Inn, as they tried to establish with him why someone would want him roughed up over something that he hadn’t done, to a man that may not even exist.
As they came back onto the main street in front of the Royal Flower, they were accosted by a group of the baron’s Guards, led by none other than Wolfram, the Captain of the Baronial Guard. Stopping the three of them in their tracks, Wolfram proclaimed that he had been despatched by Valentin to apprehend Magnus, along with two dangerous accomplices, who were planning a revolt against the Baron. Clearly recognising that the situation was going south, Finn attempted to sneak back into the stable and cause a diversion by setting loose some of the horses there, however he was spotted by one of the guards, and instead of giving up, Finn made the decision to attack.
Meanwhile, Elijah had been hightailing it through the streets after his two companions, during which time he had managed to come across some of Notker’s men, and dispatched them back to the Sleeping Wyvern Tavern to see that their boss was seen to medically. By the time that Elijah arrived on the scene, the outlook for Thorwald and Finn was not so good. Finn was being restrained by two guards, while Thorwald had been stunned by a well-aimed blow to the head from Wolfram’s cudgel. As Elijah came close enough to ascertain what was going on, he immediately leapt into the fray himself, to try and swing the odds back into the party’s favour. At the same time, back at the Sleeping Wyvern, Notker’s men had arrived and, knowing that he was in good hands, Merric and Rain began themselves to travel across town as fast as could, Rain carrying the Halfling Merric so that they gained some extra speed.
Unfortunately Elijah was not able to significantly change the odds, as Wolfram was clearly a very accomplished fighter who was very much giving them a run for their money. However, the party were saved by the sound of a bell, ringing out from up on the hill of the Baronial Mansion, a bell that Wolfram and the remaining guards clearly took to be a very important and concerning sign, as they withdrew, leaving the party to recover from their beating. Apprehending one of the slower guards, they learnt that the bell was the alarm bell, indicating that the baronial mansion, possibly even the town might be under attack. As Elijah, Finn and Thorwald began to follow Wolfram at a distance, they were joined by Merric and Rain, who said that a large crowd had gathered outside the gates to the baronial mansion, which had been barred from the inside. Tracking their way along the side of the hill, and picking up Linde Frankesen from her compound on the way, the party joined the crowd to see what was occurring. They noticed that the crowd was not only made up of townspeople, but also of Baronial guardsmen in large number, who were clearly locked out of the Mansion, Wolfram included.
As the party and the crowd watched on, a man, dressed in the all black garb of Valentin’s agents, stepped up on the walls of the gate house and proclaimed that the Baron had been declared unfit to rule in his old age, and that Valentin had declared himself Baron Regent in order to ensure that the state was able to continue to function without disruption. The spokesman also requested that the crowd disperse, and that those guards in the crowd who had clearly not declared for Valentin, lay down their arms and retreat peacefully. Enraged by this news, Thorwald, still smarting from their close encounter with Wolfram, cast sacred flame on the spokesman, causing him to lose his balance and topple to his death in front of the gate below. This act of aggression was swiftly followed by a hail of crossbow bolts from the walls, as Valentin’s agents, and the guards loyal to him opened fire on the crowd.
As the crowd panicked and began to flee in all directions, the party too began to retreat, though not before Thorwald had himself been struck in the shoulder by a bolt. Taking shelter in the nearby Wolf Tavern, the party took stock of what had just happened, and Thorwald realised that the crossbow bolt that had struck him, had a scrap of parchment tied around it reading:

Valentin has seized control of the Baron’s mansion with his agents and guards loyal to his cause. He is planning to hand the Barony over to some Shadow Elves, and rule as their puppet. Baron under lock and key. So far blagged my way as one of his supporters, not sure how long I’ll avoid detection. Come to the south tower at nightfall, and I will engineer a way to get you access.
Kepler

Having read the note, the party asked Linde to remain in the Wolf Tavern and to try and drum up further support for the insurrection, whilst they left via a back door to seek out Wolfram and the Baronial Guard that were still loyal to the Baron. It did not take them long to track them down to the North gate of the Town, where they had set up a base of operations, and Thorwald stepped forward to parlay with an initially quite sceptical Wolfram. Thorwald informed Wolfram that they had a way to get into the mansion, and if he and his guard would stand at the ready, then they would open the gates and give them a way in. Begrudgingly, Wolfram accepted the offer, and the party retreated to rest and recuperate at the Royal Flower Inn, directly opposite the south tower of the mansion, to await nightfall.

Report Date

07 Feb 2019

Primary Location

Kleinhaupt