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Session 6, Part 1: Readying for Adventure...
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When they arrived back in town; Spiderfang had come to the realization that he couldn’t just leave his friends. He was now somewhat disabled; but he told the party that he would stay and help them investigate this new threat. Although several of the others noted that Spiderfang’s sudden change in attitude seemed almost unhealthy, maybe even borderline self-destructive. They all hoped that he would snap out of it soon, and they spoke of a day when they would be powerful enough to heal him to full health. Yet he was young and impatient, and found it hard to stay optimistic about promises of the distant future. His youth taught him that the future only brought more doubt, confusion, and personal loss.
The party was somewhat optimistic when Tansooth headed off to the local pewter-smith, Arvien of Ashabenford. He brought with him a gauntlet and asked Arvien if she could fill the fingers with pewter in order to keep the gauntlet in a permanent fist, which Tansooth planned to strap to his handless arm.
Meanwhile, Holden visited the house of the High Councilor to negotiate payment for the apprehension of additional raiders that the party might encounter when they track the source of this newfound threat.
Drexel visited the home of Noristuor, the mage of Ashabenford. When asking around, Drexel found out that no one was interested in discussing Noristuor in great length, but he did find out that the man was renowed for his habitual sour manner, sharp tongue, and frightening appearance. Drexel took to asking the local children where Noristuor lived, hoping that his nefarious reputation would have interested kids. He managed to find some children, who spoke of Noristuor as if a monster lived in town. After Drexel handed them a few gold, they spoke freely of where he might be able to find the mage who was obviously a tiefling. Drexel was amused by this discovery, and became more encouraged to meet the man.
As he approached the moderate sized house at the end of a side street, he noticed that it was very quiet, and none of the neighborhood children played near the house. The front yard was fenced in, and when Drexel approached, the image of a face appeared and spoke in a resounding voice, “GO-A-WAY!!!”
The voice continued to speak, while Drexel annoyingly pushed the gate open and moved up to the front door. Knocking repeatedly on the door seemed to have no effect, so Drexel called out, “I can pay you for your services, and I can pay you VERY well.”
Reluctantly, Noristuor opened the door and let Drexel in. After some degree of bartering, Drexel was allowed the use of Noristuor’s library for a substantial amount of coin. When Drexel was finished he spoke one last time to Noristuor, only this time in Infernal, “GhorBichLokNiFer”, or “Good-Bye” in common.
With a crooked smile Noristuor watched Drexel walk through the front gate. Perhaps they would someday be friends Drexel thought as walked away with a few more spells in his spellbook. He grimaced as the animated face continued to bellow; “GO-A-WAY”, and a large group of children had amassed at the end of the road to see the man who had braved the company of the demonic magician.
Drexel was suddenly very thankful for the hat of disguise that hid his own tiefling appearance. Not only does he have many more unusual traits then Noristuor, he was also hunted for his innate ability to control spellfire. The thought of what would happen if those who had chased him out of Thay ever found him ran chills down his spine, and he quickly concentrated on more pleasant thoughts.
The next day, the party regrouped and was more then delighted to discover that they were going to be paid for the mission of tracking down the raiders. They also found out that the symbol was that of the Cult of the Dragon, a group that assists undead dragons in conquering all of Faerun.
Borghin shook his head in disbelief, “That’s got to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!”
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Still more to come…
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