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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Eosin the Red" data-source="post: 3446968" data-attributes="member: 168">Day 7Freya continues to work the forges at Ragan Varri’s forge. The work is hard and he is little appreciated particularly by the Journeyman he has displaced. As evening approached and the day’s work was winding down, a middle aged Mendicant priest entered the smithy in a panic looking for Ragan. The master smith, who was as hard as the iron he forged, had left more than an hour ago on guild business which left Freya and another Journeyman in charge. “I need Ragan or the guard to come quickly,” he shouted at Freya. “Dear Lord, I hope we are not too late.”Stepping towards the priest Freya’s confidence disarmed the normally placid spiritual man. “I can help you,” was all the mage said.The two exited the building with Freya shouting orders to close the shop and ensure that the fires were properly stocked. Down the street Father Etain Enderson explained — “Two rough looking men have been watching St. Gustav’s for the last few days. Tonight they decided to follow a young seamstress named Shaylin. I am afraid they mean her harm. I have followed all three hoping to find a guardsman but these days those are hard to find.” As the two talked, Shaylin ducked down a narrow street towards Saches where she worked with the two ruffians ducking into the alley quickly. They were making their move.The young woman crumpled to the ground from a blow to the head before Freya could act. Disregarding Elder Etain, Freya manipulated the winds that were his. The first thug clutched at his throat as the his breath was ripped from his chest. He collapsed. Dead. [DM Note: Natural 3 on spellcraft roll]The second thug grabbed for his dagger but in those few seconds Freya was able to redirect the flow of his magic, choking the him into unconsciousness. Unopposed, Freya picked up the limp form of Shaylin and carried her down the street to the Arishaun Hospice. The healers there quickly moved to tend to the bleeding woman after they spoke briefly with Elder Etain.Freed of his burden, Freya stepped outside the door with the priest. “I hope you understand that I don’t want news of my abilities to reach the wrong ears,” said the mage.Etain summoned his priestly demeanor, “You are blessed by Ro. Why would I interfere with what is a gift to you from the fires of creation? You are a good man and I can see that, your secrets are safe with me.”Convinced that the priest posed no imminent threat, Freya returned to the alley to question the surviving would be assassin. Both men sported the black lacquered fingernails that marked them as belonging to the gang known as the Pale Dogs. The interrogation didn’t take long. The punk was terrified of Freya and his power to snuff the breath from those who displeased him.The bungling thugs were hired by a man who paid them to murder the young seamstress. After finishing the job they would meet up at a red warehouse near the dock on Crispen Street. Freya thumbed the sword at his side considering the scum before him. Some would pay good money for news of a magic user who wasn’t affiliated with the Synod. He really didn’t have a choice.Two bodies were dumped into a communal burial pit at the necropolis the next morning by the City Guard. Both thugs worked with the Pale Dogs, case closed.The rest of the party spent the working towards establishing themselves or in the case of Torean, carousing around the seedier parts of town sniffing for intriguing rumors.Day 8A pre-dawn meeting between Torean and Freya led to a day long investigation of a lowlife named Vaggar. By nightfall the team was confident that they could take him in the warehouse where he was to meet the men who tried to kill Shaylin.After using Kaid’s Firesight the team entered fully expecting that a bowman would be hidden in the dark recesses of the building. Freya took the lead, unleashing lightening from his hands on Vaggar and his vicious dog. Kaid and Torean took out the archer hidden in the rafters, while the surprise of a third man prompted Arron into action with his blade. The whole affair lasted seconds.Vaggar proved slightly more difficult to break. Two daggers through the palm of his hands convinced him that bravery would only earn him a slow and painful death. Vaggar was hired by Toridin Cran to subcontract the murder of Shaylin. Torean had heard of Linech Cran, an underboss for the Balacazar Crime Syndicate but the name Toridin was a mystery to him — presumably the two were related.DM Note: Discussion followed the violence. The party doesn’t really know much about Shaylin save that she may be pregnant and that someone wants her dead. Several party members have Disadvantages that predispose them to help out a woman in distress but they are scratching their heads over why. Father Etain thinks she was seeing a man but that the two broke off their relationship a few weeks ago but he isn’t sure of the man’s identity. Shaylin doesn’t know why anyone would want her dead and won’t talk about her relationship nor her possible state of pregnancy.Day 9Arron spent the day visiting with a man named Kirow and a Emissary of the Jann [DM Note: The Jann worship the God-King Tarannis in the Radiant Kingdoms but have a sizable compound here in Tharad. Tarranis is one of the Celestine but fuels his immortality by blood sacrifice.]. Arron is hunting information on the Maibus and two legendary swords; Namring and Sojen’s Sword. Both are lost but if either could be found they would prove potent symbols in the hands of Andris Ragnerik.Arron cannot afford the rates for information related to the Maibus but he does manage to swap information related to the creature.[DM Note: The Maibus is an Ennwrathi who once served Bal Samedi, the creature believed to have been imprisoned within the Black Abbey before its destruction. Maibus has plagued Middean Kings since the founding of the nation seven centuries earlier and is responsible for the death of more than one of the august rulers.]Day 10Much of the day is spent in mundane activities for the team. Two items of significance occur. Breakfast finds Torean sitting across the table from a withered crone who must have seen at least a hundred winters. She silently gums her eggs while Torean feels a little uncomfortable under her gaze. It isn’t lost on the bard that his wife is nowhere to be found. The conversation that occurs when Motehr Kiva is satisfied with her meal concerns the parties interest in Tharad and their intents. Mother Kiva shares a parable that boils down to “the road to hell is paved with good intentions… watch and think before you act lest you make things worse.” Finished with her interview, Torean finds himself dismissed from his own kitchen.Arron heads to the Redoubt, the chapter house of the Kratian Battlelords. Luck is with him and the Battlelord Markken is within the building. Arron finds no end of snickers since he is dressed as a scribe but once the Battlelord appears the laughter stops. Arron returns the knights armor to him which he had held for ransom after defeating the warrior some months ago. Duly humbled, Markken explains that he cannot just accept the armor back without tendering some payment. Arron smiles.The two arraign a meeting between Arron and the Captain-Commander of the Chapter house, Terrin. It will be some days before the meeting which will occur around noon so that Terrin can “test” the mettle of Arron without the sun providing any advantage.Day 11Much of the day is spent engaged in mundane activities for the party. Kaid finds the whole day consumed with preparations for a party that evening at his mansion. The Vlaadams have expressed a desire to see the new lord inducted into the local social life. The party starts out well enough with several nobles in attendance. Kaid is introduced to a local girl from a wealthy family who might make a good match considering her families financial support (remember he is playing a disenfranchised nobleman) but she quickly leaves in a huff after she feels insulted. After night falls and dinner is finished the party degenerates into a drunken revel. Many of the polite citizens excuse themselves before things get too out of hand. Kaid finds himself alone with Godfried Vlaadaam sipping a strong spirit provided by Olivier. He quickly uncovers several salient facts about the brutish Godfried — first, he is sadistic and considers peasants to be nothing more than objects to provide him with some sport and second the mountainous warrior is hitting on him. Kaid demurs the advances of powerful man only to find that he is feeling quite faint. Fearing that he has been given something that might render him more pliable to the charms of Godfried, quickly makes an exit and stumbles towards an inn with a pre-rented room to use in just such an emergency [Arron rented it for him].Day 12Torean spends most of the day searching the seedier parts of town for Vanthus Vanderboren the missing brother to Liddia. Late in the afternoon he strikes gold. A strung out sailor named Sillas knows where Vanthus is hiding — a few miles outside of town in a smugglers cove. He will show Torean the way for a few coins and a the hopes that Vanthus suffers some nasty fate. Fearing a trap, Torean rounds up his friends before heading out of Tharad. Sillas leads the group to a small riverbed called interestingly enough, Smuggler Flats. Everyone is on high alert fearing some sort of ambush but they are disappointed to find only a small entrance to a cave hidden among several boulders on the only nearby high ground. Sillas indicates that Vanthus had been using the cave as a hideout and if they want him, they will likely have to go in and get him.The party gathers some ropes and torches before climbing down into the 30 foot pit. When the Arron makes his descent into the pit the group hears a sickening thud as the body of Sillas hits the floor. Only a brief glimpse of Vanthus is to be had before a heavy boulder rolls over the exit.Something in the darkness begins to move…Session Wrap UpExperience: All players were awarded 3 XP for putting the pieces together without much in the way of clues. Observations: One: The adventure went along well tonight. There was both proactive and reactive happenings which will enhance the game in my opinion. There were a few meta-game issues which I felt required to hash out. The first issue is communications. I am going to have to do something to fix the 4 hour in-game lag time that it takes to get everyone together. That will mean some form of instant communications ~ jokingly referred to as the “magic speaking rock.” I am not keen on the cell phone like Thoughtstones of Ptolus but I have an idea that will work for me but it still ends up being a cell phone no matter what I call it.The second issue is Kaid’s involvement with the Vladaam family. I just needed to remind everyone at the table that this is an 8- Watched and not some around-the-clock surveillance by a demented Jack Bauer with CTU tasking the magical satellites on the Kaid.Conclusion:Another fun game to run, even if the party remained separated and semi-functioning in fantasy terms. Even in fantasy, you have to have some reality and the way the team is handling things is feasible. It does slow down some aspects of the game and gives everyone the chance to roleplay out encounters but not everyone is equally suited handle in-character verbal exchanges.I like the cliff hanger endings that allow the game to pick up with a bang when we return to the table. Tonight’s trap was a perfect choice. Still, not everyone was enthused about the trap and was pretty sure that they were heading into one. This was a case of looking in the wrong place for the trigger mechanism of the trap. Vanthus was secreted away 64” from the opening of the cave and hidden among some rocks. He had ample time to conceal himself and the range penalties virtually ensured that without a physical sweep of the area he would go undetected.</blockquote>

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