ADVENTURE 6: FOX HUNT
PC Roster:
Game Session Date: 9 January 2021
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The five adventurers stood in a forest clearing, the full moon shining down upon them. Dark shapes loomed overhead on either side of them, ancient trees pooling shadows on the ground below their branches, leaving the dirt path standing out in the moonlight.
Suddenly, a man turned the corner on the path just ahead. He wore the robes of a wizard and had a look of abject terror on his bearded face. "Run!" he cried as he veered off on a side path before the fledgling heroes. "It's coming!"
Thurloe stood in the front of the group's huddled formation, his bastard sword out and in a defensive position before him. He heard a rustling in the woods to his left and then suddenly, appearing as if by magic before him on the moon-lit path, stood a fox. It cocked its head as if surprised to see the heroes, then surged forward with remarkable speed - one moment it was a good twenty feet away and then the next it was leaping up at Thurloe and clamping its jaws around the startled fighter's throat. Belatedly, Thurloe swung his sword at the fox but by then it had released its grip, dropped back to the forest path, and dashed off to the pool of shadows beneath the trees to Thurloe's left.
Xandro had his lute out and immediately began singing his most inspiring song, hoping to give the members of his team a much-needed boost of courage when fighting against such a supernatural foe. He hung back a bit from the others, realizing his song was effective as long as the others could hear it, which meant he didn't need to be in the front lines. Zander saw a blur of motion as the fox darted from one group of trees to another and cast a magic missile spell at the swift form. He thought he heard a faint, barely audible yelp of pain and surprise but couldn't swear it was more than his hopeful imagination.
Alewyth said the words to a bless spell, granting the group Aerik's combat blessings, hopefully helping to protect them in the most direct fashion possible: by aiding them in defeating their enemy quickly. The fox dashed by Wakuren and the half-orc scrambled to bring the bottom edge of his shield crashing down upon it, but his foe was too quick for him - and too quick for Thurloe's reflexes as well, for his bastard sword came slicing down on the space the fox had inhabited a fraction of a second before its jaws were clamped on the fighter's left arm, causing blood to run down his forearm. In the span of a few heartbeats, Thurloe Pulver - perhaps the group's toughest member - had been brought down to staggering about and trying to remain standing upright. And the fox had once again dashed off into a stand of trees, its reddish fur obscured by the deep shadows beneath the oaken branches.
Zander turned his head, straining to hear the fox among the undergrowth and hoping to be able to pinpoint its location. In the meantime, Alewyth stepped up to Thurloe and cast a healing spell upon him. Glad at receiving the dwarven cleric's healing, Thurloe opted to enhance it even further by drinking down one of his own healing potions, recently purchased from his gnomish supplier, Aenus Feysputter, when back in Port Duralia. Wakuren, in the meantime, went sprinting off on his own, chasing after the fleeing wizard who had warned them of the fox's coming approach. "You can help us to defeat this foe!" the half-orc called into the trees. "Fight against it!"
In a blur of motion, the fox sprung out from a stand of trees and ripped Zander Quilson's throat out, dashing back to the safety of the shadows as the elven sorcerer fell to the ground, blood spilling down the front of his robes. That was enough for Xandro to stop his song of courage; he put the lute back over his shoulder by its strap and pulled out his rapier; it seemed weapons would be more useful than any inspiration he might be able to give. Alewyth gripped her own warhammer tightly, coming to the same conclusion. They needed to kill this damned fox - and the sooner, the better!
Wakuren caught up to the panicked wizard. "Why is this fox after you?" he asked.
"I've no idea!" gasped the mage, stopping to catch his breath, bending forward and supporting himself with his hands on his knees. "It just came after me, out of nowhere!"
"We'll protect you," Wakuren promised, unaware that one of their number had already been slain.
But that number almost immediately rose to two, for the fox dashed out from beneath the undergrowth and ripped out Xandro's unprotected throat before he even had the time to raise his rapier in a defensive position. He fell backwards, smashing the lute he'd no longer be able to play as he landed lifelessly on the forest path. Alewyth was the next to fall, the fox leaping out from behind her and dropping her prone to the ground, where it snapped at the back of her neck and severed her spine, dashing off back into the trees before Thurloe could hit it with his bastard sword. The fighter fell next, the fox exploding from the trees with a grin on its muzzle - as if enjoying taking these heroes down, one by one - to leap straight at him, twist in midair as Thurloe brought his sword to bear, dash away, and somehow get behind him before he could spin about to face his foe again. The fox knocked Thurloe's feet out from beneath him and he landed hard on his back. His throat was exposed for just a moment - but a moment was all the fox needed.
Wakuren and the unknown wizard stood side by side in a clearing when the fox ambled up, no longer needing to use its impressive speed, a bloody grin on its muzzle. It faked to the half-orc's left, Wakuren held up his shield to ward off the attack, and then the fox was suddenly there at the cleric's right, snapping at his arm and dragging him to the ground. Wakuren struggled to breathe as his throat was suddenly filled with blood, and then--
--Wakuren sat upright in bed, a scream strangled in his throat. He was covered in a sheen of sweat and it felt like his heart was going to explode in his chest, but after a few moments of quiet, calming breaths and a repetition of a mantra the dream-guide moogle Mogo had taught him, he settled down enough to be able to lie his head back down on the pillow of his room at the inn and will himself back to sleep.
His personal moogle guide, Kupek, was there to meet him. "How'd it go, kupo?" he asked Wakuren.
"Got myself killed," the half-orc grunted.
"Yeah, that happens sometimes, kupo," the moogle agreed and led the cleric back to meet up with the rest of his group in the dreamlands. The rest of his team had each been met in the dreamlands by their personal moogle guide - Alewyth by Calliope, Thurloe by Doc, Xandro by Mogchamp, and Zander by Moki - and taken to Mogo, the moogle assigned by the Queen of Dreams to train them in dream manipulations.
"Well, that wasn't very impressive, but it hopefully taught you all two things: that dying in a dream doesn't really cause you any physical harm, and that there could be times when you might want to wake up at will on your own, right, kupo? Let's work on that second point first, okay, kupo?" The rest of the night's lessons consisted of the moogle training his proteges how to force themselves awake, then use the training they'd learned earlier to force themselves to fall back to sleep. As a result, none of the five got a very good night's sleep that night, as it came in small chunks. Their training ended with another session in the same dream in which they'd all been killed: it even started off in the same way, with the five heroes on the forest path and the frightened wizard warning them that "it" was coming and to flee. He gave no indications of recognizing any of the heroes - and didn't even acknowledge the fact this time there was a bat-winged kitten hanging in the air beside them.
"See, kupo?" asked Mogo. "The dream just starts over again each time - it's been about a month now, kupo!" He gave a heavy sigh. "It looks like we're going to need those dreamstones after all, kupo."
In the morning, Thurloe was awakened by a knock on the door to his room at the inn where they were staying. He opened it to see one of the messenger boys who earned a bit of coin delivering letters around the city. The lad held out a piece of folded parchment, sealed with a blob of wax. "Got a message for you, if you're Thurloe Pulver," the boy said.
"I am - give it here," Thurloe demanded, reaching for the message.
"It's traditional to tip your messenger," the boy pointed out, holding out his other hand expectantly. Thurloe well knew the lad had likely been paid by whoever sent the message, but he dropped a silver coin into his hand and snatched the message away before there could be any further argument. The boy frowned at his meager reward but turned away, realizing that was all he was likely to get from the cheapskate. Thurloe closed the door and looked at what had been brought to him.
The emblem embedded in the wax looked familiar, and it took the fighter a moment to recall where he'd seen it before: it was the Theringold family crest, the same one they'd found on the ring worn by Bertram Theringold, the poor sap who got his throat slit while trying to rescue his sister Teresa from the thieves guild who had kidnapped her and imprisoned her inside the scriptorium building. He broke the seal, opened the letter, and read:
Another brother in trouble? Thurloe thought to himself as he went outside to the hallway and pounded on the doors of the rooms his friends had taken.
Everyone gathered together in the fighter's room and read the letter. "Could be a trap," Thurloe warned.
"That is the Theringold crest," Xandro pointed out. "Although..." The bard rubbed his chin in silent thought.
"What?" Alewyth prompted.
"I don't recall for sure," Xandro admitted, "but I'm fairly certain Teresa only had the one brother, Bertram." As a bard, Xandro made it a habit to learn as much as he could about the local nobility in whatever city he spent any amount of time in, and Port Duralia was no exception.
"The dead one."
"Yep," the bard replied to the ever-suspicious fighter.
"Let's go see what the story is," suggested Wakuren, and the group gathered up their armor and weapons and departed for the Theringold mansion. Despite having learned the Theringolds were having some financial difficulties, none of that was evident in the appearance of the manor, which was in one of the higher-class sections of the city. However, upon knocking upon the mansion's sturdy wooden double doors, it was somewhat telling that Teresa herself answered the door, not a servant - for the Theringolds had been forced to let all their servants go recently, not that that was common knowledge around town.
"Thank you all so much for coming so promptly," Teresa Theringold said, ushering the group inside and leading them to the library, where there were enough seats for them all to talk comfortably. "You were so very helpful in rescuing me from those kidnappers, and bringing Bertram's body home after he'd been slain. Now I must ask for your aid again, if you are willing to help me."
"What seems to be the problem?" asked Wakuren.
Teresa explained that despite the current state of her family's finances, she had managed to scrounge up 5,000 pieces of gold and used it to purchase fine diamonds, which Father Bones, the head cleric at the Temple of Akari, God of the Dead and Undead, had assured her was required to be able to raise her brother from the dead. But there was a catch: he had to be raised soon, for there was a limit in how long after death a body could be restored to life. His body was currently stored under the effects of a gentle repose spell at the Temple of Akari, but she'd need to get the diamonds there in the next two days or it would be beyond the clerics' abilities to raise Bertram.
"I had finally managed to purchase enough diamonds last night," Teresa explained. "I was going to bring them to Father Bones this morning - but when I awoke, they were gone!"
"Where were they kept?" Thurloe demanded.
"In my top dresser drawer, in my bedroom," Teresa explained.
"In your--?" the fighter spluttered, aghast at the carelessness and stupidity of aristocrats. But Wakuren put a warning hand on the fighter's shoulder and addressed Teresa. "Perhaps you can show us?" he suggested.
"Certainly," agreed the young noblewoman, leading them to the back half of the manor house where her bedroom sat, sandwiched between those of her late brother and her father. While Alewyth examined the stonework of the outer wall and Zander made himself busy searching for possible secret doors, Teresa explained further. "I turned to you because my father has forbidden me from alerting the city guard of the theft - he doesn't want our current situation to be made public knowledge. But I thought I could reach out to you, as you already know about our current financial difficulties."
"Who knew you had the diamonds here?" queried Thurloe.
"No one, not even my father," Teresa replied.
"Well, the Temple of Akari knew you were raising the money to have your brother raised, so they could have suspected you'd have the money on hand," Thurloe theorized. "They could have sent someone to burglarize your bedroom last night...."
"What's this?" called out Wakuren suddenly. He'd been searching Teresa's dresser drawers and was holding up what looked to be a playing card. But instead of any of the traditional cards of a standard deck, this one had what looked to be a paw print drawn on it in black ink.
"Let me see that," Xandro asked. Wakuren handed it over. "I found it in her top drawer, where she said she had kept the diamonds overnight," the half-orc explained.
"What's it mean?" Alewyth asked.
"It's the paw print of a fox," Xandro explained. "This is a calling card - these have been left at the sites of burglaries all around the city, usually among the nobility," he added. "They call the thief 'The Fox,' but nobody knows what he looks like. He's never been spotted, let alone caught."
"The Fox, huh?" replied Thurloe. "You think this has anything to do with that fox we fought in the dreamscape? Maybe he takes human form or something."
"That seems unlikely," Zander contributed.
"It's a theory I'm still working out," replied Thurloe. "Lemme think on this some more."
"Well, somebody - presumably this Fox character - snuck in here and stole the diamonds, that much is obvious," reiterated Wakuren. "The question is: why here? And why now? Was this random, or is someone out to harm your family?"
"Does your father have any enemies?" suggested Zander.
"Well, my father's never been the most pleasant person to deal with," admitted Teresa. "And he's been increasingly stressed out of late. He seemed in something of a panic this morning: jumpy and jittery, looking all around him as if for enemies. I imagine he's worried that somebody got into the house - what with my own recent kidnapping, he's likely worried someone will do the same to him. But actual enemies? None that I can think of. Just a few people at his club he managed to get mad at him."
"Where is he now?" demanded Thurloe.
"At his club," Teresa replied. "He spends quite a lot of time there - too much, if you ask me, because he gambles a lot there and that's been the cause of our change in fortune." She looked down, embarrassed to have admitted this to mere adventurers, but knowing that providing them with everything that might have any bearing on the theft might be necessary for her to recover the stolen diamonds in time. "He had run up quite a gambling debt there, but I think he's made good with all of his debts thus far."
"Where is this club?" asked Xandro.
"It's the Black Eagle - it's within walking distance, but it's for members of the nobility only. Men only, though; I wouldn't even be allowed in."
"No, but they might let an enterprising young bard in who was angling for a job as a musician," Xandro guessed. "Let's go!"
The group set off, leaving Teresa behind; she didn't want to run into her father at the club and have him raise any questions about her presence there. Fortunately, he'd never met the adventurers when they brought Bertram's body back from the alleyway outside the scriptorium where he'd been slain. They approached the building, saw a fine-dressed doorman standing outside and realized he'd never let the likes of them in, so they skirted around the building to find a back door. There was one - there would almost have to be one, Xandro realized, to allow for deliveries and the like, as well as a means for the workers to arrive without getting in the way of the aristocracy. He knocked loudly on the door. Wakuren, on a sudden impulse, activated his ring of invisibility and disappeared before the employee manager opened the door and asked the group their business.
"I was wondering if you might be hiring musicians," Xandro said, giving the manager his best smile and pulling the lute from his back.
The manager thought it over. "Well, we are a man short today," he admitted. "Tell you what: we'll try you out on a provisional basis. You go on in and play quietly in the background. No singing, though: the noblemen don't want to be disturbed at their business with a bunch of tawdry tavern songs!"
"Very well," agreed Xandro, and was ushered through the door into the lounge. Unseen, Wakuren snuck in behind him before the door closed. As Xandro headed east to the roaring fireplace, playing a quiet tune upon his lute, Wakuren went the opposite direction, over by the bar where he could stand in the corner and hopefully not get bumped into by anyone. They were both well aware that at the table in the middle of the room, one of about four, sat none other than Berthold Theringold, playing cards with another nobleman. The dark scowl on his face told he wasn't having much luck at the game. Both listened intently to hear what they could of any discussions; maybe they'd pick up something worthwhile.
Thurloe, however, was ready for a more direct approach. "I understand Lord Theringold is a member of this club," he said to the employee manager.
"That is correct."
"We've done some work for him in the past," the fighter admitted, not bothering to go into details. "He's quite the character." He smiled and shook his head, as if in disbelief. "Is he as bad at cards as I've heard he is?"
Jumping at the chance to engage in some gossip about the members of the upper class, the manager led the three heroes into a side room - a storage closet, where they could talk more privately. "You don't know the half of it!" he smirked. "He's lost quite a considerable sum to Lord Baskindale over the past several weeks. He finally threatened to have Theringold barred from the club if he didn't pay up what he owed, and he finally did that just recently."
"You'd almost be forgiven for assuming he wasn't a noble at all!" Zander suggested.
"I know! Have you seen the state of his clothing? His clothes haven't been pressed in some time, and he's gotten stingy in his food and drink purchases here at the club - almost like he's suddenly become hard-pressed for money. There's even a rumor," the manager said, his voice dropping down to a mere whisper, "that Lord Theringold has been spotted at a lesser gaming establishment, open to commoners! It seems he's become somewhat desperate of late to gather up some extra coin! In fact--" but then the manager caught himself, as if wondering whether spreading gossip about the members of the club for which he worked was in his best interests.
Thurloe saw his hesitation and reached into his coin purse, holding out five gold pieces. "I'm really interested in hearing what you were going to say," he told the manager. "Please, this has been most interesting - I'd be willing to pay you to hear more."
The manager snatched up the proffered coins and had them tucked away in the pocket of his jacket in a well-practiced move, continuing on with his gossip as if he hadn't interrupted himself. "Word is that Lord Theringold lost several thousand pieces of gold to Lady Arabella Vulpina at that very establishment just yesterday! She's every bit as good at cards as Lord Theringold believes himself to be - why, if the Black Eagle allowed women members, she'd likely clean up in here, or that's what I've been told. But in any case, there was a bit of a scene when he decided he'd finally had enough and didn't have the cash on hand to pay what he had wagered. She chewed him out but good, and he promised her he was good for the money, but it didn't look like she was very impressed with his promises."
Xandro returned to the employee back area soon thereafter, his lute back in place over his shoulder. Wakuren, seeing the bard head for the door to the back area, quietly approached behind him and slid through the open door as well. "I'm afraid I broke a string," the bard apologized to the employee manager. "Another day, perhaps." The group went back outside the Black Eagle Gentlemen's Club and compared notes. "Sounds like the Vulpina Estate is next on our list," Xandro said. "I know where it is - it isn't far. Lady Arabella lives there with her parents."
"Let's swing by and fetch Lady Teresa," suggested Alewyth. "We might do better with her with us. They'll be more likely to let us enter the mansion if we have a noblewoman with us."
Twenty minutes later, the group of six was knocking upon the front doors of the Vulpina Estate. "'Vulpina' means 'foxlike,'" pointed out Zander. "I'm just saying."
Before anyone could respond, the doors opened and a servant stood there, asking them their business. They asked for an audience with Lady Arabella if she was available, and the servant ushered them into the library to wait. This library was easily twice the size of the one in the Theringold manor, and the books here were all top quality volumes (whereas Berthold Theringold purchased his books in quantity, not quality - he was more interested in having shelves of books visible in his home than actually reading any of them). A maid brought in a tray of fruit, cheeses, and tea and said Lady Arabella would be there shortly.
"You think Lord Vulpina's the Fox?" asked Thurloe once they were alone again in the library.
"No reason it has to be the father," pointed out Alewyth. "If nobody's seen the Fox, they couldn't say if it was a man or a woman. For all we know, Lady Arabella herself--" she stopped herself in mid-sentence as the library doors opened and Lady Arabella Vulpina stepped into the room. She was a young woman in her mid-twenties, perhaps a half decade or so older than Teresa, with a striking head of red hair. She wore an elegant gown and took a seat at one end of the table.
"How may I help you?" she asked, looking around the table at her visitors. She focused on Lady Teresa, who made the introductions, and who let on that the adventurers were her personal bodyguards. Lady Arabella was silent throughout the introductions, but once they were done she got straight to the point and asked, "Are you here about the money your father owes me?" Her face was flushed at the memories of what she considered to be boorish behavior: gambling without being able to immediately pay his losses. To her credit, she allowed Teresa to tell her full story, about her recent abduction, her brother's death in trying to rescue her, the group now serving as her bodyguards having rescued her, the theft of the diamonds she had collected to have her brother restored to life, and the time limit before the raise dead spell would no longer be a viable option.
"How much were the diamonds worth?" asked Lady Arabella. Upon being given the figure, her eyes flashed in anger. "You mean Lord Theringold had five thousand pieces of gold in diamonds and refused to pay me the three thousand he owes me?"
"No, I had the diamonds," corrected Teresa. "He didn't know I had purchased them. I used my own money, selling some of my own possessions."
"And why are you here, then? I am sorry to hear about your brother, but do you expect me to pay for the return to life of the son of the man who has swindled me?"
"Oh, no, not at all!" assured Teresa. "I just thought...we were looking into who might...." Her voice gave out, clearly embarrassed to be seeming to accuse Lady Arabella of any wrongdoing.
Xandro came to her assistance. He pulled out the fox print card that had been left behind in Teresa's dresser drawer. "This was left in place of the diamonds," the bard explained.
"And?" prompted Lady Arabella. "Are you insinuating there's some connection between that card and my family?" A dawning look of comprehension crossed her face. "Ah! 'The Fox,' is it?" She stared at Xandro, the fierceness of her gaze seeming to bore a hole through him. "If you are implying this 'Fox' is in any way associated with the Vulpina family, I do hope you have some proof to back up your baseless accusations, because that kind of scurrilous talk against a noble family could quite easily land a person like you in jail!"
Xandro quickly placed the card back into his belt pouch. "No, my lady - nothing like that," he hastily assured her.
However, a smirk crossed Lady Arabella's face. "However," she said, "all this talk of cards has given me an idea. We'll let Fate decide." She rang a bell sitting on an end table and a maid entered the room. "Bring me a deck of cards," she told the servant, who nodded her head and hurried off to comply. Upon her return, Lady Arabella handed the deck to Xandro. "Please: shuffle it and cut the deck."
"What are you proposing?" the bard asked as he did as she requested.
"One round of cards, between Lady Teresa and myself. If she wins, I will forgive the money her father owes her, and pay for her brother's restoration to life as well." Teresa's eyes lit up at the offer.
"And if you win?" asked Teresa. She was no gambler, although she knew the basics of a number of card games.
Lady Arabella smirked all the harder. "Should I win, I shall want your bodyguards to picket outside the Black Eagle Gentlemen's Club - naked - carrying signs stating 'Lord Berthold Theringold is a welcher.'"
"That'll likely get us arrested!" pointed out Alewyth.
"I'm not stripping down naked for anyone!" Thurloe announced. "I'm not part of this bet!"
Wakuren silently removed the ring of invisibility from his hand and palmed it, passing it over to Thurloe in the act of shaking his hand. "Then maybe you had best wait for us outside," he suggested. Thurloe felt the ring and immediately guessed the half-orc cleric's intentions: that he wear the ring and observe the hand of cards without Lady Arabella aware of his presence. He thought the cleric of Cal might have been suggesting he use his invisibility as a means of reading Lady Arabella's hand of cards and somehow passing that information to Lady Teresa without being detected, but he wasn't sure how exactly he was going to do that - it would have been nice if they had had time to plan this all out ahead of time! But he found himself being ushered outside by a butler and just barely had time to activate the ring when the man's back was turned and sneak back in through the door before it closed. Then the fighter waited for the butler to leave the entry hallway and go about his duties before he tiptoed back over to the library, glad for the sound-dampening carpet in the room.
By then, the other four heroes had convinced Teresa to take the bet. She didn't like the fact that they were taking all of the risks, but it warred with her obvious desire to be able to have her brother raised from the dead. "Go ahead," pleaded Alewyth. "We'll all be watching, to make sure there isn't any funny business." If Lady Arabella took offense at the suggestion she might somehow try to cheat, she didn't let it show on her face.
"All right," Teresa said.
Everyone leaned forward as Lady Arabella dealt out a hand of cards to the two noblewomen. Wakuren had been studying Lady Arabella and had a good feeling about her; it was hard to put his finger on it exactly, but she somehow seemed to be like one of them...sure, she was a member of the nobility, but she seemed more down-to-earth than some of the stuffed shirts in the upper classes. Much like Lady Teresa, the Vulpina daughter seemed like she was okay.
Alewyth had been studying Lady Arabella closely, but with a different purpose in mind: she wanted to make sure she wasn't doing anything with the cards as she dealt them out. The cleric frowned; it had almost looked like Lady Arabella had done some fancy finger-work when dealing. Had she pulled a card from other than the top of the deck while dealing? It was hard to tell for sure. Belatedly, the dwarven cleric wished she knew more about card games; such things weren't really part of a hard-working dwarf's background.
But any worry Alewyth had about any sleight of hand shenanigans the noblewoman dealer might have tried to pull were unfounded; flipping over their cards, Lady Teresa had easily won the hand. "Very well," Lady Arabella replied, if anything smirking all the harder. "Congratulations, Lady Teresa. You have won, but I have bought with my money a quite vivid and amusing mental image. I will have the monies delivered to your family's estate this very afternoon - and you will find the Vulpina family pays its debts." With that, she stood, an indication that the visitation was over. A servant escorted the group back to the front door, an invisible Thurloe following behind.
"Whew!" sighed Teresa Theringold upon standing back outside on the street. "I'm glad that's over! Could I prevail upon you to wait with me for the delivery, and then escort me to the jewelers and the Temple of Akari? I'd hate for anything to happen to the money in the meantime!" Wakuren assured her that they'd be happy to help her.
While waiting in the much less impressive Theringold library, the six made small talk among themselves and found out Teresa had gone to Kerndell Lapidarius to purchase the diamonds that had been stolen. "I wonder if that idiot Jorndell is involved in this somehow?" Thurloe mused aloud.
"You like throwing accusations all over the place, don't you?" asked Zander. But then, before the fighter could answer, the elf asked, "What was that?"
"What was what?"
"I thought I heard something. A door opening." He turned to Teresa. "We're here alone, aren't we?"
"Yes," Teresa relied, looking frightened - understandable, given she'd been kidnapped not too long ago.
Thurloe pulled the bastard sword out from its scabbard on his back and advanced down the hallway to the west, where Zander said he'd heard the noise. There was another hallway perpendicular to the one leading from the library, with the southern end of that one leading to the front doors. Thurloe verified they were still both closed and locked, as Xandro exited the library, his lute out and ready to support his magic.
A door straight ahead - which according to Teresa led to the kitchen area and a side door to the manor house - suddenly opened and a pair of dark forms stepped forward, each holding a shortbow at the ready. They matched gazes with Thurloe and Xandro and the two heroes identified them immediately as kenku, just like the pair of thieves they'd fought in the basement level of Sandoval's Scriptorium. (They didn't realize it yet, but this pair was indeed the two kenku whose lair nests the heroes had plundered after slaying the other two kenku and their mongrelmen associates.)
Xandro ducked back around a corner and began playing an inspiring tune upon his lute, as the kenku both fired their shortbows at Thurloe. The fighter tried to dodge, but the arrows went whizzing by, slicing lines of blood across his left arm as they passed. Worse, the heads had been envenomed, but the fighter was able to shake off whatever effects the poisoned arrows might have had.
Hearing sounds of combat, Wakuren activated the ring of invisibility - Thurloe had returned it after they had left the Vulpina estate - and strode down the hall. Zander popped his head out of the library doorway, saw the kenku pair, and fired off a magic missile spell at one of the dark-feathered bird-men. Then two more figures approached, a man and a woman, both wearing black combat leathers and wielding short swords in their hands. "What the Hell?" complained the male rogue, seeing the heroes assembled before him. "Theringold's hired bodyguards now, has he? Bad enough he sold us his daughter and then had her stolen back from us somehow, now he's trying to keep us from what's rightfully ours?"
"We'll add him to our list," promised his female counterpart. "Let's take these hirelings out, get the girl back, and then we can deal with him!"
Alewyth had been in the middle of casting a bless spell upon her team when she heard the rogues' chatter. A look of fury crossed her dwarven features and she practically snarled in rage. Her warhammer gripped in one fist, she stormed forward, ready to deal some serious damage to these kidnapping thieves. But Thurloe was there before she was, swinging his bastard sword for all it was worth. The male thief ducked back beneath the swing, though, the blade passing by him and leaving him unharmed. Thurloe swore in irritation.
Both kenku fired their bows again, this time aiming at Alewyth and Zander. Of the two, the one striking Zander was a slightly better aim, hitting the sorcerer squarely in the shoulder and getting the venom coated liberally on the arrowhead well within his system. A combination of a slightly less centered hit and the cleric's rugged dwarven constitution ensured the venom did nothing to hinder Alewyth's steady progress down the hallway, her eyes blazing in fury.
Wakuren cast an obscuring mist spell centered in the area where the two perpendicular hallways met, then stepped into the edge of the spell's area of effect. He wasn't concerned that the mist would give away his location; although he was invisible and thus was forming a humanoid shaped "gap" in the swirling mists, anyone looking at him would see straight through his invisible body and the mists on the other side of him, effectively shielding him. He was pleased with his strategy, for now the archers couldn't fire their arrows at anyone, not being able to see their targets.
Of course, this meant Zander couldn't see his targets either, but he took a moment to pull the arrow from his shoulder first in any case, grimacing in pain as he did so. Then, unable to do much else at the moment, he cast a mage armor spell upon himself, hoping the protective spell would shield him from any further arrows that might end up heading his way. Thus girded, the sorcerer braved the mists ahead.
The human rogues inched forward cautiously in the thick fog, both catching sight of Thurloe when they were almost upon him and stabbing out straight with their blades. Thurloe grunted in pain as their attacks pierced through his armor and he counterattacked the male rogue. Hitting only air with his strike - the nimble bugger had ducked back in time again! - he backed up around the corner, headed north, directly away from the front doors. Off to his left, Alewyth advanced, her warhammer ready to strike as soon as she could find a target, for her innate darkvision wasn't able to pierce the obscuring mist spell any better than could the eyesight of a human.
Xandro continued playing his tune upon his lute, the bardic magic aiding his companions in their combat efforts. The kenku advanced slowly through the dark mists, one of them obliviously passing right beside Wakuren. The half-orc raised his shield and brought it crashing down upon the avian rogue, the attack undoing his invisibility but well worth it, Wakuren thought. The other kenku advanced until he and Alewyth almost ran into each other; both attacked immediately but Alewyth's warhammer caught the kenku a second before his own blade could stab out at her, for in the dark mists the avian rogues had both realized their shortbows were all but useless. Wakuren spun about and brought his shield crashing down upon the first kenku's head, staggering him where he stood.
Both of the human rogues stepped forward, side by side, their blades slashing out at Thurloe now that they knew where he was. The numerous cuts were starting to take their toll, blood now dripped from several wounds the fighter had taken and he could feel his strength starting to wane. He backed up further, suddenly finding himself completely out of the radius of the obscuring mist spell. Hurriedly, he fumbled at a healing potion from his belt and guzzled it down while the rogues were still stepping cautiously forward, unsure yet of exactly where the spell's effects ended.
Alewyth slammed the kenku before her again with her warhammer, enjoying the solid connection of her metal weapon against the bird-man's feathers, flesh, and bone. Beside her, Xandro stepped forward, his lute now swapped out for his rapier, trusting in the ongoing effects his bardic music would sustain for a bit longer even after he had stopped playing. He found the male rogue and thrust the point of his weapon into the leather-clad kidnapper's body until it exited from the other side; when he pulled it back out, the man fell to the floor, dead.
The kenku backed furiously away from the crazy dwarven woman before him, stepping deeper into the obscuring vapors and making a bee-line for where he believed the front doors to be. But he ended up right next to Wakuren, and the half-orc brought his shield down upon this kenku's head in the same fashion as he'd done to his partner. Zander, hearing the commotion in the darkness of the spell's effects, started cautiously heading that way as well.
The female rogue stepped out of the obscuring mist, saw Thurloe before her, and charged him. Despite having healed some of his earlier wounds by drinking down a potion, her newest attack sent the burly fighter falling backwards, unconscious and bleeding out, the hilt of his bastard sword spilling from his unfeeling fingers. Afraid of allowing any of the other heroes to get the drop on her, she spun in place and faced the swirling mists blocking the rest of the hallway before her, ready to attack any who might follow her back into an area of full visibility. As it turned out it was a good call, for Alewyth came stomping out of the mist, warhammer in hand, and headed her way. The rogue charged at the dwarven cleric and their weapons came striking out at each other, but at the end of the encounter Alewyth had gained a new cut in her side - easily healed - while the rogue had taken the worst of the deal, barely managing to stay on her feet. Zander stepped out of the mist behind Alewyth and finished the rogue off with a magic missile spell.
Xandro stabbed at a kenku he had nearly bumped into while searching for enemies inside the obscuring mist. And then, in the midst of battle, there was an incongruous knock upon the front door. The kenku raced towards the sound of the knock - for it indicated the way to freedom - but Wakuren caught up with him and brought him down with another smash of his shield. Then he opened the door, dark mists spilling out of the doorway as he saw a liveried servant standing before him, holding a small box. "I have a package for Lady Teresa Theringold," he announced.
"I'll send her right out," Wakuren promised. "Please wait here - we're in the middle of something." Then he closed the door and started feeling his way down the hallway, finding his way back to the library. "Anybody still in combat?" he called out, for he couldn't hear the clash of weapons anymore. After hearing that the four rogues had all been slain, he escorted Teresa out of the library and over to the front door, steering her around the dead bodies in the hallway. As expected, the package was from Lady Arabella, which included a note explaining she'd opted to pay her in diamonds, knowing that was Lady Teresa's final intentions. She thanked the servant and sent him on his way.
By then, the obscuring mist spell had run its course and the group told the young noblewoman what they'd learned: that she hadn't been kidnapped, her father had actually sold her to the rogues in a desperate bid for money to pay off his gambling debts. "I don't think you're safe here any more," Alewyth advised. Zander ran back to fetch the mules and wagon while the others helped Lady Teresa pack up her meager belongings. Then, her bags of clothing loaded onto the wagon, the group took her to the Temple of Akari to have her brother raised.
Father Bones himself presided over the ceremony. He was a strange figure: a walking skeleton wearing black robes and a black top hat. Word was he was a lich, a type of undead spellcaster who continued serving his god after his own mortal life had come to an end. He accepted the pouch of diamonds and had several of his clerics wheel the preserved corpse of Bertram Theringold out on a cart.
"My Lord Akari does not idly allow the dead to return to the lands of the living," Father Bones intoned. "Two deaths in exchange for one life - that is the tally He demands in this case." He nodded off to the side and two prisoners were escorted forward, each wearing shackles and leg-irons. They stared fearfully at Father Bones as he lifted a black-bladed sacrificial knife from the proffering tray held by one of his clerical subordinates. With a practiced efficiency, Father Bones slew the prisoners, who slumped to the ground. Almost at once, Bertram's wrist started flickering with movement and he soon after sat up, dazed at his current surroundings. Teresa ran up to her brother's side, hugging the one family member willing to risk his life to see to her safety - as opposed to sell her off to pay his gambling debts.
Father Bones nodded to the small group who had assembled and stepped back inside the temple. His aides followed.
"You did a good thing here today," said a voice behind them. Turning, the heroes saw none other than Lady Arabella Vulpina, dressed all in black and raising a veil from her face. "I will keep your names in mind should I ever find myself in need of capable adventurers. In the meantime, please accept these as retainers." She passed over a series of small envelopes, smiled a farewell, and walked away. Opening them, the heroes saw each contained a small gem valued at a thousand pieces of gold.
"What are we going to do about Lord Theringold?" asked Zander.
"Us? Nothing," replied Xandro. "We're not nobles. We can't go accusing a nobleman of selling his daughter into slavery, especially without any proof but the word of a member of a thieves guild. But don't worry, I'm sure things will take care of themselves." The bard looked over at the adult Theringold children and the looks of astonishment and then burning anger crossing the face of Bertram.
- - -
Eventually, Teresa was brought to Kerndell Lapidarius and the dwarven gemcutter agreed to hire her on as an assistant housekeeper, under the tutelage of Mrs. Applegate.
We had enough time to squeeze in a second adventure during this game session (knowing full well this was it for our group until May or June), so we pressed on immediately with the next one.
- - -
T-shirt worn: My blue shirt that reads, "Dad: cleverly disguised as a responsible adult." I picked it for several reasons: Teresa's dad played a prominent role in this adventure, plus there's the whole "disguised" aspect of the notorious thief, "the Fox."
PC Roster:
Alewyth Putterpye, dwarf priestess of Aerik 2
Thurloe Pulver, human fighter 2
Wakuren, half-orc cleric of Cal 1/paladin 1
Xandro Silverstrings, human bard 2
Zander Quilson, elf sorcerer 2
Game Session Date: 9 January 2021
- - -
The five adventurers stood in a forest clearing, the full moon shining down upon them. Dark shapes loomed overhead on either side of them, ancient trees pooling shadows on the ground below their branches, leaving the dirt path standing out in the moonlight.
Suddenly, a man turned the corner on the path just ahead. He wore the robes of a wizard and had a look of abject terror on his bearded face. "Run!" he cried as he veered off on a side path before the fledgling heroes. "It's coming!"
Thurloe stood in the front of the group's huddled formation, his bastard sword out and in a defensive position before him. He heard a rustling in the woods to his left and then suddenly, appearing as if by magic before him on the moon-lit path, stood a fox. It cocked its head as if surprised to see the heroes, then surged forward with remarkable speed - one moment it was a good twenty feet away and then the next it was leaping up at Thurloe and clamping its jaws around the startled fighter's throat. Belatedly, Thurloe swung his sword at the fox but by then it had released its grip, dropped back to the forest path, and dashed off to the pool of shadows beneath the trees to Thurloe's left.
Xandro had his lute out and immediately began singing his most inspiring song, hoping to give the members of his team a much-needed boost of courage when fighting against such a supernatural foe. He hung back a bit from the others, realizing his song was effective as long as the others could hear it, which meant he didn't need to be in the front lines. Zander saw a blur of motion as the fox darted from one group of trees to another and cast a magic missile spell at the swift form. He thought he heard a faint, barely audible yelp of pain and surprise but couldn't swear it was more than his hopeful imagination.
Alewyth said the words to a bless spell, granting the group Aerik's combat blessings, hopefully helping to protect them in the most direct fashion possible: by aiding them in defeating their enemy quickly. The fox dashed by Wakuren and the half-orc scrambled to bring the bottom edge of his shield crashing down upon it, but his foe was too quick for him - and too quick for Thurloe's reflexes as well, for his bastard sword came slicing down on the space the fox had inhabited a fraction of a second before its jaws were clamped on the fighter's left arm, causing blood to run down his forearm. In the span of a few heartbeats, Thurloe Pulver - perhaps the group's toughest member - had been brought down to staggering about and trying to remain standing upright. And the fox had once again dashed off into a stand of trees, its reddish fur obscured by the deep shadows beneath the oaken branches.
Zander turned his head, straining to hear the fox among the undergrowth and hoping to be able to pinpoint its location. In the meantime, Alewyth stepped up to Thurloe and cast a healing spell upon him. Glad at receiving the dwarven cleric's healing, Thurloe opted to enhance it even further by drinking down one of his own healing potions, recently purchased from his gnomish supplier, Aenus Feysputter, when back in Port Duralia. Wakuren, in the meantime, went sprinting off on his own, chasing after the fleeing wizard who had warned them of the fox's coming approach. "You can help us to defeat this foe!" the half-orc called into the trees. "Fight against it!"
In a blur of motion, the fox sprung out from a stand of trees and ripped Zander Quilson's throat out, dashing back to the safety of the shadows as the elven sorcerer fell to the ground, blood spilling down the front of his robes. That was enough for Xandro to stop his song of courage; he put the lute back over his shoulder by its strap and pulled out his rapier; it seemed weapons would be more useful than any inspiration he might be able to give. Alewyth gripped her own warhammer tightly, coming to the same conclusion. They needed to kill this damned fox - and the sooner, the better!
Wakuren caught up to the panicked wizard. "Why is this fox after you?" he asked.
"I've no idea!" gasped the mage, stopping to catch his breath, bending forward and supporting himself with his hands on his knees. "It just came after me, out of nowhere!"
"We'll protect you," Wakuren promised, unaware that one of their number had already been slain.
But that number almost immediately rose to two, for the fox dashed out from beneath the undergrowth and ripped out Xandro's unprotected throat before he even had the time to raise his rapier in a defensive position. He fell backwards, smashing the lute he'd no longer be able to play as he landed lifelessly on the forest path. Alewyth was the next to fall, the fox leaping out from behind her and dropping her prone to the ground, where it snapped at the back of her neck and severed her spine, dashing off back into the trees before Thurloe could hit it with his bastard sword. The fighter fell next, the fox exploding from the trees with a grin on its muzzle - as if enjoying taking these heroes down, one by one - to leap straight at him, twist in midair as Thurloe brought his sword to bear, dash away, and somehow get behind him before he could spin about to face his foe again. The fox knocked Thurloe's feet out from beneath him and he landed hard on his back. His throat was exposed for just a moment - but a moment was all the fox needed.
Wakuren and the unknown wizard stood side by side in a clearing when the fox ambled up, no longer needing to use its impressive speed, a bloody grin on its muzzle. It faked to the half-orc's left, Wakuren held up his shield to ward off the attack, and then the fox was suddenly there at the cleric's right, snapping at his arm and dragging him to the ground. Wakuren struggled to breathe as his throat was suddenly filled with blood, and then--
--Wakuren sat upright in bed, a scream strangled in his throat. He was covered in a sheen of sweat and it felt like his heart was going to explode in his chest, but after a few moments of quiet, calming breaths and a repetition of a mantra the dream-guide moogle Mogo had taught him, he settled down enough to be able to lie his head back down on the pillow of his room at the inn and will himself back to sleep.
His personal moogle guide, Kupek, was there to meet him. "How'd it go, kupo?" he asked Wakuren.
"Got myself killed," the half-orc grunted.
"Yeah, that happens sometimes, kupo," the moogle agreed and led the cleric back to meet up with the rest of his group in the dreamlands. The rest of his team had each been met in the dreamlands by their personal moogle guide - Alewyth by Calliope, Thurloe by Doc, Xandro by Mogchamp, and Zander by Moki - and taken to Mogo, the moogle assigned by the Queen of Dreams to train them in dream manipulations.
"Well, that wasn't very impressive, but it hopefully taught you all two things: that dying in a dream doesn't really cause you any physical harm, and that there could be times when you might want to wake up at will on your own, right, kupo? Let's work on that second point first, okay, kupo?" The rest of the night's lessons consisted of the moogle training his proteges how to force themselves awake, then use the training they'd learned earlier to force themselves to fall back to sleep. As a result, none of the five got a very good night's sleep that night, as it came in small chunks. Their training ended with another session in the same dream in which they'd all been killed: it even started off in the same way, with the five heroes on the forest path and the frightened wizard warning them that "it" was coming and to flee. He gave no indications of recognizing any of the heroes - and didn't even acknowledge the fact this time there was a bat-winged kitten hanging in the air beside them.
"See, kupo?" asked Mogo. "The dream just starts over again each time - it's been about a month now, kupo!" He gave a heavy sigh. "It looks like we're going to need those dreamstones after all, kupo."
In the morning, Thurloe was awakened by a knock on the door to his room at the inn where they were staying. He opened it to see one of the messenger boys who earned a bit of coin delivering letters around the city. The lad held out a piece of folded parchment, sealed with a blob of wax. "Got a message for you, if you're Thurloe Pulver," the boy said.
"I am - give it here," Thurloe demanded, reaching for the message.
"It's traditional to tip your messenger," the boy pointed out, holding out his other hand expectantly. Thurloe well knew the lad had likely been paid by whoever sent the message, but he dropped a silver coin into his hand and snatched the message away before there could be any further argument. The boy frowned at his meager reward but turned away, realizing that was all he was likely to get from the cheapskate. Thurloe closed the door and looked at what had been brought to him.
The emblem embedded in the wax looked familiar, and it took the fighter a moment to recall where he'd seen it before: it was the Theringold family crest, the same one they'd found on the ring worn by Bertram Theringold, the poor sap who got his throat slit while trying to rescue his sister Teresa from the thieves guild who had kidnapped her and imprisoned her inside the scriptorium building. He broke the seal, opened the letter, and read:
Another brother in trouble? Thurloe thought to himself as he went outside to the hallway and pounded on the doors of the rooms his friends had taken.
Everyone gathered together in the fighter's room and read the letter. "Could be a trap," Thurloe warned.
"That is the Theringold crest," Xandro pointed out. "Although..." The bard rubbed his chin in silent thought.
"What?" Alewyth prompted.
"I don't recall for sure," Xandro admitted, "but I'm fairly certain Teresa only had the one brother, Bertram." As a bard, Xandro made it a habit to learn as much as he could about the local nobility in whatever city he spent any amount of time in, and Port Duralia was no exception.
"The dead one."
"Yep," the bard replied to the ever-suspicious fighter.
"Let's go see what the story is," suggested Wakuren, and the group gathered up their armor and weapons and departed for the Theringold mansion. Despite having learned the Theringolds were having some financial difficulties, none of that was evident in the appearance of the manor, which was in one of the higher-class sections of the city. However, upon knocking upon the mansion's sturdy wooden double doors, it was somewhat telling that Teresa herself answered the door, not a servant - for the Theringolds had been forced to let all their servants go recently, not that that was common knowledge around town.
"Thank you all so much for coming so promptly," Teresa Theringold said, ushering the group inside and leading them to the library, where there were enough seats for them all to talk comfortably. "You were so very helpful in rescuing me from those kidnappers, and bringing Bertram's body home after he'd been slain. Now I must ask for your aid again, if you are willing to help me."
"What seems to be the problem?" asked Wakuren.
Teresa explained that despite the current state of her family's finances, she had managed to scrounge up 5,000 pieces of gold and used it to purchase fine diamonds, which Father Bones, the head cleric at the Temple of Akari, God of the Dead and Undead, had assured her was required to be able to raise her brother from the dead. But there was a catch: he had to be raised soon, for there was a limit in how long after death a body could be restored to life. His body was currently stored under the effects of a gentle repose spell at the Temple of Akari, but she'd need to get the diamonds there in the next two days or it would be beyond the clerics' abilities to raise Bertram.
"I had finally managed to purchase enough diamonds last night," Teresa explained. "I was going to bring them to Father Bones this morning - but when I awoke, they were gone!"
"Where were they kept?" Thurloe demanded.
"In my top dresser drawer, in my bedroom," Teresa explained.
"In your--?" the fighter spluttered, aghast at the carelessness and stupidity of aristocrats. But Wakuren put a warning hand on the fighter's shoulder and addressed Teresa. "Perhaps you can show us?" he suggested.
"Certainly," agreed the young noblewoman, leading them to the back half of the manor house where her bedroom sat, sandwiched between those of her late brother and her father. While Alewyth examined the stonework of the outer wall and Zander made himself busy searching for possible secret doors, Teresa explained further. "I turned to you because my father has forbidden me from alerting the city guard of the theft - he doesn't want our current situation to be made public knowledge. But I thought I could reach out to you, as you already know about our current financial difficulties."
"Who knew you had the diamonds here?" queried Thurloe.
"No one, not even my father," Teresa replied.
"Well, the Temple of Akari knew you were raising the money to have your brother raised, so they could have suspected you'd have the money on hand," Thurloe theorized. "They could have sent someone to burglarize your bedroom last night...."
"What's this?" called out Wakuren suddenly. He'd been searching Teresa's dresser drawers and was holding up what looked to be a playing card. But instead of any of the traditional cards of a standard deck, this one had what looked to be a paw print drawn on it in black ink.
"Let me see that," Xandro asked. Wakuren handed it over. "I found it in her top drawer, where she said she had kept the diamonds overnight," the half-orc explained.
"What's it mean?" Alewyth asked.
"It's the paw print of a fox," Xandro explained. "This is a calling card - these have been left at the sites of burglaries all around the city, usually among the nobility," he added. "They call the thief 'The Fox,' but nobody knows what he looks like. He's never been spotted, let alone caught."
"The Fox, huh?" replied Thurloe. "You think this has anything to do with that fox we fought in the dreamscape? Maybe he takes human form or something."
"That seems unlikely," Zander contributed.
"It's a theory I'm still working out," replied Thurloe. "Lemme think on this some more."
"Well, somebody - presumably this Fox character - snuck in here and stole the diamonds, that much is obvious," reiterated Wakuren. "The question is: why here? And why now? Was this random, or is someone out to harm your family?"
"Does your father have any enemies?" suggested Zander.
"Well, my father's never been the most pleasant person to deal with," admitted Teresa. "And he's been increasingly stressed out of late. He seemed in something of a panic this morning: jumpy and jittery, looking all around him as if for enemies. I imagine he's worried that somebody got into the house - what with my own recent kidnapping, he's likely worried someone will do the same to him. But actual enemies? None that I can think of. Just a few people at his club he managed to get mad at him."
"Where is he now?" demanded Thurloe.
"At his club," Teresa replied. "He spends quite a lot of time there - too much, if you ask me, because he gambles a lot there and that's been the cause of our change in fortune." She looked down, embarrassed to have admitted this to mere adventurers, but knowing that providing them with everything that might have any bearing on the theft might be necessary for her to recover the stolen diamonds in time. "He had run up quite a gambling debt there, but I think he's made good with all of his debts thus far."
"Where is this club?" asked Xandro.
"It's the Black Eagle - it's within walking distance, but it's for members of the nobility only. Men only, though; I wouldn't even be allowed in."
"No, but they might let an enterprising young bard in who was angling for a job as a musician," Xandro guessed. "Let's go!"
The group set off, leaving Teresa behind; she didn't want to run into her father at the club and have him raise any questions about her presence there. Fortunately, he'd never met the adventurers when they brought Bertram's body back from the alleyway outside the scriptorium where he'd been slain. They approached the building, saw a fine-dressed doorman standing outside and realized he'd never let the likes of them in, so they skirted around the building to find a back door. There was one - there would almost have to be one, Xandro realized, to allow for deliveries and the like, as well as a means for the workers to arrive without getting in the way of the aristocracy. He knocked loudly on the door. Wakuren, on a sudden impulse, activated his ring of invisibility and disappeared before the employee manager opened the door and asked the group their business.
"I was wondering if you might be hiring musicians," Xandro said, giving the manager his best smile and pulling the lute from his back.
The manager thought it over. "Well, we are a man short today," he admitted. "Tell you what: we'll try you out on a provisional basis. You go on in and play quietly in the background. No singing, though: the noblemen don't want to be disturbed at their business with a bunch of tawdry tavern songs!"
"Very well," agreed Xandro, and was ushered through the door into the lounge. Unseen, Wakuren snuck in behind him before the door closed. As Xandro headed east to the roaring fireplace, playing a quiet tune upon his lute, Wakuren went the opposite direction, over by the bar where he could stand in the corner and hopefully not get bumped into by anyone. They were both well aware that at the table in the middle of the room, one of about four, sat none other than Berthold Theringold, playing cards with another nobleman. The dark scowl on his face told he wasn't having much luck at the game. Both listened intently to hear what they could of any discussions; maybe they'd pick up something worthwhile.
Thurloe, however, was ready for a more direct approach. "I understand Lord Theringold is a member of this club," he said to the employee manager.
"That is correct."
"We've done some work for him in the past," the fighter admitted, not bothering to go into details. "He's quite the character." He smiled and shook his head, as if in disbelief. "Is he as bad at cards as I've heard he is?"
Jumping at the chance to engage in some gossip about the members of the upper class, the manager led the three heroes into a side room - a storage closet, where they could talk more privately. "You don't know the half of it!" he smirked. "He's lost quite a considerable sum to Lord Baskindale over the past several weeks. He finally threatened to have Theringold barred from the club if he didn't pay up what he owed, and he finally did that just recently."
"You'd almost be forgiven for assuming he wasn't a noble at all!" Zander suggested.
"I know! Have you seen the state of his clothing? His clothes haven't been pressed in some time, and he's gotten stingy in his food and drink purchases here at the club - almost like he's suddenly become hard-pressed for money. There's even a rumor," the manager said, his voice dropping down to a mere whisper, "that Lord Theringold has been spotted at a lesser gaming establishment, open to commoners! It seems he's become somewhat desperate of late to gather up some extra coin! In fact--" but then the manager caught himself, as if wondering whether spreading gossip about the members of the club for which he worked was in his best interests.
Thurloe saw his hesitation and reached into his coin purse, holding out five gold pieces. "I'm really interested in hearing what you were going to say," he told the manager. "Please, this has been most interesting - I'd be willing to pay you to hear more."
The manager snatched up the proffered coins and had them tucked away in the pocket of his jacket in a well-practiced move, continuing on with his gossip as if he hadn't interrupted himself. "Word is that Lord Theringold lost several thousand pieces of gold to Lady Arabella Vulpina at that very establishment just yesterday! She's every bit as good at cards as Lord Theringold believes himself to be - why, if the Black Eagle allowed women members, she'd likely clean up in here, or that's what I've been told. But in any case, there was a bit of a scene when he decided he'd finally had enough and didn't have the cash on hand to pay what he had wagered. She chewed him out but good, and he promised her he was good for the money, but it didn't look like she was very impressed with his promises."
Xandro returned to the employee back area soon thereafter, his lute back in place over his shoulder. Wakuren, seeing the bard head for the door to the back area, quietly approached behind him and slid through the open door as well. "I'm afraid I broke a string," the bard apologized to the employee manager. "Another day, perhaps." The group went back outside the Black Eagle Gentlemen's Club and compared notes. "Sounds like the Vulpina Estate is next on our list," Xandro said. "I know where it is - it isn't far. Lady Arabella lives there with her parents."
"Let's swing by and fetch Lady Teresa," suggested Alewyth. "We might do better with her with us. They'll be more likely to let us enter the mansion if we have a noblewoman with us."
Twenty minutes later, the group of six was knocking upon the front doors of the Vulpina Estate. "'Vulpina' means 'foxlike,'" pointed out Zander. "I'm just saying."
Before anyone could respond, the doors opened and a servant stood there, asking them their business. They asked for an audience with Lady Arabella if she was available, and the servant ushered them into the library to wait. This library was easily twice the size of the one in the Theringold manor, and the books here were all top quality volumes (whereas Berthold Theringold purchased his books in quantity, not quality - he was more interested in having shelves of books visible in his home than actually reading any of them). A maid brought in a tray of fruit, cheeses, and tea and said Lady Arabella would be there shortly.
"You think Lord Vulpina's the Fox?" asked Thurloe once they were alone again in the library.
"No reason it has to be the father," pointed out Alewyth. "If nobody's seen the Fox, they couldn't say if it was a man or a woman. For all we know, Lady Arabella herself--" she stopped herself in mid-sentence as the library doors opened and Lady Arabella Vulpina stepped into the room. She was a young woman in her mid-twenties, perhaps a half decade or so older than Teresa, with a striking head of red hair. She wore an elegant gown and took a seat at one end of the table.
"How may I help you?" she asked, looking around the table at her visitors. She focused on Lady Teresa, who made the introductions, and who let on that the adventurers were her personal bodyguards. Lady Arabella was silent throughout the introductions, but once they were done she got straight to the point and asked, "Are you here about the money your father owes me?" Her face was flushed at the memories of what she considered to be boorish behavior: gambling without being able to immediately pay his losses. To her credit, she allowed Teresa to tell her full story, about her recent abduction, her brother's death in trying to rescue her, the group now serving as her bodyguards having rescued her, the theft of the diamonds she had collected to have her brother restored to life, and the time limit before the raise dead spell would no longer be a viable option.
"How much were the diamonds worth?" asked Lady Arabella. Upon being given the figure, her eyes flashed in anger. "You mean Lord Theringold had five thousand pieces of gold in diamonds and refused to pay me the three thousand he owes me?"
"No, I had the diamonds," corrected Teresa. "He didn't know I had purchased them. I used my own money, selling some of my own possessions."
"And why are you here, then? I am sorry to hear about your brother, but do you expect me to pay for the return to life of the son of the man who has swindled me?"
"Oh, no, not at all!" assured Teresa. "I just thought...we were looking into who might...." Her voice gave out, clearly embarrassed to be seeming to accuse Lady Arabella of any wrongdoing.
Xandro came to her assistance. He pulled out the fox print card that had been left behind in Teresa's dresser drawer. "This was left in place of the diamonds," the bard explained.
"And?" prompted Lady Arabella. "Are you insinuating there's some connection between that card and my family?" A dawning look of comprehension crossed her face. "Ah! 'The Fox,' is it?" She stared at Xandro, the fierceness of her gaze seeming to bore a hole through him. "If you are implying this 'Fox' is in any way associated with the Vulpina family, I do hope you have some proof to back up your baseless accusations, because that kind of scurrilous talk against a noble family could quite easily land a person like you in jail!"
Xandro quickly placed the card back into his belt pouch. "No, my lady - nothing like that," he hastily assured her.
However, a smirk crossed Lady Arabella's face. "However," she said, "all this talk of cards has given me an idea. We'll let Fate decide." She rang a bell sitting on an end table and a maid entered the room. "Bring me a deck of cards," she told the servant, who nodded her head and hurried off to comply. Upon her return, Lady Arabella handed the deck to Xandro. "Please: shuffle it and cut the deck."
"What are you proposing?" the bard asked as he did as she requested.
"One round of cards, between Lady Teresa and myself. If she wins, I will forgive the money her father owes her, and pay for her brother's restoration to life as well." Teresa's eyes lit up at the offer.
"And if you win?" asked Teresa. She was no gambler, although she knew the basics of a number of card games.
Lady Arabella smirked all the harder. "Should I win, I shall want your bodyguards to picket outside the Black Eagle Gentlemen's Club - naked - carrying signs stating 'Lord Berthold Theringold is a welcher.'"
"That'll likely get us arrested!" pointed out Alewyth.
"I'm not stripping down naked for anyone!" Thurloe announced. "I'm not part of this bet!"
Wakuren silently removed the ring of invisibility from his hand and palmed it, passing it over to Thurloe in the act of shaking his hand. "Then maybe you had best wait for us outside," he suggested. Thurloe felt the ring and immediately guessed the half-orc cleric's intentions: that he wear the ring and observe the hand of cards without Lady Arabella aware of his presence. He thought the cleric of Cal might have been suggesting he use his invisibility as a means of reading Lady Arabella's hand of cards and somehow passing that information to Lady Teresa without being detected, but he wasn't sure how exactly he was going to do that - it would have been nice if they had had time to plan this all out ahead of time! But he found himself being ushered outside by a butler and just barely had time to activate the ring when the man's back was turned and sneak back in through the door before it closed. Then the fighter waited for the butler to leave the entry hallway and go about his duties before he tiptoed back over to the library, glad for the sound-dampening carpet in the room.
By then, the other four heroes had convinced Teresa to take the bet. She didn't like the fact that they were taking all of the risks, but it warred with her obvious desire to be able to have her brother raised from the dead. "Go ahead," pleaded Alewyth. "We'll all be watching, to make sure there isn't any funny business." If Lady Arabella took offense at the suggestion she might somehow try to cheat, she didn't let it show on her face.
"All right," Teresa said.
Everyone leaned forward as Lady Arabella dealt out a hand of cards to the two noblewomen. Wakuren had been studying Lady Arabella and had a good feeling about her; it was hard to put his finger on it exactly, but she somehow seemed to be like one of them...sure, she was a member of the nobility, but she seemed more down-to-earth than some of the stuffed shirts in the upper classes. Much like Lady Teresa, the Vulpina daughter seemed like she was okay.
Alewyth had been studying Lady Arabella closely, but with a different purpose in mind: she wanted to make sure she wasn't doing anything with the cards as she dealt them out. The cleric frowned; it had almost looked like Lady Arabella had done some fancy finger-work when dealing. Had she pulled a card from other than the top of the deck while dealing? It was hard to tell for sure. Belatedly, the dwarven cleric wished she knew more about card games; such things weren't really part of a hard-working dwarf's background.
But any worry Alewyth had about any sleight of hand shenanigans the noblewoman dealer might have tried to pull were unfounded; flipping over their cards, Lady Teresa had easily won the hand. "Very well," Lady Arabella replied, if anything smirking all the harder. "Congratulations, Lady Teresa. You have won, but I have bought with my money a quite vivid and amusing mental image. I will have the monies delivered to your family's estate this very afternoon - and you will find the Vulpina family pays its debts." With that, she stood, an indication that the visitation was over. A servant escorted the group back to the front door, an invisible Thurloe following behind.
"Whew!" sighed Teresa Theringold upon standing back outside on the street. "I'm glad that's over! Could I prevail upon you to wait with me for the delivery, and then escort me to the jewelers and the Temple of Akari? I'd hate for anything to happen to the money in the meantime!" Wakuren assured her that they'd be happy to help her.
While waiting in the much less impressive Theringold library, the six made small talk among themselves and found out Teresa had gone to Kerndell Lapidarius to purchase the diamonds that had been stolen. "I wonder if that idiot Jorndell is involved in this somehow?" Thurloe mused aloud.
"You like throwing accusations all over the place, don't you?" asked Zander. But then, before the fighter could answer, the elf asked, "What was that?"
"What was what?"
"I thought I heard something. A door opening." He turned to Teresa. "We're here alone, aren't we?"
"Yes," Teresa relied, looking frightened - understandable, given she'd been kidnapped not too long ago.
Thurloe pulled the bastard sword out from its scabbard on his back and advanced down the hallway to the west, where Zander said he'd heard the noise. There was another hallway perpendicular to the one leading from the library, with the southern end of that one leading to the front doors. Thurloe verified they were still both closed and locked, as Xandro exited the library, his lute out and ready to support his magic.
A door straight ahead - which according to Teresa led to the kitchen area and a side door to the manor house - suddenly opened and a pair of dark forms stepped forward, each holding a shortbow at the ready. They matched gazes with Thurloe and Xandro and the two heroes identified them immediately as kenku, just like the pair of thieves they'd fought in the basement level of Sandoval's Scriptorium. (They didn't realize it yet, but this pair was indeed the two kenku whose lair nests the heroes had plundered after slaying the other two kenku and their mongrelmen associates.)
Xandro ducked back around a corner and began playing an inspiring tune upon his lute, as the kenku both fired their shortbows at Thurloe. The fighter tried to dodge, but the arrows went whizzing by, slicing lines of blood across his left arm as they passed. Worse, the heads had been envenomed, but the fighter was able to shake off whatever effects the poisoned arrows might have had.
Hearing sounds of combat, Wakuren activated the ring of invisibility - Thurloe had returned it after they had left the Vulpina estate - and strode down the hall. Zander popped his head out of the library doorway, saw the kenku pair, and fired off a magic missile spell at one of the dark-feathered bird-men. Then two more figures approached, a man and a woman, both wearing black combat leathers and wielding short swords in their hands. "What the Hell?" complained the male rogue, seeing the heroes assembled before him. "Theringold's hired bodyguards now, has he? Bad enough he sold us his daughter and then had her stolen back from us somehow, now he's trying to keep us from what's rightfully ours?"
"We'll add him to our list," promised his female counterpart. "Let's take these hirelings out, get the girl back, and then we can deal with him!"
Alewyth had been in the middle of casting a bless spell upon her team when she heard the rogues' chatter. A look of fury crossed her dwarven features and she practically snarled in rage. Her warhammer gripped in one fist, she stormed forward, ready to deal some serious damage to these kidnapping thieves. But Thurloe was there before she was, swinging his bastard sword for all it was worth. The male thief ducked back beneath the swing, though, the blade passing by him and leaving him unharmed. Thurloe swore in irritation.
Both kenku fired their bows again, this time aiming at Alewyth and Zander. Of the two, the one striking Zander was a slightly better aim, hitting the sorcerer squarely in the shoulder and getting the venom coated liberally on the arrowhead well within his system. A combination of a slightly less centered hit and the cleric's rugged dwarven constitution ensured the venom did nothing to hinder Alewyth's steady progress down the hallway, her eyes blazing in fury.
Wakuren cast an obscuring mist spell centered in the area where the two perpendicular hallways met, then stepped into the edge of the spell's area of effect. He wasn't concerned that the mist would give away his location; although he was invisible and thus was forming a humanoid shaped "gap" in the swirling mists, anyone looking at him would see straight through his invisible body and the mists on the other side of him, effectively shielding him. He was pleased with his strategy, for now the archers couldn't fire their arrows at anyone, not being able to see their targets.
Of course, this meant Zander couldn't see his targets either, but he took a moment to pull the arrow from his shoulder first in any case, grimacing in pain as he did so. Then, unable to do much else at the moment, he cast a mage armor spell upon himself, hoping the protective spell would shield him from any further arrows that might end up heading his way. Thus girded, the sorcerer braved the mists ahead.
The human rogues inched forward cautiously in the thick fog, both catching sight of Thurloe when they were almost upon him and stabbing out straight with their blades. Thurloe grunted in pain as their attacks pierced through his armor and he counterattacked the male rogue. Hitting only air with his strike - the nimble bugger had ducked back in time again! - he backed up around the corner, headed north, directly away from the front doors. Off to his left, Alewyth advanced, her warhammer ready to strike as soon as she could find a target, for her innate darkvision wasn't able to pierce the obscuring mist spell any better than could the eyesight of a human.
Xandro continued playing his tune upon his lute, the bardic magic aiding his companions in their combat efforts. The kenku advanced slowly through the dark mists, one of them obliviously passing right beside Wakuren. The half-orc raised his shield and brought it crashing down upon the avian rogue, the attack undoing his invisibility but well worth it, Wakuren thought. The other kenku advanced until he and Alewyth almost ran into each other; both attacked immediately but Alewyth's warhammer caught the kenku a second before his own blade could stab out at her, for in the dark mists the avian rogues had both realized their shortbows were all but useless. Wakuren spun about and brought his shield crashing down upon the first kenku's head, staggering him where he stood.
Both of the human rogues stepped forward, side by side, their blades slashing out at Thurloe now that they knew where he was. The numerous cuts were starting to take their toll, blood now dripped from several wounds the fighter had taken and he could feel his strength starting to wane. He backed up further, suddenly finding himself completely out of the radius of the obscuring mist spell. Hurriedly, he fumbled at a healing potion from his belt and guzzled it down while the rogues were still stepping cautiously forward, unsure yet of exactly where the spell's effects ended.
Alewyth slammed the kenku before her again with her warhammer, enjoying the solid connection of her metal weapon against the bird-man's feathers, flesh, and bone. Beside her, Xandro stepped forward, his lute now swapped out for his rapier, trusting in the ongoing effects his bardic music would sustain for a bit longer even after he had stopped playing. He found the male rogue and thrust the point of his weapon into the leather-clad kidnapper's body until it exited from the other side; when he pulled it back out, the man fell to the floor, dead.
The kenku backed furiously away from the crazy dwarven woman before him, stepping deeper into the obscuring vapors and making a bee-line for where he believed the front doors to be. But he ended up right next to Wakuren, and the half-orc brought his shield down upon this kenku's head in the same fashion as he'd done to his partner. Zander, hearing the commotion in the darkness of the spell's effects, started cautiously heading that way as well.
The female rogue stepped out of the obscuring mist, saw Thurloe before her, and charged him. Despite having healed some of his earlier wounds by drinking down a potion, her newest attack sent the burly fighter falling backwards, unconscious and bleeding out, the hilt of his bastard sword spilling from his unfeeling fingers. Afraid of allowing any of the other heroes to get the drop on her, she spun in place and faced the swirling mists blocking the rest of the hallway before her, ready to attack any who might follow her back into an area of full visibility. As it turned out it was a good call, for Alewyth came stomping out of the mist, warhammer in hand, and headed her way. The rogue charged at the dwarven cleric and their weapons came striking out at each other, but at the end of the encounter Alewyth had gained a new cut in her side - easily healed - while the rogue had taken the worst of the deal, barely managing to stay on her feet. Zander stepped out of the mist behind Alewyth and finished the rogue off with a magic missile spell.
Xandro stabbed at a kenku he had nearly bumped into while searching for enemies inside the obscuring mist. And then, in the midst of battle, there was an incongruous knock upon the front door. The kenku raced towards the sound of the knock - for it indicated the way to freedom - but Wakuren caught up with him and brought him down with another smash of his shield. Then he opened the door, dark mists spilling out of the doorway as he saw a liveried servant standing before him, holding a small box. "I have a package for Lady Teresa Theringold," he announced.
"I'll send her right out," Wakuren promised. "Please wait here - we're in the middle of something." Then he closed the door and started feeling his way down the hallway, finding his way back to the library. "Anybody still in combat?" he called out, for he couldn't hear the clash of weapons anymore. After hearing that the four rogues had all been slain, he escorted Teresa out of the library and over to the front door, steering her around the dead bodies in the hallway. As expected, the package was from Lady Arabella, which included a note explaining she'd opted to pay her in diamonds, knowing that was Lady Teresa's final intentions. She thanked the servant and sent him on his way.
By then, the obscuring mist spell had run its course and the group told the young noblewoman what they'd learned: that she hadn't been kidnapped, her father had actually sold her to the rogues in a desperate bid for money to pay off his gambling debts. "I don't think you're safe here any more," Alewyth advised. Zander ran back to fetch the mules and wagon while the others helped Lady Teresa pack up her meager belongings. Then, her bags of clothing loaded onto the wagon, the group took her to the Temple of Akari to have her brother raised.
Father Bones himself presided over the ceremony. He was a strange figure: a walking skeleton wearing black robes and a black top hat. Word was he was a lich, a type of undead spellcaster who continued serving his god after his own mortal life had come to an end. He accepted the pouch of diamonds and had several of his clerics wheel the preserved corpse of Bertram Theringold out on a cart.
"My Lord Akari does not idly allow the dead to return to the lands of the living," Father Bones intoned. "Two deaths in exchange for one life - that is the tally He demands in this case." He nodded off to the side and two prisoners were escorted forward, each wearing shackles and leg-irons. They stared fearfully at Father Bones as he lifted a black-bladed sacrificial knife from the proffering tray held by one of his clerical subordinates. With a practiced efficiency, Father Bones slew the prisoners, who slumped to the ground. Almost at once, Bertram's wrist started flickering with movement and he soon after sat up, dazed at his current surroundings. Teresa ran up to her brother's side, hugging the one family member willing to risk his life to see to her safety - as opposed to sell her off to pay his gambling debts.
Father Bones nodded to the small group who had assembled and stepped back inside the temple. His aides followed.
"You did a good thing here today," said a voice behind them. Turning, the heroes saw none other than Lady Arabella Vulpina, dressed all in black and raising a veil from her face. "I will keep your names in mind should I ever find myself in need of capable adventurers. In the meantime, please accept these as retainers." She passed over a series of small envelopes, smiled a farewell, and walked away. Opening them, the heroes saw each contained a small gem valued at a thousand pieces of gold.
"What are we going to do about Lord Theringold?" asked Zander.
"Us? Nothing," replied Xandro. "We're not nobles. We can't go accusing a nobleman of selling his daughter into slavery, especially without any proof but the word of a member of a thieves guild. But don't worry, I'm sure things will take care of themselves." The bard looked over at the adult Theringold children and the looks of astonishment and then burning anger crossing the face of Bertram.
- - -
Eventually, Teresa was brought to Kerndell Lapidarius and the dwarven gemcutter agreed to hire her on as an assistant housekeeper, under the tutelage of Mrs. Applegate.
We had enough time to squeeze in a second adventure during this game session (knowing full well this was it for our group until May or June), so we pressed on immediately with the next one.
- - -
T-shirt worn: My blue shirt that reads, "Dad: cleverly disguised as a responsible adult." I picked it for several reasons: Teresa's dad played a prominent role in this adventure, plus there's the whole "disguised" aspect of the notorious thief, "the Fox."
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