Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="kenobi65" data-source="post: 13750" data-attributes="member: 1515">Session #6 - 6/29/017/20The party goes to visit Halamir, a seller of magical items that has been recommended to them by General Winterhawk.  The general gives the party a letter of introduction to give to Halamir; this letter proves to be very useful in getting the party quickly past Laine, the female halfling receptionist at Halamir's shop.  As Laine sends the party in to meet Halamir, she apparently flirts with Ulfgar, causing the dwarven ranger to blush slightly.Inside the main sales area of Halamir's shop, the party first encounters a laconic dwarf with a nasty-looking axe -- clearly the shop's security guard.  Halamir himself enters shortly thereafter -- he is a middle-aged male half-elf; he is friendly, but very businesslike in demeanor.  The party parts with much of their cash in short order, and fairly depletes Halamir's inventory.  Several party members enquire about having custom items made for themselves, as well, for Halamir has contact with most of the wizards in the city who create magical items, and acts as a go-between for those wishing to have items made..7/21In the morning, each member of the party receives a messenger (wearing Marnais livery), inviting them to dinner that evening at the home of Henric Renard, the governor of Marnes.Upon receipt of this invitation, Ian goes to speak with General Winterhawk about it.  Winterhawk tells him that it would be politically unwise (and rude) for the party to refuse the invitation.  However, she cautions Ian that Renard is a very political creature, and appears to be opposed to the war against the Dracos.  Ian shares this information with the party, and they agree to cautiously accept the invitation.Dinner is hosted by Renard and his wife, Cesale.  They are joined by Irlian, the under-secretary who had met the party at the Gallant Knight several days earlier.  The meal is an excellent example of Marnais "country" fare -- the main course is roasted grouse, stuffed with wild mushrooms and glazed with a red-wine reduction, accompanied by early vegetables.At first, Renard wishes the party to tell him about their exploits in the Draconic States.  Eventually, he asks the party for their impressions of the Dracos -- specifically, what their motivations seem to be. He then tells them that, while Winterhawk was at one point (as recently as last year) a heroic figure in the kingdom, that her star has fallen.  The losses at Tun-Kashila, despite the nominal success of the mission, have crippled her politically (Renard notes that his own nephew was among the soldiers killed at Tun-Kashila).  Beyond this, the amount of spending that Winterhawk has done, on ships, weapons, and the Gateway itself, has come into question, particularly since the Dracos have not attacked Dorlomin for a year.Renard indicates that he, and others in the government, are not entirely convinced that the Dracos are still a threat to Dorlomin.  He believes that it is possible that, after being defeated by Winterhawk in Avila the previous year, the Dracos have decided not to continue the war.  This is why he was against the attack on Tun-Kashila -- he did not want to anger a foe that had apparently turned its attention elsewhere.  He is thus pushing for King Kenton to ban any further offensive actions against the Dracos, and instead focus on defense, in case of possible future attacks.Renard also shares a theory he has with the party.  He notes that the only part of Dorlomin that the Dracos have attacked is Avila.  He tells the party that the Avilans have a notorious history of dabbling in black magic -- about a century ago, the nobles of Avila entered into a pact with a demon in exchange for increasing Avila's power in the region.  When the demon was banished by a group of adventurers, a magical "booby trap" was triggered, causing a massive earthquake that lead to much of Avila's land sinking below the ocean's surface.  Renard believes that many Avilans still deal in black magic, and this may be the reason for the Dracos' attacks.  Several party members attempt to convince Renard that they have seen no evidence of this being any motivation for the Dracos, but the governor does not seem convinced.Renard wants the party to understand that Winterhawk, their patron, is in danger of losing her power.  Since he sees the party as "up-and-comers," he encourages them to consider allying themselves with some other power center, if they wish to continue to build their own power.  He tells them that they should always consider his door to be open to them, if they are in need of assistance. After dinner, the party departs Renard's home and travels back to their respective inns.  As they walk through Marington's darkened streets, several party members come to the realization that they are being followed.  By the time the entire party is alerted to this fact, the party has become surrounded by a band of thugs, who begin to attack.  After the party dispatches about half of the band, the rest flee into the night -- Nivek attempts to chase one of the thieves, but wisely decides against following the rogue into a building.7/22Early the next morning, each member of the party receives a second invitation.  This one is delivered by a Dorlominian soldier, and is a scroll that reads as follows:"Wraiths,Meet me in my office at noon today.  I have a mission for you.Winterhawk"Upon the party's arrival at the general's office, Winterhawk is not there.  However, Genevieve Firehawk is there, and apologizes to the party for her mother's absence.  She tells the party that the general would like to reschedule for that evening, and suggests that the party meet her at sunset (about 8 pm) at an inn in Old Northtown (a section of the city) called "The Mystic Centaur."Winterhawk arrives at the Mystic Centaur about 20 minutes late.  She is dressed in an old, weather-stained travelling cloak, with the hood pulled over her head, and is accompanied by Genevieve as well as a tall young man (6' 6", close-cropped blonde hair, short blonde beard, ice-blue eyes) in chainmail, with a longsword at his side. Winterhawk walks straight to the innkeeper, speaks to him briefly, then has Genevieve usher the party back to a private room.Once inside, Winterhawk introduces the party to her second companion -- his name is Aren; he is a fighter and the son of an old friend of Winterhawk's.  The general then apologizes for not being at the earlier meeting.  "I spent most of the afternoon in front of the Council of Governors, answering questions about the war.  It was not a pretty scene.  As unbelievable as this may sound, some of the governors aren't even convinced that we need to worry about the Dracos!  Some of them think that, because the Dracos only attacked Avila last year, that only the Avilans need worry about them.  Others seem to think that, if we leave the Dracos alone, they will leave us alone."  The party indicates that this point of view is very consistent with what they had heard from Renard.Winterhawk then tells the party that she has a new mission for them.  She is extremely interested in the two items that the party reported seeing the draconians take onto the barge -- the "plumb-bob" and the "harp."  She wants the party to go back to Agleshka, see if they can find any other copies of these items, retrieve one of each, if possible, and return to Marington.Because of the political climate right now, Winterhawk has been forbidden from mounting any new missions to the Draconic States.  Thus, the party will need to enter the palace grounds through the service entrance (guarded, but not as visible) -- she assures them that the guards who will be on duty at the service entrance tonight, as well as those in the Gateway's courtyard, will be loyal to her.  Winterhawk gives the party directions to the service entrance, as well as a password ("thulae," which means "wraith" in Elvish).  When given the correct response ("annon," which means "gateway" in Elvish), the party should follow the responding guard through the palace to the Gateway.  In order to do this without notice, the party will need to enter the palace between midnight and 2 a.m.The party leaves Winterhawk's company at this point, in order to get their gear ready for the mission.  The party reassembles shortly before midnight, and proceeds to the palace's service entrance.  After looking around to make sure they are not being watched, they knock at the door and say "thulae."  A voice on the other side of the door says "annon," and the door opens.7/23The guard inside the doorway is a young man, perhaps 19.  As he leads the party through the palace, the more observant members of the party notice that this young guard is walking oddly, almost as if he was not used to how his body is arranged.  They also notice that the guard has a slight limp, very similar to a limp that Winterhawk has.  The guard tells them, "the General wanted to make sure that you were accompanied by someone she could trust.  So, she sent me."  As he says this, his form shimmers slightly, and "he" becomes Winterhawk herself.  She turns to the party, winks, and says, "Unfortunately, right now, I can't be seen doing this, and I certainly can't be seen in the Gateway courtyard.  So, it's back into 'Lieutenant Tillesly' for the duration here."  Her form shimmers again, and she is again the young lieutenant."Tillesly" leads the party into the Gateway courtyard.  There are two guards standing watch there; they nod to "Tillesly" and leave the courtyard, closing the doors behind them.  "Tillesly" hands a Gate Key to the party, opens the Gateway to the Keystone south of Agleshka, and the party goes through.When the party arrives in Nyxal, it is early morning, just after sunrise.  They begin to make for Aglesha, carefully moving through the swamp.  After less than an hour, several party members notice movement in the grass ahead of them.  A number of creatures then burst out of the swamp -- three large lizards, a crocodile, and a rat the size of a large dog -- and attack the party.  The party defends themselves, and quickly takes the upper hand -- they make good use of an Entangle spell to slow the lizards down, and Whitefire Charms the dire rat.  However, the situation begins to look bleaker when a black draconian also begins to attack.  Nivek manages to Command the draconian to "sleep," which gives the party enough time to immobilize him.  The party quickly realizes that this draconian seems different from the others that they have encountered: his equipment seems much more "rustic," and he is wearing a wooden claw on a thong around his neck (the claw is very similar, if not identical, to the claw that they had found inside the shambling mound some days ago).Ian questions the draconian.  He learns that the draconian's name is Ipsuye, and that he "serves the Earthmother, through the power of the Talon of the Swamp."  Ipsuye and Whitefire eye each other carefully, and begin to slowly converse in Druidic (although Ipsuye speaks a strange dialect of this secret tongue).The party learns that Ipsuye is one of an apparently small number of followers of this "Talon of the Swamp."  These followers are worshippers of the earth, which makes them outsiders in Draco society.  They are very concerned about the Dracos' war against the humans, because the Dracos are stripping the land of its natural resources to fuel the war effort.  Because of this, they have begun to wage their own campaign of guerrila warfare against the Dracos' military bases here in Nyxal.Ipsuye quickly, and correctly, surmises that the party was responsible for the deaths of the shambling mound and the tendriculous.  However, he also realizes that he and the party share the same foe.  He makes an offer to the party -- if they will refrain from interfering with any of the Talon's allies (distinguishable by the wooden talon symbols), then the Talon's allies will make sure to steer clear of the party.  The party agrees to this, and frees Ipsuye, who flies off into the swamp.</blockquote>

Verification