The party moved quickly to defend their wizard. Edge bellowed a challenge, and the man practically skidded to halt. His attacks went wildly off course as he tried to avoid the warforged. The party pummeled the man to the platform, while the people around them fled, giving the fight a wide berth. Within seconds the man had been rendered unconscious. The party tied him up and then revived him. He was so thoroughly beaten, physically and mentally, that everything just tumbled out of him. He said he is a prison guard, and his prisoner, for nearly a decade, has been Akta! He says he departed the prison just that morning, and Akta was in her cell! The party was stunned to hear this news, and Akta was initially quite defensive. Everyone demanded some answers.
In response, Akta changed shape. It was instantly clear that Akta is not in fact a tielfing woman, but a changeling male! He revealed that his name is Tselem. He grew up on the streets of Varna in the Eldeen Reaches, using his shape-changing abilities to help him rob unwary people. The only person who knew of his true identity was Akta, a young tiefling woman who worked at a local inn; she sometimes let him sleep (hidden) in the kitchen and gave him food. The two struck up a wary friendship. One night a mysterious wizard came to the inn; the next morning, most of the occupants were dead (clearly killed by magic), and the rest (including Akta) had disappeared. Since that time, he's worn Akta's form and gone by her name.
The attacker, who revealed his name to be Regdar, was exasperated and suspicious. Taumir was surprised and unhappy by this turn of events. Azeri felt betrayed. Edge wasn't sure he could actually tell the difference.
Tselem said they had to rescue the real Akta. Taumir said he would rather keep going on to the Whisper Woods, but his curiosity was piqued enough to help out. Azeri and Edge agreed to help out too. They all dragged Regdar into an alley to avoid the Sentinel Marshalls that had come to investigate the fight, and initially planned to have Tselem pretend to be Regdar to get them into the prison at Korth where Akta was being kept. Regdar was actually pretty cooperative, and said a number of times that it would be easier to just let him take care of things. The party eventually decided to try a different feint - Tselem (posing as Akta once more) would pretend to be captured, while the rest kept a close eye on Regdar (Edge bluffed him into thinking they don't trust Tselem anymore).
Regdar came to Korrenberg in an airship, so the group made their way to the airship port across town, where they boarded a House Deneith vessel. The captain and Regdar appeared to know each other well, and the captain was surprised to see him back from his R&R after only an hour. Regdar said he found an escaped prisoner that he has to bring back. He asked the captain if they can get going back to Korth right away, and the captain agreed. The party and Regdar then retired to some cabins. The party had healed Regdar to make him think they're on his side, but they all needed rest, so they all fell into bed almost as soon as the ship lifted off about an hour later.
In the wee hours of the morning on 15th Eyre, Regdar emerged from his room. Edge had been resting in the hall, and when he saw Regdar going up on deck, he and Azeri followed. (Azeri did not like being up so high, and was more than a little airsick.) Regdar approached the captain and told him to take "the faster route," meaning over the Mournland. The captain said that's crazy; Regdar said it was worth the risk. The airship changed course, and an hour or so later, an ominous looking light could be seen in the distance. (By this point Tselem and Taumir had awakened and come up on deck.) The captain said that it is the light of the Glowing Chasm. He seemed both furious and terrified that they were going anywhere near it.
Thankfully, after a few hours, the Glowing Chasm began to fade behind them, and in the pre-dawn light they passed over a river and began their final approach into Korth. Regdar then took them to a camp of some sort outside of town. They asked what they were doing there, and he said the prison is under the training camp. They descended a long flight of stairs into a chamber.
By this point the party was growing suspicious, so Edge and Taumir elected to stay put and guard the exit while Tselem and Azeri took Regdar to get Akta. Regdar led them into another chamber about 30 feet away, at which point they were attacked by two fire bats while two burning skeletons attacked Edge and Taumir! The men struggled to face the onslaught, while Azeri wailed on Regdar, causing him to actually flee into the midst of the meele. Taumir and Edge dispatched one of the skeletons, then rushed to help their friends, leaving the other skeleton shambling behind them. At this point, Regdar activated a hidden trap, and the entrances crumbled in, trapping all of them in one chamber (with the remaining skeleton outside). The party knocked Regdar unconscious and killed the two bats.
Rewards
- 1,800 XP. You're up to Level 5!
- found a Shield of Defiance (Level 8) (p. 245 PHB)
- found a Belt of Sacrifice (p. 252 PHB)
- looted 470 GP
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