Session #34: The City of Fear

Baron von Mucharsen turned out to be a very amiable individual who was more than happy to hire them. He said he was very impressed by how easily they dispatched those ogres, and was open to their desire to take on special assignments. He said that Breland had already sent two different forces to try and seize the city of Vralkek. Due to it's position on the central Scar River, taking the city would be a big strategic advantage, but both forces had been completely annihilated, and the Baron didn't know why. Would the party be willing to go and see what they could find, and report back (either in person or via sending a message)? The party agreed, to the tune of 100 GP per month (per member).

The party didn't have much to do in town, so they pretty much went straight to the boat the Baron had chartered for them. Their journey to Vralkek took three days, taking them down Wroat Creek, into the Dagger River, out into the Thunder Sea, and north to Manta Bay.

Around noon on 15 Lharvion, the captain of the ship landed on a cape about an hour's walk southeast of the city. The party made their way towards it, debating their course of action. When they arrived there, they found it had high stone walls with guards atop them. Tselem decided to disguise himself as a goblin and go look around inside the city. Taumir decided to sneak along the walls themselves and see what he could find. Edge and Azeri felt these course of action were not particularly wise, but they decided to try and sneak in themselves. They were seen almost immediately, but they managed to avoid the 'citizen' that had spotted them and start making their way down the coast towards the docks.

Inside the city, Tselem-goblin initially didn't find much of interest, so he headed down to the docks. Taumir utterly failed to find anything of note on or around the walls, but he remained unseen as he too made his way around the walls to the docks. Edge and Azeri were able to sneak onto the piers as well.

Down at the docks, Tselem was still loitering about when he noticed a strange figure in a dark cloak. This figure was giving orders to some trolls, and the goblins of the city were treating it with great deference. As Tselem watched, he noticed that he was having trouble concentrating, almost as if there was a psychic field present. Then the figure turned and Tselem saw the squid-like face of the creature. He wondered - could this be one of the feared illithids he'd heard such dark tales about?

Tselem decided to put some distance between him and figure. At that moment, he noticed Edge and Azeri staying out of sight behind some boxes, and started moving towards them. At this, the illithid began coming towards them. He apparently saw through Tselem's disguise, for he summoned another one of his kind, two trolls and three grimlocks, and they attacked the party!

At the sound of the commotion, Taumir finally located his fellows, but he had a lot of ground to cover before he could reach them. A close-quarters battle formed between the other three party members and the creatures. Azeri was in rare form - she used several well-placed divine attacks, and the party quickly dispatched the grimlocks and the second illithid. The trolls and the first illithid did not retire so easily, though, and by the time Taumir joined the fray, the outcome of the fight was by no means certain...

Rewards

• 1,000 XP each for Azeri, Taumir, and Tselem (I'm treating the repeated skill checks you did as a skill encounter)
• 1,000 GP total (this is found treasure - the Baron has not paid you yet).

Session #33: The Flight & the Mercy

The last two fire creatures did not make it easy, but in the end the party struck them down as well. Elane continued trying to attack Azeri as she lay there, but once the last of her allies died, she became strangely still and quiet. The party was exhausted, night had fallen, and while they were outside of town, they were close enough to populated areas that the fight was bound to have attracted some attention. They took their captive, hustled into the woods, and settled in for the night.

That night, as the party slept, Azeri awakened and, in a rather amazing display of stealth, slipped past Edge, who was keeping watch, and took the still bound Elane away, deeper into the forest. There, she confronted the Silver Flame cleric about her betrayal, demanding to know the reason. Elane gave none beyond what she had said earlier in the evening, and was dismissive and rude to her captor. Despite this, Azeri didn't have the heart to execute her, and set her free, telling her that this was her last chance. Elane pondered this for a second, then fled for her life.

When the rest of the party awoke the next morning (6 Lharvion), they were surprised and annoyed at Azeri's actions, but they decided the only prudent thing to do at this point was to get the heck out of here, especially considering the number of power players they were now wanted by had reached a half-dozen or more. They decided that they weren't going to have any luck with the ritual until they could gain more magical knowledge, and they couldn't do that skulking around in the bushes of the world. So they decided to head to Breland (specifically the capital city of Wroat) and try to join the war effort.

The party made their way south to the city of Sigilstar, a day's journey. Fortunately, despite their wanted status, the day passed without incident. The next day (7 Lharvion), they made it as far as Nathyrr, but there they were stopped by suspicious guards at a checkpoint. They were able to bluff their way through though. An hour or so later they passed over the Brey River into Breland, and breathed a sigh of relief - here they should be less hunted.

The next few days were uneventful as they traveled the major highway through the fields and plains of Breland to Wroat. Around noon on the 12th day of Lharvion, they finally arrived. After making some inquiries, they decided to seek out a certain Baron von Mucharsen, a man supplying the Brelish government with soldiers.

They approached his house in the center of the city and offered their services as elite troops or even spies. The chamberlain there seemed bored by their offer, and ushered them into a courtyard to give them a 'test.' The test turned out to be three ogres, whom the party dispatched with almost no effort at all. The chamberlain was stunned speechless, and invited them to come meet with the Baron personally.

Rewards

• 9,100 XP each! Time to level up to 16!
• You found a Spirit Shield +4 (Player's Handbook 2, p. 203).
• You found a Lifedrinker weapon +3 (Player's Handbook, p. 235).
• You found 8,500 GP (total).