Session010

Session Ten - 4th August 2023

SHORT VERSION

After the council members arrived, Drex connected symbols on an altar to a goblin book's symbols from earlier. The book spoke of sacrificing to Gartlemak to prevent the Demonplague. Bjalien decided to keep the news of a possible plague secret to prevent panic. The trial of Bazil, who seemed to have killed three in the belief it would stop the plague, was held privately in the church. Speaking with the dead confirmed his motives, and Bazil was executed swiftly by Colinus.

Colinus's mastiff tracked the sorceress' scent to various buildings, leading to a confrontation in Hranza's Brewery. In a battle, they managed to wound the sorceress but she escaped via dimension door. The group organized a search of the village and found evidence of a ritual in Hranza's bedroom. Investigating the jewellery taken from Bazil's shop, they realised they were just trophies from his murder victims.

The council implemented measures to protect the village from the sorceress, and the group prepared for their journey, leaving their undead horse and cart in the Weary Traveller's a stable overnight whilst they stayed in the Bakery to "protect it". Cormir discovered a hidden bag in the bakery floor.

LONG VERSION

- Link to audio file - 

As the council members finished the process of bringing the bodies up, Drex explained what he had seen in the symbols on the altar, and Morthos asked if they were related at all to the symbols in the goblin book that Drex had taken from the cultists they had met on the road a couple of days earlier. Pulling out the book, Drex realised that there were similarities in places. As someone who knew the goblin language, Mogadon asked to have a look at the book, and quickly determined that the book essentially had one message - "Make sacrifices to a power called Gar'tlemak to prevent the Demonplague".

Bjalien, having heard all this talk about a plague, decided that this was not something that should become common knowledge - otherwise there would be panic and chaos. Deciding to move the bodies and the prisoner Bazil to the church, Bjalien also declared that this would be a closed trial - and that only those present now would be witness.

Once in the church, Isperil cast a spell to speak with dead, asking Colinus Birthwitch's dead nephew several questions which confirmed their suspicions - "Bazil had killed the three of them because he believed it would prevent the return of a plague."

Bazil was also questioned, the mad man raving further about the Demonplague and how he had received this information through a “vision”.

Colinus, no doubt feeling vengeful for his late nephew, took the role of town executioner and decided that the normal punishment for murder - a hanging - would be too public and would give Bazil the opportunity to spread panic by raving in public about this plague - so suddenly slit the prisoner's throat - gaining a harsh look from most present. Bjalien reluctantly agreed that it was probably for the best. Morthos, in an uncharacteristic move, donated 3gp to Isperil towards the "cleansing of the church", given the summary judgement that had just been messily passed in its hallowed hall.

An angry Mogadon curtly demanded that Colinus fetch his dog and that they return to the potion shop so that they could try to pick up the trail of the sorcerer. Whilst waiting for the mastiff, not a specific tracking dog, to pick up a scent, Morthos took advantage of the distraction and stole a couple of healing positions from Basil’s stock. The dog then led them a strange route around a number of the buildings in the village, including Pauline’s house, where Kadra had stayed the night, Orich Stronghammer’s house and several others, typically loitering around windows.

The group stopped at each house to knock on doors and check the occupants. At Orich’s place, Cormir took the time to inform Orich of the fate of his missing apprentice. When the trail lingered around Brinner’s Brews - the local brewery - the group knocked on the brewery door, but there was no answer. Pushing open the door, they could see what looked perhaps another victim of the sorceress - Hranza Brinner, the dwarven brewer actually sleeping off a heavy drinking Session on the floor of the brewery. Hranza, still fairly inebriated, awoke at their entry, and didn’t object to the group having a look around. Morthos, spotting some non-dwarven footprints in the dirty brewery floor that weren’t their own, became suspicious. The only other exit from the brewery was a door that led through to what was no doubt Hranza’s home. As Morthos picked the lock and opened the door, Mogadon cast see invisible and entered into what was Hranza’s kitchen.

Turns out the sorceress was hiding in the kitchen, standing invisible on the counter behind the door. Mogadon and Merriath cast spells at each other, the sorceress becoming visible as Morthos rushed into the kitchen and stabbed at the woman with his long sword. Outside at the front of the house, Cormir bashed in her front door with Drex rushing in to the kitchen from the other direction, casting a cloud of daggers onto the sorceress, before trying to follow up with an Eldritch blast. The woman counter spelled his Eldritch blast however, and cast a dimension door spell to escape the cloud of daggers.

Assuming Merriath the Quick had used her dimension door to return to her old tent, the party raced outside, Mogadon raising a Hue and Cry to try to find out where the sorceress had teleported to, but in the end, there was no sign of her and slowly the panic caused by all the shouting and running about started to die down.

Flummoxed on how they could track down the sorceress who could both hide in plain sight in disguise as well as either go invisible or dimension door away whenever she was cornered, the group met again with the council, and organised a door to door search of the village. It was only back at the brewery, where they discover evidence to suggest that a ritual had been set up, and then dismantled.

Impatient to figure out whether the three items of jewellery that Bazil had had stashed under his pillow were actually magical, Drex spent the time to cast the Detect Magic ritual, and although they were not magical, he did recognise the signet ring as being the same as the one that Colinus Birthwitch had - and that in fact the three items were trophies taken from the three murder victims.

The group stood around and discussed their plans - coming to the conclusion that the "Demonplague" seemed like an issue unrelated to Kadra's problems with Merriath the Quick, and probably a more important one. The party filled Mogadon in with some of the experiences in Fort Frostfell, but kept quiet about Harlyot Crushade and co in the basement, only mentioning the vision they had all had.

Mogadon wasn't too chuffed at the mention of the undead horse (that the party had named "Bessie"), describing it as an abomination and offered to lay the horse to rest and buy the party a donkey instead. Knowing they had a cart for transport, they went to the Feraduce Traders and purchased a large tarpaulin to allow them to cover the cart and make themselves a make-shift tent if needed.

As the afternoon waned, the council worked to put in place something to ensure that the residents all look out for each other - making sure that neighbours checked on neighbours etc so that Merriath would have a hard time finding a new place to perform her ritual, and that Kadra was especially protected.

As the evening approached, the group “checked out” from The Weary Traveller”, the innkeeper Malaga looking disappointed at the loss of their custom. As a consolation, they decided to leave their undead horse “Bessie” with its harnessed cart in the Inn’s attached stables and pay a stabling fee to Malaga.

The group made their way to the bakery instead, where Phelm Barristar was pleased to see them, though Morthos agreed to stay with Kadra at Paumine's house again. Mogadon however would take his place so Phelm was reassured his bakery would still be protected.

As the evening progressed, Cormir stumbled over a loose paving slab in the floor of the bakery, and after investigating, spotted a burlap bag hidden in a hollow under the floor, though triggered a small bell trap whilst doing it. Luckily, Phelm didn't seem to hear, and nobody came to see.

On to Session 011

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