WotL Summaries

[JadedDM]

Chapter One:
Haven and Hell

Kyaston Trench, Haahqae, Kendra Synclair, Gregeddin, Khush and Coroccoco all wake up in very different places. Kyanston is at home, Haahqae at the Steel Tankard, Kendra at her boyfriend's place, Gregeddin at his parents' house, Khush is out in the wild, following the road to Haven and Coroccoco is sleeping under a hedge in Clover Park.

Each of them, in turn, wakes up and starts their day. Kynaston heads out into the rain and comes across an old woman and kender arguing. Haahqae questions the innkeeper about where to find some books and opens a discussion with a drunk barbarian. Kendra complains about her job, but her boyfriend complains more. Gregeddin spots a young girl running from a guard, and winds up getting involved. Khush hears a woman scream, and upon investigating, finds she and a young boy are being threatened by a pair of goblins. And Coroccoco steps into the Haven Arms for drink and food, and maybe to start a little mischief.

Kynaston settles the dispute, but loses his long sword in the process; frustrated, he walks off and finds himself at the local blacksmith. Haahqae becomes interested in the mine, but fails to recruit anyone else to help him. He decides to head to the marketplace, where he encounters a man preaching to a crowd. Kendra encounters the same preacher, and attempts to break up the crowd and arrest the man. Gregeddin helps the guard find the young girl, then heads to the marketplace, as well. Khush attacks the goblins, but the woman is killed, and before long, so is Khush. Coroccoco makes the acquiantance of a half-elf woman named Daxia, and gives a sermon about her god, Weerschaal, with mixed results. A man wearing heavy robes, with all of his features hidden, seems very interested in her sermon, but immediately leaves when she finishes.

At the marketplace, Kendra's attempt to arrest the prophet--Kelryn Darewind, a follower of a mystery god called 'the Master,' upsets quite a few people. Haahqae, Gregeddin, and Coroccoco all witness this. Haahqae uses the opportunity to recruit Gregeddin and Coroccoco to help with the mine; the three of them wind up following Kendra, hoping to speak with the Holy Guard captain and get support from him. Meanwhile, Kynaston hears about the mine from the blacksmith, and heads out to the marketplace, meeting up with the entourage after overhearing Haahqae mention the mine.

The group heads to the barracks, but Coroccoco, worried she might get arrested, breaks off from them and heads back. Along the way, she encounters a quartet of armed hobgoblins and the same heavily robed man she saw earlier at the Haven Arms. He tries to convince her to join the side of Takhisis, but Coroccoco refuses. He then warns her of the consequences of her actions, and the thugs depart. Meanwhile, the Holy Guard captain refuses to send any men to help with the mine, and chews out Kendra for dragging citizens into his office. Angry, Kendra takes Kelryn down to the dungeons while the others join Coroccoco.

While Kelryn speaks to Kendra, questioning her devotion to the Seekers, the rest head to the Steel Tankard. They arrive just in time to see the barbarian that Haahqae spoke to earlier thrown out for his heretical and quite drunken rantings. Kynastan agrees to let the barbarian stay with him for the night, and that they'll head to the mine the following day. They agree to meet at Kynaston's house, forgetting that they never told Kendra any of this.

Meanwhile, Kendra continues her patrol in the market and runs into Ward, a fellow guard (and a bit of a scumbag). She learns from him that there is a fake potion seller in town, and Ward has been charged with trying to find him or her.

That evening, Kendra went to visit her family, Haahqae returned to the Tankard to perform for a free room, Gregeddin had dinner with his parents, and Coroccoco meets the half-elf, Daxia, in the park. Darga, a rather smart gully dwarf, watches Haahqae's performance and overhears a rumor that the gnome was putting together a group to fight demons in a mine.

Darga approaches Haahqae, and the gnome hires him for the job. Kendra, meanwhile, doesn't have the best visit because of an argument with her crippled father. Coroccoco convinces Daxia to meet her at Kynaston's house the next day, with an offer of protection from the people Daxia claims are after her.

The following day, the group all meets at Kynaston's place...except Kendra, who was never told about it. Daxia shows up to, but it turns out Coroccoco had never told any of the group that she had hired them out as Daxia's protectors. Daxia, likewise, wasn't too keen on the idea of them taking her into the mines. Eventually, this was settled when Kynaston offered his home as a safehouse while she waited for them to return from the mine.

Kendra decides to try the marketplace, since that was where she first saw them. Instead, she finds Kelryn's followers protesting his arrest. The riot guard show up, and before long things get ugly. Kendra tries to stop it, but a giant riot breaks out. Kendra is rescued by a kender, Pen, who helps her escape by rooftop. The two encounter the others along the way.

Once grouped up, they head to the main gate and receive citizenship tokens from the guards--so they can get back in later. They then head outside, somewhat stunned by just how many refugees are camped out there, hoping to get inside.

Along the way to the mine, the party encounters an old hobgoblin. Very old. He starts talking nonsense about rivers and things not being the way they were supposed to be. He warns them that a woman is behind the trouble at the mines, and she must be stopped. She has a powerful device that must be retrieved. He also reveals he is a follower of Zivilyn, one of the old gods. He gives Coroccoco a medallion, but while she accepts it, she doesn't put it on. The old hob also warns that in seven days, everything in Haven will change.

Somewhat confused and slightly disturbed, the party continues on and reaches the mine. Bear allows them into his house, where they scavenge for food and supplies. The party then heads toward the mine entrance, not entirely sure what they will find there.

[JadedDM]

Chapter Two:
Bear in Mine

Standing at the mouth of the mines, the party decides on a marching order and steps in. Kendra uses her lantern and Gregedddin backs her up with a torch. Darga and Haahqae scout ahead, using their infravision to their advantage.

Bear tells them that there used to be a lift that went straight down to the second level; however, it was destroyed shortly before the attacks. Likely, this was done by the 'demons' themselves. The party speculates on whether they should try and repair the lift, but they vote to not bother and continue down the long way.

They come across a four-way intersection and choose a path at random. However, Coroccoco suddenly warns them that the way is trapped. However, she is unable or willing to explain how she knows.

Darga uses his pack, tied to some rope, to deliberately set off the trap. Sure enough, the wall caves in, which would have buried the party had they walked through it.

They make their way deeper inside and start to hear manical, high-pitched laughter echoing down the tunnels. They emerge into a massive cavern and then a group of creatures attack them. Coroccoco recognizes them as kobolds, not demons.

A battle breaks out. Coroccoco, Darga and Gregeddin are injured, but the party manages to take out all sixteen of the kobolds; no survivors escape. They search the bodies, but mostly find useless brickabrack and a few copper coins.

A bit further in, they find what appears to be the kobolds' barracks. Darga manages to find a few small gemstones.

The party descends to the second level of the dungeon, and flip coins to figure out which direction to take whenever they find an intersection.

Eventually they come across what appears to be a bathroom of sorts. A slig is inside, taking a dump. It notices them and moves to attack.

Coroccoco gets stabbed by the slig's spear and goes down. The rest of the party jumps the slig, taking it down quickly. When they check on Coroccoco, they find she is completely healed! Not even Coroccoco can understand how that was possible.

The party almost stumbles into a pit trap, but Darga notices it beforehand and warns the party. They easily walk around it.

The party presses on and finds a barracks for the sligs. There are four inside; three asleep in beds of straw, and a fourth sitting at a table, whittling. Haahqae uses a 'pocketdoor' (illusion cantrip) to block the entrance, so the party can move past without being seen.

However, once they have safely passed, they wonder if leaving the four sligs behind them is such a good idea. They begin to brainstorm a plan.

Darga, Gregeddin and Haahqae devise a plan where they will use Haahqae's pocketdoor (or pocketfloor, rather) to create a 'fake' pit trap. Darga will then get the sligs' attention, and lead them back to the pit. Half the party will charge them from behind, knocking them into the pit. The other half will shoot at those who don't get knocked down.

Darga gets the sligs' attention, but finds they move much faster than he thought. He's forced to run back at full speed, and leap over the pit. Luckily, he makes a perfect jump.

Two sligs are knocked into the pit, while another is shot down. One tries to climb out of the pit, but is shot by Haahqae and falls back in to his death. The last slig standing is slain, leaving just the one remaining in the pit.

The party interrogates it, and it reveals that its master name is Sekla and she is from the future. However, they don't get much more about it than that. They decide to kill it, but the slig fights back. He throws his spear up at Kendra, hitting her. Luckily, she and Haahqae manage to shoot it down before it do anything else.

The party continues on, going deeper into the mine. They reach the broken lift and find a slig patrolling around it. Darga and Haahqae sneak up behind it to attack, and then the others rush in to finish it off.

They find the tunnel that leads them deeper, and descend into the third level. They soon find a chamber where a hobgoblin woman in black robes rants in the goblin language to two sligs and...two creatures that the party has never seen before. They look like lizards, but have wings and brass scales. Most of the party assumes they are actual demons.

The party discusses their options, and decides their best chance is to overwhelm them while they have the element of surprise. At first, things go well. They take down the two sligs easily enough. However, one of the 'demons' takes down Darga.

Working together, Haahqae and Gregeddin manage to bring down Sekla by trapping her with a Grease spell, lighting it on fire, then shooting her with some arrows. Kendra gets badly wounded and withdraws, but Bear and Kynaston manage to finish off the demons. Strangely, when they die, the demons turn to solid stone. A few minutes later, they crumbled to dust.

Coroccoco, experimenting with her budding faith in Zivilyn, tries to pray for Darga. To everyone's surprise, he regains consciousness.

The party opens up a nearby chest and finds a motherlode of stolen treasure, possibly worth hundreds of steel pieces. However, none of them can find the time travel pendant the old man told them about (largely because Haahqae secretly pocketed it). The gnome convinces her that the pendant was destroyed in the fire.

The party heads back up with their treasure, and rests in the cabins around the mine. Gregeddin entertains them as they eat and drink, then they try and get some rest.

The following morning, they are in better spirits. Coroccoco is still upset at having failed to retrieve the pendant, however. Gregeddin reminds Bear that he promised them 50 steel each for clearing out the mine, but the barbarian argued that the treasure they found in there more than covers it. The party decides not to press the issue, and heads off, back toward Haven.

Along the way, they run into the old hobgoblin cleric again. They tell him what happened, and he claims the 'demons' were actually a race of beings called 'draconians' and that the party would likely see more of them soon. Coroccoco apologized for not finding the pendant, but the old man opened his gnarled hand to reveal it (having somehow magicked it from Haahqae's pack).

The old man evades the party's questions and instead repeats that six days from now, everything will change. He also offers Coroccoco the chance to accompany him and learn the ways of Zivilyn. She accepts. But first, she makes Kynaston promise to take care of Daxia for her. He agrees.

Using the time travel device, the old man and Coroccoco vanish into thin air.

The party returns to Haven and heads straight to Kynaston's house. However, when they arrive, they find the place has been broken into. Everything is in dissaray, the house has been looted and Daxia is gone. When Kynaston asks aloud who could have done this, two elves enter and the older one says, "I believe I may know the answer to that."

Tulbas' Vignette

During the riot, Tulbas is sent up to his room by his uncle, Raetmal, which is in the attic of the mageware shop. He looks out the window to see smoke rising and hear people yelling, but can't really see anything more.

When the riot calms down, he is allowed back downstairs. His uncle explains to him that there was a riot, but luckily they didn't come close to the mageware shop, so they are alright. Tulbas is curious as to what caused the riot, and why. Raetmal ponders if they should pack up and leave for somewhere safer. Tulbas points out that hiding from the world and its problems hasn't exactly worked out well for the Silvanesti before.

Raetmal realizes he is right, and grants him permission to investigate. But warns him to be careful, as they are foreigners, elves and mages--an unhealthy combination for the people of Haven.

Tulbas collects his things and heads out, finding the site of the riot to be blocked off by the Holy Guard and a number of goblin guards. A crowd is surrounding the area, curious to see inside. There's a lot of damage and several dead bodies, including children, within the area.

Tulbas spots a red haired girl cutting purses, and points her out to a nearby Holy Guard. He immediately arrests her. Tulbas immediately concludes the pickpocket is somehow associated with the riot, which he also believes was deliberately organized. He attempts to question the woman, but she refuses to cooperate and the Holy Guard is just confused by Tulbas' conspiracy theories.

The guard decides that whether she is a thief or a conspirator, she should be brought in. So Tulbas charms the guard and convinces him that they know each other, and Tulbas is an initiate for the Holy Guard. He then persuades the guard to allow him to escort the woman to the headquarters himself, since the guard is supposed to stay where he is anyway. The guard agrees and hands her over to him.

The woman goes with him, fascinated. Once they have privacy, she says her name is Keira of Crossing and she recognized that fact he cast a spell.

Tulbas inquires more and learns her entire family died, either on the way to Haven or actually within the city once they arrived. She squats with a bunch of other homeless refugees in a warehouse down on the docks. She invites Tulbas there, but he decides instead to take her to the Steel Tankard for some drinks, hoping to get more information from her.

Once there, he buys her a drink and bribes her with three silver coins to find out more about the riot. She tells him that there's some religious cult leader who claims to be capable of magical healing in the city. The Holy Guard imprisoned him, and the riot started when his followers demanded his release.

Tulbas tries to persuade Keira to join his cause, even offering to let her stay at his home. She misinterprets his intentions, and tells him she likes her men a little older and with some hair on their chest (not realizing Tulbas is actually nearly a hundred and an elf).

Frustrated with Keira's lack of cooperation, he wanders around the tavern, eavesdropping on people. He learns that the leader of the cult is called Kelryn Darewind and the deity he worships is called 'the Master.' He also learns that Darewind can, supposedly, heal magically.

Tulbas questions the barkeeper, and learns that Darewind has a second in command named Nora, and that they often meet at a warehouse down on the docks.

Tulbas returns to his uncle and has some tea, while telling him of his investigation so far. Raetmal tells Tulbas about the Belzor incident a few years back, before Tulbas arrived in the city. He also warns him not to trust humans, and claims the Seekers are as much charlatans as the Belzorites and this new cult.

Tulbas decides he should investigate this cult further, and heads down to the docks. He gets lucky and finds their hideout and spies on it awhile. He realizes that new initiates are brought in by sponsors. He has no sponsor, but tries his luck anyway and talks to the guards. They bring him in to speak to Nora.

Nora asks Tulbas why he wants to join, and Tulbas cites that the old gods are gone and he is looking for a new, real one. He has heard of Darewind's powers, and has magic of his own to help the cause. Nora is surprised to learn that Tulbas is both a Silvanesti and a mage, but finds him intriguing.

She offers him the chance to join their cause, if he can do something for them. Nora explains that a noblewoman disappeared from another nation. Her father is searching for her, and has offered a large reward for her return. Rumor is, she's hiding out in the city of Haven. She's also a mage, and so if Tulbas can detect magic, he might have better luck finding her. If they can find her and turn her in, they'll get the reward, which would significantly aid their cause.

Tulbas agrees to help them tomorrow. He returns home and tells his uncle what has happened. Raetmal loans him a Wand of Detection to help him in his task.

The following morning, Tulbas awakens and has breakfast. He notices his uncle speaking to a disfigured man in black robes. Tulbas interrupts, but is chewed out by Raetmal for it. After the man leaves, Tulbas questions his uncle on him. The black robed man was new in town, asking questions about Haven and its politics. He also wanted components.

Tulbas worries about his uncle's association with the man, but heads out to meet with Nora's men. He meets two of them at the docks; shady looking men named Biggs and Wedge. They tell him that the woman they are looking for is a pretty half-elf. They follow Tulbas around the harbor district as he searches, as his protection. Tulbas questions them a bit and learns a few things; like the cult has grown to over a thousand members so far and Darewind has only been in the city for a month.

Tulbas manages to detect some magic nearby--coming from a residence labeled 12 River Way. He tells Biggs and Wedge he has found a hit, but not where. Instead, he insists they go and speak with Nora instead. However, the two aren't buying it and insist Tulbas show them where she is. Eventually, he consents and points them in the right direction.

Tulbas worries that they are walking into a trap and reasons that the woman has likely put magical traps all over the place. However, he doesn't detect any. Biggs picks the lock and the group sneaks in. They find the woman sleeping in a bed, completely unaware of their presence.

Biggs and Wedge easily capture her, binding and gagging her. Tulbas tries to assure her that she'll be safe, and that they're turning her over to her father. This seems to panic her. Hefting her over his shoulder, Biggs carries her back to their base, with Wedge and Tulbas behind her. Tulbas makes sure to grab her backpack, because he senses her magic spellbook inside.

When Biggs and Wedge turn over the woman to Nora, she is very pleased. She brings Tulbas a grey cloak so he can join the other initiates and join up. While he prepares for the ceremony, he asks Nora about herself. He learns she was once part of a highway bandit gang that attacked a caravan Darewind was on. Darewind started preaching, and Nora just stabbed him. To her surprise, though, he instantly healed himself. She and her whole group converted then and there, and have followed him since.

Tulbas is led into a large room with a statue of a man in robes. He joins the other score of initates and Nora leads them in a prayer. She also reveals the true name of their god to them--the Master of the Past and Present, the Dark One-- Fistandantilus!

After the ceremony, Tulbas pretends to be enthused and asks if he can have the half-elf's bag, particularly her spellbook. Nora agrees and hands it over, then tells him he should go out with the other initiates and find more converts.

Instead, Tulbas returns to the house they found the half-elf at. He finds that they had never shut the door, and so looters had gotten in and were tearing the place up. Tulbas runs back to the cult and asks Biggs and Wedge come help him in scaring them off. However, they and Nora don't care and tell him he should forget it, too.

Upset, Tulbas returns home and tells his uncle everything. Raetmal recognizes the name Fistandantilus as an evil wizard from long ago. He also realizes that the woman Tulbas helped kidnapped was none other than Daxia Cheroneau of Ergoth. He explains that she is a bastard of a local nobleman. The nobleman died of disease, but named her his heir. As the Ergothians are as sexist as they are racist, this didn't go over well. The nobleman's brother took over the fief in a coup and ordered Daxia to be executed. She somehow escaped and fled to Haven.

This means that once the cult hands Daxia over to the Ergothians, she will be killed. Tulbas and his uncle decide to return to the house Daxia was found in to find more clues. Once they arrive, they find three humans, a dwarf and a gnome inside. One of the humans asks who could have done this. Raetmal steps in, removes his hood and says, "I believe I may know the answer to that."

[JadedDM]

Chapter 3:
Mages, Mages Everywhere

The older elf introduces himself as Raetmal; Haahqae recognizes him as the mageware shop owner. The younger elf is his nephew, Tulbas. Raetmal explains that the young woman, Daxia Cheroneau, is actually the bastard child of an Ergothian noble. She was named heir on her father's death, but her uncle usurped her position and put a price on her head. She fled to Haven to escape, but now the Cult of the Master intends to sell her back to the Ergothians. This would mean her death.

Both parties ask each other how they are connected to Daxia. Both sides are concerned the other intends her harm. The party explains how they met Daxia and how they left her at Kynaston's house while they were at the mine. Raetmal then reveals that Tulbas had infiltrated the Cult of the Master and earned their trust by helping them to kidnap Daxia in the first place.

At first, Kynaston is outraged. But Raetmal points out that Tulbas had been deceived into thinking he was actually helping the girl and is now trying to make amends. He suggests the party works with his nephew to rescue her.

Tulbas also reveals the true name of the Master--Fistandantilus. However, nobody in the party recognizes the name. Tulbas explains he was a powerful wizard who lived before the Cataclysm. The party begins discussing this revelation and how they might expose the cult as fake. Kynaston gets them back on track, reminding them that the topic at hand is Daxia's rescue. If Tulbas can get more information on the cult's defenses, then Kynaston can make a plan to rescue her. Tulbas tells him all that he knows and suggests two party members accompany him to join the cult, so they can learn more.

Haahqae readily volunteers (somewhat to Tulbas' chagrin, as he worries the gnome will talk too much). When nobody else steps forward, Kynaston reluctantly joins them. That settled, Raetmal and Tulbas return to their home while the rest of the party decides to sell their loot from the mine. Kendra mentions she is dating a jeweler and can get them a good deal, so they head to his shop. First, Haahqae looks over the treasure to appraise it. He manages to appraise most of it, and reveals that it's quite a haul.

Meanwhile, back at the mageware shop, Tulbas goes over Daxia's spellbook and easily copies several of her spells into his own. Afterward, Raetmal sits him down to talk about the boy's mother--Raetmal's sister. Raetmal gives Tulbas a beautiful silver ring and explains it used to belong to the boy's mother. When Raetmal was exiled, she gave it to him. He now bestows it to Tulbas. Touched, Tulbas thanks his uncle and places the ring on before doing some research on Fistandantilus and then turning in.

When the main party reaches the jeweler shop, they find it has been damaged (burn marks, window shattered) and the owner is injured (burned hands, cut on face). The jeweler, Norris, is surprised to see Kendra alive. She never told him where she was going, so from his perspective, she just vanished after the riot.

After introductions were made, Kynaston showed him the goods. However, he offered them only 500 steel for the whole chest, which was incredibly low based on Haahqae's appraisals. Citing the poor economy, Norris told them there was nothing he could do. And there were no other jewelers in town, so...

Kendra tries to convince him that he can sell the goods to another city. Norris asks to speak with her privately and the two go into the backroom. It is unknown what is said, but when they return Norris agrees to purchase everything they have for the proper price. Surprised, the party sells all of the non-magical loot for a total of 3,900 steel pieces.

They then head to the mageware shop and meet with Raetmal. He agrees to identify Sekla's staff for 1,000 steel pieces. Agreeing, they hand it over to him and learn it's a Staff-Spear +3. Although they could give it to Darga (the only one who can use a staff), they instead trade it in for a number of goods (long sword +2, quarterstaff +1, broad sword +1, potion of heroism). The long sword and potion go to Kendra, the staff to Darga and the broad sword to Gregeddin. Haahqae also uses his steel coins to purchase a potion of invisibility and a potion of perception after the rest of the group leaves.

The dwarf and gnome head to the Steel Tankard while everyone else returns to their respective homes. Kynaston sits alone before heading to bed. Kendra is confronted by her mother, father and siblings, all of whom were deathly worried about her. Gregeddin has dinner with his parents.

Haahqae learns his room was given away while he was gone, but he shows off his newfound coin and gets it back. This, however, requires the current occupant--a pregnant woman--to be forced out. Darga is disgusted by this behavior. Outraged, he storms out to find another inn. But of course, there are 10,000 refugees in the city; that was why he was limited to the Steel Tankard in the first place. There was no room anywhere else. So Darga decides to camp out in an alley for the night.

The following morning everyone wakes up in their warm beds to a cold morning--save Darga, who finds he has been robbed of all of his coin and gemstones.

Gregeddin goes off to the market to shop while Kendra decides she should turn in her uniform to the Holy Guard. Tulbas and Haahqae eat breakfast and then each head over to Kynaston's place. Kendra tries to quit, but Orin won't allow it. Nevertheless, she takes a leave of absence, no longer caring what happens to the city anymore. She and Gregeddin head to Kynaston's but there is no sign of Darga.

After waiting half an hour, they proceed with their meeting. Tulbas recommends someone research Fistandantilus and highly recommends Haahqae, but the gnome won't be dissuaded from coming along to join the cult, much to Tulbas' chagrin. Gregeddin takes that job instead. Kendra suggests she might get prison duty because of her wounds, which would give her access to Darewind. Tulbas is delighted by the prospect, as he wants a chance to interview Darewind himself.

Gregeddin goes to speak with Raetmal, Kendra returns to her family's house, and Haahqae, Kynaston and Tulbas head for the cult headquarters.

When Gregeddin arrives at the mageware shop he finds Raetmal arguing with a strange man in a brown robe and hood with bandaged hands. After the man leaves, Gregeddin asks Raetmal about Fistandantilus and sorcery in general. The bard admits he has an interest in the subject and wonders if it's possible to learn it himself. Raetmal seems to think he has potential.

When Kendra returns home, she finds her mother and Norris have basically planned her upcoming wedding without her. It is to be held the day after tomorrow. Kendra tries to object, but can find no legitimate reason to do so. Her mother offers Kendra the dress she wore at her own wedding. Kendra is stunned by how beautiful and fancy it is; like the kind of gown a noblewoman would wear. Her mother tells her it's been in the family for generations. Kendra agrees to wear it.

Tulbas introduces Kynaston and Haahqae to the other cultists and asks Nora to see Daxia privately to return her spellbook. Nora agrees to take him into the back alone, where Daxia is tied up and slightly drugged. Tulbas explains her backstory, but Nora is reluctant to give up the reward money the Ergothians are offering for her. However, she mentions the time of the exchange and that the Ergothians have rented a boat called the Salmon to take Daxia to New Ports that night. If someone were to attack the Ergothians after the trade was made and rescue Daxia, there would be nothing Nora could do about that. Tulbas gets the hint and regroups with Kynaston and Haahqae to tell them what's up.

Meanwhile, Darga searches the area for any clues as to where the thieves who took his money went. He meets a kender--the same one who helped Kendra on the rooftops during the riot and who won Kynaston's long sword--named Pen. Pen gives him some helpful advice and Darga thanks him before heading to Kynaston's house. However, he's too late--everyone has left and the place is locked up. He heads to the mageware shop, but on the way spots a little boy pickpocketing. He confronts the boy, who is so terrified he begins to cry. The boy explains his mother was killed by goblins and the people he lives with now make him steal. Darga tells him he doesn't have to, but the boy has nowhere else to go. Darga offers to help the boy, Aaron, once he gets his coin back.

Tulbas suggests they get Kendra, but nobody knows where she lives. Haahqae is sent to find her, while Kynaston and Tulbas head to the mageware shop. They arrive just as Darga does, and find Gregeddin and Raetmal there.

Haahqae, meanwhile, gets a little sidetracked and heads to the Seeker headquarters to do research on Fistandantilus. He's turned away, though, by a guard so gives up and heads to the mageware shop to join the others.

The group now reunited save for Kendra, Gregeddin suggests they ask her fiance. The group heads to Norris' but he's reluctant to tell them where she is, for fear they are trying to rope her into another dangerous quest. Darga appears to his better nature, though, and Norris gives them her address.

The party finds Kendra's place and recruits her (frightening her mother a bit). They head to the docks but are unable to agree on what is the best way to gather intel on the Salmon without drawing suspicion. They wind up splitting up. Kendra and Darga question a lone homeless refugee near the docks, Haahqae and Kynaston question a longshoreman and Tulbas and Gregeddin scout out the nearby boats. All three groups discover where the Salmon is and they confirm that it was rented out by foreigners to head to New Ports.

The party then tries to trace the most likely path that the Ergothians will take from the cultist lair to the Salmon by assuming they will avoid the main streets. In doing so, they find a good place to set up an ambush.

The party starts discussing strategy. Ultimately, they decide that Haahqae and Tulbas would hide up on the rooftops. When the Ergothians arrive, Tulbas would use his Sleep spell. Then Kendra and Darga would rush at them from behind while Gregeddin and Kynaston rush in from the front, hopefully getting the element of surprise. During the fight, Tulbas and Haahqae would throw rocks and shoot arrows at the enemy. Kendra and Kynaston would focus on the cavalier, leaving the others to Gregeddin and Darga.

That decided, the party splits up. Kynaston and Haahqae accompany Tulbas back to the cultist headquarters for their initiation. Kendra goes home to be with her family. Darga camps in the alley, wanting to keep an eye on things. Gregeddin goes home to prepare his gear.

After the initiation, Tulbas goes to ask his uncle for magical items to help, but finds him gone. A note indicates that Raetmal was called away to the Tower of Wayreth on some emergency and he would return later.

That night, the party meets back in the alley and prepares. Eventually, the time came, and the Ergothians arrive. Aside from the cavalier, who was wearing plate mail and kept Daxia nearby, there are also two light archers, four light pikemen, and four heavy swordsmen. From his perch up on the roofs, Tulbas casts his slumber spell which takes out only the two archers and one pikeman. However, the Ergothians are surprised, giving the party an advantage. Daxia drops to the ground, pretending to be asleep, as well.

Haahqae casts an Audible Glamer spell in hopes of scaring the Ergothians into thinking they had a second mage; however, as he never warned the rest of the party of this, they all think the Ergothians have a mage of their own, as well.

Kendra gets hurt badly and so drinks the Potion of Heroism she bought from Raetmal. Instantly, she feels a huge surge of confidence and power. Meanwhile, Darga attempts to strike the cavalier from behind, but doesn't even make a dent in the man's armor. The cavalier turns and strikes him, nearly killing the gully dwarf.

From there, things seem to take a turn for the worse. Tulbas' sleep spell wears off and the sleeping ones get back up. Kynaston is badly hurt and forced to withdraw. The party manages to take down the rest of the soldiers, but the cavalier proves too difficult. Darga and Gregeddin manage to grab and drag Daxia away. She reveals she is not asleep and tries to attack. They force march her away, claiming to be trying to save her. She pleads they untie her then, so she can help. Once they have done so, she returns to the battle and blasts the cavalier with a Flame Arrow, doing considerable damage.

The rest of the party comes together and manages to finish the cavalier off shortly after. Although several want to take Daxia and flee right away, Gregeddin and Tulbas insist on searching the cavalier first. Gregeddin takes his helmet and cloak and signet ring. Tulbas gives the arrows from the archers to Haahqae, as the gnome ran out during the fight. Gregeddin also gives Kynaston the cavalier's shield and Kendra his short sword. The bard holds on to the cavalier's pick.

Tulbas feels they should head to the mageware shop instead of Kynaston's house, but Daxia doesn't trust him at all since he helped kidnap her. The young elf explains himself and points out he returned her spellbook. This does little to improve Daxia's impression of him, as she suspects (rightly so) that he copied her spells without her permission. Tulbas is very dismissive of this, feeling that despite having gotten her in this mess in the first place, that Daxia should be grateful for his helping to save her.

Gregeddin brings up the idea of searching the Salmon, but the rest of the party is eager to get off the streets. They head to the mageware shop and Tulbas offers some fruit and tea.

Daxia is eager to leave, wanting to disappear into the night. She plans to head out into the wilderness, where the Ergothians are less likely to track her down. Kynaston volunteers to go with her, to serve as a bodyguard. Tulbas convinces them to at least wait until the morning, as the big warrior is still wounded.

[JadedDM]

Chapter 4:
False Gods

The party wakes up the next morning, Autumn Harvest 17th, in Tulbas' living room. Exhausted from the battle, they had all passed out some time during the night.

Kynaston and Daxia are already up, preparing to leave. Haahqae, Darga and Kendra say their good-byes and leave. Haahqae returns to the Steel Tankard, Darga goes to the harbor district and Kendra returns to Norris' place. Tulbas, however, is adamant that Daxia and Kynaston not leave until his uncle returns. However, Daxia is not willing to wait, for fear that the Ergothians will send more men after her. Tulbas insists on coming with them then, continuing to try and talk them out of leaving at all. Gregeddin shrugs and leaves them to it.

Haahqae tracks down the huntsman who said earlier he had a job. The huntsman explains a hill giant had recently taken up residence outside of the city and was attacking the people camping out there. He tried to fight it, but lost badly and has been nursing his wounds ever since. Nobody has been brave enough to aid him, and the Holy Guard have their hands full. Haahqae volunteers his group's services and then heads out to find them again.

Darga spots Aaron, the homeless boy he met before. But now he is dressed well, eating, and seemingly happy whereas before he was dressed in rags and was quite miserable. He is speaking with a woman and Darga recognizes her--the woman who helped steal from him! He grabs her arm and confronts her, threatening to call the guard if she doesn't return the money. Calling his bluff, she shrieks that she's being attacked. Darga, who had earlier overheard two guards talking about the murders of the Ergothians, realizes he's in a bad spot. He runs and hides, warning the woman this wasn't over. After escaping the guards, he returns to the mageware shop but everyone has left by this point. He runs into the Black Robe who was visiting Raetmal a couple of days ago. Calling himself Magnus, he asks Darga to deliever a message to Raetmal--he is looking for him. Darga plays the role of a dumb Aghar and quickly departs.

Gregeddin arrives at the Masked Dragon and eavesdrops on a human and an elf talking about some sort of shady business. He also spots a trio of men in heavy robes with the hoods up, their hands and feet wrapped up in bandages. He brazenly approaches and asks to join them. Completely caught off guard, they agree. They tell him they are searching for a Blue Crystal Staff, said to be able to heal wounds and cure illness. They are also looking for a criminal with a green gemstone in his chest. But sadly, Gregeddin had never heard of either.

Kendra returns to Norris, who of course is worried sick. As he helps her strip out of her armor and clothes and applies healing salve to her wounds, he questions her reckless actions. He also wonders aloud what is going to happen if the refugees riot again and what the Holy Guard will do. Afterward, Kendra gets some sleep.

As Kynaston and Daxia approach the city's gate, Tulbas begins demanding they stay in the city. His tirade is interrupted when Raetmal suddenly appears in the market square, severely wounded. He warns of someone 'coming soon' and that 'everyone must' do something. But then he passes out. Daxia forgotten, Tulbas rushes to his uncle's aid and helps carry him to a local healer, Mad Marvin. Haahqae shows up then, having seen the crowd forming around the wounded elf. He aids Tulbas in reaching Mad Marvin's. Darga shows up after Marvin has patched Raetmal up.

After his conversation with the strange robed men, Gregeddin overhears a human trying to convert a skeptical dwarf to the Master's cult. Not wanting to get involved, the bard instead follows the shady human and elf as they leave and reveals he overheard them and wants a piece of whatever they are selling. He learns they are Barten and Rulasiat, a couple of hucksters selling fake potions for outrageous prices to desperate refugees.

Gregeddin then speaks to two of the bouncers at the Masked Dragon, Zoya and Mateo, about possibly signing up to work for him. He then returns to the mageware shop to meet back up with Haahqae, Darga and Tulbas, as well as learn of Raetmal's return.

After they all discuss Raetmal and the giant, they go their seperate ways for the night. Gregeddin stays for awhile so Tulbas can tutor him in basic spellcasting.

The next morning, Autumn Harvest the 18th, everyone gets up, feeling a bit better. Darga heads straight to Tulbas' place to await the others. Gregeddin gets some breakfast and overhears some Holy Guards discuss how the city is pretty much doomed. He then heads over to the mageware shop to join the others. They discuss what they should do, and fill each other in on what they have missed. Gregeddin brings up the two potion scammers, but the others find the idea of ripping off refugees in bad taste (Haahqae because it's not epic enough, Tulbas and Darga because it is immoral). Haahqae fills the party in on the giant. They all like the idea, but Tulbas believes they should get the cultists to help them. He sends Gregeddin and Haahqae to discuss the idea with Nora.

Kendra prepares for her wedding to Norris. They discuss their honeymoon. Kendra makes it quite clear she doesn't really care where they go, and then wonders aloud if the wedding is going to take up a lot of time. Norris does his best to try and make her happy, but she's still very resistant to the whole thing.

When Haahqae and Gregeddin arrive at the cultist's warehouse, they find it crowded. There's some kind of commotion going on. The two elbow their way to the front of the crowd to find none other than Kelryn Darewind giving a speech. Somehow, he had escaped prison and returned to his faithful flock.

Kendra heads back home to prepare for the wedding, dragging her feet. Along the way, she runs into Crystal--one of the thieves who works for Necolai, the city's biggest crime lord. Crystal teasingly asks Kendra if she wants a drink, but to her surprise, Kendra accepts. The two head to the Grinning Goat Tavern. After a couple of shots of whiskey, Kendra explains that she is getting married to a handsome, rich man who is completely devoted to her. Crystal thinks Kendra is out of her mind. She does give Kendra some herbs to help her keep from getting pregnant, though, and offers to set up a meeting with Necolai. Kendra feels she would have better allies among the thief's guild than the Holy Guard and agrees. She then goes off to get married.

Meanwhile, Kelryn continues giving a speech about how the Seekers are finished and soon they will take the city. Haahqae suddenly interrupts, demanding a demonstration of the alleged prophet's powers. With great annoyance, Kelryn cuts his hand and then heals it, using his bloodstone pendant. Gregeddin then chimes in, claiming that Kelryn only uses his power to heal himself, never others. The crowd quickly turns on him, but Kelryn steps in and starts preaching about all of the things he has done for them--feeding them, clothing them, etc. It's at that point that Haahqae and Gregeddin bring up the giant, essentially implying that Kelryn is not a true prophet unless he can hep them defeat it.

Kelryn agrees to deal with the giant and requests Haahqae and Gregeddin meet with him in private. They follow him to a small room that is heavily guarded and he interrogates them on what their true motives are. Both of them claim they just want to help, and maybe get a little glory on the side, and Kelryn seems to believe them. They also ask him if he will come heal Tulbas' uncle and Kelryn says he will consider it. The bard and gnome then head back to the mageware shop to fill in Tulbas on what happened.

Darga heads over to the Steel Tankard and meets Cassandra again, the older woman who waitresses there. He gives her a few coin for no reason beyond simple charity, which surprises her. They talk about how rare kindess is in the world these days. He then returns to the mageware shop to rejoin the others.

After the wedding is over, and Norris sleeps soundly in their bed, Kendra gets up, gets dressed and heads back to the Grinning Goat. Crystal meets her there and leads her to some dark alley Kendra has never seen before, up to what appears to be an abandoned warehouse. There she meets with Necolai, head of the local crime syndicate. She offers her services in return for allies. He agrees, if she helps him with a problem. He is trying to set up some secret bases in the sewers, but someone--or something--keeps killing his men. Kendra volunteers to deal with it.

Tulbas leaves Gregeddin to watch over Raetmal, and takes Darga and Haahqae with him back to the cultist's warehouse. Once there, he finds Nora and speaks to her about healing his uncle. He learns that Kelryn apparently escaped prison via a 'miracle' and she admits she had never seen him heal a stab wound, but she had seen him heal the blind and crippled before. Tulbas also pleads with her to not employ violence against the Seekers, but Nora believes the Seekers won't leave them any choice.

While Tulbas and Nora talk, Darga helps one of the cultists in building rat traps to keep the vermin from getting into their food stores. Haahqae meets up with Biggs and Wedge to learn about their attempt to catalogue anyone with fighting skills among the 2,500 cultists.

With all of this done, everyone goes home.

[JadedDM]

Chapter Five:
Vying Factions

Haahqae, Gregeddin, Kendra, Darga and Tulbas meet up at the mageware shop at First Watch on Autumn Harvest 19. Tulbas serves them breakfast in a good mood, because his comatose uncle is showing improvement. Kendra announces she got married, and Darga is quite happy for her--however, it's made clear that Kendra herself is fairly unhappy about it. Haahqae and Gregeddin tell the others about the hill giant they are going to slay and how they got the Cult of the Master involved. Kendra also learns that Darewind is no longer in prison.

Kendra tells the others she has a job from the local thieves' guild to help clear out the sewer. Despite being a former Holy Guard, the police force of Haven, Kendra feels they would prove valuable allies, especially if the old hobgoblin's prophecy comes true.

Tulbas also warns Kendra of the cult's upcoming planned coup of the city. When Darga and Kendra learn of this, both have an objection to aiding the cult any further, even by slaying the giant. Haahqae, Gregeddin and Tulbas believe that the cult is probably going to take over anyway, so they might as well gain some influence within it, so they can control it a bit. The party splits up. Gregeddin goes to the Masked Dragon, Haahqae heads to the cultists' lair, Kendra and Darga head for the Seekers Council Hall and Tulbas remains behind to watch over his uncle.

Gregeddin finds Mateo and Zoya again at the inn and hires them to be his bodyguards during the giant quest. He believes that the cultists may choose to turn on him and offers the two each a long sword worth 15 steel pieces, plus an additional 15 steel coins each. They agree.

Kendra and Darga head for the Council Hall and request an audience with the High Seekers. The guard recognizes her, and points out Kendra quit the guard--which comes as news to Darga. Once inside, Kendra informs the council of the cultists, but they are well aware of the threat. Elistan, the leader, says that there is nothing they can do. Darewind escaped prison and killed two guards in the process, but if they try and arrest him again, there will be more riots.

Haahqae spots Darewind giving another speech at the marketsquare and decides to intervene. He climbs up on the same overturned cart as Darewind and interrupts his speech to ask where Biggs and Wedge are. Darewind manages to keep cool, although it's clear he's angry at the gnome, and tells him they are still waiting for him back at the warehouse.

Once at the warehouse, Haahqae and Gregeddin meet the candidates for the giant slaying quest. There is Raena, a tough as nails dwarf fighter who seems to only be interested in money; Burzan, a massive half-ogre who once took on an entire group of bandits alone; Ismene, a gnome illusionist and member of the Order of Lunitari and her ferret familiar, Arcane; Miriam Langtree, daughter of the Mad Baron Ivor Langtree, who is in a faraway land hoping to prove her worth as his heir; and the last turns out to be Magnus, a mage of the Order of Nuitari--the same one Darga spotted hanging around the mageware shop.

Magnus claims he is not a true follower, but was sent by the Wayreth mages to investigate Darewind for being a rengade wizard. He also claims that it was Darewind who attempted to kill Raetmal and that his next target will be Tulbas. Magnus was working with Raetmal to expose Darewind, and Raetmal made Magnus swear to protect Tulbas if anything happened to him. Therefore, Magnus must go on this quest to protect Tulbas from harm. Gregeddin and Haahqae agree to hire him, as well as the other applicants.

Meanwhile, Kendra and Darga return to the mageware shop to speak with Tulbas. They discussed ways to prove Darewind is a fraud. When Kendra mentions that Darewind is performing in the marketsquare right now, Tulbas decides to go check it out. He arrives in time to watch a Holy Guard challenge Darewind in front of the crowd. The guard attacks Darewind, to prove he is 'just a mortal' but Darewind heals the wound and then seems to suck the guard dry.

Tulbas is aghast, and immediately starts to demand answers from Darewind. He wants to know if the Master is truly a just god and if Darewind can heal people beside himself. This doesn't endear him any to Darewind, obviously. Tulbas then conjures a horse to show the people that magic is magic, and that Darewind may well be using sorcery, too. However, the crowd hates mages and Tulbas admitting he is one seems to make them distrustful of them. The crowd starts to disperse, and it's made clear that Tulbas has made a powerful enemy in Darewind. Tulbas quickly leaves, worried Darewind might strike against him, and returns home.

Haahqae and Gregeddin head to the Steel Tankard to speak with the man who first told them about the giant--Jaymes Green, a mountain ranger. They tell him they've put together a company to fight the giant, and Jaymes is quite happy to learn this. After sharing a drink with the ranger, they return to the mageware shop.

With the full party back at the mageware shop, they all catch each other up on what they've been up to. Darga goes to speak with Mad Marvin about looking over Raetmal for Tulbas while he's gone; he agrees, reluctantly. Gregeddin and Tulbas go hunting for Magnus, to see if Tulbas can verify his story. They head to the cultists' lair first, with Tulbas waiting outside. However, someone sees Tulbas and runs to report to Darewind. Tulbas notices and hides. Darewind sends Biggs and Wedge after him, but they fail to find him. It's clear at this point that Darewind intends to make the boy pay.

The two then decide to check out the taverns to find Magnus, since he wasn't at the warehouse. They run into him in the street, as Magnus has apparently been following them. Tulbas is cold but respectful toward the mage as he questions him about his intentions and his relationship with his uncle. Spurned by the fear of what he did to Darewind, Tulbas agrees to accept the wizard's protection.

The following day, Autumn Harvest the 20th, is particularly cold. Kendra and Darga meet with Crystal outside the Grinning Goat Tavern while Gregeddin, Haahqae and Tulbas meet with the company of cultists by the city's main gate. Tulbas had made arrangments for Mad Marvin and his wife to stay at the mageware shop and watch over Raetmal while he was gone.

Kendra asks Crystal to join them in the sewer expedition to earn points with her boss. Crystal declines but it turns out Pen was eavesdropping. He shows up, having heard they were going into the sewers and offers his services as a 'hero-in-training.' Kendra and Darga agree. Furthermore, Kendra agrees to owe Crystal a 'favor' if she comes along, as well.

Meanwhile, the other group meets and there is clearly tension among them. Jaymes doesn't like magic users, Mateo and Zoya insist they are not here to fight giants, and everyone is a bit put off by Magnus' presence. They head out of the gate and see the refugee shanty town. The refugees eye them cautiously, but keep their distance from such a well-armed group.

Kendra's and Darga's group (henceforth known as Blue Team) descend into the sewers. Darga and Pen take point, while Kendra uses a lantern so she and Crystal can see. The party comes across a large room full of squirming rats. A little grossed out, but not deterred, they continue forward.

Haahqae's and Gregeddin's and Tulbas' party (henceforth known as Red Team) are led by Jaymes toward the mountains, following the giant's tracks. However, things grind to a halt when Tulbas openly asks Magnus if he is 'sure' that Darewind is a renegade. The cultists all react to this, some with confusion others with outrage. Gregeddin plays it off as Tulbas not speaking Common very well, which seems to placate the cultists.

The Blue Team reaches a creaky wooden bridge over a river of sludge. It looks dangerous, so the party decides they should send one person at a time across. Kendra volunteers to be the first. When she reaches the other side, a horax (a large, centipede like creature) drops down from the ceiling and attacks her. As the rest of the party rushes to her aid, Darga notices two more of the critters on the ceiling, heading their way. Before they can kill the first one, Kendra--still wounded from earlier fights--goes down. Darga, also still badly wounded, attempts to take on the last two horaxes on his own, which leads to him falling, as well. Crystal and Pen, together, are able to slay the rest and save Kendra's life, but they are too late to help Darga. He has passed on.

The Red Team arrives at the giant's cave and Haahqae goes in to scout. However, he doesn't bother sneaking at all, so he blunders right into a pair of dire wolves. By sheer luck, he surprises them, and manages to have time to run out and warn the others before the wolves can attack. Tulbas conjures up a puddle of grease and everyone gets ready. The party easily cuts the wolves down without a single wound to themselves.

Haahqae goes back into the cave, this time making sure to move quietly. He sneaks up to a pair of tunnels, and chooses one at random. He discovers it leads to a large chamber where the giant has made his lair. He has a cage suspended to the ceiling with rope that has three humans cowering within it. There are also three ogres who are playing around in a pile of coins. Haahqae considers going in deeper, but common sense overcomes him and he sneaks back to tell the others. An argument breaks out on the best way to deal with the giant, and everyone has a different opinion on what should be their priority.

Eventually Miriam breaks up the argument and insists the party come up with a plan. They decide that Ismene will go in, invisible, and create a distraction. This will give them time to put up a Grease puddle so that when the ogres and giant see them and come for them, they will slip. Magnus will then drop a fireball on them. Then the party will mop up whoever survives.

This plan works very well. Magnus slays two ogres right off the bat with his fireball. The last ogre slips in grease and is finished off by Zoya, of all people. The giant goes down fairly quickly, unable to survive Jaymes' barrage of arrows, Magnus' magical missiles and Miriam's powerful blows. The party is victorious without a single scratch and quickly free the human prisoners, who they learn are from the nearby mountain village of Esker.

Jaymes offers to take the villagers back to Esker, as he has no reason to return to the city now that his mission is complete. Raena begins splitting up the treasure. Ismene brings up the question of what was in that other side tunnel, so she and Haahqae go and investigate. They find it comes to an opening in the mountain wall that gives a great view of Haven Vale. It's night now, and they can see hundreds of campfires. An entire army is camped right outside the doorstep of the city.

They rush back to tell the others. There is much discussion on what this could mean and what they should do. It took them all day to reach this cave, and so it may well be too late by the time they get back. While they are discussing it, Raena and Burzan suddenly strike and attack Gregeddin's bodyguards. Zoya is severely wounded and Mateo is killed outright. The two then explain that Darewind ordered/paid them to silence Tulbas, Gregeddin and Haahqae for being 'evil heretics.' Gregeddin and Haahqae immediately attack, but soon find themselves outclassed when Ismene and Miriam are unsure who to believe and Magnus grabs Tulbas and teleports away.

Magnus and Tulbas reappear at the mageware shop, nearly scaring Agatha to death. Tulbas quickly learns that Raetmal has awakened and runs in to see him, with Magnus following. Magnus reveals that he, and most of the Order of Nuitari, has joined the dragonarmies which are on their way to Haven now. He was sent ahead to cause trouble and destablize the city, so the army would have an easier time. In return, they are going to give him Raetmal's shop when they arrive. So Magnus offers a deal. If Tulbas agrees to become his apprentice, Magnus will offer the boy his protection. Raetmal, however, will have to die. He will also be willing to let the two go, but they have nowhere to go and the army will kill them both if they catch them.

Gregeddin manages to talk Miriam into helping them and she cuts down Burzan easily. Raena backs off, knowing she's no match for the warrior. Haahqae then decides now is the time for diplomacy and lowers his weapon, encouraging Raena to do the same. Gregeddin demands she surrender her citizenship token and all of her money, but she refuses as that would leave her to starve to death with nowhere to go. He tries to hypnotize her, but not only does he fail, he accidentally hypnotizes Miriam, Ismene and Zoya instead. After the spell wears off, the group heads back to the city, leaving Raena and Burzan behind.

Tulbas continues trying to find a way to get Raetmal out of the shop, but this is easier said than done. He's in bad shape and cannot travel either magically or in a more mundane manner. Further, Tulbas keeps insisting he'll never serve Magnus. Eventually the black mage gets fed up and kills Raetmal with a barrage of magic missiles. He then threatens to hunt down everyone Tulbas cares about. Tulbas finally backs down and agrees to serve.

The following morning, Gregeddin and Haahqae return to the city gates with Zoya, Ismene and Miriam. Shortly after they enter the gates, a Holy Guard begins blowing a warning horn from up on the wall. Tulbas, who has just finished giving a eulogy after burying his uncle, hears the horn; Arulia, on her way to Kendra's place, also hears it.

Suddenly, a swarm of red dragons appear in the sky and begin buzzing the city, driving the local populace into a panic. The party all finds themselves in the marketsquare in the chaos. One particularly large dragon, this one with a rider, destroys the city's gates then lands in the middle of the marketsquare. The rider, who introduces himself as Verminaard, claims he is a Dragon Highlord and has claimed the city for the goddess, Takhisis.

The Highseekers make an appearance, and they seem to know who Verminaard is. But then Darewind and his cultists show up. Darewind claims the city is his and demands Verminaard leave. Amused, the Dragon Highlord offers Darewind the chance to strike him down with his god's power. However, the Master seems to abandon Darewind in the face of one of Takhisis' chosen. Verminaard then summons a pillar of flame that incinerates Darewind, Biggs, Wedge and a host of other cultists. Nora survives, but only just barely. He then casts a healing spell, restoring her to full health. He explains that those who anger Takhisis will face her wrath, but those who swear fealty to her will know her pleasure.

With this awesome show of power, the Highseekers quickly admit defeat and Verminaard claims victory without a fight.

Arulia's Vignette

Arulia has a nightmare about dragons and men in black armor invading the city. A massive dragon with five heads of different colors lands next to her and is about to eat her when she wakes up. Disquieted, she heads down to breakfast with her family and decides to go shopping at the market. Her little sister, Cassilda, volunteers to go with her.

Once at the marketplace, though, they are confronted by several cultists who begin harassing them. Arulia sends Cassilda away and it looks like things might turn violet, when an old man calling himself Fizban appears and drives the cultists off.

Out of gratitude, Arulia agrees to escort the old man to the Grinning Goat Tavern. He says he needs to be there, for some reason. He talks about the coming darkness, and makes several references to the dream Arulia had. He also claims that the old gods never left, but instead it was mankind that turned away from them.

When they arrive, they find Crystal and Pen trying to carry the bodies of Kendra and Darga. Arulia helps in patching up Kendra, but finds it is too late to help the dwarf. Fizban picks up Darga and tells her she can reach out to the old gods, if she has faith. He then transforms into a knight in shining white armor and vanishes in a pillar of light, taking Darga with him.

Arulia takes Kendra home, along with Crystal and Pen. A distraught Norris is grateful and offers to hire Arulia to come over each day and care for Kendra until she is back on her feet. After that is taken care of, Arulia returns home and tells her family what happened. After dinner, she goes to bed, a lot on her mind.

[JadedDM]

Chapter Six:
Nobody Expects the Occupation

On the morning of the 28th of Autumn Harvest, the party wakes up. Haahqae wakes up in his room at the Steel Tankard, Kendra at her home with Norris, Gregeddin at his new house he bought in the merchant district, Arulia in her room at her parents house, and Tulbas in the attic of the mageware shop.

Haahqae steps down into the common room and finds a drunken Baaz soldier threatening Cassandra while the innkeeper tries to talk him down. Haahqae hides, cast Change Self to appear as another Baaz, and then enters the room. He manages to convince the Baaz to calm down, if he (and Haahqae) are given free drinks--good ones, not watered down. The innkeeper objects, but the Baaz threatens him, so he relents. Haahqae pays for their drinks anyway, but Cassandra doesn't recognize him when he tries to tell her and is too afraid to argue. He then heads out to the marketsquare to buy a new jacket as the temperature has dropped considerably.

Kendra eats the breakfast her husband left for her then goes downstairs to find him arguing with a Khurish woman in black armor about some kind of tax hike. The woman introduces herself as Mouna, Commander of the Third Brigade of the 10th Red Dragon Army and claims that she now runs this part of the city. Mouna recognizes Kendra is a warrior and hints she could do well in the army. After she departs, Arulia arrives to change her bandages.

Gregeddin wakes up in his nice new home and is quite pleased with himself. However, buying this house nearly broke him and he needed a new source of income, quickly. He heads to the market to pick up some supplies and learns that there is a new tax being decreed by the prefect that will be applied to merchants (30% of anything sold). People are upset and afraid. The bard heads to the blacksmith to check on Karn and Zoya. He learns more about the tax and that the merchants guild is hoping to do something about it. He also learns Zoya has returned to work at the Masked Dragon. Glad to hear it, he then heads to the mageware shop.

Arulia wakes up to find her youngest sister, Camilla, awake and at the bedroom door, listening in on their parents. Arulia joins her and overhears them talking about the new tax hike and how the family likely won't survive the winter if it goes into affect. Arulia does not let on she overheard her parents and heads to see Kendra, hoping to find a way to help her family's financial woes. After being harassed by a Baaz guard, she arrives and starts tending to Kendra. The two speak of the new tax hike and how it's likely a prelude to an attack on the elves. Both women want to send a message to the elves to warn them, but aren't sure how without being intercepted.

Tulbas makes breakfast for Magnus but does so really half-assed. He's sullen and moody after his uncle's death, but at the same time excited about his progress in the Art. After they eat, he goes up to his room to study his spells for the day. When he's done, Gregeddin arrives to speak with Magnus about a possible job offer the mage had mentioned. Magnus explains that the priests of Takhisis have discovered through divinations that a small cult of Belzorites are hidden in the city, and have been this whole time. If Gregeddin can find them, he'll teach the bard a new, free spell. Gregeddin agrees and takes Tulbas with him. The two head to the temple, but along the way run into Haahqae at the marketsquare.

Haahqae, Gregeddin and Tulbas make their way to the temple of Takhisis and find that they are expected. Inside the temple is total darkness, with only a few purple lights to guide the way. There's also a strange, oppressive feeling that the party can't shake. The lights bring them to the high priestess, who knows their names although claims she has not spoken to Magnus recently. She gives them a permit that will let them carry weapons and stay out after curfew as 'agents of the church.' She tells them she believes the Belzorites are in the harbor district and are using magic to block further divinations.

Arulia remembers an old vinter named Toom who used to do business with the Qualinesti before they closed off their borders. She asks Kendra to accompany her to see him, and find out if he has a way for them to secretly contact the elves. They head south to the farmer district and arrive at his house anxiously. When they knock, a very nervous old man answers. He seems paranoid, even afraid of who they are and what they want. When Arulia mentions she is looking to contact the elves, he quickly ushers them inside, afraid someone might see them.

The men head to the harbor district and walk along River Road, keeping an eye out. After awhile, they split up. Haahqae approaches a guard and asks if she has seen anything suspicious. She tells him about a report she heard of two strange humans who ran into a building by the brothel and disappeared. Tulbas overhears this and goes with Haahqae to investigate. Meanwhile, Gregeddin reads the lips of a pair of sailors and learns that Verminaard has been shipping slaves to Pax Tharkas. He also speaks with a young girl, Elara, who is selling clams by the docks. He tells her he is looking for a new deity, and when she strongly recommends Takhisis, he becomes unnerved and goes to rejoin the others.

Toom explains to the women that he is under suspicion of being an elven spy and that the army is constantly watching his house. They threatened to ship him and his family off to be slaves if he so much as appeared to be trying to contact the elves. There's a sudden knock at the door and a voice demands he open up in the name of the prefect. Toom quickly has the women hide in his room under his bed. They hear goblins shouting at Toom and stuff being broken. Three goblins come into the room to search it, but none check under the bed. They then hear Toom cry out and hit the ground, followed by the goblins leaving and then just silence.

The three men of the party reunited, they each discuss what they learned. They search behind the building and around it, trying to find illusions. They begin to believe that the abandoned brothel next door holds some valuable clue, but it's all boarded up and has been since the Seekers were still in power. Haahqae climbs up onto the roof and finds an entry point in the chimney. He hops down the chimney, spraining his leg in the process. A careful search of the place reveals nothing; it's clear the place has been abandoned for years. He uses Spider Climb to ascend back up the chimney and down the building and tells the others.

The women hurry out from under the bed and find that Toom is dead, having been stabbed in the heart. The entire room has been ransacked. Suddenly, the wine case against the wall slides aside, revealing a secret passage. Two cloaked figures emerge and upon seeing the dead vintner, draw their daggers and approach. Kendra and Arulia try to explain that they are not responsible for Toom's death. A third figure emerges from the hidden door and reveals himself to be Sadron, Kendra's old boyfriend from three years ago. The other two turn out to be elves, as well. They explain that Toom was their contact in the city. They were sent here to try and delay the army, to buy the Qualinesti more time to evacuate their homeland. Kendra and Arulia both offer to help them. They head to the marketsquare, one at a time, to avoid suspicion. They are accosted by a draconian guard, but their papers are in order so he lets them go. After some shopping, they part ways and return to their respective homes.

The three men can't find any more clues by the docks, so head up to the Happee Ohgr, a run down dive that mostly caters to goblins. They speak to the barkeep, a goblin woman, but don't really learn much except that the Takhisis clerics are looking to reopen the old brothel. The three then head to the trade guild hall and discover a debate taking place among the various members, which include the innkeeper of the Steel Tankard, Norris and Karn. They all want to send a letter of protest to the prefect, but none want to take the risk of incurring his wrath. Gregeddin volunteers to write and deliver the letter himself.

Kendra sits down to dinner with Norris, her head full of thoughts of Sadron, barely touching her food. Norris tells her about the trade guild meeting and of Gregeddin, Haahqae and Tulbas crashing it. Kendra muses she might need to get a new job, possibly one in the army, which surprised and worries Norris. Kendra agrees to clean up, so Norris heads up to bed. While she is washing the dishes, she hears a noise in the dining hall. Returning to it, she finds Sadron has sneaked in. He immediately kisses her, but she pushes him back, explaining she is married now. Heart-broken, Sadron quickly leaves, feeling the fool. Upset, as well, Kendra heads up to bed to get some sleep.

Arulia makes her family dinner and they discuss the tax hike and the trade guild's plan to overcome it. After they eat and her sisters have gone to bed, she stays up to speak with her parents about their finances and considers the possibility of getting a job in the army to help the family. She also discusses the old gods with her parents. Vera is skeptical and Thoron seems outright hostile to the idea of them, citing that they caused the Cataclysm. After going to bed, she has another dream. In this one, Paladine offers her his power but warns her of being cautious and not directly attacking the army. She agrees.

Having accomplished that, the three then head back to the temple to search the library in hopes of finding out more about the Belzorites. Tulbas reads up on a recent history of Belzor and Haahqae reads a primer about Takhisis, but no solid leads pop up. They return to Gregeddin's place for dinner. Afterward, they decide to call it a night and resume their tasks in the morning. Haahqae attempts to head to the Masked Dragon to find Ismene, but Gregeddin reminds him it is after curfew and they only have one permit. The bard volunteers to forge two extra copies of the permit for the other two. Tulbas uses a cantrip to determine the original document might have magic in it and worries that might make the forgeries more obvious. It turns out it does. Not sure what this means, Tulbas takes the original and leaves while Haahqae takes a forgery and heads back to the Steel Tankard for the night.

Meanwhile, Grubnick the goblin descends from his room in the High Hand to mingle with the other guests. He speaks with a young man training for his Test of High Sorcery. However, the man seems rather unnerved by Grubnick's presence, so the goblin moves on. He watches a khas game for awhile, then goes upstairs and peering down the balcony, uses Detect Evil on some draconians. He then goes into his room and looks out the window, sensing evil from the patrols outside as well as a dragon that flies by. He heads back downstairs to see if anything is happening. A man with a lute starts to play, but a draconian gets upset and smashes the lute. Grubnick causes a distraction with a fire breathing show, letting the lute player escape upstairs. After the show and everything has calmed down, Grubnick heads upstairs and speaks with the lute player, Harrin. Then he heads to bed.

Tulbas goes to visit the spot where Darga's body vanished, then heads to the graveyard to speak with his uncle. He is stopped at multiple checkpoints and harassed by a number of guards for being out so late, even with the permit allowing him to do so. Finally, he heads to the area where the reported kidnappings were, by the old brothel. He is ambushed by five men in robes. A battle breaks out, and Tulbas nearly gets the upper hand with the use of his spells. But one manages to get a lucky hit with a dagger. The wound isn't fatal, but it does paralyze the elf. Before he loses consciousness, the cultists--who are not fully human, it seems--note that he will make a 'fine convert.'

[JadedDM]

Chapter Seven:
The Viper's Nest

Haahqae and Gregeddin both wake up on the morning of Autumn Harvest 29th and head to the mageware shop, where they learn Tulbas never returned last night. Magnus tells them they were responsible for him, and therefore must find him and if he is alive, retrieve him. They head to the cemetary and then try the local checkpoints to see if anyone had seen him last night. They are told to head to the Happee Ohgr and ask for Klub.

Arulia, bolstered by her newfound divine power, goes to visit Kendra. Kendra tells her about Sadron's late night visit and confesses she never loved Norris. Arulia reveals a secret of her own when she magically heals Kendra's wounds with a touch. She tells Kendra about her dreams and how she is now a cleric of the Platinum Dragon, Paladine. The two decide to look for Tulbas and see how he is doing.

Tulbas wakes up tied to a bed in some strange place he didn't know. Two of the snakemen he burned last night were in nearby beds, recovering. A woman comes in, attending to their injuries. Tulbas tries to convince her he is harmless and is interested in joining the cult of his own will. She shows him the Histachii--the fate of those who refuse to join willingly--and unties him and returns his clothes, but nothing else.

Grubnick wakes up and talks with Green Tears about the city's occupation. He then goes out to buy a new hat. While doing so, he chats with some vendors about the new tax. He then heads to the poorer part of town to get an idea of how the goblins in the city are acting. He heads to the Happee Ohgr where he finds a human and a gnome, armed but not wearing soldier uniforms, speaking to a goblin named Klub.

Klub tells Gregeddin and Haahqae he saw Tulbas last night. After demanding a bribe, he tells them Tulbas headed to the old brothel. Gregeddin and Haahqae return there for their search, unaware that Grubnick was now tailing them. They find some blood in the alley, but that's it. Haahqae searches the building while Gregeddin looks outside. Grubnick approaches Gregeddin, asking to join them. Haahqae finds a door hidden behind a bookcase and opens it, revealing a descending staircase.

Kendra and Arulia meet with Magnus at the mageware shop. He tells them Tulbas is missing and why, and that Gregeddin and Haahqae are looking for him. The two then decide that there is no point in searching for Tulbas, as they have no idea where to begin, so decide to head to the Grinning Goat tavern and ask for information. The bartender recognizes Kendra as a friend of Crystal. He tells them that outside of the army or church, there aren't many options for work. Although the church is reopening the brothel and Necolai is looking to start up operations again.

Tulbas takes his time, stalling as much as he can, whether it be eating or getting dressed. The snake woman, Leota, becomes impatient and leaves him to attend other tasks. Tulbas uses the opportunity to speak with the Histachii (who do not respond) and the wounded cultists who do not appear to be fooled or misled in any way. They reject the old gods for the Cataclysm and because they believe that the old gods cannot understand the plights of mortals. As their god, the new Belzor, was human once, he can understand.

Haahqae discovers a room with two human guards with weird snake like features and three human/snake hybrids. He uses an illusion to make himself appear as a hybrid and tries to trick the guards, but there are numerous holes in his story and they immediately become suspicious. Haahqae drinks from his potion of invisibility and vanishes, and just at that point, Gregeddin and Grubnick (or "Gobax" as he calls himself) arrive to rescue the gnome.

Kendra and Arulia head to the temple of Takhisis. Kendra wants to learn more about the brothel and Arulia wants to join the temple guards. However, just before entering, Arulia gets a very bad feeling and decides to bail. Kendra goes in alone and meets with the high priestess. She seems to know a lot about Kendra, which is unnerving. But it turns out she has Kendra's paperwork from when she worked as a Holy Guard. After learning of what it would take to run the brothel, Kendra returns home and tells Norris about it. He doesn't take it well, and she storms out angrily to seek out the army.

Tulbas manages to charm one of the burned snakemen and then pretends to be ill to trick him into returning Tulbas' belongings, citing he had medical herbs. However, only Leota had the key to the chest where his stuff was. Leota returns but doesn't believe his claim of medical herbs (she did an inventory of his belongings personally) and escorts him to see Belzor. "Belzor" turns out to be a giant snake-man hybrid. He gets upset at his acolytes for capturing Tulbas, because he is an elf and the transformation serum won't work on him. He decides they can keep Tulbas alive for now, until they figure something out later.

Arulia runs into a man with a broken lute who seems quite smitten with her. However, she does not return those feelings and quickly gets away from him. She later runs into her mother who seems to be heading home, but way too early and rather reluctantly. Curious, she follows her back home. Confronting her, Arulia learns she lost her job due to the new tax.

Although Gregeddin, Haahqae and Grubnick are able to take out a human guard and a histachii, the bard and the gnome are also taken down. Grubnick is left alone and outnumbered and so agrees to surrender. He heals his companions but finds that the warrior woman is dead. So he quickly casts Hold Person on the remaining human and revives Gregeddin and Haahqae. He then tells the paralyzed cultist that he is a cleric of Takhisis and demands the release of Tulbas or the church will burn the place to the ground. This gives Haahqae and Gregeddin time to escape. As soon as the hold spell ends, the cultists attack again and Grubnick is able to escape. They do not follow him out onto the street.

Back at the High Hand Inn, Felran and Ne-Chanz meet in the common room and discuss what they are going to do about their crippling lack of funds. They know they need work but aren't sure how to proceed. They head to the marketsquare for now, looking for warmer clothes for Felran.

Kendra meets with Mouna and formally requests to join the Fire Snakes, her company. Mouna is more than happy to have her, and the two head to the old fort while speaking. Kendra tells Mouna of her history in the Holy Guard, but leaves out that Sadron helped train her. Wanting to see what she can do, Mouna has Kendra spar with a big Baaz named Tez. Kendra goes overboard, though and slays him, turning him to stone. She is let into the army, given all of the benefits and told that they march on Qualinesti...the day after tomorrow!

Gregeddin goes home to rest, and Haahqae and Grubnick head to the Masked Dragon to seek help 'from a powerful mage.' This turns out to be Ismene. Haahqae goes up to her room and asks her for her help in rescuing Tulbas. She reluctantly agrees after some persuading. Haahqae and Grubnick then head to the jewelry shop to find Kendra, but her husband tells them she went off to join the army.

Arulia takes her two youngest sisters, Cassilda and Camilla, with her to to look for work. Rumor is that weaponsmiths and armorers are in high demand because of the army. None of them are skilled in these crafts, but Arulia figures that they are close enough to blacksmithing that they might be useful, as their father is a blacksmith. First they visit Osred the armorer. He's incredibly misogynistic and condescending toward them, believing women have no place in the forge so sends them on their way. Next they meet with the weaponsmith, Querida. She turns out to be rather racist toward half-elves though and likewise dismisses them.

Tulbas is taken to the shrine where the three priests work. He offers to help in making their transformation serum, confident he can learn all of their secrets. However, it all proves too advanced for him. There's a commotion nearby and Leota investigates. When she returns, she demands Tulbas return to Belzor. The big snake reveals that they were just attacked and their location is now compromised. The three who attacked got away and they specifically asked for Tulbas' release. Tulbas rambles away, but evades answering any of their questions, so Belzor has him locked up in the storage room for now.

Haahqae heads back to the Steel Tankard. Speaking to the bartender, he asks about muscle for an upcoming job. Two women overhear and express interest, but Haahqae's offer of a mere 5 steel turn them off. Only when he offers a share of any loot acquired do they change their mind. They agree, but the gnome never even gets their names or what they are capable of before hiring them.

Kendra goes to the armorer, Osred, to order her new masterwork armor. He gropes and feels her up quite a bit while taking her measurements, much to her chagrin. She learns the armor will be ready in five weeks. She then picks up her masterwork long swords, before heading to Toom's place to speak with Sadron. She tells him what she learned and he is nearly overwhelmed with despair. She promises to try and find something else that might help before the army marches. Heading home, she informs Norris she joined the army and he heads up to bed alone, disappointed.

Arulia goes to the last weaponsmith, a woman named Una. It turns out she is looking for one apprentice--one, not three. Cassilda volunteers for 2 steel a week as an apprentice. When the girls return home, they speak with their father. He points out that Cassilda's new job won't make much of a difference since Vera lost her job. The best they can hope for is to find the girls husbands who can provide for them. Arulia is very much against the idea and promises the girls they won't have to if they don't wish to, to Thoron's chagrin. Arulia believes she can protect her family from any hardships single-handedly, without anyone else sacrificing, which worries Thoron. He doesn't like her promising the girls that they can do whatever they want and nothing bad will happen, but Arulia won't hear of it.

Tulbas tries to find a way out of the storage room, but to no avail. He makes a lot of noise and yells out the door, but the Histachii seem ordered to ignore him. He breaks open a chest, revealing a small fortune in coin and does his best to try pocketing it all. The priests come for him, and seeing the broken chest, relieve him of his treasure. Then they escort him to the shrine where they interrogate him. When he doesn't cooperate, they pull out a series of sharp tools for some advanced interrogation techniques...

Grubnick heads to the marketplace and spots Ne-Chanz, who rather stands out as a big, white minotaur. A group of kender crowd around Ne-Chanz, asking him questions. The minotaur loses his temper and starts swinging at one of them. The kender begin taunting him, running around, avoiding his fists. Grubnick intervenes and overhears Ne-Chanz and Felran complaining about a lack of funds. The three agree to meet at the High Hand to discuss business. Grubnick offers to hire the two for a share of any treasure found to save Tulbas.

[JadedDM]

Chapter Eight:
Proving Worth

Haahqae heads down to the common room of the Steel Tankard on the morning of Autumn Harvest 30th and finds Ismene waiting for him, as well as the two women he hired last night. He tells Ismene more details about the job, but leaves out some details, as well. She speculates a renegade mage is involved somehow.

Kendra wakes up before Norris for a change, so heads down to make breakfast. Meanwhile, Arulia has breakfast with her family and escorts Cassilda to the weaponsmithy before stopping by to visit with Kendra. Kendra tells Arulia that she joined the army and they march tomorrow. Likewise, Arulia explains to Kendra her father's intention to get her and her three sisters married off. Wishing her luck, Arulia decides to head to the nearest tavern and look for work.

Tulbas finds himself back in the Silvanesti forest, 2 years ago, as he and his family were fleeing the invading Red Dragonarmy. His mother runs out of magic while fighting off some Baaz, and they are captured soon after. Just before they are slaughtered, a group of warriors and mages appear and rescue them, freeing them from the cages. However, his parents are slain in the process and his sister disappears.

At the High Hand Inn, while Ne-Chanz and Felran wait for Grubnick to return for them, the goblin heads off to Gregeddin's house and asks him to join the second effort to rescue Tulbas. Gregeddin is skeptical of Grubnick's motives, but agrees to, so the goblin heals him.

Grubnick and Gregeddin then head to the Steel Tankard where they meet up with Haahqae and Ismene. Grubnick goes upstairs with Haahqae to secretly heal him. When they come back down, they all introduce themselves to each other. The two women Haahqae hired are learned to be Yvette and Xyleena, a couple of mercenaries. They then head to the High Hand to meet up with Felran and Ne-Chanz, whom Grubnick hired the night before.

Kendra speaks with Norris, telling him that she is marching tomorrow with the army. She also admits she only joined the army to secretly provide aid to the elves. Norris points out the dangerous game she is playing, and that by helping the elves (who did nothing to help the humans), she is putting herself, Norris and her family all at risk.

Arulia arrives at the High Hand and sees Pen again. However, she is distracted by the sight of the large adventuring party present and goes to speak with them. They quickly hire her and learn she knows Kendra. Haahqae accompanies her back to Kendra's place to ask her to join, as well. Kendra, however, turns them down. She has to report to the army and dare not be late. So Arulia and Haahqae grab the half-elf's things and then return to the High Hand, where they find Ne-Chanz threatening Pen. Arulia stands up for him, insisting they hire him, as well.

Kendra gets ready and heads to the old fort where she is told to report to Krup, Tez's successor. However, before Krup can train her, he gets word that there are reports of a group of elves outside the city, and the commander wants him to take a few men to investigate. Kendra quickly volunteers. Krup agrees and she meets the rest of the team--Grev, Tern, Perp and Slinn. They banter with each other quite a bit, and tease/flirt with Kendra, as well.

Haahqae, Grubnick, Aruila and the others arrive at the deserted house and move the bookcase to reveal the door. Haahqae sneaks down the stairs to search the place and finds five guards down there, all very tense. Haahqae can't resist doing something, so he casts Grease and runs back upstairs, but takes an arrow in the back for his troubles. But the grease is effective in disabling several cultists. The party charges downstairs, but finds the cultists had a hidden trick, as well--invisible bear traps. Ne-Chanz, Felran and Xyleena all fall prey to them. Haahqae gets shot again and goes down, but Grubnick is able to revive him. Eventually, they manage to slay the four cultists and the histachii with them.

Kendra and the Baaz leave the city and begin searching the vale. Perp suggests they check the river, as it's the only source of water nearby. While investigating the river, they are attacked by a pack of dire wolves. They manage to kill two of them, scaring the other three off. Not far from there, they find some blood on the ground. They aren't sure where it came from so search the area. Kendra finds a broken arrow of elven make, but quickly tosses it in the river before anyone notices. The others find some animal fur and conclude someone killed a dire wolf and dragged it off (or it killed them), and so decide to follow the blood trail.

Tulbas wakes up, in horrible pain and in bad shape, back in the barracks. But this time, he is alone. He immediately starts looking for a way to break open the locked chest with his belongings. After breaking it open, he starts studying his spellbook.

Having defeated the histachii, the others move to the next room, which is a simple storage room. The next room is a large dining area where eight histachii are dining, as is another Belzorite--but this one is far more advanced in his transformation, having a snake tail instead of legs and snakes instead of arms. The party decides they'll make several people invisible and send them in to kill the snakeman, hoping this will confuse the histachii before they can attack. However, this plan goes awry when they trigger a glitterdust trap, exposing themselves and starting a big battle. Grubnick manages to paralyze the snakeman and after an arduous fight, they take out the histachii, as well. Grubnick then quickly kills the snakeman before he can revive.

Kendra and the Baaz come across a small campsite that appears deserted. They sneak forward, wary. Krup checks each tent, but finds them empty. However, once they are out in the open, three elves start shooting at them from the foliage. Kendra takes one alive, but the other two are slain by the draconians. Kendra defends herself by blurting out the prisoner can tell them about the others. The Baaz hadn't even considered there might be others, so agree to torture him. Kendra asks to be allowed to interrogate the elf instead. Krup allows it at first, but Kendra angers him when she tries to tell him what to do, so he sends her off and lets Tern take over.

At the High Hand Inn, a new arrival walks through the door. A Neidar dwarf called Shima Longfoot. He sits down and begins eavesdropping on people. He then goes to speak with a lone dwarf woman, who has a job for him. It turns out she is Raena, an exile Hylar who is seeking revenge on Gregeddin and Haahqae. She wants Shima to get close to them, case their homes, and then the two of them will rob them of everything they own. Raena becomes increasingly frustrated as Shima keeps asking questions that she has already answered. He keeps asking for free money and she finally gives him a silver piece to get rid of him, then leaves.

Ismene is sent to scout out the next room, which turns out to be a big hall with several doors. Grubnick finds a trap that they avoid, but nobody can decide which door to start with. After several minutes of discussion, they finally try a door and find a simple storage room. But there is a broken chest of steel coins, which Xyleena and Yvette are very happy about. Yvette and Haahqae argue on who gets to carry them, but the others intervene and Yvette takes all of the money with her.

While Kendra wanders the edge of the camp, someone grabs her and pulls her aside. It turns out to be Sadron. She convinces them to knock out one Baaz, because killing them all would look too suspicious. They knock out Perp, then Kendra moves into the camp and attacks the others suddenly. The elves shoot from a distance, careful to not hit Kendra.

Shima heads to the Steel Tankard, as Raena told him that's where Haahqae stays. Along the way, he spots a woman in black robes approaching. Everyone seems afraid of her, but Shima simply steps aside to let her pass and no incident comes from it.

The party checks the next room, which looks like some kind of bloody shrine. Two snakemen taking cover behind burning braziers start shooting at the party with crossbows, while a nearby Histachii tears into Ismene. A battle breaks out, but things get muddied when one of the snakemen drops a globe of darkness on the party. Eventually the party is victorious, but they realize that Yvette, Xyleena and Ismene never emerged from the darkness.

One by one, the Baaz die. The last, Grev, uses his final breath to curse Kendra and her loved ones in the name of Takhisis. Kendra frees the prisoner and bids them to go. She shares a final kiss with Sadron, who she may never see again. The elves run off. Kendra waits for Perp to wake up, then claims that the elves knocked her out, too and killed the rest. The two head back to Haven.

Arriving at the Steel Tankard, Shima looks around. He sees a pregnant woman near the fire and approaches her. She is obviously terrified of him. She mentions a gnome had her thrown from her room and describes one of the men he is looking for. Shima scares the woman off, then waits around for awhile before heading back to the High Hand. He doesn't see Raena there so tries to ask the innkeeper about other dwarves staying there. She won't give him any names, so he heads upstairs for the night.

Kendra and Perp report to Mouna what happened. However, she is naturally suspicious of her story. It doesn't make sense that the elves would knock out two people but kill the rest. Mouna brings in a cleric of Takhisis and has Kendra repeat her story. When she is done, the cleric reveals she had cast a truth detection spell and that Kendra's entire story was...true?

Eventually the darkness spell drops and the party finds Ismene nearby, but there is no sign of Yvette or Xyleena. Suddenly, the door to the north bursts open to reveal a bloodied Tulbas. They discuss whether they should continue onward and fight Belzor or leave and try to find the women (who, incidentally, are carrying all of the loot found so far). They argue for some time. Haahqae opens the chest in the shrine and finds books detailing how to create yuan-ti and histachii. The party has a vote and decides to destroy the material.

Mouna is relieved and tells Kendra she can remain in the city while she recovers instead of marching with the others. After she is dismissed, Kendra is confused as to what happened. A lucky break? But before she gets far, the priestess catches up to her. She informs Kendra her spell worked perfectly, but she lied to Mouna anyway. She will tell Mouna the truth, however, unless Kendra does exactly what she wants. Kendra is to be a spy for the church on the army. She has no choice but to agree...

The party spends even longer discussing their options. Eventually, they decide to try and find Yvette and Xyleena. They head back up to the street to discover it is now night and curfew will be starting soon. Searching, they find a couple of blood drops and follow it to the next checkpoint. The goblin guards claim to have not seen anyone matching the women's description, but the party believes they were bribed. Unable to make a decision or come up with a plan, the party splits into three groups and goes in different directions, hoping to find some sign of their quarry. However, they fail to find any clues and each group gives up, one by one.

[JadedDM]

Chapter Nine:
Winter is Coming

It is the morning of Autumn Twilight the 1st and it's already started snowing. Haahqae wakes up at the Steel Tankard, Kendra wakes up at her husband's house, Tulbas wakes up at his home above the mageware shop, Arulia wakes up at her parents' home, and Grubnick, Felran, Ne-Chanz and Shima all wake up at the High Hand Inn. Word on the street is that the some of the army is marching out to Qualinesti to conquer it.

Kendra heads to the fortress and arrives just in time to see Mouna march off to war with the Qualinesti. She is told to do some light patrolling in the merchant district. Kendra also sees Perp who is still injured and still upset about Krup's death. After Perp leaves, the same cleric as before approaches Kendra. She tells Kendra that the prefect is having a party tonight, but didn't invite the high priestess or anyone from the church. She wants Kendra to go in Mouna's place, and try and find out what he's trying to hide. Kendra has little choice but to comply.

Tulbas makes his master breakfast, who spends the whole meal berating the young elf for getting himself captured. He tells Tulbas to go report to the temple, but he decides instead to go speak with Haahqae at the Steel Tankard. He wants to search the lair of the Neo-Belzorites.

Arulia's father tells her that he has found a potential suitor and invited him over for dinner that evening. Arulia nearly blows her top when she learns the man is Osred, the crude armorer who was so rude to her and her sisters when she was looking for work. Arulia escorts Cassilda to work then stops at the High Hand where Shima hits on her creepily. Despite this, Arulia decides to trust him and acknowledges that she knows Haahqae and accompanies him to the Steel Tankard.

Shima asks Felran and Ne-Chanz about Haahqae, but aside from telling him they know him, they won't say anything more. Felran and Grubnick head to the Steel Tankard to warn Haahqae, but the gnome thinks they are describing a fan, not a stalker. Grubnick eventually convinces Haahqae to go up to his room for privacy, but Tulbas and Felran come along, too.

Kendra knows of three tailors in the city; one is quite cheap, one is moderately expensive and the other is extremely expensive. She decides on the last one, and heads to the Golden Thread tailor in the noble district. The tailor there is clearly stricken by her beauty and is happy to show her what he has in stock in her size. The most expensive dress is beyond her income. The tailor agrees to lower the price if she takes him with her as her date, but Kendra shoots him down and reveals she is married. So she buys a less expensive dress instead.

Arulia and Shima step out to follow Ne-Chanz to the Tankard and see a red dragon patrolling over the city. Shima is completely nonplussed by the sight. They continue on, unabated, and spot two kender women fleeing from a goblin guard. At Arulia's behest, they do not try and stop the kender and the goblin loses them in a crowd. They arrive at the Steel Tankard, but there is no sign of Haahqae, Felran, Tulbas of Grubnick.

Meanwhile, in Haahqae's room, Grubnick reveals his powers to Tulbas and Felran by healing them and Haahqae with divine prayer. Tulbas breaks down emotionally at the knowledge that Takhisis is not the only old god to return. They decide that they will head to the lair of the Neo-Belzorites to clear it out and defeat Belzor before reporting to the temple.

Kendra returns home with the dress and tells Norris about the party (but not why she was invited in the first place or her connections with the temple). Kendra invites Norris to go with her, as he is more suited to navigate the political etiquette than she is. She then heads out to patrol until the party begins.

Arulia notices a young girl, about 13, sitting alone and having a drink. She sits and talks with her, learning she sells clams in the harbor and is named Elara. Arulia asks about Yvette and Xyleena, but Elara wants to know about the so-called other gods and people who may worship them. Elara has heard of a pair of con-artists matching their description and might be able to help track them down. Before Arulia can answer, though, she notices the others leaving without her and runs out after them.

When Haahqae and the others come downstairs, Shima immediately introduces himself to the gnome. Flattering him, he easily earns the gnome's trust and convinces him to go up to his room for privacy. Shima tells Haahqae about Raena's plan and convinces him to let him accompany them back to Belzor's place. They all leave, but forget about Arulia, Felran and Ne-Chanz. Arulia manages to chase after them and after making several stops to get their weapons, they go back to Belzor's place and enter.

Kendra spots a small child pickpocketing a merchant. She confronts the boy, who immediately runs away. She chases him into an alley, where she comes face-to-face with Necolai who seems to be waiting for her. He seems concerned that she is going to betray his organization because not only did she never report back to him after the sewer job, but she joined the army, as well. Kendra assures him she won't do that, but Necolai seems skeptical.

The party slowly starts exploring each room in Belzor's hideout again, one by one, despite having already cleared them the night before. They find things exactly as they left them, including the disarmed traps and the dead bodies. When they reach Belzor's sanctum, they find he is gone, as well. Not sure what to do next, Gregeddin offers to let the party move in with him in his new house. Only Shima accepts.

Realizing they were left behind, Felran and Ne-Chanz decide to head to the harbor district to search for Yvette and Xyleena. While passing by Una's weaponshop, they hear someone cry out in pain and go check it out. Una claims one of her apprentices burned herself on the forge. After talking a little to the weaponsmith, they head to the Grinning Goat tavern. They question the bartender about Yvette and Xyleena.

Kendra continues her patrol and sees two Baaz hassling a woman. She claims the woman is her sister to get them to leave her alone, to the woman's surprise. Then she heads home to clean up and prepare for the ball. She is surprised by how nice Norris looks. The two head to the ball together, at the prefect's mansion. Kendra notes how much the place has changed. Norris introduces her to a noble couple, Gunther and Cornelia Gutan, and they chat a bit about the new tax and the prefect.

Arulia returns home to find that dinner is just about to begin, as soon as Osred arrives. She cleans up and changes and joins them just as he shows up. Osred is rude, insulting the house and seemingly not recognizing Arulia or her sisters. Outraged, Arulia begins yelling at him in an angry outburst. Vera tries to calm her down, but Arulia refuses to apologize. Osred takes his leave, warning that she may change her mind once her family is living on the streets, starving and freezing. Arulia runs into her room to be alone.

After leaving Belzor's hideout, Gregeddin, Grubnick, Shima, Haahqae and Tulbas encounter a cleric of Takhisis. She warns them that they have not reported in on their job in several days and the high priestess is getting impatient. Grubnick retires to the High Hand while the others go to the temple to report. The party tells her what happened, but she's annoyed that they let the leader get away and didn't bother reporting in earlier. She voids their weapon permits but offers a new deal. If they can find a true cleric of another god and report them to the church, they'll be paid 5k steel pieces and be made permanent agents of the church. Despite this, none of them want to turn in Grubnick.

At the ball, Tethys finally arrives. He's not what Kendra was expecting, acting quite refined and intelligent. Screwing up her courage, she goes to speak with him. He seems fairly enchanted by her and they talk about the army a bit. She learns from him the army is actually much more expansive (five of them) and they are all ruled by a man calling himself Emperor of Ansalon, Duulket Ariakas. She also learned that these five armies have already conquered most of Ansalon.

Arulia's father enters her room and shows her a book. It's a log of the family's finances. She learns they are in dire straits. They need 30 steel by the end of the month to survive, but Thoron is only making 12 STP a month (and that number is going down due to the tax) while Cassilda makes only 8 STP a month. Thoron explains this is why he's willing to marry his daughters off, even to assholes like Osred. The family won't survive the winter otherwise. Arulia apologizes for her outburst.

Leaving the temple, the others went to Gregeddin's house to talk about recent events. They decided they wanted to find evil clerics to turn in to the temple. Shima also told them about Raena and how she paid him to betray the party. Tulbas and Haahqae then went to the High Hand to warn Grubnick about the temple's hunt on clerics.

Kendra and Norris return home after the ball. Norris feels things went well and he even had a good time. He talks to Kendra about maybe starting a family now that money isn't as big a problem. Kendra still does not want to, though.

Arulia insists on seeing Cassilda's wounded hand and realizes that the burn was inflicted intentionally, despite Cassilda insisting it was an accident. She uses her divine magic to heal it, surprising both Cassilda and Camilla who was watching nearby. Arulia reveals to them her secret of being a cleric of Paladine. Cassilda is awed but Camilla is skeptical. Cassilda also breaks down and reveals the truth--Una burns her apprentices when they displease her. Arulia swears that somehow, she will put a stop to this.

[JadedDM]

Chapter Ten:
Hard Choices

Everyone wakes up at First Watch. Haahqae is in his room at the Tankard, Kendra is at home with her husband, Gregeddin and Shima are at the former's house, Tulbas at home, Arulia headed to her father's smithy, and Grubnick, Felran and Ne-Chanz were at the High Hand.

Tulbas has the day off from his studies, so he heads to the Tankard just as Haahqae steps down from his room. They meet up and recognize that both Keira and Zoya are present, as well. They learn Zoya lost her job as a bouncer at the Masked Dragon. Zoya is a bit drunk and rather angry about Mateo's death. Tulbas offers them both 20 steel each if they can track down Yvette and Xyleena for him, which they both agree.

Kendra decides to visit her family before going into work. They haven't seen her since she recovered from her coma, and are surprised to see her dressed as a soldier. Her mother asks when Kendra is going to give her some grandchildren. She then heads to work. When she arrives, she finds Mouna and the other soldiers have returned from Qualinesti. Mouna decides to give Kendra the day off. Grateful, Kendra rushes home to change.

Gregeddin heads to the prefect's mansion to, at long last, deliver the Trade Guild's message to lower taxes. The prefect insists it is necessary, but only until the war ends in the spring. The bard suggests minting more coin or delaying payment to the soldiers, but the prefect won't hear of it. Frustrated, Gregeddin then tries to hypnotize the prefect, but it fails. Tethys has Gregeddin arrested and also sends troops to arrest everyone in the Trade Guild who signed the letter, believing they were part of a conspiracy against him. Gregeddin openly taunts the prefect at this point, especially after he accidentally mentions something about Pax Tharkas.

While helping her father at the forge, Arulia meets a young man who enters asking to have his shield fixed. He reveals to her that he has a Medallion of Faith identical to hers. She convinces her father to step out for awhile so she can speak to the young man privately. Thoron misunderstands, thinking she is interested in the lad romantically, but leaves nonetheless. The young man explains he was converted by Elistan after a slave revolt in Pax Tharkas. Elistan sent him here to aid Arulia to stop the opening of the brothel.

Grubnick speaks with Green Tears about the war. He learns from her the state of things, including how the dragonarmies are winning. Just as he's about to leave, a dwarf enters. Grubnick is surprised to learn it is Delharn, his mentor and fellow cleric of Sirrion. Delharn explains that Hillhome was destroyed by dark dwarves and he headed this way to cause some mischief to the dragonarmy. Some Baaz show up, so the two head up to Grubnick's room to speak privately.

Shima heads to the Grinning Goat to ask for work. He uses a fake name, "John" while there. The people there aren't terribly helpful, so he heads to the Happee Ohgr. Realizing the place was packed with goblins, though, he backs out quickly. He heads to the Blind Chandler, thinking it was an inn but learning it was just a regular chandler. So then he heads to the High Hand. He eavesdrops on Delharn and Grubnick, then follows them upstairs to try and listen in on them from outside the door.

Haahqae and Tulbas head to the Old Fort next, talking along the way. Haahqae hopes to get a job entertaining the troops as a juggler. The soldiers he speaks to seem amused by his antics. They direct him to where he needs to go to rent out the marketplace for a performance in two days. He and Tulbas then head back to the Tankard where they find some baaz arresting the innkeeper. Cassandra, the head barmaid, has a black eye and is crying. She explains that the guards refused to say why they were taking him. She is also worried as she has no idea how to run a business, but there is nobody else to take over the Tankard.

After Kendra changes, she hears a commotion downstairs. Hurrying down, she finds a group of Baaz arresting her husband in the name of the prefect. The guards refuse to tell her anything, so she heads to the prefect's mansion to confront him personally. While there, she learns that he is locking down the whole city. He explains the situation, but Kendra believes Norris would never join a conspiracy against the prefect deliberately. Tethys, though, insists on an interrogation to make sure; he becomes more paranoid when he learns someone set fire to a building. Kendra worries that she won't be able to care for her family without Norris. Tethys offers her a promotion then; as his personal guard and liaison to the city. In return, she'll be paid 1 steel a day, more than enough to care for her family. Kendra accepts.

Gregeddin is dragged downstairs into the basement and locked up in a cell. By a miracle of luck, he manages to bend the bars of his cell and slip out. He finds a torture room nearby and picks up a knife and a candle. The guards took all of his belongings. He then tries to leave the prison area, but finds the door is locked. He uses a spell to unlock it and finds two baaz playing cards by candlelight. His belongings are near them.

After the young man introduces himself to Arulia as William, Thoron returns. Shortly after, a group of Baaz burst in and quickly arrest Thoron. Arulia tries to stop them, but backs off when they threaten his life. Worried, she takes William to tell her family. They think he is another suitor at first, but quickly forget about the cleric when Arulia gives them the news. Vera decides to go to the barracks and sends Niniva to check on Cassilda. Arulia takes William to go see Kendra. On the way, they can see the smoke from the fire Grubnick started and wonder what it means. However, when they reach Kendra's place, they find nobody home.

Grubnick has the idea of setting fire to a building to cause some chaos. He brings up the Belzorite's old lair, erroneously believing it is the building that is going to become the new brothel. The two head there and go downstairs, into the basement. Grubnick notices right away that all of the bodies have been removed. At first, he wants to set the fire in the basement, but Delharn points out the whole thing is stone. So they decide to light up the ground level instead. Once the fire gets going, they hurry off and disappear into the crowd. They return to the Haven Arms, where Delharn is staying.

Ne-Chanz recruits Shima to come with him and Felran to the Grinning Goat, in case it's a trap. They all come in at different times and sit in different places. A woman approaches Felran. She is the same woman who was eavesdropping on their conversation here a week ago. She says she knows where Yvette and Xyleena are, but will only tell him if he agrees to help her with a little job that requires some muscle. First, she (and some hidden goons) pull crossbows on Shima. She knows he is spying on them and used a fake name earlier. Luckily, Felran vouches for him. After some haggling, the three decide to accept the job.

Haahqae and Tulbas head up to the gnome's room. Haahqae loans Tulbas the spellbook he took from Sekla. They also discuss the upcoming performance. Tulbas agrees to assist. The two then return to the common room below. Grubnick shows up, and they fill him in. Haahqae then asks Cassandra to supply ale at his performance, but she finds the idea terrifying. She points out the soldiers refuse to pay for their drinks, so selling ale at the performance will probably just bankrupt her.

Kendra then asks to see Norris. Tethys takes her to the west wing where the guest rooms are. This is where he is keeping the Trade Guild members, under guard. Norris is incensed when he discovers Gregeddin is responsible for their arrest. Kendra asks for advice on running the store. He tells her that if she can sell that ring the party sold him awhile back from the mines, that should keep the store afloat for at least the rest of the month. Kendra then asks Tethys if she can see Gregeddin.

Gregeddin manages to sneak past the two baaz quietly. However, he wants his stuff, which is sitting next to one of the baaz. He makes some noise to lure one of them into the cells. As for the other, he tries to disarm the baaz of his candle but fails. He hurries toward the stairs before the baaz can catch him. This is when he runs into Tethys and Kendra, coming to see him. Outnumbered, he surrenders but not before arguing with Kendra about whether the prefect would find a fair solution to things. Gregeddin is thrown back into a cell, and this time chained to the wall.

Arulia decides to try heading to the fort next. At the gate, she finds her mother, who claims the guards insist nobody has been brought in at all. Vera heads home while Arulia vows to somehow find out where her father is. She and William head to the site of the fire, and see that it has been put out. The building in question was the entrance to Belzor's hideout.

Grubnick and Delharn head up to the dwarf's room. Delharn reveals he has a scroll of summoning. He's not entirely sure what it will summon, but it was a gift from Sirrion, so probably something fiery and destructive. They speculate on when and where to summon it. Grubnick thinks it would be useful to kill the prefect, if they can work out the details. Delharn warns him not to spend too much time thinking about it. He also warns him not to be overly concerned with protecting innocents or to be overly trusting of anyone else. Grubnick agrees and heads to the Tankard.

Felran, Ne-Chanz and Shima head to the warehouse, which is old, big and falling apart. The thief appears from a trap door in the floor and reveals to them their job; to clear out the old sewers of every living thing. If they succeed in this, she'll tell them how to find Yvette and Xyleena. They find a locked door right away, but the padlock is too advanced so they don't bother. Scouting south, they find a room full of rats.

Haahqae next heads to the High Hand Inn. He tries to convince Green Tears to sell ale at his performance. However, she doesn't want to, either. She explains that all of the tavernkeepers water down their ale because the soldiers refuse to pay for it. Selling ale at his performance means giving it away for free, basically. Undeterred, Haahqae puts on an impromptu show for the draconians present, telling some jokes. One falls flat but the other one elicits some chuckles.

Kendra leaves the mansion and makes her way to Arulia's place, running into her and William just as she's entering. She tells Arulia everything about Gregeddin and promises to do what she can to try and free Thoron and the others. She then returns to her family's home and has dinner with them. She explains what happened to Norris and about her promotion. Rangle doesn't like the idea of her working for the army as it is, but he particularly disapproves of her serving the prefect directly. After arguing with him, she heads home.

Tethys interrogates Gregeddin about the rebellion he is supposedly a member of. Gregeddin claims he is not part of a rebellion, that he acted alone. Tethys believes him, but offers a deal. Gregeddin can blame it all on Karn, the head of the Trade Guild and denounce them publicly. He will then swear allegiance to Tethys and use his abilities to spread propaganda about the regime. Otherwise, Tethys will instead have Gregeddin killed. He also warns that should the bard try to betray him, not only will he die, but so will his parents and the entire trade guild. Gregeddin asks for time to think about it.

Grubnick and Tulbas head to Gregeddin's house. Along the way, they discuss Tulbas' situation (being forced to apprentice himself to the man who killed his uncle). When they arrive at Gregeddin's place, they find it being ransacked by soldiers. They overhear a pair of baaz talking about 'finding evidence' and securing the weapons and armor inside. Tulbas brazenly approaches the guards to try and find out what is happening. The baaz tell him to get lost several times and when he doesn't listen, one of them punches Tulbas in the gut. The two split up, with Tulbas going home and Grubnick following the soldiers when they leave. Half of the soldiers go to the keep, and the other half head up into the noble district where Grubnick cannot follow.

Arulia says farewell to William with a hug, then returns to her home. She tells her family over dinner what happened to her father. However, she assures them that everything will work out. When she goes into her room with her two younger sisters, they ask if Paladine can do something about this. But Arulia says it doesn't work like that.

Meanwhile, Felran, Ne-Chanz and Shima head south and find a rickety wooden bridge crossing a river of sludge. It doesn't look safe, so they backtrack to the rat room and this time head west. There is another locked door here, one with a normal lock, and a dead-end. Shima decides to investigate the dead end, and walks into a gelatinous cube, but luckily isn't paralyzed. He manages to lure it back to the big room with the rats so the others can fight it. Ne-Chanz lights a torch, illuminating the room and scaring away most of the rats. However, Shima is then swallowed by the cube. Felran and Ne-Chanz are able to kill it before it digests the dwarf.

Kendra realizes the window is open and she finds some blood. Following it up to her room, she finds Sadron of all people, badly injured. He explains what happened to the elves and how he escaped. He had nowhere else to turn, so slipped into the city and came here. She bandages him up the best she can.

Grubnick returns to the mageware shop and reports to Tulbas, who was studying the spellbook he borrowed from Haahqae. He tells Tulbas of what he learned, and then the two discuss the game of khas. When the bell rings for curfew, he hurries back to the High Hand. Magnus returns home, and Tulbas makes him dinner and speaks of the war and the Test.

Camilla becomes upset with Arulia's constant promises to 'do something' despite apparently being powerless. She questions whether Paladine is all that great if Takhisis seems so much stronger. Arulia tells her she is only an apprentice, and so there is only so much she is capable of doing. Camilla storms out and Cassilda tries to reassure her.

Once the numbness wears off, Shima unlocks the middle door and the party goes through. He examines the other side of the bridge, but doesn't find much. The party then heads north and finds another locked door and more rats. Realizing curfew is going into effect, they hurry back and reach the High Hand just in time.

[JadedDM]

Chapter 11:
The Show Must Go On

On the morning of Autumn Twilight 10th, everyone wakes up. Haahqae is eager to begin his performance. Kendra takes care of Sadron, who is still wounded. Tulbas tries to rush out to meet up with Haahqae, but is stopped by Magnus. Arulia decides to take her sisters to get a bath. Grubnick goes to see Delharn. Shima goes to meet with Felran and Ne-Chanz.

Bitter that Cassandra does not appear more grateful toward him, Haahqae heads to the Masked Dragon to get a bath before his performance. Once there, he spots Ismene and Miriam having breakfast. He manages to bribe the innkeeper to let him put on a quick show, partly to advertise to the baaz present, but also hoping to get Ismene's attention. The show goes well, and the baaz like it. However, the other patrons become upset when he describes the soldiers as 'brave.' Miriam in particular glares at him. When he's done, he orders a bath. Afterwards, he waits for Ismene to finish studying before approaching her. He quickly apologizes for making her angry, but she has no idea what he means. He apparently believed all of his recent failures had upset her.

After making sure Sadron is on the mend, Kendra heads to the prefect's mansion to report for work. She finds Tethys eating a large breakfast while personal minstrels play music for him. He explains that he was in Gateway before arriving here and how the town kept rebelling. When the prefect there was killed, Verminaard ordered the entire place torched and everyone killed. Tethys managed to spare the minstrels, but warns Kendra that the same thing might happen in Haven if they are not careful. Despite this, Kendra keeps asking him to release the prisoners in order to improve his public image with the people. Tethys steadfastly refuses, pointing out that showing any weakness would doom Haven.

When Tulbas reveals to Magnus he agreed to help Haahqae with his show, the Black Robed Wizard is very displeased. He lectures Tulbas that magic is too important to waste on entertainment and insists he stay to study. Rather than lash out, Tulbas remains calm and respectful, to Magnus's surprise. Magnus begins telling him more about the Test and what to expect. He also discusses life after the Test.

Arulia's mother is worried about spending more money, but Arulia assures her they'll be fine. She takes her three younger sisters to the Seven Centaurs for baths, which coincidentally is where William is staying. She sends Cassilda and Camilla in first, while Niniva waits and she goes to speak with William. She has an idea to stop the brothel from opening. She figures if they can get the support of the families of the Trade Guild, the political pressure will discourage the prefect from allowing it. When William asks if she intends to have her own family join the movement, as well, she has second thoughts on the whole thing. When the younger girls finish their bath, she excuses herself and goes to them. After they leave, she and Niniva head up to take their own baths.

Delharn tells Grubnick he found the perfect place to use the scroll at. Apparently someone is putting on a show for the draconians this afternoon at the market place. Grubnick admits that a wide open space filled with soldiers and no civilians is a tempting target. The two decide to scout out the marketplace for ideas.

Felran and Ne-Chanz follow Grubnick to the Haven Arms, hoping to ask him for his help in the sewers, much to Shima's bewilderment. When Grubnick turns them down, they head to the Steel Tankard to look for Haahqae. Shima encounters the pregnant woman he harrassed earlier and apologizes (but still asks her to come live with him). A woman with an eye-patch comes to her aid, and Shima quickly asks her for help in finding Gregeddin. But she tells him to get lost. Shima then asks the innkeeper to give a message to Haahqae. She tells him about Haahqae's performance that afternoon. The dwarf then convinces Ne-Chanz to buy him a second breakfast.

Haahqae convinces Ismene to invite him up to her room so they can speak privately, which she reluctantly does. Miriam is present, and after hearing his explanation, tears into it. She doesn't buy Haahqae's explanation that he is putting a show on for the baaz for the good of the city, to help 'get coin back in circulation.' Haahqae insists he is quite heroic but never gets properly rewarded for his good deeds. Miriam calls him out, pointing out that a hero doesn't expect a reward, he does what is right because it is right. Ismene stays out of the discussion. Haahqae then heads to the market to check up on the stage. There he encounters Grubnick and Delharn. After trading barbs, he starts to practice. This catches the eye of a young girl, Camilla, who Haahqae begins conversing with.

Kendra relents and asks the prefect if he has a task for her today. Tethys tells her that he heard there was to be a show for the soldiers today and he wanted her to investigate it, just in case it turned out to be a trap of some kind. Kendra agrees, but asks to visit Norris first. Norris is, of course, quite happy to see her.

Tulbas and Magnus discuss the Test further. Magnus reveals the next lesson is to learn how to cast while impaired. They begin with blindfolding Tulbas so he can better get a feel for what spells work or don't work if you cannot see.

Arulia takes her bath, but is very uncomfortable with the opulence of the Seven Centaurs and feels like she doesn't belong. Afterward, she invites Niniva with her to visit Kendra to see if any more has been learned about their father. Along the way, they run into a priestess of Takhisis who tells them about the brothel and how incredibly well it will pay to work there. Arulia argues with the priestess, claiming that the women working at the brothel won't be paid well and will be forced to against their will. The cleric claims that the workers can refuse any client they wish and will be paid tremendously well. As Arulia has no proof for any of her accusations, she just winds up making the church look better by attacking it. While the priestess works the crowd that has built up into a frenzy, Arulia grabs Niniva and slips away.

Grubnick and Delharn discuss their tactics and spells for the upcoming attack. Haahqae approaches and he and Grubnick talk. Grubnick learns that the show they are about to attack is actually Haahqae's. The two trade insults, but then Haahqae asks Grubnick to help him collect the coin from the audience. Grubnick tells Haahqae he will think about it, then takes Delharn to speak privately. He reveals to his mentor that not only does he know Haahqae, but that the gnome knows Grubnick's secret of being a true cleric.

Felran, Ne-Chanz and Shima head to the marketplace to buy some torches then head back to the sewers. They continue past where they left off, entering the next area of the sewers. They hear water rushing and come across a vast underground river.

Haahqae learns from Camilla that she wants to be a warrior when she grows up, but she is poor and doesn't have many options. She is also worried she'll be married off and have to give up on having any future of her own. Haahqae tells her about Kendra, who is married and still a soldier. He also buys Camilla lunch and allows her to watch his show for free. It's at this point that Kendra shows up. She tells him that Gregeddin was arrested for attacking the prefect, and that is why the rest of the Trade Guild was arrested, too. Everyone walks off then, so Haahqae practices juggling for the show.

Kendra informs Norris that she hasn't made any progress in freeing him. He tries to kiss her goodbye, but she turns her head. Then she goes to visit Thoron. He's surprised that she's working for the man who imprisoned him and Kendra's husband. She agrees to talk to his family for him and he warns her that the prefect likely isn't doing Kendra any favors, but will expect something in return some day. She heads for the marketplace and immediately spots Haahqae. She finds him speaking to Camilla about joining the army. Kendra asks Camilla to join her while she scouts the square and talks to her about being a soldier.

After Tulbas trains with impaired vision, they move on to the next lesson--impaired hearing. He finds the exercises quite exciting. They then move on to impaired speaking, impaired movement and impaired concentration. With his training complete for the day, he is allowed to head to the market square.

Arulia asks Niniva her thoughts on the church, and Niniva mentions that free food and healing sounds like a good deal. The two get into an argument, with Niniva calling Arulia a hypocrite before storming off. Arulia continues on alone to the gem shop but finds Kendra is not home. She heads to the smithy and opens up when a large, burly man enters looking for Thoron. After Arulia explains he was arrested, the man reveals he has some iron ore to smelt. Arulia agrees to smelt it all today for him. The man reveals he has an iron mine outside of town but it was seized by the army and that ore is all he has left.

Grubnick agrees to Haahqae's request to help him collect coin. He spots Kendra and notices she is one of Tethys' elite guards. Listening in on Haahqae and Kendra, he learns that Gregeddin was arrested along with the trade guild for attacking the prefect. He hurries back to Delharn and informs the dwarf of this news. Could this mean the prefect might attend, too?

Felran, Ne-Chanz and Shima continue on and come to an intersection. Shima scouts ahead north, and finds a large room next to the underground river. A small tribe of gully dwarves are living there. Shima slips away without being noticed and reports to the others. While they converse on how to proceed, Shima unlocks the south door and reveals a large rat which quickly charges him. He gets bitten, but is able to kill the rat soon after. They then head north and Ne-Chanz takes one of the gully dwarves hostage, which causes them all to panic.

Haahqae is less than pleased to see Tulbas. The young elf is eager to help, but missed all of the practice rehearsals. The gnome becomes angry and tells Tulbas off. Grubnick obtains a sack to help carry the silver and readies himself for the upcoming attack. When the show begins, 54 soldiers show up and all pay five silver each. Grubnick collects it all in his sack then turns it over to Haahqae. Haahqae then begins the show, but shortly into it a fire elemental (summoned by Delharn) appears and attacks the audience.

Kendra learns that Camilla gets into fights a lot with her peers, has no friends, and is given a lot of crap because of her family. Seeing a bit of herself in Camilla, Kendra offers her some free training. When the elemental appears, Kendra moves in to attack it. Nobody can seem to hurt the creature, but Kendra's elven blade can. The elemental turns its full fury on Kendra, ignoring the soldiers.

Arulia agrees to smelt the iron for the customer and the two start talking about the army. The customer complains about the Seekers, as well. At first, Arulia and he seem in agreement. But this turns out not to be so. Arulia lost faith in the Seekers when they only let in 10,000 refugees into the city but not any more. The customer believes otherwise, that they made things too difficult for everyone by bringing in more than twice the city's population. Their argument is interrupted when they hear a commotion outside.

Felran, Ne-Chanz and Shima find themselves in a stand-off with the gully dwarves. They don't want to leave but are too afraid to fight the party. The party wants to get rid of them, but doesn't seem to want to fight them.

While the battle continues, Grubnick carefully sabotages things while remaining discreet. He manages to kill some baaz by dropping some oil flasks in the heat of the fight. He also uses a spell to heat up Kendra's sword, burning her hand. Haahqae seeks the nearby well to find water while Tulbas uses his own magic to blind the elemental so Kendra has an easier time with it. Eventually, Kendra slays the creature. Haahqae makes a speech about her, and everyone cheers and starts calling her the 'Hero of Haven' and 'Blessed by the Dragon Queen.' Suddenly, a red dragon shows up and Tethys is riding it. After getting an explanation, he declares Kendra a hero and then offers her a ride back to the mansion. After a frightening ride on Inferno, she tells Tethys she saw a suspicious red-haired dwarf.

Worried about all of the commotion outside, Arulia asks the customer to go check it out while she continues smelting. The customer returns and claims the market was blocked off, but he heard something about a monster attack. A short time later, Camilla shows up and tells all about the elemental and how Kendra fought it and agreed to train her. She also tells her about Haahqae's show. She's clearly very excited about it. After Arulia finishes smelting, she hands over the ingots to the customer and then escorts Camilla home.

Felran decides to move on for now, and sends Shima to scout ahead. He finds a large room with lots of spider webs. He returns and insists Felran go burn the webs in order to 'pull his weight.' Felran reminds the dwarf that he was the one who got Shima the job in the first place, so he should show a little gratitude. So Shima walks out on them, abandoning the job and going back up to the surface. He arrives at the market just as the excitement is ending. He learns from Tulbas that Gregeddin was arrested for attacking the prefect. The four then split up, with Haahqae heading to the Tankard, Grubnick to the High Hand, Tulbas to the mageware shop and Shima to the Grinning Goat.

Once at the Tankard, Haahqae spots Bear. He had not seen him since the mine job. Sitting down with him, he learns that Bear's mine was seized by the army. Haahqae then heads up to his room to count his silver and make his next plan.

Tethys puts out a bulletin to find the dwarf Kendra mentions and suggests they use the opportunity to promote her as a 'hero' to bolster morale and help improve relations between the army and the citizens. Kendra is then allowed to head home where she makes dinner and tells Sadron about what happened. She also shows him her elven sword, and he realizes its' magic is why it was effective against the elemental.

Tulbas returns home and begins dinner. He tells Magnus what happened. Magnus is surprised anyone in the city aside from himself or the the high priestess has the power to summon an elemental. Tulbas begins wondering if he could summon such things some day.

Arulia sits down to dinner with her family. Cassilda mentions some kind of incident in the market. With a look, Arulia silences Camilla--mostly. But she does claim to have 'heard' about the attack and gives details. Vera becomes worried about what it might mean. Camilla also announces she is going to train under Kendra and join the army. Vera is concerned, but Arulia insists Kendra is a good person and will look out for the child. After dinner, the girls retire to their room and Arulia reveals to her last sister that she is a priest of Paladine. However, Niniva is a bit horrified. She sat in on a Takhisian sermon and was told Paladine or the Grey Serpent, caused the Cataclysm and has only reappeared to stop Takhisis from uniting the world in peace. She also pointed out that as a follower of Paladine, Arulia was putting the whole family in danger.

Grubnick returns to the High Hand and speaks with Green Tears on what's going on. She tells him about the attack, but doesn't have any details. He fills her in, telling her what happened--but obviously leaving out his own involvement, as well as Delharn's. He grows frustrated by the elemental's failure and wonders more about this woman that defeated it.

Shima stops by the Grinning Goat and asks the bartender to pass along a message to the woman who hired them for the sewer job. He wants to ask for additional help. Then he heads to Gregeddin's home and goes to sleep.

[JadedDM]

Chapter 12:
Testing Grounds

On the morning of Autumn Twilight 15th, everyone gets up. Haahqae had recently managed to get his performer job back at the Tankard but it paid very little. He also got a job at the barracks performing, but it's for free. This was just a ruse, though, to get him access to the keep so he can rob the treasury. Kendra wakes up next to Sadron who is starting to heal up some. She spent the downtime taking care of him, investigating the elemental attack and training Camilla. Tulbas wakes up exciting about his Test. Tonight is the Night of the Eye and he will either prove his worth as a wizard...or die trying. Arulia woke up worried about money. It was becoming clear she would not earn enough at her father's smithy to keep her entire family fed next month. Grubnick woke up uncertain what to do next. His mentor had gone into hiding, so he was all on his own. Finally, Shima woke up and decided to head to the temple for healing.

Haahqae heads to the Masked Dragon for a bath, then pops in to visit Ismene. He confesses his feelings to her and tells her he is going on a job and might not come back. She seems taken back by the statement and asks about the job. After telling her, she wishes him luck. A little disappointed, Haahqae heads to the market and buys some cloth stripes to wrap around his shoes to make himself stealthier. He then goes to the keep and tells his escort he needs to use the latrine. Once in there, he subtley casts Summon Swarm and has a bunch of rats attack everyone inside.

Kendra and Sadron have breakfast and she gets ready for work. Sadron mentions moving on once he's healed, not wanting to inconvenience Kendra or put her in danger. But Kendra tries to convince him to stay. After she steps outside, she runs into Arulia.

Tulbas serves breakfast to his master, Magnus. He then teleports Tulbas to the Tower of Wayreth for his Test. They are greeted by Daxia, who remembers Tulbas quite well. Daxia escorts them to the lounge where the other masters and apprentices are. Not counting Tulbas, there are only three others.

Arulia announces to her family at breakfast she isn't going in to the smithy today. Her sisters, who were not aware of how bad things were financially, are surprised to hear this. Arulia has decided to try something else to earn money, as the coin coming in from the smithy won't be enough. She heads to the High Hand to look for Haahqae, but is directed to the Tankard instead. However, she finds Haahqae is not here, either. After leaving him a message, she heads to Kendra's and catches her just as she is leaving for work. The two talk about how they're doing and the brothel the church is opening.

Grubnick wakes up and decides, that even for a goblin, he could really use a bath. He heads to the Ivy Inn to get one. He then heads to the Haven Arms to ask about Delharn. The waitress there says he is gone, but mentions others have asked about him--a soldier and a pair of trappers. He heads to the Trade Guild to find out about the trappers and learns they are likely frauds. He also learns a shady looking dwarf is looking for the trappers, as well.

Shima heads to the temple of Takhisis wanting healing. The high priestess sees him and agrees, if he takes a job for her. Shima agrees, but demands she find a way to return his weapons to him after they were confiscated by the soldiers when Gregeddin was arrested. He also insists on a weapon permit. The priestess shoots that down and says he'll get his weapons back after he finishes the job. Shima agrees. The priestess casts a spell on him, but nothing seems to happen. She then casts another spell, healing him. Shima appears completely unimpressed with this miracle. She tells him he must kill a young woman without getting caught or using messy means. She suggests poison. Much like when he spoke with Raena, Shima acts completely clueless and bombards her with numerous questions and asking for coin. The priestess tells him to figure it out for himself. She also warns him that she has placed a curse on him (the first spell she cast). If he takes too long to finish the job, betrays her or refuses to do the job, the curse will activate and his luck will drain away to nothing forever. Again, Shima has little reaction to this.

Haahqae waits for the baaz to flee the rat swarm then makes himself invisible and sneaks back into the courtyard and heads for the tower. He then tries to trick the two guards at the tower gate into letting him inside. This fails, but a commander arrives and chews them out (and also mentions that Haahqae has gone missing and they are looking for him). When they open the gate for her to enter, Haahqae sneaks in with her. From there, he makes his way up the stairs to the eighth floor.

Kendra and Arulia walk and talk for a bit. Arulia is still confused by the division between the church and the military and Kendra tries to clarify it for her. Kendra then heads to see the prefect while Arulia makes her way to the brothel. Tethys has a new plan, to throw a parade in Kendra's honor after she defeated the elemental. He figures this will be the perfect opportunity to lure out the rebels and crush them for good.

Tulbas speaks with the three apprentices. One is a Qualinesti elven woman, one is a half-elf woman and the third is a human male who is older (and later turns out to be a renegade that was caught). They discuss what is going on in the outside world and seem content to ignore it, staying in the Tower to study after they take their Tests. But Tulbas thinks they should be out making a difference. Shortly after this, the three Heads of the Orders (Par-Salian, Ladonna and Justarius) arrive and introduce themselves. However, he doesn't say anything to them.

Grubnick heads to the building the Neo-Belzorites used to inhabit; the one he and Delharn burned down. He thinks Delharn might be hiding out there. He does discover signs of entrance but sneaking down realizes that the goblin soldiers are using it as a secret base to drink and carouse. He slips away, but is noticed by Arulia who wants to speak with him. They head to the smithy to talk in private. He is interested in learning more about Kendra.

Shima returns to the High Hand and joins up with Felran and Ne-Chanz to return to the sewer. They return to the chamber where the gully dwarf clan lives. However, before the slaughter can begin, Felran stops them and insists they find another way.

Haahqae tricks the guards at the eighth floor by knocking on the door to the ninth floor while invisible. Confused, the guards open the door to check, and he slips in. From the ninth floor, he finds the door to the tenth floor with a masterwork lock on it. After quaffing his Potion of Perception, he finds he is able to pick the lock and enter. The tenth floor is the vault, where the treasury can be found. It's 50,000 steel pieces all in a massive pile, with a red dragon sleeping on it. He manages to sneak up to the pile and steal 1,000 of the coins undetected and get back out. He fails to lock the door behind him, though. Then using a climbing spell, he descends the tower from the outside through a window, back to the ground.

Kendra agrees to the parade and volunteers to scope out the route so she's familiar with it. She heads there and speaks with an elderly couple about the route, wanting to know more about it despite having lived in the city her whole life. They can't tell her much.

Tulbas is escorted to a guest room by Daxia where he can rest before the Test that night. He overhears someone in the next room talking due to a crack in the wall. He overhears Magnus speaking with two others about some kind of conspiracy.

Grubnick and Arulia discuss Kendra and her motives for joining the army. They also discuss finding the women who stole from them and their distrust of Shima. They agree to meet at the High Hand the next day.

Felran, Ne-Chanz and Shima argue about the fate of the Aghar. Felran convinces them to leave them be for now, and figure out what to do with them later. The three return to the room with the webbing, eager to set it on fire. The burning webs kill a number of normal sized spiders, but two very large ones are only singed and attack. Felran is bitten by the poisonous spider and dies instantly while Shima and Ne-Chanz fight a sword spider. Eventually they kill it and turn their attention to the poisonous spider just as it finishes wrapping up Felran's corpse into a cocoon.

Haahqae uses a rope to climb over the walls and is then free. He dispels his invisibility and spends all 1,000 STP on herbs and incense. Having gotten away with his crime completely, he inexplicably then heads back to the fortress and seeks to enter normally. The guards turn him away, due to a lockdown. When he mentions who he is, though, they realize he's the one they are looking for and instantly arrest him. He is escorted back inside the keep he just escaped at spear point. Mouna interrogates him on where he went and how he got out without being seen. Haahqae tells her he was hiding and he managed to slip over the wall out of fear. She fires him, but lets him go. Pleased with himself, he returns to the Tankard.

Kendra looks around for more people to speak to. She approaches a handful of children playing kender tag. After playing a bit, she asks them what people are saying about the army. The children realize she is a soldier and go tight-lipped and leave. One child remains, but he is not a child, but a kender. In fact, it's Pen. He asks why she is working with the bad guys. Kendra asks for a private place to speak, so Pen leads her to a sewer cover. The two descend down into the sewer, both remembering the last time they did so, Darga died. Kendra confesses her plans to earn the prefect's trust to Pen and asks him to keep it a secret.

Tulbas decides to try and leave his room to warn someone of the conspiracy he overheard, but finds the door is magically sealed. He makes multiple attempts to try and open it.

Grubnick heads to the Grinning Goat, looking for some 'trappers.' However, the bartender claims to have never seen them before. He then heads to the Happee Ohgr, a goblin bar. The goblin barkeep does not recognize the trappers he is searching for. The two start talking about the war and the problems commonly faced by their kind.

Arulia closes the smithy after making 9 copper and then heads to the High Hand, looking for the 'trappers.' But to no avail. Next, she heads to the Ivy Inn. The innkeeper there hasn't heard of any trappers, but does mention a pair of black robed mages that match their description. They were apparently searching for a shady dwarf in black leathers a week ago. She heads to the Grinning Goat next, but the bartender is of no help. She heads to the mageware shop, but finds it is closed down as Magnus has taken Tulbas to his Test. So she heads to the market.

Shima and Ne-Chanz defeat the last spider. Ne-Chanz rips open the webbing to free Felran, but finds he is dead. Despite this, they decide to press on. They burn the last of the webbing to reveal several dried out corpses cocooned within. They find some coin within and take it, except the copper. Shima then scouts ahead and runs into another giant rat. Shima eventually kills it.

Haahqae sits and eats next to Elara, a young woman of around 13 years. She recognizes him as the juggler who was attacked by the elemental and asks if a heretical cleric was behind it. She expresses interest in the old gods and finding clerics of them. However, Haahqae gets off track and starts talking about Belzor instead. She tries finding out if he knows anything about true clerics, especially of Sirrion, but he instead starts trying to ask her the very same thing. She tells him that it was likely a cleric of Sirrion that attacked his show, but he evidently has forgotten that 'Gobax' revealed himself as such before. Eventually she grows frustrated with him (as does he with her) and the two part ways.

Kendra asks Pen to try and find evidence that the trade guild are not rebels. Pen offers to try, as he can overhear stuff without being noticed. She also asks him to look into the thieves' guild. She then returns to the prefect to give her report. Then she returns home to check on Sadron.

Tulbas looks under the door crack and sees someone approaching. There is an explosion, the door is knocked off its hinges and Tulbas is thrown backward. When he comes to, he finds the entire hall is trashed but the person who cast the fireball is gone. He heads into one of the guest rooms and finds the elven apprentice trapped under an armoire. He manages to free her and help patch up her leg. She tells him her name is Selowen and she agrees to help him in finding more survivors. They check the next room and discover a gaping hole in the ground where the floor had partially collapsed. On the other side of the hole is a wardrobe, but Tulbas hears someone whimpering inside. It turns out to be the human apprentice.

Grubnick asks about the parade. He tries to convince the bartender that the church was behind the elemental attack, but lacked the charisma to do it convincingly. He then heads back to the High Hand and sees Green Tears speaking with a half-ogre. She remains tight-lipped about what they were speaking about, as she was paid well not to. He then returns to the Steel Tankard to ask about Yvette and Xyleena, but has no further luck there. He returns to the High Hand.

Arulia spots a young boy looking hungrily at a bread vendor's stand, so she buys him a loaf. He tells her his name is Aaron. He explains his parents are dead, but a woman took him in and looks after him. Arulia questions him about Xyleena and Yvette and he seems to recognize them. He claims they help his guardian by giving her money, but they seem to want to remain hidden. Arulia asks Aaron to set up a meeting with her and the women, but for him not to use her name.

Shima scouts ahead again and finds a locked room. Inside, he finds a single chest. He accidentally triggers a trap, but manages to open it and find a rusty sword and a gemstone. He pockets the latter in secret. Then he tries a different room, and discovers it has five giant rats in it. He flees back to Ne-Chanz to help him fight them.

Kendra finds that Sadron had accidentally opened one of his wounds while exercising that day. She patches him up again and tells him about her day and the prefect's plan to use her as bait to draw out the rebels. He worries about his people, but Kendra is unable to offer any words of solace for him.

Tulbas persuades the human apprentice to join him, but he's reluctant to jump over the hole in the room. He pushes over a wardrobe and tries to climb over it, but it breaks and he falls to his death.

Grubnick asks Green Tears about Yvette and Xyleena, but she hadn't seen them. She mentioned someone else had come in to ask about them, though. Grubnick assumes it is Arulia. Green Tears also mentions she heard rumors of a possible minor attack on the Old Fort, but has no details.

Arulia heads to the Tankard to ask Haahqae for financial help. However, the gnome coldly shuts her down, causing her to storm out angrily. She only just barely makes it home in time before she's caught out after curfew. She tells her family she is working on finding a lead to steady employment.

Ne-Chanz and Shima fight the rats. Well, actually Ne-Chanz kills them all as Shima swings widely at open air futilely. The two then bolt to reach the High Hand in time. Shima decides to stay with Ne-Chanz for now, instead of living at Gregeddin's place. They spot Grubnick and join him for dinner and consider whether it's worth asking him for help.

[JadedDM]

Chapter 13:
Consequences

On the morning of Autumn Twilight 23rd, each of the PCs wake up. Haahqae had used the coin he stole from the Old Fort to summon a familiar, a white mouse named Miracle. He was quite pleased, until he learned that Ismene was wrongfully accused in his stead and had been arrested (evidently the prefect used a divination that revealed a gnome was responsible; since Haahqae's magic is a secret and Ismene is a known illusionist, they assumed it was her). Heading downstairs, he spots Jaymes--the ranger who hired them to slay the giant awhile back. Jaymes explains that he had to return to the city to survive the winter. Haahqae convinces Jaymes to come with him to the Masked Dragon to speak with Miriam. Miriam reveals she is being watched by the army at all times and that the army denies holding Ismene in custody.

Kendra had spent the week nursing Sadron back to health, earning money to support herself, the elf, and her family, and otherwise preparing for the big parade in her honor that was to be held today. She heads downstairs to discover Sadron making her breakfast. He was more or less completely healed now.

Tulbas, meanwhile, was still at the Tower of Wayreth, a week ago. He had just led Selowen to the next floor down, which seemed to be in shambles. He searches a nearby storage room and discovers a bunch of broken wands--but one is intact, and it's a wand of magic missiles. In the next room, they hear someone rummaging around. Tulbas peeks in and sees it is the half-elf apprentice he met before, Jinali. She explains that the renegades are fighting back against the Conclave's oppression against mages, and she stands with them.

Arulia had learned that the chuch hired Shima to kill Cassilda for some unknown reason. Furious at the dwarf, she wanted nothing further to do with him. She did manage to set up a meeting with Xyleena and Yvette, though, for Third Watch on this day at an old abandoned warehouse. She hurries out to join up with Grubnick. She tells him about Shima confessing he was hired by the church to kill Cassilda. She also tells him that she is a follower of Paladine. Arulia doesn't want to recruit Shima, but reluctantly agrees to ask Haahqae despite their last encounter.

Grubnick had spent the week searching for his mentor, to no avail. But Arulia told him of a meeting she set up with the thieves they are searching for, and he agreed to join her. He heads downstairs and speaks with Green Tears, learning that the prefect is requiring all mages to register with the city. He reveals to Arulia that he is a follower of Sirrion, although he doesn't mention the god by name. Gobax suggests they try Haahqae. When they check the Tankard, though, there's no sign of him. So he then suggests they try Ismene instead, at the Masked Dragon.

Ne-Chanz and Shima spent the week healing up. Shima brewed a poison and staked out his prey, a young woman named Cassilda. He learned she was the sister of Arulia and seemed relieved to learn this. He told Arulia everything, and she furiously told him off, warning him to stay away from her and her family. He and Ne-Chanz head back to the sewer to continue trying to clear it out. Shima confesses to the minotaur what happened with Arulia, and also that he is cursed by the high priestess and feels it getting stronger each day that he fails to carry out his mission. They return to the room that was full of rats, but Shima is unable to unlock the door there. So they cross the bridge instead. Shima unlocks the door to the north and hears voices up ahead.

Haahqae asks Miriam if she is looking for work. As they are talking, Gobax and Arulia enter and gesture to him. He decides to go and speak with them. He tells them what happened to Ismene, although he leaves out that he is the one guilty of the crime. He then goes to tell Miriam and Jaymes about the meeting, asking for their help.

Kendra heads to the parade, a bit late. It can't start without her, though. Once she takes her seat on one of the main floats, the parade begins. It goes well enough, but then they reach the marketsquare and she leaves the float to climb up on a stage and give a speech. She speaks of Haven and what it means to her. However, during the speech, someone attacks. Bottles of explosive oil rain down on the audience, killing several. One almost hits Kendra, but she catches it. Then several fire snakes start attacking the crowd. Kendra quickly leaps into action.

Tulbas tries to signal to Selowen to cast a sleeping spell on Jinali. When her back is turned, Selowen does so, knocking Jinali out. But it takes a lot out of Selowen, who is still wounded. He decides his top priority should be to get her to safety.

Arulia and Gobax arrive at the Masked Dragon. They see Haahqae speaking with two humans--a broody looking man and a redhaired woman. They tell him about the meeting and ask if he wants to come. Gobax also offers to help him find Ismene if he agrees to help. But first, Gobax asks if Miriam and Jaymes would want to come, too.

Shima sneaks closer to hear the voices. He overhears a kapak speaking with a man in a hood about taking down any organized crime in the city. After they leave, Shima informs Ne-Chanz and then picks the south door. Shima sneaks in and finds a bunch of giant rats and two osquips. He swings at one, missing, and then scurries back to Ne-Chanz so they can bottleneck them by the door.

Haahqae tries to explain the job to Miriam and Jaymes with limited success. When he is on the verge of tears, Gobax and Arulia walk over to fill in the details a little better. However, Miriam is not impressed with the lack of a real plan and Jaymes is worried there is no guarantee they'll be paid. Both turn down the job. Haahqae agrees to go scout out the warehouse, though, so he, Arulia and Gobax head there. He immediately recognizes it as the warehouse where the Darewind cult used to squat in. Haahqae sneaks in and looks around, finding the place empty. But he does discover some footprints in the dust on the floor, suggesting two human women came in, paced around for a bit, and then left. At the same time, Arulia and Gobax circle around the place and Arulia pulls off a tree branch to use as a club. She and Gobax discuss some ideas, including just turning Shima into them or having Haahqae follow them back home afterward.

Kendra manages to take out two of the snakes, but one bites her and she falls to the ground, paralyzed. She's saved at the last minute from the others by a mysterious cloaked archer on a rooftop who runs off a moment later. Some baaz show up and carry her away. She loses consciousness and when she comes to, she's in one of the guest rooms at the prefect's mansion. He enters and asks her how she feels. He informs her that the trap was a success. Some mercenaries hired by the church have caught the rebel priest and are escorting him to the temple. He suggests Kendra take the rest of the day off. When she steps outside, she finds a mob of people wanting to see the 'Hero of Haven.' An armed escort of kapak have to walk her home, as a result. When she is safe inside at home, the kapak remain outside to guard the place. Sadron is relieved to see her, having been the cloaked man that saved her earlier.

Ne-Chanz and Shima continue fighting the giant rats and osquips. Eventually they defeat them and move on.

Haahqae and Gobax agree with Arulia's plan. They wonder how long they have to wait for the meeting, not realizing they missed it hours ago. At that time, they see a big crowd approaching. Questioning a local, they learn that Yvette and Xyleena (along with Burzan and Raena) set a trap using the Hero of Haven (Kendra) as bait. The rebel cleric (Delharn) attacked her and they managaed to capture him. They were now escorting him, along with a dozen baaz, to the temple for interrogation and to receive their reward. Gobax is stunned, but Haahqae is annoyed. Gobax runs after the procession, then past it, getting ahead of them. Arulia sits down, defeated and Haahqae introduces her to Miracle. Haahqae then realizes Gobax is up to something, and hurries after him. But Arulia just goes home. Haahqae makes himself invisible and joins the crowd. He tries pickpocketing a baaz for a key, but just gets some coin instead. Meanwhile, Gobax finds a hiding spot and starts preparing spells--Fire Trap, Magical Stone, and Glyph of Warding.

Kendra chastizes Sadron for risking his life like that, but he points out it all worked out and he got away without being seen in the chaos. Kendra decides to stay in for the night, not wanting to be mobbed by locals. They talk of the rebels, whether they actually exist or not, and whether the old gods returning will be on Takhisis' side or not.

Ne-Chanz and Shima find another bridge that leads to another locked door. Ignoring it, they head back the way they came and try the hall to the west, finding another door there. Opening it, they discover another hallway with another door. From that door, they discover a new section of the sewers to explore. They decide to continue here before moving on, though, and return across the bridge. Once there, four skeletons emerge from the sewage and attack them.

Gobax uses a Hold Person spell to freeze Yvette, Xyleena and Raena, as well as one baaz, and then throws the magical stones at the half-ogre, but all three miss. The baaz rush him, and one of them triggers the glyph on the ground, but it does not kill him. Haahqae tries to help by casting a Scare spell in the chaos. He also tries several cantrips, trying to distract the draconians. Gobax then approaches Delharn and throws his trapped oil flask at Burzan, shielding the dwarf from all damage when it explodes. Gobax then spends the next few rounds keeping the half-ogre and the draconians busy. Haahqae, still invisible, tries to force feed Delharn his potion of invisibility without saying anything. Thinking he was being attacked, Delharn fights back and negates the invisibility. Shortly after, Burzan knocks Delharn out. Haahqae runs off and Gobax tries to, and fails, to escape the baaz (they are too quick for him). They chase him into the Happee Ohgr, where Gobax tries (and fails) to convince the goblins inside that the baaz are attacking all goblins. He makes for the back room, but the baaz suddenly stop chasing him and retreat from the tavern. This is because they have called in one of the red dragons. Just as Gobax escapes through a window, the entire building is vaporized by flame. The soldiers think Gobax is dead, so he staggers back to the High Hand in a daze. Haahqae, meanwhile, heads to the temple to warn the high priestess that Yvette, Xyleena, Burzan and Raena are not to be trusted. The high priestess scoffs at this, accusing Haahqae of just whining for not being as successful and sends him on his way.

Kendra and Sadron talk about how things might have been different between them if different choies had been made. Despite their efforts to keep them in check, it's clear both still have strong feelings for the other. Kendra eventually gives in to her feelings for Sadron, even though doing so betrays her husband.

Ne-Chanz and Shima fight off the skeletons. They succeed in destroying them, but Shima is knocked out in the process. After biding his wounds, Ne-Chanz drags the dwarf back up to the surface.

[JadedDM]

Chapter 14:
Darkest Hour

On the morning of Autumn Dark 4th, each of the PCs wake up. Haahqae had spent the last week fretting over Ismene and trying to figure out how to rescue her. Kendra's whirlwind romance with Sadron had fallen apart and the two were distant now. Tulbas was still at the Tower of Wayreth. Grubnick spent the week trying to figure out where Delharn was being held. And Shima spent the time spying on Arulia.

Haahqae miserably goes down to the common room for breakfast. He decides he wants to scout out the temple and the prefect's mansion. Miracle is against both of these ideas, as she views them as too dangerous. He goes to get a bath while explaining why it was important to find Ismene. He makes himself invisible and heads to the prefect's mansion, peeking through all the windows. He spots Kendra and Norris in one room, and a few other trade guild members in the others. But no sign of Ismene.

Kendra wakes up alone and finds Sadron sleeping on the couch. After making breakfast and cleaning up, she heads out. She goes to retrieve her masterwork armor from the armorer. It's well made, but it makes it clear she works for the Dragonarmy. She heads to the prefect's mansion and Tethys has her put it on. He decides she should be the one to execute Delharn. What's more, he wanted her to do so this very evening. Tethys decided he would execute Gregeddin, as well, while he was at it. Kendra asks to speak with Norris and Tethys allows it. Norris doesn't look so great after a month in captivity. Kendra apologizes, as she had not been to see him at all in that time.

Tulbas ties up Jinali and loots everything she is carrying, which weighs him down a bit. The two then head down to the next level of the tower. They come across a large room that was clearly the sight of a big fight. There were numerous bodies about. Tulbas hears groaning and realizes one of them is still alive. It turns out to be Magnus, badly wounded. Tulbas instantly kills him with the wand of magic missiles, which causes the wand to fall apart in the process. He then attempts to loot every body present, but there is way too much gear for him to carry. And he has no idea what any of it does.

Gobax and Shima met up at the High Hand when getting breakfast. Shima insisted on buying, to pay back Gobax for loaning him coin (although this never actually happened). The two talk a bit about what they are up to. Afterward, they go for a walk. Shima explains he took a job with Ne-Chanz to find out where Xyleena and Yvette are hiding (which Gobax already knows). He also tells him about the job he took for the temple for healing and how he's cursed now for not going through with it. He also claims (erroneously) that the church confiscated his weapons. Gobax tries to tell him about the renegade cleric that was captured, but Shima keeps getting confused, thinking first that the cleric was of Takhisis and then thinking he followed a dwarven deity. Shima then hands Gobax a handful of coins for no apparent reason. Gobax asks Shima if he knew the local sewers well. Shima explained he was a wayfinder, so that he did. He knew of a way into the sewers that was not visible to the patrols and checkpoints, but needed permission first.

Haahqae does some searching around the mansion, even going so far as to scale up onto the roof. He finds an entrance in the chimney, but realizes his climbing spell won't last long enough for him to exit the same way. So he decides to give up and go bother Yvette and Xyleena instead. Just as he's about to leave, though, the front door opens and the butler tells the guards that the execution is going forward today. Concluding they were speaking of Ismene, Haahqae hurries off to the market square to see if she's there now. However, the soldiers have not even begun working on the gallows yet. So instead, he heads for the Old Fort to see if she's there. Miracle tries several times to get him back on track, but he dismisses her and does his own thing.

Kendra fills Norris in on all that has transpired over the last month. It's clear Norris is starting to fall apart from the stress and loneliness of being locked up. Kendra then goes to speak with Tethys again, to learn more details about the execution she's about to perform.

Tulbas is interrupted when Jinali returns, quite angry and ready to fight. The two engage in a magic duel. Tulbas tries to reason with her, but she's consumed with hate--much like he himself was when he faced Magnus. In the end, he manages to knock her out.

Shima heads to the Grinning Goat to speak with the woman who originally employed him. He asks if he can bring a friend to help with the job since Felran is dead and Ne-Chanz has gone missing. Reluctantly, she agrees to meet this person, so Shima fetches Gobax. Neither does a very solid job of selling her on the idea. In fact, the encounter ends with her firing Shima and warning neither to speak a word of the job. Despite being fired and having no need to finish the job anyway (the payment has no value to him and never did), he decides he's going to continue it regardless.

Haahqae is eventually convinced by Miracle to return to the mansion and search for her there. The front door opens and Kendra exits, which gives Haahqae a chance to slip inside while still invisible. He starts with the west wing. He finds an expansive library, and is tempted to remain and see what books its offers, but instead finds a locked door that leads to a stairwell upstairs, and follows that instead.

Kendra is surprised when the prefect offers her a new promotion and a chance to live in the mansion with him as his personal bodyguard. She is reluctant, because she doesn't want to abandon the jewelry store. Tethys offers her a deal. He will release Norris if she agrees to take his new job. Kendra accepts. However, Tethys will only release Norris if the execution goes well. So she heads down to the market square to make sure everything is in order. There, she encounters Pen and fills him in on the execution. Pen, in turn, tells her about the schism in the thieves' guild between two factions--one that wants to fight against the occupation and one that wants to continue business as usual.

Tulbas goes to check on Selowen, but everything around him vanishes. Everything had been part of his Test, and he now stood before the Council of Three and Magnus (alive and well) to be judged. The Council of Three were mostly worried he might decide to go renegade at some point. He manages to convince them of his loyalty, but they are uncertain which Order to place him in. He ultimately decides on joining the Order of Nuitari, even though doing so will mean forsaking his people and homeland forever. Ladonna gives him black robes and a magical dagger. Magnus then leads him back to his room. Once there, he reminds Tulbas of how foolish it would be to move against him, especially if he wants to continue living in Haven.

Gobax and Shima discuss what to do now. Gobax wonders if the sewer could be used to bypass the guard checkpoints and patrol. Shima offers to show him a way down there. They head to the warehouse, but Shima finds the sewer entrance now has a padlock on it. After picking it, he also discovers that their weapons (and Felran's body) are missing. He does not mention this to Gobax, though. Rather, the two scout around the warehouse and find an old table leg and some rocks to serve as makeshift weapons. They descend into the sewers and Shima leads Gobax straight to where he left off, ignoring the earlier locked doors and gully dwarf settlement.

Haahqae discovers a secret room in the prefect's mansion that contains a locked and trapped chest. Unable to disarm the trap, he moves on and hears some guards talking about prisoners being transferred, but that one of them was still in the basement. Haahqae makes his way to the kitchen and follows a servant down to the basement. He finds a small dungeon there, and locked in one of the cells is Ismene. However, instead of approaching her, he instead tries to find a spot in the basement, outside the dungeon, to bed down for the night. Although in the process, he discovers an entrance to the sewer. Problem is, it's a long drop down and no viable way back up.

Kendra tells Pen about the deal she made with the prefect, then asks him to keep an eye on the crowd for her. When the soldiers arrive, they have not one but two prisoners--Gregeddin and the dwarf cleric. After giving a speech, she asks the prisoners for last words. The dwarf seems drugged and doesn't respond. Gregeddin believes this is all an act and she is going to free him during a timely distraction. Kendra beheads Delharn first. Realizing she was serious, Gregeddin pleads for his life. When it becomes clear she won't listen, he calls out to the audience that Kendra was no hero, but a pawn of the evil occupation. She cuts off his head anyway. Then she finds an alley to duck into to throw up. Afterward she reports to the prefect who agrees to free her husband later, but sends her home for now.

Tulbas finally returns to Haven with Magnus via a teleport spell. Magnus leaves to report in, which leaves Tulbas on his own.

Shima leads Gobax to the ladder he discovered last time, and this time climbs up it. He finds himself in a room where four armed men are playing cards. He asks Gobax if he wants to 'take them on' and the goblin is baffled at the idea of randomly attacking strangers for no apparent reason. He reminds Shima he just wants to find a way to the temple, so Shima shrugs and moves on. They try heading toward where they think the temple might be, encountering some locked doors on the way. Eventually they come across some giant rats and fight them off.

Kendra goes upstairs to find that Sadron is packing his things. He informs he that he sneaked out earlier and witnessed the execution. He accuses her of no longer pretending to work for the prefect, but actually doing his dirty work. Kendra makes no move to stop him from leaving. After he's gone, she tries to get some rest, but mostly just cries.

Tulbas decides to head to the Steel Tankard to check in on Haahqae. But he learns he is not in, and has not been all day. So Tulbas leaves a message for him. He then heads to the High Hand to speak with Gobax, but finds out he isn't in, either. So he leaves a message for Gobax, as well. He also learns from the innkeeper about the execution of Delharn and Gregeddin. After getting the details, he heads to the cemetery to speak with his uncle. Then he goes to visit Kendra and see how she is holding up. The two have a heartfelt discussion as Kendra confesses what she did and Tulbas tries to assure her that she did the right thing. Then he heads home to prepare dinner for Magnus. While eating, Magnus hints that the prefect may have a job for Tulbas someday soon.

Gobax and Shima defeat the giant rats. They move on and find another locked door. Shima picks the lock, but upon opening the door he finds a four way crossway with almost a dozen giant rats and osquips. He slams the door shut and relocks it and suggests they had back to the surface. They return to the High Hand and find everyone talking. Speaking to Green Tears, they learn of the execution and Gobax is so distraught he runs upstairs to his room to be alone.

[JadedDM]

Chapter 15:
Before the Dawn

It is Winter Night the 4th and everyone wakes up. Haahqae is at the Steel Tankard, Gobax and Shima are at the High Hand, Tulbas is at the mageware shop and Kendra is at the prefect's mansion.

Haahqae finds a note that someone had slipped under his door at some point the night before. The note claims to be from someone who also doesn't like the empire and asks him to meet at the Masked Dragon Inn. Haahqae destroys the note and wonders if it is a trap as he goes downstairs to grab some breakfast. He then heads for the Masked Dragon and asks the innkeeper if there's any work to be done. But the innkeeper claims to not know what he's talking about. So Haahqae sits down and orders a drink. Miriam then comes downstairs and sits at the table next to his, asking discreetly if he is alone. Haahqae confirms this, so she gives him instructions to head upstairs to a specific room and speak a specific password. He is let inside by a man he doesn't recognize and a woman with an eyepatch that he has seen at the Tankard. Neither gives a name, but the man reveals he is a cleric of Paladine. Despite this, Haahqae is skeptical that winning is even possible. The rebels tell him that the tide of the war is turning--they've intercepted Dragonarmy reports that claim that the elves, dwarves and Solamnics have teamed up to form the Whitestone Army and have found a new weapon--dragonlances--that are helping defeat the Dragonarmy. They believe that if they can assassinate Tethys, his forces will fall apart and the city can be freed. However, they don't want to share any details of their plans unless Haahqae agrees to join them. He does so, so they give him instructions to head to a building in the harbor district and give a special knock. Haahqae leaves, but on his way out of the inn, he runs into Gobax.

Kendra wakes up to someone knocking at her door. Still in her nightgown, she answers the door and a man she doesn't know, but seems vaguely familiar, enters her room. After a few moments, she realizes it is Tethys, in some kind of magical disguise to appear human. Tethys explains it's a new spell he's been working on, but sadly only lasts a short time. He also tells her how one of the captured rebels, a gnomish woman, managed to escape her cell a couple of months back. He also tells her he has a job for her, and if she is successful, he will agree to marry her now that her marriage to Norris has been annulled and he was freed. This will make Kendra a governess and let her rule the city by his side. Kendra is flabbergasted and isn't sure how to answer yet. She agrees to go to his meeting and he leaves. She gets dressed and goes downstairs to find a group of people, including Tulbas.

Tulbas makes breakfast and asks Magnus if he has any jobs for him. Magnus replies that the prefect wants them for a job and they will leave immediately. After arriving at the prefect's mansion, they enter a large room where a group of people are already waiting, as well as Tethys. Among them is Kendra. Tethys announces he wants the group to work together to take down the resistance. The team introduces themselves. Aside from Magnus, Tulbas and Kendra, there is also Raena, Burzan, Yvette, Xyleena and Nora--who is now a cleric of Takhisis and still bearing the horrible burns she received from Verminaard when Darewind died. Tethys explains to them that they need to interrogate the innkeeper of the High Hand, who he believes has ties to the rebels. Tulbas asks to speak with Kendra and Magnus in private, and suggests they ditch the others. However, Magnus points out that they are under orders to work together.

Gobax wakes up in a stupor, having spent the past two months in a deep depression. He finds there is a note that someone had slipped under his door waiting for him. The note claims to be from someone who also doesn't like the empire and asks him to meet at the Masked Dragon Inn. He heads downstairs and tosses the note in the fire.

Shima heads downstairs with nothing planned. When he spots Gobax, he approaches to greet him. The two shoot the breeze a bit, but it's clear Gobax isn't terribly interested in socializing. Gobax says he is going to take a bath at the Masked Dragon. Shima remains behind to drink.

Haahqae informs Gobax he managed to save Ismene on his own (Gobax had previously promised to help Haahqae in saving her). The two have an awkward conversation. Haahqae then heads to the docks. He follows the directions he was given and winds up at a dilapidated looking residence. Knocking, he gives the password and is let inside. There are four lightly armed humans there, and he is told his escort will arrive soon. When she does, he is surprised to learn it is Coroccoco. She comes up from a trap door in the floor, and escorts him down into the sewers.

Kendra suggests they use magic to find out what they need to know without violence. Magnus claims he does have a spell that lets him read a person's thoughts. Tulbas, however, wants to pretend to join the rebels and slowly get their trust. Magnus points out they don't have time for that, plus their group is well known and the rebels would recognize them all immediately. Tulbas then advocates for just spying on the innkeeper, waiting for the rebels to show up and start talking to her. Magnus points out that it's unlikely the rebels speak to her directly, in public. Tulbas relents and the group heads for the High Hand. Once there, Kendra intimidates the innkeeper, Green Tears, into going into the kitchen with the rest of them to talk. Nora remains outside, standing guard. Kendra and Tulbas try to convince Green Tears to tell them where the rebels are, saying they don't want anyone to get hurt. But she sees through them, pointing out that they are traitors to their own people, and that the army does nothing but kill. Magnus claims he has what he needs from her, so has Burzan snap Green Tear's neck, killing her. They then step outside. Magnus claims he knows exactly where the rebel base is, in the sewers. Tulbas recommends asking Shima to help.

After his awkward conversation with Haahqae, Gobax heads into the Masked Dragon and asks for a bath. Miriam meets with him, gives him the password and tells him to go upstairs, just like she did earlier with Haahqae. He recognizes the man's symbol of Paladine, and the man tells Gobax that Arulia spoke favorably of him before going into hiding. Gobax admits he is the apprentice of the cleric who attacked the marketplace, which greatly surprises the man and woman. He also tells them that the destruction of the Happee Ohgr was because of him, as well. They give him instructions on where to go and a password to speak, but Gobax goes to get a bath and then instead heads to the High Hand. He hears Green Tears scream in the kitchen, and watches as Kendra, Tulbas and the others step outside. He catches a glimpse of Green Tears' corpse, but says nothing. The group then leaves.

Shima sits around doing nothing.

Haahqae is brought into the resistance's secret lair, behind a hidden door in the sewers. He is not very impressed with what he finds, just a handful of warriors and mostly helpless refugees. He jumps right in, offering ideas and critiquing their plan to infiltrate the prefect's mansion and assassinate him. He also learns about the war effort, the Whitestone Council and the Dragonlances.

Kendra and Tulbas discuss the idea of recruiting Shima with Magnus. The mage is skeptical Shima would be of any benefit to them. But since both of them are into the idea, he allows it. The three re-enter the inn, and Tulbas sprints to the table as fast as he can and starts whispering to Shima and Gobax. Magnus becomes angry at this, and when he reaches the table, threatens Tulbas. Shima just gets up and walks away, annoying everyone. So the group leaves and rejoins the others. They head to the resistance house and burst inside. Kendra easily kills the four guards without breaking a sweat. They then find the trap door hidden on the floor, leading into the sewers.

Afterward, Shima meets back up with Gobax and the two follow after Kendra and her group.

William gets word that a group of imperials are on their way to attack them. He has Arulia and Coroccoco take the refugees somewhere safe, while all of their fighters stay behind to hold off the imperials. Shortly after the two groups meet, Tulbas initiates battle, and a fight breaks out.

Eventually, the Resistance is the victor. This is largely thanks to William throwing up a silence spell to stop Magnus from just dropping a fireball on them. Instead, the wizard gets caught up fighting with Gobax and Shima, who had followed them into the sewers. Kendra and Tulbas were captured, while the other Imperials were knocked out.

Gobax and Shima continue fighting with Magnus. The dwarf is easily dispatched, but the goblin is a little hardier. What's more, Gobax summons a Flame Blade, which allows him to bypass the protection of Magnus' Stoneskin. Frustrated that there isn't room to just drop a fireball or fire off a lightning bolt, Magnus instead makes himself invisible and takes off. Gobax revives Shima, but the dwarf goes down again when he tries to take Nora's medallion of faith, so Gobax revives him a second time. Gobax finds the secret door and he and Shima use it to escape before more guards arrive.

Meanwhile, the resistance uses a secret door to escape deeper into the sewers. After putting enough distance between them and the fight, they stop to rest and consider their options. Gobax and Shima catch up to them, and there is a confrontation. William knows all about Shima from Arulia, and believes he is evil. Likewise, Fiona thinks Gobax betrayed them, as not only did he not show up at the rendezvous point like he was told, but the imperials showed up shortly after he met with them. Strangely enough, both Kendra and Tulbas come to Gobax's defense, telling the truth of how they find out the resistance location. Shima, however, deflects their questions. In the end, they don't see much they can do but trust him for the moment.

Gobax tries to remove the spell on Shima, but fails. Shima then tries to leave, but Fiona won't let him as he knows too much to threaten their plans.