Session Notes for 2005-01-20

550 Facing Grilsha and Lucan

We ride onward. Near evening we come to Vathirond, a walled city. The guards are closing the gate for the night. They let us in and recommend the Scarlet Brigand, an inn that is open late for travelers. A boy offers to stable our mounts.

We head in. A warforged welcomes us and offers rooms.

Eight chats up the warforged. He was a Brellish front-line warrior. The warforged finds Eight's construct dog fascinating.

Lin and I chat with anyone who is willing to talk. I buy a few people some drinks to loosen their lips.

A Karnathy tradesman tells me that the Karnath government has been working to crack down on the Emerald Claw. There are open recruitment drives for the Claw. There have been protests against the government because ex-soldiers are having problems getting benefits.

A fellow who passed through Thrane recently says a Knight of the Silver Flame has been in Vathirond. The knight is looking for someone who matches the description of Grilsha. The knights often act as bounty hunters. He saw the knight earlier today.

Lin speaks with a man from Aundair. While he was purchasing new horses, a tall man and a red-headed woman arrived and sought to purchase mage-bred horses. None were available. They purchased a team of four normal horses and left several hours ago.

We discuss how to move forward. We decide to rest for the night and head out at first light.

April 20th

On the way out of town we ask the gate guards about our "friends" who may have already left town. We learn that Grilsha and Lucan left riding horses the previous afternoon. They had two spare horses. Blast.

We ride onward.

Near noon a knight catches up to us. He hails us and asks to speak on foot. He is wearing plate mail and has a massive sword slung across his back. He asks if we're the party from Sharn and if we've faced Grilsha and Lucan in combat. When we confirm that, he announces that he is sworn to destroy anyone who has been in contact with "the darkness."

Perhaps he's paranoid that we've been infected with the vampire's touch. I point out that I would never suffer undeath in our group. He glares at me, then attacks me. His mighty blade cuts me badly. I fall back and attempt to stop him, but he shrugs off my attempt to hold him magically. The party attacks, but the knight presses against me. Another strike knocks the wind out of me and I collapse. Lin pours a potion of healing down my throat, I fall back and heal myself further. Meanwhile Red and Eight's construct dog continue to battle the fanatic knight. The knight invokes the Silver Flame, but Red shrugs off the effect.

I attempt to magically scare him off, but he seems unaffected. His fanaticism has made him strong, if unyielding. He magically heals himself. Lin continues to fire bolts at him while Red cuts him. The construct dog harries him. I summon a magical weapon to attack him.

Red strikes the final blow, dropping the knight. I stabilize his wounds with a minor prayer.

We strip him down. He's got the plate mail, a holy symbol, a magical two-handed sword, two potions of cure light wounds, and a tract of the Silver Flame's edicts. The sections about the evils of undead is circled. He also bears a letter. It is from a higher up in the clergy. It instructs "Sir Edward of the Flame" to head to Sharn to track down the creature once known as Lucan. The letter is addressed to Edward in Delayer in Thrane.

600 Knight of the Silver Flame

Lin ties Edward up with shreds of his own clothes. I heal him and we question him. He's a fanatic and is horrified that I've invoked the councilor's blessing . His views of my faith are confused and wrong. He was trained in the countryside, perhaps his fanaticism does not reflect the organized religion proper.

Lin sets up his binding to slowly loosen over several hours. I warn him that next time I might not heal him. Or I might. We leave him, nearly naked.

April 22th

The next day passes quickly. The day after we arrive in Trolanport in Zilargo. It's near night. The guards ignore us as we head in to the south gate. It's a large city, maybe containing 70,000 souls. It's mostly gnomish, but all of the major races are present.

An enormous tower sits in the center of the city. It's the Tower of the Triumvarates.

We agree to make the inn the Lucky Stone our base of operations. Red and Eight will look for an information monger to get information on Lucan, Grilsha, and "Krell." They will also check around taverns around town. Lin and I will check the docks and dock taverns. We'll check the ship's registry for a ship by the name of "Krell." We'll all meet back at the Lucky Stone at the end of the day.

Red and Eight as directed to a changeling by the name of Jas who frequents the Haunted Werewolf tavern. Jas currently looks like a thin elven woman. For a handful of coin, she identifies an Aundarian diplomat, Neya Ir'Krell. Interesting. For another gold, they learn of a party at the Aundarian embassy the next night. Jas turns into a male dwarf and sends them off.

Lin and I learn from the harbor master there is no ship by the name Krell. We tavern crawl for information. We don't learn much about our targets. We do learn that there is a masquerade ball at the Audarian embassy. The gnome I'm talking to has one.

Lin takes the opportunity to pinch his invitation. It's an open invitation that allows guests.