Session 4: The one where Elias doesn’t sign an NDA (November 9, 2022)
Last session, our heroes defeated the remaining burglars in Potion Pitstop. Recovering from a surprise crossbow bolt to the chest, Rormir one-shotted his assailant, only to be knocked out when another burglar stabbed him. Heph killed that burglar by Catapulting an inkwell, and Elias finished the final one with an expert pitch, heavy porcelain mask to face.
Heph reunited with his thankful parents upstairs, but something was amiss. Rormir noticed a pair of eyes peering out from a trashcan across the street. The party went to investigate, only for the trashcan to suddenly sprout legs and run away. They pursued, but lost it in the winding alleys of Ivalgo.
Anxious to make the clothing sale at the Capitale Market, the party headed south and merged in with the eager crowds surrounding a myriad of colorful tents. Rormir purchased a Hat of Vermin, which can summon three bats, rats, or frogs per day; and a Heart of the Sleeveless, which changes color with the wearer’s emotions. Elias got a Cloak of Many Fashions, giving him the ability to change the color and style of his cloak at a whim. And Heph got a Seat Belt, which should give him a nice place to rest after a long day of adventuring.
To help afford his new cloak, Elias sold four of the six golden rings they had taken off the burglars. The merchant he sold them to seemed familiar with the hawk emblem on the rings, saying it was the craft mark of a jeweler in Arkos, a city just south of here. He also says the jeweler has a specific clientele, and so it’s unusual to see someone in possession of one of their creations.
A day of shopping done, the party regroups. At this point Heph receives a message from his parents, informing him that the city guard is at Potion Pitstop and wants to talk to him and his friends.
- The party heads back to Potion Pitstop
- Two guards are outside, and after saying something to those inside they let the party enter
- They are met by two more guards and Constable Haxa, a tall broad orcish woman with a consistent smile on her face
- She greets the party friendlily, calling them heroes and saying they saved the
shop
- She asks the party to sit in three chairs across from one she sits in
- A guard hands her three sacks, and she hands one to each member of the party
- Inside each are 10pp
- She goes over the story of the burglary with them to check everything out
- The party tells her about the masks and daggers on the burglars
- Rormir lets slip that they had rings, and we took and sold some
- Heph Messages him to try and stop him from talking about the rings, and he walks it back, saying there were only two and they sold one
- The party makes some bad deception checks convincing the guard they told the whole story about the masks and rings
- Haxa then says she’s all done here, and it would be great
if the party followed her to the Literi family manor
to receive official congratulations from Governor Literi
himself
- Heph does a history check and while he doesn’t know specific instances of this happening, he can imagine in a situation like this a personal congratulation could make sense
- He also realizes that it’s unusual for a burglary to go down without city
guard involvement
- Ivalgo prides itself on the quick response of its guard
- Especially a group in dark cloaks and masks would usually be tracked by the guard as they moved through the city to Potion Pitstop
- Haxa starts getting impatient about heading to the Literi family manor
- Elias asks to be able to pick up a nicer cloak on the way, and
Constable Haxa allows it as long as another guard, Frank,
accompanies him
- The two of them head off
- While walking down the Leading Stair, Elias
tries to slide down the broad railing
- He fails and slides over the edge
- He then misty steps to behind Frank, who doesn’t notice
- Elias flips his blue Cloak of Many Fashions to red, and makes his way back to intercept the party
- Frank runs further down the stairs looking for Elias, thinking he fell and hit the ground
- Back at Potion Pitstop, Haxa gets impatient waiting for Elias and decides to lead everyone to the manor
- Elias rejoins the party but watches from a distance, noticed only by Rormir
- The party arrives at the manor, and notices that there are guards posted around it as usual
- Heph and Elias sync up over Message about what happened with Frank
- Heph and Rormir have heard the names “Frank” and “Elias” come up in conversations between the guards, indicating they still notice their absence
- Heph and Rormir are led in the front door of the
manor
- The entryway is grand, with marble tile floors, a chandelier, and two marble staircases curving up to a second floor landing on the opposite wall
- There’s a door on the landing and a door to their right
- Guards take up positions along the walls, and they wait a couple minutes
- A thin, dour man with a droopy mustache comes out of the door to the right
- He sets down a folding table and puts a couple scrolls on the table
- Heph reads them carefully and they seem to be NDAs regarding the
events of the burglary
- Rormir intuits that there’s clearly something the people here want to hide
- Heph signs his scroll and tells Rormir to sign his, which he does
- The man returns through the door to the right
- Constable Haxa then says she’ll lead the party to the governor, and brings them out the front door and starts walking around the manor building
- Elias casually appears near the group, and guards grab him and bring him around the building with everyone else
- They open a door in the back of the building, and it leads to a hallway that
Heph realizes are servants’ quarters
- He tries to struggle but is grappled and carried
- Rormir escapes the grip of the guards and rushes ahead into the
hallway
- He opens a few doors
- Most are empty of anything but a few beds and some storage chests
- The rooms are also filthy, with only thin wooded slats over dirt providing a floor
- Behind one door are two servants sitting at a table and drinking
- They look surprised, but Rormir moves on
- We will roll initiative next time