The Hellions - Episode Four

==Arc Synopsis:==
Inzet, the capital city of Mowen's Borderlands province. Welcome to the Vanguard. An order of heroic Knights whose sole purpose is to protect the Trinity Kingdoms from threats beyond the ability of normal mortals. You are part of the Hellions Faction of the Vanguard, who patrol the wastes for the accursed dread hounds. These fiendish monsters have no tactics, no sentience, never tire, and are always hungry for mortal flesh. Until today, when something changed...
==Episode Summary:==
Fall 1217. In this adventure, Kell's Hells met with an informant regarding stolen goods, and start scouting a nobles house for clues into who might be behind the weapons crates and dread hounds.
This is the fourth adventure in the The Hellions Arc
==Commanding Officer:==
Mazz (Massidy) Hebner – Second-in-Command, Vanguard: Hellions Faction.
==Vanguard:==
*Nevelle Szmart - Tiefling Undying Warlock
*El Cangrejo – Crabfolk (Simic) Mastermind Rogue
*Dro Near’th - Drow Shadow Sorcerer
*Tyriel Criller – Human (Loxodon) Ancestral Barbarian
*Shepard Swiftfoot - Horned Halfing (Tiefling) Moon Druid
*Duvel Storm - Aarakocra Arcane Archer Fighter
==Adventure Debriefing:==
===Girls Just Want To Have Lunch===
While Duvel, Shepard and Tyriel maintained their distance, hidden in the trees, El Cangrjo, Nevelle and Dro approached the halfling and her attaché. Rilka lifted a hand to signal they should stop a several meters away. Through some clever repartee, Rilka revealed she stole the Etherite from Aradrine and sold it to the merchant lord Clyth Baltine at a discount. What reason Clyth had for wanting it, she did not know. She was also freelancing with an organization called The Ghosted Gifts, whose symbol is a seven-pointed star. With her new funds, The Spireling of Cebet was a possible way for her to relocate after she left Inzet. Rilka mentioned she'd considered stealing the Etherite back, but hasn't seen it since the sale. El C tricked her into revealing she had a party of five, and convinced her that he would perhaps retrieve the Etherite in order to gain leverage. In return for sharing some of it back to Rilka, she would craft fake invites to a party to be held at Baltine's Manor. Rilka mentioned she might also have one last piece of info he might want, should the Etherite heist be successful. After parting ways the team discussed more about the Etherite and it's uses; including it's "planar" affinity, it can help push or pull; and that the Righteous Wreckers use it to reseal Hell Gates. The "sting" operation completed they returned to Inzet. (and remembered to return the mounts!)
===Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me===
Back in Inzet, Sabine's team had returned from the Bluewoods after finding the remains of their former Striker. The Hellions Tower was abuzz with changing policies to prevent further intrusions from nefarious individuals. Hellion O.F. Troy became the new Striker for Sabines team.
After three days, party invitations from Rilka appeared in the Uncertainty Satchel carried by El C. The invites allowed for Bearer plus one armed retinue and up to two servants.
===Buy Me A Condo===
Taking a quick recon of Clyth Baltine's manor, 2 blocks from Constabulary, Duvel made note of 3 main floors, and a 5 floor tower. Wanting to know more, El C dressed as a construction contractor to deceive the Inzet Department of Planning and Design, and gathered the building plans of The Griffon's Oddities, Clyth's manor, and nearby sewer entry points. The Planning Administrator mentioned undead under the city had mostly been cleared previously by mercenaries. (see Idolators_Under_Inzet) The building layout was discussed, including the common rooms, the upper rooms; and the cellar which connected to the sewers. Mysteriously, there was a section on the plans which showed no room to be present, but El C's wealth of knowledge made him suspicious that there should be.
The squad discussed at length possible ways to assign members to roles to play in order to attend the party and splitting up to search the manor. In order to make sure that the sewer would be a usable escape route, they decided to scout through the sewers.
===Take Me Down===
Down in the sewers, the team was surprised to find a skeleton on patrol with an odd black blob riding inside it. Not sure what to make of it, Nevelle attempted to communicate to no avail. Dro scanned the blob's thoughts and found it taking notes of what it saw, including Kell's Hells! Shepard was unnerved by the unnatural entity, and unable to leave it be. The party decided that at least the blob should be eliminated. Tyriel attempted to disarm the skeleton of it's shield. Nevelle called down Sacred Flames upon the blob. Attempting to remove the blob from the skeleton, Dro cast Infestation. El Cangrejo finally managed to pull the blob out with his pincers, and stepped away. El C held the blob out away from himself; Duvel took the opportunity and slayed the blob with a well placed arrow. Upon death the blob let lose a deathly howl and a telepathic message to it's creator. Now freed of it's charge, the group tried to persuade the skeleton to stand down. Shepard offered an "olive branch" in the form of a druidcraft bloomed hazel nut, and Dro tried to persuade it, but neither was successful. Tyriel saw the skeleton still intended to continue fighting, slamming into it with an axe. Nevelle realizing her attempts to speak to the creature were fruitless, hit the skeleton with a Sacred Flame. Dro tried to blast it with a Fire Bolt, while covering his eyes, but his shot went wide. El C with his rapier hit the skeleton on a glancing blow. Duvel chipped at the skeletons bones with a shot from his bow. Shepard missed with his own Fire Bolt. Turning, the skeleton slammed it's morning star into El C, but the damage was cushioned by the spiritual ancestors of Tyriel. Returning blows, Tyriel slashed the skeleton with both axes. As it died, the skeleton exploded into bone fragments that sprayed across the closest Hellions.
Tyriel and Shepard caught a faint whiff of sulfur and bat guano. Reacting quickly, Nevelle herded the squad away and down a sewer tunnel. Almost instantly the previous room was flooded by the biggest Fireball anyone in the group had ever seen. El C had grabbed the kite shield off the fallen skeleton and used it to help provide additional cover; while Dro used his ability to manipulate flames to keep the party from being engulfed. The walls shimmered almost glass-like from the intense heat. Hidden in the corridor, they observed the mage inspect where the blob and skeleton had died, saying to himself "guard functions properly, now where could they have gone." Not spotting them, the mage Uloreen teleported away. 
===Gotta Boogie===
Continuing with their scouting mission, the squad found the access stairs that led up to the manor's cellar. Using El C's silvered mirror, Duvel looked down the cellar's hallway. Sneaking in, the group was almost spotted by a servant bringing a cask down into a storage room. In order to make it easier, Dro cast Minor Illusion to make the hall appear empty. El C found a secret lever hidden as a Continual Flame torch on the wall at the end of the hall.
Inside they found a large stone structure around a fountain, a lit brazier, a work table, and ten stone stools along the edges of the room.
El C examined a door across the room, and found it double locked. Opening her senses to the Thread, Nevelle saw a fiendish aura from the fountain, and an abjuration aura from the locked door. With Fox's Cunning placed upon him from Dro, El C attempted to open the magically trapped lock. Even with the nimblest of claws, he was unsuccessful, triggering the trap. From the fountain, a grinding crunch followed by movement as arms and a head of a Stone Defender rose above them.
==Conclusion==
Caught between a rock and a lock, what will El C do? find out next time on The Hellions, Thursdays on Embrel's favorite network.
==Rewards==
*Building Plans, Griffon's Oddities and Clyth Baltine's Manor
*A Morningstar and Kite Shield
*Their Very LIVES
Hellions - 04