Citadel's Shadow II, Session 22

Citadel's Shadow II, Session 22 was a session of the Citadel's Shadow II campaign, played on 21 April 2019 (UTC) (20 April 2019 for some participants).
==Personnel==
===Game Master===
*GM: played by Alden Loveshade
===Player Characters===
*Fern the Siegemaster: inventive fox-person student played by Rail Runner
* Jinxi: androgynous jester with poppet Jack played by Michael Lee Viviano
=== Non-Player Characters ===
* Audrea Daleos: mage and helper at Maisson Boulavier
* Damiran Fiddler: violinist, singer, and acolyte
* Donghai Ping: grandmaster alchemist
* Eduard Porra: carriage driver
* Erisha: human girl
* Homlina: halfling girl, sister of Yaqui
* Juan de Fulmando: alchemist and swordwielder
* Kane Blackwhip: captain and warden of New Trynser City Municipal Jail
* Mikhail Sparski: sergeant of the Trynser City Municipal Force
* Yaqui: halfling boy, brother of Homlina
== Special ==
* Harbol the Horrible: humanoid axe wearer
== Events ==
=== 1742 ===
Ulthrane 26 (Lordsday) (continued): Damiran Fiddler, Fern the Siegemaster, and Jinxi were arrested at Twelve Rose Inn in the Uphill Ward of Trynser City for "treason against the Empire."  The arrest was by Sgt. Mikhail Sparski, carrying a sword and a pistol, with two males officers, one human and one dwarf, who had maces at the ready.  They were dressed as officers in the Trynser City Municipal Force.  Jinxi made an attempt to escape, but changed es mind.  They put their hands in the air as ordered, and surrendered their weapons.  As the trio had no idea why they were being arrested, and their experiences that day did not add up, Fern doubted whether the officers were even real police.  But Mamwucza Rosekeeper, innkeeper of the Twelve Rose Inn, then spoke to the sergeant by his name and rank, asking him to please take his business outside as it was disturbing the customers; he did so.
An officer found a locksmith set on Fern, which looked very suspicious.  The officer who checked Jinxi unintentionally released a large (although dead) rat Jinxi had hidden, and walloped it with his mace.  The officers found that Jinxi and Fern had no money on them, and Damiran had a quarter-crown; Fern had not know her money was gone.  Suspicious, the officers removed the trio's footwear, but still found no money.
Sgt. Sparski questioned the trio to record their name, age, sex, race, occupation, residence, and marital status.  He also told each of them, "If you confess now, it may go easier for you."  Fern didn't confess anything, but Damiran admitted he had been a cabin boy for pirates, although he said it wasn't his choice as he had been kidnapped.  The sergeant didn't get Jinxi's sex, but decided to get that later as Jinxi told him the whole story of Fern and Jinxi meeting with Master Donghai Ping, their travel with Damiran in a carriage, being robbed, putting the box they were guarding in an otherwise empty building, the driver leaving, and them going to Twelve Rose Inn.  It seemed to oddly fit what the sergeant already knew, and he decided to investigate the story as soon as possible.  The three prisoners were shackled together and taken by a four-horse wagon to The New Trynser City Municipal Jail, located in Inner Riverside Ward, which was the largest in Trynser City.
They met the warden, Captain Kane Blackwhip, and were put together in a cell next to that of Eduard Porra.  Eduard looked similar to the carriage driver they had traveled with, but not quite.  He accused them of stealing his wagon and his horses Taydee and Wind Breaker.  He claimed his carriage and horses had been stolen well before the carriage, driver by a different driver, had picked them up.  Suspicious of the three, Eduard asked them what they were supposed to have given their driver; Fern remembered it was a Lamadien coin, the gold doubloon.  According to Damiran, he and two others had been picked up by the other driver at Alexander's Forum.  The other two had carried a bag that contained the box that had the item they were guarding.  Then the two the box in the carriage, and got off of the carriage with the bag at St. Bassard's School and Home for Disadvantaged Youth.  Fern and Jinxi had then gotten in.
The driver said that was not all of the plan; for one thing, someone was supposed to ride up front with him at all times, and for another, they were to deliver the box to the Temple of Edyleine, not to a storage building.
Master Donhai Ping then approached their cells with an officer.  Considering what had happend to them, some of the incarcerated were suspicious of Master Ping.  But Ping said he was in charge of the operation, and had them let out.  They told Ping what happened, and Ping told Eduard his carriage and horses had been found.  Ping said he had to deal with paperwork related to their case, but that they should go as quickly as possible to find out what had happened to the box, which, after he made a slight slip, he admitted had contained the Globus Cruciger autem Dryas (Cross Globe of Yellow Mountain).  Jinxi became very interested in it when he learned it looked a little like a pineapple.  They saw Juan de Fulmando, who worked for Master Ping, and Audrea Daleos, who recently moved into Maisson Boulavier where Juan and, also as of recently, Jinxi lived.
Audrea (riding with the driver Eduard), Damiran, Fern, Juan, and Jinxi traveled with Eduard in his carriage.  They went to Twelve Rose Inn, and from there were able to retrace their path and get to the red brick building, located by a meadow, where they have put the box.  They found it was unlocked, and when opened, was empty.  Fern suspected the carriage driver they had ridden with had been there.  Fern tracked footprints, which led to tracks of a wagon, then followed those.
Jinxi approached two children, a human and a halfling, who playing in the nearby meadow where they had seen five boys playing earlier in the day.  Suddenly, something jumped out from the other side of the building.  It was humanoid, much taller than an average man, covered with hair, carrying two huge axes crossed on its back. And being was hideous. Both girls screamed.  Then the being then grabbed one of the children, the human girl, and picked her up.  Jinxi ran to kick the creature in the crotch, but the creature turned and looked at the group, and they all felt fear. Jinxi did a gallant, flying leap, right toward the creature...and collapsed.  Audrea also collapsed.  Damiran was stunned.  Fern, who had been further away, resisted, fast drew her knife, and ran to help.  Juan, who barely resisted, drew his sword and swiftly approached.  Eduard was on the other side, and did not see the being through the wagon.  The human girl, whose name was Erisha, said, "No, don't hurt Harbol! He's our friend!"  Harbol had put her on his shoulders.  The group's fear vanished.
Harbol, who introduced himself as Harbol the Horrible. laughed a lot, and apparently enjoyed scaring people, although the girls weren't afraid.  The other girl was a halfling named Homlina.  Jinxi was unhurt, but Audrea had a bruise that Juan treated.
While the sky was becoming dark as night was setting, Jinxi and Fern questioned the girls, who seemed to know nothing about the red building.  However, they learned Homlina's brother had been in the area earlier; Jinxi thought he might have been one of the boys who had been in the meadow when the group was there earlier with the box.
Damiran, Fern, and Jinxi went with Homlina to her nearby home in a halfling area.  They learned from Homlina's brother, who was named Yaqui, that he had been in a tree when he saw the carriage driver who had transported the box return in a wagon with two men.  They had a "big" wagon, whitish with brown trim pulled by four black horses.  Jinxi juggled for the kids.  The group learned the men had spoken of selling something at an oxen that was down in a well or well house; the group figured "oxen" was actually "auction."  The items seemed to include a "globus," some slaves, and jewelry.  With a gift of two of Jinxi's juggling balls and an offer to pet the fox lady, the group learned from Yaqui that the men spoke of a "peas word" or "pass weird" which was "purple cock's egg."  The brother and sister halfling were called inside by their mother.  (Citadel's Shadow II adventure 2019 04 20)
====== Copyright by Alden Loveshade ======
Category:Citadel's Shadow IIb