Session Sixty

The sixtieth session of the Adventures of the Dragon Crag was on 15th November 2023.
== Party Members Present ==
* Brandr Sigurdson
* Snorri Morgrimson
* Relnwe Adiath
* Professor Meino Osterhaus
* Aleksi Lehtonen
== Synopsis ==
=== Tracking Carts ===
We found ourselves in the Elixir Mixer, a tall, thin pub that overlooked Dmitri's North East Warehouse. We had rented the entirety of the top floor and our plan was to watch the coming and goings of carts to the warehouse to see if we could work anything out as to the destination or source of the goods. We had an inkling that there was something ilicit going on, perhaps to do with the smuggling of treasures taken from the Ruins through a secret entrance. From reading the ledger, we had gleaned that this warehouse took 'hauls' that they could either ship themselves, or, if they were more valuable, need to be sold using a fence. We watched the carts come and go, noting down their times. The (now armless) Professor managed to peak inside one using his invisibility spell, but all that it contained was food supplies. We worked out that the carts were taking regular goods to other warehouses around Deadgate at regular times of the day.
=== My Little Birds ===
Seeking further information on the carts, Aleksi went to see his friend Casimir at the Deadgate Orphanage. He hoped that Casimir could use the children as a web of spies around town. He arrived as the children were having their dinner while Casimir watched over them. They chatted briefly about Nikolai and our trip to the Badlands before Aleksi asked him to help us find the cart. Casimir said that he would have a look into it and that he would send us a letter if he found anything useful.
=== An Irregular Cart ===
In shifts, we watched the warehouse all day and all night, noting down their regular comings and goings. There were three carts a day: morning, noon, and afternoon. On the third day, a cart appeared from inside the warehouse. This was strange as a cart usually arrived at that time. This one was notably smaller than the others and was completely covered. Rel managed to lipread the overseer and deduced the direction it would be going in. At a safe distance, we followed. It twisted and turned down various streets before turning into a dark alley thatit barely fit down. It came to a halt under an arch. The Professor went invisible and found a hiding spot in a small nook in the alley from which he could here the cart drivers talk about a handover. The rest of us, taking spots outside the alley, saw a contingent of twelve dwarfs appear on the street and march down the alley. The dwarfs took possession of the cart after talking about the next meet-up and the human cart drivers left. Then, the dwarfs left with the cart and we followed at a safe distance. It went up into Skalf's Hold, into the foreign quarter, and to a warehouse next to the Golden Mug. Snorri remembered that we had once tried to gain access to an adjacent building, but it was passworded. Aleksi scoped the joint. There were only two doors from which dwarfs came and went, but there was a chimney.
=== A Cunning Plan ===
We went to the Inn Way Too Deep to discuss out plan. Clearly, Dmitri and the Meanest Dwarf, aka Harlok Bolgarson, were in cahoots. Dmitri was shipping him illicit goods, perhaps goodies from the deep. We needed into the warehouse to see for ourselves. Thus, we concocted a cunning plan. We would wait for nightfall. Then, Brandr and Snorri would kick off a great hootenanny at the Golden Mug, too good for any nearby dwarf guard to pass up. Meanwhile, Aleksi and Rel would gain access to the warehouse via the chimney.
=== Bad Santa ===
Brandr and Snorri began to buy rounds at the Golden Mug, cooled by Brandr's frosty hammer. A dwarf stuck up Please Stop Me Now on the saxophone and the party began to pick up momentum. Meanwhile, Aleksi and Rel used a grappling hook to get up onto the warehouse roof before climbing down the chimney. On his way down, Aleksi dislodged some soot and extinguished the fire at the bottom. He heard a voice come from the room below. Coming out of the fireplace into a now pitch black room, Aleksicharged at the voice, bringing his axe down on the victim who screams in agony and falls to the floor. Lighting a torch, Aleksi saw that he had mangled the arm of a dwarf. He then jammed the torch in the wound, knocking the dwarf out fully. Rel joined him from the fireplace.
=== Wanna Party with Bruce the Big? ===
At the Golden Mug, the party was in full swing. Dwarfs were letting their beards down and the Professor had donned the appearance of Bruce the Big. The Professor, now Bruce, went to pound on the door of the building attached to the warehouse and invite them to the party. Once they hear about the magic hammer cooling drinks, six dwarfs leave their post and join in with the fun.
=== The Worst Robbers Ever ===
Back in the warehouse, Rel and Aleksi made it to the storeroom proper. Here, they found many locked crates as well as a locked metal gate protecting more crates and boxes They found no ledger. Stacked around were many weapons, pieces of armour, and many different tools. Rel took the mining pick Snorri had given her and smashed open the gate lock. It took a while, but she evetnually got in. The first crate they opened contained a beautiful helmt made of a metal they had never seen before. It was covered in ornate runes that Rel copied down. Popping open more boxes, they found a belt studded with gems, gaudy engraved tankards, and other more expensive items. There were dozens of crates in the warehouse. There was also a trapdoor in the corner of the room that revealed a tunnel that led to the attached building. Passing through tunnel into the now unguarded bulding, they found more expensive items: weapon, armour, jewels, and ornaments all locked away in display cases. Taking absolutely nothing, and leaving the joint in a right state, they made their escape back up the chimney.
=== To War! ===
We met up in Our House after the break-in and Rel revealed the runes she had seen on a helmet and sketched. Brandr and Snorri were immediately enraged, stamping their feet, pulling at their beards, scribbling down grudges, and howling. These were Forgekeeper runes. They swore on their ancestors that justice would be brought tonight and that they would not rest until they or the Meanest Dwarf, aka Harlok Bolgarson, were dead and the ancestral heirlooms were reclaimed. They told Rel, Aleksi, and the Professor that this was something that they must do and that the others need not become embroiled in this ancestral grudge likely only to end in death. Rel, Aleksi, and the Professor said they would stand with the dwarfs. Fine armour was sombrely donned and weapons were hefted on shoulders, a Forgekeeper banner was created to march under, and three letters were written. The first was to Brandr and Snorri’s grandpa in Karaz-a-Karak telling him of the crimes against the Forgekeeper name that Bolgarson had committed and telling him that we would see them avenged or die trying. The second was to Thane Kragdin Rorganson telling him that we have evidence of Bolgarson’s crime, but that he now must die by the hammers of the Forgekeepers. The third letter we sent to the Behram and the Stoutbeards asking them to repay our favour and help us to retrieve our family heirloom. We told them to meet us immediately after receiving the letter at the Golden Mug and adjacent warehouse where they may find us embroiled in a fight to the death. The Forgekeepers call for aid! We gave these letters to the Professor to take on his shadowstead with great haste. The rest of us, now prepared to battle only an hour or two after returning from the break-in, marched again towards the Golden Mug. The time for sneaking into warehouses was past, the time for storming them and killing anyone who got in our way was nigh.
== Next Session ==
Session Sixty One
== Previous Session ==
Session Fifty Nine
Category:Session