Session 11 - Blood Ties: Part 1

Months before the companions of Three Mills departed to seek answers for the imbalance in nature, another adventure began in Victor.

Half-elf Bard Haevan Tyrios (PC of Justin) and half-elf Paladin Arindrake Brilthor (PC of Tib) are two of the few half-elves in Victor. Haevan, the son of a disgraced washerwoman turned prostitute, keeps company with Victor's underbelly and has recently become an initiate with the Baths of 1000 Reprieves. Arindrake, on the other hand, shadows the High Secretariat, who considers him a loyal lackey alongside the mute Sylvan Elf bodyguard Arrow.

Chance would bring Arindrake and Haeven together. Three months before the Festival of Excelsion, the villainous Maiquis of House Aleaundlin, High Secretariat of Victor's elven Magistrate summoned Arindrake with a task; to hire four Silver Daggers, an all elven mercenary outfit, and transportation to travel out of town early tomorrow morning.

Haeven, at the Baths, consulted with Billi, a human Coastlander prostitute. She mentioned that a half-elf street urchin, Mich, was looking for the bard. He found Mich in the back alley behind the Baths and Mich explained that Stiletto, the Victor leader of the Silver Daggers, was looking for him with work. Haeven found her at the Dirty Trout, a dockside basement tavern, with a number of other Silver Daggers including dark elf Rolen Nailo (PC of Kenny).

Stiletto explained that she had a fact finding mission for Haeven. A client was looking into a gaoler's connection to the human lord. Apparently the head gaoler of Victor was a regular patron to a female prostitute at the Baths. Haeven accepted and worked out the logistics with Stiletto when Arindrake walked in. While initially not allowing him past, Stiletto commanded her second in command, Milaendro, to let him pass and they hammered out the details, although she suggested he take Haeven as a dagger along with Rolen and two other mercenaries.

Arindrake secured a wagon for transportation in the morning while Haeven sought out Mich and his friend who were panhandling in the Plaza of the Strong, which led to a brief musical collaboration between urchin and former street urchin. Haeven hired on Mich and his friends to tail Arindrake, Rolen and Stiletto and report back, and the three set off on their mission. Haeven didn't realize that he was already being tailed by Rolen, who had overheard of his job for Stiletto.

Haeven continued on to the Baths seeking information and found Billi in the bathhouse's lobby. After conversing with her he noticed Rolen enter, looking out of place. He tasked Billi with diverting him before continuing on to find another woman with information. Billi tried her best to bring Rolen into the baths, but the dark elf pressed by her, telling her he knew what he was doing.

Haeven eventually spoke to Marro, who confirmed she had regular "transactions" with Eddison Lyrios, a piggish man and the head gaoler, and that he often boasted of the important work he did. She said he would probably be visiting that evening, and Haeven offered to "help" with Eddison. At that moment Rolen knocked a vase off a table, alerting Haeven that he was still being tailed, so he fled.

That evening Haeven found Eddison and Marro, and was unsuccessful at getting information from the man until he offered to join in free of charge. After a bit of "roleplaying" with Eddison as head gaoler and Marro and Haeven as his prisoners, a drunken Eddison revealed that he regularly sold off prisoners by the dozen to the steward of Victor, loading them into a cart and shipping them out of town. Haeven put up with a quick by disgusting evening with Marro and Eddison as thanks for his colleagues help.

The next morning the Silver Daggers, Arindrake, Haevan, Rolen, Arrow and Maiquis set out, Maiquis furious that Arindrake had hired an open wagon. The morning was quiet, but when they stopped for lunch Haeven and Rolen noticed someone standing off the road a distance behind them. They alerted the others, so Haevan and Rolen snuck into the woods, ambushing a Sylvan Elf woman, a scout of some kind. They downed her, but were accosted by another scout who seemed to retaliate, and Arindrake joined the fray, downing the second woman. He used his healing hands and brought her back, and threatened the life of the other woman if they didn't reveal why they were tailing the wagon. Terrified of the threat, she explained that they'd been tasked by Veit Rummenheim to simply tail Maiquis, and that the dwarf was investigating goblins in Victor, although she hadn't seen goblins in the city in a decade. She begged for the companions to spare their lives, that the two elves would flee to Elysium.

The three companions decided to bring the two women back to Maiquis. He asked if they'd gotten all the information they could from them, then commanded Arindrake to finish them off.

Arindrake favoured sparing the women and exacting payment or favours, Haevan believed the elves would betray them and ended their lives.

ACTIVE QUESTS

-Escort Maiquis south of Victor

-Investigate Veit Rummenheim's interest