C2 E4

One muses on seeing their loved ones who have passed on from time to time. Given the choice who wouldn’t want to see a lost love or departed friend? Well, this is why you should be careful about what you wish for. You just might see the dead again.

## **Story**

### Long Story

The party has just overheard a conversation regarding Ugnos, which is, in my opinion, not good. T'Chuck notices that R'Oarc is not with them, and Ratma Ritmo reveals that she snuck out the back, mentioning something about Hanlan Four Fingers. Hanlan's a real weirdo, and might have something to do the murder. Could be a good idea to go talk to him. Unfortunately, Screech has a prior engagement, a lunch meeting with Granona Flintbeard. Fortunately, Meat appears with a note from Granona. The lunch is off! Or rather, postponed until tomorrow. Apparently, she saw fit to send all the workers home for the day, due to the recent murder. And so, with their schedules cleared, the party, sans R'Oarc, makes their way to the Hunter's Guild.

There, they meet Quinn, who's upset about something or other. Oh, right. Elwin Trantor died. Quinn is sad about that. He claims that he hasn't seen R'Oarc, but might have missed her, since, you know, crying and all. He also hasn't seen ol' Four Fingers, which is odd, since he should be here today. Four Fingers' is seeming mighty suspicious right about now. Even more suspicion is thrown on him after the party enters his room. It's a pig sty. There's a pungent odor (or odour, if you're a Brit), which is due to several half-finished taxidermied animals laying about. There's an unfinished dinner on the bedside table. Clothes strewn about everywhere. But nothing too sinister. Digging a little deeper, Selene finds a sketch pad with something too sinister. Some disturbing drawings of headless animals, and the like. There's also a strange symbol appearing repeatedly on the page: an eye, with a dagger pointing down above it. Screech notices some scratch marks on the floor by the bed, indicating that it's been moved several times. He and T'Chuck move the bed, and find even more badness.

Underneath the bed is a dead, decomposing animal. It's laying on top of a large version of that same eye symbol. There's dried crimson wax puddled around the symbol, the same type that was found on Elwin's corpse. And T'Chuck recognizes the symbol. It is, of course, the Insignia of Ugnos! That seems to clinch it: Hanlan Four Fingers is the killer.

Quinn either appears in the room, or the party meets him in the common area, and informs the party that someone named Gary has seen R'Oarc and Four Fingers headed off in the directions of the mines/White Spire. After telling him to bring Captain Clint up to Four Fingers' room, the party heads off after them. Screech vanishes, becoming the Man Squirrel, and following in the trees. About half-way between the mines and the town, the party encounters what appears to be a group of children. However, upon getting closer, they don't appear to be children at all. They appear to be smaller, creepy Elwin Trantors, with blood running down their faces! And what's worse, they attack!

There's a brief, but intense battle. Screech drops out of the trees and kills one of the creatures. T'Chuck and Selene are both bitten. T'Chuck then kills another creature, and Screech finishes off the last two. After the battle is done, Screech attempts to scamper back up a tree, but fails to do so in any stealth-ful way. Oh well. Selene patches herself up, and they continue on, with Screech scurrying ahead of them in the trees.

Soon, they come up on the mines. There's a hammering sound coming from the caves, which is odd, since Granona said she sent the workers home. Even more odd is that in one of the windows of the decrepit, derelict White Spire, a candle light seems to be flickering. T'Chuck knows that this has never happened before, while Selene knows that the wizards of the White Spire laid curses on the towers after they were cast out. These towers are Bad News TM, so the party elects to not go there, and instead enters the mines.

Upon entering, T'Chuck finds R'Oarc's favorite quill laying on the ground...

### Short

R'Oarc has run off to go see Hanlan Four Fingers. Screech's lunch date with Granona Flintbeard is postponed until tomorrow, so they go to Four Fingers' room at the Hunter's Guild to investigate. They find some disturbing sketches, and a dead animal under his bed, along with the Insignia of Ugnos, and some crimson wax. Quinn tells them that R'Oarc and Hanlan went off to the mines, so they go there and fight 4 tiny Elwin zombies (?)! It's spooky. At the mines, they find that someone's hammering away in there, and there's a flickering light coming from the White Spire. T'Chuck finds R'Oarc's quill on the ground upon entering the mines.

## **Trivia**

* Day 2 of the campaign.
* Selene has gone fishing once, on a holiday as a child.
* There's no bank in Rimeford.
* The "Four Fingers" part of Hanlan Four Fingers refers to both of his hands. So, really, he should be called Hanlan Eight Fingers.
* The Hunter's Guild uses a chore wheel, but Hanlan has not been doing his part
* The mines/White Spire are about an hour away from Rimeford
* After their defeat at the hands of Emperor Beauregard, the wizards fled their White Spires. But before they did, they cursed the towers, to keep others out.

## **In This Episode...**

### **Cast and Player Characters**

* Michael DiMauro - *Dungeon Master*
* Tim Lanning - T'Chuck
* Jennifer Cheek - Selene von Esper
* Mike Bachmann - Screech Echo / Squirrel Man (Screech)

### **Non-Player Characters**

* Ratma Ritmo
* Meat
* Quinn

### **Locations**

* Drunkeros
	+ Whispering Peaks
		- Rimeford
			* The Goblin Pit
			* The Hunter's Guild
			* The Mines

### **Inventory**

 [NEW] R'Oarc's Quill

 Various Books

### **Quest Log Updates**

* [Active] - Investigate the Rimeford mines
* [Active] - Investigate the death of Elwin Trantor
	+ [On-Hold] - Speak with Mistress Alandra Thorne
	+ [NEW][Active] - Find Hanlan Four Fingers
	+ [Selene] - Speak with Sir Rex Yalos
	+ [Screech] - Speak with Granona Flintbeard

### **Quotes**

* **"A good way, like, in your personal life, to make sure that you finish all your projects, is to just imagine that they're made of meat. So, if you leave them there, they're gonna stink."** ~ *Mike Bachmann, the wise*

* **"I'm rich, and not a detective."** ~ *Screech Echo*

## **Rolls**

* **T'Chuck** rolls *Perception* when handing an onion to R'Oarc - Nat 1
	+ R'Oarc is gone

* **T'Chuck** rolls *Persuasion* to get Quinn's permission to check Hanlan Four Fingers' quarters - 16
	+ Success - He allows it

* Everyone makes a Constitution Saving Throw upon entering Hanlan's room
	+ **T'Chuck** - 18
	+ **Screech** - 14
	+ **Selene** - 13
		- None of them vomit, even though it smells awful in here

* Everyone rolls *Investigation* to search Hanlan's room for clues
	+ **Selene** - 19
	+ **Screech** - 19
		- They find a drawer with a sketch pad inside

* **T'Chuck** does a *Religion* check to recognize the symbol under the bed - 20
	+ Success - This is the insignia of Ugnos

* **Screech** rolls *Stealth* to vanish - Nat 20
	+ He's gone

* Everyone rolls *Perception* upon approaching some children
	+ **T'Chuck** - 23
	+ **Screech** - 25
	+ **Selene** - 11
		- They aren't children at all, they look like little shrunken Elwins

*Combat Begins vs Many Tiny Elwins*

* Initiative
	+ **Screech** - 21
	+ Tiny Elwin 1
	+ Tiny Elwin 2
	+ Tiny Elwin 3
	+ Tiny Elwin 4
	+ **Selene** - 8
	+ **T'Chuck** - 7

*Round One*

* **Screech**
	+ Melee Attack (Shortsword) vs Tiny Elwin 4 (with Sneak Attack) - 23
		- Hit - 6 + 5 damage
	+ Melee Attack (Dagger) vs Tiny Elwin 4 (with Sneak Attack) - 18
		- Hit - 1 - *Kills it*

* **Tiny Elwin 1**
	+ Melee Attack (Bite) vs Screech - 8
		- Miss

* **Tiny Elwin 2**
	+ Melee Attack (Bite) vs T'Chuck - 18
		- Hit - 5 piercing damage, also requires a Constitution Saving Throw - 1

* **Tiny Elwin 3**
	+ Melee Attack (Bite) vs Selene - 17
		- Hit - 5 piercing damage

* **Selene**
	+ Casts *Shocking Grasp* vs Tiny Elwin 3 - 7
		- Miss
	+ Uses a Bonus action to *Telekinetic Shove* Tiny Elwin 3 back, requiring a DC 13 Strength Saving Throw - 11
		- Fail - It is shoved 5 ft back

* **T'Chuck**
	+ Melee Attack (Dagger) vs Tiny Elwin 2 - ~~9~~ - Uses *Fortune of the Many* feature - 11
		- ~~Miss~~ Hit - 7 damage - *Kills it*
	+ Uses *Fey Gift* feature to give advantage to whoever next attacks Tiny Elwin 3

*Round Two*

* **Screech**
	+ Melee Attack (Shortsword) vs Tiny Elwin 1 - 12
		- Hit - 9 damage - *Kills It*
	+ Melee Attack (Dagger) vs Tiny Elwin 3 (with Sneak Attack) - 22
		- Hit - 8 damage - *Kills It*

*Combat Ends*

* **Screech** rolls *Athletics* to scamper up a tree - 5
	+ Fail - He does not

* **Selene** does a *Medicine* check to bandage up her bite wound - 13
	+ She feels like she did a good job

* They roll *Perception* upon approaching the mines
	+ **T'Chuck** - 22
		- Hears hammering from the mine
	+ **Selene** - 14
		- Doesn't hear anything