Session 16

**Real World Date: 8/22/2021**

**In Game Dates(x): 42nd of Lencten, 5151 M.E. - 52nd of Lencten, 5151 M.E.**

**Party Level: 4**

## NPCs Met This Adventure

* Edward Olmarza - son of the King of Shavren, heir to the throne of the nation

## Summary

### Sending and Receiving

As the party returns to their HQ for a full nights rest, two of the party receive sendings via the spell. First, Cue received a sending from his brother, Rylee: "If you're available you should swing by the theater. There is a small hiccup with closing this portal. A serious delay." Cue agrees to head to the theater and meet up with him. He splits off from the party to head there.

Second, Bashan receives a sending from Ovak: "Hello, this is Ovak, Vola's brother. She said she left you a gift but you shouldn't open it until she gets back." Bashan agrees to that and says as such back to them. He checks the mailbox of the HQ and finds a package from Vola that he doesn't open for now. He also finds several pieces of paper with lists of names on them from Quelenna.

### Vigilante Shopping List

The lists are name of men, specifically captains of ships, that were involved in her husband's slave trade. She also included the name of the ships associated with each name. Each subsequent list she dropped off in the many days they have been away had more and more names added to the list. Eventually, some of the names at the top were starting to be crossed off as well. Not only was Quelenna identifying the men tied to her husband's illicit dealings, but she was also taking them out and merely giving Bashan a progress report.

Bashan gave the list to Quintus in case he wanted to pass that information onto his sister. Quintus has no idea where she is, but he takes those papers and saves them. While on their travels, Quintus also was able to make some more ammunition and make another upgrade to his weapon, allowing it to hold 4 bullets per cartridge.

### Sacrifice Is Required

Cue arrives at the theater and heads to Rylee's room. He has laid out the three sets of ingredients for various rituals. One is a very simple one that requires blood from both of them and will lift the ward on the portal that is preventing anyone from activating it. The second is more complicated but doable and it merely activates the portal. Once it is activated, they can close it permanently.

The issue comes, Rylee explains, the last bit. Closing the portal permanently requires the use of two Palurin Stones. Aust was kind enough to provide two, but the instructions state that someone must be on the other side of the portal when using the stones, meaning someone would be left on the other plane after the portal closes. Rylee says he has sent a message for clarification or help with that bit and will tell Cue when he discovers more.

### Gifts and Signs

Poem decides to gift the Ring of Spell Storing to Quintus, stating that Quintus owes him a favor later. The ring has two Twinned Shield of Faiths, a Twinned Healing Word, and a Spiritual Weapon that Quintus can cast now, and they are all bonus actions meaning he can do that alongside his normal combat. Quintus agrees to the deal, but almost immediately a sense of dread comes over him as he realizes he owes Poem a favor and has now idea what that might mean.

Bashan, meanwhile, was busy updating the sign outside. Now, with illusion magic, the sign reads all five names they have been calling themselves to clients: Bashan Investigations is the physical sign, but illusion magic has four other names display depending on the angle you view the building at. This is only once you are close to the building. It only says Bashan Investigations from a distance.

### To Greenfield And Beyond…

The party leave the city and head back towards the impending conflict with the **White Tusk Clan**. They hope to find a way to save the prince that’s being held captive before anyone else gets to him to kills him. It would give them notoriety and leverage in the city. As they leave the city, they see various armed forces gathering in the city and in small groups outside the city. The army will be close behind them as they travel so the party rushes onward.

They arrive in **Greenfield** and find that most of the village is boarded up and abandoned as Penna had instructed the villagers to do. The only open building is the Drunken Racoon Inn. They enter and find only the proprietor of the Inn and Penna remain. She doesn't have a home so she stayed until the last person, the innkeeper, evacuated. Though the bartender is protective of her, Bashan still manages to convince Penna to come with them to **Castle Rend** just in case they need her knowledge of the place. She agrees and they all decide to leave in the morning.

### Diplomacy First

The party head north the next morning. They will try diplomacy first. If they are turned away or even if they a brought in and they end up leaving, they can come back and try and sneak into the fortress. The party reach the forest and head out into the clearing with their white flag raised above them. The patrol of Orcs stops like last time, then escorts them to the castle. They enter the fortress and move past a small bonfire in a courtyard with many Orcs around it. They watch them as they head into the back room which is a dining room.

In the dining room is Krusk sitting at the head of the table. He has his massive Dire Wolf pet sitting next to him, who perks his head up as people enter. Krusk pets his head and the Dire Wolf sits back down. On his right is Thokk. On his left is Vola. The trio sit at the head of a long dining table and Krusk signals for them to sit. They are currently in the middle of dinner with various foods laid out for them.

### Defying Expectations

Thokk pays coin to Krusk as they sit. Apparently Krusk claimed that the party would eventually show up, unable to resist getting involved in this conflict. Whereas Thokk wagered that the party wouldn't be so dumb to get in the middle of the war. Thokk lost that wager. Krusk is also speaking fluent Common with no accent, apparently a ruse to make everyone on the outside think he is just a "dumb, stupid Orc" who acts on instinct. That is what Krusk wants Sir Pelliton and Lord Gentry to think.

Krusk seems super confident in his victory, despite being outnumber by the oncoming forces 5:1. Krusk tells Vola to take some of them downstairs and show how he will win. Vola takes Bashan, Poem, and Baka downstairs. The remaining party members are suprised when Feng and Ovak walk in, having finished a patrol. Ovak dives into the food, asking if he can have some food from other people's plates. Feng has a polite conversation with Cue about their different monasteries. The party ask about the wellbeing of the prince. Krusk nods and Feng takes Cue, Quintus, and Penna to their jail cells.

### Secret Weapons

Vola takes the first group underground and passed a lot of rooms. As she does, she explains the builder of this castle was Baron Perrington. He was famous for his paranoia, so much so that he ended up killing his whole family thinking they were going to betray them. The castle has been abandoned since then. What most people don't know is he built hundreds of yards, maybe even miles, or underground escape tunnels leading from the castle to the forest. Vola turns to Bashan and mentions, "I never told you why my mother was attracted to my father. It was his intelligence."

Vola reveals a secret door and opens it. They move out into a series of tunnels and seem to go miles in different directions. The tunnels are all well-lit. Sitting in these tunnels, waiting, are hundreds of Orcs of the **White Tusk Clan**. When the army approaches the castle, these forces will exit into the forest through multiple tunnels, coming from behind the Humans and surrounding them. Rumors of Krusk having about 1,000 troops apparently were accurate. He isn't outnumber 5:1. He outnumbers them 2:1. And he will have them surrounded.

### Precocious Young Man

Feng takes Cue, Quintus, and Penna downstairs as well, but he stops at one of the doors that leads to their jail cells. Only one cell is filled and it has the 12 year old Edward. He is surrounded by a stack of books which he has been reading in his cell. He explains and vouches for Krusk's story that his uncle was behind this, or at the very least Sir Pelliton. Edward has been treated fairly, and Edward is convinced that he is in danger as long as his Uncle Gentry has power.

The party meat up near the cell and discuss their next move. They need to prevent this war, since if Lord Gentry wins, he will probably kill the prince, and if Krusk wins (which he probably will) then a lot of innocent people will die fighting for a corrupt lord. They ask for some info they can use to convince his father that they really have Edward and wish to negotiate in good faith. Edward tells them his father refers to him as his "Little Scholar".

### Family Reunion

The party head back up to the dining hall and Mhurren and Gell are already there waiting. The party presents an idea to stop the battle. Krusk doesn't think it will work, but allows them to try. Gell already has met the King so he does a sending spell to offer the trade for Edward. They include in the brief message that Lord Gentry, his brother-in-law, cannot be trusted and may be part of this.

After they send the message, the King agrees to 2000 S in exchange for his son and he will send a person loyal to him to make the exchange. The party head out with Edward, along with Gell. They ride out to meet Sir Pelliton, who looks angry, a contingent of soldiers, and a wizard. Edward states that the party and Gell helped negotiate the release of him. The wizard approaches Edward and takes him and teleports away, presumably to the King's home. After the handoff, Sir Pelliton heads back through the forest. Gell heads back to **Castle Rend**.

### And Back Again

The party head south to return to Azul. They pass by Sir Pelliton and his 500-man army camping just outside the forest, a couple hours march from **Castle Rend**. They don't appear to be heading home, but waiting for orders. The party pass them and reach **Greenfield**. Penna parts ways, saying she has a place in a nearby village where she is staying until this is over, since this obviously isn't over with the army keeping camp so close.

The party head west and return to the city of Azul, having saved the King's son…