Session 5

Cael and Rhea hunt on the South side of Salt Landing on a windy morning. Rhea is not pleased that Cael has come along, intruding on her "alone time". Cael doesn't seem to notice, or at least doesn't care. Leafless trees are spread through the forest, which should be blooming. Rhea calmly navigates the woods , passing through with a natural grace. They come upon a small dog-like animal that is unfamiliar to either of them. The animal has powerful front legs, a snout and a somewhat ridged back. Rhea looses an arrow. As it impacts the beast a bird of prey swoops down and pierces the it as well, killing it. Upon further inspection, they conclude neither have encountered such a beast. Cael decides to bring the corpse back to Salt Landing. Before returning to Salt Landing, Rhea successfully hunts some game to bring back to the Aves family before they depart. They return with the corpse and discover, through a guard, the animal is called a hyena and is from Neyashar.

Esmerelda divines that departing today by boat will bring danger to the party. She travels down to the docks and sees there is a storm brewing. She speaks with an old sailor whom tells her the storm may last several days.

Lissie returns from the farm and splits her vials of findings, and sends them via courier to Faust in Northgate.

Patrician Gracia Morafi leaves the manor early and is in the square, organizing her guards and patrols. She tells all travelers they should not leave with city without being accompanied by a patrol.

A traveling group of merchants enter Salt Landing and are bandaged and wounded. Thomas and Lissie see them arrive and Thomas drags Lissie over to investigate. Their cart has arrows and javelins sticking out from the sides. The adults hobble inside the shop and their children unload crates of clothing from the cart. Lissie and Thomas enter and find out the merchants were traveling from the North and were attacked by bandits near Bilge Keep. Bandits are getting more brazen, sometimes attacking travelers just for sport. Both husband and wife are tailors and the wife took a wound which the husband tried to bandage. Lissie balks at the thought of seeing blood but Thomas pushes on. Lissie offers her services and the husband immediately identifies her as Marallis Ophiuc - to Thomas and Lissie's dismay. They try to backtrack and the husband assures them that Lissie's secret is safe with his family. He apologizes that he has nothing to offer for looking into his wife's injury. Thomas says they would gladly trade for the largest, broadest shirt the tailors have. The husband agrees. Lissie sees to the wife. Her wound doesn't look grim, but there is a chance of infection. Lissie lights some incense and chews some licorice root.....to calm herself. Lisse successfully cleans and binds the wound, while pontificating to the wounded tailor about the treatment. Afterward, Lissie inquires about her brother Elias Ophiuc. The husband says that Elias was a part of a scandal awhile back. Gracia Morafi was hosting a diplomat from the Metrian Empire. The diplomat accidently fell down a flight of stairs at the Morafi Manor and had incurred some minor injuries. Elias was called to treat the diplomat and somehow the diplomat ended up dying. Several months later a cavalcade from the Metrian Empire came and took Elias away in chains to face trial in Metria.

Thomas and Cael discuss the traveling to the Mother Stone on the way to Lynn's Observatory. Esmerelda speaks up and says that they should not by traveling by boat from her divinations. Thomas asks how long this storm will delay their travels, Esmerelda says she doesn't know, but possibly a few days. An exasperated Thomas inquires how long it will take to travel by foot. Cael expects the travel to take about a week. Rhea speaks up and mentions she would rather travel by foot anyway, as she really has no interest in the business of "your little academy", compared to doing something "that actually matters," in reference to dispatching the Brackish Baron and his thugs, Cael and Rhea have an argument over Cael's assertation that these bandits have little left to lose.

The party departs by foot to travel around the bay. They pass Berg Ellen, and the Helvast House, the mostly unoccupied official manor of the Patrician. During their travel they meet a bard named Oswald the Unwelcome. Thomas pays the bard a copper, and Oswald entertains them a 30 minute rendition of story and song along their travels, with mixed reviews. The group passes a patrol that warn them to be careful as they proceed Northward.

Along the crags of the road on the way to Bilge Keep they come upon a gruesome scene of bloodstained rocky cliffs and broken weapons. Esmerelda investigates the scene and finds the weapons are peculiar - they are designed to shred skin. The skirmish happened within the last day and there are large footprints and paw prints leading North.

On the third day of travel they come within view of Bilge Keep. As the party approaches they hear shouting and several screams of agony. The party gets closer to the keep, which is half crumbling over a cliff and into the bay. Cael sneaks closer, Thomas tries to do the same, but clatters over fallen rubble. A man runs past and says they have been ambushed and calls for help. They hear a snarl and another scream. Cael mutters some words and disappears into the keep through the wall itself. As Cael reappears on the other side of several walls, he finds himself surrounded by wolf-like humanoid creatures that have patchy fur, large canine fangs, and stand on their hind legs all while carrying weapons. They are tall, but one is giant - reaching over eight feet tall. There are several humans fighting them as well. Cael dives into battle.

Meanwhile two other menacing bandits are blocking the entrance to the ruined keep. Rhea looses an arrow at one of them, wounding him. Piper runs in to attack. Lissie throws a bottle of poisonous liquid, while Thomas runs up to gut and skewer one of the bandits, killing him. Esmerelda blasts the other bandit with frost and he drops dead.

Cael is speared by a creature and then is flung into a wall by a giant brute's club. Cael summons darkness inside the ruined keep and successfully hides from the creatures.

Piper and Thomas sprint inside the keep upon hearing Cael cry of pain. Rhea stands outside with an arrow drawn. Lissie sends her animated cauldon, Stewie into the fray to find Cael, while finding more licorice root to chew on. One of the humans slay a creature. Piper and Thomas allow one of the other humans inside the keep to run away as appeared to want to run away. Once the fleeing human gets out of the keep, Rhea tags him with an arrow to the foot. Lissie ties the wounded man up. Two other humans are taken down by a creatures, and the giant creature bursts through a weak wall and makes its way around the keep to Rhea, Esmerelda, and Lissie. Thomas and Piper are still in the keep looking for Cael, when Cael runs around the corner and heads out the way Thomas and Piper just came from.

The giant creature swipes its club at Rhea, but she dives out of the way as the club smashes the stonework behind her. Cael sticks the giant creature with a thrown dagger and Esmerelda hexes it. Another creature slinks around the corner and throws a spear at Lissie, which grazes her. Piper charges and he and the giant creature trade blows. Thomas turns his attention to the creature that attacked Lissie, attacking it, and Esmerelda finishes it off with another blast of frost. Rhea runs past Piper, who is locked in combat with the giant creature. She leaps and draws an arrow - the two Aves siblings, both in a concentrated rage, look almost as one as she releases and emits a half screech, half scream. The arrow buries itself in the giant creature's chest. As it falls, a swarm of birds dive down on the creature. They pluck relentlessly, tearing at skin and eyes. The giant creature tries to wave them off, but there are too many birds. Soon the wails of the creature fades, and it's movement stops.

A singular remaining creature retreats, but Cael chases it down. They battle one on one and the desperate creature fells Cael. Rhea trails behind and her arrow finds it mark, killing the last creature. Rhea tends to Cael's wounds, slaps him awake, and angrily drags him back to the rest of the group.

Thomas finds a vial on the giant creature with thick cloudy grey oil. Lissie identifies this as a rare potion of invisibility. Thomas thanks her and takes it back. The bandits, including the tied up bandit bare an insignia of a ship and wain. Thomas interrogates the living bandit. This turns out to be Gregor Helvast, the son of the Brackish Baron.

Gregor says that his father's pursuit of his lost birthright was once a noble cause, be lately his father has been become more reckless and desperate. A man from a distant land heard of the Baron's plight. This man promised soldiers and power. But his mercenaries were different and more cruel and the power gifted were the creatures the party had just bested. The creatures are supposed to be controlled by an orb this man gave to the Baron. But recently the creatures seem to be driven into some sort of bloodlust that cannot be sated. Gregor and the other men were on patrol with the creatures when they went crazy. Gregor does not know the man that gave his father this orb. He describes this man as wizardly, with dark sunken eyes, a large black beard and an ageless appearance. Gregor begs for leniency, he disowns his father, and says he will do whatever the party wants. Thomas places Gregor within the keep as the party converses in private.

The party wonders aloud if this wizard is Styrmir. Perhaps they can negotiate with the baron and ransom Gregor if he is an only child. They discuss Lissie's orb as compared to the orb Gregor spoke of. Cael is uncertain about letting Gregor live. Thomas wants to keep him alive. As the party converses at length, they see Gregor hobbling towards the woods, trying to escape. Thomas tells Rhea to loose an arrow. She does and puts the arrow into the meat of Gregor's leg. Thomas casually strolls to Gregor and mentions that his friends want him dead, and if he tries to escape again, he's going to let them. Gregor begs forgiveness and answers some of Thomas's other questions; he has three other siblings and he knows how to get into the Baron's fortified garrison in Waddlestork. Gregor says he wants to turn himself in to the authorities in Salt Landing.

Thomas relays this information to the party. Cael is resolute that Gregor knows too much, and may have overheard them speaking of Lissie's orb, and must not be allowed to leave the ruins alive. Thomas relents and returns to Gregor. Thomas lies to Gregor, telling him that Cael is going to escort Gregor back to Salt Landing. In return, Thomas wants to know how to get into the garrison. Gregor says the Baron is paranoid and he has an escape route from his inner keep that the party can access. They must find the red oak behind the keep. There is a concealed tunnel nearby that has center stone that hides some sort of lever the party can use to access this escape route. The party decides to rest a bit before departing. Lissie mixes a tea and offers it to Gregor. He takes it and a few minutes later, he lays still and cold, dead to the world. Cael dispatches of the body, taking Gregor's signet ring, before throwing it into the bay.

The session ends as the scene pans to another part of the world. A small man sits upon a grand throne in a deep dark room lined with doors. The man clutches a silver orb in each hand, and glowing yellow eyes open around him. The creatures' mouths open and they begin to pant - they look hungry.