Session 07 "A Gamble Pays Off"

**Session 7: “*A Gamble Pays Off”***

In Waukeen’s Promenade, The
High Harvest Tide Festival happening all about you, Dorn (with the lock picks
still up his ass) spotted Marteen, the individual you’d been hopping to track down
for some days now—a lead you were all uncertain but hopeful about, as you were
about most leads in this hunt for first Nadir Kravandros, and then the missing
nobles in general—a hunt that had lead you all over the southern half of
Athkatmon, including into, and then out of prison…out of prison for most of you
at least. Kohlam the half-orc, to your knowledge was left behind after an
altercation with the captain of the guard, William Grayvis. Now you were back
where you started, and how fitting it should be that in this moment, the member
of your party who had been missing for a couple days, Tanek the dwarf, showed
up at the festival, almost reuniting you for the first time in days, at the
spot you had first met. Tanek was not alone, accompanied by Grahm, a fellow
muscle for hire among sailing vessels, Grahm had apparently told Tanek of a
very lucrative job, one too good to pass up, and so for the past two days, the
two of them had sailed out of the city and back into it on some run.

After briefly catching up, and
some introductions, you looped both Tanek and Grahm into the situation, and
Grahm said the whole thing sounded right up his alley. Discussing your next
move now that Marteen was in your sights, you spotted a half-orc who appeared
to have some level of wealth approach Marteen and the two struck up
conversation. Dorn approached the fountain the two were talking at, getting
within ear shot without them noticing. He overheard the conversation and a plan
to meet that evening at Kymall’s for some deal. When Dorn returned to the
group, Muffy said she knew exactly where that was, and after a little more
festival fun, you left to go stake out this gambling hall.

At Kymall’s as Rhys kept
watch, the rest of you tried your luck at the tables. In particular, Tanek won
a huge sum of money from everyone else playing Ord’s Gambit, a card game from
Marqueet. Bucky, Dorn, and Muffy, did not do so well, losing what they put in,
however all of Bucky’s money was fronted to her by Grahm who seemed rather
generous with his gold, happy to spread it around.

As Dorn, after losing his
shirt, went to find Rhys to relieve him of watch, you both spotted the Half-Orc
noble from Waukeen’s Promonade enter the premises. He was accompanied by a
gnome in a navy blue suit, and brown hair parted down the middle--as Grahm
later found out a Mr. Alastar Ullman. Along with another half-orc who seemed to
follow Mr. Ullman around with a big book, the half-orc noble entered through a
guarded set of double doors and then disappeared from sight.

Eventually Mr. Ullman and the
half-orc with the book came back out, but you never saw the half-orc noble
return. After waiting for some time, you hatched a plan. Muffy would use her
powers to turn invisible and try to get behind the door, scope out the situation,
and then report back to you.  Sneaking
through, she found herself in a lavishly decorated hallway with several locked
doors. However one was not locked. In it was a storage room with a plain wooden
door in the back. This lead to a descending stair case and at the bottom, the
temperature much cooler, was another storage. Through there the stonework
changing drastically was another room, and in it a man with a scimitar at his
side quickly stood up, and asked “who’s there?” Muffy having seen enough went
back to report, telling the others, that someone seemed to be guarding
something down there—and that you all needed a way to figure out how to get
under Kymall’s. Dorn suggested trying the roof, another person suggested
waiting to see if Marteen might show or perhaps the Half-Orc noble might return
and then grabbing and interrogating one or the other. Muffy seeming fed up with
the idea of waiting made the call for the sewers, seeing if there was someway
of getting below Kymall’s with your weapons intact which had been left at the
door by trying the sewers. Dorn was terrified of the prospect of entering the
sewers in this part of the city, but out voted you all went ahead with the
plan.

Again trekking through the
deep sewer water, this time Dorn gave Rensig the piggy back as Kohlam
was…detained… you came first to a whirl pool at the bottom of a water fall.
Tanek was first to circle past it, and what he found when he got to the banks
on the other side was stone of a similar make to, as he would eventually find
out, the stone work that Muffy had seen in her scouting. He realized it was
ancient, thousands of years old, possibly several milenia. An ancient reminants
of a Yuan-Ti civilization. One by one you made your way past the waterfall and
whirl pool, most using the rope Tanek had laid out, Grahm and Rhys in some sort
of pissing contest eschewing it, until only Dorn and Rensig were left on the
other side. Dorn attempted the crossing with Rensig holding on tight, but
slipped, and the little gnome spilled out into the rushing whirlpool, almost
getting sucked down before Dorn used his whip to grab the Rensigantor. Shaken,
and coughing up sewer water, you all checked on him making sure he was okay.
Dorn and Grahm moved ahead.

No longer needing the light
provided by Muffy’s staff you rounded the corner to see a man, who alarmed at
your presence who began to bolt, but not before Dorn could grab him with his
whip. The man started to scream, trying to free himself as Grahm then ran over
and pinned him with a sword to his throat. The others caught up and Muffy
realized this was the same man she had seen in her scouting. You were now under
Kymall’s.

Questioning him, he hinted at
something larger, mentioning the good work of an organization called the
enclave, how you should all leave, about how Alane was making things better.
All this happened as Rhys guarded the door to Kymall’s and Tanek and Bucky
guarded the hallway leading out across from that door. Tanek heard some voices,
and then saw humanoid shapes looming towards him in the shadows, back lit by
some distant fire.

They were three lizard people,
apparently alerted to your presence by the screaming man. The largest of them
immediately was on Tanek and Bucky, slashing Tanek with his sword and biting
Bucky in the neck. The fight was on, and though it was at first seeming like
these three might prove too much for you, you quickly turned the tides,
defeating and killing all three, but not before the one who seemed capable of
casting magic clapped her hands together letting out a huge thunderous boom,
that almost knocked Dorn out. Dorn who was right next to her when she did so.
As soon as that happened, fearing that the thunder clap might alert others to
your presence, Muffy used the sending stone that Mornmaster Gladwell had given
her that morning to contact the Order of the Dawn. She told him that you were
under Kymall’s and needed back up ASAP. He got your message and said he would
send help immediately.

In the scuffle, the man you
had been questioning attempted to flee, but Bucky was able to grab him before
he got anywhere, and then you decided to take this moment to get out of this
situation with a hostage in tow. And so we pick up as you head back towards the
sewers to make your escape.