Session 10: Ivasar

*War makes strange bedfellows*

We had been given the mission to replace Petra’s necklace, the sister of Ansem, with a copy infused with divination magic from Bree.  She is my contact in the Queensmen, a halfling woman with an air of Innocence and anything but.  She claimed not to know any details of the who or why.  Naturally we were curious to find out more so Viter decided to disguise himself.  He tried to pass as a server but was promptly caught.  Miraculously, or should I say magically? He managed to talk himself out by claiming to be the bartender’s cousin.

He managed to fool the bugbear standing guard, and boldly proceeded into their sorting room.  I would have thought they would have been furious at such obvious deception as they'd only met him a few minutes before but he must have managed a discreet charm spell or some sort of magic.  It all seemed to go down amicably and he left on cordial terms, though apparently not before “blowing their minds” as he says. I’m not exactly sure what that means.

All the while our fellow drinking partner just laughed and yipped as Gnolls do.  Ember proceeded to become even more drunk to the point of being belligerent.  She claimed she just wanted to go to use the washroom’s upstairs but I think she was looking for trouble.  I must admit the drink was probably going to my head, as going up to show them the necklace that we got from the Ratling lair, as it was practically identical to the one we were given, seemed like a good idea and we all stumbled upstairs.

After back and forth drink induced ramblings we showed them the necklace and this seemed to amaze Bree, though she still told us to come back tomorrow as they were busy.  As the night went on we drank with Bugbears, perused the tavern, and found postings talking about the fighting pits, gang recruitment and one odd one promising gold for corpses by a man named Oscar The Alchemist.

I contracted the Jonas Brothers, Doran and Goran, for a song about our exploits in Emberwood and more importantly a call for information on the Hags that we encountered in the Fey plane of Emberwood Village.  After a few more drinks we all decided to collapse in the stables, opting for a dingier but safer sleep than a nearby abandoned monastery.  I took second and third watch out of necessity and caught a thief sneaking up on Ember. Had he been sent by someone?  I decided to charm him with a quiet spell.   We have been starting to accumulate enemies and attention, but I found out he was just a chronic gambler looking for gold.  No real harm done so I let him fall asleep after talking with him.  This wasn't the wisest course of action as when my companions woke up in the morning I had some explaining to do. I didn't want any violence, I know Ember can be vengeful and Viter always seeking to be the hero, thinking quickly I told them he was an old friend. I think they bought it...

We set out seeking Schmedrick, hoping he would know someone from the Amethyst Academy to identify the magic in the necklace, but like everything in this city, things don’t go as planned.  We came across Caspian Knights fighting minotaurs.  They turned out to be from House of Jones.  A somewhat powerful house that had been passed over, and likely sending out their heirs to seek glory as so many others do.  Although I don't approve of my city being turned into a proving ground for pomps, I approve of minotaurs even less.  We ran to their aid and with a few well-placed guiding bolts from Ember and sneaky slices from Viter the head of one popped clean off! Viter, I think out of reflex caught the head just before it hit the ground.  I felt like shouting some inappropriate joke about grabbing the bull by the horns but he seemed a bit too stunned for that and I let it go.

I managed to entangle one but not the others, and I had to use something more aggressive. My mentor had taught me this awhile ago, and I felt I didn’t have much choice against these monstrosities.  I don’t like twisting nature into something so harmful, but nonetheless I raised a mass of thorns and spikes from the ground, making it plain for them to see the consequences of further aggression.  This discouraged one but the other was enraged beyond sense and blindly charged through, ripping its flesh.  It worked in the end but I’m not proud.

Thankfully we then managed to regroup beyond their grasp.  Healing one of the fallen bodyguards and with a final storm of sleet to cover our escape, I called for a retreat and we left intact with Juptier of the House of Jones and our new bedfellows.