Beiinors Campaign/Session 7

## [ Session 07 — 03/26/2023 ]

**Katamira, at a table in a dim tavern, some years later…**

"They just had door-sized slabs of marble lying around?" asked the tavern-goer across the table.

"You idiot, where do you think they got the name 'Marble Wolves' from?" growled the man behind me. "Now shut up and let her finish the story!"

I shot a grateful glance his direction and continued.

"This hideout of theirs was more hallway than cave, but as we snuck down yet another passage, I was able to hear the sound of beasts playing. We all approached another arch carved into the rock, but as I peeked around the corner, one must have picked up on our scent—they stopped and started to draw closer. The brief glimpse I got showed three huge wolves with two on the approach. It was clearly their den. None of us fancied our chances, so I distracted them by tossing a handful of rocks at the wall, and we retreated."

"Not wanting to cross the beasts, our only ways forward were the other two doors. The first was unlocked and I managed to pick open the second, but I didn't think to check the way forward past that. As I stepped into the room where they took their meals, a spring-loaded spear caught me in the side."

"Who traps their own dining hall?" murmured a woman at the table.

"They've clearly got some trust issues," agreed the man behind me.

"We finally approached a third entrance—one where we'd heard the sound of others behind an adjacent door! Using another convenient passage, we snuck around the side and could see several bandits along with the Marble Wolves' second in command, who we knew as 'Red'. They were all enjoying wine, but after some short deliberation, we decided to end their party early. CharlesGorth distracted them with a firecracker-like bang that appeared to come from the other side of the room. I quickly disguised myself as a bandit as the others charged in."

"We lucked out as Red immediately bought my disguise. Thinking I was just another bandit, he quickly revealed the location of his leader and our target—and asked that I take care of the 'kid'. Now, nobody had mentioned a child up to this point, so I started to worry. The fight seemed to be in capable hands, so still in disguise, I found my way into a makeshift prison room adjoining this one. Alone was a young dwarf, barely 20 years of age to my eyes. They clearly hadn't treated him well, if the instruments of torture and the shackles binding him to the wall were any indication."

Several faces around the table grimaced.

"I won't burden you with the details here - we got him free. Not only that, he told me he was a Silksmith. I asked about Raudona, but after his reaction, I didn't have the heart to tell him about the body we found days prior. Leading him out of the cell into the main room, I saw that my compatriots had thankfully made good work of the Wolves' men. Two singed bodies, the stink of acid, and a lifeless Red told the tale quickly."

"Oh, and while all this was happening, don't let me forget about the mysterious pact our friend Getheron apparently made with a forest spirit in our absence."

The man across the table looked up. "So," he asked, "what of it?" I smiled. "For that," I replied, "you'll have to buy me another drink."