Loose Ends¶

2023-Jun-18

• In the intervening couple days, the party requests that Fallon will alert the Harpers to the existence of the spellbook and the man beneath the manor
  • Kleb spreads a new round of pamphlets around Baldur’s Gate
    • The three new recruits from the manor are tasked with setting up a satellite office in the city for the Lozenge Gules. One of them is apparently familiar with the Tome of the Orange Theory and thinks there might be a chance for an alliance between the organizations
  • Fallon notes that he hasn’t been able to contact Garaele for a while now, but none of the trio have heard from her either
  • He also asks them to steer clear of any folks bearing a winged-snake insignia, because they are members of the Zentarum
• Rulkorf hangs around the docks, listening out for rumors and gossip regarding the Avorio manor fire, but no one seems to really care. Rowan spies on the manor itself, but nothing of note happens besides the occasional guard and a delivery of provisions
  • Kleb spends time training the new recruits but quickly realizes that they respond well to positive reinforcement over intimidation
  • Rulkorf heads down to the beach and does some research to scope out some promising spots for lightning strikes. At twilight on the second day, at high tide, the druid calls down lightning, succesfully evading the city guard and retrieving one piece of fulgurite
• The party takes their battered wagon back to the manor and head down into the basement. The metallic smell of fresh blood hangs in the air. The man meets them at the base of the stairs and produces a contract
  • Rulkorf magically checks for traps, finding none in the document but is made aware of alarm spells on two nearby doors
  • The package is a book, Introduction to Bindings and Summonings, which faintly emits a purple glow. It is a barrier to magic, acting as a sort of Faraday Cage for magical senses
    • Were the book to be opened, it would alert Candlekeep-sponsored bounty hunters as to its location. The man owes the mother of all late fees, or at least that is his excuse for this arrangement
  • Once the party sign the contract, which disappears into the ether, the man also hands over a second book – the Spellbook of Zarathustra!
• As the group is about to leave, Rulkorf hears a muffled cry from behind one of the doors. Since they have the spellbook now, the party feels it is worth it now to try and intervene. Rulkorf shapes the stone floor above into a trap door, and they all drop down
  • A few nobles, a couple members of the Thieves’ Guild, and many of the Avorios’ former servants are locked in jail cells
    • A combination of a Silence spell from Fallon, Kleb’s Doorknocker, and bludgeoning from Rowan’s shield and Horsekorf’s hooves break the locks
    • All the prisoners escape up a rope, except for two nobles who need to be ferried on Kleb’s broom
  • The escapees confirm that some of their ranks had been taken away, never to return. All signs point to the man downstairs committing human sacrifice. They are very grateful, although the nobles are scum as they were perfectly content to let others be sacrificed at the party
    • The thieves say that they were set up and ambushed by dozens of guards. They don’t know who betrayed them but it was doomed from the start. The servants were kidnapped and don’t have much information
• Kleb puts the refugee servants under the care of the Lozenge Gules, and the thieves slink back to their hideout. The party accompanies the nobles to one of their houses for a payout (under duress). In lieu of all his money, the party takes a reduced amount but establish this mansion as the local operating base for the Lozenge Gules
  • The second and third nobles, who are much more wealthy, are forced to take similar deals. The party obtains electrum bars, diamonds, gold coins, and firm handshakes. They keep the diamonds for future resurrective capability and split 3500 gp