Ragnorra Session 9

Start: Noon, Tuesday, 9, 1396

The party reconvened in the Golden Goblin, and resolved to seek out Kal at Daisy's, a sailor's bar near the docks.

They left the inn, and walked towards the docks.

Upon arriving, they spotted a group of 5 Zhentarim involved in a heated argument.

Ronja made herself scarce quickly, and entered Daisy's. She questioned the two serving wenches, Daiza and Emily, if they had come across a man matching Kal's description. They both hadn't.

Two of the Zhentarim were clad in disguises. The two disguised were being screamed at by a man in heavy armor, with medals adorning it. It was unclear to Cassius, Ronja, and Vix what they were on about. The discussion/screaming contest was all in Zhentarim Argot, a language they did not understand.

The apparently accused, the smaller, vaguely feminine figure, took the situation rather lightly, and was responding to the shouting and violent temper of the commander with a laissez-faire, dismissive attitude. Or so it seemed. The larger disguised figured remained posed to strike, but appeared to be making an attempt to diffuse the situation from going further.

Cassius stepped forward to investigate, beckoned over by the figure. He was confused by the stark contrast of the attitudes, it seemed. One individual was quite angry, and backed up by more men, and the other did not seem to be taking the situation seriously at all. Also, ultimately, it wasn't made his problem.

All efforts to diffuse the situation would be in vain, it would seem, because shortly, the commander drew his weapon and made some demand of the smaller cloaked figure. The man swung on the woman and combat started.

The larger masked figure shrugged off an absolute barrage of well placed short sword stabs and spells, and the cloaked figure attacked all of the assailants in a broad, sweeping attack. The masked man in a single strike utterly crushed the smaller roguish assailant in a single strike, sending gore, viscera, blood, and tissue flying everywhere in a disgusting display of carnage and violence.

That was Cassius's, Vix's, and Ronja's cue to get the hell out of there.

Cassius was the first to say it. He needed a drink. They returned to the Golden Goblin. All three of them were given a drink on the house by the innkeeper of an undefined, but strong grain alcohol. They relayed their experience to the innkeep, and he seemed dismayed to hear yet another troubling tale in these "uncertain times", as he said.

The three of them took their leave to an upstairs room. Vix had something to tell Ronja and Cassius.

Initially she warned them vaguely against seeking out the lead they had of Sir Derrings' comrades in the tavern/brothel called Bindle's. She continued to specify why. It's because she knew the brothel was a front for something darker in the basement underneath. Beneath Bindle's, she knew there lied a Malshaper compound. The question then became, how?

Vix relayed she used to be part of the Malshapers in a capacity. She told Cassius and Ronja she was a cult child, born into the cult. She had no choice in the matter, but she relayed that they were poorly equipped to deal with the situation below Bindle's. Quite unprepared, at that. She described at length the defences of the compound, the armed guards, the cultists, and her former master, a lich named Varen-Uul. She told them she voluntarily left because of a betrayal. They killed someone she loved. She did not go into great detail about this, and she told them she is invested in the destruction of the cult, because that is the only way she will ever be free of their grasp.

The three of them then resolved to visit this seeress Kal mentioned. Their search for him came up empty for now, and without a better lead to pursue, it seemed like the most solid way to proceed.

So they left Suzail in Vix's wagon to take the half-day journey along the Dragoneye Way to Marsember to South Thornthorp.

It was an uneventful journey. The Dragoneye Way was a much more populated thoroughfare than the fork of the High Road from Proskur to Suzail. They saw merchants, travelers on foot, and armed regular guards on horseback between Suzail in their destination. This road was much better patrolled and guarded. It made sense, because it was a busy highway and domestic trade route between two major cities in the heart of Cormyr - recent devastation of the Spellplague aside.

The three of them arrived to South Thornthorp.

It was an extremely small settlement on the road to Marsember, with a population of twelve. The settlement itself appeared to be a small collection of hovels, surrounding a larger semi-permanent yurt in the center. There was a small docks closer to the water that appeared large enough to accommodate one mid-sized boat, maximum. The cleared ground of the village was muddy, but level and quite well defined. There was a couple merchant stalls providing supplies such as cured rations, tindertwigs, and torches near the road. The purpose of which appeared obvious.

The party was almost immediately approached by a stout, bald, middle aged human wearing a vest. He identified himself as Winston and asked them what their business was, and if they wanted to use his docks. The party declined but inquired about the Seeress. Winston seemed put off (and put out) by this, but he told them she was in the large yurt, and wasn't expecting visitors. He made his leave, but made it very clear he was watching them. Aren't small towns lovely?

They wasted no time entering the yurt. Cassius paid extra respect upon entering, and made every precaution to demonstrate he did not want to unduly intrude. They did not seem to. An old woman met them upon entering and directed them to sit in an area with three seats in a table. They did so. The old woman did not seem to mind standing. She offered them tea which they accepted. It seemed to be a slightly bitter foraged herbal tea made from some root none of them could identify.

The old woman informed them the seeress would arrive shortly. She did not introduce herself or identify herself, except to mention she was the seeress's "handmaiden".

The seeress arrived. She appeared to be around 5'10'', in her mid-thirties, with tanned skin and reddish hair. A rough estimate could identify her as most likely half rashemi. Cassius was quick to identify her garb as matching a wise woman, or a Hathran from back home. It seemed a bit out of place, but he paid her the same respect as he would in his homeland.

The seeress took to her throne and directed them to ask her what they would. She implied she knew why they were here.

The seeress specified they had many leads to follow back in Suzail, and friends they knew and those they didn't. She told them they already knew the way into the malshaper compound they enquired about, and specifically, Vix knew the way. It was the tributaries in the King's Forest, almost directly northwest of Suzail. The seeress appropriately warned them of the danger and urged them not to be hasty.

She identified Cassius as an unfortunate soul and a victim of fate and circumstance, and told him he would have to resolve whether coin or greater things would drive him. She both seemed sympathetic to the weave of fate that brought him into this mess, and also hesitant, as if his greatest test would be ahead, and she was not ready to ally herself completely to him, in case one of the many things she saw came to be.

She spoke of Ronja's people being known to her in her dreams, and seemed quite welcoming to her, all things considered. It is possible many questions were not asked here. She knew much more than was discussed. The seeress mentioned the possibility of the same fate that befell Ronja's world may happen here if not for her direct intervention, and she was called to this task. It seems far beyond her, but she will be the woman she needs to be when the time comes. Of this, the seeress seemed certain.

She held Vix with a not immediately apparent disgust and disdain. It was as if she really did not want to speak to Vix or to have her in her yurt, but did not force her exit. She answered almost none of her questions and seemed much more focused on Cassius and Ronja's questions. The seeress was categorically tolerant of Vix's presence, but nothing more. She seemed to put her on edge. It was as if the seeress was at odds with her existence, in some sense, but not her enemy.

The party was satisfied with the brief council that was furnished, and departed her yurt. Cassius paid her the same respect he would to a Hathran, and Cyrilda took this as expected. Vix and Ronja paid her a semblance of the respect Cassius did. They did not know his customs.

The party reconvened to the wagon and discussed the revelations. Vix tried to impress on Ronja that she was on her side and would do anything to destroy the cult, but it is unclear if that went on deaf ears. Cassius hatched a plan to raid a bandit camp or something of the sort, and Ronja remembered a likely suspect for somewhere that might have a lot of bandits - the pass in the Stormhorns between Minroe and Skull Crag. It was often taken only as a last resort by merchants in a great hurry, willing to risk the danger, or by caravans with experienced guards armed to the teeth. The mountain bandits were treacherous, and the terrain was as bad as them.

They resolved to consider this as a possibility, until they were strong enough to face the threats before them. The three of them rested for the night in the wagon, camping out in South Thornthorp. Periodically throughout the night, they spotted Winston spying on them. The three of them paid this no mind, and left South Thornthorp in the morning, heading to Suzail.

It was a cloudy day, and they made their way back to Suzail without incident in the mid-afternoon.

They passed the guard at the gate of Suzail, and stopped nearby to consider their next move.

After some discussion, the three of them decided to forge a note in malshaper cypher to be delivered to the daughter of the mage Vane Egyon, Meredith.

The forgery read thus: "Seeking refuge in the stormhorns, meet me at the agreed upon location. - H. P." to Vane Egyon

They decided to disguise Vix as a courier with this message. They asked around to find out where Meredith Egyon lived. They only heard from the mage at the mage's tower that she lived somewhere around the docks, and didn't really know more.

Cassius was able to question a dockworker, who expressed his sympathies with "ol' Meredith". He explained she had been sick with "consumption" for some long, but unspecified period of time, went to the Stormhorns "to have it cured", was healthy for a while, then "suffered this bout of consumption". He wished Cassius luck in his venture, little knowing what the intention was.

They went along with the plan, parking the wagon within eyeshot of the waterside house. It was a simple, single story house, but larger than many of the surrounding houses, hinting the family had some degree of wealth, but not enough to be in the north side of the city. The curtains were drawn and if it weren't for a single lit candle, one might assume nobody was home.

Vix followed through with the plan and knocked at the door. An old woman answered the knock, eventually, and seemed annoyed. She told Vix "she didn't have the money". Vix clarified she was to deliver a message, and could not leave without a response.

The old woman reviewed the letter, and told Vix "it was gibberish, and tell whoever sent it to me to never contact me again", before slamming the door on her face.

Vix would have came back emptyhanded, if she didn't notice the initial signs of progeny sickness taking its hold on the old woman.

She returned and relayed the information back to the party. Ronja disguised herself as a dockworker and spied on the woman for some time. Eventually, a man came by, who seemed to be a debt collector. A similar exchange that Vix received occurred. The man was annoyed and left. Ronja and Vix pursued him, leaving Cassius to guard the wagon.

Ronja hiding and Vix acting casual, they followed him throughout the majority of the city.

They eventually ended up in the merchant yard in the west end of the city, ending at a debt collections agency.

Vix masqueraded as a representative of the Goldfeather noble house. She remembered they were a middling sized noble house with more wealth gained through trade than they knew what to do with. Vix enquired about the debt, and sweetened the deal with the prospect of the Goldfeathers possibly paying off the debt, if the assets were worthwhile.

She found out the Vane family were out 10,000 crowns from "a construction project in the stormhorns". The debt collector truly didn't know what the debt was for, other than the Two Rivers construction company, situated near the citadel of the purple dragon would know more. It wasn't Meredith's debt either - it was her father's. She simply inherited it.

Vix and Ronja left to reconvene with Cassius in the wagon.

They spoke of what they uncovered, and Vix continued on to the Two Rivers construction company.

Vix went with the same story to the surly dwarf manning the counter. He seemed "done" with the situation and was quite cooperative. He specified he would never work with a wizard again. He told Vix the project was an elaborate "healing shrine" in a secluded part of the mountains, nearly halfway between Skull Crag and Minroe, a bit closer to Skull Crag. He spoke of the inconvenience of the project and how it was so stretched out and the level of security they had to have in the process of undergoing it. He described the shrine as "remote, and in the mountains" and went into some detail of how they had to make paths up to it.

Vix asked if she could find it and if her house could investigate it. The dwarf seemed quite ready to accept, given the prospect of actually collecting on the staggering debt incurred by Vane Egyon. He described its location, and the fact that signs pointed towards its location once you were actually close on the path. With a final curse on all wizards, the dwarf bid her adieu.

Vix rejoined her companions in the wagon.

350 xp for session
End: 4 pm, Wednesday, 10, 1396