Campaign1/session-11-12
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Payback
Session Dates: March 14th and March 31st, 2000
Assynt 24, 1022 continued
In the dim light, the group struggles to break free of the hasty bonds which secure their hands and feet. Rheanon assists by cutting through Telovien's ropes, but as she finishes she retreats into the shadows as one of the robed figures returns, and looms menacingly over Max. The figure begins working Max over with the heel of his boot, and Max recognizes him as the mage that he accosted earlier in the day, despite having transformed in appearance to have the facial attributes of a Dargai.
The beating is cut short when the attacker notices that another captive, opposite the party, is wrestling vigorously to break free, and has worked his way (still bound) halfway up the wall in an attempt to stand. The Dargai, apparently not finicky regarding the recipient of his brutal attention, threw the other back to the floor, delivered a punishing shower of kicks and stomps, each met with the other's fierce muffled taunting.
The barrage ceased when the attacker heard a voice calling to him, and he departed the room, answering back in an unfamiliar foreign language. The group quickly removed the remainder of the bonds and assisted the other captive to stand. Each noticed that a number of personal effects were missing, probably removed by the kidnappers while they were unconscious. Among them, Max's prized ring of invisibility.
Charlis regarded the stranger with curiosity, and quietly inquired "What your name?"
"My friends call me 'Smiley', if I had any friends." Smiley said wryly.
After quickly deciding that now was not a good time to exchange pleasantries, the group hastened down a corridor, in the opposite direction from the Dargai mage's departure.
As they cautiously felt their way, using one of the tallow candles as their only source of light, Rheanon reports that her ultra-sensitive hearing picked up the sound of animated voices behind them, perhaps their captors discovering their escape! At a branching of ways, Telovien quickly collapses the passage behind them using an earth-shaping incantation, hoping that the obstruction will be sufficient to prevent being pursued.
Following several twists and turns, and applying the "always take the upward passage" rule, the group emerges in the pantry of a rather posh dining establishment and gentleman's society called "The Cock's Feathers". The group attempts to finesse their way out of the building, posing as inspectors, and bossing the hired help around as if they belong, but in the end they scurry into the street and disappear into the night before the rather burly owner could lay hands on any of them.
On the streets, making their way back up the hill towards the Castle and Islay Manor, formal introductions are made between Smiley and the rest of the party. He explains that he was nabbed outside of a tavern, after waiting for an information source that never showed. Smiley explains that he was hired to find out what has become of the heir to the Islay fortune (Faegan Islay) by his parents, and to clear his name of any conspiracy against they crown (which is a current outstanding charge which allowed Islay Manor to be seized by the Royal Court several days ago!)
"So what was the information you were going to buy?" Max asked Smiley.
"Some background information on Faegan's latest conquest, a woman named Dahlia Exton." Smiley replied, gently probing his chest to see if any ribs were broken from the assault.
"Sounds like you were set up." Charlis added matter-of-factly.
"You think?" Smiley snapped back with biting sarcasm.
"In any case, it would seem we have common lines of inquiry. We're staying at Islay Manor as part of a..." Telovien paused for a moment, "similar investigation. You're welcome to join us if you like."
Regarding Telovien with a suspicious eye, Smiley agrees "Perhaps that would be wise. Clearly my street inquiries have drawn some unwelcome attention. Best to lie low for a few days."
Returning to Islay Manor, the group finds the two elven guards posted at the door unconscious behind the hedge. Before waking them, Max absconds one of their short swords. The guards, distraught over their failure, assure the group that additional watch will be posted on the manor, including several guards to watch the entry-way into the underground passages.
The late hour and harrowing events of the day have sapped what remaining strength the group has, having woken very early that morning in the back of a covered wagon! With a total of eight guards positioned about the manor, the group retires for the evening, settling in for an uneasy sleep.
Assynt 25, 1022
After rousing, and enjoying a hearty breakfast compliments of the court-supplied staff at Islay manor, the group discusses options for further action. They finally agree to hunt their late-evening visitors, tracking them back to their lair from their point of entry. Equipped with weapons and lanterns supplied by the guard, the group re-enters the underground.
Along the way, Telovien attempts to thwart the confusing nature of the warren-like tunnels, dropping a line of beads to hopefully lead them back from the depths of the underground. Just as the tracking trail became difficult to follow further, Rheanon managed to hear a sound down one of the branches, and following her ears, the group reached an opening to a landing and ramp leading down the interior of a domed chamber.
The chamber, roughly 30 yards across, showed ripples in the wall similar to those found in the tunnels. The source of the sound that Rheanon is seen on the floor 10 feet below their level, on the far side of the chamber, chanting in front of a book on a pedestal beside an altar. Upon the altar, the remains of another disemboweled elf, along with a shallow bowl of some powder which the acolyte occasionally picks up with his fingers and flicks into the flame of a nearby candle, producing a flash and an audible "whoompf!"
Noting that the acolyte is alone, the group decides to render him unconscious, perhaps dragging him back to the manor for further questioning. With incredible stealth, Smiley creeps up behind the acolyte, who is too pre-occupied with the ceremony to notice, and knocks him senseless to the floor with two strokes of his staff to the head.
Max goes over to look at the acolyte, and realizes its the same person that he accosted the day before! Out of reflex, Max kicks him in the ribs. The acolyte awakens briefly, and smiles at Max. "I knew you'd come back...." Max's boot to the head returns the acolyte to the land of darkness and dreams.
Max, Smiley and Telovien stand by a door on the floor level, which is situated below the landing and doorway from which they entered, peering into the inky blackness to determine if their presence has been noted. A moment passes, then a small dis-embodied eye darts out of the door and swiftly looks about. Instinctively, Smiley whacks at the eye, which vanishes without a trace!
"What the hell was that!" Smiley barely manages to contain himself to a sharp whisper.
"Trouble." Max moaned.
"We should go!" Telovien added. Quietly they made their way back to the ramp, with Smiley carrying the limp body of the acolyte. A disembodied male voice, echoing from all sides within the chamber, mocks "Going so soon?"
Smiley drops the body, and assumes a defensive posture, which is proven useless a moment later when a large gash appeared on his left left, making it difficult to stand or walk! Max swung into the area of the hidden attacker, managing to score a passing blow before the foe eluded his detection.
Telovien decides to use the unconscious acolyte as a hostage, holding a short sword to the fallen Dargai's neck. "Show yourself, or he dies!" When the attacker continues to toy with the group, Telovien proves he's not bluffing by running the fallen Dargai through the neck with the blade!
While playing a game of subtle cat and mouse with the foe, Charlis, Max, Smiley and Telovien manage to get the hidden warrior on the ground after Rheanon cleverly uses the acolytes ceremonial powder to cause the attacker to sneeze, thus revealing his position! Just as capture seemed certain, a female Dargai in robes similar to the acolyte (and by the way, also similar to the robes found in the attic of Islay manor) stepped into the doorway, speaking in almost sub-sonic speech and gesturing. Recognizing the signs of a spell-casting, both Smiley and Telovien hasten to attack the woman in the doorway. They are thwarted however when a hard semi-transparent dome formed over them, trapping them inside. Telovien retaliates by collapsing the roof of the corridor above the female mage, forcing her to retreat as he pushed a wall of dirt down the passageway.
Meanwhile, the invisible foe manages to escape Max's clutches and slaps Rheanon away from the pedestal as she is ripping pages from the ceremonial book! He also makes a brief stop by the fallen acolyte, and apparently heals the neck wound! Charlis attempts to block the end of the ramp, hoping to prevent the attacker's escape.
"He can't hide forever." Max tells Charlis smugly.
Charlis feels the invisible man slip past him, and Max pursues him up the ramp. Unfortunately, the attacker is waiting for him midway up the ramp and when Max slips by, the attacker delivers two powerful wounds to Max's backside. Spinning in an attempt to fend off further attack and hit the hidden warrior, Max fails and ends up presenting a fresh side for further wounds administered by the attacker. Max falls to the ground, unconscious from the pain.
While Telovien and Smiley watch helplessly, Charlis assumes a defensive stance at the bottom of the ramp, for a moment hearing only the sound of his own breathing.
The attacker blows past him, and finally appears on the far side of the chamber, sporting several wounds of his own. Dressed in leather armor, the tall Dargai warrior collects the book and the ripped pages from the floor, then stalks over to the fallen acolyte to confirm that he yet breathes. While he is searching the body for something, Rheanon manages to deliver a cut to the Dargai's neck with a poisoned sword.
As the Dargai exits through the lower passage, now unblocked because Telovien's earth shaping spell has lapsed, he begins to hallucinate, and is heard screeching as he disappears into the darkness of the tunnel.
After what seems like an eternity (which turns out to be roughly 10 minutes), the confining shell disappears and Smiley and Telovien are free!
"Lets grab him and get out of here!" Telovien points to the wounded acolyte, indicating that Smiley should carry him again. "I'll get Max."
As the group reaches the top of the ramp, Rheanon can hear someone coming down the lower passage. Knowing that Smiley cannot carry the Dargai and out-pace someone in pursuit, he drops the body from the upper landing as the female Dargai mage emerges into view below. She is barely able to get out from under the falling acolyte before it can hit her, but it buys enough time for the group to retreat down the passage and collapse the tunnel behind them.
For a time, they are able to follow the beans that Telovien dropped along their journey into the underground, but in a moment, they are no longer there to follow! Backtracking fails to re-establish the trail, and they are forced to use the "Always take the upward sloping path!" rule, finally emerging through a covered hole on a busy street at the bottom of Castle Hill.
Previously: Drip, Drip, Drip
Followed by: The Hunted
Campaign 1 Index
