Campaign6/session2
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Sole Survivor
Pre-game prodding from the GM:
To get those little grey cells jogging a bit, I'll pose the following questions for you to mull over:
1.) Why isn't the town guard or Hebridonian army doing this job? Why did they recruit total strangers for the job?
2.) Why is an *Elven* captain from a foriegn army handling the assignment and getting you guys started?
3.) Why were the underground fortifications guarded by a mere 12 men if there was the possibility of more Demarians round?
4.) Why weren't the bodies in the outside compound buried, or carried off for proper funerary rites?
5.) If the Demarian priestess (Nymvayas. - I'm not sure if I gave you her name yet) is not cooperating, why is she still alive?
6.) Just who the heck are these other people on the team? Why were they selected when others were told "come back later".
Ok, that's a good start. Some of those questions are more important than others. None of them have arbitrary answers. Something to think about.
Synopsis:
The a few in the party muster the will to enter the temple to look for survivors, while others unburden their stomachs outside. No one is unaffected by the brutality and horror that they witness. Arranged in a pattern that extends the hexagram carved on the temple floor, it is clear that the Phedrani were alive and struggling for a while on the metal racks before their suffering ended. Miraculously, they find one guard alive. Triella does her best to heal the wounds and stabilize the Phedrani, and the others prepare a litter using the door coverings, two poles and some of Anna's leather straps.
Before carrying the wounded Phedrani to the surface, the party removes the remaining guards from the temple and place them in a guardhouse at the outer perimeter of the underground complex. In the process, they discover a large amount of shattered crystal. Triella and Bandanna gather some samples for further examination.
The party heads back to the surface carrying the Phedrani on the makeshift stretcher. He regains partial conciousness and asks questions, identifying him self as Fareavean Longfeather.
Cpt. Ravensfeather leads the way back to the surface with Gurath. However, Gurath’s tunnel markings seem to have been removed. They manage to backtrack to the underground cavern, and try again, but they simply fail to find the way that they came in. Finally, they resolve to simply follow passages and turns that lead upward, knowing that eventually they will find a breach to the surface. They finally emerge in a cellar, and while they do have the Captain of the Elven guard with them, they decide to proceed cautiously, in case Demarian collaborators are using the building as an access to the underground.
After listening and observing, they decide that no one is around and emerge onto the first floor of a house. The most immediate room has a table, with rotting food on a solitary plate and a chair knocked aside. Everyone quickly notices a pungent stench in the air, something more than decaying food. Triella says "I know that smell. That is the smell of death."
The Ravensfeather and Tegred go for a wagon to carry the wounded Phedrani to the Mage Corps for healing. Triela looks for the source of the foul smell. On the 2nd floor, she finds a dead man nailed to the floor by the skin around the perimeter of his body. His chest is split open and his heart and other organs are missing!!!
Ravensfeather and Tegred return with a cart and some guards to watch the house until a proper investigation can be performed. The party escorts Faravien to the Royal Court, where he is healed by Alyssa Bramhall.
The party is taken to a room and debriefed. They are offered the job of finding the traitorous Demarian sympathizers for 10Gp a day! This is a lot of money andeveryone accepts.They are given a weeks pay in advance, 80Gp each. Several party members request some additional equipment, and Ravensfeather indicates that reasonable requests can be accomodated.
The party is given the cover of acting as the Crown's agents in managing Islay Trade. They will live in Islay manor, and use it as a base of operations. The hope is that an in-depth examination of the manor and its contents, along with interaction with Islay's trade partners may reveal some leads that will help expose the remaining Demarian threat. The meeting ends, and the group splits to attend to various points of business.
Triella, clearly suffering from the stress of recent events, excuses herself and indicates that she will find the others at Islay manor later. Triella takes sanctuary in her room at the Mage corps, where her friend Alissa comes and comforts her. With Alissa's help, Triella manages to fight back the nightmares of her childhood and of recent events, and pulls herself together. Alissa gives Triella a pendant which she says will help keep her safe.
Gurath, Fareavean and Anna go to see Nymvayas. Fareavean answers Nymvayas questions about the Scaryn, pointing out that the Eloshai hunted every last Scaryn to extinction, wiping out the whole race as vengance for the war. Nymvayas is taken aback that a Kyelsoran knows so much, and is willing to admit his people's role in genocide. Both Gurath and Anna were totally unaware of the grim end for the Scaryn. Nymvayas answers some of the group's questions, but with Triella's absence, they are unsure if her answers are helpful.
Jake and Ban head straight for Islay Manor and introduce themselves to the hired help (undercover guards assigned to protect them). They had straight to the manor library to see what they can learn.
Tegred's destination is unknown to the rest of the party.
Previously: Session 1: The Gathering Storm
Continued in: Session 3 Islay Manor
Campaign 6 Index
