Session Fifteen: CHAINS AND CHAMBERS

- The party set off to investigate the strange rumors about Rath at the Silver Tower. On their journey, they stayed the night once more at the village of Fairway. The town was bustling and surprisingly cheerful, and they found a bronze statue of the original party (along with a plaque engraved with the single word: “DAUNTLES”). They also enjoyed a brief visit to the inn, where Adamir met a youth named Jacob, who spoke enthusiastically about the black cloak he had just bought in Cindre.

- Nearing the Silver Tower, they came upon a heavily-armored knight standing beside a broken wagon in a stream. The wagon’s cargo was a large wooden box wrapped with sinister chains. The knight introduced himself as Sir Glendon of Dawn Glen, from the kingdom of Cloudrest.

- Tessel greeted him with great courtesy, and Valra did her best to do the same. It transpired that Sir Glendon had been hired to help some Seraphs deliver the mysterious box to the Silver Tower and to unlock it once it had arrived. However, the Seraphs had been recalled from the mission early, and the horse that had been pulling the wagon had bolted when the box started jostling. Apparently there was something alive inside the box, and Sir Glendon was having trouble deciding how (and whether) to continue his mission. Tessel used a spell of Detect Good & Evil and determined that there was a fiend inside the box, which helped clarify things greatly. Sir Glendon agreed to help the party kill whatever was inside. He used his key to undo the chains on the box, and Valra pushed off the lid to reveal a chain devil.

- The box’s chains abruptly sprung to life and sprouted razors, grabbing hold of several of the adventurers. Valra, wearing bulky armor, was unable to cast spells, but she did get some good hits with her short sword. Adamir tried to use his new magical scimitar, and Sir Glendon swung his greatsword over and over, but the chains proved to be tricky to hit. Ralnur’s axe proved to be the most helpful, and in his battle rage he smashed several of the chains, scattering their links into the stream.

- The chain devil retreated into the deeper parts of the stream, lashing out with its chains and using terrifying illusions to try to frighten the party. Tessel pursued and used her holy power to smite the devil. But it was Ardwyn who struck the final blow, cleverly using her Tagger Dagger to catch up to the devil and stabbing it with a sneak attack. Adamir gathered up the devil’s fiendish chains. Sir Glendon announced that he had seen enough of Rakos and would return to Cloudrest as soon as he could. Tessel congratulated Valra for her valiant display of martial prowess.

- They decided to try to use the box to sneak into the Silver Tower. Ardwyn hid inside the box, Adamir stealthily crept through the grass near the tower, while Valra turned both herself and Tessel into horses (using Mending to fix the broken wagon parts). After much coaching, Ralnur led them up to the door of the Silver Tower.

- Before he could knock, the door opened to reveal a very creepy mage with a wide grin and a black robe. Ralnur said that he was delivering the box, but the mage just told him to leave it outside and slammed the door. Not knowing exactly what to do next, Ralnur walked away. The horses and the box were very concerned by this. After a few minutes, the mage stepped out and cast a detection spell on the box, frowning when he discovered what was inside. Ralnur returned to the door again, this time asking for payment for the delivery. Luckily, the mage just assumed he was ignorant and dim-witted and tried to send him away again.

- When Ralnur stayed, asking to see Rath, the creepy mage began to lead him upstairs. The rest of the party finally emerged from hiding and stepped inside the tower, but this triggered a silent alarm, and the mage immediately noticed. Adamir took the initiative by tackling the mage and trying to tie him up, but the man just kept grinning (albeit in a very forced way) and teleported away in a puff of mist. Ardwyn searched the second floor, but found nothing except for creepy candles with red flame. These candles suddenly burst into a brighter flame simultaneously, and a voice whispered to Ralnur, “get out while you can”. They tried to ascend further, but they found their path blocked by a force field. Valra attempted to dispel it, but she wasn’t able to defeat the well-crafted spell.

- After a moment, they heard a familiar voice from the floor above. Rath had appeared and began asking questions. “Ardwyn, is that you? And... Tessel?” He cast a few detection spells before descending to meet them and dispelling the force field. “Well this was all just a big misunderstanding, then! Welcome to the Silver Tower!” Rath explained that all the creepiness was just a ruse meant to keep people away. It was the only way he believed he could prevent Baldric from seeing him as a threat. The creepy mage turned out to be a friendly student named Adrian.

- Rath took the party up to his office and began to explain what he had been up to. For years, he had been training his devoted remaining students in the arts of war, plotting to overthrow Baldric. More recently, he had been interviewing devils and other extraplanar entities, and he had discovered quite a lot. He knew about the pact between Baldric and Mephistopheles, and he knew that the Mantella was causing the soul sickness.

- Rath believed that Mephistopheles was planning to use the Mantella to finally become a god and take control of the Nine Hells, but he had discovered something that nobody else seemed to know: the Mantella could only be used by a mortal. Mephisto’s plan was doomed to failure! Rath shared this information with the devils, hoping to cause a rift between Mephistopheles and Baldric, and apparently it had worked. Fearing that Baldric might try to steal the Mantella for himself, Mephisto broke the pact and stripped his power. That was the good news. The bad news was that, even after it had gathered enough souls, the Mantella would continue sucking in souls until some mortal claimed its power. To stop the soul sickness, somebody would need to claim the Mantella...

Session Fourteen: PLANS AND PROCUREMENT

Introducing: the short version!

- Valra, upset at having discovered that a devil was promoting her “live and let live” credo, cast Divination to ask the spirit of nature what she should do. Ardwyn tried to quickly dress up as Mother Nature to answer, but Valra saw right through the disguise. The true answer came through a whisper on the wind: “Look to your friends to guide you.” The druid took this to mean that she should mimic her companions, and she started by acquiring a short sword and scale mail, hoping to imitate Tessel’s look.

- When Valra cast the spell, she sacrificed some of her silver arrows as spell components, which were collected by a bold raccoon. However, Adamir set some traps and was able to recapture the raccoon with one of the arrows later.

- Adamir received a Sending from the devil Balthazar, stating: “Wonderful news! Mephisopheles has revoked his pact and stripped Baldric of his powers. He has done you a favor. I hope you’ll respond in kind.” After consultation with Tessel and the others, he sent back a response: “Sorry, new Sending, who dis?”

- After passing some commoners who seemed to recognize them (mostly fans), the party decided to follow Ralnur to a path further away from the main road. Unfortunately, they ended up running into a very lost Peacekeeper named Putnam. He shared their fire, made small talk with Tessel, and got a lovely song from Ardwyn and Ralnur (“Caaaaamping! I wanna camp with you! And we’re gonna drink some tooooo!”). Eventually, though, he remembered that he was supposed to deliver a warning about the band of outlaws who had kidnapped the Duchess of Cindre, and he realized who he was speaking to. Tessel helped resolve the issue by casting Zone of Truth, including some of her companions, and telling him the truth. Though he was at first wary, he was eventually convinced and allowed to go free.

- Ralnur confronted the rest of the party about letting Putnam go free. The half-orc was worried that they had let someone go who knew their identities as “Bigboy and the Adventurers of the Past”. “They’re eeeeevil!” he said. “They’re peeeeeople!” countered Ardwyn. “They’re both!” Ralnur concluded.

- They (mostly Tessel) spent their free time opening the extra lockboxes they had looted from the Treasury. They found some jewelry, a deed to a manor, some insurance papers, some papers written in an obscure shorthand, and a set of diaries full of scandal. Ardwyn helped pick the lock on the smaller box, and inside they found a stack of terrible poems. 

- As they approached Thordan’s shrine, they were surprised to find Cedric there. He shared some news with them:

  - Emmon had succeeded in taking over Revo and was now making a slow procession to the capital.

  - Avisha sent word that the Peacekeepers had abandoned their encirclement around the Elfwood and were heading north and south in two main groups. Fearing that her hideout might be discovered, she warned that she might need to abandon it and go into hiding elsewhere.

  - A hot air balloon had landed in Cindre and the strange gnome who was piloting it was asking for the party.

- Downstairs in the shrine, Thordan and Anna were having tea. The whole group sat down to decide what to do next. They decided:

  - The Highrock hideout was no longer safe, so Thordan should take the Duchess to Cindre, where she could do some good until it was time to meet with the other Dukes in the capital.

  - Cedric should take Lorwyn to his hideout in Revo and take care of her there.

  - A message would be sent to Avisha and the Outcasts in Wayport, instructing them to head north and investigate Valen in pairs. Specifically, they were told to look for devilish activity and anything possibly related to the Soul Sickness or the Mantella.

- They teleported to Cindre, where Perrin and Anna got to work re-asserting her rule. The streets were crowded with refugees and victims of soul sickness, but the citizens were of high spirits, and it looked like the Regency’s power was negligible here.

- The party found Jilbin with her hot air balloon in the middle of a plaza. She was irate that they had taken so long to find her after she had put so much work into making custom items for them. They bought the Tugger Huggers, Stone Cold Bat Axe, Tubic Send-A-Bleater, Portable Ram, Quaker Oaks, Earmugs, Eye Pod, and Smellcaster. Adamir snuck off to sell their extra equipment and buy some Half Plate armor. Valra also left Jilbin with 350gp to upgrade her Collar of Prettiness.

Session Thirteen: PLUNDER AND PROBITY

Despite a smooth landing into the bowels of the Treasury, it took them a moment to get their bearings. Apparently, the place had been reorganized since their last visit. Although they recognized the room, they didn’t recognize its contents, which amounted to a few antiques on display in the middle of the room (battered plate armor, old shields, a fur coat, and a flower under a glass dome). Adamir and Ralnur immediately set about looting the place.

Belden’s top concern, however, was getting out. Valra volunteered to cast Spider Climb to allow him to escape, and he eagerly agreed. After borrowing 150ft of rope, he walked up the walls (although he voiced some disappointment that he hadn’t been given the ability to fly) and reached the cellar of his inn. After a moment, he called back down to them, “ah, does anyone know how to tie knots??” Tessel shouted instructions at him as best as she could.

Ardwyn, meanwhile, stealthily crept out into the hallway. Though she saw no movement, she heard the scrape of metal on stone a few rooms away. She slipped over to the room across the hall and found herself surrounded by a wealth of magical items: a moving driftwood statue of an elk that stared at her and posed majestically, an intricately designed golden scimitar, a pair of purple gloves, a helm with glowing red eyes, a small golden orb dangling from a leather collar, and a variety of potions by the wall.

Tessel wandered into the room (with rather less stealth) and picked up the helm with the glowing eyes to inspect it. It suddenly began to vibrate and shake violently in her hands, and she dropped it quickly. It clattered to the floor, its eyes glowing stronger than before. She decided not to pick it up again, and although she didn't detect anything when casting Detect Evil, she nevertheless warned her companions not to touch it. Ardwyn, meanwhile, had enough arcane insight to identify the elk as a harmless decorative statue. But what caught her eye even more strongly was a blue-and-silver dagger, which she inspected and identified as a Wind Blade (a dagger with magically extended reach). She put it in her belt for later use and went back into the hall to scout some more.

Adamir and Ralnur took some of the items in the first room, but decided not to take the ruined plate armor, instead sending it clanking to the floor. Ralnur tried to take the flower, but it dissolved into dust as soon as he picked up the glass dome protecting it. Frustrated, he threw the glass against the wall, where it shattered loudly.

All this noise was alarming Ardwyn, who was continuing to sneak quietly down the hall. For a moment, she heard the metal sound pause, before it continued as before. Creeping forward, she saw that the next rooms were dedicated to storing books and a large collection of small lockboxes. In the latter room, a magical construct (an animated suit of rickety, half-completed splint armor) was pulling out one of the lockboxes. It froze in place as they stared at each other.

Back in the previous rooms, Valra happily collected the magic collar, while Adamir gathered the other items and inspected a small chest at the end of the room. It contained nothing except a red velvet pillow with an indentation where something spherical used to sit. Ralnur was helping to gather the potions, tossing them into the Bag of Holding. It wasn’t a difficult toss, but somehow he missed with his last throw, and the potion (a dark brass bottle leaking smoke) hit the ground hard. The cork popped out, and almost immediately the room was filled with a dark smoke, impossible to see through. Valra acted quickly, casting Dispel Magic. Just as quickly, the smoke dissipated, and the bottle was left inert on the floor.

All of this commotion, unfortunately, finally triggered the Treasury’s guardians. The construct looking at Ardwyn stood up, turned to face her, and began to march threateningly, its steps echoed by a dozen other constructs farther down the hall. The rogue jumped back out of the room, but the guardians charged forward to join combat.

Ardwyn landed the first blow with her new Wind Blade, slicing at the nearby construct from several steps away. To her surprise, after one hit it clattered into pieces on the floor. Clearly these were not built for combat. Tessel ran forward and took a position next to the rogue, blocking the hallway. From one of the far rooms, three animated armors marched out and attacked. Unlike the rickety construct that the rogue had destroyed, these were complete suits of spiked plate armor, obviously designed for fighting. Yet as they swung their morningstars again and again, they couldn't penetrate the paladin's thick armor, and they barely landed one hit on Ardwyn (as she dodged with uncanny skill) before deciding to reconsider their tactics.

Adamir and Ralnur ran toward the fray, shouting, and the ranger took two shots with his longbow. Valra first ducked into the room they had arrived in to check if Belden had finished sending down the rope (he had) before coming back into the hallway and casting Dispel Magic once again, this time on one of the armors attacking Tessel. The spell seemed to shut it down without killing it, almost as if the thing had fallen unconscious. The paladin took a swing and dented it deeply with her longsword. The other armor tried to drag its fallen companion back to safety, but by then Ralnur had arrived, and he smashed it to pieces with two mighty blows from his greataxe.

Ardwyn took this opportunity to literally leap into the fray, launching herself past the armors and into one of the back rooms. One of them had apparently been used to store the animated armors and constructs, while the other was full of money chests. She shouted that she had found the gold while she slashed out with her daggers at the constructs nearby. Sadly, she couldn’t manage to land a hit, and she quickly found herself surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Valra, seeing that they were badly outnumbered, decided to even things out a bit. Casting Conjure Animals, she summoned eight fey panthers in the midst of the crowd of enemies. Seven of them immediately caused chaos, attacking the myriad constructs and drawing their attention. The druid kept one of them back with her, and she gingerly took out the magical collar and put it on the panther, waiting to see what it might do. To her delight, the panther instantly looked more healthy and handsome, its fur perfectly clean and shiny. Satisfied, Valra followed up by casting Barkskin (turning it into an oddly handsome tree-panther) and sending it into the fray.

The others, appreciating the respite, continued to do their part in the melee. Ralnur recklessly smashed apart another of the animated armors, while Tessel broke the constructs with her sword, one after another. Ardwyn cunningly leapt out of reach of her enemies and went to open the chests, discovering that there was indeed a significant amount of gold to be had. Adamir ran in to take her place in the middle of all the constructs and landed two solid blows against the last suit of armor, which soon fell. The remaining constructs were clumsy things, and several accidentally smashed each other to bits. With the real fighters destroyed, and facing both the party and the panthers, the constructs never stood a chance. In short order, they were all destroyed.

Ralnur, eager for his reward, picked up the entire chest of gold and dumped it straight into the Bag of Holding. Ardwyn checked out the smaller chests, finding that they were full of silver. She helped herself to a few secret handfuls before putting the rest in the bag. Valra, meanwhile, gathered her panthers and laid down across them, enjoying a well-deserved rest.

With the coast clear, the party split up to examine what else they might want to take. Ardwyn searched the book room for anything related to the ancient history of Rakos, though she only found one damaged tome that was so obtuse she could hardly understand what it said. Ralnur went back to the magic item room and picked up the helm that Tessel had warned him about, and it promptly exploded in his face, blasting both the half-orc and the driftwood statue with fire. Adamir went into the lockbox room to see what he might retrieve. The lockboxes had magical locks, but they were flimsy enough that he was able to pry one of them open after a good ten minutes of effort. Inside he found a parchment entitled “The Last Will And Testament Of The Noble Lord Kelton”. He called for help from the others, and they were able to open a few more, finding another will, a deed to a manor, a few pieces of jewelry, and a smaller box with a more sturdy, physical lock.

Adamir calculated that they would need about eight hours to open all the lockboxes, so Valra volunteered to climb up and tell Belden, with her panthers meowing after her as she ascended. He was a bit unnerved by the idea, but agreed to go home and let them finish up on their own time. However, about five minutes later he burst back into the inn, panicked. “The Passwall spell!” he gasped, “it only lasts an hour!” They only had about half an hour left before their escape route would disappear. They opened a few more lockboxes, while Ralnur shook the rest to try to find the ones that jingled the most. He threw the best ones into the Bag of Holding to pry open later. With most of their hour used up, the party climbed back up the rope, one by one.

They found Belden and Valra waiting cheerfully in the cellar room. The gnome was relieved to have them back and proudly showed them the tangled and lumpy web of innumerable knots that he had tied around all the casks in the room. They spent some time undoing the knots and recovering the party’s rope, and soon the hole in the floor vanished. They had covered their tracks successfully.

Or so they thought. When they reached the taproom at the top of the stairs, they found that they were not alone. Two dwarven guards flanked the door, each wearing the green uniform of Highrock. At one of the tables sat a smirking young man with his feet on the table. He wore a long, tight, and elaborately tailored coat, and a rapier dangled from his hip. “How nice of you to join us,” he said, his voice dripping mockery. “Did you really think you could steal from me without being detected? You obviously don’t know who you’re dealing with.” He stood up dramatically and gave a mocking bow. “I,” he pronounced, “am Marius Nethercaller, Magus Factotum of the Royal Treasury! And now, I shall be taking you to the Duke!”

The party spread out, ready for a fight, but Tessel gave a polite bow in return. Quietly, she told her friends that they could make a run for it. Valra, standing near the bar, picked at her nose, unimpressed. Adamir stepped forward and asked coldly, “why shouldn’t we just kill you where you stand?” Marius looked at him haughtily, apparently unaware that he was badly outmatched, and made a dramatic gesture. “I’d like to see you try,” he scoffed. “I was trained by Golden Galen himself!” He conjured a blue flame in his off-hand, pleased to have a chance to show off. Ardwyn took this opportunity to prick his ego, popping out from the stairwell and throwing a dagger between his legs, cutting a hole in his coat before giving a mocking curtsy. He looked back at her with rage. “Do you have any idea how much that cost?” he demanded through clenched teeth.

Adamir had heard enough. He drew his longbow and fired two shots toward Marius. Yet, improbably, both of them missed, thudding into the wooden walls of the inn. On the bright side, at least it looked like he was missing intentionally. “That’s enough!” bellowed one of the guards as he stepped forward with a stern look. “Stop playing with the boy! Listen. You’re not under arrest yet. But the Duke of Highrock kindly requests your presence. And it would be impolite to refuse.”

Adamir, never much one for politeness, immediately bolted out the door, carrying the Bag of Holding. “STOP HIM!” shouted Marius, but the guard at the door was far too slow to react. Tessel then stepped forward and gently told the confused mage that she would agree to be taken to the Duke peacefully. One by one, the others followed her lead, surrendering without a fight. Marius looked back and forth between the four of them and the door, sputtering in fury. Eventually he raised his hand towards the door and shouted “Magic Missile!” Three bolts of light erupted from his palm and smashed the door to splinters, and he stormed out of the inn.

The two dwarven guards sighed in resignation and motioned for the party to follow them. Eyeing the smashed door, Ardwyn set her bag of silver on the counter, behind which she could just barely see Belden cowering with wide eyes. As she turned to leave, she heard him squeak behind her, “thank you for your custom!”

The four of them were led by Marius and the guards to the gates of the Citadel of Highrock and through the underground passages to a large torch-lit room that served as a great hall. Behind a table on the dais sat a tall dwarf with an impressive warhammer strapped to his back and pieces of fine armor trimmed with green. Ralnur had not seen him before, but he immediately knew he was looking at Yoren Hardhammer, the Duke of Highrock.

Marius stepped forward and threw his hand out toward the party. “These criminals were caught red-handed stealing from your Treasury, my lord! They are the fugitives who kidnapped the Duchess of Cindre! You must have them hanged!” The Duke glared at the young man icily for a long moment before he responded. “As you are so fond of reminding me, Marius, the Treasury is your jurisdiction, and your responsibility. They did not steal from me. Nevertheless...” His eyes turned toward the party. “Have you any defense?”

Tessel frowned, feigning confusion. “I don’t know what he’s talking about,” she said innocently. The others shrugged and nodded. Treasury? What Treasury? Ralnur piped up (above the objections of the others) to say that these were the heroes who defeated the demon in the Treasury decades ago, but the Duke only seemed to be amused by this outlandish claim.

Marius’s face grew purple with rage. He began to sputter accusations, but the Duke cut him off and began asking pointed questions. When had they arrived? Where had they been staying? What would Belden say if he were questioned too? The Duke was not hostile, but he bristled whenever he detected that someone wasn't being forthright. Before long, the impatient Marius interrupted, offering to take the entire group into the Treasury to see the evidence firsthand. They agreed, and set off through the corridors once more. Ardwyn tried to quietly tell Valra to hide the magical collar that the druid had in her pocket, but the Duke commented loudly on how little he liked to hear whispering in his presence, and they took the hint.

Before long they reached the bottom of the Treasury once more, and they uncovered the wreckage of the battle. “You see?” said Marius. “They have ransacked the place!” The Duke did not immediately agree, but he did seem more suspicious. “You say you are innocent, yes? So you wouldn’t mind if my guards were to search you?” No one objected, and he ordered the guards to search all their belongings. Ardwyn tried to use her roguish sleight of hand to hide her Wind Blade, but the sharp-eyed guard saw it and called out that she was hiding a dagger. “Nonsense,” said the rogue, “I was just trying to pass it to you!” She delivered this lie convincingly; the Duke rolled his eyes and told the guard to get on with the search.

Tessel, however, wasn’t sure about how long they could keep up the deception. She decided to try the opposite tactic. Without warning, she cast Zone of Truth on the entire group. Everyone, including Marius, the Duke, and his guards, was taken by surprise and fell under the spell, compelled to speak with complete honestly or not at all.

“My god,” the Duke said as he stepped back in alarm, “this would be incredibly useful at court!” He sounded startled and surprised, but not angry. Marius, on the other hand, sputtered fruitlessly, unable to make himself speak, becoming more and more frightened as he realized what had hppened. Tessel quickly began to confess. “My lord, I’m sorry we lied to you. We were just trying to stop the evil Baldric. As my friend told you before, we are indeed the heroes of old who slew the demon here. We were just hoping to gain strength so that we could depose the Regent and return Highrock and the other duchies to independence.”

The Duke reeled at these rapid-fire revelations, but he was distracted by a thought of his own. “You,” he said, pointing sharply at Marius, “what do you think of me?” The young man’s eyes widened in surprise. “I think I’m better than you. I think you’re a stupid country lowlife who has no business running a duchy,” he said before he could stop himself. The Duke smiled wolfishly and continued, “and have you committed any capital crimes against me?” Marius tried to speak, but the words were caught in his throat. The Duke raised an eyebrow. Marius bolted toward the ramp, but Ralnur grabbed a hold of his long-tailed coat and easily held him back. “We could tell you everything, Tessel said helpfully, if we could be sure he won’t pass the information on to the Regent.” The Duke walked forward and gave Marius a hard smack on the head with an armored fist, knocking him unconscious, before pausing. “That was ill-considered,” he muttered. “I should’ve asked more questions while I could... But no matter. I have plenty to discuss with the rest of you.” He turned to face the party.

They quickly told him everything they knew, answering his questions with honesty and efficiency. The Duke of Highrock seemed thrilled and refreshed by the magically-enforced honesty, as he confessed that he was not skilled at the deception and politicking that his job usually entailed. As they told him about the coup in Revo, the cause of the soul sickness, and the rescue of Duchess Anna, he occasionally muttered to himself, testing simple lies against the spell, trying to confirm that these incredible revelations were really the truth.

But he seemed to accept it, and even more importantly, he seemed sympathetic. Yoren Hardhammer was no fan of Baldric (or Marius), and he had long suspected that the Regency might be behind the recent crises in Rakos. Ultimately, although he wished to avoid civil war, he agreed to lend his support to a political solution. “With three Dukes, you could at least cause Baldric a good deal of trouble," he proclaimed. "With four, you could have him removed for certain!” He volunteered to head to the capital to prepare, and he asked that they send the other friendly Dukes to join him there as soon as possible. More immediately, he would allow the party to go free, and he would ensure that Marius would not cause any problems for them.

Despite stealing from the royal vaults, getting caught by Baldric's henchman, and nearly ending up in the Citadel's dungeons, they left the city more freely than they entered, and they met no trouble along the way.

Adamir, meanwhile, had been focused on securing their hard-won loot. After leaving the inn during the initial confrontation with Marius, he had sprinted for the walls, climbed over (avoiding the guards), and ran for the same wooded area where they had made camp the previous day. After ensuring that he was not followed, he traveled back onto the grassland outside the city and kept an eye on the city gate. When they emerged, he quickly joined them and got caught up on their encounter with the Duke.

They decided to head straight back to Thordan’s hideout. When they camped that night, they took some time to study the other magical items and potions they’d found. They identified them as a Scimitar of Adrenaline, Gloves of Missile Snaring, Collar of Prettiness, Philter of Love, Potion of Giant’s Strength, and Keoghtom’s Ointment, all useful items for a party of adventurers. Their caper had paid off handsomely.

As he rested, Adamir took another shot at decoding the letter he had found on the Seraph a few days previously. This time, his mind was working like magic. Everything clicked neatly into place, and he had the letter decoded within hours. It read:

“Fugitive Ralnur left village in Highrock countryside with SS mother, Lorwyn Unghart. Suspected hideout nearby. Interrogate locals and find hideout at any cost. Report back via locket as soon as you find anything of interest. Balthazar.”

They did not know who Balthazar was, but they were soon to find out. The next day, as they passed a crossroad, they heard a man's voice just behind them. “You’re awfully hard to track down, you know,” he said in a dry tone. Sure enough, it was a projected image of a devil, the exact same that had appeared to them at a similar crossroad long ago.

He introduced himself as Balthazar, and he asked if he might have a chance to talk. “I mean, we don’t really have a choice, do we?” asked an annoyed Tessel. But Balthazar merely smiled and continued. “Never fear. I don't have any deals to offer. Merely a gift of information. You have been laboring under a misunderstanding: that my master’s goals are evil. A very reasonable assumption, I admit! But for once, not true.” He claimed that he was a servant of Mephistopheles, “first Prince of Hell, second only to Asmodeus in the ranks of devils.” It was common knowledge that Mephisto sought to claim the throne of Hell, he explained, but there was no way to do so until recently. Now, Mephisto had discovered a great power in Rakos, and he planned to use it to destroy Admodeus. Baldric was merely a puppet, a tool being used towards these ends. “So you see, my master may be the second of all of Hell’s evils... but if his only goal is to kill the greatest evil of them all...” He finished with a wide grin.

Ardwyn spoke up. “What about the soul sickness? When you’re done with the Mantella, will you return all the souls you’ve stolen?” Balthazar’s grin faltered. “You know about the Mantella. That’s... very interesting. Yes, Mephisto believes he needs it to destroy Asmodeus. Sadly, there is no cure for the soul sickness, and the process cannot be interrupted. Still, there are a few protective amulets that could prevent you from falling ill. I could offer one to each of you, if you like?” Tessel shot him down tersely. “Already got one.”

The devil grimaced at that, but soon put on a winsome smile again. “All I’m asking is that you not interfere. Listen. You’ve attracted Mephisto’s personal attention. That’s never a good thing. Just go! Live and let live! Flee this land! And I promise you that we will not pursue.” Adamir grumbled in response. “Maybe you could show that you’re serious by killing Baldric first,” the ranger said. Balthazar gave him a sly look, and his smile broadened. “I like the way you think, ranger. Perhaps we can do something about that, you and I?” Tessel shot Adamir a sharp glare, but Balthazar continued before she could say anything. “Well then, I’ve taken enough of your time. You’ve heard what I had to say. Think on it!” He then vanished smoothly from their sight.

They continued walking for a short while before Tessel moved closer to Adamir. “I hope you realize,” she said matter-of-factly, “that if you go around making deals with devils, I will have to kill you...”

Session Twelve: CARNAGE AND CAPERS

After the familiar swirling feeling of the teleportation spell faded, the party found themselves in Thordan Orixbane’s small country shrine. He soon came bounding down the stairs to greet them. “Well what do we have here!” he bellowed. They greeted him warmly, but the cleric’s face suddenly went white when he was introduced to the Duchess of Cindre. “Oh no...” he muttered. “You brought her... here?” Thordan looked at them with an expression of horror on his face. “I don’t know how to take care of a Duchess! I don’t even know how to cook!” But Anna smiled and assured him that she would be all right.

After calming down, Thordan shared what little news he had heard. So far, word of Anna’s “kidnapping” had not reached this part of Highrock. They wouldn’t be treated as fugitives quite yet, but there was no telling how fast the news was traveling. Also, Cedric had reported that there was some sort of political scandal in Revo. Perhaps Emmon, the Outcast they had sent to wrest control of the duchy from his brother, was making his move?

There was one other piece of business to deal with before they left the shrine: protecting Lorwyn Unghart, who remained in a magical sleep, hoping to stave off the effects of the soul sickness. Ardwyn pulled out the protective amulet that Anna had provided them and showed it to Thordan, but Ralnur grabbed it out of her hand mid-sentence and put it around his adoptive mother’s neck. They stared, but nothing seemed to happen. “Should we wake her up?” asked Ardwyn. Thordan gave her an uncomfortable look. He explained that it would probably not do any harm, but he thought there was a small chance that it would cause Lorwyn to get worse. It would be safer, he thought, to wait until they dealt with (or at least understood) the underlying cause of the disease. Regretfully, they agreed to wait. “If we woke her up just to make things worse...” mused Ardwyn, “I’d probably become even less talkative and even more... drunkydrunk.”

Thordan asked where they were heading next, and they told him that they planned to make a daring raid on the Treasury. He told them that their best bet was talking to Davros, the gnome who ran the Treasury in the past, but who had been pushed out of his position by the Regency. He now lived in a cottage just outside the city. “You can’t miss it!” Thordan assured them with a smile.

They climbed out of the shrine’s basement and stepped out into the rolling hills and wide fields of Highrock. After spending the previous days in the cramped darkness of a cellar, the fresh air and sunshine were a welcome change. They set out on the small road south toward the city.

After a day’s travel, Ralnur spotted a worrisome scene about a mile up the road. It looked like a Seraph and two scouts were standing outside a small cottage alongside the road. The Seraph had a halfling shoved against a wall and seemed to be engaged in a less-than-gentle interrogation. He consulted with the party, and they all quickly agreed to deal with the problem head-on.

Adamir started by casting Pass Without Trace, shrouding the party’s movements as they crept quickly toward the cottage. They were able to reach a small ridge nearby without being seen. The Seraph was still manhandling the halfling, while the two scouts were leaning on the walls of the cottage, looking bored. They were not prepared for what came next.

Ardwyn launched herself from her hiding place, rushing straight toward the Seraph. He barely heard her approach before her battleaxe smashed into him, cutting deep below his armor. Ralnur followed up next, going into a battle rage and throwing two javelins at once. He launched them both with incredible force, but, sadly, they thudded into the wall of the cottage instead of their intended target. Tessel charged in, swinging her longsword, and Valra followed up by casting Entangle, sending vines shooting out of the earth to grab the feet of the scouts. (Adamir, meanwhile, had been a bit distracted when the others had signaled the attack, and was left flat-footed on the ridge.)

The scouts reacted quickly, trying to kick away the vines entangling their feet. One of them struggled in vain, but the other one was able to jump clear of the vines and fire a flurry of arrows toward Ralnur. One of them struck flesh, but the barbarian, deep in his battle rage, barely even felt it.

The Seraph, badly hurt by the sudden ambush, was not in a much better state. He drew his greatsword and slashed twice in quick succession, but none of his blows were able to get through Tessel’s thick armor. He stumbled away from his assailants, but his escape was slowed by Valra’s magical vines. Looking back on the party with hatred, he reached for a silver locket that hung at his neck... but Ralnur rushed in and grappled with him, crushing his hands and wrenching them away from the locket. Tessel ran to the other side, surrounding the Seraph and cutting off his escape route before landing two cruel hits with her sword.

Ardwyn let the bigger fighters enjoy their battle, turning away and climbing onto the low roof of the cottage. Stepping nimbly over the thatch, she rushed over to the far side of the cottage, where one of the scouts had just broken free of the vines and hidden behind the far wall. Ardwyn jumped over the unsuspecting scout, swinging her battleaxe around in mid-air and beheading the archer in one hit. She landed deftly, but soon saw the other scout firing a longbow in her direction. Two arrows struck her before she could react.

By then, Adamir had entered the fray. Taking careful aim, he fired his own arrows toward the Seraph, landing a solid hit. “Nice of you to join us!” called Ardwyn. Valra then shifted stealthily into the nearby blueberry bushes before casting Faerie Fire, igniting the remaining scout with purple flames. It was no trouble for Ardwyn to close the distance and strike down the scout with one more mighty chop.

The Seraph was still standing, but wasn’t faring much better. He swung wildly, striking a glancing blow against Ralnur before hitting the cottage wall at an awkward angle and losing his grip on the huge sword. It clattered to the ground. With his face finally showing fear, he reached once more for the locket, but Ralnur recklessly swung his greataxe with all his might. It crashed down onto the Seraph’s chest, tearing his armor apart and killing him instantly.

They took a moment to catch their breath and survey the battle scene. Tessel walked around to the closer side of the cottage, where the badly-beaten halfling had slipped away during the battle. She found him with his back up against the wall, an alarmed expression on his bruised face. “Um, hello!” he said, sounding more cheerful than he looked. “Thank you for that! Ah... are they, ah, all dead?” Tessel told him that he was safe and introduced herself politely before asking him about what had led to his unfortunate situation.

The halfling’s name was Teppo, and he claimed to be a local who grew some crops and raised some sheep in the fields nearby. The Seraph had arrived not long before the party had found them. Teppo hadn’t suspected any trouble, but the Seraph quickly became aggressive and began demanding information about Ralnur. Teppo knew the half-orc vaguely (“The dwarf’s boy! From the village! Right?”), but didn’t like the Seraph’s tone, and he had refused to give up any information. “We halflings are tougher than we look,” he said with more than a hint of pride.

Tessel smiled brightly at him. “Ralnur,” she called out, “do you--” She cut herself off as she looked around the corner and saw Ralnur standing over the Seraph’s corpse, his eyes entirely black, while blood slowly dripped from his axe and his body. Ardwyn was walking up to him with the heads of the two scouts in her hands. “He got anything good?” asked the dwarf nonchalantly. Ralnur turned his head towards her slowly and he smiled wildly. Suddenly, he bent down to the corpse and violently ripped the silver locket off the dead man’s chest before letting out a raucous “CAAAAWWWWWW!” Then, just as suddenly, he fainted and collapsed to the floor.

Tessel turned back to Teppo. “He’s busy.”

Adamir busied himself by going through the travel sacks that the Seraph and his goons had been carrying. There wasn’t much of value inside, but he did stumble across a short letter that appeared to be written in some sort of cipher. He peered intently for a long moment, but it was clear that he would need to devote a good deal more time if he wanted to have any hope of decoding it. Valra, meanwhile, decided to unwind with a post-battle snack of fresh blueberries, sharing some with Ardwyn and Ralnur as he slowly recovered from his battle trance.

Teppo greeted the rest of them warmly, giving his thanks for the timely rescue. Valra stared at him suspiciously, but after a long and insightful look, she concluded that he was exactly what he appeared to be: a kind farmer who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. After moving the bodies to a spot where Teppo claimed he could hide and bury them, they picked a few more blueberries and set off again on the road.

That evening, they sat around the campfire and tried to decode the letter together, with Valra calling upon her druidic Guidance to assist Adamir and the others in the task. However, even with all of them bending all of their intellectual prowess to the task, they didn’t make much headway. They fell asleep with a feeling of disappointment, taking turns keeping watch, as usual. Past midnight, as Valra sat awake, staring into the hills, the others dreamed a strange dream. They slowly became aware of the other party members standing near them, and in front of them stood the unmistakable figure of Baldric.

“So it’s true,” the vision of Baldric said with mild surprise. “You live. I honestly didn’t believe it.” He looked at each of them in turn, as they alternately thought up clever insults or wondered whether any of this was real. “Mephisto told me that the Hand of Belial was ‘an artifact of power beyond price’. And yet here you stand.” His face twisted into an ever-so-slight grimace. “I was a fool to trust his gifts.” And with that, he faded out of the dream, and they returned to a peaceful slumber.

When they woke, they quickly realized that they had shared the same dream, but beyond that, they didn’t know what to make of it. They set off again toward Highrock.

As they approached the walls of the low city, Ralnur saw that there were few guards, only occasionally spying one walking the ramparts. To the side, just in front of the walls, was a tiny cottage built into the ground. Ardwyn and Valra went ahead to scout. They saw the little gnome, Davros, sitting in a comfortable armchair and tinkering with a tiny pair of spectacles. The others walked up to the door and knocked. Startled, Davros looked up and saw Valra staring at him through the window. He scowled and opened the door. “Can I *help* you?” he asked with a thin veneer of courtesy.

They reintroduced themselves, and he invited them inside (though they had to stoop to enter, and he took the only chair for himself. When they proposed their idea to break into the Treasury, he seemed skeptical at first, telling them that although he “had built the finest institution this land has even known,” the security had been improved even further since he had been unceremoniously kicked out. There was now a two-stage gate to enter and exit, and “no living person has set foot in there for decades.” Instead, magical constructs carried everything in and out. Ardwyn looked him dead in the eye and made her best pitch. “You’re clearly a professional,” she began, and she explained that they were seeking to depose Baldric, the regime that had thrown him out of his job. Perhaps once they succeeded, he could once again take his old position?

Davros seemed to be swayed by her arguments. “It would be utterly impossible for anyone to steal from the Treasury,” said Davros. But a wicked grin was slowly spreading across his face. “Unless...” he continued, “unless the gnome who designed the Treasury’s original wards left a gap in its defenses...” Adamir nodded in understanding. “And will you tell us about this... gap?”

Davros became serious again and opened a drawer by his side. He pulled out another small pair of glasses. “Take these. Take them to my friend Belden. He runs an inn inside the city called the Peregrine. He will know what to do.”

He seemed ready to see them leave, but they took a moment to inspect the glasses. They appeared to make magically enchanted items glow with a blue light when viewed through them; apparently Davros’s tea kettle and several other pairs of spectacles were enchanted. He explained that he sold the glasses, and he showed them a couple of other pairs. Tessel decided to spend 100gp on the Sun Glasses, which helped the wearer to see in both darkness or bright light. Davros did not welcome any negotiation or haggling.

They departed his cottage, but they did not immediately try to enter the city. Instead, they traveled nearly a mile outside the city, toward a thinly-wooded area that would offer them a modicum of shelter. There, they set up camp, rested, allowed their wounds to heal, and discussed their plan.

The next day, following Davros’s advice, they approached the city from the west, not wanting to try their luck with the guards at the main gate. First, Ralnur used his crow vision to wait for a moment when the guards wouldn’t disturb them. Then, after reaching the wall, Adamir used his climbing gear to ascend to the top. He then threw down a rope, and the others hurried to follow him up the wall and down into the city. In no time, they were inside.

This part of the city was full of the low hillside dwellings that were common in the city. Though it had less pedestrian traffic and surface stalls than most, they were still able to find someone that they could ask for directions. A friendly halfling told them how to find the Peregrine, happily telling them that he really thought they were going to like it there. They found the inn shortly thereafter.

Inside, the found a tap room with dozens of casks and hundreds of bottles lining the walls in shelves. Two of the small tables were covered in tiny tasting glasses, while small groups of dwarves and halflings chatted excitedly around them in quiet voices. Belden, a pale gnome standing on a stool behind the bar, grinned and called out a greeting to them. “Weeelcome to the Peregrine! How can I help you today?” He laid out a thick scroll for them and opened it to reveal an enormous menu, assisting them in picking out drinks.

Tessel conspicuously set Davros’s spectacles on the counter, but Belden didn’t seem to notice them until after the drinks were served. His face turned quickly from giddy excitement to nervousness. “Ah... right. Davros sent you? So it’s finally time, eh?” He gestured for them to follow him into the back before pausing. “I suppose we’ll need some privacy... wouldn’t want anyone to find out that we’re up to something,” he said anxiously. He hopped back onto his stool and shouted to the handful of customers at the tables. “HEY! WE’RE CLOSING EARLY! GO! GET OUT! GOODBYE! WE’RE CLOSED! GOODNIIIIGHT!” He gave a satisfied smile as they filed out, grumbling and shooting dirty looks at the party.

Belden led them down into a cellar that was filled with even more casks. He pulled out two spell scrolls and looked at the party nervously. “Okay. This is a two step process.” He put on Davros’s glasses and looked around the cellar, his eyes eventually settling on a spot on the floor beneath them. He held out one of the scrolls and read the arcane words on it, casting the Passwall spell.

The scroll dissolved suddenly. So did the floor. All of them began falling deep, deep beneath the earth. “STEP TWOOOOOO!!!” called out Belden as he opened the second scroll. He spoke a word, and the Feather Fall spell took hold of them, gently guiding them to the ground. When they landed, they looked around and recognized that they stood in the deepest recesses of the Treasury. “Thank goodness for step two!” quipped Tessel.

Belden scratched his head and looked up sheepishly at the hole in the ceiling above them. He smiled awkwardly before looking around at the adventurers surrounding him. “I, ah... In retrospect I think maybe I was supposed to stay up there?”

Session Eleven: RHETORIC AND REVOLUTION

The party arrived at the Chattyrat Tavern to find Rose waiting at the door, ushering them inside. Once safe, Ralnur shook the Duchess awake. She opened her eyes and was startled upon seeing the half-orc, falling to the floor before quickly falling asleep again. Tessel asked Rose if she had any spells that might help. The cleric nodded and cast Lesser Restoration, and Duchess Anna soon returned to her normal self. “I apologize for all that,” she said, blinking. “My tutor Xavier sometimes slips a sleeping draught into my food and drink without telling me. Are we safe?” Adamir explained that they were all right for now, but their cover may have been blown. Ardwyn averted her eyes.

Rose gathered them in the cellar and prepared the Teleportation Circle. “It might not be safe to come back here, at least at first," she told them. “Wait for my word before you come back, or check in with me.” With that, she sent them to their destination of choice: the palace of Cindre.

They arrived to find themselves alone in a dark wine cellar. They took a moment to get their bearings before they heard an old man’s voice. “Who’s there?” he called out. Ardwyn quietly rushed toward the voice, hearing his slow steps and seeing the light of his torch as he proceeded down the stairway. She briefly mimicked the sounds of a mouse, which the man seemed to believe, but he nonetheless continued down the staircase. Ardwyn switched to plan B, lurching into his sight and pretending to be a drunkard who had found her way into the wine cellar. The old man rolled his eyes, scolded her, and sent her away. “You can find your own way out. I need to check something,” he muttered, gazing toward the nook where the rest of the party was hiding. “Wait,” cried Ardwyn, “who are you?” He turned toward her, still with a sour look. “I am the steward in charge here. My name is Perrin.”

Perrin, they recalled, was the name of the mage they had befriended at the Silver Tower so long ago, now part of the conspiracy with Cedric and his clerics. He was the man who maintained the Teleportation Circle here. He was first surprised, then bemused as the rest of the party stepped out of the shadows and introduced themselves (with Valra casting Spider Climb and walking sideways along the wall). Last came the Duchess, who stepped up and gave him a light punch in the arm, dispelling the magical disguise that had still clung to her. Perrin’s eyes widened in recognition, and he dropped to a knee to greet her. “Welcome home, my lady.”

The seven of them gathered in a circle for a long conversation about their next steps. First, Anna told them everything she knew, sharing several interesting bits of information: Xavier was responsible for casting a spell of Nondetection three times a day to protect the Capital Hall from spying. Baldric held long one-on-one meetings with his advisors and ministers every day, but they all complained that they didn’t get as much time with him as the others. The city guards seemed to think that the Peacekeepers were spread too thinly around the country, with the bulk of their manpower currently surrounding the Elfwood. Apparently, even thought her life had been sheltered, there was a lot that she overheard.

She also showed them what was in her pack. Most of it was not of any immediate use, such as a portrait of her grandmother and some books on history and military tactics. But she also gave them a handful of small, flat jade amulets that she had purloined from the pocket of Xavier’s coat. He had given her one of these amulets and told her to “wear it always” to prevent her from getting sick. Anna presumed that they somehow protected against soul sickness. There were seven amulets, so everyone took one, with the exception of Tessel. The paladin insisted that her faith made her immune to disease, and so the last amulet was saved for Lorwyn Unghart (Ardwyn’s sister and Ralnur’s adoptive mother).

Next, now that the Duchess had been rescued, they had to decide what to do. Should they stay in hiding? Stir the unruly people of Cindre to rebellion? Some other clever scheme? Anna expressed nervousness, but she said she was prepared to do her part, whatever they decided. After much discussion, the group developed a plan. First, Perrin would go around the city and gather as many Cindrean loyalists as possible. (He had kept his position until now by pretending to be a doddering old fool, but there may still have been spies planted in his employ. Until he called together all his known allies, the loyalties of the palace’s servants and guards were suspect.) Next, Anna would give a speech, officially announcing her ascent to power and making clear that she was in Cindre of her own free will. Lastly, they would teleport away with the Duchess to somewhere safe and out-of-the-way.

Perrin rushed off to begin gathering the loyalists, promising to have them ready by noon of the following day (about 36 hours from now). He offered to install them in the royal bedchamber or his own more modest suite, but Adamir questioned whether or not it would be safe, so they camped out in the cellar, resting.

They each passed the time in their own way. Ardwyn read through some of Anna’s history books, then swapped ghost stories with Ralnur. (Anna tried to share her own ghost story, but it ended up being more historical than horrifying.) Anna spent most of her time trying to write a worthy speech, and she asked for help from everyone. Ralnur suggested that she mention “how we’re definitely gonna bathe in the blood of our enemies”, but Anna did not seem especially convinced. Tessel gave an effective lesson on rhetoric and the lofty art of oration; Ardwyn advised the Duchess to “listen to the paladin, but maybe turn it down a notch.” Adamir suggested reminding the audience of her lineage, and to “be strong but fair”. Valra, unlike the rest, merely sat in silent meditation with the Duchess as she wrote. After a few hours, the Duchess got up, putting a hand on Valra’s shoulder and thanking her earnestly.

The next day, with only a few hours left before the planned speech, Ralnur heard the sound of someone descending the staircase. He rushed over and saw a man in servant’s garb about to enter the cellar. They both froze in place and stammered out unpersuasive lies. “Uh... I was just... the wine... you see...” The man stepped forward and tried to look around the corner, but Ralnur, recognizing a spy when he saw one, tried to grab hold of him. The man twisted away and ran, shouting at the top of his lungs “HELP! THEY’RE DOWN HERE!” Ralnur swung out his axe and gave the man a shallow cut before his target managed to get out of reach.

The others, hearing the commotion, jumped to their feet. Adamir stayed behind to guard the Duchess, while the rest sprinted to the top of the staircase. Tessel, first to arrive, saw nothing except an uninteresting black rat. The rat, however, promptly turned invisible, making it very interesting indeed. “Umm, I just saw a really suspicious rat disappear!” she called out to Valra. “What am I supposed to do?” the druid asked. “I don’t know, but you’re a magic animal person!” shouted the confused paladin.

On the other side of the room, Ralnur raced to catch up with the “servant” who had discovered them. He again made a grab for the man, and this time luck was with him, as the man tripped over his own feet and landed in the half-orc’s grip. Ralnur knocked him unconscious without hesitation and returned to their hiding place downstairs.

Tessel, still hoping to track down the suspicious rat, took a chance on her Divine Sense, and she was rewarded with the sudden and terrible knowledge that a fiend was nearby, standing on the staircase. She felt the devil turn and flee past her, accompanied by the skitter of a rat’s claws. “Right there!” she called out, pointing at the spot. Valra quickly cast Dispel Magic, and sure enough, the rat popped back into visibility, simultaneously morphing into its true form: an imp.

Ardwyn rushed to join them, throwing her magical dagger, which tore through the imp’s wing. Tessel then ran forward, imbuing her longsword with holy power before smashing it into the imp’s side. With a blast of white light, the creature slammed into the wall and crumpled to the floor, dead.

The party gathered again at their makeshift camp in the cellar. Ralnur shook the captured spy awake and gave him a cold stare. “Tell us who you are, or I am going to cut off your head right now,” he said calmly. The intimidation worked wonders. The man leaned back in fear and sputtered his story. “Tristan... my name is Tristan. There were four of us. Two servants, a Seraph, and a druid.” Ardwyn looked at him skeptically. “Did your ‘druid’ transform into a rat?” she asked. “Yeah, he was a rat the whole time. He was supposed to help us find you,” he replied. The rogue kicked the corpse of the dead imp. “That’s you’re druid right there.” Tristan gazed in horror at the imp’s body, muttering excuses under his breath as the truth slowly dawned on him. “I never meant... I didn’t know...”

As their captive slowly came to terms with what had happened, the party considered their situation. According to Tristan, there were still at least two people nearby who were searching for them. Should they move to a new hiding spot, or stay put? Should they keep Tristan captive, kill him outright, or put him to work? After much consideration, they decided to use the man to get the others off their trail. Tristan, who still seemed shaken, agreed to find his companions and lead them away from the palace. Valra muttered discontentedly, not trusting that he would keep his word, but Adamir tried to seal his loyalty with a few quiet threats before his departure. Afterwards, Ralnur sidled up to the ranger, offered a friendly fist bump, and confided “I woulda killed him if the princess weren’t here.”

Although the last few hours were tense, they passed uneventfully. Perrin arrived right on time, smiling. “There’s quite a crowd waiting for you! I trust there wasn’t any trouble?” He stopped smiling when told about the infiltration, but promised that the loyalty of the servants and guards wouldn’t be a problem now that he had called together the loyalists. After making sure that everything was ready, he led them out of the cellar and toward the palace’s great hall.

The hall was filled with dozens of Cindrean citizens, all of whom turned to stare as the Duchess entered. Tessel and Perrin stood on either side of Anna as she took her place before the throne, while the rest of the party fanned out around the room, looking for any signs of trouble.

As the crowd quieted down, Anna drew in a breath... but before she could start her speech, she was interrupted by a disturbance in the crowd. A large man threw off his cloak to reveal the armor of a Seraph. “Are we going to put up with this nonsense! The girl has been kidnapped! Release her at once!” Ardwyn was standing nearest to the Seraph, and she pushed through the crowd, trying to stealthily tie up his boots, but she only succeeded in drawing the crowd's attention even more as the man kicked her hands away. Perrin began to deny the charge of kidnapping, but Tessel shushed him, suggesting that the Duchess could speak for herself. And she did. “I was not kidnapped,” she declared angrily. “I am here of my own free will!”

The Seraph was not deterred. “The girl has obviously been enchanted!” he yelled. But the Duchess had found her voice. “I have not been enchanted. I am of sound mind. And you are not welcome here. Seize this man!” At first, the crowd did not move, wary of the danger. But Ralnur stepped forward and grabbed him, wrenching his hands behind his back. Seeing this, the crowd joined in enthusiastically, with every hand nearby reaching to hold the Seraph captive. Ardwyn planted a kick onto the Seraph’s armor with a backflip before tying him up. “I watched Adamir do this once,” she commented happily as she knotted the rope.

With the interruption complete, the Duchess delivered her speech. She began with pointed references to her great aunt Saphira and grandmother Lanna, and she announced that she had returned to Cindre to take up the burden that they had once carried. Although she did not state outright that she had been kept in Balenor against her will, she made it clear that it was her choice to come home. Anna also subtly introduced the party, referring to the heroes who had assisted with her return, but refraining from mentioning that they were the same heroes who had supposedly died 44 years ago. At the end of her speech, Anna warned that she might have to stay out of sight for a short time, but implored the crowd to spread the word of her return. Although it was clear that she was not accustomed to public speaking, she delivered her words with confidence and enthusiasm. When she finished, they cheered.

Perrin led the party back to the staircase, gesturing for Ralnur to join them and leave the Seraph in the hands of the crowd. They congratulated Anna during the brisk walk down to the cellar and back onto the Teleportation Circle. Perrin was smiling again and a bit out of breath when he spoke. “So, where to?”

Their answer: “Highrock.”

Session Ten: REFUGE AND RESCUE

The party found themselves on the edge of the forest on a chilly, overcast autumn day, and they decided to head into Balenor to rescue to the Duchess of Cindre, since it was so nearby and their identities had still not been discovered. Ralnur was a bit disappointed that nobody else was as eager for battle as he was, but Tessel reassured him that “we might still have to fight some guards in Balenor”, which boosted his spirits. “Although,” Adamir chimed in, “we’re much better at destroying animals than anything else.” This earned him a searing glare from Valra.

They walked north a short distance until the main road to the city came into sight. This was still some distance away; Ralnur’s spiritual link to the crow totem had blessed him with the ability to see a mile away, and he spied some travelers heading towards them. But they didn't look like anything threatening: merely two commoners and their children traveling with an oxcart.

They soon met the family on the road. The man called out a friendly greeting. “Hullo there! Are you also out enjoying a nice walk on this fine day!” But his voice dripped with bitterness until his wife quietly scolded him. Tessel stepped forward to answer, and asked where they were heading. They introduced themselves as Owen and Hatty, and they said that they were traveling to Balenor as refugees. They told the rest of their story as they walked alongside the party. Apparently, some Peacekeepers had confiscated their grain shortly after the harvest, saying that it was needed due to the famine elsewhere in Rakos. They even took the family's winter stocks and seed grain, leaving them no choice but to leave. With no travel papers, they couldn’t go anywhere but Balenor, the only city where refugees were being welcomed.

After a few hours of walking, the party was stopped by a pair of Peacekeepers on the road, who announced that their was a 5gp-per-person toll. It was obvious extortion. Owen and Hatty looked toward the party for help. Ardwyn announced that they were traveling entertainers and offered to pay the toll with a performance. She pulled out her Poser Composer and began to play, while Ralnur joined in with dancing, clapping, and stomping. Thanks in part to the magic instrument, the performance turned out quite well. But the two soldiers were unimpressed and repeated their demands.

Tessel responded by casting Zone of Truth, magically barring the two soldiers from telling lies. Some astute questions revealed that they were waiting to join with their commander, Isabel, before heading toward Highrock. The paladin followed up by using her Charmor, winking at the more aggressive of the two Peacekeepers, who immediately calmed down and approached the paladin with an intense look of fascination. Seeing this, Ardwyn immediately took action, asking the man if he could just let them pass through. “Of course,” he said distractedly. He took Tessel’s hand in his own. “What’s her name?” he asked. “Tessel,” replied the dwarf. “Tessel. Tessssellll....” said the charmed soldier as his companion frantically tried to get his attention and snap him out of it. Ardwyn quickly remembered their fake identities, however. “Ah, that’s her nickname, though. Her real name is Michelle. And she doesn’t really like being touched.” The soldier pulled back his hand as if it had been shocked, while his friend grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to get him to see sense.

The party took this opportunity to hurry past the soldiers, following the family of commoners who had slipped past a few moments earlier. Owen and Hatty, unsure of what they’d just seen, were more than happy to let the party run past them.

They reached Balenor early the next day. After being waved through the gates, they found themselves in a line of refugees, and they were each soon handed a cloth sack containing two loaves of bread, a small waterskin, and some thick V-shaped leaves. Ralnur recognized them as “hackalo leaf”, which was sometimes chewed for its sweet taste and mild mind-numbing effect. Tessel handed out her extra bread to some of the children on the street. Valra tried the hackalo leaf, but, not knowing that it was meant to be chewed, swallowed it whole.

Balenor had changed since their last visit. Many of the previously-abandoned buildings were now being used to house a large population of refugees, many of which looked similar to the family they’d met on the road. As the party pressed on toward the center of the city, it gradually became more familiar and prosperous. They remembered that Rose, one of the clerics who had helped to resurrect them, was supposed to be in the city, and the decided to seek her out.

They arrived at the Chattyrat Tavern and immediately saw Rose working as a waitress. Her eyes went wide for a moment as she saw them, but she quickly regained her composure and announced to the bartender that she would be taking a break downstairs. After a nod from the friendly bartender, they followed her down into a small cellar.

“Where have you been?” she asked excitedly. “I mean, we heard about the Outcasts of course, but what else?” Adamir responded with a nonchalant tone. “Fought a crocodile. Killed some devils. You know.” The flabbergasted cleric was thrilled to hear about their exploits, and words poured out of her in a flood of enthusiasm. After hearing the whole story, she pressed a Scroll of Sending into their hands to ensure that the party would have a way to stay in contact if there was an emergency. Ralnur asked for another boon as well: a set of drums that he could play during the party’s fake performances. With a few empty casks from Rose and the crocodile skin from Adamir, he was able to rig together an instrument, though the quality left something to be desired.

The party soon steered the conversation toward the task at hand: how to rescue the Duchess Anna. Rose informed them that it was not unusual for groups of mercenaries or others to approach nobility in search of work; although they wouldn’t be able to simply walk out with her, they would at least get a chance to meet her and scout out the Capital Hall. The party agreed. A slightly tipsy Valra gave Rose a wink on their way out.

A few hours later, they were walking up the stairs of the Capital Hall and into its entrance hall. A man sat behind a desk, looking them up and down. He showed some surprise when they asked to meet with the Duchess of Cindre, and he warned them that she wasn’t likely to offer any employment unless they also spoke to her tutor, Xavier. But nonetheless, he gave them directions and asked them to store their weapons in a chest during their visit. Everyone placed they weapons in the chest, but Ardwyn and Adamir stealthily kept some of their blades on hand.

They proceeded to the Duchess’s small sitting room, where they found the Duchess Anna sitting with a book. She was slim, wore a plain green dress, and sat with perfectly proper posture. She put her book down as she greeted them, formally but politely. Unfortunately, she was not alone. Standing to the side of the room was a Seraph, looking both formidable and bored out of his mind.

Tessel introduced herself and her companions as traveling entertainers in search of a patron. “Oh, that sounds lovely,” said Anna, “but we shall have to consult with my tutor. I am thankful that I have never had to make such difficult decisions myself, but that does mean I must rely on my trusted advisors for guidance.” Meanwhile, Adamir and Ralnur took turns trying to distract the Seraph.

Suddenly, as she looked over each of them in turn, the Duchess’s eyes went wide, and her tone took on a distinct note of agitation. “Oh,” she said, “um, by any chance did you work for... my predecessor?” She looked around wildly and grabbed one of the books on the table, flipping through it. “Actually, I could use your help with something! I’ve been reading this book and there’s a passage I don’t quite understand.” The Seraph craned his neck to get a look at the book (succeeding despite Ralnur’s best efforts to distract him), but merely rolled his eyes upon seeing the cover.

Anna opened the book to a certain page and opened it on the table. They could read it clearly:

“Oh Reginald,” she said, clinging to him tightly. “I will always be with you, in your heart.”
“No, my love. That is not enough.” His broad chest swelled as his eyes shone with fresh determination. “We will escape together, or not at all. I will free you from this prison!”
Geraldine’s eyes glistened with tears as she gazed longingly at him. “But how? I cannot openly defy father. And his servants are always watching, always listening.” A tear rolled down her flushed cheek. “Even speaking to you here may not be safe. I can’t imagine what he would do if he found out that we... that we...”
He wrapped her in his thick arms and held her close as she began to shake with heavy sobs. “Fear not, my love. When our child is born, we shall be free, and far from this accursed place.” He looked up and turned his steely gaze toward the lush fields beyond the castle wall. “Fear not,” he repeated in a hot whisper, “for I have a plan. Listen closely...”

“That’s as far as I’ve read,” said Anna, closing the book, “but I’m dying to know what happens next.” She stared at them intently, her meaning unmistakable.

But the conversation was cut short by the entrance of a handsome man with narrow features, oily slicked-back hair, and a fashionable cape. He introduced himself as Xavier, the tutor of the Duchess, and he quickly dismissed her from the room. “You must be tired,” he said with unctuous concern. “Why don’t you go rest and leave me to handle this?” The Duchess responded with good cheer. “Of course!” She paused before retreating from the room. “Sir, may I go read in the garden tonight? The one by the back gate? It’s so beautiful under the full moon.” Xavier waved her away. “Yes, yes, as you will.”

He sat across from the party and folded his hands. “Such a lovely girl, our Duchess. But she is not well-suited for affairs of state. She is so very delicate.... Now, what is it you wanted?” The party repeated their story: they were entertainers, seeking a patron. Ralnur took the opportunity to play the drums, and Ardwyn played a brief accompaniment before Xavier’s displeasure became obvious.

Still, he did not reject their appeal. “Yes, if you are seeking employment, I may be able to find some work for you... as a favor. I often assist the Duchess with her responsibilities.” Tessel inquired as to whether there was anything they could do to help. The tutor gave a subtle smirk. “Soon the Regent will have to find her a suitable husband and she will rule in her own right. But, it is sad. This kind of work would exhaust our poor Duchess. Surely the Regent should pick a husband who knows her limitations and can help her with her duties, don’t you agree? Perhaps you could mention it to him, if you happen to find yourself speaking with him?” The party made agreeable noises and quickly excused themselves.

Back in the hallway, they decided to take the opportunity to explore the Capital Hall a bit further. They wandered toward the back of the fortress, eventually finding themselves on a balcony that overlooked the gardens. They were lush and well-kept, surrounded by a tall lattice fence with a small gate. One guard patrolled the gardens themselves, while another walked along the switchback trail that led up to the back gate. Unfortunately, a guard also showed up on the balcony, accosting the party and demanding that they leave, now that their business was finished. They apologized, followed the guard to the entrance hall, retrieved their weapons, and made their exit.

They were not done with their scouting mission, however. On the steps of the Capital Hall, Valra volunteered to transform into a black cat and explore the path that led to the garden. In feline form, she calmly walked past the Warren, peeking in the windows. The old Ranger headquarters was clearly being used as a base for the Seraphs now, though only one person was inside at the moment. She continued up the switchback trail to the thin garden fence, dodging the guard’s lazy kicks as she passed.

Reaching the fence, Valra easily leapt onto it and climbed to the top... but just as she crossed over, she was startled by the sudden cry of a magical alarm. She quickly retreated and returned along the same path. The rest of the party heard the alarm all the way on the other side of the Capital Hall. Adamir decided that it wouldn’t be suspicious if he showed his curiosity, so he went down the path as well, passing Valra on her way back. Further along, he was stopped by the guard, who angrily demanded to know his business. Adamir inquired about the alarm. The guard said it was just a cat, but asked the ranger his name in a suspicious tone. “I’m Petey,” he responded. “Petey...” repeated the guard, “I’ll remember that.” Craning his neck, Adamir saw that some guards were entering and exiting the door from the gardens to the Capital Hall, and after some discussion, the alarm’s noise stopped. Deciding not to press his luck, he returned to the others.

They went back to the Chattyrat Tavern and spoke with Rose about what they had seen. She gave them directions to the street behind the Capital Hall, which would give them easier access to the switchback and the gardens. After much discussion, a rescue plan was hatched. They enjoyed a short rest and a few drinks before night fell.

They returned to the base of the hill under cover of darkness, hiding in the thick brush below the main path. Valra transformed into a calico cat and again walked up the switchback trail to the garden’s back gate, passing the guard once again. She found the Duchess Anna sitting against the fence, reading a book, with a large travel sack next to her.

Valra meowed loudly, and Anna jumped in her seat. She calmed down when she saw the cat, but then furrowed her brow in confusion. “Wait,” she said, “are you... Valra?” The druid nodded and meowed in affirmation. “Oh my goodness,” said the Duchess excitedly, “I’m ready. You’re going to get me out of here, right? What do I need to do?” Unfortunately, Valra could only respond with meows and gestures with her paws. The Duchess was understandably confused. “Um... meow?” she responded uncertainly. “Are the others nearby?” The druid nodded, meowed again, and held out a paw to indicate that Anna should wait. With that, she returned to her companions.

Ardwyn took out her Mouthbeast and used the puppet to relay Valra’s report to the rest of the party. So far, everything was going according to plan. The next step, however, was likely to be the most dangerous. Moving further toward the main path, the party hid themselves as best they could, while Ardwyn got ready for an ambush.

Unfortunately, the guard noticed a rustling coming from the bushes in Adamir’s direction. “Who’s there?” he called out. Thinking quickly, Valra sprung from her hiding place nearby, still in the form of a calico cat, and ran through the guard’s legs. Smiling, he continued on his patrol. But he didn’t make it more than a few feet before Ardwyn slipped from her own hiding place and struck a single precise blow with her battleaxe. “Boo.” The rogue’s swing was perfect, and the guard’s head somehow landed on the path with barely a sound, followed a moment later by the rest of his body. Adamir disposed of the body. They found no keys, but the ranger stayed behind to swap his clothes for the dead guard’s uniform.

The others hurriedly climbed the switchback trail up to the fence, where Anna was waiting for them. She quickly warned them that the fence was magically reinforced, and the garden’s guard was not far away. “I have rope, though!” She rummaged through her pack and pulled out a 50ft length of rope, and Tessel told her to tie it around her waist. Meanwhile, Ardwyn set to work picking the lock. The Duchess did her best to tie the rope around herself, but the knot was a mess. “Okay, I’m ready,” she said. But suddenly, she stumbled backwards. “Oh... I’m feeling a bit dizzy...”

Tessel looked at her companions. “We need to do this now,” she insisted. Just then, Ardwyn finished picking the lock, and the gate swung open... but the alarm went off nonetheless. It set off a flurry of motion. Tessel grabbed the increasingly unsteady Duchess and threw her into Ralnur’s waiting arms, along with her travel sack. Ardwyn smashed a Masqueregg onto Anna, magically disguising her as a peasant girl, and then quickly followed up with another Masqueregg for herself. In an instant, the dwarf looked like a perfect copy of the Duchess, and she hurriedly sat down by the fence. Valra darted inside the garden with feline grace, hoping to be blamed for the alarm again. The guard, meanwhile, ran toward them. Fooled by Ardwyn’s disguise, he held out his hand to her. “Duchess, follow me!” The rogue smiled sweetly and approached, but surprised him with a swing of her battleaxe, causing her disguise to melt away as quickly as it had appeared.

Badly injured, the guard screamed and ran, followed soon by one of Ardwyn’s thrown daggers. Ralnur, cradling his precious cargo, took the opportunity to sprint away down the hill. Tessel tried to finish off the guard with a javelin, but unfortunately Valra arrived at the same time and managed to trip up the guard’s legs. He hurtled to the ground and saw the javelin bury itself in the grass just in front of him. Screaming again, he clambered to his feet and continued to flee into the Capital Hall. With the alarm still blaring, the party decided that escape would be wiser than pursuit. They followed the half-orc out the gate, and they ran.

On the hill below, Adamir heard the alarm and emerged from the brush, disguised as a guard. Soon, a figure emerged from the darkness, running down the path that came from the direction of the Warren. It was Isabel, the Seraph they had met at the Gold Tower. “You, what’s going on?” she demanded. “Just a false alarm! Looks like it was a cat again,” said Adamir with a smile. Isabel narrowed her eyes and put a hand on her greatsword. “What’s the password?” she asked. The ranged tried to bluff, but she drew her sword. She spoke one word before she attacked: “Adamir.” She rushed forward ferociously, but Adamir dodged the first swing of her sword, and in her anger, she missed even wider with the second swing, sending sparks flying from a stone at their feet. “At first I didn’t believe it when my men said they met a ‘Tessel’ on the road,” she growled. “How did you get here before me?” Adamir answered by charging, sending Isabel sprawling on the ground. He followed this with two strikes of his shortswords, leaving two clean shallow cuts. The ranger then danced backward, easily dodging as the Seraph swung her greatsword once more.

By this time, the others had nearly returned. Ralnur, seeing that the Duchess had passed out in his arms, didn’t stop for a moment. He ran toward the streets leading into the city, giving the fight a wide berth. Tessel hurried down the path, following as fast as she could. Valra, hoping to offer her companions a boost of speed, transformed back into an elf and cast Conjure Animals, summoning four magical warhorses, positioned next to herself and each of her remaining companions. Tessel eagerly climbed onto her new mount. Ardwyn, for her part, leapt down part of the switchback, hoping to join the fight.

Isabel, however, saw that she was outnumbered, and she understood that discretion is the better part of valor. Climbing to her feet, she muttered that “the Regent will hear about this,” and she turned to run. Ardwyn cried out after her, “she’s getting away!” But Valra was not interested in a prolonged fight in enemy territory, and she directed one of her warhorses to knock the rogue over before the chase could begin. Ardwyn allowed herself to be pushed and relented, “okay, okay.”

Mounting their magical warhorses, they all galloped down into the streets of the city, soon catching up with Ralnur and the Duchess. They left the Capital Hall behind in a hurry, never seeing what kind of response the guards had finally mustered. They eventually slowed, blending into the city once again, and made their way back to the Chattyrat Tavern, carrying the sleeping Duchess with them...