RECAP: 5th Avengers, 4-19-20
by Tucker
Standing over the dead body of the noblewoman and her bodyguard, we check the door to the south. There are two children inside. Geth tells them not to go anywhere and that help is on the way. In the chest, Jarry finds clothes and personal effects. Culdock observes that the chest should go deeper. In the false bottom of the chest are robes and two holy symbols of Asmodeus, whom Jarry knows to be an evil deity. Geth leads the way back to the room with the corpses and follows the sound of banging, where we encounter a hostile humanoid in what appears to be a bathroom. The humanoid who was attempting to kick down the door turns to attack us. We dispatch with the matter and check the body. Dressed in finer clothes, his outer garments are tattered from weapon blows and he is carrying no gold, and has been attacking us with a masterwork longsword and masterwork gauntlets. Culdock checks the nimblewright detector and sees that it is going slower than it was when we were downstairs.
Lauris plants his shortbow on the body of the man we just killed. Geth yells at the door that we are there to help, and the man asks what we want and tells us to go away. We tell him we are looking for a paper man, and he says he doesn’t know anything about that and to go away. We leave him be and head to the stables to try to make an exit, as the Nimblewright Detector has slowed considerably. Exiting through the stables, we walk casually into the alley behind Gralhund Manor, where some people see us but do not pay us any great mind. The Nimblewright Detector tells us that our quarry has left the vicinity. We decide to walk back to Trollskull Alley to see if the detector picks up. We notice that the detector tapers off as we approach the manor, and also that guards are heading toward Gralhund Manor.
We arrive at Trollskull Manor in the latter part of the evening, and having been gone for about twenty-four hours, we notice several notices on the door from various guilds interested in servicing our establishment. Jarry notices a guard about a half a block away but it is unclear if they are following us closely. We go in for a long rest, setting a watch order of Geth, Lauris, Jarry, Culdock. The evening passes without incident, except for when Culdock notices a cat run by in the night.
In the morning, we see people coming and going in the street, and that there are a couple of criers making announcements for business and patrons to visit the local establishment that would be considered our competition. As Geth is getting ready, having his morning wine on the porch, he notices a definite increase in the numbers of gryphon cavalry about.
Culdock uses a paper bird to send a message to Mirt of the Harpers, bearing the following text:
To Mirt of the Harpers,
I am trying to track down an errant nimblewright last seen in the general vicinity of Trollskull Alley. Any assistance in tracking down said nimblewright would be greatly appreciated.
Indubitably yours,
Culdock Stoneskin
We do not hear back from them that day. Lauris goes out to buy a shortbow and a quiver of arrows. As we leave the neighborhood, we see a quite heightened presence of the city guard. As we head back, we do not notice a change in the activity from the Nimblewright Detector. We see on the front porch, flittering about on the overhang of the porch, a winged snake that drops the following note.
I would like to know more about what happened at Gralhund Villa. If you can spare the time, meet me at Ahghairon’s Statue in the City of the Dead at highsun tomorrow. You ‘ll be paid generously for your time and trouble.
-Istrid Horn
That night, Culdock and Lauris are rustled awake by night noises, but nothing else out of the ordinary.
We set out to Ahghairon’s Statue. A female dwarf in plate armor is at the statue. Geth approaches, and says “Are you Istrid?” Istrid responds, “Are you Geth?” and Geth nods. Istrid says that she is well-known in the area for being a purveyor of information. She understands that I and my compatriots have engaged in an investigation of the explosion in Trollskull Alley. Did your investigation lead you there? Geth replied that it did, and when asked what we found there, replied simply a dead end. She asked further if we were looking for a nimblewright, to which Geth said we were. She offered to help us with information on the nimblewright’s whereabouts if we would give her any information related to the Zenterem’s connection to Gralhund Villa. Geth agreed, saying that we would also appreciate her discretion with our identities.
She asked further if she could lay low at the manor house and presented Geth with a pouch, saying there was more where that came from. Geth said he would need to consult with the group. He called a huddle and brought everyone else up to speed, pulling out the coin purse and counting its contents–ten platinum pieces. The group consents, with Culdock’s objection. Istrid says that even though she is willing to pay good coin for our good lodging, we are in partnership, if we would turn her into the authorities, she would ensure we meet the same fate. She said she would arrive at the manor house tomorrow morning in a discrete way.
-1 day supplies
