Session 4: The Crag Mile

General Summary

Finding himself in a relaxing bath, Ki’tor couldn’t help but to overhear some newcomers talk about the escapades of some vagrants that marched into the feast at the Broken Pick Tavern. Realising that it was most likely his party, he left the bath in search for more information. From the militia that were now posted outside the tavern he found out that the group had been arrested and were being held under the council hall. After he confirmed that it was in fact his friends that were now in jail, he began to make a plan to get them out of there. 

In the meantime, Geneviève had made several attempts to fraternize with the guards currently positioned outside their cell. The guards, who were bitter about having to miss the holiday festivities, just threw water in her face in response. It wasn’t until she had been magically contacted by Ki’tor that she decided to give up the effort. When she did, Zalia subtly changed her shape back from the noble into a beautiful young woman. Then she convinced the guards that she had been swept along by mistake and had nothing to do with the kerfuffle that landed the group in that cell. They believed her and let her go. She then joined up with Ki’tor as they headed to speak with the councilwoman Elder Velsa Morlin. 

They found her at a banquet in the Stoneweaver’s Lodge, the guild hall for the quarry workers. Dressing themselves as wealthy merchants, the pair easily made it inside where they found the elder conversing with some dwarves. When they got the chance they approached and struck up a conversation. Ki’tor claimed that the group was his entourage, apologized on their behalf and claimed that they needed to leave post haste. Not willing to just let them go without consulting the rest of the council and reading through the provided documentation. But this would have to wait as she was currently dealing with a crisis where the quarry-workers had gone on a strike because of a dangerous infestation of monsters that threatened their safety down in the quarry. Ki’tor offered a compromise, where the group would clear these monsters out as a recompensatory service to the community of Cragyard. In exchange for a sum of 50 gold per party-member, the Elder Morlin accepted the deal. Thus she handed over a letter for the guards and they left.

With the group free again, they wasted no time, despite it being late in the evening, and headed down into the quarry to search for the noble and the child he had brought with him. Taking the elevator down, they also lit some torches to provide a light source in the underground. Finding and forcing themselves into the opening in the quarry’s wall proved little to no challenge. Well inside they found a large cave, with several paths they could follow, one of which had rope leading up to it. After some investigation they chose to follow the most accessible of the paths, which led them to a room filled with glowing mushrooms and a rank smell. 

Upon further inspection they saw an outcrop on the far corner of the room with a pair of legs hanging over the edge. Whether these were lifeless or not was hard to tell from such a distance. But what they could tell was that there was movement amongst the mushrooms. Spiders crawling about. Hundreds of them. To investigate a possible course of action, Jane threw some food into the room, which landed on some mushrooms that then released a massive cloud of spores into the air. When a few traces of these spores reached their torches they sparked into small balls of fire. As the swarms of spiders rushed towards the food, Geneviève decided to act. She took her torch and threw it into the room, unto the point where the food had landed. Then all went bright. 

As one cluster of mushrooms bloomed into a fiery cloud, others ignited, and soon the entire room was filled with flames that flared into the passage where the group was standing. Pierre-Pascal raised his shield, which held firm against the flames. Zalia hid behind him. Ki’tor managed to protect himself with magic. Geneviève and Jane weren’t as lucky. Although Genevièves shield took most of her damage, rendering it unusable, Jane got serious burns across her right side. When they finally entered the dark, smoldering room they found the burned, lifeless body of a panicked ten-year old boy. The smith’s apprentice they presumed. Whether he was dead before they filled the room with fire was somewhat hard to determine at first glance, although Jane was convinced that Geneviève had just killed the boy. Either way the golden legionnaire promised to stand for her actions, despite her brother suggesting that they try and cover the whole thing up to preserve their reputation. 

Eventually they moved on and decided to ignore the path with ropes and instead try to climb up the third path. As they did, massive spiders appeared to attack them. They managed to make it up before the spiders reached them and made their stand on a high platform. When their foes were close enough, the armoured frankonians fell upon the beasts, weapons first. Then they easily dispatched the monsters before moving on.

Soon thereafter they found the nobleman, hiding out between two halls. Zalia took on the shape of the nobleman that had been killed by the wolves as she and Jane approached the man. He seemed surprised to see them, but grateful as he told them about the magical hall he believed himself to have found. All they needed was the stone that he believed their comrades possessed. Although he admitted that he had been trapped between the giant spiders and earthly guardians of the hall. The boy, he told them, had run away to a place unknown to him. That’s when they dropped the illusion and Jane put a knife to his throat. 

The rest of the party joined them. Jane then tried to force the noble to tell her more, but he refused. Geneviève began to negotiate, offering him safe passage to the Yelanid Alliance if he gave them all the information they sought. He accepted and told them of a secret and ancient hall of magic, where the mages of the old empire studied the planestones. Thus only a planestone could grant access to the hall. He believed that the stones in the room next to them would react to the planestones' presence and told Jane to approach them. She did, but only when he came with her. It turned out to be true as they glowed with a bright blue shine and she called Zalia over to help her. 

Zalia then took a quick look in her book, in case the noble's name appeared. Instead she found another name. She sighed heavily before taking out her spiked chain and turning to Geneviève. She said:

- You have been judged by powers beyond your understanding and is now sentenced to die. 

The frankonian had seemed surprised but responded coldly:

- Good luck.

Missions/Quests Completed

• Got out of jail
• Found the smith's apprentice
• Found the surviving nobleman