Session 2: Arrival Report
General Summary
The Peacekeepers continue on their trip to Ferriero with the caravan. However, as they would soon find out, they still have a lot to learn.
The Ambush
There was a full moon on that night. The party had gone to bed mostly hungry after an unsatisfying meal of Creame of Bear soup prepared by Rocco. None of them had thought to post a guard for the caravan--of course, throughout the uneventful trip, they had never had a good reason to do so. They would come to regret that decision, though.Near midnight, Vincenzo woke due to yelling. He rose to find that the camp was under attack! Bandits were raiding them and tried to shoot Rocco as he slept. Nonna was nearly killed by one of the bandits. Fortunately, they managed to kill three bandits and take one prisoner.
After the fighting was finished, Rocco checked on the rest of the merchants. No one had been killed, but a few got away with some of the goods and kidnapped Abibo, the caravan captain. The Peacekeepers knew it was their duty to rescue the dwarf. Mario was able to pick up on their trail, and they slowed and gave chase through the night.
As dawn approached, the air grew thick with fog. They found a hill, and Mario went to scout it out. Galerina carelessly walked up to stand beside him without concern for being seen. Three bandits spotted them from the other side of the hill and opened fire with their crossbows. One of the bolts dropped Mario to the ground.
The rest of the party hurried up the hill save for Vincenzo, who decided to go around the side after healing Mario from a distance with a healing word. The bandits were preoccupied with the charging Peacekeepers and did not notice the bard coming from behind them, giving him the opening he needed to start casting spells on them.
Galerina unleashed a small earth tremor that shook them to the ground, making the earth beneath them loose and difficult to maneuver. This was all the advantage the melee fighters needed to dispatch two of the bandits. Seeing that he was beaten, the leader dropped his crossbow and surrendered.
The leader, Wario the Lesser, was from a small village named Crepe, about a day's travel away. They considered first taking him there to be punished for his crimes, but the now-freed Abibo said it was too far out of their way. They settled for taking him back with them to Ferriero. Upon reuniting with the caravan, Wario was relieved to see that his friend, Waluigi, was also taken prisoner.
Reporting for Duty
On the 20th day of Sowing, a light mist hung as the caravan arrived at their final destination in Ferriero. Abibo told them they were not the best guards he had ever had, but he was thankful they saved him nonetheless. The party then went to the courthouse, where they were supposed to meet with Deputy Ultimo Taldahk.The blonde dwarf was gruff with them and acted as though their presence bothered him. He took the two bandits into custody and told them he already had a case for them. Two siblings, elves no less, were bickering over some stolen trinkets. He wanted them from his hair and decided they would be a problem for the recruits.
The Case of the Hidden Gems
The elves were Felicity and Felix Frowshief. They were brother and sister and operated a joint business. She was a seamstress, and he was a jeweler. Felicity claimed that she had been robbed twice, and Felix, at first, said that his sister was a slob and probably just misplaced the items. But then, a few days ago, he had some small worthless gems and three valuable diamonds stolen from his safe.After speaking with the siblings, they began investigating the crime scene. There were no signs of forced entry, and other than some strange scratch marks on the cupboards, there was no sign as to how they broke into the safe. Felix noted that they left some valuable gems in the safe while taking mostly worthless scraps. The diamonds were all that he wanted back.
Galerina spoke with Buttons, the housecat. The moody feline told them that whoever stole it was indivisible and smelled like tulips.
With the new lead, they found a local shack with a very nice tulip garden. It belonged to a lonely middle-aged man named Bill. After talking with Bill for a few minutes, they decided he was not the one they sought.
They decided to split up. Vincenzo would check the local tavern, The Tall Stone, for leads. Galerina and Nonna would go to Ratti Farm and see about getting a tracking hound to smell for tulips. Mario and Rocco would stake out the shop.
Vincenzo went to the tavern and met with its proprietor, Betta Goldenhandle. The dwarven woman was happy to hear he was a bard because her tavern lacked one. She inquired about his instrument of choice and told him that a carpenter in town might be able to craft a lute for him should he seek it. Vincenzo asked about the crime, but Betta knew nothing about it. She thought the elves were a bit uppity and probably just misplaced their goods. He thanked her, paid for a drink, and sat down.
Galerina and Nonna went to the Ratti farm and spoke with Rodolfo, the head of the household. He did, in fact, have a litter of pups for sale, but only his dog, Fido, was trained to track scents. Nonna convinced him to let them borrow his dog for the evening. The hound led them on a chase through town, ultimately leading back to Bill's tulip garden.
Mario pretended to be a dressed manikin while Rocco waited outside. A dart shot into Mario's neck, and he called for Rocco that he was under attack. From a distance, Galerina and Nonna saw the lights come on in the shop, and they started in that direction. They tried to fight the invisible creature attacking them. Another dart hit Mario, and he fell unconscious. Galerina then hit it with a poison spray, killing the tiny sprite.
A tiny voice could be heard screaming from the ceiling. It was the voice of another sprite named Layla Peridot. She was horrified by the party after she claimed they murdered her friend, who was just defending himself. She claimed that she hadn't stolen anything and everything was still on the premises. She demanded that they leave immediately, or she would be forced to defend her new home. This did not go over well with the party, who stormed the attic.
Layla and another sprite rode on the backs of giant rats while a third giant rat also charged them. The party killed the three rats and captured the two sprites alive. Searching the attic, they found the stollen trinkets and diamonds.
With everything under control, the siblings exited their rooms and demanded what had happened. They both felt guilty about what happened to the fey folk when they learned about the sprites. They tried to talk the Peacekeepers into letting them go since no harm had been done. The officers refused and turned over the diamond and other trinkets to the siblings. Then they returned to the courthouse to turn in the two sprites, which further annoyed the Deputy.
