Session 14: To find a Snake Report

General Summary

The party arrives at The Scholar's Quill and takes the table that has become their regular spot these past few weeks. Getting their meals it doesn't take long after for Egil to arrive. He is quite jumpy, and begins to bring up the formula's of a protection spell very quick at any sudden noises. He takes a spot with his back towards the wall and greets the party. With some conversation between him and the party it is very apparent he is quite distracted. He quickly reveals why he has called on the party once more. He feels folks behind the scenes are trying to undo the work that the party has done within the city. He tells how he thinks he has been followed the past few weeks, he almost passed it off as nerves but after the incident that happened just a few days ago. He is not so sure they are just nerves.   He continues that Lucius has been working himself to the point he is passing out, the Freeport's Temple to Odis acolytes have been taking turns getting him back to his home safely after each black out incident. The other night it was Egil's turn. He ended up closing his eyes for a few moments and dozed off. However something arose him from his sleep. An intruder in Lucius's home. Searching for something. Something that he might have found as he took a scroll that was stored in a drawer before leaving once more. Egil could not help but notice the intruder smelled of moss, water, and caves. Something serpent like. He couldn't tell Lucius about it. The poor man has already suffered so much and this incident might be the final nail.   With the Freeport's Clergy of Odis being an order of poverty and peace they don't have the recourses to investigate the incident themselves and Egil is asking the party to try and find out what is happening behind the scenes. He is afraid that more Serpent folk are hiding amongst the citizens of Freeport. Through some inquiries with his own contacts throughout the city. Mostly tavern owners, and restaurant owners. He has learned Milos also went by the alias of Devlin. He has also learned that he rented a room within The Old City although he was not able to learn exactly what inn.   The party finishes their meals and assures Egil they will find out what they can. They then leave towards The Old City and run into some guards at the entrance who warn them to behave or else, but do nothing to stop them otherwise. The party begins their investigation asking and locals. Rothgar is able to find a young half-elf girl who is a little smitten with his mustache. She informs him that Devlin rented a room at the Marquis Moon. An inn that is seedy and off the trail and everyone knows within the city you can defiantly do better. She also tells the party that she hasn't seen Devlin in a while. She thinks he may have left town already. The party is not surprised by this news.   The party with now a lead heads to the Marquis Moon and finds a two story haphazard old brickwork inn. Once inside the mood is clearly subdued. A couple of dwarves sit in the back corner drinking and the man standing behind the counter is a scowly guy who is picking his fingernails with a knife. Jorin rushes in and begins to storm up the stairs telling Devlin to come out and pay him back his money. The innkeeper, who is named Ficca laughs and tells Jorin that he is not here. To come back later. Jorin approaches Ficca and threatens him to let him into his room so he can search it. It doesn't take much arm twisting and Ficca tells the party where the room is. He goes back to cleaning out the dirt in his fingertips.   The party begins to search the room. It is well organized, packed full of items, and covered in a thin layer of dust.  Jorin checks the floors and walls for any hideaways and comes up with nothing, he does find some large snake scales around the pillows in the room though. Diala searches the canes and staffs but finds nothing of interest. Elitessa searches the shelves and finds some leaden idols and a jar full of a black liquid with what appears to have an albino cave rat preserved within. A closer look and it is very apparent it is alive! It begins to scratch at the side of the jar. Elitessa picks it up and shakes it around causing the lid to fly off and sending the cave rat and all of the black liquid splashing across the floor. The cave rat gets up and runs out of the room. Some screams from down the stairs reveals that it hopefully got out of the tavern in one piece. Diala then checks the bookcases. She notices most of the books have no dust on them except the books on architecture, masonry, and other construction related projects. With not much else in the room they begin to leave when out of the corner of his eye Rothgar spots a booked lodged behind the bookcase. Upon closer inspection it reveals a book titled "An Account of Metals Base and Pure." Sketched onto the back page is a full page drawing of a lighthouse, covered with arcane mathematical formulas; (which Jorin and Diala, are roughly able to figure out are to increase the power of a ritual. What ritual? They don't know.) arrows point to a number of blocks on the structure. In the margins is a recurring doodle; the letter V superimposed on a circle.   With this they then head downstairs where they are approached by a dwarf named Rottenjones. After a refill of his drink curtesy of Jorin he tells the party a couple a weeks ago a couple of strange fellows were leaving Devlin's(Milos) room. They told him to sod off, saying they were on official Council business. After another refill he says they smelled like the caves of his childhood. With all these new leads the party decides to maybe go and visit Egil to see if they can make sense of the mathematical formulas within the book, they also decide they should check the tower once more. However as they leave the Marquis Moon they find trouble.     A young messenger is out front being tossed around by 3 big orcs who are clearly getting ready to gut him like a fish to take whatever gold he might have on him. When the messenger sees the party he quickly runs over and hides behind them and asks for the parties help. The orcs seeing the party draw their weapons and charge! The young messenger tells the party he will give what little gold he has on them if they save him. Hearing this convinces the rest who are hesitant about helping. With the battle under way the group faces the orcs with zeal. However it is not long after the battle starts that the messenger boy slips close to Diala then begins to run down the dark alley beside the group. Diala feels her pack is a bit lighter and realizes the book with the critical info is missing! Realizing it might have been the messenger she gives chase only to not see him no more, her familiar who was nearby also does not spot him. The group continues to battle the orcs who prove to be seasoned fighters. Elitessa joins up with Diala and she casts a sleep spell in the alley way. By chance she happens to land it on the messenger causing him to fall asleep. Seeing this she returns the battle with the orcs.    As the battle continues to rage on Diala takes her book back, she then ties up the messenger boy. However this jostles him awake. With Diala's poor attempt at rope work the messenger boy has little to no problems slipping the knots and books it down the alley and onto the side street. Leaving Diala in the dust. She orders her familiar to follow the messenger boy from the air, while she returns to the battle of the orcs herself. This battle is going quite favorably towards the party. Having brought down two orcs they manage to corner the 3rd with a sleep spell cast by Rothgar. Elitessa delivers a swift killing blow ending the orc's life. Hanz, continues to attack. He mangles the body and turns it into mush.   The party quickly begins to pursue the messenger boy who has now left The Old City and has entered the Eastern District. Diala's owl familiar follows the messenger all the way to the old bricked up building that holds the late temple of the unspeakable one. He makes it past the guards without hassle or having to stop. The party arrives and now with a good look they notice the guards have armbands that show the V symbol on the patch of the city. They realize this is the symbol of Verlaine. The head of the Captains' Council, owner of many of the masonry business within the city, and the one who has had the most to lose with the Lighthouse of Drac. The party now must decide what they are to do...