The Chain 08: The Plot Thickens...

Three Thugs Down

  Seven and Totter are discussing their recent fight with the street thugs, and the strange occurrence of a human spewing lightning from his mouth, but neither of them are sure what the tattoo or lightning breath mean. Shortly after the fight ends, two of the Lawbringers arrive to investigate the sounds of battle. They are quickly convinced that the fight was all in self-defense, and agree to let the Chain officers go. The leader, Lieutenant Tito Biasi, says that officially, the Chain should report any nefarious activity to the Lawbringers before acting, but he also acknowledges (off the record) that sometimes there's no time for proper protocol and immediate action is required. He encouraged Totter and Seven to reach out to him or Lawbringer Netta if there are any criminal problems that require official assistance.  

Rilo and the Root Farmer

  Meanwhile, Rilo had wandered to the gate at the beginning of the Vedykar road. He waited there for some time, until a lone wagon rolled into town bearing a farmer and his vegetable goods. Rilo learned from the man that he didn't fear the bandits, as it seems they have been only harrying the more wealthy merchants on the road. The goliath fails to get more out of the farmer, but speaks briefly to the gate guards, who point him toward Murt, who was the most recent merchant that was robbed.  

Lizia's Shop of Sass

  Meanwhile meanwhile! Fuller and Peacock investigate the magic shop of Lizia, Fonta's friend. She explains to them (with no small amount of sass) that three ice crystals were stolen from her store. They are spell components that could be used in any number of ritual applications, and without further information it was impossible to say what they might be used for. She suggested the team might be able to get more information from Mel at the Griffon or Lamar at Lamar's Wondrous Potions, who both had items stolen from them recently as well.   Lizia was able to obtain images of the thieves through a magical crystal in her ceiling. There were three people seen: one with short curling horns twisting back along the sides of the head, one wearing a dark hooded cloak, and one with a mask and long hair pulled back in a twisted braid. They deduce:

• The thieves only stole crystals from the store, no money or any of the other items in the store
• They were able to bypass some of the magical defenses and locks that guarded the store

A Magnificent Merchant

  The team reconvenes in a market square in the Mist District of Karrlakton, and Meow finally appears. They were hiding perfectly on the ground this whole time! Everyone decides to pursue the roadside bandits at the moment and wait for later to deal with the town robberies. They go to talk with Murt DeLange, a boistrous and theatrical merchant who trades frequently between Karrlakton and Vedykar. He tells the group that the bandits knocked his guards (Phil and Bill) unconscious before stealing his wagon ("Sally"), about 13 miles outside of Karrlakton. He had purchased several hundred gold worth of raw materials (mostly stone and metals) from Vedykar and was bringing them back to Karrlakton to sell here.   The team convinces Murt to let them borrow a wagon and mules to set up a trap to lure the bandits out. While travelling along the road, Peacock muses that the bandits might not be 'bad guys' and orders his fellows not to kill anybody unless absolutely necessary. As dusk falls over the former ambush spot, Rilo scouts the woods as a wolf, finding a small camp of humans. They have the remains of a cart which has been mostly disassembled, and a few crates. It looks like they have been making almost daily trips, carrying heavy loads away from this area.   The team sneaks up on the camp in the middle of the night. But while one guard notices the sounds of Fuller in his heavy armor, another hidden guard in a tree takes a shot at Totter!   Let's roll initiative!