Session 430 - Demolishing the Thieves Guild

22^nd of Morgat (Winter) 728TR

The story so far

A group of heroes battle the evils haunting the beleaguered Kingdom of Kanday.

Sir Odin, a former Erkan of the Order of the Checkered Shield, has been raised to knighthood.

Remy, a former master thief and gambler, has won and lost fortunes.

Abaddon has traveled the wilderness, wielding a weapon of the gods, perfecting his impressive martial skills.

Edelina, a scholarly priestess of the god of Knowledge Save K’Nor, joins them on their adventures.

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This is the continuation of Session 428 - Wreakers.

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Edelina’s father disappeared with his merchant ship, the Blue Drake, which wrecked along the coast in the Barony of Sarkum. She vowed to bring justice to the villains responsible, and the heroes decided to lend a hand.

They have tracked the criminals to a warehouse owned by Avca of Hafaci, a prosperous wool merchant, captured three of his thugs, and discovered a secret passage leading underground.

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Location: Sarkum Village, in the Kingdom of Kanday.

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Part 1 – Things Go Wrong Fast

According to Remy, the entrance to the underground passage is trapped, but he seems unable to disable it, despite his best efforts. Frustrated, it blasts the trap with shards of metal, which does the trick; the trap does not trigger, possibly because it was destroyed, or it may have been a figment of his imagination. The adventurers make their way down into a secret room, finding it is used for storage, but the goods do not appear incriminating. However, the room does have another hidden door.

This opens into a corridor; Abaddon transforms into a dog and joins Remy as he walks in. In a side chamber, two men are throwing knives at a target. The baffled men spot Remy, draw weapons, and start questioning.

Thugs: "Who the #!*& are you?"

Remy: “The boss sent me to do an audit.”

Thugs: “What’s the password?”

Remy makes a credible guess.

Thugs: “We don’t use passwords, you fool.” They shout an alarm. Soon, the heroes hear banging on doors as a man out of sight starts waking up sleeping criminals.

Part 2 – Battle in the Guild

The thugs attack, defending their hidden base. Two, which Remy blundered into, pound Odin while Abaddon, transforming back to elf form, blocks a side passage, preventing another thug from joining the melee. Muttering a primal spell, Abaddon suddenly disgorges a foul, nauseating odor. From nearby rooms, five more criminals and the boss of the local thieves guild and local wool merchant, Avca of Hafaci, appear, but most are driven off by Abaddon’s foul aroma and move out of sight.

The melee initially goes well, and Odin and Remy kill one of the thugs. Unfortuately, appearing from a well-concealed side passage, the missing criminals emerge from behind, catching Edelina, who was providing magical healing at the party’s rear, by surprise. She is off guard and surrounded, and then Guildmaster Avca arrives. Remy and Odin rush to her aid, protecting the party healer at all costs.

Edelina needs to escape, and her magic is up to the task; she magically escapes in the blink of an eye. However, Avca recognizes Remy as a fellow member of the thieves guild and accuses him of treachery. “Kill the traitor,” he shouts, and most of his men surround Remy and start battering. Remy, now injured and in grave peril, comes up with a sly escape plan. He tells the thugs that he will teleport away. He jumps, and suddenly he is gone. The dazzled enemy instead focuses their attacks on Odin, unaware that Remy has not moved at all; he merely modified the air around him, creating a Shroud of Invisibility.

Guildmaster Avca strikes Odin with his thin blade and, with the flick of a wrist, disarms him, sending Odin's enchanted sword flying to the ground. Then, he kicks it away to one of his men. However, now well hidden, Remy is nearby and uses his ability to move metal, sending it flying back to Odin, who catches it mid-air and, with a flourish, uses it to impale one of the thugs. Abaddon kills the hoodlum he has been battling and joins the main melee.

One by one, Avca’s henchmen are cut down. The heroes are too skilled for common thieves, and Edelina heals any injuries that they take. Avca, seeing that the odds have turned in the invaders' favor, decides to escape, sacrificing his last standing man to cover his escape. The remaining thug is eliminated, while Avca makes it to another secret passage which opens into his office in the village. Odin and Remy almost catch up. Fortunately, the much speedier Abaddon reaches him and blocks the door. He then mutters a primal incantation, and roots and vines surround him. These trip up the villain, and he is trapped in place, but only for a few seconds, but more than enough for Odin to close and eviscerate him. Avca of Hafaci, head of the local thieves guild, bandit, and wreaking operations, is slain.

Part 3 – The Evidence

With all immediate threats dealt with, the heroes investigate the hideout.

A hidden storeroom holds the wreckers' and bandits' ill-gotten gains, locked behind a double set of iron bars. Unfortunately, the thieves have a sentry, an enchanted collection of ropes that lasso Remy and Abaddon, and begin to constrict. Fortunately, Abaddon quickly discovers that rope burns, and Odin sneaks in and slices the animated bundle of malicious rope to shreds.

Inside is a fortune of stolen goods, including artwork, holy books, expensive trade goods, and a collection of ship rutters. More than enough evidence of a decade of banditry, thievery, and the wrecking of many ships. Among the treasures is a box of jewelry, and the jubilant Edelina finds her father’s family signet ring. Aware that the appropriate course of action is to hand over these goods to the legal authorities, Remy discreetly pockets some of the more valuable, smaller items.

The heroes continue carefully searching and discover Avca of Hafaci’s well-hidden office. This contains various notes and records of his illegal behavior, including an itemized record of his criminal earnings. Remy steals this to cover up his share of the treasures he has pilfered and any connection to the other criminal organizations with which he is associated. Some of the records include payment to one of the Earl’s guards; the man must be an informer. Avca is a notorious loan shark, and the party also finds his ledger. These records are destroyed, an act which is sure to delight many poor villagers and struggling businesses.

Among the papers is a collection of records dating back over 30 years to the time Sarkum was invaded and occupied by the Kingdom of Rethem, a period that lasted several years during Ezar’s War. These documents prove that one of the town’s merchants, an apparent rival of Avca, Gorin of Leba, was a collaborator during the occupation and informed on local residents. If this information becomes known, Gorin will likely be hanged. Avca of Hafaci was blackmailing the now elderly merchant. Odin and Abaddon decide to take this evidence; it might be of use in the future.

Having searched through the complex early the next morning, Odin informs the castle’s constable and the ruling Earl Ranald Milaka of the den of thieves they destroyed. The Earl is outraged; this band of criminals was operating under his nose, and he ensures that the full extent of the law is applied. The thugs the heroes captured alive, along with the informer in his castle guard, are questioned and executed at the infamous Hanging Tree as an example for other wrongdoers. The adventurers, primarily due to eliminating the loan shark and his thugs, are regarded as local heroes.

To be continued.

NPC Interactions

Sir Ranald Milaka the Earl of Sarkum and father of the King Andasin IV of Kanday.

Related Content

Hanging Tree.

Created Content

Nothing this week.

Player Characters

Odin - Human - L14 Ranger

Background - Martial Disciple.

Archetype - Shadowdancer, Investigator, and Fighter.

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Abaddon - Elf - L14 Monk

Background - Martial Disciple.

Archetypes - Druid and Familiar Master.

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Remy - Human - L14 Aerokineticist (with Metal second gate)

Background - Acrobat.

Archetypes - Wizard, Acrobat, and Thief.

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NPC Companion

Edelina - Human - L14 Holy Sage Sorcerer

Background - Astrologer.

Archetypes - Psychic and Time Mage.

Next Session

Session 432 – The Collaborator’s Secrets.