Campaign Log 1: Inspiration

It is the 1st of Nisaba’s Guile. Fall is ending, and the weather has started to cool. I had been on the road for approximately two ten-days with Tucson, Nyssa, and Ayduin on a trip east of Ghal Pelor, not far from the ruins of Beldon, on rumors of wandering undead. Fortunately for us, those rumors proved to be largely the work of con artists and not any serious danger to travelers. I intended to return to the city with the money made on this excursion to pay for more hours at the University, when we received a message by the Goldheart Courier Service. One of the others must have let Bard know about our whereabouts during our adventure, but in any case, there was a letter addressed to each of us.
  I had no issue with reading my letter aloud; there was nothing clandestine within, and I trusted the others to share any pertinent details with the group. The message was basically the same. Bard requested our presence back in Crowcoil in the next few days to discuss an urgent matter with us. He chose the Copper Cup, an old alehouse that we frequented a few years ago when Bard was more actively adventuring. Tucson and Ayduin have been busy beyond Ghal Pelor, and have not been back in a couple of years. Nyssa and I maintained separate activities there, though I, too, had not seen him in about a year since I started studying law at the university (albeit pausing to obtain funds with the others as necessary).
  Bard asking to meet us all together was a rare occurrence, so we located a caravan heading back to the city with their goods and paid to travel in their ranks. We made camp for the evening when we were within six hours from the city. Tucson, ever the socializer, had taken to conversing with two Rylanders named Blasco and Elovar. Both were modified as was the fashion of their society, with a replaced eye and a mechanized left arm, respectively. I knew little of their city and their corporations, but even I knew that the two were highly unusual as they had decided to study magic at the University of Ghal Pelor. There were few students of the subject beyond the historical and theoretical nature of it. Manacite was a luxury not many could regularly afford, and Rylanders in particular were usually averse to it, but they had it in their minds to become mages.
  Tucson let slip that we had within our ranks those who could utilize Manacite and cast spells. They interpreted this to mean we were wizards, and he didn’t dissuade them of that notion. The closest of us to that was maybe Ayduin. Truth be known, I never did know exactly how he came about his magic, only that it was effective, but I certainly knew it wasn’t from studying books and scrolls. After dinner, they asked us to show them how to use manacite. Tucson was happy to oblige.
  Ayduin seemed pleased to show off a spell at their behest and used manacite they supplied to teleport a short distance away, impressing Blasco and Elovar. After showing them the way to use manacite to enhance a spell’s effect, as well as to invigorate a body with it, Elovar recklessly casts a magic missile at a tree without a piece, nearly causing a backlash that could have killed him and us. As it was, the spell created an infinite loop that needed to be reversed with more of their manacite.
  After he uses some of the stone to heal his self-inflicted wounds, he aims a spell of reduction at me to force me to use a piece to repel the magic. I barely do so, and suffer a minor amount of withering damage as a result. I tell him, under no uncertain term,s never to do something so foolish again without warning or if he intends a spell to actually work. Their enthusiasm could harm someone nearby. Perturbed, I offered to introduce them to the University’s admissions office, though I obviously was in a totally different department. The sooner they gained an actual, real lesson in how to handle dangerous magic, the better for all. They were happy with my offer.
  As we continued our meal, the four of us were approached by a group of three gnomish furtrappers named Grenetia, Skatoon, and Miskaton. Grenetia, the leader of the band, wanted to hire us for a short hunt for a bear they tracked in the woods nearby before we reached the city tomorrow, as they desired something to bring in and sell instead of arriving empty-handed. We had exchanged few words with the trio since joining the caravan, and their very random request raised our suspicions.
  The three of them were properly outfitted for the hunt, but a closer inspection revealed that their equipment was suspiciously new and unused. As well, they were offering thirty Aurins for our help in bringing down this bear. Ghal Pelor was always a good place to sell game, but the amount they promised for our help should put them well in the red for just one bear being brought to market. When we continued our questioning, Grenetia bade me closer, and not wanting to cause a scene, I leaned in and felt her press a dagger against my stomach. She threatens us, ordering the group to follow them into the woods. We convinced them to allow us to keep our weapons, which they foolishly agreed to.
  They marched the four of us to a wooded area some distance from the caravan camp. Grenetia refused to answer any of our questions, but though they were clearly hired to assassinate us, they had underestimated their quarry severely. Even hidden in the trees, we spotted two more of their gang armed with short bows, and a third behind cover. The only thing they made clear was that they were to finish us without any nearby witnesses, and before they could fully ambush us, Nyssa slips away using the same cover of the trees and Tuscon, and Ayduin launched ranged attacks at the archers up in the trees. Caught off guard by our swift action against their hidden allies, Grenetia, Skatoon, and Miskaton attempt to stab m,e but their daggers fail against my armor.
  The fighting is fierce, but swift. The hidden ambusher behind the log was a magic user who hurled bolts of fire at Nyssa, who slipped in and quickly stabbed him before he could make more mischief. Tucson and Ayduin dispatch one of the archers while I hold off the three gnomes, knocking one of them out before turning my attention to Grenetia. Nyssa comes from behind and brings down another of the gnomes, before I smash my weapon into Grenetia’s head, causing her to stumble. I then cast my own spell into the trees and burn the last archer, with Ayduin putting Grenetia down with a necromantic bell that sucks the life out of her body and ends her.
  Though the battle ended quickly with just minor injuries, we worked quickly to save the gnome Skatoon and Avil, one of the archers, both having survived their wounds. After disarming and binding him, we find that they have tattoos on their arms denoting them as, according to Nyssa, members of the Dead Rose Syndicate. Skatoon and Avil, fearing for their lives, admit that Grenetia worked directly under their boss, a lieutenant among the Roses named Taigem, who is in charge of an offshoot called Taigem’s Violets. Nyssa, who has many dubious connections to the underworld, given her choice of profession, recognized the man, having crossed paths before.
  They didn’t know why we were targeted, only that Taigem had been paid well for the deed and dispatched Grenetia and her gang to track and kill the four of us. They did not know what they were getting themselves into, it seemed. Fearful for Bard’s safety, as the timing of his letters to us and this attack couldn’t have been a coincidence, we drag the two back to the caravan and hand them over to be turned in to the authorities for attacking us once we returned to the city.
  We resume our trek the next morning, more alert than before. The rest of the trip to Ghal Pelor is uneventful, and we enter through the gates at Anvil West. Splitting off to run individual errands, we agree to meet at the Copper Cup to see Bard later. I thought to make a trip to the University to pay for my next term’s classes, and as I passed the marketplace, I saw a set of manacles at a pawn shop. They had been heavily used, with old blood stains set into the metal. I couldn’t forget the make of such instruments if I tried, as my family and I wore such for years under Duergar enslavement in Cinderstone. As calmly as I could, I inquired as to who had sold them to the shop. The owner only recalled that it was some random caravan and offered to give me a deal on it. I blanched, and when it was obvious he couldn’t give me more information, I left, knowing that Duergar had been nearby recently. I had not seen them within the city before, and my concern was matched only by anger at this discovery.
  Nyssa went to Echo March, presumably to stop in at her parents’ winery, and though I know her intentions are good, she does not divulge most of her clandestine activities. Presumably, to protect those around her. She reports back that there is a lot more gang graffiti even within the wealthier areas of the city. Through her connections, she is able to discover the location of Taigem’s hideout, an abandoned flower shop on the edge of Crowcoil.
  Tucson visits an old mentor and friend of his, a music shop owner and musician named Baldo Sturnhall. The shop has seen better days, and he admits that he is on the verge of shutting down due to the increased gang activity in the neighborhood in recent years. Nyssa might be familiar with this, but this came as disturbing news to me, as I had spent time away from the area with my studies of late. Tucson offers to put on one last concert as a send-off for Baldo, to drum up interest in cleaning up the streets.
  Ayduin keeps as many secrets as Nyssa does, and lately I’ve seen him whispering aloud to himself and acting somewhat strangely. His magic, however, is very real, so I wonder if he, too, has found something akin to my own connection. I never pry, as long as their cause is just.
  We meet up at Crowcoil’s Copper Cup, noting that the degradation of the neighborhood has advanced with the rise in gang activity compared to when we were younger. Within, we find Bard, bespoke in a neat and proper suit, welcoming us back home and beckoning us to sit. He has lost none of his open warmth. After quickly catching up, I inform him about the attack on us outside the city and inquire about his safety. He admits that someone had also come for him, though he was able to fend him off using his still-effective martial skills.
  After food and drink has been served, he announces that he has called us here because he is hoping that we can help him in his time of need, as he has decided to run for the open Alderman of Crowcoil office that is being vacated by old Tayte Wilkas, who has held the position for decades and is much beloved and respected here, despite his advanced age and diminished capacity. Bard has seen the increase in crime and the worsening of conditions in this district and has decided to serve as Alderman to rally the neighborhood to prosperity. He also has little faith in the other candidates, to varying degrees, and wants to prevent someone particularly nasty from winning. We immediately agree to his request, placing ourselves at his service. We all own Bard for one reason or another, and he has a keen eye for people with potential. Though our band comes from very different backgrounds, I trust them and Bard with my life.
  Bard produces several packets of papers, dossiers his agents have put together for the other four candidates for Wilkas’s seat, as well as the current state of the campaign. It is not good for Bard currently. He is unknown and has few resources. He confesses that his available funds had dried up, with the last of his coin used on hiring the people that put this intelligence together, as well as the meal we were currently sharing. He did not even have a campaign headquarters, with the Copper Cup closed for a bit to allow him to have the place for our meeting out of respect to him for past deeds.
  The candidates for the open seat are:
  Bellaluna Qinorin: A successful half-elf businesswoman from Echo March who believes Crowcoil’s future lies in investment and industry. She’s built her campaign on bringing Rylander manufacturing jobs to the district and promoting “modern progress.” Her message of order, prosperity, and partnership with local law enforcement appeals to voters seeking stability and business growth.
  Gentrifying Crowcoil by bringing in Ryland business concerns was alarming. Their allegiance to corporate interests makes their intentions dubious at best. But she has the greatest polling success currently and is very well-connected.
  Ornakh Dukar: A dwarf who is a longtime dock and warehouse magnate who built his fortune in the trade yards of Kretche. He’s running as a straight-talking advocate for old-fashioned business values and fewer city regulations. His campaign focuses on jobs, lower taxes, and strong security funded by private enterprise rather than municipal oversight.
  Dukar, on the surface, appears to be the most dangerous of the opposition; he is vehemently a dwarf traditionalist, though his business interests are riddled with alleged, questionable connections with the criminal underworld. It would not surprise me if he had something to do with the attempts on our lives. Bard, at the moment, seems most concerned about him because of his willingness towards ruthlessness.
  Ravette Wilkas: The granddaughter of retiring alderman Tayte Wilkas and a lifelong resident of CrowCoil. Educated and civic-minded, she hopes to modernize her grandfather’s legacy with responsible reform and renewed public pride. Her platform emphasizes infrastructure repair, access to affordable magic and manacite, and restoring confidence in the district’s future. She lacks the experience to pull this of,f and should her agenda fail, it will mean backsliding into the sleepy progress offered by Tayte Wilkas. Also, her willingness to move more magic into Crowcoil is reckless if not managed very carefully.
  We are all well acquainted with Ravette. Even as the granddaughter of Tayte, she spent much time with our band during our younger days (I, in particular, being several years younger), causing mischief in the neighborhood. She means well and, as far as we can tell, has a good heart, but her inexperience and naivete could spell trouble for Crowcoil were she to win. Nyssa seemed put off by Ravette’s involvement in the election. Her previous relationship with her must not have ended well. I do not keep up with her romantic activities, as it is hard enough to keep track.
  Torbane Hagan: A fisherman turned community advocate known for his plain speech and deep roots in Ghal Pelor’s working class. His rallies in local taverns have earned him a devoted following among laborers, wage workers, and the downtrodden who admire his “one of us” approach. He calls for new training programs, safer streets, and greater opportunities for ordinary families. Yet, his plans lack any actionable details or realistic approaches.
  Someone for whom, if he had a good advisor behind him, could make a difference, given his concern for the common people here. But his ties to the vile Locklanders is alarming. His victory would see mostly unfulfilled promises, given his lack of experience and knowledge of how to actually accomplish what few ideas he has that are not mere hyperbole.
  We scan the intelligence for a while. One thing stood out, and I questioned Bard about why anyone would bother sending someone after him, considering he is far behind the other four in the polls at the moment. It hardly seemed worth it, given the non-threat our friend posed. Bard reveals that the agents discovered his deep potential in his candidacy because of his resonating message and force of personality. In other words, the man himself is the draw. I confess that it should have been obvious; if we could see how great Bard could be, someone who would not want his victory to come to pass could too and seek to eliminate him.
  Bard informed us that tomorrow he would be giving a speech and rally at the Turtle Fountain, and that whatever we felt best as far as helping him and his campaign were concerned, he would trust us with it. First and foremost, we needed more protection for Bard. I asked that he carry a weapon with him as well, but he refused, citing the image of trust and safety he wanted to cultivate with the citizens. We discussed amongst ourselves, and I decided to see if the already beleaguered constabulary here might be of some assistance.
  As for what we could start with, Nyssa having discovered Taigem’s hideout and the threat of the dangerous Stardust drug making its way through the neighborhood and particularly at Ravette’s events, created a good opportunity. We could deal with an immediate problem that has ties to our assassin encounter from yesterday.
  As we plan to hit the flower shop where Taigem and his Violets were holed up distributing Stardust, I suggest reaching out to Grandlerock, another friend of ours who had recently graduated from the Constabulary academy and had taken vows as a Ghal Pelor Constabulary Department officer and assigned to Crowcoil. I, in particular, often liked picking his brain when I was younger, due to our shared interests in protecting the neighborhood. A quick trek to the office and I was able to find him there. After exchanging quick greetings, I requested that Bard be given the same level of protection the other candidates would be receiving, to which he promised that they were not playing favorites. But to make it more enticing, I offered a tip to him, and only him, that Taigem’s Violets were going to be “hit”, and that he could take the credit for calling it in and swooping in to make any arrests and seizures after the inter-gang warfare subsided.
  My friends and I decided anonymity in our activities helping Bard, for as much as we could manage, was the best course of action; we could not risk putting a bigger target on ourselves and Bard given our lack of resources, and just as good, Gran rising in the ranks of the constabulary here would only benefit all of us given his good natured methods, green though he (and us) were. After giving him this bit of information, he promised he would gather the men needed for the arrest and be there to check the flower shop in the early morning. Thanking me for the tip, we made our own preparations to make sure Taigem was brought down.
  Once evening fell, we made our way to the abandoned flower shop, spying on the derelict building from a good distance. Though long since shut down, there was light and activity from within. We approached silently, and Nyssa took a quick look, disappearing into the shadows for a moment. She confirmed that seven Violets, humans mostly with a couple of dwarves and elves among them, including Taigem himself, were inside loading boxes and barrels with what looked like some kind of purple dust. Nyssa quickly reminded us that Taigem had once studied magic at the college and was a formidable hand-to-hand fighter with what he learned.
  Confirming that this was their Stardust distribution point, we found ourselves easily outnumbered. We circled around to the back, seeing the back entrance and four of the Violets smoking and loading boxes. With Nyssa leading us through the alleyway, we manage to sneak up on them and take out all four without much sound. Tying them up and moving them away from the building, we take position near the windows and coordinate a surprise attack on the ones inside. Tuscon and Ayduin smash a window open and fire into their ranks, wounding a couple as they scrambled to respond. Several of them shot back with arrows as Taigem and a couple of others went through the front door to flank them. Nyssa and I were waiting, and as Taigem came through, she caught him in the side with her blades. I empowered our group with a spell, then waded in, attacking one of the Violets as he came through the door.
  Taigem struck back, but failed to connect as the men at his back stumbled out the door after our ambush caused some chaos in their ranks. Tucson and Ayduin brought one of them down inside, and one of the larger gang members attempted to climb through the window to assault our friends. Nyssa and I put paid to two more on our end, and Taigem broke from our attack to launch himself at Ayduin, our most obvious spell caster. We drew several more wounds on him for the attempt, and though Ayudin was badly hurt from the combined attacks of Taigem’s monk skills and the Violets’ weapons, we knocked out the ones that came through the door. Catching up to Taigem, we struck him down, and in response, one of the Violets attempted to cross through the window and revive him. Tucson made him pay for the attempt, putting a bolt into him as he tried to rescue his boss.
  The battle was quickly won after Taigem’s defeat, and we saved a few of them that had survived, binding them and removing their weapons after moving them back into the building. We then swept the building for anything useful, finding some coin and a useful item or two. Looking over the Stardust they had been packing, we learn that the addictive drug was, in fact, also quite dangerous. It was made from depleted manacite, which was toxic if used in quantities beyond the smallest amounts. We begin marking all the boxes that have been packed, with Ayudin taking a few doses to experiment on later.
  Unfortunately for us, we lose track of time as a wagon pulls up outside and five more Violets, led by a Frostmerite almost as imposing as Tuscon but much more uncouth, yell into the building that they were here to pick up the next shipment. Thinking quick, Nyssa calls back out the door that they were behind schedule and, drawing the tattoo of the Dead Rose on her arm with her kit, went outside in an attempt to persuade them to come back later to pick up the Stardust. Unfortunately for our friend, the Frostmerite, suspicious of her story, grabs her arm and finds the tattoo smeared. Seeing this, we rush outside and catch them off guard, defeating them speedily despite our fatigue from the earlier battle. They were not prepared to deal with an attack tonight.
  Though several Violets had perished, many of the sixteen we had fought had survived and were unconscious, including Taigem. We awaken him, demanding answers. Thinking that we were perhaps a rival gang, Taigem attempts to negotiate with us. When it became apparent that he was not going to be intimidated by us and give away any useful intelligence on why Grenetia and her thugs attacked us outside the city, we falsely promised that he would be freed in exchange for his cooperation. I said nothing during the questioning, but knew that that was a promise the others didn’t intend to keep. Taigem, impressed that we had survived Grenetia’s assassination attempt, revealed that an elf named Ilimar had received the job from some mysterious higher source, hiring Taigem to deal with the contract, who in turn ordered Grenetia to do the deed. Ilimar did their business out of Anvil West, and Nyssa said she would look into it some more next opportunity. Tucson then knocked him out after this piece of news.
  After making sure that the survivors were well secured, we left the scene and watched from a hidden spot as Grandlerock and a few other constables pulled up and hauled the Violets, including Taigem, away, while also picking up the large amount of Stardust inside the abandoned shop. Confident that we had all but put Taigem’s Violets out of commission and halted the supply and distribution center of Stardust in the neighborhood, we pulled back and returned to our rooms at the Copper Cup, exhausted at the long, first day of the campaign.
  There remained much work to be done, and the destruction of this dangerous substance was only the start.
  118 days remained until the election
  ~A.Z.