Session 0038 - Interrogation

Roster

List of characters who's player was in attendance

Player characters who's player is attending the game start with 1 Hero Point, and can get more during the session.

Absent

List of characters who's player was absent

Player characters for missing players do not start the session with a hero point, and can not get any more during the session.

Session Log

Eriana runs away from the mausoleum, deciding to head back to the town of Lakeside to get some help. Meanwhile, the surviving members of the party are all relieved of their weapons, tied up and brought to the nearby room with the large fire pit and benches.
The party captives hear the others converse, wondering what to do with them. They hear arguments about killing them, but level heads in their group think they should be questioned and they decide to get their leader, Valgard. During this time the necromancers discover the aftermath of the combat in the nearby chamber where one of their number was killed and two others held captive.
Two of the necromancers head through the sealed stone doors, presumably deeper into the complex. They come back about 30 minutes later with another individual in a dark robe, his head covered with a hood that hides his features. Behind him floats a figure that seems to drain the light around it - a robed humanoid with a red robe and cowl covering its head. Two pinpoints of light where eyes would be can be seen from the darkness inside the cowl.
This is presumably Valgard. Instead of approaching the party he and the floating creature head around the corner where the party fought their last battle. A necromancer accompanies them while the other three remain to watch the party.
They are gone for over 20 minutes, during which time none of the other three necromancers watching them say a word to the party.
When Valgard and the floating entity return two necromancers talk with him for a while and start to question the party.
It begins with questions along the lines of "why are you here?" The party remain silent, and Ferdinand speaks up and says they are adventurers looking for treasure.
"Your timing seems rather convenient, don't you think? I'll give you a chance to modify your reply. Why are you here?" is their reply. Again the party answer that they were just here looking for easy treasure.
They press on. "Look, we have no quarrel with you. Why not just answer us truthfully? It seems more than a coincidence that you show up here after the Emerald Claw came and went. Who do you work for?"
Persisting with their story, the party insist they are working for themselves and just adventurers looking for treasure.
The necromancer questioning the party is called over by Valgard and they talk for a while, and then the necromancer changes his tact.
"What is your connection with Professor Garthen Daela?" This question surprises the party, naming the professor of Morgrave University directly. The party struggle to answer, and the necromancer continues. "Yes, we know about the professor. Your deceased friend was more forthcoming that you are." At this point it dawns on the party that they must have a way to speak with their dead comrade, 006-Sarroxtíoð.
Eventually the party admit that they hate the Emerald Claw and were seeking to get rid of them. Valgard speaks at this point and says "well, now we are getting somewhere." He steps forward and sits on a bench then speaks to the party directly.
"Look, regrettably you killed one of ours and we took the life of one of yours. On that score we are even. I am going to hazard a guess that you were here seeking the same thing the Emerald Claw were after. I'll save you the time. They found what they were looking for and left. We are glad to see the back of them, and do not seek to make any new enemies. Lets do each other a favour and speak some truths here. Your dead friend also revealed the name of your backer, from the house d'Cannith. Is that true?"
This question clearly rattles the necromancers. They look at each other with a mix of concern and perhaps a tinge of fear. The party capitulate and change their angle to be more akin to mercenaries looking to attack an enemy of the professor and the house d'Cannith.
Valgard continues, "I see. Well, not quite correct but that is better. As I said, we are not looking for new enemies and we certainly do not wish to make one of any remaining member of house d'Cannith. In fact, to show our good faith we would be willing to let you go. As a sign of good faith, I may even help you achieve something towards whatever goal it is you seek. We will, of course insist that you leave this complex and not return - we'll be taking the means to enter the tomb but you will be free to keep all your other belongings and that of your dead friend. What do you say?"
The prospect of being freed seems appealing, and while cautious the party realize that Valgard knows a lot more than they were willing to reveal anyway. Leodegar seems eager to capitulate, suggesting they should agree and get out while the going is good. Harbek and Ferdinand seem OK with this, and with some reluctance, Alicia also agrees - but not until she has some comment about heretics that sparks a brief argument among the necromancers. Valgard insists they have no qualms with The Sovereign Host nor Dol Arrah.
He brushes that aside, and says "Very well. If you agree then I will tell you more about your adversaries, the Emerald Claw. First, we share no love with that cult. They had the means to give us access to this mausoleum and in return they wanted something from within. We helped them acquire that, but in their eagerness to gain the item they overlooked something else - perhaps something even more important. Knowledge. Does that interest you?"
This is impossible to ignore, so the party agree that they are interested.
Valgard continues. "I believe their leader to be among the living dead - a being that looks human, is intelligent and capable but not alive as you know it. He is very dangerous and goes by the name Garrow. Perhaps you know him? No matter. Well, Garrow was so eager to obtain his prize he failed to notice other details in the chamber where the item was kept. We saw no reason to enlighten him so we kept it for ourselves. The knowledge I speak of is this book..."
He pulls out an old, clearly damaged leather bound book with loose pages. "This was found in that same chamber. It is written in elvish. Are any of you familiar with that script?" Ferdinand acknowledges that he is. "Good. It is fairly ancient, and there are drawing - maps, inside. I believe it mentions the item Garrow took. This is all you will find here tied to your mission. I am willing to give this to you, along with your freedom on the agreement that you leave and not return. Do we have an accord?"
The party agree, though Alicia adds that if they ever cross paths again she will kill them all. Valgard sighs at this and says, "That is unfortunate, and it would be a sad day for you. I hope then that our paths do not cross again."
During this conversation, Eriana heads down the mountain looking for the entrance to the cave complex they had to pass through on the way up. She has trouble finding it, but does manage to locate it. She moves through it quickly and starts her descent back towards Lakeside.
When the party is freed Valgard hands over the book to Ferdinand. It has a string around it, and he packs it carefully in a sack and puts it in his backpack. They are lead to the front doors and escorted outside. The stone double doors are closed, and the party hear chanting on the other side.
It is a cold night, long past sunset. They are injured and low on resources, and not in a condition to head out at this point. Instead, they move to the nearby mausoleum they previously camped out in. Once inside, they settle in and being to heal themselves. The group spend the night here after fully recovering their health with the healing abilities of Alicia and 009-Harbek Fireforge.
Overnight Eriana presses on, jogging down the path towards Lakeside, stopping periodically to rest, drink and eat. She forces herself to reach town in one trip. It takes her just over 14 hours. She arrives at the inn they stayed in previously. Her feet are blistered and her legs are terribly sore but she makes it (incidentally taking 7 hit points in non-lethal damage from the forced march).
She pays for a simple bed, some food and water and requests a healer to help patch up her wounds.
Eriana then sleeps for over 10 hours straight, feeling considerably better the next morning.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party have recovered and are on their way down the mountain heading towards Lakeside. They found and went through the caves and reach the campsite they stayed at previously.
In the morning Eriana goes to the common room and has some breakfast. The usual crowd is there, but she can't help but notice a large Dromaar (Half-Orc) male sitting and eating a meal that seems very interested in her. This is not surprising. Being the only elf in this town she notices that a lot of people are paying attention to her. This individual is also unusual as she did not notice any other Half-Orcs in town.
When she is done with her meal, Eriana starts to make inquiries at the inn for any mercenaries for hire. This is a small town, and they already learned there are not many people here willing to take up arms that quickly. She is told about the Half-Orc though - apparently he arrived looking to help eliminate the threat from the drakes that the party already eliminated. He arrived too late and was disappointed, but perhaps he would be interested.
Eriana approaches the Half-Orc and introduces herself. His name is Hrovard, and he came to town with hopes to help them deal with the local threat of drakes only to find out he was too late and that someone else got rid of the monsters. After his initial disappointment, he seems glad to meet one of the people who succeeded in that task. Eriana tells Hrovard there are enemies in the mountains she and allies of hers need to deal with. She can't find anyone else to help out, but he is keen.
They resolve to head out the next morning, so after a night of rest they get an early start on Zarantyr 4th.
At the same time the rest of the party is making slow progress down the mountain, so Harbek can keep up. On Zarantyr 5th just after noon the two groups cross paths. Both groups spot each other a fair distance off as it is a sunny, cold and clear day. For both groups the travel has been otherwise uneventful.
Eriana is surprised to see the party free and with all their gear, and the rest of the party are surprised to see her again so soon with another companion. They introduce each other to Hrovard and explain what transpired.
It is agreed that they will return back to Lakeside and head back to Sharn. They are all upset they didn't just eliminate the necromancers, but agree it isn't worth the trouble to try and attack them again - particularly since they appear to have sealed off the tomb and know all about the party.
Leodegar seems particularly keen to leave, particularly to see the entire nation of Karrnath behind him. He also announces that he thinks this entire adventuring business is not for him. He longs to return to the university. Harbek seems more content to simply go with whatever the group decides.
Although Hrovard seems a little disappointed he doesn't get to go and fight something, he doesn't have anything else to do and the party seem to want someone to replace their fallen comrade, so he decides to tag along with the party.