January 23rd, 2010
Heroes: Dashiell, Kebi Dabu, Caylin, Lysandros, Rhinox, Thorgan, and Prometheus. Kebi Dabu had to leave a little bit early and Mariska joined in the late hours of the session. We also had a Guest Watcher. Glad you liked it Ryan, come back anytime.
Game Date: Highdain, Whitesky 4, AD1017
The heroes have begun a whole new quest. The wizard and First Advisor to the Commander of Skulldrop, Maranaren, decided to enlist the adventurers to help prove the innocence of the Skull Tower. In a secret gathering the wizard asked for the party to petition the Commander to let them investigate the Tower again. After a long meeting with the Commander Ryver, he agreed. Now the heroes are deep inside yet another hidden conclave belonging to the organization known as the Varrikai.
After other members of the party finally caught up to the group, they decided to bed down for the night. The group took the elevator back up to Master Jafnar’s room and decided to rest there. Luckily their night went by uneventful. Taking the elevator back down, the adventurers had three other paths to take.
The path to the south simply led to a hallway that connected to the training room to the west. Simply enough, this place was looking smaller and smaller by the minute. The hall to the east ended at the barracks of the secret base. It was a simple square room with bunks lining the walls and a few small tables in the center. It looked to accommodate up to 50 soldiers, or recruits.
When the heroes traveled along the north passage it was a different story entirely. The short hall was decorated with carved walls on both sides. The walls depicted humanoids with body parts twisted into impossible angles; their faces showing horrific looks. All the figures appeared human and had one thing in common. They all had shirts with the Royal mark of the House Rathhardtsen on their shoulder.
The adventurers continued on passing the common room and the officer’s lounge to stop at the Study. It appeared this room was important to the organization for it was heavily guarded by several different automatons. As soon as the heroes entered the room secret panels opened in the walls and released the defenders. Most of the constructs were not difficult but one in particular was especially dangerous. The automaton was a variation of the clay golem and when it hit the heroes with its fists, it would knock the wind out of them, preventing them from catching their breath. It seemed to focus on the first two adventurers it saw, Dashiell and Rhinox. Unfortunately Dashiell could not sustain the punishment of this deadly thing; he eventually succumbed to his injuries.
The group was finally able to defeat the clay thing, but Dashiell was still down. He was still infected by the touch of the golem so the best Thorgan could do was stabilize him. Once the infection ran its course the team fixed his wounds and got him back into the fight. After the fall of the clay construct the other automatons were not much of a problem. They fell rather quickly.
A balcony wrapped around the southern part of the study and was still stocked with books, journals, writings, and scrolls from those that worked here. The adventurers scoured the library looking for anything that would help them clear, or condemn, the Tower. Several works were found with the same few names as their authors. The group began focusing their attention on these items. Lysandros found several writings from an individual known as Lord Zeitvor Varkis, a name that would eventually stir up the Commander himself. Lysandros was able to match the handwriting with the ever elusive Jafnar Voransen, one of the Masters of the Tower that is still missing. Could they be the same person? Could Jafnar be this Lord Varkis person, the most wanted fugitive in all of Mentiel?
The group returned to Commander Ryver and Maranaren and the news was stunning to them both. The Varkis family are all wanted for treason against the throne and there is a steep reward on each of their heads. To think the Head of the Varkis household was working under the very nose of the Commander did not set well him. The adventurers got permission to interrogate the prisoners that were on the list that Lysandros made from the various authors in the secret level under the Tower. They quickly learned that two of the five that are on the list have already been assassinated under questionable circumstances. The heroes will have to work fast if they are to get any answers from the three living members that are still living.
The group interrogated the three Varrikai master wizards that were working in the Tower. They did not learn much; but, they were given confirmation that the other prisoners from the Tower were not involved with Jafnar, the goblin attack, nor were they Varrikai. They did learn that Varrikai are an organization that specializes in illegal or shady dealings. Information is one of the most valuable commodities the organization deals in. One of the wizards proved to be quite strange and possibly insane. He seemed to know a little bit about Kebi Dabu’s changing eyes, and might even have information on the ancient race of elves known as the Eldar.
The next lead the adventurers had to follow was not going to be as easy or as straight forward, as the last two leads they had. They had to gather information from the streets in order to find the true headquarters of the Varrikai, and hopefully the leader of the organization, Lord Zeitvor Varkis. Their only lead was the organization’s dealings with the Black Market.
Mariska and Prometheus went out looking around town and starting asking questions. They scoured all the dark places the shady dealers would go. They learned that Jafnar is calling in quite a few favors of late. He is also trying to get a lot of merchandise out of town, but at the same time, smuggle as much rare ingredients in. Jafnar uses his contacts in the market to get him the rare components he needs, but they aren’t moving the stuff out. Someone else is doing that. After pressing further, and paying 100gp for the information, the learned Jafnar uses a particular merchant that is rumored to be part of the Royal Family. Paavetti owns the Rooks, Kings, and Bishops general store and is said to be in league with the Varrikai.
After all this information was relayed to the other party members, the plan was to go and talk to this Paavetti person. Once again Mariska and Prometheus tried to go in and learn something they could use against him, but this merchant appears to be a charismatic talker and a careful dealer. When the pair came out with nothing, Lysandros and Dashiell decided to give it a try. Unbeknownst to them, Thorgan decided to warn Paavetti that people were asking around about the “You know who,” and “You know what.” As if Paavetti was not careful enough, he was now doubly on his guard. Lysandros and Dashiell go no information they could use.
What is the next step for the heroes? So far they have exhausted their leads with the merchant being ready for their questions. Where do go from here? They have learned a great deal about the Varrikai, Jafnar, and why he wants the King dead. They have learned that Jafnar Voransen, a respected High Master of the Tower, is actually Lord Zeitvor Varkis, the most wanted criminal in all of Mentiel. Unfortunately none of this information gets them any closer to finding Jafnar, or the Varrikai Headquarters that is located here in Skulldrop. There are still the innocent teachers and masters of the Tower locked up in the Skulldrop dungeon. More importantly, what is Thorgan up to?
