Sal missed today's session as well; in-story, Nirreh has separated from the party for the time being to attend to issues in her homeland, the Whitebough Forest. A familiar face returned to fill her spot for the time being...but more on that later, on to the recap.
The party all received their training of choice from Marshal Rendon, and woke up the next morning to find their presence requested by him. Heading to his office, he relayed that he wanted them to check on one of his runners whom had not returned, and they had found no body of. The party agreed, and headed off in the direction the runner had been sent - north, toward the towns of Kinderwood and Cairnmoor. Conversation was in great supply during the trip, although the great majority of it was the ongoing argument between Seamus and Shivra.
The party made their first stop in the halfling town of Kinderwood. Finding it to be quite busy with all the halflings home for the winter, they headed to Kinderwood's Skippin' Stone Tavern seeking information on the runner. After a run-in with an odd little fellow in a fake beard named Ferrel, they met with the tavernkeep, Elian, to ask about the runner. Seamus joined in a drunken halfling chorus in a rousing rendition of "Gold River Down the Barnside" as Vorgym spoke with Elian, though he ended up calling Seamus over to loosen Elian's tongue with a generous purchase of ale. Elian relayed that the runner had come through seeking reinforcements for Orcbane Keep, and headed northwest to Cairnmoor upon finding that the halflings had none to provide. The party bought rooms for the night in Kinderwood, with Amnon having a fitful sleep opposite a sick fellow patron, and headed for Cairnmoor.
Upon arriving in Cairnmoor, they found that the rumors of a plague were true - bodies lay burning in mass graves outside the town's walls, and what few people still remained in the town seemed to largely be preparing to depart. The party learned that, though the zombie plague had passed, it had already done its damage, and the town seemed to most beyond saving - the guard they spoke to, himself about to set aflame a mass grave, estimated Cairnmoor would be a ghost town by next year's beginning. They were given directions to the one structure they might find their runner at, the Misty Morning Inn, and headed there accordingly.
Inside they found a half-elf with an eyepatch grilling a dwarf by the name of Smolkin. The rest of the bar sat in tense anticipation of what might happen next as the party entered. Seamus was quick to challenge the half-elf, a man by the name of Managath, and the party soon found themselves roped into an attempted Bluff check to claim that they were the Blacksword Band adventuring company assigned to the task Smolkin had been given. Their bluff was called, however, and Managath ordered his men to attack. The battle quickly turned as Managath's men were slaughtered, and those who realized their grim situation quickly enough managed to flee. Managath surrendered, and the situation was resolved, with Smolkin and Managath agreeing to officially consider this new group of adventurers the Blacksword Band, for fear of retaliation from the noble patron they had been hired by.
Smolkin explained their task - that of recovering an artifact known as the Silver Mask of Kas from the Amberforge Vault, which rumor said had been lost to the creatures of the Underdark. Additionally, Smolkin suggested the party search the area around Cairnmoor for a spider rod - a magical implement used by drow arachnomancers, one of whom was supposedly buried in the area. The party also managed to locate Rendon's lost runner, a man by the name of Leoren, who had been unable to leave Cairnmoor due to the grave injuries he had suffered outrunning the orcs he had been pursued by. Smolkin agreed to pass on the fate of Rendon's runner to him in Falconia for the party, and they agreed to recover the artifact.
It was about this time that the party head a loud crash from the back room of the Misty Morning Inn - a drow patron of the inn who had assisted the party with Managath, Malthus, recognized the sound as that of a spider, and aided the party in fighting the beasts off. They dealt with the last of them in the spider web-laden cellar, and found a tunnel leading off into the darkness. This is where the session ended.
There was a lot of good roleplaying in this session - as a result, I am going to give 20 XP as a roleplaying bonus to Seamus, Shivra, Vorgym & Amnon. That's 20 XP each, so go ahead and add it to your totals. We will not be doing an extra session this Saturday again, as not enough people can make it - I will see everyone next Wednesday!
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