Party: Iskren / Sorval / Vultha / Zantaroth / Taurio
Xivaskir 10
Zantaroth, having spend quite some time learning the ins and outs of murkfish eating, wakes up when the tracking signet pulls at his chest. He follows its pull and winds up at the Empty Net, where he is greeted by a confused Vultha lovingly cradled by a loxodon lady. The pair then notices a strange spider-like creature with one eye gazing at them. As they give chase, the being leaves behind but holes in the wall, from which sulphurous fumes rise. They think about this for a hot minute and decide to go check on Iskren, who is wise in these matters, probably.
The morning finds Iskren restless, having caught little sleep with the bloodless finger in his room.
Once the staff begins their morning routines, Iskren gets up and meets pandemonium as the head butler, Erves Hulgren, appears to have gone missing. With a little persuasion, Iskren gets themselves escorted (by Thaya) to the butler's room. A little time with a dagger and the lock on the door means Iskren gains entry into a strangely scented room, where a dirt-filled coffin stands next to the bed.
Meanwhile, the Boros boys get cymballed into awakeness by the morning staff and ushered to the training field. They run their daily routines, have their breakfast and hear of a gruesome happening near the Primeground Estate. A group of corpses was found, drained of blood. Lisanne asks for them to investigate it as they collect their supplies.
The Gruul arrive at Primeground's Estate and are confronted with a safety cordon that has been set, with guards from the Legion holding the population off until an investigation can be launched. This measure does not stop the locals from forming their own theories of what happened, as an old lady eagerly expounds on when the clansmen shoulder their way past her. The front door easily opens for Zantaroth, four servants scared witless by the sudden appearance of a massive lizardman in their halls. Roaring for Iskren, the pair makes their way through the Estate.
Iskren, meanwhile, focusses on the coffin, noting dampness underneath it and a compression of the dirt inside of the coffin that does not match the form of Erves. The window in the room has been forced, with the latch snapped in two. Iskren's search is interrupted by the pair of clansmen bursting in. Iskren wastes no time putting Vultha to work, finding a piece of clothing which is discarded as unimportant, but spotting the coffin was brought in from the outside.
Sorval and Taurio rush to the manor after taking a Skyroc to the Fogger, getting accosted by a gentleman officer, who seems to have all confidence in the pair for cracking the case.
They spot Vultha's head sticking out of the window and join up with the others. While going in, Sorval cautions people to not leave the grounds. Not perturbed by the added company, Vultha spots small marks on the wall, similar to the ones he saw earlier, like the ones made by the spidery being.
Gellan Primeground makes an appearance, to little effect.
The party follows the tracks on the wall, which head up to the roof and then the window of Iskren.
In addition to these tracks, Vultha and Iskren also spot that four people came to Erves' window, two of them with a coffin, two without. Then, two carried something off.
Sorval and Taurio meet with Krovek, another officer of the Boros standing guard outside, in order to investigate the corpses outside and gain some information. Krovek relays that the corpses are dead, devoid of blood and have puncture wounds on their necks. Krovek also shouts his most likely theories for the solution of the case, fluctuating from "Vampires" to "Gruul Barbarians" to "Vampiric Lizard Gruul Barbarian Bears", much to the crowd's enjoyment. Zantaroth discovers the corpses to be wearing Orzhovian livery and to be poisoned with a paralyzing fluid, which was not drawn out with the blood, moreover, they appeared to have died more than a day ago.
Questioning the house guards, there is a mention of a mysterious fog at night, which made the guards zone out. The head butler brought 'a cup of beer' to the guards before this though.
Iskren, getting fed up with the investigation, gathers the servants in the main living room. Complications are abound though, as both Taurio and Zantaroth come across servants who appear to have violently perished, with a black knife thrust through their heart with their right hand on it. Sadly enough, by the time the two can gather their allies, the corpses have disappeared, leaving but clothing behind. Vultha suspects the knives contained a bound spell of teleportation.
After this distraction, Iskren casts Zone of Truth into the living room after explaining that Iskren'll know if they resist. Iskren asks all present if they had something to do with the murder, but only gets the following information:
*Erves was acting strangely the last day.
*He brought beer to the guards and asked the kitchen staff to wash the mugs out immediately.
*Erves personally made a drink for Iskren, who had returned from official business.
*There were 'a five new hires' in the staff and they are missing from the room. (Scullery maid, 2 cleaners, 1 guard, 1 religious advisor)
*Gellan seems generally clueless
After questioning the staff, the party moves outside and smashes the coffin. Retrieving a strange symbol, a metal round with a six-legged, one-eyed creature on it. Seeing this symbol, Iskren recalls the Dimir Guild, a legendary old guild that was supposed to carry information between the guilds but turned bad and were destroyed.
Feeling nervous about all of this, Iskren suggests a new place to stay, to which Sorval responds they know where to get an airship, looking at Vultha. The party then decides to go find said place.
Just before taking his leave, Iskren buys Thaya's contract from Gellan for five gold monthly.
Krovek and Sorval chat a bit, settling the villain on vampires after all, instead of vampiric gruul barbarian bear bear bears.
The party goes to the Boros Barracks, lacking Ojay's service, so using skyrocs, an interesting experience for Zantaroth. They go to the offices of Eliander Fireborn and bring their report to him.
They explain to him that misdirection was employed, show him the dimir sigil, shocking him deeply. While the party is still explaining, Eliander excuses himself and leaves.
The party then heads to the Standing Stones, the airship location according to the vision Arcades Sabboth sent to Vultha. They detour and stop by a small shop, The Sharp Utensil and buy a crossbow for Vultha from the goblin Yazza.
In the street, the party is accosted by Aille, the priestess of Freyalise whom they rescued from the Simic, who tells them to seek out the blessing of one of the 'Gods' worshipped by the locals before venturing into the Murk.
And thus they move on to the next session~
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