More and more goblins were climbing the walls, and the front gate had been breached by Lady Nightblade and some more goblins. She was in a wild fervour, and the party noticed her wielding a wicked blade, giving her her name. Fenya hatched a plan with Shuggludd and Edira to get the blue drops into the pond, at which point Edira would use the Sun Stone to blow them up, once in the water. Fenya and Shuggludd grabbed the cauldron and barrelled through several goblins in order to get to Edira, and the three of them, with help from Koldra jumped on to the roof of the building in order to roll down to the pond.
Wulf took some hits from some of the attackers as he manned the wall after pulling Fenya and Shuggludd up, but was left bleeding out, as the others rushed off. Further along the back wall, Lanky laid into several goblins who were clambouring over, though they managed to get some hits in on him. Meanwhile, at the front gate, Eral and Maddox fought on with Nightblade and her crew as they burst through, Maddox demonstrating his magical prowesss once more, taking out four goblins with one spell. However, Nightblade laid into Maddox, causing him to retreat. Leaf also took some hits helping out at the front gate. Things were looking grim for the team.
Fire arrows flew into the stable setting it alight. Koldra screamed that there was actually some real holy water--four bottles--in the cellar below the stable, asking someone to get it. Shuggludd ran down. The Fenya, Edira and Koldra made it to the pond, launching the bluedrops in, and Edira activated the Sun Stone's most powerful spell. There was a massive explosion, the entire contents of the pond vapourised, the stench of blue drops filling the air. Immediately, the goblins laid down their arms and lounged about, moments before the party were annihilated. Edira was able to rush back and heal Wulf, seconds away from his death.
Lady Nightblade fought on, even though Maddox tried to reason with her. She was well past that, in a blight-driven murderous rage. Everyone threw everything at her, Maddox eventually getting the killing blow with Chill Touch. Somehow, the party were victorious, with no casualties on their side. Blackhawk the minstrel appeared afterwards, having finished his cowardly nap. Shuggludd emerged with all four bottles of Unknown, which Fenya managed to blag two from Koldra. She thanked them as the stable burned down, and the party made Edira promise there were no more stops on the way.
Shuggludd revealed that the cauldron belonged to the powerful witch of Davokar, Barrvalg, and that if he could take the cauldron back to her, he and his clan would be in her good books; perhaps she could help them with the rehabilitation that would be required for them to get over their drug addiction problems. The party agreed, so long as he put a good word in for them with the witch. Meanwhile, Lanky picked up the magical sword, Unknown.
The party reached Thistle Hold uneventfully, following the road along the edge of the forest. They past a few watch towers on the way, as well as the goblin village of Karabbadokk. As they approached the town, they saw a birchwood palisade, and most other buildings made of wood. Edira told them a bit about the town. It had about 6,000 permanent residents, though held many more people at any given moment. The watch was about 150 strong, across three shifts. They maintained order well, and they did not tolerate disruptions lightly; punishments were harsh for those breaching the peace. The town was a hub for adventurers preparing to go into Davokar on an expedition, as well as those returning with treasures for sale.
She also told them of some of the landmarks. There was the Nighthome, the lodgings of ex-adventurer, town founder, and mayor, Lasifor Nightpitch and his witch, Yagaba, a three-storey high palace on the south side of town. The Tower of Ordo Magica, the seven floor headquarters in the town of the faction. The Beacon, a miraculous light tower, 300 feet above Toad Square, symbolising the town's struggle against the darkness of Davokar. Toad Square itself, the one place that the guards stayed away from, where the Salons of Symbaroum were - the dodgiest dives in town.
Edira left to take the Sun Stone to Master Vernam, the Ordo Magica tutor she was planning delivery to. Meanwhile the party sought out the The Red Boar, which was on the Queen's Square. It wasn't hard to find, and on entry they caught the glances of two of the bar staff there. A bald, strong looking older man, and a buxom brunette bar maid. After saying Taveck sent them, they were led into a back room, which had a secret bookcase door into a hidden room.
The man introduced himself as Hurst, the founder and leader of The Returners. He was blunt but seemed impressed by the party. He said he'd been there since The Day of Mourning, and that he hailed from Cyre. He wouldn't give many details until the party had a chance to prove themselves further, but gave them some titbits of information: To start with there were many others who he found had crossed over from Eberron, but the numbers coming through had started to dwindle more recently. He would not elaborate on exactly how many Returners there now were. He did state that recently they had come across some vital information that led them to believe that there may be a way back to Eberron, and that the organisation was concentrating all of it's efforts in Davokar, which was linked to the information he had on getting back.
The woman introduced herself as Gem from Breland, a seconder of The Returners. The party could tell that under her guide of bar maid, she had the build of a fighter. She admitted she tired of her office role, and longed to be out in the field once more.
Hurst said the party would need to prove themselves further before getting access to more information, and any specific work related to getting back. He mentioned any jobs relating to Davokar would be worth taking, and directed them to Master Vernam, the same person Edira had gone to. Unlike most humans, Vernam was a friend of the Elves of The Iron Pact, and so could be useful in getting the party into Davokar, and any jobs related to this. Vernam was a good friend of Hurst's, though he had no knowledge of The Returners themselves. Hurst also said he had free lodgings for that on Lasifor's Road, between Queen's Square anf the Antique Plaza. It was a hostel of sorts, but a safe enough place to bed down in.
The party left for Master Vernam's academy building, but on the way, a thirteen or fourteen year old girl ran straight into Lanky. She was running from half-a-dozen thugs. They accused her of being a witch, and the true identity of "The Flayer", and demanded that Lanky hand her over so they could take her to the great Black Cloak witch hunter, Baumelo. As the thugs circled the group in the busy market square, Lanky made a run for it. The others setup all sorts of distractions. Eral toppled a couple of stalls to get in the way whilst screaming "Free fruit and veg!", Maddox cast an illusion spell to distract them, whilst Wulf and Fenya tripped some of them up. Lanky succeeded in escaping the square and getting the girl, Tenid, back home. The thugs told the party that "Baumelo will hear of this!"
Upon arrival at Master Vernam's, his secretary Esbetha let them in (after they persuaded her they had helped bring the Sun Stone and were friends of Hurst). She was pale and clearly shaken. She lead them up to his study and told them something shocking--Vernam had been murdered. The scene in his office was a grim one. He was hanging from the ceiling, completely skinned, with his skin lying on the floor. A near by window was open, but not smashed. Blood was everywhere.
The party proceeded to investigate at the scene:
Esbetha interview: Esbetha told them what she knew, although some of it took some persuasion. An Elf had come to visit and had soon left through the main door. She seemed disgusted by this, but stated that she recognised this Elf as a friend of Vernam's. A bit later, there was a bang that sounded like a knock on the window upstairs.
She also informed the party of the recent killings of a murderer known as "The Flayer". There had been four previous killings in the last few days, all similar to this one. vernam had taken an interest in these killings, seemingly investigating it. She thought that might be linked to why the elf was visiting.
She also told the party about Vernam's recent activities. He had only been going out mainly to the garrison, to discuss the killings with the captain of the guard, and the corpse examiner. The only other place he'd been going was the Tower of Ordo Magica, for his usual studies, she presumed.
On inspecting the body: Fenya found some interesting clues upon inspecting the body. It did appear to be the body of Vernam (it was human, missing two fingers from an old injury, and the height Esbetha described), but there was something odd about the skin. It was that of an elf! When Esbetha looked, she recognised it as the Elf who had visited earlier on. There was no sign of Vernam's skin though.
There was another peculiar fact. Some of the body's glands had been removed, and this would not have required the skin to be removed first. Fenya remembered from an old golbin legend that these glands were associated with being able to remove corruption and blight--even back in Eberron there were such tales.
Following the trail: There were bloody footprints (large size) leading out of the window. Eral tracked it across rooftops as far as Toad Sqaure.
The letter to Lasifor Nightpitch: A note was found by the body. It was a letter from Vernam to the to Lasifor Nightpitch. It talked about how Vernam believed that the recent Flayer killings were linked to the expedition of Gorak and the skull with the crown that he found. He talks about the destructive powers of the skull (in fact, the party already know of this as they met Belun and Ludo who were part of the expedition). And Vernam assumes that Lasifor himself was unaffected because he did not touch the skull (when Gorak showed it to him). Vernam states in the letter that the Elves are still dreaming of the dead king, which means the corrupting powers of the skull are still present in Thistlehold. He knows the art of flaying is a baneful and ancient one, but he did not know precisely how the new murders are connected, but he just knows that they are somehow.
Vernam's letter to the characters: Esbetha remembered she had a letter for Vernam for "The first people to visit her after his death". In the letter, he states he knew he might be killed, and that it would be by the Flayer. He even claims to have seen the party in visions. He then goes into more detail about Gorak's expedition and their return with treasure including the skull/crown. He talks about the corrupting powers of the skull, about how Gorak's crew had slowly been disappearing / killed by elves / turned into abominations, and that Gorak had gone missing. He then adds more detail about how no-one has linked the recent killings to the expedition, but he has seen it in visions, and the party must investigate it further.
The party now had the following possible leads to investigate:
- Go to the garrison to talk to the captain of the guard about what Vernam had found.
- Also at the garrison, the corpse examiner.
- Go to the Tower of Ordo Magica to see what Vernam had been doing there.
- Visit Lasifor Nightpitch at Nighthome to see if he had any more information.
- Anything else they can think of.