Session 44 - Scene 3 (of 11)

As Krolec leads his family towards Moonstone Keep, he happens across a town guardsman.  Seeing the bloody state of Honlor and Lunor, the guard asks Krolec what has happened.  The ranger briefly explains how his family came under attack and that he plans to take them to the keep because he doesn't trust the sanitarium.

The guard concurs with Krolec, stating the sanitarium is definitely unsafe as someone was just recently found to have been murdered there.  When Krolec asks who it was, the guard tells him it was an acquaintance of Krolec's – a woman named Zena.  She was found in her bed, smothered to death by a pillow.

When the family arrives at the keep, Krolec has Lt. Gerdrand put them in a safe room and summon the royal apothecaries.  Gerdrand explains that several attacks have occurred in the city – including the death of Zena and an explosion/fire at an alchemist's shop, where the charred remains of a body were found.

Krolec suggests to Gerdrand that the two of them go see Challa about the recent rash of attacks.  But the lieutenant has more bad news – Challa never showed up to her office today.  And when they went to her residence to contact her, they found signs of a struggle, including blood.  Krolec fears the worst.

Krolec and Gerdrand discuss theories, speculating that Schlomo may be behind the attacks as part of a revenge scheme against Challa and the group for damaging his crime syndicate's operations.  

Gerdrand assures Krolec that although Lord Markelhay is still in conference with the other lords, he has been advised and the full force of the town guard are ready to assist.  

Krolec tries to think of other friends and allies of the group that need to be looked after.  He knows Durmindin and Sage aren't from the area, so they should be OK.  Scrag has his manor house, but no other associates.  Leigh had no family in the area either; though Krolec knows she was acquainted with Harlan Fogarty's parents, he has never met them and does not know where they live.

In Krolec's mind, that leaves a few high level associates like Nimozarran, Grundelmar, Lord Varys, and Dirina Moonbrow that need to be checked on.  He has Gerdrand deploy some guards to each to check on them.  Krolec isn't too worried about any of them, as they can probably take care of themselves.

The elf explains to Lt. Gerdrand who is left they need to look in on personally – Smithens and the other servants at Scrag's manor, Lady Abigail (and likely Sa'lid with her), and perhaps the swordmage Lucan.  He briefly considers looking for Tobolar Quickfoot as well, but decides the hapless wizard is likely with Nimozarran.

Session 44 - Scene 4 (of 11)

Krolec's plan is to stop by Lady Abigail's home first, on the way to Scrag's manor.  Arriving at the house, Krolec and Gerdrand notice the front door has been forced open at some point, but replaced back.  

As the ranger heads in for a closer look, Sa'lid emerges.  He explains that men did come attacking, but he was able to fight them off.  He implies Lady Abigail was somehow injured in the attack when he notes that he is taking care of her.  The sorcerer explains to Krolec that he requires no further assistance.

Krolec asks about the men who attacked, but Sa'lid says little except that there were two men, one killed by him and one killed by a trap Snarg had rigged up to the front door.  Krolec remarks his appreciation for the goblin's handiwork.

Lt. Gerdrand and Krolec continue on to Scrag's manor.  As they approach, they see smoke coming from several outbuildings and bodies of a few of the servants out on the lawn.  The main door appears to have been attack, but is still holding strong.

Krolec decides to approach very carefully.  He announces himself, spotting some movement behind the fortifications.

From the large keep door, Smithens calls out asking Krolec if the area is now safe.  Krolec doesn't see anyone, but does a quick sweep of the perimeter just to be sure before telling the butler it is OK to open the door.

Smithens explains the keep was attacked, but he and the other servants inside were able to secure the building and keep the thugs out.  Sadly, the gardeners and their families were not inside at the time and many were killed.  The butler confirms there were four men attacking the manor, consistent with the tracks Krolec observer around the building.

Krolec has Smithens close the door again and tells him not to open it again until he returns and tells them everything is clear, as there is still a danger.  Gerdrand calls for a unit of town guard to be stationed outside, and he and the ranger head down to the south part of the town to check in on Lucan.

Session 44 - Scene 5 (of 11)

The trip from Scrag's manor to Lucan's inn room is a long one, and Krolec worries they will be far too late.  He and Gerdrand pick up a couple of town guardsmen along the way to accompany them.  But when they arrive, they see the inn looking rather normal.

Krolec and Gerdrand, along with the guardsmen, enter the inn with weapons ready.  The innkeeper is a bit surprised, and carefully asks what the problem is.

The elf immediately starts asking if there have been any attacks on the inn, but the innkeeper responds that it has been a quiet day.  When asked, he responds that Lucan is in his room.

Gerdrand and Krolec head upstairs to Lucan's room while the other guards stay back at the main entrance.  When Krolec knocks on the door, Lucan calls from within to let them know they can enter.

As the two men step in, they find Lucan sitting in a chair, smoking his herb pipe.  He finds it "far out" to see the two of them, wondering what they are doing there.

Krolec briefly explains several of the group's friends and associates have been killed, which Lucan regards as a "real bummer".  He is very appreciative they came to check in on him, and expresses surprise that anyone would associate him with the group since he doesn't hang out with them much.

Lucan then offers Krolec and Gerdrand some herbs, but they politely decline.  Krolec offers to leave some guards, but the swordmage insists he likes his privacy.

As they leave the inn, Gerdrand dryly remarks to Krolec about how their group has the most interesting associates.

Krolec decides he will catch up with Gerdrand later, wanting to check in on Challa's home himself before going back to the keep.

Session 44 - Scene 6 (of 11)

Down below, in the sewers, the rest of the group heads towards the call for help they heard.  Up ahead, Scrag spots a Tiefling man near a large refuse pile, under attack by a pair of giant centipedes.

Scrag wonders if they should intervene, but Leigh and Sage remind him that Tieflings are not necessarily evil, despite their appearances and dark racial background.  Scrag is reminded of his own parentage and experience with racial prejudices.

A man of action, Scrag runs and leaps across the sewer waters to the other side then charges straight at one of the centipedes, but fails to hit with his axe.  Wanting to keep the warrior in range of her healing powers, Sage runs along the ledge the rest of the group is on.

The centipedes turn their attention to Scrag, biting him hard.  The Tiefling carefully backs away from the fight.

Leigh tries to blast one of the centipedes with her magic missile, but fails to hit.  Just then, a disgusting gibbering mouther emerges from the refuse pile.  The hideous sounds it makes disturb Scrag and Sage.  Suddenly, mouths appear all over their limbs, biting into them with burning acid.

From the rear, Durmindin is forced to run up to the others.  He summons his spirit companion.

Scrag manages to shake off the effects of the gibbering mouther's noises.  He slams into one of the centipedes, sending it flying back into the Tiefling, knocking him over.  The blast also hits the other centipede.  The warden then takes a moment to recover himself and steps back to a better strategic position.

The centipedes shuffle back over to Sage and Scrag, biting at both of them.  Scrag blocks the attack on him with his shield, but Sage is bitten in the arm.

The combination of poison and acid is too much for Sage, and the cleric falls to the ground unconscious.

Leigh gets ready to attack with her spell, yelling for Durmindin to move his spirit companion out of the way.  When he does, she hits the centipedes and the mouther with a fireburst.

Durmindin them uses his healing wind of Sage.  He also tries to allow Scrag to rid himself of the poison he is afflicted with, but the half-orc just can't shake it.

Scrag uses an earthgrasp strike to send the centipede in front of him crashing to the ground.  The creature recovers quickly, however, and bites him back.  Across the stream of waste, the other centipede feeds on the prone Sage, sending her back into unconsciousness.

Leigh blasts the three monsters with another spell, this time using a shock sphere.  The gibbering mouther responds by moving up and biting into Scrag.

Durmindin uses another healing spirit on Sage.  He then summons his spirit companion and tries to assist Scrag with a spirit renewal strike on the centipede, but fails.

Scrag slams into the gibbering mouther with a thornburst of furious rage.  The strike hits the mouther but the thorns miss the nearby centipede.

The centipedes press their assault.  One bites into Sage again, sending her back into a state of torpor.  Scrag, meanwhile, once again manages to fend his attacker off.  He is not so lucky, however, against the gibbering mouther.  It bites into him hard, and he collapses to the ground.

Leigh uses a scorching burst to once again blast all three creatures.  She is not happy that none of them have died yet.

Durmindin uses a call to the howling storm to blast into the centipede in front of Sage.  He follows it up with a thunder bear's warning, smashing the worm-like creature into a pile of goo.

The remaining centipede focuses on Scrag, biting into his comatose body.  Across the stream, Sage slips towards death.  The gibbering mouther instead decides to eat Durmindin's spirit companion, injuring the shaman.  He and Leigh are further disoriented by the creature's gurgling sounds.

Leigh quickly puts the shroud over Sage's body so she can recover while Durmindin dumps a healing potion down her throat.

Scrag holds on despite the centipede continuing to bite into him.  Sage calls over with a healing word to him and herself, then stands up.

Leigh goes back on the offense, blasting the mouther and the centipede with her burning hands spell.  The centipede disappears into a pile of ash.

Durmindin gets the final killing blow, shattering the mouther with an icy blast of his wrath of winter.

Session 44 - Scene 7 (of 11)

After all the monsters have been killed, the tiefling finally stops lying in a fetal position and stands up and approaches the group.  He thanks them for saving him, explaining that he saw a shiny belt in the refuse pile and was attacked when he went to retrieve it.  He offers it to the group as a reward.

While initially upset the tiefling did not assist them in the fight, the group quickly realizes he is a bit "slow".  Leigh examines the belt and determines it is a magical belt of blood.  Everyone agrees it makes the most sense for Scrag to wear it.

When questioned what he was doing down in the sewers in the first place, the tiefling explains he lives down here and that his house is just around the corner.  Then, explaining today is his birthday, he invites the group back to his home to help celebrate.

The group is naturally wary.  Sage can tell he's not lying, but Scrag notes that the tiefling has several physical and mental abnormalities – likely the result of generations of inbreeding.  Sage worries about legends she's heard of cannibalistic clans of incestual primitives.

They explain to the tiefling that they need to rest a bit first.  Scrag also suggests searching the refuse pile.  Sage and Leigh start to explain why it would be a bad idea, but the warden's impulsive nature leads him to ignore them.  He is delighted to prove them wrong when he discovers a few hundred gold worth of old jewelry and a box of silver coins he found in the pile.

Everyone then decides to follow the tiefling back to his home, but remaining very much on guard as they still don't trust the situation.  He takes them a short ways away to a hidden door.  Knocking on the door, an older tiefling woman answers.  She has clearly been born blind.

She happily invites the group in, again giving off the impression that the family is not very intelligent.  She tells the group they are in luck as she is baking moss cakes for the birthday party.

The house itself is quite nice with fancy furnishings, though in a state of disrepair.  The group is sat down in a parlor where another old male tiefling sits.  He wheezes with labored breathing and has difficulty speaking; Scrag surmises it is the result of his lungs not being fully formed.

The old man is happy to see adventurers cleaning out the sewers.  He explains he once did some adventuring in the old days – including a time when his brother held down an orc while he cut its head off with a saw (a very quiet method of dispatching the orc, according to the tiefling).

Everyone begins to relax a bit.  Rather than evil, plotting inbreds Sage imagined, this clan appears to be kind and generous, if a bit sad and pathetic.

As the older tiefling seems the smartest of the bunch, the group asks him how the family survives.  He explains that a dumbwaiter sends supplies down to them from the store above.

Leigh comes to the realization they are talking to the Azaer family, the reclusive and never-seen but long-rumored owners of the House Azaer store.

The son explains to his father about how the group saved him.  In generosity, the old man offers them a thousand gold in store credit as a reward.

The older tiefling is disappointed, however, when he notices that Sage is not enjoying her moss cake (unlike the others, who successfully swallow it down without grimacing).  He comments that there is no accounting for taste.

Leigh tries to keep the situation on friendly terms by lying and saying Sage has been sick and her taste buds aren't acting normal.  The tiefling woman then offers to give her one to take home and eat later after she feels better.  Sage offers a forced smile at the idea.  Scrag, used to such food, asks for one for himself as well.

Session 44 - Scene 8 (of 11)

The group leaves the Azaer home and heads back up a nearby exit.  According to Leigh's maps, the upper sewers should be clean now.  However, they will want to go back after resting to make sure before heading down into the Temple of Light and Darkness.

However, once they arrive at Scrag's manor they see that things are amiss.  Smithens explains to Scrag what happened, and he heads off to see what he can do to take care of things around the home.  The rest of the group heads over to the keep to get the full story from Krolec.

Discussing who is behind the attack, the group quickly decides this is the handiwork of the criminal network of Schlomo, Slippery Pete, and Rufus the Red.  The initial feeling is that the group should find and kill Schlomo, though Sage tries to temper the others' anger by reminding them she could still be alive and they may need to keep Schlomo alive to find her.

Krolec wants to use the town guard to arrest Schlomo, but knows they need evidence.  After some discussion, they quickly realize they have no real way to get evidence, as all of their attackers are dead.

Just then, a large black bird flies over to them; it's a raven, and Durmindin notices it has a note attached to its leg.  The wilden grabs the note and reads it – it's a note from "V" asking them to meet him at the usual place.  Krolec clarifies for Sage that the note is from Lord Varys, a local man with a network of spies who they've been helped by in the past.

Krolec wants to head over to meet with Varys, but Leigh is overcome with worry about her childhood friend Harlan and wants to check over the alchemy shop first.  She holds out hope that Fogarty is still alive.

Session 44 - Scene 9 (of 11)

When the group arrives at the alchemy shop, they can see that a large explosion obviously occurred.  They ask the guards there about seeing the remains that were found, but find that the partial skeleton recovered from the shop has already been sent to the morgue.

Before they leave, Krolec tries to get an idea about tracks.  Unfortunately, so many people have moved in and out of the area lately that no definitive tracks of the attackers can be determined.

Heading over to the morgue, the group finds the charred skeletal remains being examined by Inspector Hawksworth.  He greets them and asks what they are doing there.

While the inspector believes the remains to be that of Fogarty, Leigh is still keeping an open mind.  She can see there is only about half a skeleton left.  Krolec determines the skeleton to be that of a male, aged 20-30, of average height; a description which fits Harlan and half of the men in town.

Sage then offers to help using her last sight ritual to view the last moment of the dead man's life, postulating it may help reveal the identity.

As she lights her incense and begins to chant, Sage sees the last forty seconds of the man's life.  He is engaged with a struggle with another man, but the face cannot be seen.  As they struggle, they slam into a nearby work table.  A large bottle of liquid begins to fall.  The dead man then sees the other man's face just before he starts to run for the door – the other man is Harlan Fogarty.  The dead man starts to run himself, but his last sight is a gigantic fireball coming towards him.

Leigh is delighted to find out Fogarty may well still be alive, though wonders where he is.  Durmindin wonders if the alchemist was simply vaporized in the explosion.  Either way, he decides the group doesn't need him at the moment so he heads back to the mansion to assist Scrag while Leigh leads the others on to the home of the parents of Harlan Fogarty.

Session 44 - Scene 10 (of 11)

Fogarty's mother seems happy to see Leigh when she opens the door.  The wizard explains to the mother about the explosion and how they are looking for Harlan.  The mother explains Harlan is already home – despite being horribly injured, he managed to crawl his way back.

She takes the three of them back to Harlan's room.  They can see he is horribly burned and mutilated from the explosion.  Leigh quickly determines Harlan will be left blind and horribly scarred, but will likely survive.

Sage does what she can to help the alchemist heal and feel less pain.  Once she is done, Krolec and Leigh ask Harlan a few questions about what happened.

Harlan tells them he was working in his shop when two men broke in.  Sizing him up, one said something about only needing one of them to take care of him and that he was going to head over to the sanitarium.  The other man then proceeded to attack him, leading to a struggle that knocked over some volatile chemicals, resulting in the explosion.

Krolec has Fogarty describe the men the best he can.  The ranger realizes that the description of the man who left fits Dancor Rossi.

They thank Harlan and let him go back to sleep to rest from his injuries.  After making sure the Fogarty family needs nothing else, they make their exit.  

Sage notes they still have no leads, so Krolec and Leigh will need to go meet Varys.  Sage herself has not met Varys and is wary of meeting anyone involved in the machinations of the city, and thus declines to go with them.

Session 44 - Scene 11 (of 11)

Krolec and Leigh make their way to the old aviary just outside of town.  They make their way up the snowy stairs where they wait a few minutes in the cold.

Shortly thereafter, Varys quietly emerges from the shadows, as is his usual custom.  The old, blind man greets them as friends, noting it has been a while since they last talked.

Lord Varys continues talking in his roundabout way, noting they have done well cleaning up the city but have agitated certain undesirable elements in the process.  Krolec acknowledges the comment as true and waits for Varys to get to the point.

Varys then coyly notes they seem to have run into a little trouble with the criminal known as "Schlomo".  It just so happens, Varys explains, that he happens to know where Schlomo is hiding out in town.

Krolec and Leigh become very interested in this piece of news.  Krolec has Schlomo carefully describe exactly where the safehouse is located.  Varys notes that he's sure Krolec will know what to do with this information.

After getting the information, Krolec and Leigh thank Varys and he slips back into the shadows and disappears in his usual manner.

As the two head back into town, Krolec announces his intentions to give the info to Gerdrand and assist the town guard in arresting Schlomo and whatever men he has left.  Krolec notes, however, that he hopes Schlomo resists arrest, giving him a justifiable situation to kill the man.

Session 44 - Session Notes

This session went off more or less as I expected - a mix of character interaction with one small fight that was a holdover of the last session.  The biggest surprise was that it took so long that waiting to get to Schlomo will take until next session.

Which is not to say this is exactly how I originally planned the session.  Originally, there were to be more deaths.  While I might reveal a few more off-screen deaths of supporting NPCs next session, I did tone down this one a bit.

Mainly, I thought the character's actions warranted a brighter outcome than I originally thought of.  They worked so hard to discover what happened to the alchemist, I let him live (granted, he's now useless as a resource for them).  Similarly, Krolec's mother was also originally scheduled to die.

The only one I felt bad about keeping dead was Zena being smothered by a pillow, but I seriously doubt her player will ever return to the game (busy with her new baby and all).  I could have killed Lucan, but the whole joke there was that he was such a side character for one session that no one even remembered him.

The players expected me to fiat Krolec into the sewers for the fight they faced, but I went with the thug attack for him instead.  I wanted them to really worry about the sewer fight as they can't just expect to keep blowing everything in one fight then retreating to safety.  Similarly, the choice to rest up before confronting Schlomo will have deadly consequences for them next session.

This session did see the group gaining a new ally - the inbred Azaer family (whose existance had been hinted at for the entire campaign, making this a fun introduction).  The scene with the Azaer family was heavily inspired by an episode of The Sopranos, where Christopher and Silvio meet with a crazy family of hit men.

One quick note about the session - the Scrag player wasn't actually there, so the Krolec player handled him for the fight (I usually write PCs out of a scene when the player isn't there, but in situations like these they have to let another player handle them for the duration of a fight).  I thought he pulled off a good Scrag, though.

That reminds me - another interesting thing was how deadly that fight in the sewers almost was.  A large part of it is that the Durmindin player is really, really bad at remembering his powers and deciding when to use them for the best benefit.  We would have had a TPK if I hadn't coached him a little during the battle to remind him of things.

Also, I finally got a chance to dump a lot of treasure on the PCs.

Finally, this session saw the return of Varys.  I originally thought the PCs would go to him more often for information.  For some reason, they never do (I think usually because they forget he exists).


One non-session specific note - I recently sent out the email to my group that I'm not supporting the use of the new web-based character builder program for my campaign.  I'm tired of the WotC rules hamster wheel - so we'll be using the rules circa July 2010 for the remainder of the campaign.

Session 45 - Cast of Characters

Sir Krolec Jar'Bin - Elven Ranger
Sage - Longtooth Shifter Cleric
Dame Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Sa'lid Dra'lah - Human Sorceror
Sir Durmindin - Wilden Shaman

Session 45 - Scene 1 (of 9)

As dawn breaks, Sa'lid returns to Ruddiger Manor and greets his fellow group members as they are finishing their breakfast in the dining hall; sans Scrag, who is out trying to find a new gardener.

The group begins filling him in about what has been going on in his absence.  Krolec explains to the sorcerer about the attacks on the various family and friends of the group.  Sa'lid explains about his own attack, and how he and Snarg were able to prevent the death of Lady Abigail, who was lightly wounded but recovering fine.

Sage briefly explains about saving the tiefling from House Azaer, cautioning about tiefling moss cakes.  Krolec notes they have an extra one they brought back if Sa'lid would like to sample one, but he declines, noting he already ate a large breakfast.

The conversation then turns about what to do next.  Krolec is convinced Schlomo is behind the attacks, with the involvement of Dancor Rossi suggesting Rufus is involved as well.  Krolec is particularly sure Rufus was involved in Challa's abduction, as whoever took her was very careful to remove all signs of tracks from the area.

Krolec mentions to Sa'lid how he and Leigh got the location of Schlomo's safehouse from Varys.  Sa'lid notes that if Rufus is at the safe house, they will all likely end up dead.  Krolec disagrees, stating that Rufus has likely already skipped town or is hiding in a very well hidden location.  Leigh agrees that Rufus is the type to leave once the job is done.

Sa'lid asks about the safehouse defenses, but Krolec isn't sure.  Varys didn't mention anything about the safehouse itself.  The ranger does, however, note that the building is in the slums area and will be dangerous.

Around this time, Smithens enters the room and announces the group has another guest at the door.  When they head over to the entry hall, they see Sgt. Murgeddin, the dwarf usually in charge of the Wizard's Gate area in town.

Murgeddin greets Krolec and Leigh, and notes he is unfamiliar with the rest of the group.  Krolec once again is forced to remark about the group's transitional membership, a frequent topic these days.  The dwarf then tells them that Lt. Gerdrand wishes to see them – something about trouble last night at the jail.  The group gears up and heads out with the sergeant.

Session 45 - Scene 2 (of 9)

Lt. Gerdrand greets the group at the jail when they arrive.  He explains there has been another murder in connection with the events of the previous day – a halfling prisoner named Vanka Karamazov was found stabbed to death in his cell.  The lieutenant explains that word got out Vanka had been consorting with the group and that his brother used to be a member.  Gerdrand suspects Feldman, Schlomo's incarcerated second in command, is behind the stabbing.

Once the discussion about Vanka is over, Gerdrand walks them over into a private room.  He then explains the real reason he summoned them was not the thief's death, but another death from the previous night – a man named Dortos who was being held in protective custody.

The group recognizes Dortos as the man who Tiberius used as a contact to get in touch with Slippery Pete.  Gerdrand notes Dortos was also the man who was going to implicate Tiberius in the death of Vargas.  Krolec speculates that Dortos was killed because Schlomo already knew he was a snitch and was worried he could locate Slippery Pete, who the crimelord needed in order to get in touch with Rufus.

Gerdrand explains that Inspector Hawksworth is handling the investigation.  He tells the group that the inspector is hoping Sage can use her ritual to find out who killed Dortos.  The group heads over to the morgue to see him.

Session 45 - Scene 3 (of 9)

At the morgue, Inspector Hawksworth is looking over the bodies of two dead town guardsmen and Dortos; all appear to have been killed by arrows.

The inspector greets the group and asks Sage about performing her ritual, noting that the city will be happy to cover any expenses.

As Sage performs her ritual, she sees nearly the last minute of Dortos' life.  He is sitting in the safehouse reading a book.  Everyone is surprised the man could read, though Sage notes it is a children's book.  Suddenly, Dortos hears the sounds of arrow fire, and a man yelling in pain.  As he sets down the book, a man bursts through the door and fires two arrows into him, ending his life.

Sage clearly sees the attacker in the vision – it is Krolec.  However, she knows Krolec was with his family last night in Moonstone Keep and does not believe it was actually him.  Out loud, she starts by saying the attacker appeared as someone else.

When she explains the attacker looked like Krolec, the elf is not amused.  He notes he has many witnesses putting him in Moonstone Keep the previous night.  He believes the killing to be consistent with Rufus' previous tactics.

Sage wonders if the guards saw anything different before they died, while Krolec angrily notes he's being framed.  The cleric doesn't necessarily agree – noting that appearing as Krolec may have just been a way to get close enough to the guards.

Inspector Hawksworth explains his investigation has met with little success so far – the streets are spooked because of the recent rash of killings and no one is talking.  Krolec has the inspector take them to the safehouse so they can see the area for themselves.

Because the area is not well travelled, Krolec is able to find the attacker's tracks.  He notes that the tracks were originally more human-sized then turned more elf-sized as the attacker got closer, indicating it changed shape to mimic Krolec only when it got close enough for the guards to see it.

Krolec notes that whoever was impersonating him was obviously using magic means.  Leigh explains it could not be another hat of disguise – as that item only casts an illusion, it does not actually transform the wearer.  Sage wonders if Rufus got something more powerful.

Leigh speculates on the possibility of the use of a magic item, noting that a ring of polymorph would be the most likely object.  Krolec notes that various creature possess the ability to naturally polymorph, with a doppelganger being the most common.  Sa'lid notes that if it is a natural ability then the attacker would not be Rufus, as he had to use the hat.  Curiously, the incident with a shape-changer does not remind the group of the strange events out at Kobold Hall from a couple of months ago.

Session 45 - Scene 4 (of 9)

Met with another dead end in the investigation, Sage starts thinking of new avenues of approach.  She asks the inspector if any personal items of Challa's were still at her house.  The inspector notes her axe was still in the room.

Sage explains she can use her object read ritual to possibly find out what happened to Challa.  Hawksworth agrees it is worth trying, and offers the city to cover the bill again once he is assured it will not be too expensive.  

The group, with the inspector, heads back to Challa's apartment.  Once there, Sage performs her ritual with the axe.  She sees the images of the last three times Challa touched the axe.  The first has her putting the belt on her axe in the morning.  The second has her taking it off and setting on the table when she returns in the evening.  The final vision shows Challa trying to lift the axe off of the table as a large, hooded man slams a mace down on it, shattering her arm and causing her to drop the weapon.

Since the last vision is obviously of Challa's abduction, Sage focuses on it.  She tries to describe everything she can about the man she sees attacking Challa.  The attacker is tall and well-built.  He is wearing a black hood as a mask and no hair or eyes can be seen.  He wears a pair of plain black gloves and a jacket of new-looking leather armor.  His arms are exposed – he appears to be a Caucasian human with dark arm hair.  The masked man is also right-handed, wielding a heavy, new-looking mace.

Sage works with Krolec to sketch out the mace she saw.  Leigh wants to take the drawing around to local merchants to see if they can identify who bought it, presuming it was indeed bought recently.  Sage notes there is also the possibility it was stored a while, but agrees it is worth checking.

The group stops over at Teldorath's first, as it is the most obvious place one would go in Fallcrest to get a new weapon.  The magnanimous dwarf confirms he did indeed build such a mace, saying it was picked up a couple of days ago.

Excited at the prospect of a possible lead, Krolec has Teldorath describe the man.  Hopes are soon dashed as it becomes clear the dwarf is describing Dancor Rossi.

Krolec tries to put together a timeline in his head.  The mace was purchased a few days ago.  Challa was kidnapped the night before the attacks.  The day of the attacks, Rossi was known to have arrived at Fogarty's, left to murder Zena, and then grab some more men to assault Krolec's home (where he was finally killed).

Although the timeline would still allow for Rossi to commit the kidnapping, Krolec notes the man was too short and slim to be the man Sage saw in the vision.  However, they do know Rossi did act as Rufus' errand-boy in the past (when he was transporting Stevenson to Thunderspire) and he was clearly acting as Schlomo's new point man (replacing the imprisoned Feldman) in the attacks.

The ranger states it is probably time to go after Schlomo now, as there is little left to investigate.  Leigh agrees.  Sage, however, isn't so sure.  She still has one more plan.