"I'm not sure about all this political maneuvering. I realize the town has been ravaged, and let's not forget we have lost a friend. I'm sure Kendra can look out for herself better than we can here, so I don't feel we really need to have any say in the matter. I feel the immediate threat has been dealt with. However, I'm sure we'll know more for sure when Shal gets back. In the mean time we need to decide what comes next for us. Are we up to digging farther into this mess? Do we think this plot goes farther?" Sari is trying her bestest to be deferential and not tick off anyone. She adds a fetching smile to the end of her speech.
"I guess we'll wait and see what happens, but I won't stand by to see Lyrie tortured and I'm not convinced the evidence against her warrants hanging." Cha shrugs and smiles. "And, if it comes to a vote, mine will be for anyone but Titus."
Let's go have a look at the Old Light.
"I've never known Kendra to be blood-thirsty, but seeing others grieve has taken her back to the murders five years ago, and her own grief. She's dealt with it so far by taking ill. I suppose that freezes Kimble out for now."
He stands and walks you out to the building's outer office. "The young woman is under my guard right now. Neither Titus nor Kimble, nor any of the town's widows has authority over me. Brodert and Ilsoari have been studying the young woman's notes. They were among the papers you brought out of Thistletop. The contents and tone of those notes will go far in determining where I'll stand where her fate is concerned."
The wind is blowing in clouds off the gulf and the temperature has not risen as the day has matured. Brodert's back yard is a 120' drop to the sea. His neighbor is the 50' tall monolith. A thin trail of smoke streams from his chimney.
He answers the door with a heavy book under his elbow and delicate reading glasses perched on his nose.
At your request for a tour of the Old Light he closes the book and adds it to the impossible clutter of his study. He takes up a cloak, a hat and a walking stick and leads the group out among the boulders at the foot of the gigantic structure.
He points out an engraved stone - some kind of sign, he conjectures, that lies in the grass on its side. If you look at it sideways it shows a tall tower shining a beam of light.
As you pick your way through the debris, Brodert converses with you.
"Lyrie is quite knowledgeable on the subject of the Sihedron. Interviewing her confirmed our translation of her notes, so I think she's being ingenuous."
"The rune symbolized the seven magic schools of Thassilon - all of the traditions except divining. It also symbolized the seven virtues of civil rule - wealth, fertility, honesty, pride, abundance, eager striving, righteous anger and rest. Of course most scholars believe that the wizard kings of their day were far from virtuous, and that over time the symbol of Thassilon came also to symbolize the seven mortal sins - greed, lust, pride, gluttony, envy, wrath and sloth."
"And the amulet. Not only does it convey the blessing of protection (), but it also preserves its wearer's body indefinitely () and increases one's vitality once a day ().
Search 1+2=3
Cha can judge by the lack of fresh tracks that people don't run around up here much. The run-down house opposite Brodert's belongs to the only other half-orc in town - the sweep.
You all find the Old Light as described by Brodert. The blocks were obviously part of the original monument. You find no other evidence of entrances, doors, or any other architecture.
Brodert eventually leads you back to his house, where he brews hot tea. He lays the medallion with the Sihedron Rune in Sari's hand. It is a polished piece of black veined stone with the rune etched very exactly in its face. It hangs on a leather thong.
"This is a very valuable antique, my friends, and I thank you for letting me study it. I cannot tell if it is truly 10,000 years old, but it may be. It's enchantments are real enough."
YAWN!
Well I've had a nice stroll in the dark, at least I had Shal to look at.
And now a lovely 3 hour tour of this rock. I'll be able to add tour guide of this town to my resume if it survives.
"Half-orc tour guide...somehow, I don't think Kendra is gonna go for it. They want to keep tourism on the rise not scare everyone off."
I'll take the charm if no one else does. Yod has the least Save skills of anyone however.
True and those extra hit points would be nice to have just before I sneak up and whack some big bad guy.
And I'm sure it would go well with the ranseur as well, ya know keep all the ancient artifacts together so there all in a pile when I'm killed.
So, this was a lovely way to pass some time, but where does it leave us? Any ideas? Are we waiting for Shal? Anyone?
Life in Sandpoint settles into an uneasy quiet. Despite Titus's assurances, the presence of the Hellknight does nothing to ease the town's fears. If anything, the town seems more on edge with the dour-faced behemoth lurking in its shadows. Everyone seems to be looking over their shoulders.
Traffic in the Rusty Dragon increases as Kimble has his inevitable effect on the White Deer's crowd. Notably, off-duty members of the town guard begin to frequent the taproom. One of them gladly describes Kimble's conversation with Belor and Kendra to you.
"The Hellknight seems to be conducting his own free-lance investigation into Sandpoint's business. He wanted to question the prisoner and also to investigate the Glassworks himself, but the mayor refused him both. Told him the town was already handling the investigation." The guard shakes his head in admiration.
"He said something about recommending the withdrawal of men back to Magnimar if the mayor was convinced the danger had passed. Whatever he's after, he's not going to give up."
Eventually Shal comes back into town. Over breakfast one morning she tells you the goblin activity in the countryside is non-existent.
"Don't worry - some new band from the mountains will drift in to fill the vacuum left by the shattered tribes. Thistletop is a tomb right now - but it won't stay that way."
Yod, you keep the amulet and I'll take the cloak. Sari gets the other cloak. Adjust your sheets people!
"Do we need to make a return trip to Thistletop? We never explored the doors out of that last room and we never found a way down to the beach."
Activities in the town fill the next couple of weeks of fair and cooling weather. There is a town feast - this time with the gate kept shut - to honor the fallen heroes of the town and to thank the men of Magnimar for their aid.
Kimble rides out with their column the next day for the city. He makes an intimidating sight atop a heavy warhorse, decked out in ceremonial sable platemail. He nods to Sari and Cha on his way by the Dragon.
"Hm. Not sorry to see him go," Ameiko mutters as she walks back into her establishment. "Maybe now this town can get back to some normalcy."
And normalcy ensues. No one is eager to dig further into the Thistletop thing, though that last door does come back to mind every once in awhile. And of course there's the runewell below the town. Since concealing the thing from Kimble, the catacombs and the well seem more like a town secret. A team of masons seal the smuggling cave below and the tunnel in the glassworks above. The wall can be taken down when someone figures out how to destroy the well.
The fate of the prisoner is a stickier subject. She could be tried for conspiring against the town. For being in league with goblins she could be sentenced to serve time in the Hells in Magnimar. Both Kendra and Belor agree that this sentence is likely too harsh based on the known facts.
In the end, it is agreed that she will be pilloried and banished from the town. In a city like Magnimar this would be reason for a festival. In this little town it is a sad, mud and vegetable slinging affair. Lyrie is bound to a post on a little cart and ridden slowly through the streets. Most folks just stare silently as she's paraded by their doors. Some shout insults or throw offal. Once over Hegred's bridge, she is untied from the post and released to the road. No money. Few rations in a sack. Probably most importantly, no spellbook.
Indeed. Calamity is not quite done with the little town of Sandpoint. That much becomes apparent over a sausage and egg breakfast. It's late in the morning and your band has just assembled after a bender. There's a new singer in town from Riddleport who's performed at the Opera House and then at the Dragon (at the after-party) for two nights straight and the pace is taking its toll. Just as the table is really being laid, however, Belor walks in with a very grim look on his face.
"I'm very sorry to interrupt your breakfast friends, but something's happened that I must speak with you about. There's been a murder - several in fact - and I need to ask you some questions."
Questions? Like where were we between 2 A.M. and 4 A.M last lignt?
Or like did we notice anything odd going on?
"So, may we finish our breakfast and meet you at your office? Or are your needs more immediate?"
Sari frantically searches her gray matter to see if a companion may have done the unexpected when she wasn't looking.
"Certainly, you may finish - I'll wait. But you might not want to eat heavily unless you have a strong stomach. These killings are brutal, and there is evidence that your group may have something to do with it. I do not suspect you - in fact I'm come to ask you for your help in finding the killer, but there are certain formalities."
"So yes, for starters you can tell me where you were yesterday afternoon and last night. I'd like the names of the people you saw, and who saw you."
You explain your whereabouts and he nods, writing down the names you provide. In the meantime, you are able to eat what you choose - but the leisurely late morning breakfast is clearly spoiled.
"Who was murdered? And where? Why do you think we had something to do with it?"
Is Shal eating breakfast with us? If not, does she already know of this?
Evidence? What exactly would that be?
