"Friends, do not harm these men. They are mistaken, but honorable."
To Pratt's wife (who maybe answered Devan when he asked her name?) Rahaal says in a tone of authority, "Now is your time to redeem yourself. Let these men know to lay down their arms and join together with us, to end this madness and save your fair village!"
Thondrir shuffles over towards the doorway with his shield raised. Though his weapon still gleams brightly in his hand, he makes no move to bring it to bear against the guardsman for now. He seeks only to provide obstacle between them and his companions until they can be convinced of their idiocy.
"Laddies, best save yer ire fer tha army what marches on yer town. Nie be not tha time fer layin' down life."
>
Tris... sighs. Bloody-minded bastards. Welp, that's why she carries something to 'keep peace on the deck', innit.
She takes a few quick steps to team up with Thondrir-- slides the stick with its weighted, leather-wrapped end into her free hand-- and raps one of the guards smartly on the back of the skull with it.
"They are compelled or ensorcelled somehow..." Devan says, his eyes narrowing. He casts a spell, then begins concentrating on the nameless woman who was supposed to be Pratt's lover.
Devan detects no magic except what the Samaritans brought with them.
"Citizens, by the power of the Master of the First Vault, break free of that which binds you! Fairhaven's survival depends on your aid"
Esaul comes back at the call for attacks, and his bow readily strikes at one of the man coming after Tris and Rahall, not processing the information about keeping them alive in time...
!
!
"Friends, do not harm these men. They are mistaken, but honorable." To Pratt's wife (who maybe answered Devan when he asked her name?) Rahaal says in a tone of authority, "Now is your time to redeem yourself. Let these men know to lay down their arms and join together with us, to end this madness and save your fair village!"
Thondrir shuffles over towards the doorway with his shield raised. Though his weapon still gleams brightly in his hand, he makes no move to bring it to bear against the guardsman for now. He seeks only to provide obstacle between them and his companions until they can be convinced of their idiocy. "Laddies, best save yer ire fer tha army what marches on yer town. Nie be not tha time fer layin' down life."
Tris... sighs. Bloody-minded bastards. Welp, that's why she carries something to 'keep peace on the deck', innit. She takes a few quick steps to team up with Thondrir-- slides the stick with its weighted, leather-wrapped end into her free hand-- and raps one of the guards smartly on the back of the skull with it.
"They are compelled or ensorcelled somehow..." Devan says, his eyes narrowing. He casts a spell, then begins concentrating on the nameless woman who was supposed to be Pratt's lover. Devan detects no magic except what the Samaritans brought with them.
"Citizens, by the power of the Master of the First Vault, break free of that which binds you! Fairhaven's survival depends on your aid" Rahaal pleads.
Esaul comes back at the call for attacks, and his bow readily strikes at one of the man coming after Tris and Rahall, not processing the information about keeping them alive in time... Esaul puts an arrow through the injured guard's eye killing him.
The second guard is in front of Tris with Rahaal off to his side. Both Samaritans stand in front of Thondrir who holds the doorway. Esaul and Devan are inside the room with the Guildmaster. The second guard swings his longsword at Tris but fumbles along the furniture.
The dark-haired woman continues to sob. Her blood-stained dagger lays near her on the floor where she dropped it.
"Was there anyone else in this building?" Devan asks the woman, trying to gauge her reaction. "Someone has these guards under a spell!"
"As far as I know they would not need to be directing them right now! Knock them unconscious!"
Esaul commands Light to rush foward, avoiding loosing another arrow unless needed, since the first one was, well... the product of long training.
_______________________________________________________
!
"Son-of-a-succubus!" Tris swears as she sees Esaul's arrow punch through the guard's head like it were nothing but a ripe summer melon. She winces. So much for taking that poor swabbie alive...
She swings her sap again at the guard who tried to hit her, hoping she can drop him before he gets an arrow in his skull too.
"Was there anyone else in this building?" Devan asks the woman, trying to gauge her reaction. "Someone has these guards under a spell!"
She's still heavily sobbing.
Thondrir pushes past whoever is in his way to drive into the enthralled guardsman. He raises his shield before him and makes to remove the man's weapon from his hands. Stretching the blade of his axe forward, he hooks the crescent on the cross-guard of the man's longsword and tries to yank it out of his hands.
To Pratt's wife (who maybe answered Devan when he asked her name?) Rahaal says in a tone of authority, "Now is your time to redeem yourself. Let these men know to lay down their arms and join together with us, to end this madness and save your fair village!"
Rahaal steps up and flanks the remaining guard with Tris (or whoever doesn't have one, if Tris is already flanking). She tries, awkwardly, to knock the guard out with the butt of her dagger, but it bounces harmlessly off his armor.
Not that you can detect.
"Was there anyone else in this building?" Devan asks the woman, trying to gauge her reaction. "Someone has these guards under a spell!"
"As far as I know they would not need to be directing them right now! Knock them unconscious!" Esaul commands Light to rush foward, avoiding loosing another arrow unless needed, since the first one was, well... the product of long training. Light misses.
"Son-of-a-succubus!" Tris swears as she sees Esaul's arrow punch through the guard's head like it were nothing but a ripe summer melon. She winces. So much for taking that poor swabbie alive... She swings her sap again at the guard who tried to hit her, hoping she can drop him before he gets an arrow in his skull too. Tris misses.
Thondrir pushes past whoever is in his way to drive into the enthralled guardsman. He raises his shield before him and makes to remove the man's weapon from his hands. Stretching the blade of his axe forward, he hooks the crescent on the cross-guard of the man's longsword and tries to yank it out of his hands. The guard's longsword clatters to the stone floor.
Rahaal steps up and flanks the remaining guard with Tris (or whoever doesn't have one, if Tris is already flanking). She tries, awkwardly, to knock the guard out with the butt of her dagger, but it bounces harmlessly off his armor.
The guard with manic eyes shield bashes the dwarf without success.
The wolf keeps biting and attempting to trip the poor guard, while Esaul has an arrow ready, but do not shoot it.
_______________________________________________________
!
The guard is now damaged and tripped prone.
"Please Samaritans, live up to your name and keep this guard alive. It's not his fault that he's ensorceled!"
Meanwhile, she bends to pick up the longsword before the guard can.
"I'm trying," Tris mutters. "I'm not the one who put an arrow through the other one's head..."
If she can't smack the skull a man who's surrounded and on the damn ground, she ought to go drown herself, she thinks.
The Samaritans eventually and non-lethally subdue the dominated, prone, and disarmed guard. During that time, Miranda finally stops sobbing enough to start talking. As Guildmaster Pratt's bed buddy, she offers you lodging in the Guildmaster Quarters while you stay in Fairhaven. There are five other rooms. She also offers you a reward to save the city.
What to do next?
- Attempt to get more information from Miranda.
- Contact Regina who you met at the gates leading the militia and sent you to see Guildmaster Pratt
- Go drinking at the the Hammer's Rest; the trunk you found had a bunch of free drink coupons.
- Gather information from the townsfolk
"I'm not the one who put an arrow through the other one's head..."
"That was mean, Tris! You know I didn't want to kill the man!"
Tris shrugs at Esaul with a crooked smile. "You did a good job of it all the same," she says deadpan, as she gets out her rope and trusses up the unconscious guard.
Miranda calms down long enough to confirm that Pratt was not a magic user. He was a talented metal craftsman. The guards have been standing outside, since they learned about the demise of the militia at the hands of Ymial. During the discussion, Esaul and Thondrir confirm that all of the other Guildmaster Quarters are vacant. The Samaritans leave to update Regina while Miranda continues her weeping vigil.
The Samaritans ignore the questions of the mob in front of the Guild Hall; although, Rahaal does her best to tell everyone that 'everything is going to be alright' in the tempo of a Marley song.
Regina is found supervising the fortification of the gate and steps away from any militia to receive the news from the Samaritans in private. She is shocked and eventually reacts with a stony demeanor realizing that there is no one else to lead. Now with Pratt gone, she assumes full charge and offers you all 1,500 gp for saving Devan. "That's what hope is worth right now to us."
Not knowing your full capabilities, she says the biggest issue that Fairhaven faces besides the defense against Ymial is rescuing the trapped citizens. Tobias Shortwall directs the effort to dig out the mine entrance . You can check in with him.
If you find yourselves with nothing better to do, Guildmaster Pratt wanted to be interned in an ancient crypt located far up the mountain. She describes where the mountain trail starts in the town . He was a great man and mentor and deserves as much as we can give.
"I can't believe that no one knows who dominated those guards. That concerns me greatly. Anyone with that kind of power could easily be hiding right under our noses, waiting to destroy any defense of the town from within. We cannot trust anyone here. No one goes anywhere alone, at least two Samaritans together at all times, guys." Devan warns after their investigations turn up jack s**@. "Let's go talk to the Tobias fellow, and see what we can do to help. Grandpappy Thondie, get your pick ready, I'm guessing we're in for some digging."
Devan then leads the way up to the mine entrance.
Esaul pays attention to the woman, finding it very odd that she would reward them at this moment. He tries to discern if the woman is plotting something or not.
"Well, certainly burying Pratt is a waste of precious time, so yeah, digging." Esaul counts the coopers they got, and remembers they have more of it. "We need to be in full strength for what's coming, Regina. We have equipment to sell and gold to buy more, if you can point us to a good place it would be nice."
"Aye, send yer only dwarf intae tha dirt fer diggin'. Ye've a strong future in bigotry when yer Samaritanin' wears thin, lad," Thondrir jokes.
Tris tactfully doesn't say what she thinks of Pratt having been 'a great man', in Regina's words. In her view, it's a sorry-as-hell cap'n who abandons ship and crew, and, also in her view, suicide under these circumstances counts as exactly that.
"When we can, he'll be buried with full honors," Tris says to the stone-faced Regina. "But the needs of the living-- these trapped miners-- outweigh the needs of the dead. If you've someone you trust to bathe his body and lay it out somewhere... private, until the time that we have the luxury for burials, I would do so, aye? And you'll also want someone you trust watching the guardsman we had to knock out. Be wary: there is foul sorcery at work, and the man's will is not his own. I leave it to your judgment, m'lady, as to whether or not you'll tell the townspeople that Pratt is no longer with 'em. Might cause a mutiny," Tris warns, "or whatever you call it on land. Riot. Whatever."
She gives the acting-commander a salute that skirts the line between flippant and respectful. "We'll do all we can."
Thumbs hooked in her belt loops, Tris saunters off after her friends, a thoughtful look on her face.
"I don't know much about underground work. Thondrir, call me stereotypin' all you like, but is there any gear we ought be sure to take with us?"
You leave Regina to prepare the gates and strike out towards the collapsed mine entrance. Fairhaven’s main road is a clay tiled, gently sloping path that connects the city’s three tiers. The hardened clay tiles form intricate mosaics that colorfully depict dragons in varying states of grandeur. You pass the second tier where the refugees, Town Square , and Guild Hall are.
As you arrive at the third tier, you realize that while all of the known dragons are represented in the mosaic of the main road, the largest of the images, placed at the third tier entrance, depicts a massive red dragon with its wings spread wide. Then, you pass the Hammer’s Rest inn that was referenced in the chest that you recovered from the looter, Persey Pendersnap. Even in its current state, with cracked walls and debris littering the front lawn, the Hammer’s Rest appears more richly adorned and well preserved than most inns. But as you get closer, the solid oaken doors that seem invitingly open from afar feels more akin to a long abandoned ruin than a comforting place to rest. An oppressive darkness lies beyond the threshold...
The enormous fissure that opened outside the inn leads into the depths of the mountain. The walls are jagged natural stone and loose broken earth that has become mud. In some areas, the water runs freely into the depths of the fissure, creating a spray that is making the rock walls slick.
Finally, you reach the collapsed mine entrance . The mountain walls part for a finely crafted brick path that leads past four massive statues, much like the ones that stand vigilant on the path leading into the city. The two that were built into the west side of the path have suffered greatly in the earthquake. One has fallen from its base and hangs between the two sides of the path. The other is in pieces. Dozens of capable stoneshapers and metalsmiths who weren’t in the mines when the collapse occurred are located here, attempting to clear the debris to reach their entombed brethren.
A mature male dwarf is directing the efforts here and must be Tobias Shortwall. When you arrive, he is angrily shoeing away one of his students who is urging him to get some sleep.
Tris gives the mouth of the inn a wary sidelong glance and sticks to the far side of the road. Something about it gives her the heebie-jeebies.
When they come up on the mine entrance, Tris offers a wave of a hand in greeting to those who are laboring, but she defers to either Devan as their leader, or Thondrir as, well, a dwarf-- to talk to Shortwall. She'll chime in if her penchant for lying particular glib tongue is needed.
As they approach, Rahaal whispers to the Samaritans, "That student seems to have the right of it -- can you see how exhausted Tobias is? His duty is admirable but perhaps -- after we learn more from him -- we can persuade him to take at least a short rest."
Esaul is acting weird lately. Maybe is the imminent death they face or the devastated scenario, but the hunter, usually stern and watchful, is much more relaxed than he should be.
"Well, everything looks a mess so... No, I cannot see the difference... Anyway, if he starts to rest maybe the workers will go into a turmoil so... We are all making our sacrifices here, better to praise the man and let him continue with his righteous act..."
Devan nods to Rahaal before approaching Tobias. "Good day, sir. I'm Devan Steed, these are my friends. We've come to help defend the town, and offer any assistance we might in freeing the trapped citizens. How goes the effort to free them?"
Tobias Shortwall shakes the dust and stone debris from his beard and greets them as cordially as an exhausted, aggravated dwarf can. After a minute or two, you've caught him up on who you are, Pratt's death, and Regina's situation.
"The going is agonizingly slow, 'cause I won’t risk another collapse by rushing the job. If you sincerely want to help, try to find another way into the mines. Maybe search through mining records in the guildhall, or brave the fissure to see if it connects with any of the old tunnels. We sent a crew to survey the fissure a few days ago without any success, but the aftershocks might have opened up a new passage."
"I see. We'll do that, thanks."
"Best get me some gear then. Diggin' ain't me trade, but findin' a hole should nae be a problem. Ah'll get tae it while ye go a'readin' through geological reports. Nie tha' sounds a right proper good time, eh?" Thondrir chuckles, but it's lacking in actual mirth. The silver haired dwarf eyes the enormous rift in the ground and nods to himself. Everwhere ye go, ye be findin' a hole tae stick yerself in.
"An' ye, ye old codger," Thondrir says, pointing a metal-encased hand in Tobias' direction. "Yer no good tae any one with nary a wink o' sleep. Tired means mistakes, an' ye'll nary sleep again if yer mistakes cost more blood. Go rest, lad."
"Suits me," Tris says with a shrug to Devan's suggestion they look to the records first.
She watches the interchange between the two dwarves-- better Thondrir than her, tryin' it, she figures. To Thondrir's words of purchasing gear for underground, she says, "Need any coin for that, old man? I'll chip in my fair bit, if so."
"Do we want to at least stick our heads an' a light into that fissure, get an idea what we might need before we go buyin'? See how far down it opens up, that sorta thing?"
"Aye, you've got the sense of it. A nap would alright. If you need any climbing gear, just ask Dvalin." He turns to his apprentice letting him know that you can borrow the climbing gear from the previous team and to wake him in two hours. The apprentice looks thankful to Thondrir, while Tobias finds a place to lay down.
The description of the fissure is here until you climb inside.