Episode 6 Part 1 "The First Snow is Come"

Session #10: 8/18/2019

7 Torul 2350 of the 5th Age

Recap

 * Having just collected their platinum from the Tharian Diamond mine, the party prepared to set sail for Aedas.
 * Kandra, now in possession of the copper key, hurried back to Alvyn's Amazing Imports, eager to retrieve the Cloak of the Manta Ray.
 * Upon reaching the shop, however, Kandra was greeted by two city guardsman who informed her that they were to guard the shop until the late shop-owners sister arrived to claim his possessions.
 * Kandra was able to fast-talk the guard into letting her in and allowing her to purchase the Cloak of the Manta Ray by using the copper key to open the case and replacing the cloak with a pouch of 8,000gp.
 * The guard insisted that he take the key, and on Kandra's suggestion, decided to attempt to open the lockbox and leave the gold within. However, when he attempted to open the lockbox he was shot by the enchanted crossbows, killing him instantly.
 * The other guardsman rushed in and Kandra helped him to carry the dead guard to the local temple of Erathis, where he was raised from the dead.
 * Vendrin realized that Kandra had taken the copper key and rushed after her, bumping into her as she exited the temple. Together they returned to the Red Lion.
 * The Red Lion set sail toward the north. The first 6 days of the journey were uneventful, but as they moved north and left the warmth of the fey isles, they were confronted by the winter winds.
 * Vendrin examined the doorknob that Kandra had taken from Zevah, and found that there was a rune carved beneath the copper veneer that was preventing it from functioning properly. He returned the doorknob to Zevah and she filed the rune off.
 * On the 6tth day of travel, a heavy fog settled around the ship and slowed their pace to a crawl. At mid-day, Thokk spotted a patch of Dead Water that the ship was heading straight for.
 * Kandra slammed the ship hard to the left, saving the Red Lion, but throwing Vendrin, Thokk, and Zevah into the water. Once in the water, they realized they were being pulled toward the edge of the dead water.
 * Thokk swam forward with great strength and pulled Vendrin back to the ship.
 * Kandra handed control of the ship off to Skord and leapt into the water, using her new Cloak of the Manta Ray to fly forward and grab Zevah, who was unable to fight the current.
 * Kandra made it to Zevah just as she went over, grabbing onto her as they fell into the dead water. Liosynth tied a hempen rope to the ballista and fired a bolt for them to grab on to, but they were unable to grab it and descended.
 * With no time to think, Kandra and Zevah plummeted toward the bottom of the sea, as though they were free-falling through air. They tried to pull themselves back into the real water but were unable to. In a last-ditch effort to save one of their lives, Kandra threw Zevah into the real water. Zevah was saved from the impact, but Kandra collided with the seafloor as though she were thrown from a 10 story building.
 * Zevah, already beginning to drown, dragged herself to Kandra, grabbing the rope Lio had fired and lashing it around both herself and Kandra, before losing consciousness.
 * Thokk quaffed a Potion of Water Breathing and dove into the water, desperately swimming down, attempting to reach his friends before they drowned. When it became clear he could never swim fast enough, Thokk threw himself into the Dead Water to speed up his descent in a mad gambit.
 * Thokk landed, injured, but conscious. He grabbed hold of the rope and began to swim upward, dragging his friends with them.
 * When the rope began moving again, Liosynth began pulling with all of her might, helping to speed their ascent.
 * Thokk, Kandra, and Zevah broke the surface of the water and were pulled onto the deck of the ship where Liosynth quickly healed them. Vendrin and Thokk quickly poured healing potions into Zevah and Kandra's throat, saving them from death.
 * Kandra, being the most injured, was carried down into the hold by Liosynth. There Liosynth tended to both of their wounds and Skord began the slow journey around the dead water.
 * The rest of the journey was fairly uneventful, though it was a tense slog as they kept their eyes peeled for any more dead water.
 * 4 days later, the party arrived in the City of Gath on the southernmost tip of Aedas.
 * Disembarking, the party took a moment to discuss their next move, and Skord once again reminded the party that they needed a larger ship if they were going to carry on as they were.
 * Skord told the Good Samaritans that his cousin, Kalf Seaborn, was the master of the shipyards in Gath and that he might be able to help them.
 * Skord then attempted to introduce the party to Kalf but was thrown out by his belligerent cousin.
 * When the party informed Kalf that they were looking for a ship, he was ecstatic, if extremely intoxicated. He told them that a noble, Daylen Cresthill, had commissioned a large ship but pulled out at the tail end of construction, leaving Kalf out 50,000gp.
 * Kalf showed the party the ship. A massive vehicle, capable of housing a smaller ship inside of it. The majority of the work was done, only the designing of the interior was left to be completed.
 * The party agreed to purchase the ship and a deal was struck. Kalf would add an engine to drive the vehicle and design the interior of the ship with everything that the party could possibly need: Private quarters, a training room, a vault, smugglers hatches, a laboratory, etc. In exchange, the party would pay 75,000gp and would ruin Lord Daylen Cresthill's reputation.
 * Kalf told the party that they should be careful on the roads outside of town because a series of bizarre attacks had been waylaying the smaller settlements.
 * The Good Samaritans headed to meet with the Captain of the Guard and discuss the attacks on the road, to see if they might be able to help.
 * Hagar, the captain of the guard, told them that they had been unable to discern what type of creature had been committing these acts. And that, whatever the creature is, it has been killing only the elderly, children, and the infirm, while kidnapping all able-bodied people.
 * The party also discovered that the druid they were hunting, Nedan, is the leader of the island and resides in the city of Alkori, four days journey north.
 * The party stopped by a magic item shop and purchased several items in preparation for their journey. Vendrin also commissioned a set of Mage Armor robes. The party then stopped by a tailor and commissioned some warm clothing.
 * While in the shop, Kandra was flagged down by a drow criminal who begged her to trade her Bag of Holding, for his Smugglers Coat. He claimed that he needed a small pouch of holding because it was inconspicuous and when Kandra agreed to the trade, hurriedly ran away.
 * However, as soon as Kandra donned the coat, a group of guardsman turned the corner, howling for blood.
 * The guardsman saw Kandra with her long white hair, wearing the patchwork coat and ran after her, but she simply threw her Dust of Disappearance and escaped.
 * The party returned to the ship and retrieved Skord, Tyri, and Rolan. However, Thokk and Zevah stayed on the ship.
 * The rest of the Red Lion then headed to an expensive inn, The Pointed Tail, for the evening.
 * For 200gp, the party and their crew were lavished with fine baths, fine food, and attendants. Kandra partook of the Attendants more than any of the others.
 * Thokk let the prisoner Xafiq out of his cell as an act of good will. He, Zevah, and Xafiq shared a meal on the deck of the Red Lion before Xafiq peacefully returned to his cell.
 * Xafiq spoke for the first time since his imprisonment aboard the Red Lion, asking Thokk that if he should find a holy symbol of Bahamut on his travels, Xafiq would appreciate it.
 * The next day, Vendrin scribed his spells and in the afternoon the party collected their new clothing and magic items and headed north in the fading light.
 * The traveled for about 6 hours, stopping at midnight to make camp in a small clearing.
 * Thokk used his new Boots of Spider Climb to scale one of the tall trees and scout the area, but about 60 feet in the air he was attacked by a giant spider which webbed him to the tree.
 * The party heard his screams and rushed to his aid quickly defeating the spider. But it was Thokk that dealt the final blow, freeing himself from the web and leaping from the tree to land on the spider, squishing it.
 * The party examined the spider and found that it had a second head which was sewn on.
 * In the morning, Vendrin was able to examine the spider himself and found that the second head wasn't just sewn on, the necromancer who had done the work had split the spinal column to reach both heads.
 * On the road to Thrinn, the party encountered a bizarre traveling merchant who would sell them strange items and the party could pay whatever they wanted. Lio purchased the Armor of the Pheonix.
 * The party carried on, and after another day of walking reached the City of Thrinn at the base of the Illhan pass in the mountains.
 * The party entered Thrinn to find it in the throws of it's yearly Brekkan festival when a delegation of Stone Giants from the conclave of Brekka come to celebrate the ancient treaty between their peoples. During this time, the giants drink potions to shrink down to normal humanoid size and mingle among the smallfolk.
 * Kandra and Thokk headed to find a criminals bar and spoke with a barkeep who gave them info about Lord Cresthill and the city of Thrinn.
 * Zevah, Lio, and Vendrin followed the festivities and found a large party happening in the central square of the city. Here, Zevah partook in an archery contest, Liosynth admired the stone giants artwork, and Vendrin used his magic to take the fireworks to the next level.
 * After his fireworks show, a stone giant named Jorlund approached Vendrin and complimented him. It is rare, he noted, for a wizard to use the school of evocation to create joy rather than destruction. Jorlund told Vendrin that he was not a fan of Daylen Cresthill, believing that he tolerated a criminal element for his own gain, at his people's expense.
 * The party met back up in the square and came up with a plan to ruin Lord Cresthill's reputation: First, Kandra, Lio, and Zevah headed to the Cresthill Manor where they would attempt to gain entry. Second, Thokk and Vendrin would attempt to get in with the criminal element of the city and find proof of the lord's wrongdoings.
 * Thokk and Vendrin were successful as they ingratiated themselves with the criminal element, gaining an appointment to sell stolen magic items at midnight outside of the city.
 * Kandra, Zevah, and Lio worked as a team to infiltrate the manor. Lio disguised herself as a noble and snuck through someone else's carriage to try to enter the party as someone else's guest. She was nearly stopped, but with some help from Kandra's minor illusion, managed to gain entry.
 * Zevah snuck in around the back and entered through the kitchen, where she heard a teifling discussing the purchase of a her Bracer of Flying Daggers.
 * In the party, Kandra snuck upstairs while invisible, and Lio mingled with the aristocracy, eventually meeting Lady Cresthill.
 * Kandra stumbled on Lord Cresthill cheating on his wife with a servant girl, Lio followed Lady Cresthill up where she witnessed Lady Cresthill discover her husband cheating.
 * Kandra and Lio were able to hear that this was not the first time, and that the lord had sired several bastards.
 * Kandra used her minor illusion again, pretending to be Lady Cresthill summoning her guests upstairs.
 * The gambit worked, and Lio and Kandra watched as the whole party discovered the lord with his pants around his ankles as his wife reprimanded him for fucking a servant.
 * Kandra and Lio snuck out of the party, but Zevah was nowhere to be found, as she had followed the teifling out of the party, to the city gates.
 * Thokk and Vendrin met back up with Kandra and Lio and began to head toward their shady meeting, as Zevah mounted the back of the Horned Alliance cart and headed to the same meeting.