Rats in the Cellar

Before heading out on their next adventure, a pair of the players had decided that they were going to host a party at their Manor House so that the Cavalier character could meet an eligible woman of the appropriate station. I had a week to put it together for the session. At first, I thought, murder mystery! But I have done that before. I have also done the assassin comes to the party. I settled on several mini-adventures that could happen depending on how the guests interacted with the players.

It was all framed by some tiny constructs disguised as gifts that were supposed to cause havoc during the party. But the players saw right through it.

Session 139: Rats in the cellar

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Aldus (human cavalier), Alrix (couatl sorcerer), Brovin (human thief, NPC), Ian the squire (human cavalier, NPC), August (human magic-user, NPC).

The members of the company are at home in Edgerton. Elken the Dark, Lakima’s former teacher has requested aid in the City of Veil, but first Lakima has promised Aldus that they will have a party at the Manor.

Alayna and Lakima busy themselves with preparations for a party to be hosted in a week. Lakima has suggested they say that it is a ball in honor of Deleath, the goddess of Spring. A popular god in the City of Veil but barely known here in Valnwall. Alayna sends out invitations being sure to invite several young ladies who are available for courting. Lakima suggests he could go to the City of Veil and get some entertainment to match the party's theme. In a few days, answers begin to arrive in the form of messages and a few gifts from people happy to be invited. There is also a mysterious gift that is delivered to the door of the manor with no name on it indicating a sender. Alayna opens it and finds carved wood figures in the shapes of all of the members of the company and one for herself.

“Put them down, I think this is an attack,” Lakima tells Alayna.

Lakima casts a detect magic spell and the figures glow magically. They are enchanted with some form of magic. Lakima quickly puts them back into the wooden box they arrived in.

“Can I at least keep my figure?” Alayna asks.

Lakima shakes his head and takes it as well. Then he heads across town with his apprentice August to visit Malyn at the apothecary. Malyn examines the figures and discerns that they are constructs of some sort. They need to be triggered by a command word or gesture to carry out their instructions. He suggests burning them all.

Lakima instead leaves the box in his office at the Mages Guildhall (could this cause problems later?).

The next day a number of the adventurers head on the skyship Cloudstealer to the Bridgeway. Lakima greets the custodian who is not happy with the idea of bringing strangers from the City of Veil across the bridgeway. While he is satisfied that the bridgeway gets used he is concerned about what will happen if too many people learn of it. After all, when the goblins found out about the bridgeway they captured it. Lakima agrees to blindfold any guests he invites through the portal.

With that the group heads to the City of Veil. They walk to the city and head to a town square known for its entertainers. There Lakima hires four performers, two musicians, and two singers. The performers are paid extra to be blindfolded and taken on a trip. Living in a City full of mages they do not seem too surprised by this. The group returns through the bridgeway to the Valnwall. Here the visitors from the Great Desert are indeed surprised by the change in the climate. Another surprise awaits them as they are taken on board a flying ship. They ask about the ship and Lakima proudly tells them stories of the Company of the Black Dragon’s exploits.

Finally, the evening of the ball arrives. Aldus is dressed in some of his courtly clothes from his days back in Guildeland. Alayna is wearing a new dress, Eathwund is wearing some casual clothes and Lakima is wearing one of his better robes. Alrix shows up wearing his red regalia armor insisting it is fine enough to observe the proceedings.

The guests begin arriving, Sofrona Ruta from Dolmvay accompanied by her uncle Armand Ruta. Sofrona wearing a dazzling silver necklace. Erica Farnoli is a bright blue dress accompanied by her father Polifo. Fea Barent was escorted by her uncle Eldric Elderwood. Alayna’s friend the young widow Silvia. Natalia Pasca and her father Tylden Pasca are visiting merchants from Uthersberg. Finally, the star of the ball arrives, Novita Torenescu escorted by her older brother Aleksander and chaperoned by her Aunt Magda. Almost unnoticed, the teacher Norine Gayheart arrives and makes her way to the library. Lakima looks quizzically at his wife and she shrugs and tells him she feels sorry for the young mage who was trapped in a bottle for 20 years and now seems lost.

Alayna works her magic as a hostess and soon guests are enjoying singing in the parlor and dancing in the main hall. Erica chases after Aleksander and is rebuffed in favor of the beautiful Silvia. This causes some hurt feelings and an exchange of challenges between Polifo and Aleksander. Lakima defuses the argument with a dance competition that is won by Aldus and Natalia. Lakima takes Aldus aside to ask how he is doing. He suggests Aldus dance with the young Silvia but Aldus only has eyes for the mage Norine. Since Norine seems intent on hiding in the library, Lakima asks his wife for a potion in a glass of wine which he gives to Aldus. Aldus goes to speak with Norine in the library and she accepts the glass. The drink seems to bring Norine out of her depression and soon the two are happily trading stories.

Most of the rest of the guests head to the dining room for a meal. Eldric Elderwood remarks that he cannot locate his niece, Fea. Before anyone can comment, Sofronia cries out and says she has lost her necklace. Lakima immediately starts looking around for Brovin, absent from the party.

“Calm down, I will use locating magic,” Lakima says. Just at that moment Tylden stumbles and picks up a necklace from the floor. He claims he just stumbled across it. Lakima is very suspicious and uses his Medallion of ESP. He discovers that Tylden and his “daughter” are thieves looking to steal from wealthy merchants. Lakima accuses Tylden and tells him to leave immediately. He also takes him aside and tells him to leave town by tomorrow.

The party starts up again. There is more dancing and more singing from the native entertainers from the Great Desert. As Lakima is enjoying some food in the dining room with Alrix he sees Brovin enter from the kitchen. Brovin makes the hand signal for danger and indicates the kitchen. Alrix and Lakima follow him into the kitchen.

In the kitchen they see the maid Elin looking like she saw a ghost. She tells them she heard a loud thump in the cellar and went to check. She heard voices on the other side of the secret doors.

“Someone is in the cellar,” Brovin says.

Lakima tells Alrix to get Aldus who is currently dancing with Norine in the main hall. Aldus comes in and Lakima asks him to get his sword. Alayna enters and asks what is going on.

“Why did you drag Aldus away,” she says, “it is the first time I have seen Norine smile since meeting her.”

Lakima tells Alayna that they might have some, “Rats in the cellar.”

Alrix leads the way down with Aldus and Lakima following. Brovin elects to come down last. In the secret passage, Lakima uses the Medallion of ESP and detects the thoughts of several men who are concentrating on moving a statue of solid gold into a boat.

“Thieves on the other side of the door,” Lakima says.

The door is opened and Alrix leads the way. He immediately casts a magic missile at a thief who turns at the sound of their entrance. They see two more thieves trying to lift a stone statue of a woman into a nearby boat. A final thief waits in the boat.

The first thief recovers from being struck by the magic missiles and stabs at Alrix but misses. Aldus moves up with his sword, but Alrix sends his dancing sword plunging into the thief who collapses.

“Donal, let’s get out of here!” one of the thieves yells.

Lakima summons a water elemental to block the exit to the river. The elemental almost swamps the boat and the man in the boat falls into the water. After some splashing about he manages to make the stone walkway and Aldus places his sword at his neck. Another thief is struck by the water elemental and knocked into the water as well. He does not emerge. The last thief cries out that they give up.

Lakima questions the thieves and finds out that the leader is named Fielding. The leader tells them that Warin (he points at the older man whom Aldus dragged from the water) was once a servant at the Manor and knew about the gold statue. Sure, enough they see a section of the paint covering the statue has been scraped away to reveal the gold underneath. Lakima questions Warin suspecting that the Radu family was behind the heist. But it does not appear that was the case. Warin was the butler to the Radu’s and knew of the secret stash of gold. They thought the people living at the manor would be distracted by the ball and would not notice a little pilfering.

Lakima, very angry that thieves would enter his home takes out the quill of laminae and touches Warin who is turned to dust and sucked into the Book.

“This is what I do with thieves who enter the Manor of the Company of the Black Dragon!”

He tells Fielding that he and his remaining confederate can go but they must dissuade any other thieves from entering this manor – and he tries to place a geas on Fielding but it fails. In the end, the thieves are allowed to go, but they must swim out into the river.

The group pulls the statue into the vault in the cellars then they head upstairs and rejoin the party. Aldus locates Norine again and the two head up to his room on the second floor. Fea is located, she has been getting a tour of the manor by the squire Ian.

As it is early morning now the guests begin to leave many thanking the hosts for an eventful evening.

The next day Domago and Eathwund are filled in on what happened at the Ball. Norine leaves after breakfast. Lakima asks if everyone is ready to head to the City of Veil. They have to return the entertainers and there is the mission Elken the Dark wishes them to undertake.

“Can I join you,” Alayna asks, “I want to see the City of Veil”

Lakima agrees and suggests they bring the entire company. Later that day the Cloudstealer heads for the bridgeway with everyone on board. They cross over to the city of Veil and Lakima shows everyone a few of the sights. The entertainers are paid and sent home. Alayna spends some hours in the markets buying colorful clothes and fabrics. Eventually, Alayna feels like she is getting too much sun, and the entire group heads for Elken’s tower. This is a tower he occupied after killing a young mage in a recent duel.

Elken receives them and wants to discuss the tower of Mikda-Err right away. He bows to their superior dungeoneering skills and tells them he will prepare spells that will allow them to get past traps and devices. They must handle any monsters encountered. He does have a lot of instructions when it comes to the blue dragon that guards the entrance.

The tower has no servants and few supplies but it does have a lot of guest rooms. Enough for everyone. Ian, August, and Alayna will be staying in the tower while the adventurers and Elken are exploring Mikda-Err’s tower.

The next day the group makes the short walk out into the desert to the lonely tower.