Dramatis Personæ

Brother Mendel (Herodian)
Dane Sardock (Winston)
Gestlin the Unpredictable (CommJunkee)
Magnifico the Clown (Feste)
Merasiël Alethmist (Melissa)
Rainald North-Hammer (Gigermann)

Of Secrets and Spies

28 Apr 2014

The Gleaming Endeavor cast off from Raphael in the early morning, under sail to Bannock; four days more passed without incident or remark. The Heroes gazed upon the great city of Bannock in the distance as they approached, a strange mixture of Megalan and Wazifi architecture, as it was a religiously-cosmopolitan place owing to its fluctuating ownership by Megalos and Al-Wazif. A number of the Company had never spent any significant time amongst a Moslem community. As the ship was being moored at the docks, and the fees paid by Captain Finn, Dane noticed that their activities were being discreetly observed by a man further down the port quarter. The Heroes decided to split up to take care of some business and return to the ship.

• Gestlin and Magnifico followed Brother Mendel as he made his way to the cathedral, where he checked in with the bishop to see if there were any duties he might be needed to perform, and to deliver letters from upriver. He told the bishop of their mission to find Lord Wallace, and the bishop confirmed much of what they already knew on the matter, and promised to aid them as he could. As they made their way back to the ship, Gestlin found himself attracting a large crowd of stray cats and dogs, for no reason he could discern.
• Merasiël sought out the criminal elements of the city to learn if someone here might have been contracted to take Lord Wallace; Rainald went along to guard her person (leaving most of his money at the ship). After a bell or two, they found themselves at a disreputable tavern talking to an appropriately-disreputable character who knew nothing of the comings and goings of Lord Wallace a year ago, though he recognized the large Northlander bearing the white-on-black tabard, confiding that there was a 50 gold mark (equivalent) bounty for his head, as for each of his four companions—a two-fold increase from the amount heard of in Craine. As the two left the tavern, satisfied they had heard all they were likely to, Rainald called back to whomever it might concern there, “Any man who doesn’t fear death who can strike this head from its place deserves to be well paid, for it won’t come easily!”
• Dane and Gabriel waited patiently after the others had left to see what the spy at the docks might do. As the man left his post, they discreetly followed behind him through the crowd, unnoticed, and observed an interaction and exchange of coin between him and the dockmaster.

The Heroes met back at the ship and discussed what they had learned. News of the bounty on their heads was unwelcome (though not unexpected); they were lucky to have survived the assassins back in Craine the week before. Bearing in mind the need for security, they considered whether or not it was wise to go on with their dragon show, as it wasn’t necessary to the completion of their mission; but neglecting the show would reflect badly upon their newfound partnership with Proximo and Aamir. They decided to speak to Proximo’s contact in town and see what could be made of it. Proximo’s letter to his friend must have been quite convincing, for upon reading it, his contact was ready to spare no expense; it would take one week to make the necessary preparations to host the show at the local arena, but the contact offered to lodge the Heroes at his fortified estate, in secret, until time for the show. The Heroes accepted his offer.

They were well cared for at the estate, and spent the days behind its walls, relaxing in luxury and preparing for the show. On the third day, a guard announced that a visitor wished to speak to them—it was Shaun (crewman on the Gleaming Endeavor). He was staggered at the lavish accommodations, and between cups of excellent wine hastily consumed, he told that the bishop had come to the ship to find Brother Mendel to give him some news. After a few more cups of wine, Gabriel escorted Shaun to the cathedral, to bring the bishop back to the estate as discreetly as they could. Later, they returned with the bishop, who spoke to Brother Mendel of a nun in his service who, while attending the needs of those imprisoned at the local compound of the Order of Talos, heard the name of Lord Wallace spoken by one of the prisoners, one Etmund Moree, a Caithnesser, whom the Heroes recognized as Lord Wallace’s Master-of-Coin and traveling companion—he was in ill health, and babbling mad.

The bishop offered to show them to the Order’s compound, and Dane left with him to spy it out; he returned later, saying that it was well fortified and guarded by soldiers. The Heroes agreed that Etmund’s presence in Bannock meant that Lord Wallace was likely taken here as well; Etmund must be rescued, for he would certainly know how and by whom it was done. They discussed many possible methods of extracting the prisoner, but knew it would be for naught without a peek inside the compound.

Later, Brother Mendel, Gestlin (dressed as a monk), and Merasiël (who mostly kept to the nearby shadows) went to the front gate of the compound of the Order of Talos and tried to gain admittance to see the prisoner, saying to the guard there that Brother Mendel, a Caithnesser priest, had been requested to take the Caithnesser prisoner’s confession; the guard denied the existence of such a prisoner—they sensed the man was intentionally hiding the truth, though they knew it to be false already—and would not allow them inside. Brother Mendel tried everything he could think of: the guard refused his money, saying he have to come back tomorrow; he balked at being threatened with eternal damnation for refusing to allow the man’s confession, and poked a spear at Brother Mendel through the gate; he stood aside for one of the priests in the compound’s courtyard, when Gestlin made a commotion, drawing a crowd of onlookers on the street, demanding the priests’ aid. The priest went into the keep for a moment and returned, saying the two would be allowed to enter providing they relinquished their “weapons” (wizard staffs); they refused, and left in a huff.

With everyone assembled again at the mansion, the Heroes discussed the situation: clearly, they would have to take Etmund from the Order by force. To do so right away would be trouble for the show, and more time to reconnoiter the compound would not go amiss, so they decided to keep a covert eye on the place until after the show, and make their move then.

Notes

• Gabriel’s player was out sick for this session; the character was put to use in the background, doing a lot of escorting
• Rainald is certainly not afraid of a fight, but as our Craine experience demonstrated, someone sneaking into one’s room with a dagger can potentially ruin your day (unless you’re playing something like D&D); the intention is not so much to prevent an attack, but to make it difficult to kill us in our beds. There was talk of sleeping on the ship and mooring it on the other side of the river. We had been of a mind to get to Tredroy as fast as possible, and were perfectly willing to just move on and get to it, but in the end, “the show must go on” won out (and maybe the need for a bit more cash)
• The Order of Talos relates to Gabriel’s background, as the church order that Zabka belonged to; his official Enemy (as in the Disadvantage)
• There was much talk of teleporting Etmund out of the compound, but the Heroes’ magical abilities would require close proximity; at this point, we’re still leaning toward Gestlin using Smil-Blam to do a proper Teleportation spell that will take the lot of them back to safety. With the botched reconnaissance, though, it may come down to force anyway—maybe we prefer it so 😉