Previous: Fountain of Flame
Trap (Session #9)
After their return, the group fell back into their normal routine.
Grundel continued to help the dwarves add the finishing touches on the White Circle headquarters.
Whistler spent most of his time in his room performing magical experiments.
Kerzog spent his time at the Five Feathers, bouncing miscreants.
Cassandra spent the next several days performing at the Key Note, an upscale inn and tavern in the North End of the city.
About a week passed when Cassandra was approached by a young girl named Stephanie. She explained that someone had taken her mother and her father went to the lighthouse to save her. Her father told her to come and get Cassandra and her friends to help save Stephanie's mother. Cassandra told Stephanie that she would be happy to help and asked the girl to stay in her room. Cassandra asked the owner of the Key Note to keep an eye on the girl and she left the tavern.
She made her way directly to the lighthouse, hoping to stop Stephanie's father, William Rappaport, from getting himself killed. She made it to the lighthouse without seeing anyone. Cassandra was able to see movement in the upper chamber of the lighthouse, but she couldn't make out forms or specifics. She checked the front door, it was locked. Deciding it would be too dangerous to enter the building herself, she left the building to get her friends to help.
She rushed to the south of the city straight for the White Circle. She found Grundel and Whistler within and rushed to the Five Feathers to find Kerzog. Grundel and Whistler went straight to the lighthouse.
After Kerzog and Cassandra joined Whistler and Grundel, the group decided to go in through the front door. Grundel picked the lock and they opened the door. On first glance, the room looked empty, however, several people burst from hiding, attacking the group as soon as they had entered the room. Five rogues from the Red Fang attacked, catching the group off guard.
Kerzog, Grundel, and Cassandra waded into battle while Whistler summoned some celestial dogs to aid in the battle. The battle raged on and Whistler cast magic missile one one of the rogues. The spell fizzled with no effect. The rogues were yuan-ti. The battle was going well when Whistler was attacked from behind. He turned and saw that it was another of the rogues. Fortunately, Kerzog dispatched his current opponent and rushed to Whistler's aid. While Grundel and Kerzog attacked the final rogue, Whistler supported them by curing their wounds, and Cassandra sprinted up the stairs toward the upper chamber of the lighthouse.
When she reached the top, she was confronted by another yuan-ti rogue. Protected by a mirror image spell, Cassandra yelled for aid, and waded into battle. While Cassandra attacked the yuan-ti on the top floor, Kerzog and Grundel dispatched the final rogue on the ground floor. Whistler cast levitate on himself, then he cast a shocking grasp spell so Goril, his raven familiar, could fly up and attack the yuan-ti that Cassandra was fighting. Kerzog and Grundel rushed to the stairs to ascend to Cassandra's aid. By the time they reached the top, Cassandra's mirror images were gone, but the rogue had definitely taken the worst in the battle. The group, once reunited, was able to dispatch the final rogue.
The group searched the lighthouse and found some valuables, but no information as to the whereabouts of the Rappaport parents.
The group began to think that the Rappaports may have been contrived as bait, preying on the heroes' good intentions. The made their way back to the Key Note to speak with Stephanie. When they opened the door to Cassandra's room, the room had been trashed: furniture was turned over, Cassandra's belongings and torn clothing strewn around the room, and someone had urinated and thrown feces around the room.
Angry that her personal space was violated, Cassandra went to Karl McKann and complained that she was mislead when he asked her to join the White Circle. She said she felt as if they were doing nothing to help the locals and that the White Circle was a sham. Karl told her that they are working behind the scenes and she would see some changes in the long run. Her anger spent, Cassandra left McKann's office.