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Unexplained Disappearances (Session #2)
The characters spent the evening getting to know each other. They enjoyed themselves for the evening, then slept until morning. In the morning, the group all went their separate ways.
Blaine and Kyle decided that it was time for them to introduce themselves to the leaders of the church as well as their paladin order. As they approached the temple, known as the Sword of Justice, they were struck by the sheer size of it. The temple is built from white marble with several bas-reliefs depicting scenes from the Acathra. The two paladins entered the great temple doors and were greeted by a young acolyte. The acolyte led them to the office of Solomon Orin, the highest ranking cleric of Arthom in the city currently. Solomon told the brothers that he may have a small mission for them to complete, but told them to go to Hart House, the headquarters for the Order of the Hart, and settle themselves in. At Hart House, the brothers met Sir Darren Jarik, the highest ranking paladin from the Order currently within the city. Sir Jarik showed them to their quarters and they learned more information about the state of the city. The paladins ran some errands, purchased necessary supplies, etc.
As they were leaving, they were approached by Sir Jarik. Sir Jarik told them that the church has something that they'd like the brothers to look into. Apparently there is a young cleric that the church uses as a messenger named Thomas Gherin. Thomas was charged with taking a message to the priest in the village of Tourlin. Tourlin is a two day journey west of Xraxus and Thomas had been gone for over a week. This is very strange for Thomas since he normally delivers his message, then returns. The church is worried that something has happened to Thomas and asked the brothers to look into it. Sir Jarik told them that it may be a good idea for the brothers to go to the Fraternal Order of Dungeoneers, Dangerseekers, Explorers, and Rogues to get a couple more fellows to accompany them on their mission. Instead the brothers explained that they already have a couple of guys that might want to join them. They went to the Cat House to wait for the rest of the group to show up.
Kruenor decided to begin looking into the whereabouts of his greatest enemy, Terrak Dojan (see his background). Figuring that the priesthood of Arthom and the Tekkans don't get along, Kruenor traveled to the Sword of Justice and tried to get information about Terrak from the Arthomites. The only information that he was able to get from them was that there is an official embassy from Tekat within the city and that there is a good chance that Terrak is involved with them. Seeing that seeking Terrak out will be a little more difficult than he had hoped, Kruenor made his way to the Cat House to get lunch.
Rory awakened early the morning after his little adventure and decided he was going to try and find some information about the rageweed problem. He made his way down to the guildhouse, looking for Vargus so he could ask him if he knows anything. Vargus wasn't available so he went to the Chain & Anchor to see Eran, another rogue from the Eyes in the Night. He questioned Eran about the drug problem, but Eran denied any knowledge of the problem. Disappointed at his inability to find information, Rory went back to the Cat House to help the bartender with the lunch rush.
Although Mylo worked his shift at Gafar's as scheduled, he hated every dull minute of it. Around lunch time, Mylo took a break and went to the Cat House for lunch.
When the entire group arrived in the Cat House, the Goodwin brother approached each of the group with the proposal that they travel to the town of Tourlin to investigate the disappearance of Thomas Gherin. Everyone agreed and decided to meet at the Canal Gate before sunset.
Blaine went to the Iron Arms to buy a new shield and an Order of the Hart insignia for his armor.
Kyle went to Silver Hill to buy a pipe and some pipeweed. He met a man named Basil Cutlip who makes his living as a tobacco merchant. Kyle bought some fine pipeweed, known as Shalaran Black, that gives off a vanilla smell when smoked.
Rory went to the local kennel to buy a riding dog. He got a bull mastiff named Holmes.
Mylo went to quit his job at Gafar's, went to the wagoner to buy a cart, and then went to the Foreman Brewery to buy two kegs of Ole Bitterhaus, a local brew that Mylo enjoys far too much.
Kruenor went to buy a pony.
They decided to leave in the evening so they could stop at the Green Hammer, an inn a couple of miles out of the city. While in the inn, Rory overheard someone talking about scoring some rageweed. He heard that the supplier's name is Jamar Steck. Saving this information for later, they had a nice stay and left first thing in the morning.
About halfway through the day, the party stopped at the Golden Goose in the village of Riverside to get a good meal. After a quick meal they continued on.
The group continued down the road, Blaine bickering with Kyle about his pipesmoke the entire way. At dusk they noticed a campfire in the distance and Kruenor mentioned that it was probably the well-used campsite that he passed on his original trip to Xraxus. The companions approached the campsite and saw that it was a lone man camping. The man approached and introduced himself as Fred Chavez, a bard trying to spread his fame. He invited the group to camp with him for the night. The group sat and ate a meal, sang some songs, and drank some ale. The entire time, Rory kept his eyes on Fred. He had a bad feeling, nothing he could put his finger on, but it was a bad feeling nonetheless. He told Kyle about his mistrust, figuring Kyle less volatile than his brother, then he settled in for the night. Kyle, trusting Rory's appraisal of their host, decided to lay in his bedroll and act as if he were asleep. Everyone turned in for the night, except for the normal watch.
Four hours passed and Fred still hadn't done anything suspicious. Kyle had nearly fell asleep several times when he saw Fred get out of his bedroll and approach Kruenor, who was on watch at the time, and Kruenor fell to the ground like a sack of bricks. At the same time, Rory awakened by a horrible feeling and jumped out of his bedroll just in time to see Fred changing shape into a half-man, half-jackal creature, a jackalwere. Before the jackalwere had the chance to rip into Kruenor, he took a dagger in the chest from Rory. He lunged at Rory and bit him, but he failed to notice that Kyle had risen from his bedroll and was bearing down on him with his greatsword. The first blow with the magical greatsword cleaved the creature nearly in half. With the creature defeated, Rory and Kyle made sure that Kruenor was alive. He was; the creature had put him to sleep using some sort of magical gaze attack.
The next morning the group left the campsite, continuing towards Tourlin. Kyle quickly realized that his pipe was missing, so he and Blaine argued for a good portion of the trip. In the afternoon, the companions passed a wagon laden with a family and all of their belongings. The group hailed the family and the father told the companions that they were leaving Tourlin because of a rash of strange disappearances. Blaine suggested that the man take his family to Riverside, since Xraxus seems to have a terrible drug problem. The man thanked the group for their advice and continued down the road with his family.
A couple hours after the group's encounter with the family, they entered the village of Tourlin. The group went straight for the church of Ahrlin and met with the local minister. The minister, Teron Herdich, told the group that Thomas had come and gone seven days ago. They also asked about the disappearances that the man on the road had told them about and Teron told them that three families had been taken. There is very little in the way of evidence, but they should speak with William Monks, the local constable, if they want more information.
The group went to one of the houses and searched throughout. The were unable to find anything before a man approached by horse and introduced himself as William Monks. The companions questioned William about the disappearances and William told them that they only found two clues: a strip of a smooth, black material unlike anything any of the locals have seen and a couple of drops of bright blue blood. Blaine asked if he could keep the strip of material and the group decided that they would hurry after the family they passed, to offer them protection if they needed it. They decided to head towards Xraxus and ask a sage about the material.
After a hard ride, the group saw the family's wagon and campfire in the distance. As they approached, they heard a strange double-bark from up ahead and closing fast. The companions spurred their mounts into action, heading towards the sound. Kyle's horse was the fastest and he could see the father brandishing a sword towards four large forms just outside the firelight. Kyle yelled for the father to jump into the wagon before the beasts could attack, unfortunately he was too late. As he rushed to attack the beasts, he saw the father get taken down. Kyle dismounted and saw that these weren't just wolves or even worgs, they were death dogs, evil two-headed beasts that hunt in the darkness. He charged into their midst hoping to save the father from being torn to pieces in front of his frightened family. Kyle forced his way to the father's fallen form and attacked the four death dogs. The rest of the group made it into the melee at this point. Unfortunately the groups lack of battle experience cause the battle to go against them in the beginning. Mylo had trouble hitting the beasts with his skiprocks, Kruenor fell off his pony while dismounting, and Kyle killed one death dog and injured another before the damage of their bite overwhelmed him. Blaine reached the battle just in time to see his brother go down under the press from the two-headed beasts. When the group saw Kyle fall, everything seemed to come together for them and they quickly dispatched the remaining beasts. Blaine ran to Kyle's unconscious form and called upon the power of his god to heal his brother. Kyle awoke, weak but alive. The group checked the father and he was alive as well. Kruenor used some of his clerical magic to heal the father.