Campaign Log

Last Wednesday at Pawn & Pint several members of the party threw caution to the wind and tempted fate. One of them has learned, perhaps a bit late, that witches and warlocks find the white-hot flames of a purifying fire. For those that want to go to the beginning, here is the post that started this campaign.

We resume the session with the party heading south. Already several days out of Vantar, they continue to pull Tyr’s stolen cart and the heavy steel cage. Unfortunately for Tyr, the people in the smaller towns lack the funds to purchase expensive plate armor and weapons. However, this does not stop Tyr from trying to sell her wares. Nor does it induce her or Quai to conceal their identities.

Wilby and Cynder had scouted ahead as the rest of the party lag behind and so the party is uncertain if Wilby and Cynder are aware of a disturbing trend in the smaller towns along the road.

On the outskirts of a town about halfway between Vantar and Avet, they find several bodies displayed as evidence of a burning. When they get into town, they learn that the local priest died in his sleep about ten days prior. Two priests of Felis from the distant north (perhaps even near Midland) had come through the town. They spoke of rumors of the Senzar recruiting witches and warlocks south of the border in Comir. These two priests, with funny accents and names (Olm and Du’en) tested the town’s people with a holy relic and found several people were guilty of worshiping Elrin. Despite their protests, they accused were executed with fire.

During the time of the executions, a couple other members of the town disappeared, presumably heading south.

Tyr decided to bury the bodies, but saved a skull that she locked into a small steel cage. With the skull secured, she summoned a spirit to inhabit the skull. Several other members of the party had some qualms about the activity with the dead, but they continued traveling south after staying the night. Tyr used the animated skull to warn her if any living creature came near (and then had to adjust down the sensitivity).

The following day Tyr lost control of the skull and she destroyed it.

The next town they came to had a similar story as the first. This town spoke of the priests going off into the woods to check some towns to the east after more people were cleansed with fire while a couple more fled. However, instead of pursuing the priests (which were a couple of days ahead of them) the party continued on to Avet with the cart.

Tyr decided to check a portent before entering the walls of the large city of Avet. The reading told her that she would be safe as long as no one recognized her. Armed with that information, the party drove the cart into the city by the lake. Rowan broke off from the main group to see if he could find any news from potential contacts in the city. Tyr, Quai, and Unferth decided to go up to Duke Nartel’s keep and demand to have an audience with the duke.

Fortunately for Wilby and Cynder, they were still scouting ahead of the party and had not entered the city.

After Tyr explained who she is, she is allowed an audience. The three of them, minus their weapons (and Quai does not get to play an old Gandalf with his staff) are eventually escorted to an audience chamber full of guards (they waited for a long time before being announced). The Duke wants an explanation and Tyr says she needs to report corruption with the church to someone outside of the church. The Duke wants to know more and Tyr explains that Master Priest Kern was a working with a crime lord and that she had to kill him and the soldiers that were with them.

Since word had reached Duke Nartel about Tyr being a witch, he questioned the party with his priests using their powers to ensure truthfulness. Both Unferth and Quai successfully resisted the effort and offered little condemnation of Tyr, but added suspicion to themselves.

Tyr willingly submitted, however, her mouth was working for the prosecution. She answered the questions and then added other details like her party members didn’t trust her and talked of having some of Kern’s bones so that they could speak with the dead to get the truth out of him.

The Duke was noticeably bothered with such talk and had them escorted to separate rooms to rest while he consulted with others.

Unferth made small talk with the guards and then was later escorted back to the Duke for a conversation by himself. He quickly opened up about some of what had happened with Tyr (seeing as he had only known Tyr for a couple of days) and then asked for a job with the city watch. The Duke, amused by the request, refused to offer him a job, but gave him a letter of recommendation as a court jester.

After Unferth was returned to his room, Quai was summoned. For Quai, drink loosened his tongue and he proved to not be a great character witness for Tyr. When Quai was returned to his room without the high-quality alcohol, he used his powers to escape through the narrow window and went to the nearest public house to get drunk.

Tyr was brought back and questioned some more and was turned over to the church so she could be taken to Antar to report her complaint about Kern in person. However, when Tyr was in a cell in the temple, she used magic against one of her guards and then tried to escape through a wall.

The fact that she was in the middle of the temple caused her to return to the cell, where the holy warriors confiscated her holy symbol. After which, she used magic without the holy symbol, proving concretely that she was a witch. A finding that only a purifying fire can resolve.

In the city, Unferth found Quai and convinced the monk that he should not go back to the keep because the Duke thinks he is a warlock. They eventually meet up with Rowan and they all update each other on events.