| Session Date | February 1, 2020 |
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| Base XP Gained | Carry Over |
The party opted to return to their quarters first, where Iban scried for Girion with his crystal ball, and found him laying atop a wooden surface of some sort. He also scried on Vorómakil, the high elf they'd rescued the previous year. The elf stood atop a white parapet in his armor, talking with another warrior elf as they looked out over an endless forest. With this information, Cadwaladyr made his way to the Lormyrr Gate to speak to the suspected false Girion, and found him there, friendly as ever and most certainly not laying wounded atop a wooden floor. The two spoke for a few minutes, and the wizard then returned to his companions. Meanwhile, there was some grumbling among the Dwarf soldiers at the party's residence. It turned out that it was the High Holy Day of Moradin Soulforger, and the Dwarven contingent (all six survivors plus Floi), had intended to join in the celebrations in the Dwarftown, but had previously been ordered to double the guard on the residence due to the recent troubles. Feeling secure enough, the party provided the Dwarves a liberal amount of gold and gave them all liberty passes for the rest of the day and night. Much pleased, they all departed, with Floi to "supervise" them.
The party then settled down to rest, only to be almost immediately surprised by the guildmistress of thieves sudden and unseen arrival. She had news that a group of men had killed a ferryman and were fleeing the city in his boat across the Blueflood. No sooner had she given her news than a commotion erupted outside. Stepping out, the party saw a large force of the constabulary running towards the Lormyrr Gate, with townsfolk all in chaos at the apparent emergency. The party fell in with the guards; as they went, they were told breathlessly that the Lormyrr Gate was under some sort of attack. When they arrived, there was a ring of townsfolk, but at a distance. Beneath the open gate were several dead guardsmen. The party moved in with the reinforcements; no one answered their calls. The party then offered to clear the gatehouse, which they did, accompanied by Jannik, the Constable General of the city. Within, they found dead guards throughout, slain in melee with unknown assailants. Soon, the gatehouse was cleared. There were no survivors.
The party and Jannik came back outside and began to talk to some witnesses among the townsfolk. There had been an attack of some sort, they said. Civilians had fled the area, but those that stayed around to watch stated that three constables came running out of the gatehouse afterwards and claimed they were going for help. Girion was among them. Jannik told the party that they'd received word from townsfolk, not guards. Following the directions of witnesses as to where the three went, the party soon found three abandoned guard uniforms aside a quiet street nearby. Thinking quickly, Cadwaldyr used his Quill of Memory to record the last things spoken on the spot -- he got a discussion about dumping uniforms and blending in; the three talkers would meet up at the usual place in a few days and that they hoped the distraction had worked. The party reported all this to Jannik, who stated that the guard force that came to the gate had been mustering to go after the stolen ferryboat, but they'd decided a threat to the city gate took precedence. The party recommended to Jannik to seal all the city gates, but he'd already given the order. The party considered that the unnamed thief that had accompanied them had tipped off the apparent spies, but they thought it more likely that somehow Cadwaladyr's visit to them had been the trigger for what happened. The party then confided to Jannik that they had had suspicions about Girion but were waiting until the next day to act on them. Jannik was not happy about that, though he reluctantly admitted that the party was not to blame, though he wished that they had told him sooner so that a score or more of his constables might not be dead now. For their part, the party seemed quite upset as well at their error.
The party had also recommended the city use dogs to track the three errant guardsmen. This they were already working on. However, the party and constables were dismayed that the dogs could get no scent from the abandoned uniforms. It was odd to say the least, and Iban began to openly suspect that the so-called guards might be doppelgangers. The party now had an intense discussion on using clerical magic to try to find the imposters, but realized it would be beyond their capability. They considered compelling the city's clerics to aid them, but the city lords balked at the potential cost in gold and lost favor, saying that they had need of both money and clerical ability in the time to come. Returning to their quarters, they found Ravenna the thief awaiting them. When confronted, she swore vehemently that her folk had naught to do with these things, and reaffirmed that she was a patriot, albeit a stealing one. The party believed her. Further, they advised her to watch for infiltration of her own ranks; to guard against that, she should avoid use of passwords and demand tests of manual dexterity skill to prove the identity of her thieves. She agreed, and told them she remained at their disposal in the crisis.
The next day, the party returned to the recently cleared dungeon. Using the Spirit Vessel, they questioned a dead wererat. They asked him what the rendezvous spot that the spies referred to (he did not know). Where would they meet with the false Girion (he did not know as it was above his paygrade). Where would he go if he had to flee the city? (back to Castle Silver). Where would you go in the city to blend in or rendezvous? (again, he did not know).
Given the lack of actionable intelligence and the reluctance to use commune across the city churches, the party decided the best action was to pursue to fleeing lycanthropes, as they had a more or less clear trail to follow and they felt some desire to make amends by rescuing Girion if he were not already dead. Thus, the party took one of the remaining ferries across the river where they spent an hour or so buying horses for themselves, Floi, their elf friend Amadin, and their six-Dwarf contingent. Before setting out along the road paralleling the the shores of Lake Greensward, ZZ crushed up a huge gem and sought his god's blessing on their endeavor.
The party made good time, despite the long lead of their quarry, which had beached their ferry boat not far from the actual ferry landing. They soon passed the village of Divin, where for the first time they saw the extensive shipyard and ways where the locals built many barges and boats for sailing both the Blueflood and even the open ocean beyond. A little after nightfall, they reached the small town of Far Andor, which lay in the angle between the Caron River and Lake Greensward to the south. At a local inn, they asked about a large party passing this way and heard form several that a group of three dozen or more folk had bypassed the town and turned north in to the vast forest to parallel the Caron River. An ancient track passed that way, connecting the sparsely populated region known as Andorland, Far Caronland, and ultimately Middlefield to Manston. These were the extreme hinterlands of the old Lormyrrian Empire, still populated by hardy farmers, miners, rivermen, and the like despite the many dangers of the region. While at the inn, Iban scried for Girion, finding him bound on a leaf littered ground in a woodland, near a fire.
As an aside, there was some instruction on the region. The northern portion of the Grand Forest (largest forest on the continent) was divided into three general regions. That portion west of the Caron River was known as Andorland. On the east side of the river was The Wood Debatable, a sort of no-man's land between human and wood elves. Beyond that was the region of Galathilion, the realms of the wood elves who were even more inimical to men than the High Elves further south. As for the Caron River, it was wide and deep, albeit slow moving. It is navigable by large ships for a very long way north, though larger ships sail it but rarely. Castle Silver, they were told, was once a fortress of the Wizard Silver, one of three evil wizards that had plagued the region 80 years before. The Three Wizards, as they were called, had conquered Andorland and marched on Manston itself, besieging it for some months until a relief force of Dwarves had destroyed the besieging army...Floi proudly, and repeatedly, let everyone know that the relief army was led by his father Fror. Adventurers had finished the job, apparently slaying the three wizards in their castles in the Wood Debatable, though there was some ambiguity about the fate of the Wizard Gold.
The next day, the party turned north along the track paralleling the Caron River. Early in the day, they scried for Girion once more, finding him in a dense forest, moving apparently towards a hilly region. Around midday, they came to a side road pushing west, which they took, soon arriving at the village of Tolit (they'd been told of it in Far Andor). They asked of the locals aught they knew of a large party and learned that a large group of foul looking folk had apparently stole a boat form a local huntsman named Donal. The hunter was missing and presumably taken by them, or slain. The locals seemed quite concerned, and were very helpful to the party. They provided them with a small boat and, leaving the Dwarven infantry and their horses behind, they took the boat to the Caron River and crossed over to the so-called Wood Debatable. Once across, they scried Girion again, finding him underground in a small stone room.
They took the rough directions provided by the folk of Tolit, heading towards the hills where they said lay Castle Silver. After a few hours afoot, the party came to a long clearing in the wood at the far end of which was a lone tower, the remnants of Castle Silver. They moved cautiously closer, fearful of wolves and werewolves, but none were spotted. Invisible, Cadwaladyr scouted aerially ahead. He found the tower manned by Hobgoblin warriors. The tower stood amidst a number of ruined buildings, the apparent remnants of Castle Silver. However, there was a large staircase going up into a cliff face, while a largely intact building was found to contain a resting hill giant. The party moved in as dusk fell, slipping clear of the tower and coming up to the giant's building. Mordecai threw a silence spell on the place and the party attacked, soon slaying the giant before the Hobgoblins were even aware of anything happening. Searching his lair, they found a hidden trapdoor leading down to a tunnel running under the adjacent cliff. Mordecai cast find traps and the party entered into remaining dungeon of Castle Silver...