| Session Date | July 29, 2023 |
| Start Date | |
| End Date | |
| Starting Location | |
| Ending Location | |
| Player Characters | |
| Base XP Gained | 9000 |
| Player Notes | ZZ's Notes |
The party asked Alcibard about passing messages back and forth and he suggested possibly using Boros, Lieutenant of the Holy Tree mercenaries, who seemed to favor the party. Also, his position gave him a great deal of freedom within the city. Of course, using magic to make a direct approach remained quite viable. This settled, and with Alcibard’s map of the citadel and city hall in hand, the party slipped back to the ruined keep and rested through a quiet night.
The next morning, the party conducted magical surveillance using a variety of spells. The initial focus was on the upper, residential level of the city hall. The party learned that the mayor’s children and an old woman were in their own room, apparently prisoners and with signs of the room having been trashed. The adjoining room was clearly trashed and being used by a single person as a lair, though the person was not present. Interestingly, there were a pile of doll heads showing signs of burning and mutilation. The mayor’s residence was not trashed and clearly in use, though the user was not present. Seeing stairs down from the mayor’s office, the party tried to view where they led but their clairvoyance spell was blocked somehow. A last look at the 7th level of the citadel tower revealed a square space taking up the whole tower, occupied by two dozen bugbears.
ZZ now cast a commune spell to consult with Dumathoin, receiving a great deal of information. The enemy was unaware of any camp at Westvale Hall (their ruins). Lammoch was confirmed to be the most powerful wizard of the Giant King in the city, but there was a second, nearly as powerful close by to him. The hidden area they could not see was not a lair but seemed like it could be used as such, but Lammoch usually was to be found in the mayor’s residence. Further, the space was magically protected in some way and, key, Lammoch would be in there the following night. There was apparently no threat greater than Lammoch in the Citadel. Finally, the god said the party could mostly trust Alcibard, leaving some vagueness to that response.
The party did not venture forth that day, nor on the next until after night fell. Around midnight, they all went invisible thanks to Burt and flew in various ways to the city hall roof conducting many magical and mundane preparations for their raid. Once in position, Burt cast another clairvoyance and found the mayor’s room lit but empty. Hans now risked using the crystal ball (having avoided doing so up until now to avoid alerting the wizard of their proximity). He found the wizard writing at a small desk and realized it was the adjacent room; there was a Hellhound in the room with him. The party adjusted and breached the room with a passwall followed by coins with silence on them. The fight was very brief, given that Deagln backstabbed the wizard and slew him outright! The Hellhound never got a chance to even breath fire before it, too, was cut down.
The party quickly plundered both the body and the papers on the desk (all of which more or less reinforced what they already knew about preparations for the Giant King’s visit – a quick add to that info, it confirms that he planned to come on foot up the Dwarf Road). They now questioned Lammoch’s corpse. The party asked where the other wizard was, assuming he was in the adjacent room, but it turned out he was on a lower level. The stairs down led to a treasury and the safest way to approach was to “hold the handrail and walk slowly.” He was clearly a hostile witness! The party did so anyway and found a lead-lined room, a treasury indeed, which they plundered finding a great deal of coin and gems, though the room appeared to have been partially ransacked in the recent past.
They now decided to check the mayor’s family and used a passwall to breach the room. They found a cherubic looking Halfling that even true seeing showed nothing different. But ZZ recognized him as the Halfling that had been part of Lammoch’s band, sent to assassinate the party months past. And ESP revealed his true depravity! The party slew him quickly and with little fuss. About then, there was a knock at the door and Hans opened it to find two Trolls and a Bugbear that had apparently been alerted to their presence. These were slain quickly but a shouting human coming up from below yelling something about “infidels” blasted most of the party with a flame strike. It was a cleric of Magnus, god of the underworld. The party slew him, too. It was getting too hot for the party so, busting in to rescue the children and old woman (their nanny, apparently), they quickly fled the tower by air, heading out to the east. After dropping those they rescued in Far Andor, the party returned to their base, their goal achieved but knowing the enemy now knew of their presence.