Quick Summary:
The party decide to leave the River-Folk and progress down the river.
Yessica expects to arrive at the Turnfork Inn by nightfall.
After some travel, the group spot a grey elk carcass on the riverbank.
The barge snags on the riverbed: Gaerfinas and woodsmen get out to push
Ten Stirges emerge from the burrow and attack the group.
The party take significant damage, but are able to fend off the stirges.
Freli is rendered unconscious from blood loss, but stabilizes.
After the fight, Yessica tends to Freli with a healing potion
Gaerfinas ‘Healing Word’ on one of the woodsmen
Artus casts ‘Lay on Hands’ on Kelnor.
The woodsmen free the boat and the journey downriver continues.
The party reach Turnfork, and tie up at the quay outside.
There are a number of other boats, but Rania confirms none of them resembles the boat in which the two men fled Deepcut the night before.
All weapons must be left on the boat or handed over at the guardhouse before entering the inn.
Yessica informs us this only applies to large weapons; swords, bows etc, and the group should be fine keeping daggers.
On entry, the inn is rowdy, but surprisingly clean and perfumed. Most people around the room are smoking unusual pipes.
Of note is a hooded man sat alone at a table, studying something. Gives an impression of wanting to be left alone.
Yessica, Freli and Rania retire to the prepared room. The rest of the party take a table.
The Master of Ceremonies approaches the table, Mistress Ghislaine, and the party order ale.
After discussion various recent matters, Ghislaine offers the party a private room at no charge, to keep them out of trouble.
After settling into the private room, the party recognizes one of the serving men. The youth who led them into the ambush outside Deepcut the prior day!
The youth clearly recognizes the party, and appears almost pleased to see them.
When questioned the youth tells the party his name is ‘Twelve’.
Loose Ends:
No new loose ends.
Returning to the barge after their brief experience in a realm of shadows, the party agree they should continue downriver rather than interacting further with the fortune teller and her brothers. Yessica explains that they should reach the Turnfork by nightfall, and it would be advisable to spend the night there before finding passage to Daggerfalls tomorrow.
As the barge slowly makes its way down the shallow river and the party relax on the deck, Artus noticed a shape on the riverbank ahead. It appears to be the carcass of an elk, but the flesh appears almost grey and has an oily sheen to it. As the boat draws closer, Artus notices a number of odd marks or wounds around the neck of the elk, and an oily–looking burrow in the riverbank nearby. As he ponders the implications of these facts, he is distracted by the barge running aground on a sandbank, and Gaerfinas leaping into the shallow rive to help the woodsmen free the barge.
A swarm of ten tiny, bat-like creatures with sharp proboscises emerge from the burrow and attack the party. Yessica shouts a warning, ‘Stirges!’
Yessica kills one with a well-placed arrow as it emerges from the burrow.
Stirges swoop in and attach themselves to Rio, Gaerfinas, Yessica, and one of the woodsmen -- dealing significant damage to each.
Artus runs across the deck of the barge and swipes with his greatsword, killing the stirge attached to Gaerfinas.
Further stirges attach themselves to Kelnor, Freli and Artus, while others swoop at Yessica and a woodsman but fail to get enough of a purchase to plunge their proboscises into their flesh
Rio kills the stirge attached to him with his dagger.
Freli wrenches off the stirge digging into his neck and kills it with his bare hands.
Kelnor uses a dagger to kill the beast attached to him and prizes it from his flesh. He then turns and casts his other dagger at the stirge menacing Artus. He misses, and the dagger clatters harmlessly to the deck of the barge.
One woodsman, panicking as the stirge buries its proboscis in his flesh and begins to drain his blood, rushes towards the perceived protection offered by Artus, Gaerfinas and Kelnor. The other woodsman wades to the bow of the barge, slips and falls under the water.
Gaerfinas returns the favour from earlier and kills the stirge attached to Artus.
Yessica reaches up and crushes a sturge’s head in her fist, pulling it from her flesh and casting its body into the water.
The stirge attached to one of the woodsmen drains more blood, leaving him on his knees and close to death.
Artus swings at the stirge with his sword, but misses.
A stirge swoops at Freli and plunges its proboscis into his flesh, draining his blood further and leaving him unconscious.
Rio kills the stirge menacing Freli with his dagger, and with the brief respite Freli’s condition stabilizes.
Kelnor kills a stirge with his hand crossbow, leaving one alive.
The injured woodsman swings at the stirge hovering near him with his axe but, debilitated by his wounds, he is unable to make contact.
The other woodsman pulls himself from the water with a gasp and, unsheathing his axe, he rounds the boat and takes a swing at the stirge menacing his compatriot. However, he doesn’t take the time to regain his footing and overbalances, crashing into the water again.
Gaerfinas draws his crossbow and fires a bolt at the final stirge, but misses and the bold buries itself in the side of the barge with a decisive ‘THUNK’. Yessica then shoots it out of the air from the deck of the barge.
As the last of the little beasts fall dead, Yessica rushes over to the wounded Freli and, retrieving a healing potion form her pouch, helps him to drink it. He appears somewhat revived but unable to stand, though a slight glint in his eye suggests this may be due more to his enjoying the close contact with Yessica than as a result of his wounds... Gaerfinas calls the unhurt Woodsman to help pull his sorely-wounded friend to the closes bank, and casting Healing Word sees the man’s wounds close and his colour return before his eyes.
Kelnor asks Yessica ‘Are they a common problem around here? I'm not sure we want another encounter like that any time soon!’
‘Not common, though I have seen them before. They're more usually found in Cormanthor, to the east. For them to be nesting here suggests these lands are not as well cared for as once they were...’ she falls silent and gazes into the distance, considering the thought.
Artus lays his hands on Kelnor and, uttering a few holy words, his hands start to emit a golden glow and Kelnor feels their warmth as his strength returns. Gaerfinas boards the boat again and, now healed, the woodsmen work swiftly to free the barge from the sandbank and pull themselves aboard as the current begins to quicken around them.
The group huddle in quiet conversation, sharing some brief details of their stories and getting to know one another better. Gaerfinas explains that he and Kelnor had known one another in the past, having served together in Lord Morn’s army. Kelnor confirms this with a grunt but does not elaborate, not seeming to wish to discuss it. The brief awkwardness is ended when Yessica joins the group to explain that the incident with the stirges had delayed them, and they would now not reach Turnfork until after nightfall. She pauses, then warns the party that the inn might be unlike anything they have encountered before, somewhat rougher and more wild, for want of a better term.
Yessica explains that Turnfork is neutral ground. Even during the uprising, the owners refused to declare allegiance to either Lord Morn or the Zhentarim, and continued to offer their services to all who could pay.
As darkness falls, a glow in the distance resolves itself into a large building with golden light spilling from every window, and a small quay alongside with a number of boats docked. The woodsmen expertly pilot the barge alongside the quay and tie it up, and the party disembark. Prompted by Kelnor, Rania studies the other boats but cannot see one which resembles that used by the two men to flee Deepcut. Yessica turns aside and speaks to a man at the head of the quay. ‘We’ll need the use of a large room for the night. No funny business required.’ the man nods and hurries indoors to arrange things.
Yessica turns to the party. ‘No weapons are allowed inside Turnfork, the Purple Tunics are the only ones permitted to go armed.’ seeing the party’s quizzical looks she clarifies; ‘Guards, employed to keep the peace. The purple tunics make them stand out I suppose. You can leave your weapons on the barge, or turn them over at the guardhouse. You'll get a token of receipt and you can pick them up when we leave.’ Leaning closer, she adds in a low voice, ‘If you’ve something small you’d do well to keep it handy. They only check for large weapons and you never know what might happen in a place like this.’ Straightening up, she approaches the guardhouse and hands over her weapons, receiving a token in return. The party hand over their more obvious weapons - receiving a numbered token each - and follow Yessica into the inn.
The party immediately notice that the inn is indeed rowdy, but much cleaner than they had expected, and with a pleasant perfume. As the party take a table, Yessica excuses herself and Freli and they retire to the room to rest. Rania follows them up, pleading exhaustion. As the rest settle in, they glance around at the other customers. Standing out among raucous throng is a man in a dark hood sat alone nearby, intently studying something on the table before him. An air about him suggests he wishes to be left alone, and the space around him in an otherwise busy bar implies you are not the only ones to sense this.
A woman approaches the table. Her dress and her confidence belie her importance, and she introduces herself as Mistress Ghislaine, the Master of Ceremonies. Clearly once a great beauty, her face now shows the faint lines of too many years, and her hair seems a shade too dark, presumably dyed to hide any encroaching grey hair. She seems friendly and happy to talk.
Ghislaine tells the group she hasn’t recently seen anyone answering to the descriptions of the two men who fled Deepcut. However, she confesses to knowing a man with a hook for a hand -- she calls that a rare sight. However, she turns cold at that and becomes curious why anyone would be asking about this person. Kelnor soothes her suspicions and quickly changes the subject. Rio describes the encounter with the stirges, and with the fortune teller. Mistress Ghislaine seems more interested in the latter, explaining that ‘River Folk aren’t allowed in the inn, they distract the customers.’ She agrees with Rio’s suggestion that something should be done to warn travelers coming to the inn, and she beckons over a man who appears to be her partner to explain things to him -- presumably so he can spread the word among her staff.
After some further conversation, Mistress Ghislane appears to study the group anew. "I worry for you", she says suddenly. "There are unsavory types around, and I'd hate to see you get into trouble. I'd like to offer you the use of a private room, at no cost." The party do not sense any ulterior motive, and so take her up on her offer. She leads them to a private room and shows them in. "Your drinks and a meal will be bought through shortly. Please, enjoy yourselves and if you need anything, just ask one of the serving staff." With that, Mistress Ghislaine excuses herself and returns to her role in the main bar area.
The party make themselves comfortable, keeping one eye on the door. Soon, the door opens and servers enter carrying a tray of drinks and some food, finer than expected considering the location of the inn. The party eat and drink, refreshing themselves.
Occasionally, servers enter to clear away empty plates, and inquire if they need anything further. A servant described as a "scraggly teenager" enters who seems immediately familiar to the whole party.
After a moment of thought the penny drops, the group realize he is the shaggy-haired youth who had led them into an ambush the day before! As he turns to leave with a tray of dishes, Kelnor calls out "You there, stop!" The youth stops, and turns back to the party with a grin on his face, and a glint of mischief in his eye. If anything, he seems happy to have been recognized.
He seems happy to answer questions, though his answers are cryptic. Rio demands his true name, which he gives as ‘Twelve’. Seeing their disbelief, he smiles to himself and explains, "I have eleven elder siblings, scattered across these lands. I was the twelfth, hence Twelve."
"Are all these siblings in the same business as you, of ambushing travelers and causing mischief?" Rio asks, to which Twelve grins and nods. As this questioning continues, Kelnor casually and carefully moves to place himself between Twelve and the door.
Experience:
Artus (62)
Gaerfinas (62)
Kelnor (62+50)
Rania (0)
Rio (62+30)
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