Session 48: Thronehold Tour, Part 1


 * LAST TIME! We stopped at the site of a war crime on the way (Thranean army slaughtered civilians), defeated a Nightmare, and continued on to Thronehold. We eventually found our way to the Karrnathi Quarter and met Sam and Master von Pappen. We're looking for Lenora, the Queen of Aundair's handmaiden who has been captured by the Thraneans. We need to get her away from them, find out what she knows, and then make sure they can't get her again.
 * Sarienne goes up into the portable hole. Sam asks her not to mess up the ceiling.
 * Cornerio throws a pencil up into the ceiling. Sarienne immediately plucks it out.
 * Tork has risen to the occasion since the vampire thinks he's in charge and directs everyone to make sure we study our passports.
 * Sam tells us our bedrooms are upstairs. Sarienne grabs a dagger from the hole for Vesun. Vesun takes off his armor since it would be conspicuous.
 * Vesun decides to go for a stroll, Cornerio and Tork go out for a "culinary tour", and Vikrit, Mogen and Sarienne go magic shopping.
 * Vikrit, Mogen and Sarienne set off. Sarienne rolls a natural 20 to find a back-alley magic item shop and we follow someone in; they say a password, aviento.
 * Sarienne gets us in. There's an old gnomish woman with long white hair. She finishes a transaction with the previous customer, and calls us up.
 * Mogen tells her we're looking for special magic item components. Mogen buys a rose of amaranthine, then asks for centaur liver. She says she would need Mogen to come back for it.
 * Sarienne and Vikrit ask about scrolls and rings. Sarienne wants a Ring of Dex +4 and bargains her way down to 10k gold by trading in her +2 ring. Vikrit gets a Periapt of Wisdom +2 and some Gauntlets of Giantfelling.
 * Meanwhile, Tork and Cornerio have wandered around getting street food.
 * They have enjoyed some room temperature gazpacho and are walking when a male half-elf stumbles toward Tork. Tork rolls a 4 and decides he's here to make sure newcomers have a good time.
 * He smells drunk. He says, "I know you, you're Lorraine's cousin!" While he's doing this, Cornerio pretends he doesn't know Tork and moves away. 2 other people (half-elf woman and man) approach behind him. Cornerio edges away and pretends he doesn't know Tork. He pulls Tork back closer to the other two and tells him they have to catch up.
 * As he does this, he feels someone picking his pockets. Cornerio also sees this and decides not to help; he also sees someone skulking behind a statue in the nearby square. Cornerio goes to check them out when there's a loud magical explosion from the statue. There are screams of panic in the crowd and suddenly they realize there are 4 dire rats there.
 * ROLL INITIATIVE!
 * The rats scatter and run toward the crowd. Cornerio punches one. Tork magic missiles the group that robbed him and the rat attacking Cornerio. It tries to bite him again and misses; the other rats go after the crowd. Cornerio notices 2 were-rats sneaking toward market stalls and tries (and fails) to tackle one.
 * Tork demands that the half-elf woman give his pouch back; she tosses it at him and heads down an alley. He spots the 2 were-rats, who are now smashing open the money boxes from stalls. Cornerio kicks one in the ass and he hits his head--it looks like the half-elf who was accosting Tork earlier. He pulls out a rapier and Cornerio hits him hard.
 * Tork tries to take out one of the rats chasing people around with a Scorching Ray and rolls a 1, setting people's hair and hats on fire. He ducks behind the statue. Cornerio manages to dodge the stampede and another rat tries and fails to bite him; he jumps past it onto the stall and gets chomped. Cornerio runs over to the other were-rat and stomps him.
 * Tork is very embarrassed about his Scorching Ray and magic missiles 2 of the rats. Tork notices that the woman who robbed him is peering around the corner, blowing into some kind of whistle; Cornerio hears a very annoying dog whistle and the dire rats run towards her. The closer were-rat does too; Cornerio chases and runs up to her; she's now holding a rapier out threateningly.
 * Cornerio  jumps up and punches her in the throat. Tork gives himself some mage armor. The rats run past him; they appear to just be running into the alleyways, and the wererat Cornerio knocked out has been trampled.
 * The woman holds up her rapier while the other wererat runs away. "Stay back if you know what's good for you!" "I think you'll find that I don't--!" She gets a decent hit on him with her rapier. He punches (nonlethally) in response and she looks woozy and concussed. Tork heads over.
 * Cornerio asks what to do. Tork contemplates, and Cornerio says they're "even stevens" and tells her not to do it again. She takes off into the alleyways.
 * C: "Ya know, I think we're pretty good people!"
 * A merchant runs up to them and asks if they ran the thieves off. To thank them, he gives them a sack of gems. Cornerio says that if anyone asks, the great adventurer Roland saved the day and they walk away.
 * Vesun heads over to the Aundarian quarter.
 * At the border crossing, Vesun gives his fake name and starts going on in an excellent not-Italian accent about the famous whiskey he's heard about from Fairhaven.
 * The guard points him toward the market district. Vesun looks around for an acceptable inn he could stay at. He finds a quiet alley nearby and disguises himself to look skinny and bookish--like a wizard, with the symbol of the Sovereign Host.
 * He goes in to the inn and sees an elven couple carrying a lot of bags, complaining about their accommodations. He goes up to the desk, giving a different fake name, and says he was supposed to meet someone here and they're late; he wants a room to stay in in the meantime. She says there's some availability if he will put up with a communal bath, and he pays for a week in advance. He requests that he not be disturbed while in his room because he needs to study.
 * Vesun spends some time settling in, then locks the door and invisibly slips away, then makes his way back to the mansion.
 * Everyone else arrives back first. Cornerio announces that he killed a man and we shove him inside.
 * Sam rushes over to help Cornerio and bandages him up. Cornerio tells us they got attacked by vermin after Tork got robbed, and Cornerio saved the day and was rewarded (everyone immediately assumes he stole the gems). Tork says "Ronaldo" saved the day.
 * Sam says the master likes the meal to be very formal and we should be on our best behavior. The door opens and Vesun comes in. Cornerio says he lost a lot of blood, Vikrit tells him not to say the "b-word" in front of the vampire; Mogen says she's about to lose a lot too and everyone is confused.
 * Vikrit suggests before dinner we call Yanger, and wonders if we could be spied on magically. Mogen assures him no. We call and he picks up; he asks if that's Mogen, she says yes and that we're in Thronehold and asks when we arrived… suspiciously.
 * We get the sense that he's being listened to or someone else is in the room, except for Mogen, who thinks he's being passive-aggressive. Vikrit says "OH NO, IT'S BREAKING UP" and scrabbles at the cube, managing to roll a blind 19 and shut it off while Yanger is asking where we should meet up to talk. Mogen yells at him until we convince her there was someone else in the room.
 * Sam calls us to dinner. Sarienne and Mogen dress up and Vikrit displays his new necklace.
 * We behave relatively well.
 * Von Tappen arrives and gives a patriotic speech, and we all toast to gods, king and country.