Fastigium

Day 8 – On our way back, we managed to rouse the possessed woman out of unconsciousness and got a few answers, however vague, from her. Her name is Mira and she is a trader from Astu Fides. We try and obtain more information from her, about the haunt, the children or the kinder catches. She can’t remember anything aside from venturing near Corona. We left her a few rations and supplies before letting her go on her way back home. As we approached the village, we were met with indignation and outright surprise. No one had thought we would make it out of there alive. The tavern master rewarded us with a round of his best ale. Afterword, we headed to the local church and asked Father Marcus what could be done about the trapped souls. He gave it some thought and prepared a ceremony that we joined in. With a sensation of light and freedom filling the entire building, the sick green light left the orbs. I swear I could see the faint silhouettes of a dozen children floating past the ceiling and towards their Eternal Sleep. With that matter settled, our band moved on to the mayor’s office for a proper reward. The man congratulated our endeavors. We were rewarded with a free carriage, a few horses, and a writ of recommendation to the city of Fastigium. He apologized that what he could offer was sparse and hardly worthy of such a deed. We wasted no time packing up or things and drew our new carriage on to the road for Fastigium. Hairy took the reins and I started my work on the grenades. The components of the flash bangs are thankfully cheap and the formula easy to replicate. And my idea for adding a load of black powder turned out marvelously. The blinding radius is slightly larger now and the close burst releases a bright and powerful flame. I’ve taken to calling these new explosives “flash fires.” We reached the gates of Fastigium after a short while. The guards stopped us for toll, but our handy writ got us out of that business. We immediately notice the Legion’s presence, their dragonborn soldiers marching the streets in fully armored regalia. A part of me ached to gum up their operations in the city or at least snag a few pieces of pricey equipment. But I needed to be sure I had income first. I’m not entirely single minded. I chose a busy pub to mingle in, and a drunk yet decorated officer caught my eye. If anyone in here would know of some work that would need done, I imagine this boozed guard would know. I introduced myself and we exchanged a few friendly words (and drinks)before I spoke of my goals plainly. He jokingly asked if I could take out Dythan, then let me in on a more realistic mission. A local gang was causing trouble towards the poorer districts. This wasn’t unusual, except the rogues were dipping their toes into murder, and that’s worth intervening immediately. Unfortunately, that territory was bottom priority to the guards. However, this man wanted to see justice no matter what. I gladly accepted and enlisted the aid of my newfound travel mates. Sneaking into the lower districts, I spotted one of the gang members based on the description the old guard. Arliim (Hairy, as I had previously called him) and i pursued him towards the gang’s lair inside the aquaduct. The man felt along the wall and entered through a secret sliding doorway. Upon approaching, a voice behind the door asked for the password. There was also a thin grate by the door, which Zedaythe and Nijall (Hissy) took this opportunity to sneak in through as an alternate entrance. The rest of us were too big for the grate, so we tried tricking the doorman into letting us in. After a few unsuccessful tries, our dragonborn companion decided to punch through the stone. Idiot. Then he tried with his other fist. And both legs. And tail. And of course he had to head butt it as well. All this accomplished was creating enough noise to rouse the entire hideout to our presence. Almost immediately, a deadly barrage came from the arrow slits set into the wall. I maneuvered enough to only get knicked by one, but the others got quite a few hits. I threw a flash fire, hoping for it to slip through and explode on the other side. It hit the wall, but the flash still stunned the archers’ staring through the slits. Good enough. Sounds of movement came from the secret door, and we prepared for whatever may come through. The door opened and Fisty launched himself through first. A shuriken is launched forward, but he does manage to deflect it. I can never tell if this dragon is highly skilled or just lucky. Most likely luck. Anyway, he breathes fire onto two doormen and that’s when we start our attack. Arliim expertly fires an arrow between one man’s armor and i slice into the other one. Sumi finishes off the first one with a wicked spear through the throat. After a time, we rendezvous with Zedaythe and Nijall before heading deeper into the aquaduct hideout. In the lowest room, we find two gunslingers. One held two pistols at the ready while the other stood firm with a long musket. Zedaythe and Fisty slink off to the side of the dark room, hoping to flank them. I rush in, launching a burst of lava into both of them and struck the musketeer with my scimitar. The duelist regained himself enough to fire at me, which hurt. A lot. Nijall shot a blowgun dart into my attacker’s jugular and he dropped dead shortly after. Zedaythe charged from the dim corner of the rim and nearly chopped the usketeer in half. He managed to fire, but it merely grazed her beautiful skin. Fisty finished him off with a series of punches. The gunfire must have alerted the archers from earlier, and they were running all around the aquaducts in a panic. Arliim managed to pin and hogtie one, a good candidate for questioning later. The gang scattered. Salvaging what we could from the bodies and the gang’s storage, we set off back to the tavern and officer, expecting a reward. He gives us a nice sum of gold coins, and I was satisfied with that. There seemed to be a legal squabble over a few items that Fisty and Nijall picked up, but I left the tavern so as not to get involved with any of that. Now that I’ve got my paycheck…what should I get into now?