Campaign Chronicles-6-The Interrogation and The Earthquake

View the previous chapter of the chronicles: Campaign Chronicles-5-Pact with the Thieves Guild and the Murder of Spikeblood

After Conthor (the guard) left, the adventurers returned to their respective bedrooms- or in Alderick's case, Roxanne's bedroom. Concerned for his safety, Roxanne revealed a protective item- a magic wand (The Rod of Wonder) which, when used, produced an unpredictable effect. After trying the wand out (and setting Roxanne's door ablaze), Alderick was given the wand until Roxanne needed it again. As the day wore on and no response came from the town guard, Syrin and Alderick traveled to the mayor's residence to plead Arren's case. Before they could reveal the evidence to the mayor, the mayor's attention was drawn to Alderick's new wand. Apparantly a big fan of magical items, Dwerander agreed to let Arren go for a few uses of the wand. After a few firings the mayor was suitably horrified and returned the wand- but Alderick had been transformed to nearly three times his size. Alderick left the mayor to tell Arren he was freed, and collected a suitable reward, before seeking out a gnomish mage to help reverse the wands effect. After much trial and error (and turning the gnome purple), Alderick had been restored to his normal size- though both he and Caspian had sprouted tiny plants all over their body. Returning to the inn, he met back up with Syrin, who applied his druidic knowledge to the plants growing out of Alderick, but with no success. Frustrated, Syrin examined the plants thoroughly, and left for the surrounding woods to gather materials for a 'weedkiller', which he gave to Alderick, saying it would take time to work but would remove the plants. The adventurers, having taken care of all the loose ends, settled back into the inn to wait the guards return.

Conthor finally returned with Torwar Silverstalker and several other guards, who secured the inn and set up an interrogation room in one of the rooms. One by one the adventurers were called into the room, who's only unique feature was a single candle. During his interview, Syrin admitted to taking some money from Olain Spellcheek's house to help fund the investigation. None of the adventurers admitted any knowledge of Spikeblood's death, or even a guess as to who would want to kill him (though both Alderick and Astronom accused Syrin of conspiring with the thieves guild). Finally, Shamil was brought in and, unlike the other adventurers, fell under the influence of a magical effect. Truthfully answering every question put to him, Shamil admitted to consorting with the thieves guild, and finally, to killing Spikeblood. The guards arrested Shamil, along with Syrin, but asked Alderick and Astronom to wait overnight in 'observation', and brought all four to the prison. In the prison, Astronom and Shamil were almost peaceful, simply waiting for whatever to happen. Alderick was highly upset, as Caspian had been locked into a small cage in the prison with him. Syrin, however, was unraveling- having lived in a forest all his life, he was unused to small, tight places with no view of the sky, and the fact that his bat was also caged did not help. Despite his best efforts (and spells), he was unable to escape, and finally settled into a routine of pacing back and forth in the cell, muttering about how unfair the situation was, culminating in shouting down the hall, "It was only 40 gold, and if it's that big a deal I'll give it back!" The shout attracted a guard, who told Syrin that they would take the money out of his account at the bank, but that he would still have to wait overnight along with Alderick and Astronom. Alderick began talking to the guard, asking for the release of his cat, better commendations, a change of scenery, etc. The guard soon became exasperated, and left the jail hall (followed by insults from Syrin and Alderick). A moment passed, then a lizard began a walk down the hall, static electricity visibly sparking around it. The creature shocked Alderick (who was still talking), though Syrin tried to make it a bit friendlier. After shocking Alderick into a quiet stupor, the creature left the hallway, leaving the adventurers alone. Soon after, Torwar returned and spoke with Shamil, alone, offering him a deal- spy on the thieves guild, or face charges. Shamil agreed, and the remaining adventurers were brought out and told they would be released. Though they still had questions, they were interrupted by an earthquake, and quickly fed the building before it grew unstable. After the ground settled, the team noticed a large plume of green smoke, billowing from the north. The team set out to investigate, and discovered a chasm in the earth beneath the cloud of smoke. Descending into the chasm, they discovered the source of the smoke- a vial. Corking the vial, the team investigated the chasm, and soon came under attack by zombies. After a brief skirmish, the team was victorious, and left the chasm with a pile of loot.

Returning to the town, the team was summoned to the Adventurer's Guild. Upon arriving, they were informed of membership features- such as a membership fee, ranging from a small amount of gold to a large amount of gold and a finger. After hearing the features, the team returned to Felix's inn, where Shamil, Alderick, and Syrin met Minlana Jewelfrost. In a secluded room, Minlana explained the membership requirements and features of the Thieves guild. Thoroughly upset at the change in their agreement, Syrin and Alderick were livid, until they finally came to a new agreement, still acceptable to everybody. After reaching the agreement, Minlana showed the two adventurers the shop they had procured. When they had finished looking it over, a messenger arrived to summon them back to the adventurers guild. Once everyone had arrived, they were told about a problem with lycanthropes outside the town, led by a (very happy) magic user. While information was sketchy, the adventurers agreed to take on the task, and set out to where the werewolves had last been reported. As they neared the site, they found a ramshackle hut with a werewolf inside. A brief battle resulted, and the adventurers displayed exciting new abilites- such as Syrin taking the form of a dire weasel, and Shamil stabbing the werewolf with considerable force, and annoyingly old ones- such as a wand that hurt the user's allies more than the enemy. In the end, though, the adventurers prevailed, and continued on to their destination...

Continue on to the next chapter of the chronicles: Campaign Chronicles-7-Death claims Syrin and Alderick