[Spoilers Episode 9]
[Spoilers Episode 9]
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Episode 9: The Prisoner in the Attic
Last time we began in a plaza on The Crest, buildings blazing, flames flickering high into the winter night. I (the character, not the me) watched horrified as Grawnoth was stabbed and fell before his assailant disappeared in a curl of smoke. The kobold dropped to all fours and dashed towards the stricken Antiqua, passing Kelnys (Wildshape-d into a 'larger than average' black cat). As I reached Grawnoth, he smelled a mineral, metallic smell where the smoke from the assassin still lingered in the air.
Brunhilda arrived and cradled the Antiqua's body, a healing potion doing nothing to bring the dwarf back. Soon Dolly, Endellion, and Kelnys (back in his true form) began to figure out an escape as I leapt up the walls of the plaza and tried to spot the diminutive assassin as they fled. He was met by upturned faces as those in The Deal watched flames bloody the sky. A group of guards headed up to fight the fire. As I returned with what he had learned, Dolly insisted that fleeing the scene was the best course of action.
Meanwhile, Raidion was investigating the final at the end of the row (already burning, thanks to Endellion's efforts) he made his way inside, briefly battling with a pair of blood-sucking surges (D4 reference?) before (driven by growing whispers from his mysterious deck of cards) he attempted to use the deck as kindling, casting a fiery Chromatic Orb before the deck reflected the damage of the spell back at him. I (who had gone searching for Raidion so that the party could escape together) spotted the wizard as flames licked up his chest. The kobold leapt into action dampening the flames and dragging Raidion into the shadows.
As Dolly, Kelnys, and Endellion scurried into Grawnoth's estate, I cast Silent Image to create a large ornamental plant pot, which obscured he and Raidion from the guards. They (Dolly, Kel, Endel) hurriedly arrived on the plaza as Brunhilda (still holding Grawnoth's body) gave orders to the guards. I created the sound of screaming from the far buildings allowing the party to sneak away.
Wearing I's Cloak of Many Fashions Raidion attempted to pass as a guard but was pushed from pillar to post by Brunhilda and the other guards before he eventually made his way to join the others on the walkway.
Together you fled The Crest as the sky burned and decided to head for the one place you felt you could hide until things blew over; Casper's hideout.
On arriving, Endellion caused the wall to fade and you were struck by a familiar metallic smell. I recognized it as the aromas in the smoke after the disappearance of Grawnoth's assailant and as you descended the stairs, you were met by Medea. Scrawling in a book, her face streaked with blood, sat amongst the bodies of Casper, Juno and Goff. You battled with Medea in the cellar, Dolly forced to attack her companions (though Endellion restored the tiefling to her senses by slamming her head into a crate). I (falling for the first time before being brought back by Kelnys) and with the help of Calum the Wolf, a first successful use of Hypnotic Gaze (by Raidion), and an imaginative use of Medea's prized murder journal, you eventually bested the halfling.
Studying the journal, Kelnys learned that Medea had been keeping Rasheed, a dwarf, captive in the apothecary. You searched the bodies of the dead, finding a set of Goggles of the Night, a Perfume of Bewitching and clutch of expired potions. This done, you settled down to take a rest before I (the character not the me) crucially took a dagger to the eyes of Medea.
That is where we are now, fire still flickering in the grate. The bodies have been rolled up in bed rolls and pushed to one side. It is quiet. It is still. The blood staining the flagstones around you.
