Kriv, Kava, and Jaden are sitting in a tavern, relaxing and drinking. They see a half-elf woman dressed in glittering chainmail walk in. Kriv notices right away that she bears the holy symbols of Bahamut. The woman sees them immediately and walks over to them, stopping in front of Kriv and Kava. Looking between them a little hesitantly, she asks which one is Kriv. Kriv identifies herself, and the woman introduces herself as Maivera, another cleric of Bahamut. "I have been looking for you," she says, "and you have been looking for me, so I am glad we have found each other."
Maivera sits down and they buy her a drink. She tells them that she is one of Qualion's old band, and that yes, they robbed Vondal, that she is one of the ones they've been looking for. She explains that back in the day, the five of them (Qualion, Erevan, Solveliss, Dayman, and herself) were a band of theives, angry at the world and out to cut a piece of it for themselves. They were hired by a Warfoged who called himself Vizen (Maivera says she has come to doubt that that was his name) to rob Vondal and keep half of it for themselves. (When questioned as to why they didn't just take it for themselves, Maivera explains warily that none of them wanted to mess with Vizen.)
DM's note: I meant to say that Vizen told them a secret passageway that allowed them to get in and out, as well as instructions as to how to defeat Vondal's security. He made the theft very easy, did all the preliminary work, which is why he was able to demand half the take.
After the theft, they all went their seperate ways; Erevan and Soveliss settled here in Summercrest, Maivera herself went to Urlsav, a city far from here, and Dayman just disappeared, and she doesn't really know where he is. At this point, Kriv comments that Soveliss is dead, so that leaves only Dayman to track down. Hearing this, though, Maivera's face blanches and she had to excuse herself. Upon returning, it is clear that she had been crying. She apologies for her behavior; she and Soveliss were close once and it had shocked her to hear that he was dead (they hadn't had any contact for the last couple of years).
After regaining her composure, Maivera explains that while living in Urlsav, she realized there was more to life, and that there were better ways to influence the world, and she eventually devoted herself to a life as a cleric of Bahamut. Soveliss, she says, a few years ago, went through something of a 'mid-life crisis' where he began to feel some guilt and remorse for the way things had happened all those years ago, and was going to go back to Elslein and pick up his life to some extent. That was the last she'd heard of him; "I guess he never made it," she mourns. The party lies to her and says that he died quickly and painlessly.
Maivera expresses concern over Erevan; he has grown in magical power far more quickly that she would consider normal. She worries that dark pacts have been made. The party tells her of their experiences in his home and particuarly in his dungeon, feeling her assesment is probably right. With this new information, they begin to think about how their plans must now change.
At Kriv's suggestion, Jaden and Kava go to attend to the psuedodragons while Kriv and Maivera retire to Kriv's room in the inn. Maivera addresses Kriv almost reverently, telling her that a week ago, she was meditating and praying to Bahamut when she actually had a vision of the Dragon God! "He said to me that you have a purpose in this far greater than you know. He said, 'A great evil gathers, and I will guide her to defeat it. You will guide her and in time, she will guide you.'” Maivera says that she has to believe that it is all interconnected somehow - Vizen, their quest from Vondal, and the great evil that gathers. Kriv agrees, and they spend some time praying to Bahamut for guidance. Nothing specific comes, but they feel more refreshed and in-tune with their diety from the experience.
The party comes all back together after dinner that night; Rougi returns from Erevan's manor, and is introduced to Maivera. There is an instant dislike between them. The group catches Rougi up to speed, and then a long discussion ensues as to what their next course of action should be. It is agreed that they should include Vizen in their list of people to seek out, but they cannot agree as to whether they should try to capture Erevan first, and then think about Vizen, or try to get to the bottom of the Vizen story first. In the end, it is decided that Erevan will be easier to deal with, and they are already right here.
The party secludes themselves in the woods near Erevan's house, while Rougi goes back in and returns to his fake studying. After a delay, they send Maivera in to attempt to draw Erevan out so he can be captured. She returns after only a few minutes though, saying that he is too paranoid and suspicious to leave his home. So a new plan is hatched: Kriv will use her ritual book to cast Animal Messenger on one of the psuedodragons, which will take the message to Rougi that Maivera has gone into the house to visit with Erevan and distract him while Rougi searches the third floor of the house. Maivera carries another one of the pseudodragons with her, sleeping and invisible, as an 'alarm' if things go bad.
Rougi is sitting the library when the pseudodragon bursts through the full-length windows, lands at this feet, and speaks the message to him in perfect Common. He tries to grab it, but it flies off before he can. He then hears Maivera's and Erevan's voices passing by the library moving to another part of the house. Rougi siezes the opportunity and quickly makes his way up to the third floor. He begins inspecting all the rooms. Most of them contain none-too-secretive things; he does find a room of spell components and palms a few vials of magic dust. He finds one room that looks and smells as if dark rituals have taken place in it; the bones of a large animal are scattered on the floor. He does not linger there. The next room he comes to is a supply room. Most of the items in it are mundane, but to his great delight he finds a pair of Dimension Shackles! He also pockets a valuable-looking wand.
It is at this point that a loud crash comes from the first floor of the house. On the third floor, Rougi hears it and decides to make his way down to the second floor in a great hurry. Out in the forest, the rest of the party hears it (the enchanted pseudodragon has long since returned to them) and Jaden decides to sneak up and see what is going on. Jaden reaches the house as Maivera storms out the main door, absolutely furious. Erevan, apparently, had said some of the same condescending and racist things to her that he had taunted the party with in the dungeon. She is particuarly incensed that he said that to serve as a cleric is a waste of time and that the only worthwhile pursuit is to be a wizard and study magic. She cannot believe how horribly racist and demeaning he has become.
On the second floor, the door to the room Rougi is in is wrenched open and there stands Erevan. He is very suspicous, and demands to know if he has been on the third floor. Rougi says he hasn't - he tells something of the truth, saying a pseudodragon burst into the house and he has been chasing it, but it just got away. Erevan is clearly still wary of his young apprentice, but he accepts this story, albiet with some reluctance. Rougi then makes a hasty exit, saying he will return to his reading after he has gotten a drink. He descends the stairs under Erevan's untrusting eye.
In the forest, the party and Maivera are having a heated discussion as to what to do now. Maivera is still furious and says she is all for going back in there and knocking his head in and dragging him back to Vondal in chains. Kriv hopes they can find a more peaceful solution, while Jaden and Kava don't see anything that can be done, fearing there is no way to overpower him, seeing as how he used a magical ward last time. Upon hearing this, Maivera says that she thinks ritual like that had to be applied on an ad hoc basis and take several minutes to cast, so if they go right now, he should be vulnerable. The discussion does not end there, but before time runs out the party decides to attack Erevan's house.
They rush the door, only to have Erevan burst out. He demands to know what they want and what they are doing here. Maivera does not waste time or mince words; she rushes up to Erevan and swing at him with her mace. A short intense battle follows; Kriv is able to immobilize the wizard, and after a dazing hit from Kava, they are able to clap him in the Dimensional Shackles and some mundane rope, which effectively takes him prisioner.
With Erevan down, Jaden and Rougi rush into the house, intent on looting and plundering. Kriv watches them go at it with a heavy heart; Maivera tries to console her with the sentiment that that is just how the world works sometimes. To placate her, they say they will let her be the treasurer over the loot gleaned from the house.
Rewards
- You each recieve 600 experience points (XP)
- You each recieved 1,310 gp from the sale of the items you found in Session 7; if you did not add that into your 'bank accounts' during the game, be sure to do so.
- The wand that Rougi stole is a Level 6 Magic Wand (p. 242 PHB)
- Their looting also discovered a Level 5 Flaming Greataxe (see p. 234 PHB, Flaming Weapon)
- Rougi and Jaden, on raiding the storage room on the 3rd floor, found a complete set of spell components for each of the following rituals: Animal Messenger, Arcane Lock, Comprehend Language, Cure Disease, Detect Object, Detect Secret Doors, Discern Lies, Disenchant Magic Item, Drawmij’s Instant Summons, Endure Elements, Eye of Alarm, Hallucinatory Creature, Hallucinatory Item, Hand of Fate, Linked Portal, Magic Circle, Magic Mouth,Make Whole, Phantom Steed, Raise Dead, Remove Affliction, Secret Page, Sending, Shadow Walk, Silence, Speak with Dead, Tenser’s Floating Disk,Travelers’ Feast, Water Breathing, Water Walk, and Wizard's Sight. The whole lot is worth 4, 240 gp. (This includes the vials Rougi palmed.)
- Erevan's manor contained a large number of mundane items that are common to large households and not particuarly valuable by themselves, but collectively worth a good amount. The whole collection of these items weighs about 100 lbs. and would fetch 800 gp on the open market (they're the kind of things there is no black market for - old books, furniture, clothes, etc.)
