I swear officer, it wasn’t me….

Midway Business….

A number of folks made their way to the Intercontinental Bazaar Caravan for the last time as word spread they were about to pack up and move on. Raifer had business with the leaders of the caravan to ensure they had a profitable time here and to discuss a business offer. He wanted to provide a free upgrade on one of their wagons, installing their new suspension system, to get feedback, have word spread of their invention and perhaps improve relations with the merchants. They were eager and very willing to accept this offer and a wagon was brought to S3 for the work to be completed.

Cade, having brokered this stop, also made his way to find out if they would plan on returning to Midway. He was told it was a unanimous decision to return as all but the meat wagon had enjoyed a huge success at this stop. The meat seller resolved to bring a variety of more unusual fare the next time they stopped here to improve his business.

Raifer and Yosh made a quick trip to pick up some Kheotum’s Ointment from the Alchemist wagon. Myla found her way to the alchemy wagon hunting for something unusual and her charms nudged the merchant to offer up box that contained Red Dragon hand bones. A very fair price was agreed upon and he bought some. She then went back to Tollemay and attempted to broker a deal for services from him in exchange for the bones. But Tollemay was not surprisingly less than cooperative and she kept the bones for future endeavors.

A new and surprising pair of individuals appeared at Midway’s open court to see SD. Two Drow elves, Mornor and Angolion, came in asking for permission to stay in Midway. They had a long and horrifying tale of how the males of the race were treated and many details regarding the gods of his people. There were details regarding the death of Llolth and some new group of gods that had take hold in their community. A more evil and hideous horror. He brought details of internal strife and upheaval that led to this new religion coming in to favor and how he and his son escaped the brutal conditions and eventually ended up in Midway. He offered his services for hire as a Greater Mage to train those in town that wanted this, if there was a need and he would be welcomed to do it. SD reiterated that Midway is open to all and had to explain a little about the concept of an open, free trade society but in the end SD welcomed them but needed to confirm a place was open and the budget of Midway could support the position. The Drow took their leave informing SD they would be camped in the Travelers Free Zone and could be found there when needed.

The presence of the Drow brought another issue to the fore regarding the ‘Squid Head’ coins in Cade’s possession and the Aboleth they destroyed in Gulfmoor. It was concluded the coins were more representative of the new gods the Drow had adopted. But the two images did not match up and it raised more questions from SD as to what the coins actually depicted. During the discussion Cade revealed he had 6 of these coins in his possession and they had some odd properties, including some mind altering effects. SD asked if he could cast a Detect Evil on the coin and Cade agreed holding the coin out in his hand. At the conclusion of the spell the coin exploded harming both SD and Cade and essentially answering and not answering the question. But the final judgment was the coin was definitely evil.

Next, Jack took SD off to the tunnels to show him where the new ore had been found. He walked him through all the areas pointing to where the chunks were extracted. Disappointingly, there was no more of the ore to be found. With that, SD convened a dinner party for all those involved in the mission to clear the tunnels. SD wanted to discuss the ore and the 180 pound blank slab they had found in the Ant Lion nest and what would be done with it. They discussed what could be done with the material and that Vora had performed a number of tests and concluded it was an ore called Arjaele. The ore had several interesting properties including the ability to hold an exceptionally sharp edge and being completely ineffective against earth based material such as rock. The odd point being this ore was supposedly unique to the lower planes of Hell. How the ore chunks found their way to the caves around Midway was an interesting question.

The blank was far more valuable than any of the group expected and as the discussion went along Vora offered each member of the group 4,000 gold for their share. Most of the group accepted the offer. Addie and Rylei came to terms to have Vora craft weapons for them using the material keeping the remaining unused portion as payment for services

New business for S3…

SD had another mission for S3. A Milk Run to the Intercities and back escorting Dante Phibes, who is on a research mission for SD. A small group was set up and organized for the trip. Raifer approached Kale and designated her as leader of the mission. He pulled her aside and gave her additional instructions regarding a side trip on the mission to pick up another box from the Wizard’s Guild in Town 14 and bring it back it back to Midway. The team was assembled and off they went. With the entire group either on horseback or in the wagon Kale made the decision to move at a slightly faster pace which would cut the travel time in half but put a little more stress on the wagon. This decision proved well founded until the party encountered a pack of wolves on the path.

The wolves were spotted off in the distance as they raced towards them. The wagon and horses were stopped and the members dismounted preparing for the attack. Jade chose as her first action to cast a Sleep spell , but it fizzled with no effect. Leonard was able to set out a Bless to cover the entire group as the wolves closed in and engaged. Bernice attempted to drop an Entangle on the wolves but it too fizzled on casting. Quite an inauspicious start for the company.

But the tide would turn as Cord and Jade loosed their arrows with deadly accuracy, knocking several of them down on a first shot. Cord also shot the pack leader, what looked to be more of a Dire Wolf than a regular wolf, with a pinpoint perfect shot. Leonard unleashed a Spiritual Whip striking yet another and Bernice was able to drop another with a sling bullet. But as they picked the creatures apart from range, Kale was the target of their best attacks, bitten hard several times at the vanguard of the battle.

Attacks were traded, shots fired as Jade dropped another and Leonard finished off on that had been knocked over. Cord effectively finished the battle as he dropped the Dire Wolf with one last shot. The remaining two wolves then tried to flee. One was cut down by Grogg as it ran and the last was able to scurry away.

The team saddled back up and moved on and made their way in to the Intercities. They entered Town 11, the first location on the trip for Dante Phibes to visit. The group went about their business and made for lodging and handling personal business. While walking through the street in a middle class area of town Bernice spotted a scrap of torn paper on the ground. She picked it up but not being literate she just pocketed the note and moved on.

While tending to his business, Cord spotted a strange figure moving swiftly and stealthily in to an alley between buildings. The figure was dressed all in white with a wrap around hood covering its face. Cord followed to see where it was going but found an empty alley. Looking around he saw nothing until he looked up spotting the figure having climbed up the side of one of the buildings and had just made it to the top of the third story and disappeared over the edge on to the roof. Cord ran out in to the street trying to spot the figure on the roof. As he scanned the area he finally caught sight of the white clad figure. It was just peaking over the roof top with a bow in hand aiming down to the street. Cord shouted out for people to look up and called for help from the police. Most of the people on the street took no notice or care for his shouts but one man stopped and turned, looking up just as an arrow pierced in to his skull. The man fell lifeless to the ground. A woman on the street shrieked in horror and began calling for police too.

A town guard heard the cries and came running. He assessed the scene, the shouting woman and Cord. Cord also called for the guard but the guard raced directly for Cord and tackled him. A brief scuffle ensued but Cord decided it was better to not argue or fight and was tied up by the guard. The woman that had called for the guards identified Cord as the man that shot the dead man pointing to the bow he had slung on his back as the weapon. Cord was taken by the guard and dropped in the local jail holding cell.

At some point, the group noticed Cord was missing. Fortunately Jade and Bernice had heard something and put the pieces together that it was Cord that had been taken away. Jade, Bernice and Angel went to the jail to see if they could help. They spoke with the jailer who informed them that Cord was up on serious charges for murder and only allowed one visitor contact. Cord was told there were visitors and decided to speak with Jade. She went in and they discussed what had gone on. Jade said they would go seek legal help for him as best they could. So with directions from the jail guard to where the court house was, off to the legal section of town they went. They looked for a lawyer for hire and found the usual law offices that lined the area around the court house except for one. One site had advertisements stating all the different infractions he represented and so they chose this lawyer.

They walked in to the office of Jimmy McGill and found no secretary but his head poked out of an interior office shortly after they came in. He was disheveled and cheaply dressed in his suit as he ran his hand through his hair to straighten it out. Everything said they should move on but they heard him out. Jimmy was an interesting lawyer that seemed more circus midway barker than legal representative. He told them of his accomplishments and how he could get the charges reduced or even dropped if they were willing to pay for it. Put off by this they three ladies left quickly in search of another representative. They scoured the other law offices and found none open or tended except one. The receptionist met them at the door and asked to confirm if they were in the organization. When they were unable to answer the receptionist quickly closed the door and retreated. With no other options left they returned to Jimmy and hired him.

Jimmy gathered up their money and said he could probably get a very reduced sentenced for this amount. He also explained this was how legal matters were resolved in this town. They were instructed to be there first thing in the morning to attend the court proceedings. They retired back to the Church of Thor and were able to obtain lodgings with the assistance of Angel, a cleric of Thor.

They returned the next day and Cord was the second case on the docket. The first went off with a wink and a nod and the defendant was excused by the judge. When Cord was brought up Jimmy stepped forward as his representative which elicited a groan from most of the court officials, including the judge. The case against Cord was solid in the eyes of the prosecutor. They had his weapon, the arrow and an eye witness that attested to the events. But that witness was not present, only a statement from her. Jimmy asked to approach the bench and stepped forward. A brief discussion that no one else could hear was held, Jimmy gesticulating wildly and often turning to point at Cord. After a few minutes Jimmy returned asking if Cord would agree to 2 weeks sentence performing civil service work. Cord agreed to tend to the animals of the town guards and a deal was struck. The three ladies went back to the church and asked if they could stay for the duration of his sentence and it was granted as long as Angel would agree to offer assistance as a cleric of Thor in exchange for the help.

Meanwhile, Kale decided to take Dante off to Town 14 where he needed to do research as well as they needed to pick up the box from the Wizard’s Guild. Their side trip was far less eventful but Kale, Grogg and Leonard were not allowed in to the main area of the Guild while Dante went about his business. Grogg went hungry and more importantly, thirsty, until they were able to get the attention of one of the Guild attendants. Food was brought and a tall stein of mead for Grogg, who was most thankful for the refreshment. The day was long as they waited, Kale annoying Grogg in ways only he could explain, until Dante returned. All together they packed up and went to a local Inn to stay for the night. The next day they went off to the library and set about waiting once again as Dante did his research. This time Grogg decided he would check in on Dante every 30 minutes or so just so he could get away from Kale for a while. Also, Kale had been provided with some paper and pencils with which to draw. And draw she did presenting a depiction of their side mission to Grogg, who was less that overwhelmed by the image. Dante finished he work at the library but told them there was one more stop he needed to make to a hermit sage’s location. Kale informed the Wizard’s Guild they would return for the box. And off they went to this last location.

With this work done they went back to Town 11 to reunite the group only to find they needed to wait another 10 days for Cord to finish his sentence. So in order to make the most of their time Kale took everyone except for Angel back to the Guild to collect the box so they could leave as soon as Cord was released. The group would stay at the Inn in Town 14 and return the day he was able to leave. Angel spent her time helping the sick and wounded in Town 11, many of whom she found to be running from the local law to avoid situations like where Cord found himself. She heard many stories of corruption that included the guards, lawyers, judges and most likely the town council and mayor as they lived lush, opulent lives. Cord found his sentence quite bearable tending to the horses used by the town guards. The material, lodgings and supporting items used to manage the horses were all top notch. Apparently some of the ill gotten funds were spent here.

When his 2 weeks were up they released Cord and his belongings except for most of his money and one of his scimitars. Unhappy but willing to move on he decided to not argue this point. The wagons returned and they mounted up to leave until it was revealed the group had yet another box from the Wizard’s Guild to transport. He had serious issues with this development and the group talked long about this part of the job and why they were not told. Kale informed them this was a direct order from Raifer and he expected her to follow his orders to the letter. Eventually they agreed to keep moving, mounted up and prepared to leave town.

Cord had made his notes on exactly who he would take revenge against…. Someday…

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