1991.06.14
Revenge Week (RP)
By Matthew Sibole
You are in the war room of Malagant’s mansion. He had one of his studies converted to a private meeting place for his “special forces”. It was fully equipped with equipment lockers for the non-resident fighters, some sparring pads, and minutely detailed maps of all the known parts of Rimule tacked up on two of the four walls. He also had a separate entrance created with a dedicated guard so the team could come and go as they like without needing access to the rest of the residence. There were also cots for when the strategy sessions, or celebration sessions, went too long into the night.
Right now you are here alone. Malagant is out of the city on business of the state, he is making an official appearance at the Baron of Cairfawn’s birthday party. He has taken a contingent of Talon guardsmen to try his hand at the Lance boards again. Hopefully it goes better than some months ago when he was defeated by the young officer Sivora Landrin. Dycannus is at the temple visiting with Shandall as he does every morning that there is not something more pressing. You are reviewing some details on your last excursion, studying each member’s performance for improvement when there is a knock at the door. You answer to see Drake the guard with a concerned expression.
“Sir Valestis” (although you are not a knight, people still insist on addressing you as such)
“I think you should come with me. There is trouble at the Swaggering Swine. A passer-by saw someone turning over tables and yelling at Raven.”
You follow him on foot to the bar. There is no one coming in and out. Peering through a window, you see that there has been some destruction going on.
As you go inside there is no sign of Raven or Tia. Tia is not supposed to work until tonight, so you don’t fear for her safety. Raven, however, lives just above the Swine and is always around. Sometimes you wonder if she is part elf, needing just 4 hours of meditation instead of 8 hours of sleep.
If you call out to her, a man enters from the kitchen. He has a scar down his right cheek. His hair is jet black and falls to just over his eyes. He wears the crescent moon badge, but his is not silver, it is gold. He must be some kind of officer. If you go on a search, you find the burglar finishing up emptying the lock box into a large sack.
“Ah, good. The police have arrived. Too bad your baron took all of your reinforcements with him to Cairfawn. You are the aasimar, aren’t you? The one who has been giving our foot soldiers so much trouble. Well you’ve saved me some time. It’s payback week and you were next on my list.”
If you want to persuade him away from a fight, it is not possible, he’s been paid to teach you a lesson.
Rogue
Ranger 2 / Rogue 8
INI: +7
AC: 18 (Base = 10, Dex = 3, Leather Armor +2 = 4, Ring of Protection +1 = 1)
HP: 58
ATT: Masterwork Long Sword +8 / +3; Masterwork Short Sword +8
DMG: 1d8 +2 / 1d8 +2 / 1d6 + 2; Sneak Attack +4d6
ST: Fort +4, Ref = +9, Will= +2
STR 14, DEX 16, CON 14, INT 16, WIS 10, CHA 16
Feats: Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus: Long Sword, Weapon Focus: Short Sword, Two Weapon Fighting, Expertise, Dodge, Evasion, Uncanny Dodge (Dex to AC and can’t be flanked)
After he defeats you, he bends down over your body. He takes a piece of cloth from your sleeve and wipes the blood from his smaller blade and sheaths it.
“I bet you’re wondering what happens now, eh paladin? What did I do to the bar wench before you got here. What will I do now that there is no more help coming? What will I do to the lovely lass with those pretty pearl earrings? Well, that is strictly up to me now, isn’t it? Tell Kelemvor I said to add another one to my list.”
You feel a sharp pain under your ribs, and then pass out. You dream of death, seeing a bright light and then your wife and son. He has grown to be a man in the afterlife, dressed in blindingly sterling armor. He is a paladin, taking on the family line. Your wife is beautiful. Her long black hair, those dark eyes, her pearl earrings… that is not your wife. She had lighter features. That is Tiara all grown up. She smiles at you and embraces you. You feel her wet tears on your face, and then you wake.
You open your eyes suddenly. You are in Raven’s bed in the apartment atop the inn. Tia is over you, touching your face and crying very hard. Her eyes are very red and her cheeks look as if a river has passed over them. In the doorway is Raven, her nose has a ring of dried blood on the inside and her face is badly bruised. She is also smiling at you, but has to cover her face and leave the room quickly. Then you see the answer to the question, “why aren’t I dead.” You see Dycannus.
“We though we lost you, pal.” He says, choking up. “Must have been a hell of a mob to take you down. Raven only saw their leader. He knocked her around pretty hard asking questions about you. She didn’t tell him anything, but he already seemed to know it all. She managed to keep her virtue. Just as he was getting around to it, he was distracted by something. I guess that something was you.” (Add 200 xp for saving Raven; Dycannus gets 200 xp for saving you)
“After you went inside, Drake came to get me. We got here after the fight was over. Whoever they were, they decided to flee before we could get here. I suppose that was a good thing too, or else we all might be laid up in this bed. Drake thought you were dead, but when I cast everything I had at you, you began to sputter. I don’t think you had too much more time.”
You look over at your hand and notice the white gold ring that Malagant gave you is still on your forefinger. You wonder if the rogue tried to take it. No, he must have just left you for dead. You know that is probably what kept you alive long enough for Dycannus to find you. The temple is all the way across town and it would have taken Drake at least 20 minutes to make it back with help. The fight was over in seconds.
After you tell your story, Drake tells you that his power was enough to stabilize you, but you need to stay in bed for another day. Raven is back and she tells you that you are not to move and she is going to bring you something to eat right away. Before she leaves, she crossed the floor and kisses you on the forehead. “You saved my life, darlin’.” Then she begins to tear up again and leaves. Tia is holding your hand under the blanket and refuses to leave your side. Dycannus says he is going to call the guard over to post a watch outside for everyone’s sake, and then ask Shandall to come by and see if there is anything more she can do to make you comfortable.
You awake the later in the night and see Tia asleep on the same chair she sat in until you fell asleep. Her little ass must be breaking. Raven at least put a blanket over her. You think of getting up to help her into bed with you, but you lack the strength to make it that far. The wounds must have been graver than you thought. You struggle your way up and feel a rush to your head. It passes and you feel some strength coming back. You get your feet on the floor and scoop up the girl. She feels like a feather. You settle her into bed. She still has small trails from the salty tears she cried for you. You slide her over and lie down next to her. She immediately moves toward your body heat. You put an arm under her head and drift off.
When you wake, Tia is gone. The blanket she was using is neatly folded and some of your clothes lay on top of it. You get dressed and go downstairs. It is the early afternoon. You know this because your ranger friend is sitting down having his breakfast of ham and eggs. He looks up at you and grins.
“I seem to be rubbing off on you in some good ways.” He says. “Heard you had some trouble yesterday.”
He kicks out a chair, offering you a seat. Raven is busy with some customers, but sees you and gives you a “what are you doing out of bed” look. You look at the doorway and see the red caped Talon guardsmen at the door and another two that must have just finished their shift sitting down to a meal.
“Can’t believe they hit this place, man. I see more of those guys in here than I do in the marketplace. Our Raven must have gotten stingy with the protection money since she has all her new tough friends around.”
“This isn’t my first turn through this place. It’s revenge week. The guild takes out its anger this week against its foes. Too bad it’s not the same week every year. It’d be easier to stop. Last time through, there were a couple of robberies and three murders in a week’s time. Then it stopped and it was back to petty crimes. I guess this puts the fear of the guild into everyone.”
As you finish talking, a fifth guardsmen walks to the front. He talks to the two on duty and one nods inside. He sees you and walks over.
“Sir, I have some news. It seems the same attacker that struck here has struck again. One of the blacksmiths. His assistant is out of town. He didn’t open and when the tent was searched he was found inside. They took him to the temple for medical attention.”
You rush to the temple to see it is as you feared. Unron is lying on the ground in front of the alter. Shandall’s robe is folded under his head, already seeping with blood. She has her eyes closed and is chanting low under her breath. Dycannus is standing nearby. After she finishes speaking she takes up his hand. There is no movement. Unron is dead.
“Son of a Balrog must pay!” Dycannus screams. He kicks the front pew so hard it rocks back and forth five times before settling to the ground again. Two other Talon guardsmen are there and they remove their helmets and put them to the side. Shandall closes Unron’s eyes and puts a hand on his heart.
“Rest well, my friend. A fine workshop awaits you. Your orders have all been filled here. Now you will fashion fine weapons for the gods.”
That’s two, you think. Two attacks. Two days. Both having to do with you.
You can order guards to watch the temple, but Shandall will refuse. “I can take care of myself and these men are needed to protect the citizens who are helpless.”
Dycannus chooses to stay with the priestess. You look at her and she nods at you. You feel that she can protect him. You do not know the extent of her power, but you do feel the overwhelming confidence in her.
If you go to Tarin, he takes you seriously, but will not accept help.
“It may be a bad time to know you, but I don’t step back when my allies are threatened. If it will make you feel better, I will disappear for a while, but I ain’t going to hide away in some mansion behind a wall of suicide puppets.”
If you want Tia to move into the mansion, she agrees. The butler says that he can have additional bedding brought to your room if you request it.
You try to think of anyone else who may be in danger. What if it is not just about you? What if you were just first? Then a cold chill travels down your back… what if you weren’t first?
A sweep of the marketplace finds the rest of the regular merchants accounted for except one. He is an alchemist who sells mostly potions that enhance ones fortitude or agility for contests of strength. They are illegal in official games, but the underground matches allow them for better shows. A search of his home reveals a struggle and you find scattered small coins lying around. If you bring in Tarin and he didn’t leave town at your request, a DC 15 (100xp) search check will find blood under the bed. If it is anyone else, it will take a DC 20 (150xp) check. He deduces that the killing took place there and the bed was moved. Only someone who had been in there previous to the murder would have known it was in the wrong place. The tragedy of his death is crossed with the relief that you had no prior dealings with this man.
So that’s three attacks. Maybe four if you count Raven and yourself as two although they happened in the same day. Does Revenge Week mean seven attacks? Will there be three more or just more in the next three days?
If you decide to send a rider to Cairfawn, it will take six days to get a message there and back, and that is at breakneck speed. If you try to get reinforcements from another land, it will take as long for the message to get there as it will for the attacks to stop. You know you are ill equipped to handle this. If you ride it out, continue.
You return to the inn with a contingent of guards to find Tia’s room ransacked. You know she is safe, but she was definitely targeted. A look into Tarin’s room also shows damage. Hopefully the ranger left town before the attacker raided the room. They are targeting you, but with Unron gone, Raven and Tia at the mansion, Tarin gone, and Shandall watching over Dycannus, there should be no more people for them to attack. You know that others are in danger, but how can you find out who they are?
If you ask around the marketplace, no one is forthcoming with information. No black hoods are wandering the market. Not even the trail leading from the city to the dock. Also, strangely, there are no shipments taking place this week. It seems like everyone seemed to know this was coming. Everyone except you, that is. Word that you’d been nearly killed swept over the marketplace, but your appearance now put most of that to rest. Then, when passing by a tailor that makes silk shirt for the baron, you see him. Same hair, same eyes, same scar. He spots you. Surprisingly, he walks over to you.
“Fancy meeting you here, Valestis. I thought the last time was the last time, if you know what I mean. I assume you are not going to draw that sword. We wouldn’t want you to go down before your healer friend can arrive and save you again. And we wouldn’t want any bystanders to get killed in the melee. Why don’t we get a drink?”
“A name, no Valestis. I don’t think so. I don’t offer my employers a name, so why should I you? It sickens me to have to wear their insignia while doing their deeds, but everyone has their fetishes. Your girl should know. Sometimes the tricks like it when you dress up.”