Session 16 - Monsters In The Chapel

"Orzu spins on a tavern bar stool"

I'm sure the rest of the guild are aware by now but early in our quest to investigate the chapel, we captured a necromancer!  How I hear you ask... well obviously Mr Chips 'suggested' he may want to cuddle the nearest tree for a few hours... typical Aarakocra tactics duhhh.

We then quickly dispatched the rabble accompanying him.  He seems to be connected with poisoning the forest and was carrying a map of the island to the east.  Once we finish interrogating him can someone please remember to peck/pull/smash out the gold teeth of this forest enemy, so that we may put them to better use.

So anyway, we continued to the chapel ...."/clock chimes in the background"... ahh look at the time, I'm going to be late for my meeting with Mr Grey.

"Orzu runs out the door" shouting behind him "and don't worry I did find a diamond!!"

...

This must be the man you all carried back into town strapped to a tree trunk?

He was furious. But couldn't understand a word he was saying, he was gagged. Still is. He's in a cell in Sanctuary, making all the guard's nervous. I believe that Beatnik, a friend of the Guild currently working as a watchman, is currently watching over him. 

Beatnik tells me the man's name is Mage Clay. He used to be a royal appointed mage in Neverwinter but he poisoned half the royal court, stole the royal jewels and fled to the Forged Lands.

Unlike the other guards, Beatnik seems confident in dealing with this man. Says they have a "history". This history seems to make Clay fearful.

The way I see it we might be able to ransom this man back to the Neverwinter royal families.

The thug that was arrested alongside Mage Clay, a bodyguard of his, is squawking like a canary, saying he has info about a necromancer leader named Malthus Darkborne.

What do you all want to with these two prisoners?

I say we exile the prisoners. Send them away from Sanctuary for the authorities on the mainland to deal with. We risk attracting those foul Necromancers here if we keep them in town.

This island teems with threats. On our routine mission to clear the monsters from the chapel south of Sanctuary, we discovered that vampires and their awful vampiric spawn have come to the Forged Lands. The spawn has infected the plants and animals around the chapel turning them into snarling beasts. Worse yet, the vampire - the Master - is an old friend of Jurathor's.

I learned something about the allure of love on this adventure. Poor Hugo was as much a prisoner of his love for David as David was a prisoner of his vampiric nature. Hugo was keeping his husband, the vampire spawn, locked in the basement of his renovated chapel and was feeding him blood from kidnap victims (including my pal Dolan Mir who is resting up with me until he feels well enough to travel and sell again). Love is more complex than I had thought.

Love is a powerful magic indeed.