Session 31 - Mar 5th

The Greywood Carpenters Brotherhood

The party arrived at Greywood Carpenters Brotherhood — also colloquially the Brotherhood. Founded by dwarves, now also accepts humans and half-elf apprentices.

• Set on a major shipping canal.
• 3-story timber and stone construction.
• First floor has the massive communal workshop, scaffolding projects, furniture, etc.
• First floor also has a communal dining hall.
• Second and third floors have communal rooms for guild members.

Adrik welcomed the party in. Cisco asked what sort of work he does and Adrik says to the markets for Cisco. Adrik brought the party to his room.

• “It’s not too much, but should be naked-o for tonight!”
• Literally nothing but a single sheet on the ground, and various rags and clothes.
• A lot of space — it’s clearly a beat-down or one of the larger rooms.

The party entered and got comfortable. Adrik asked if they were new in town and what their purpose was.

• Cisco mentioned Ruasar’s potential search for a temple and general work.
• Lorien mentioned his first time in the city in a while.
• Cisco is trying to make his spot comfy with rags and such from his bag.

Adrik’s history

Adrik mentions not having a lot of faces from Brackenford. The party explains. Adrik mentions dealing with hags way in the past.

• Adrik tries to be a good man and is happy to help.
• Short blip in his life (battle?) ancient 20 years ago — could be more.
• Cisco asks how old, now Adrik says he could have known Cisco’s grandfather or his great-grandfather.
• Lorien asks why Adrik thought, what brought Adrik on the old continent.
• He once came from a mining town.
• Settling here and helping the locals was a good use of his talent.
• Cisco wryly observes Adrik is one well within the empty tin spoon — good use of his talent.
• Adrik says he doesn’t know much and Lorien hosted Alric’s spirit.

Overview of Greyhaven

Adrik gave a city-level lay of the land:

• Extremely old riverside metropolis.
• Three river ways meet here.
• Thick walls.
• Entry/exit is regulated.
• Restricting new entrants. Various reasons given as to why:
  • Infrastructure strain.
  • Security concerns.
  • Trade rebalancing.
  • No consistent explanation.

Factions

The party also got an overview of the major civic factions:

Civic Assembly

• Currently the most visibly governing power.
• Maintains authority over citizenship.
• High Magistar — a non-electable position, the registrar.
• Oversees the Grand Ledger, which functions like the city’s constitution / sacred book.
• Elected bureaucrats who run things like records, sanitation.

River Compact

• Controls river shipping, dock security, taxes, etc.
• They hate undocumented immigrants who drive up prices.
• Oversees movement of goods.

Grey Wardens

• The city guard.

Gilded Watch

• Private guards employed by the River Compact and other rich merchants and noble houses.
• People feel they fill a role that the Grey Wardens fail to fulfill.
• Ostentatiously privileged individuals.
• Seen as thugs by the general population.
• Many subfactions.

Social strata

• Inscribed — high strata, important. Maintain multigenerational family trees. Generational wealth. Most powerful houses. Rivals legitimate government due to their wealth.
• Accounted — middle class. Craftsmen, clerks, soldiers, maybe government workers. Adrik for example.
• Lapsed — maybe no documentation. Lost by the city.
• Unaccounted — lower class. Sizable but ignored population. Adrik tries to help. He cares profoundly due to their socioeconomic inequality.
• Crime happens but is taken care of promptly — it is a safe city.
• The party have visas so they can come and go with Adrik.
• Safest city Adrik has ever lived in.

Lorien shows Adrik the Heart

Cisco wondered about a job solution for Lorien’s chest situation.

Lorien solemnly knocked through the story:

• Explained the danger and asked if there was anywhere he could become helpful that could help him.
• Mentioned the worst downside of innocent souls and screams when Lorien goes down.

Adrik solemnly knelt through the story.

• Said that’s an incredible burden to bear.
• No experience with this, but Adrik has connections.
• Asked to inspect it, and Lorien agreed.
• Lorien is afraid and takes off his breastplate.
• Adrik places his hand on his chest and casts Hand of Healing — Adrik is a monk and can cast it.
• Lorien takes 7 points of damage (he takes damage from healing — undead-tinged due to the Heart).

Adrik immediately apologizes.

Plans for tomorrow

Elijah asked about tomorrow’s plan.

• Lorien will work in the shop.
• In the evening, Cisco will be introduced to a smith.
• Elijah and Fernie will lay low in the room, given the lack of dragonborn in the city.

A commotion downstairs

The party heard commotion and boisterousness from the first floor.

Adrik is concerned. He excuses himself and says he’ll handle it, but offers to let the party come down if they want a show of help. They pin him and notice obvious decoration extravagantly — or lack thereof.

Downstairs, the party finds Thrain — the guildmaster.

• Thrain is not happy with the wood, claiming it was grown in wet soil.
• Thrain calls Adrik over to inspect the wood.
• Adrik uses carpenter’s tools to inspect the wood.
• Identifies the strain and sees while growth may imply rapid growth and therefore softwood rather than strong oak near Brackenford.
• Also sees faint scrape marks where another certification stamp was removed.
• Adrik thinks it was tampered with.

Adrik brings the human carpenter who’s dealing with the order — an apprentice — and asks if there is anything wrong with the stamped tube. He has no idea. Adrik tells him he should have an escort when picking up the order.

• Asks where he picked up the order.
• From the usual people at “Hougal” place — Drogon.

Adrik tells Master Thrain that it isn’t the apprentice’s fault and says we will go to our assignments tomorrow. Cisco doesn’t really understand what the argument is about today. Adrik takes the manifest and complains to Cisco about the demise in quality from some supplies.

Vaughn the Deputy Surveyor

As the party leaves, a familiar face to Adrik appears — Deputy Surveyor Vaughn.

• Adrik wishes he didn’t know him.
• Vaughn wants to know they are shipshape for the repairs.
• Clearly the lord wood is for this project.
• Adrik says he is on an errand and calls Thrain out.
• Thrain is pissed but tries to collect himself.
• Thrain and Vaughn bicker back and forth on the project, and Thrain brings Vaughn away as a distraction.
• Adrik immediately leaves.

The dragonborn arrive

The party makes their way through Greyhaven and is clearly hassled by the constant throngs of people.

Ahead of them, the crowd parts. Six figures who clearly don’t belong in the city. Tall, broad-shouldered, glistening armor.

Dragonborn.

Elijah recognizes two distinct patterns out of the six. The kneeling figure is Vaerix Thalos.

• He is calm and has deep devotion.
• Hasn’t triggered a long time and hoped to never again.
• Absorbs the truth wherever they are investigating.
• They are backtracking to the entrance, so they are looking for Elijah and Fernie’s trail.

Elijah and Fernie have deep devotion that cannot be hidden — Elijah recognizes a long time, hopes to never again. Absorbing the truth wherever they are investigating. We are backtracking to the entrance so they are looking for presumably Elijah/Fernie’s trail.

Elijah and Fernie immediately turn around and head back to Adrik’s place.

• Bump into people who exclaim at Elijah’s bag.
• Dragonborn are clearly visible to everyone in the party.
• Cisco wonders what to do as Elijah leaves.

Adrik says “Hey, JJ” — moves in three seconds or less to win the direction of resistance.

Adrik’s gambit

Adrik approaches the dragonborn with Lorien while Cisco hangs back.

• Adrik approaches and asks if they are new in town.
• Dragonborn is hooded and shoulders obscured / Lorien commands attention.
• Thalos asks what can be done for the dwarf and Adrik responds in kind.
• Thalos mentions his kind, doing a tip to the rude. The usual opposites who attacked away.
• Asking about a “long-lost friend of Elijah”.
• Charcoal sketch of Elijah.
• Thalos says Elijah is wanted for theft of a relic, very important — a stolen egg.
• Dragonborn casually carrying hands on weapons.
• They believe Fernie is alive and claim Elijah is very dangerous and betrayed sacred oaths.

Adrik is real chill:

• Says he doesn’t know but will paint a little.
• Records the names from a race so Thalos can’t be misled.
• Thalos tries to intimidate Adrik and asks again — has he seen any dragonborn?
• Adrik sees many and can’t recall a particular individual.
• Thalos sees through this guy and says he smelled Elijah on Adrik.

Elijah rolled Stealth (15) — it seemed to work.

Vibes have shifted. Cisco steps forward as a third party. Calls out from a distance saying Elijah is in the bunkhouse in the lower banks.

• Thalos flicks his eyes to Cisco and stalks for Elijah.
• Cisco tries to cover and says they saw a group like Thalos with a boy in the lower banks.
• Cisco gives general direction, mentions the way.
• Disadvantage Persuasion check.
• Thalos stops about six feet away and asks what direction.
• Cisco goes hollow and tense, stalks off with the rest of the group.
• They move with great speed faster than the crowd can disperse.
• Elijah didn’t hear specific words.
• Cisco takes a beat before rejoining to pretend to be separate.

Adrik perceives Cisco’s sharp tongue and says he may be able to help Adrik’s situation.

Adrik re-combines the group. Lorien catches up to Elijah and Adrik does not want to intrude but still helps. Whatever, me before Adrik.

Elijah / Lorien

Elijah is in his head and shakes his head.

• Lorien resolves to talk to Elijah when inside.
• They make it back; Thrain is still distracting the surveyor.
• They enter Adrik’s room and Elijah sits back to wall with sword drawn.
• Lorien is surprised at the reaction after all they’ve been through.
• Elijah asks what Lorien would do if someone tried to sacrifice Fernie for power.
• Lorien believes it would be unjust.
• Elijah eyes Lorien carefully.
• Lorien throws his sword to the ground. (Lorien’s player was trying to remember his getup — out-of-character beat.)
• Lorien sits down in companionable silence.

Adrik / Cisco

Adrik and Cisco navigate through alleys.

• Many posters on the walls.
• Charcoal wanted posters.
• Less regulated areas.

Adrik mentions to Cisco the aspects of the visa on the dragonborn.

• Occupation, dwelling, duration:
  • Bounty hunter.
  • Duration: infinite / completion of job.
  • Dwelling: Gilded Watch.
  • Bounty hunting is legal and valid.
• Adrik understands those who are running from something, but Greyhaven isn’t a safe haven for fugitives.
• “If you don’t have business here, find it quick.”

They make their way to the canals.

At the docks

• Four armed guards, unusual behavior.
• Gilded Watch.
• At the docks lots of commerce with goods being loaded and unloaded.
• They choose the direct approach of walking up.
• A guardsman gives them a once-over and is confused at Adrik calling Cisco an apprentice due to age.
• Cisco is over-cut for paperwork.

“Nature of the visit?”

“It’s unscheduled, but issues with shipments lately.”

• Guard asks for the Bill of Sale and Adrik has it.
• Guard reaches for the BOS to take to Drogon but Adrik pulls it back.
• Guard leaves for Drogon.

Cisco makes small talk with the other guards.

• They call him old.
• He needs to know a guy who knows a guy to be a guard.
• Cisco succeeds in putting the two guards at ease.

Drogon

The OG older guard comes back with a dwarf — Drogon.

• Adrik and Drogon have worked together for years.
• Adrik is concerned at the dropping quality.
• Drogon is ostensibly concerned as well.

“What is the problem? It is all signed and stamped.”

“Well, it is grade C when it should have been grade A.”

• Turns out the origin ship brought river pine and it may have been mixed up.
• Drogon wants to sweep it under the rug into a pallet and discount.
  • Adrik wants to inspect it first.
  • The guards invite them inside.

Inside the mill

• Drogon invites Adrik to inspect the lumber.
• Meanwhile Drogon tries to order the mill exchange / warehouse machinery.
• Cisco watches Drogon.
• Adrik doesn’t notice anything with the seals and such — all by the book.
• Cisco looks for anything amiss and sees a handful of individuals who don’t move inside and out, but instead from place to place.
  • They are moving objects from one marked box to another.
• Adrik finds the grade-A oak.
• Adrik tells Drogon that he found the current pallet (mountain) and it was mistaken for river pine.
  • Drogon brings over the responsible party, who bows at a disrespectful level, apologizes, and leaves.
• Adrik asks for loading / transportation help and Drogon packs it onto a barge for the Brotherhood.
• Adrik is letting this go, this one individual time.
• They leave and Cisco tells the guards to keep it up.
• Adrik elbows Cisco lightly.
• Cisco explains what he saw as they leave.

Drogon Grudge

The party returns to the guildhall; Thrain is still distracting Vaughn.

• Adrik and Cisco meet up.
• Cisco takes Thrain aside to explain the shipment and warehouse shenanigans — not an accident, but movement of materials.
• Thrain is pissed and breaks a table under his bracing grip.
• The whole guildhall hears it.
• Thrain takes out a black book and writes Drogon Grudge.
• He wants Cisco to get to the bottom of this with side investigating.
• Thrain offers the party a job while he deals with Vaughn.

The reveal

Cisco and Adrik head up.

They ask Elijah what’s up.

• First Elijah asks about weapons:
  • 3 close range, 2 long, 1 magic.
  • “One guy was red.”
• Elijah looks to Fernie and nods.

“What do you want to know?”

Elijah explains:

The reveal

Fernie is a gold dragon. As an egg, she was meant to be sacrificed to gain power. Elijah broke sacred oaths and saved her.

Power is not worth Fernie.

• Adrik agrees.
• Elijah tells everyone he will pay more than the bounty — or kill them.
• Wary of the others.
• They agree to help; Adrik has friends.
• Elijah is worried they haven’t been subtle and the dragonborn will track him down.

Thrain enters and says he has a job for us.