Fresh off of their triumphant takedown of the Dread and the most genteel jailbreak ever perpetrated, some of Clearcrest’s up-and-coming adventurers settled into normal life in the city. However, your intrepid Heroes correspondent and spectral journalist can now report that such simple pursuits quickly dissipated in the face of old debts.
After a scant three weeks of freedom, the Ghost Hand Society contacted the party once again to fulfill a contract. As regular readers of my column will recall, our heroes have dealt with the GHS on several occasions, most recently enlisting their aid and authority in uncovering evidence clearing Pimric and Thar of wrongdoing. This assistance, though, came at a cost. The party relinquished ownership of Terminus Est to the guild simply to get back in their good graces. Then the group promised to perform an official GHS contract free of charge to gain the Ghost Hand’s help in freeing their friends. Now the GHS leader, Tad Glemmer, was calling in that favor.
“It really wasn’t a difficult job,” comments Mr. Glemmer. “All they had to do was inhume a target, a Mr. Riccus Mageblood. Sure, he’s a wealthy businessman from Golden Cape, proprietor of the Artisan’s Corner and such, but still. We knew he was heading out of town in three days, and all they had to do was gank the fellow outside the city walls and return proof of his death in the form of a key he kept on a chain around his neck. Who could have guessed they’d spend two HOURS discussing the moral implications?”
It is true the party had an in-depth discussion concerning their feelings on the contract. According to anonymous sources who miraculously stayed awake through the proceedings, Nesbar was immediately on-board with murdering a stranger, quickly joined by the ever-practical Pimric and morally ambiguous Cassius. Sebastian resisted the notion that the GHS could order the group to perform a task not of their choosing, and Thar had strong feelings concerning the implications of killing someone in cold blood. Eventually the party settled on investigating the target further and killing only if necessary, instead forcing Riccus to flee Clearcrest indefinitely if possible.
The GHS then threw another curveball at the crew, insisting they include the ranger Phineas Cespuglio di Falco in their plans as an official representative of the Society. Introducing himself as Phineas (and Finn to close friends), the newest member attempted to ingratiate himself into the group. Pim seized on the name, referring to the half-elf as Finndaclos in all future interactions… Thus situated, the team headed out to learn more about Riccus Mageblood.
Heading to Golden Cape, the party first decided to investigate their target’s business. Several relatively harmless interactions later, Cash walked away defeated, Nesbar walked away knowing more about Brumhilde the weapons counter clerk, and Pim walked away with a stolen cloak, dress, and the address to the Mageblood estate. Everyone regrouped at Golden Cape’s seediest pub, the Sunken Star, and conned the owner Korag into giving them a free base of operations in exchange for fixing (not actually fixing) a hole in the wall.
It was decided two smaller groups would arouse less suspicion, so while Cash, Sebastian, and Pim disguised themselves to infiltrate the Mageblood estate as George, Paul, and Ringo of Cassuis’ Cleaners, Thar, Nesbar, Rodan, and Finn returned to the Artisan’s corner to investigate the employees-only basement area. Team Cleaners had a remarkably successful foray, tricking the butler Bojangles into allowing the boys unsupervised access to the home, stealing VERY expensive candlesticks, discovering a book of poisons indicating Riccus might not be the nicest guy, and magically compelling the target’s wife, Perina Mageblood, to admit to a glowing Cash (don’t ask) that she was a victim of domestic abuse.
Meanwhile, across the district in Cape’s Helm, Team Employees Only had concocted a relatively sound plan, having Nesbar magically disguise himself to look like Brumhilde, thus tricking the manager (a very old gnome named Hizzik Nackle) into allowing the wizard access to the basement. While much of the space seemed dedicated to simple shop concerns, Nesbar did discover a large wooden chest bearing a mark remarkably similar to that on the key they needed to retrieve from Riccus’ corpse…
Once again assembling at the Sunken Star, the party discussed their various findings and hatched a plan to replace the Mageblood caravan guards, thus removing entirely the need to deal with innocents in their interactions with Riccus. Pimric called on his training with poisons to suggest incapacitating their target with torpor. While the components were expensive, the party now had access to mad candlestick money, making it an attainable investment. Over the next several days, Pim assembled the requires ingredients and developed his non-lethal poison for phase two of the plan.
As the most convincing member of the group, the task of getting the Magebloods to swap guards on such short notice fell to Cash. With the handy tough-guy props Rodan and Thar, the sorcerer intercepted Perina on her way to the Artisan’s Corner and presented a “special, introductory rate” for guard services, to which she agreed. Both halves of their plan complete, the party had nothing to do but wait for the wagon’s departure…
On the day the caravan set out, all seemed calm. Sebastian had to duck out of the engagement, as it conflicted with his concert schedule, and Thar, still uneasy about the morality of the contract, also abstained from attending. Finn had already departed the city to scout the route and keep a distant eye on proceedings, so the Mageblood’s discount caravan escort arrived looking exactly as one would expect when hearing the words “discount caravan escort”: one pale, thin half-elf, one slightly confused priest, one short, shifty halfling, and one even shorter, even shiftier gnome. Cash requested one final signature from Riccus Mageblood on a contract he’d written up, and introduced his troupe, at various moments, as either the Rowdy Boys, the Rowdy Boiz, the Rhowdy Boiz, and the Logistical Boiz… Confidence thus inspired, the party set out into the world at large.
The group made effective use of their travel time—Said the driver, Horatio Horseman, “Oh yeah, that Pimric was a good fella. Very entertaining. He had a business proposal involving dolphins and wagons. Dolphin Bros for life!” Inside the carriage, Nesbar bonded with Riccus over painting while Cash relieved him of a startling quantity of gold through completely honest card games.
Rodan, alone of the party, remained vigilant and suspicious, spotting a cart trailing their caravan. He couldn’t quite see anything dangerous about the men within, but couldn’t shake the feeling something was off. As they set up camp at dusk, Rodan convinced Pim to scout the other wagon, which had pulled off the road almost simultaneously.
Pimric heavily disguised himself and wandering into the suspicious camp, discovering it to be filled with four heavily armed and armored men, tight-lipped as to their purpose but willing—barely—to share their camp for the night. Eventually Nesbar caught up with Pim and together they hatched a plan to waylay this creepy cart. From deep in the surrounding woods, Nesbar Catapulted a large rock into one of the wagon wheels, completely shattering it. Pimric managed to allay suspicions from the group’s leader, Greg, and wandered into the woods to “investigate” further. He then booked it straight back to the Mageblood camp, secure in the knowledge the other cart would bother them no more…
As the camp settled in to sleep, Rodan was roused by one of the other camp’s mercenaries, a human man named Dave. Dave, unsurprisingly, was hoping to find a spare wagon wheel, theirs having mysteriously exploded. Rodan roused Cash who, seeing a business opportunity, had Pim cut their spare wheel into pieces and sold them to Dave for 75gp, calling them “spare parts”.
The following day passed uneventfully. Eventually the Cart of Greg reappeared, first overtaking and then keeping pace with the party. However, no further interaction was warranted, so the group decided to spring their trap that evening. Convincing Riccus to hold an informal party, everyone gathered as Cash deftly poured the poisoned wine into Riccus’ cup. It was at that moment, though, that the suspiciously well-armed travelers crashed into the camp!
Pim, having been on high alert, noticed the intruders first, let the group know about the interlopers and headed into the woods in an attempt to slow their charge. Failing that, he surprised one with whom he’d shared some small amount of drunken camaraderie the previous evening, slitting his throat in an instant. (Rest in Peace, Frederick). The other two entered the camp and were almost immediately grappled by magic (thanks to Nesbar and Cash) while Horatio Horseman screamed and crawled under the wagon… Cash tried to maintain the illusion that the party was protecting Riccus from bandits, but it quickly became evident Mr. Mageblood was well-acquainted with the newcomers. With the cat out of the bag, Pim continued to take pot shots from the woods, Rodan kept failing to hit anyone with religious might, Nesbar blew up an Ice Knife in the midst of a group of enemies, and Cash Suggested two of the mercenaries capture and kill Riccus, which they proceeded to attempt…
Eventually, Riccus realized the skill of his attackers outweighed the surprise of his defenders and pleaded for mercy. Since this was, with fewer complications, the party’s plan all along, they were more than happy to provide it, albeit with several caveats. In exchange for his life and the lives of his (surviving) men, Riccus agreed to hand over their armor and weapons, the cart and contents, and most importantly, the key. Among the belongings of the mercenaries, the group also found four Bright Edge Brigade armbands, alluding that the group may not be free of the on-going guild wars after all. Cash then insisted Riccus flee under another name, never to return to Clearcrest.
All that was left was a quick and uneventful trip back to Clearcrest (with Horatio at the helm), followed by a stop at the Artisan’s Corner to raid the chest matching the key the party was to hand to the Ghost Hand. Loaded with fine goods and full coin purses, the crew’s “free job” has undoubtedly been their most lucrative to date.
Keep an eye out for the next installment of their adventures, sure to begin shortly…
The Clearcrest Chronicle 