Now They Know

February 10, 2011

The group activated the portal from the green dragon's cave and arrived safely at the ruins they had visited before.  However, as they look around, it is inhabited by orcs, who are at the walls and obviously expecting an attack from outside, not inside.  With a cry, the group springs into action and attacks.  The orcs put up a good fight but these are not the adventurers who first met orcs and soon the orcs are defeated.  

Bamarden then goes over the teleport circle and teleports himself to the east, instead of down where they were going to go.  he finds himself among some ruins in the desert.  As he looks around, he notices a drow and teleports right back.  However, the damage is done as they will find out.  

The group watches as Bamarden comes back and they are about to go below when the drow and two quicklings show up.  The group is hostile, he is a drow, but he wants to talk.  However, the group doesn't want him there and Darksouls wants him to leave.  The drow, who introduced himself as Mildar, agrees to leave and steps on the teleport circle with his allies and disappears.  However, Darksouls, Teldryl and Bamarden realize that he merely went invisible and teleported nearby.  They again confront him and he says that he's not much different from them.  He craves excitement and adventure and looking for loot.  But, the party doesn't want him there so they attack.  

At first Mildar is willing to talk to them but as the group, except Inari who doesn't want to fight, attacks, Mildar gets mad and decides that he will finish it.  His quickling allies attack and prove to be quite the pain with how quickly they can move about the battlefield and attack.  Mildar sets up some tough terrain and traps several while teleporting around the battlefield.  The quicklings are able to run across the battlefield with little problem.  It looked like Mildar was going to win but once Mildar himself went down, the quicklings either went down or fled back to the fey.  

They took the magic items from Mildar, lamenting the loss of the ones that he used in combat, and then instead of going toward the forest, went back to Scornubel to rest and take care of the items.  They also wanted to drop off the items they took from the orcs, again brand new weapons and armor, with the blacksmith.  While there, he paid them what they were due plus some extra.  He also explained that things have calmed down a lot in the past few days and he hasn't seen anyone trying to get protection money.  The businesses are happy about it.  

While there, they decide to try and see Thessa.  They do see her and say they don't like teh thieves guild.  She offers the Scornubel guild to them.  

"So, we can run it however we want?" Vahn asks.  

"I'm giving this opportunity to you, Vhan, not the group as a whole.  It will be you in charge and how I introduce it.  I don't care who advises you or how you get the money, but you will have dues and if you can't make them, you can be replaced.  Are you interested?"  

The group talks it over via Teldryl connecting all of them psychically, and they decide to accept it.  She says she will introduce him to the rest of the guild in a few days at a banquet.  They accept this and then head back into the woods to see if they can learn anything else about the elves that they need to "help."  

They again venture into the woods and Inari is even better this time, knowing what dangers are there, at getting them to the elves while avoiding several conflict.  When they get close to where the elves are, the group sees two elves dragging a third.  The group realizes that the way they are dragging the elf, they don't consider her a friend.  Further, Inari recognizes the one being dragged as Ethera, an elf from Evereska as well.  They sneak up on the elves and try and talk to them.  

The elves, who eventually give their names Soncal and Ennyajn, don't like Ethera  as she is a thief, in their words.  The group has a tough time believing them but can't really act on it.  The elves haven't done anything wrong and except for a few more minor scrapes, they aren't mistreating Ethera.  The group tries to get an invite into their camp.  They invite Teldryl if she is interested.  However, when she wants the rest of them and seems to care about Ethera, they take back the offer and say they can all wait at the edge of the clearing until they talk to their leader.  

The group can see that there are four small cabins in the clearing and a few other elves there.  After more debate, the group lets Soncal and Ennyajn go as they agreed to leave Ethera behind, after grabbing something that was stuffed into her belt.  

550 xp

GM Notes

• The title refers to the fact that the group knows the drow want to get in the area and now they have a way to get there.  
• And these events have opened up so many possibilities for fun things!  >:)
• I really like 4E's rules.  The drow fight was quite tough as he was many levels higher than them.  And he had magic items to back himself up.  That seemed to be enough to make him an Elite (a type of template in 4E) without actually having to do that to him.  The quicklings were actually in their range of things they can handle even if it was tough.  
• The offer of the thieves guild, I think, caught them off guard.  I don't think they were expecting that.  I also don't know how they are going to approach it, so it will be interesting to see what they do with it.  
• I haven't had players in charge of something like this before, so I am excited to see where they take the guild!
• I was a bit off, it was a busy week, but I think it went well overall. 

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