Location: Slune, a small city at the far western edge of the crumbling Empire of Tarsis.
Party in play:
Rae - Elf. Fighter 1/ Wizard 4. One of the original members of the party that originated in the town of Little Plains. She is somewhat of a strategist and creative tactician always looking for an edge when the situation gets dicey.
Wulfe - Elf. Fighter 1/ Wizard 4. Originally from a small town north of Ptolus near the Moonsilver Forest, he wandered westward to satisfy his curiosity about the frontier areas of the empire. Joining the group early in their adventuring career he has been a steadfast companion and effective in any dangerous situation. He wields Cheval, a Faery forged longsword known for occasional bursts of radiant energy.
Korved - Human. Cleric 4. An itinerant priest, he arrived in Little Plains hoping to come to grips with his recent experiences. He had joined the Gaen faith at a young age and over time found his thinking more in line with her masculine aspect Hannan. The non-violent and amicable split in the church was his signal to explore the world.
Sparky - Human. Fighter 4. She's a force to be reckoned with in a toe to toe fight. Recent life as a sword for hire had led to some less than respectable jobs and little in the way of pay. Joining an adventuring group seemed a wise choice.
Sometime in the darkest hours of the night loud thumping, banging and frantic voices from the rooftop awakened the party from their sleep.
"Take the money, just let me live!"
"You know we can't do that, it would make us common thieves. And dead men."
The tussle continued as Wulfe climbed the short ladder to the trap door in the ceiling. Pushing it open and peering out revealed a man jumping from the roof to hang by his fingertips from the adjacent building. His pursuers fired crossbows striking the man once in the back, yet he hung on. Wulfe climbed out onto the roof to confront the assassins.
In their room beneath the fray the others began donning armor and weapons.
Realizing that himself and Sparky would need to see in order to fight, Korved cast light on a coin and tossed it up through the trapdoor onto the roof illuminating the scene.
Magic missiles lanced outward from Wulfe's extended hand, striking the killer to the left eliciting a scream of pain.
"This is not your concern wizard. Leave while you still live." Undeterred the assassins again shoot their targeted victim who falls to his death in the street below.
Korved, Sparky and Rae soon joined their companion on the roof as the assailants turned to face the group.
The remainder of the battle was over quickly as Wulfe cast web restraining the assassins.
During the brief interrogation the pair refused to say anything beyond having done their job. After threats from Korved it was explained that their deaths would be short and their superiors could bring them back allowing them to take revenge.
Korved decided enough was enough and used his deity's power to unleash a fan of searing flames, igniting the web and slaying both opponents. Rae used a frost spell to quickly extinguish the burning web preventing it from setting the building on fire.
While the rest of the group descended to street level,
Korved took the opportunity to decapitate the corpses, concerned that they might rise as undead due to the influence of the Crystal of Calling*. The pink crystal tethered to a platinum chain calls out to undead drawing them near and on one known occasion animated the body of their former companion Gregor.
In the street the party examined the victim trying to determine who he was and why he was targeted for murder. They found no answers to those questions, but did discover a note upon which was fastened by wax, a brass key bearing the number 62.
The note read "You've completed your task. Here is the remainder of your payment. Five thousand gold pieces reside at Hammersong Vaults on Whipstone Street in Ptolus. This should be enough to keep your mouth shut."
Realizing the implications they decided leaving Slune first thing in the morning was advisable, and that they were about to come into a tidy sum of money when they reached Ptolus.
Before returning to bed they made plans for what to do in morning. They would bring their wagons into the side street below the position of the two dead enemies and drop them down into the larger wagon. Afterward they would immediately exit the city. As for what to do with the bodies, they would take them to the gnolls who owed them payment for the goblin tree the party had delivered a few days prior, and negotiate reduction of pay in exchange for the gnolls doing away with the corpses.
Their sleep was restless as their nervousness about possible reprisal for killing the assassins wore on their minds. They need not have worried as the night passed peacefully.
* Crystal of Calling - Undead are drawn to the crystal. Sometimes it can animate recently deceased bodies. Undead heading the call may be subject to command. The party has been followed and approached by skeletons and zombies for over two months since acquiring the artifact.
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