The Red Messenger - A Dungeons & Dragons Adventure

• Morning started with massive amounts of noise
• Town flooded with refugees from Angvorstad
• Party decides to get breakfast
• Sausage is purchased (sloppy, standard and "premium") in addition to information
• Party is told by Sausage vendor that a dwarf named Grigor that lives in the town will be able to provide info on how to get into Hivemountain
• Bill Irontoe arrives on giant Iron Warwagon, with the adjudicator who is going to be executed for his crimes, he declares war on Hivemountain, and says he will invade to reclaim the First Law
• Emmet meets with Grigor the dwarf, he says he'll give info for one of the 12 boxes from the carriage, party confers and pays
• He gives them a symbol and a letter that says party is protected by the Edgerunners, one of the major gangs in Hivemountain, and that a payment of 1 box on arrival at Hivemountain should be sufficient
• Party starts Journey towards Hivemountain, Mouse purchases a mechanical nutcracker from Urien the Gnome

The day had come, the election was upon Angvorstadt, the streets were packed with people from lands far and wide. Dwarves that only had a spurious attachment to the place had come to the city to witness the event. The party had front row seats. Ludwig had arranged for safekeeping of their gear through an associate, and would be attending in the gallery as well. The gear was handed over and they had gained admission into the viewing gallery for the event.

The gallery overlooked a semicircle at the far end of the room, where the most sacred object for the dwarves resided, the First Law, a massive slab of ebonsteel enshrined the laws that the dwarves set, after the clans gathered at the end of Elven occupation. This the 11th council of Angvorstadt, would lead them to their future. 11 is an unlucky number for the dwarves, but they would not be dissuaded by superstition.

After some time, it started. The opening words for the ceremony were spoken by the Gran Supreme Kenner, Ulmagg: Friends, countrymen and women, dwarves of the clans, followers of our laws, a great day is upon us and a new member of the council will be chosen! From their many years of service, the Ambershields have chosen to retire, and by our laws, a new clan must take their place. You will be the electors and help shape the future of our beloved hold. May you choose wisely, and may you give the seat to the most honorable among you. Two clans have been selected by me, Grand Supreme Kenner of Angvorstadt, and from among them you shall select who will be a part of leading us into the future. Irontoe and Morndew, one of you will lead the dwarves into a new future, may your hearts be strong, for our world is changing.

A chorus rings out among all the dwarves in the hall:

Keep us to true to our path
Law of old, law of wisdom
Free us from guile and wrath
May honor guide our hearts

We shall unite as one
And here elect the worthy
We shall see it done
By the First law
We shall see it done

A short discussion followed, where the merits and failings of both Morndew and Irontoe were aired and debated. Then a vote. William Irontoe, or Bill as he was known was elected to great applause.He held a speech and uttered at the end fateful words: "I wish to bring the First Law, back to Hivemountain" as the last word left his lips, the chamber was engulfed in a magical darkness, and a voice spoke from the darkness "Be careful what you wish for..." and then the darkness disappeared, the law was gone, no trace left of it. Chaos ensued, panicked dwarves fled the chamber and ran out, wailing and shouting. The law was gone, what was to happen to their society?

The party ran outside as well, and a huge crowd had gathered in front of the Hall of Law, one of the dwarves from the chamber had proclaimed what had happened. One dwarf climbed atop a carriage, and said that this was the time for the Children of the Powder to strike, this was the time for the lesser clans and the clanless to prove that they too should have a say! The moment he had finished his companion looked at him askance and exploded into a pile of flesh that turned into a Gibbering Mouther, a flesh abberation with countless mouths and eyes, making sounds that tested the will of all those that heard it. The crowd panicked, the few guards stationed outside the hall leapt to action, fighting the mouthers that appeared near the hall.

A fierce battle ensued, the party rushed to Ludwigs companion to get their gear, the mouthers ate the members of the crowd and some guards that were unlucky to come too close. The ground around the Gibbering Mouthers made it hard to move, and the mucus the spit blinded those it hit. Through toil, and a lot of eaten dwarves, the party managed to get out relatively unscathed. They were not, however, out of it quite yet, the whole town was in an uproar, Mouthers had appeared in different regions of the town, but so had the uprising led by the Children of the Powder, dwarf fighting dwarf, dwarf fighting monster, fires and chaos everywhere.

They fled towards the gates, and found a carriage, and being surrounded, they quickly undid the bindings for the horses and were off, a mad dash from the chaos behind them. Escaping from Angvorstadt was complete, but the horses were wild, however Emmet was able to soothe them right before they went careening over a bridge. After the horses were calmed they had a small break, looking back at Angvorstadt, they could see smoke rising from the town.

They checked the wagon and found a chest strapped to the back, a case containing smaller elongated crates, a little lockpicking from Enna, and they revealed a strange cylinder of some translucent material. They put it back and headed to the closest village Goldhearth. On the way, they encountered a troop of Children of the Powder, heading towards Anvorstadt, but they were able to pass by unharassed. They made it to Goldhearth, and got rooms at the inn...

To be continued!

Day 5 - Continued

• We got a paper from Janza via Zizi, a proposal for a date and time to meet up. Emmett proposed that we sign the paper to meet, but have Gerard attend the metting, to see Janza.
• We head back to The Charging Mule to confront Gerard about the idea, and he agress, given that he is assured safety.
• Enna scouts the site ahead and finds some Rogueish henchwomen that stands guard before Janza. She waits there until the rest arrives
• Gerard and the group arrives and they settle their business with Janza in a peaceful manner.
• After the tense meetup, realizing that we might have a current riot on our hands from the clanless dwarves, if they decide to intervene at any point, we convene back at the Charging Mule, further discussing the upcoming Council. We decide to bring Ludwig into the conversation, and he says that he could join us in leaving Angvorstad after the Council Meeting. We try to plan ahead, and head to bed.(edited)

Day 6:

• We woke up to convene and agree on personal business before meeting up again.
• Emmett got himself a gun
• Reylwynn read a book at a private library
• Santef restringed his bow and prepared stuff
• Enna collected some clothes
• Everyone meets back up at The Charging Mule, we consider whether or not we should trust Ludwig, and try to think about different plans and the best course of action.
• Plan A: Leave everything in the hands of Ludwig and have all our gear and supplies ready with the caravan after the Council.
• Plan B: Same as Plan A but have someone go with Ludwig. Potentially Emmett and Mouse's companion to safeguard.
• Plan C: Leave weapons back at a safe place at The Charging Mule. Hoping to be able to gather what we can in case shit goes bad
• Plan D: Hide our weapons nearby, and gather them right after the meeting.
• Our session concludes, but not our day as of yet.

• The party wakes up, it's the fifth day the party stay in Angorstadt. They go down for breakfast where Enna forces the party to visit a "Wellness Center" to take a bath.
• Mouse runs to the library while the rest of the party makes their way to the Wellness Center.
• Everyone (except Mouse) gets a bath, while Enna and Mikkeus go a little further and gets a massage and some oils rubbed in.
• Girion is spotted in the halls, and Enna overhears him whispering about a cousin (which very well might be the cousin which rests at the bottom of a sparkpowder dumping well)
• The party visit Ye Olde Giftshoppe, Reylwyn picks up a collectors set of The Five Heroes for Jojo.
• Mikkeus has to go get into disguise so he needed three hours to get ready. The party splits up at this point; Enna goes to get some common clothes, Emmet goes to visit the blacksmiths, Reylwin goes to visit Jojo and give the gift to him, Santef just wanders the streets.
• Santef walks by a towncrier who tells him that they're looking for an elf with ashen skin and a group of outsiders due to a missing dwarf. They suspect kidnapping since noone has seen the dwarf in a couple of days. He dissappeard in the area where the party murdered a Morningdew during the sparkpowder heist. The towncrier could not say where the dwarf worked.
• Reylwyn visits Jojo (and his father) at the apothecary and gives the gift to Jojo. She learns the names of The Five Heroes from Jojo in his excitement (Gorran Emberbloom, Balan Frostbeard, Hildur Ebonhearth. Merek Greenhome and Durn Harrus). She apologized for her party members behaviour the last time they were there and tried to instill a message of racism being bad .
• Emmet went to the blacksmith (Dun?) to see if he could get an explosive upgrade for his handheld crossbows. Had to pay a fee to see the more "non-regulation" stuff the dwarf had in his private collection.
• Enna orders some clothes for pickup next day.
• The party (minus Mouse) meets at the Innocent Maiden to find Janza. Zizi introduces the party to Janza.
• Janza tells us that she is working on getting the money to pay back Gerard, and in the process asks the party to help her steal some documents from the Woodelf Embassy.
• Janza tells the party that the reason she had to borrow money from Gerard in the first place was to thwart an assassination attempt on one of the council members four years ago. The assassins came from Hive Mountain.
• The party goes downstairs to listen to some more music and enjoy another drink as there is little to nothing to do until Janza manages to get the party some drawings of the embassy

• Our heroes prepare to leave for the great feast hosted by Gunnhild Ebonhearth where their objective is to disgrace Girion Morndews.
• They arrive at the estate where they are introduced to madam Ebonhearth and William "Bill" Irontoe. They also encounter Enna in disguise as Couver Na'mi in the company of the Wood Elf Valian.
• The seven-course meal commences. Enna, Santef, Mouse, Reylwyn, and Mikkeus are seated at the same table as Girion and his wife. Emmett is separated and shares the company of Bill, the Frostbeards, and others.
• Emmett delivers "the Prophecy" in which he claimed that one of the candidates would prove themselves unworthy of the council seat. Santef slips the laxatives into Girion's cup while everyones attention is on Emmett. Mouse conjures a stain on Girion's clothing.
• More courses are presented. Mouse casts Suggestion on Girion to make him eat more. He is visibly becoming nauseous. A ruckus erupts between Reylwyn and Valian over differences between the Wood Elves and Sun Elves. At the other table, Bill is drinking heavily with the Frostbeards.
• At the great table switcharoo(?) Girion cannot restrain himself any longer and throws up all over Madam Ebonhearth. He and the other Morningdews leave the party, ashamed.
• Mouse has "a nap" and sends off Buddy in the form of a spider to investigate the upstairs. He barely escapes being squashed by a Dwarf, but sees little of interest. Enna rejects Valian who leaves the party in tears.
• With Girion humiliated, the party has to ensure that Bill is not rejected at the council for his drunken vulgarities. Mouse manages to talk him down with another Suggestion spell.
• Madam Ebonhearth is clearly distraught at the discourteous events that have transpired at her party, and quickly sends everyone home after the seventh meal has finished.
• Our heroes arrive back at the Charging Mule. Mikkeus declares tonight's operation a success. They plan to go to the Innocent Maiden the following morning to meet up with Janza. Mikkeus will also be joining in disguise as Salazar the Spice Merchant from the Free Cities. They retire for the night.

• Party successfully made it to the inn with the Sparkpowder
• It was revealed that Fat Gorran the guard remembered an elf with the skin of Coal, although he was hazy on the other details, he may yet remember more
• This forced Enna into disguise, she is now undercover as a wood Elf (with the placeholder name - Couver Na'mi, Enna you can decide what you want :D)
• While Enna went undercover, the rest of the gang were able to trade the Sparkpowder with Ludwig for 555gp and some precious gems
• Ludwig and his Alchemist compatriot tested the powder - (Fire and magic activated it, impact did not)
• They revealed little, but the Alchemist claimed they would use it for defence
• Party regrouped at The Charging Mule, Mikkeus revealed that they all had been invited to a Dinner Party hosted by Gunhild Ebonhearth
• The dinner is held to test the candidates to the Council
• Mouse had the Idea that they'd all get matching outfits, and Mikkeus was at once smitten with the idea
• They then sought out Pod Harrus proprietor of the tailoring emporium Speedy Service for Needy Dwarves
• In the end, they got matching outfits, but Santef bribed one of the tailors and got a different colour scheme than the others
• While the clothes were being made, they checked out The Innocent Maiden, the place where Janza (the dwarf that owned Gerard a lot of money) was last seen
• They encountered a Tiefling that was a contracted act who played a sorrowful tune on a instrument that Mouse identified as a Wailing Harp, a Tiefling instrument
• The Tieflings name was Zizi and she agreed to put them in contact with Janza (she also seemed to take a liking to Emmet)
• With the outfits the gang planned to sabotage for the Morndews, by slipping something into Gereon Morndews drink during the party
• Mikkeus was very much on board with this plan
• Reylwyn, Emmet and Santef went to the herbalist (Gillian Irontoe) and got the stuff
• The party is now getting ready to attend the dinner

• Visited Kenners hall
• Got building plans
• Visited Census berau - Sparkpowder House belongs to Morndew
• Visited Tourist dep - got maps
• Went to the Emberbloom Inn - The BloomInn
• Located Fat Goran Emberbloom
• Got invited to party at Sparkpowder House
• Went to Sparkpowder House
• Managed to pacify Goran
• Got into the disposal chamber
• Was detected by the Manager (Stated "The Morndews will never surrender")
• Forced to kill Manager
• Escaped without being detected
• Got a potential quest from Gerard: track down Janza, who owes him 600gp (for her father's gambling debt). She's blonde and is blind in one eye. Last seen at the Innocent Maiden.

• Emmett and Reylwynn "interrogate" Ludwig, but it kinda just results in a respectful discussion of interests, as he still seems stern and smart about his approach to the matter of Sparkpowder procuring.
• We get a safe container to carry the Sparkpowder around from Ludwig.

Tips from Ludwig:

• The Innocent Maiden: Has contacts. Shady and filthy people. But might be an interesting gang.
• Ludwig knows a lot of shady people. Lady Ebonhearth, for one. Holds a lot of favor within the council. Gunhild Ebonhearth also.

Santef and Enna heads towards the door again:

• Santef knocks on the door. He tries to gather information about the room, but gets showed away as the dwarfs inside doesn't buy him being a census worker checking whom is favoured to be chosen as the new council member.
• Not much new information discovered

Mouse gets information in the library:

• Archibald Llewellyn, halfling world traveler, folk hero. Almost mythical figure (not everyone believes he exists).
• Shattered Tooth: mountain that holds permanent dwelling, a holy site with giant impressive statues
• Frozen Wastes: inhabited by nomadic tribes that travel with herds of elk
• Eastern and Western Border Forests: inhabited by tribes, especially wood elves
• Isabelle's Eye: a lake that never freezes because of something in the water

Back at the bar:

• We sit at the bar and discuss Operation Spark Powder. We end up giving it a codename: Zephyr.
• Mikkeus tells us about the council seats and some information about how many seats each clan has.
• The candidate for the Irontoe clan is Bill (William.), Mikkeus tells us. The Irontoe clan currently has no seats, and would like one. We still consider earning them some favor. Either through Ludwig or the shady business in the Innocent Maiden.
• Enna rummaged around in Ludwigs room. Found a receipt for the Sparkpowder container, A letter adressed to Ludwig by just "L", and it was from "A". Enna rolled a 1 on what was written, so I carelessly don't note anything more.
• Ludwig came back, I warned Enna and Santef kept Ludwig busy. We gather again around the table.

The Dwarven clans:

• Clan Irontoe - Not on the council yet
• Clan Morndew - Not on the council yet
• Clan Emberbloom - Controls the mining disctrict - On the Council - Lugg Emberbloom
• Clan Ebonhearth - On the council - Gunnhild Ebonhearth - Clan Matriarch
• Clan Harrus - On the Council - Krach Harrus - Patriarch of the Harrus
• Clan Ambershield - Retired from council - Savila Ambershield - Clan Matriarch

• It is now afternoon. The sun is setting, and we're at the Charging Mule. We're planning to leave for the apothecary, but might split up. One group scouting, and one meeting Gillian at the apothecary.
• Emmett and Santef went to scout at the Waystation. We found a cart that could contain Sparkpowder. And we saw a strange spell being cast on it by a Dwarven Kenner.
• One barrel gets stopped. The seal is removed from the cart. The dwarves inspect the barrel. We get to see the contents of the barrel. It seems to be sparkpowder.
• The Sparkpowder is crystallized. It shimmers in the light. The one lonely sparkpowder barrel gets transported to a house nearby, still in sight. Emmett and Santef will scout it out.
• Emmett and Santef agree to send the monkey back to fetch Mouse (and the team, if possible to understand). We hope it did, and it flies off. They wait.

Meanwhile:

• Mouse and Reylwynn have a dialogue in the Apothecary, gets some information about the volatility of spark powder from Gillian Irontoe. Meets up with Monkey on the way back, they immediately travel to the Waystation to meet up with Santef and Emmett.
• Enna is still in the Charging Mule. Trying to gather information.
• We meet up back at where we were scouting. We heavily discuss if we should act now or not. We decide not to, and regroup back at the tavern. There we meet Enna, drunk with all the other dwarves. She had gotten some information about a certain dwarf with "Speical Produce" (read: Sparkpowder.)
• After some catching up, we head to our rooms for some sleep.

• Party has been hired to find info on The Red Messenger by the Sun Elf, Mikkeus
• Travelled to Angvorstad
• Defeated some Magmins (or as Emmet named them Magnums) for Berthram Irontoe
• Got bed and board at the inn The Charging Mule (Owned by Gerard Irontoe)
• Agreed to "procure" some Sparkpowder for Ludwig Mayfield
• Emmet and Enna had an axe throwing competition (Emmet won)
• Mouse and Gnome (Santef's pet Mouse) had small catch up
• Mouse and Mikkeus research some stuff on the Red Messenger
• Rest of the gang when to Berthram Irontoe for info on Sparkpowder, they didn't get a lot