- Jellissa, a human priestess, follower of Arawai;
Mertala, a human cook from the tavern that had burned down, as she escaped out the back door;
Kartenix, a human guard captain and his son, Thuran;
Zerixa, an elderly human woman;
Adronsias, a dwarf alchemist; and
Sertanian, the human castellan of the Hall of Great Valor, in the town hall, from which the artifacts were stolen.
I met up with the others at Councilman Troyas' manor, where the man in the top hat from the previous night greeted us. He announced us to Councilman Troyas, a half-elf who was dressed in fine linen robes. They served us a delicious and robust meal full of the finest meats garnished with savory sauces, fresh garden vegetables, and all kinds of decadent desserts. This was definitely the best meal I have ever had in my life, and I would be happy to accept an invitation to dine there again once the bandits are defeated.
As we were eating, he interviewed us to determine whether we would be a good fit for the task he had in mind. I in turn interviewed him to ensure that we share the goal of protecting Brindol and the Elsir Vale, and recovering the kidnapped townspeople, before agreeing to take on the task. I wasn't about to go gallavanting around the countryside just to recover some lost treasure--that's a job for a mercenary. Treble would probably do it. Anyway, Councilman Troyas seemed awfully interested in what I was doing in Breland... it was obvious he had never met a goliath before, and I felt kind of singled out (even moreso than Keh'r with his fiery hair). Anyway, we seemed to come to an agreement when I described to him how seriously I take my duty as a Warden. Keh'r told the councilman that he was travelling about the lands to try to encounter more of his own kind (genasi). Elaira told him she was traveling in search of noble deeds to record in song and saga. Treble said he has been a guard in this region for the past 20 years and was looking for a job to do, and Horadric said he was willing to lend his arcane skills to Troyas' aid.
Councilman Troyas wants us to recover the 7 townspeople, to extinguish as many bandits as possible, and to recover the treasures stolen from the Hall of Great Valor. He said he believes that the kidnappings were random, and told us that there had been 1 or 2 other kidnappings a few months ago, but that those individuals had never been recovered or offered for ransom. He told us that the Band of the Red Hand had been running around Brindol about 10 years ago until a group of heroes (who have since gone their separate ways) routed them, and that they were so named because their emblem depicted a red hand. The councilman gave Treble a list of the treasures that he wants us to recover:
- iron gauntlets with extensive filigree,
platinum ceremonial longsword,
a battle standard depicting two hands in a handshake,
an ornate and gilded dragoncrest helm, and
3 shields depicting the red hand emblem.
Councilman Troyas offered us money and assistance, as well as some money upfront for party supplies, and the rights to whatever treasure we find along the way. He also told us that a goblin prisoner was being held on the town green for interrogation. We agreed to help, thanked him for lunch, and went to the town green.
The goblin looked as though the townspeople had not been treating him kindly. He was resistant to help us, but Elaira told him that we would speak to the proper authorities on his behalf if he gave us enough useful information. When a nearby guard expressed his skepticism, Treble went and kept him busy chatting while Elaira and I got the information out of him... I guess he found me somewhat intimidating and thought it would appease me to tell Elaira what she wanted to know. Oh well. Anyway, his name was Moric and he said that the band of the Red Hand was back and that he was a member, and that they plan to use the hostages but not to ransom them. He told us that the band leader is Sinruth, and that he plans to raise an army and carve out a fiefdom here in Breland, and that they are targeting Brindol because it is one of a few towns most nearby to where the Red Hand is located. He said that the goblins are using the catacombs under Castle Rivenroar for their base of operations. He said he didn't know anything about the treasures, and that Sinruth must have staged that heist himself. He also said that they plan to offer the hostages to appease the undead horrors under the catacombs--so apparently we have to hurry to retrieve them before they meet their deaths. He also drew us a map to the castle through the Blackcap mountains.
Keh'r said afterwards that he could tell that rather than being members of the Band of the Red Hand from a decade ago, that these guys instead see themselves as their descendants but don't have any actual relation to the original Band. We asked him how he knew that, and he laughed and said that the emblem on the armor was upside-down.
The next morning, we started the 8-hour trek through the mountains to the castle. The Blackcap mountains are very pretty, and I felt somewhat more at home along the journey, though in some ways it made me miss home more, too. Certainly the conditions in these mountains are much more mild than the conditions back home, so it was easy for me to assist the others along the steep paths and along the well-concealed trails. We found the castle entrance and made camp in a nearby mountain crag. That night I listened to the sounds of nature's animals as I drifted off to sleep--a welcome respite from all the noise of bustling cities and towns.
We met a dragonborn paladin named Rhogar wandering around near the castle the next morning and he seemed like an eager and able-bodied guy who was interested in going with us down into the catacombs to confront the Band of the Red Hand. Treble snuck ahead and alerted us to the presence of some guards in the room. There were four of them, and they were pretty tough. Barely into the fight at all, I found myself struggling to land a good hit with my flail while they were walloping me bloody. Then Elaira was singing a beautiful song that made me feel a resurgence of energy, and the paladin said a prayer over me and I felt whole again, and was better able to focus my energies... after that, I landed a devastating blow to aid Elaira, Treble, and Rhogar in defeating the sword-wielding gobins, while Horadric and Keh'r focused on trying to take out the bowmen. After helping to defeat the swordsgoblins, I helped Treble and Keh'r gain tactical advantage to finish off the two bowmen. As we were finishing them off, Keh'r was unable to move in time to avoid being hit by a silver flame crossing the room between the two braziers, but he seemed to shrug it off.
We then rested as we found ourselves confronting 3 sets of doors. Treble checked them all for traps and declared that none were to be found, so we decided to split up to survey them and determine which direction was best to go. Elaira and Kehir went through the East door, which was labelled on the plaque with to Van Jallach; Rhogar and Treble went through the North door, labelled to Rivenroar; and Horadric and I went through the West door, labelled to Van Urstadt. I don't know what was through the other doors, but I know that Horadric and I encountered a room full of goblins. They didn't see us peeking around the corner, so we quietly closed the door again and went to report back to the others.
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