Session 12 (2025-03-14) - Brian

Background | Info Dump

The the Savelli family are the smallest, poorest, and youngest of the families. Money comes from Wine, land for vineyards, charging for tolls, and selling wares. The are involved in a range of vices - gambling, hookers, blow. Information brokers.

Calimshan is oldest civilization, oldest empire, of humans in Faerun. Amn is new. Tethyr broke off from Calimshan. Tethyr has never been stable, feast / famine. In 1300s had long brutal civil war, and had been subjugated. Aureltaran is very young, created as buffer for Amn.

Zaranda Rhinduan was a folk hero.

• 98% human
• 1% halfling
• everything else adds up to < 1%

It is September - Fall - rainy season - closing in on winter.

Riatavin now at about 70K population, it shrank from being 120K population.

The Sewers

We completed a long rest. Rhadavan and Hugh went out to go see what they can see. We all agree to call the sewers the grotto.

We go try to find the Dwarf Innkeeper Farnar. We think he knows something - he’s Armitage’s guy. He seemed like a bad ass. He knows Rowan too.

Gavin sends a message to Rowan:

It’s Gavin. We’re in Riatavin. Need to meet at The Pewter Shield inn. Danger, be on the lookout.

Gavin sends that message.

We leave the sewer, city proper. It’s mid-morning after the rain and it’s a lovely blue sky day. City is made of sandstone - yellow gold color. Now, disrepair and neglect. Moving through the city, we find frequent postings in public squares pasted onto walls, posters announcing of the wedding of Princess [[Ottillie]] and Etienne Auttencort on High Harvest Tide - a feast day associated at last good travel date before snows. High Harvest Tide is not a major festival in this region.

High Harvest Tide is 9 days away. The wedding is 9 days away. The posters are everywhere. We learn that there will be a city-wide feast and all debts will be forgiven courtesy of the Rhinduan.

Hugh and Radovan went to the local Hospitaler place. They also see the posters and find a piece of paper, showing 2 rune-like-glyph-symbols, stabbed through with a dagger. Then they run back into the rest of the group.

We make our way back through the city, on the way to the Pewter Shields. It is in a district of the city that is largely abandoned. There is someone there, standing across the street, looking at it. We do not recognize him (the new PC). Very mysterious and rakish. Has a flask in his hand, and says “what brings you to this fine part of Riativan?” He shares his flask with Bikke. Introduces himself to Barrick as Kincaid. He’s looking from Francesca Girasole as she liked to hire guards from The Pewter Shield.

Search rooftop, find footprints and crossbow bolts. Well made bolts, but no clear markings. No significant clues on the roofs.

We enter the Pewter Shield. Gavin shows the hole in the floor behind the bar. Normal trap door into the basement. We go down and find the door into the sewers. Hugh finds a double wall sconce that was pulled out and thrown onto the floor.

We find a hidden room with weapons and armor, chests, maps, coins. Maps show the structure of the city walls / sewer / under city / network of basements & support areas / tunnels. Identify some areas we understand, from western walls / guard house to where we are in SW and the center of city which is the Sandstone Palace.

On table are maps, ring of keys. Bikke tries to open the large chest. The chest opens and we find it’s a soldier’s footlocker - clothes, equipment, small weapons, bug-out bug stuff. Also find a scroll that looks like a partial legend with similar symbols to what we found earlier on the wall.

Bikke opens the other chest and finds a large number of coins in a variety of currencies. Loose coins, gems, and leather bag of coins on top - [[Amnian]] high density currency - like 5K GP per coin. Very odd. Non-magical. No such large entry in the ledger.

The broken axe is magical.

Weapons are well made but nothing special.

Ledger books is the books for the bar. 2nd is real books with additional payments - laundering through the bar - creative accounting. Barrick and Bikke review the books and see that these are cooked / real books. 10 - 15 years moving his own money into the bar, then layering that into the bar’s finances. 10 years ago, he identifies that merchant houses smuggling of unk items. Hints at merchant houses, not specifics. Within past 2 years, money coming from Del Veign and Auttencourt family and “Calimshan”. It seems like he sold Armitage out.

Kincaid says Girasole - organization run by Francesca Girasole

Gavin uses the legend to identify these numbers of the paper we found stabbed:

1347 the first symbol

1501 the second symbol

Barrick realizes that 1501 is the current year. 1347 was the beginning of the Tethyr civil war.

Bikke thinks: Farnar seems to be involved in planning a 2nd civil war on the side of the Auttencourt family.

Hugh: Farnar seems awesome but shady

Kincaid seems like a stoner and gets along well with Bikke - keeps him amused.

Barrick goes upstairs to keep watch.

Kincaid offers to help us find Farnar and JOINS THE PARTY.

We waste whole day and a bunch of money talking to homeless.

Then we hear guards talking about shit show in NW tower, library was burned down, and somone was hanging from the statue of Zaranda Rhinduan. The guards disappear down Exposition Alley.

We head to that place.

Talk our way in, saying we know the dwarf. Meet Helene who is very goth. She declares we were responsible and tells the guards to seize us.

Roll Initiative to fight guards - vampire familiars - and then a vampire - Captain Arsene. The vampire flees. We search the tower dungeon. We find Francesca Girasole’s body in a torture room. Kincaid finds a scrap of paper with symbols on them:

• Dwarf - Farsene
• Old man - Orazio
• Widow - Francesca

We find Farnar and Orazio in the furthest cells.

Farnar is beaten, shaved, near death.

Orazio is an extremely old Eladrin - old burned, wearing academic type robes. Ornate golden cage around his mouth.

Kira asks Orazio: why are you here?

Orazio is here for protection & he’s been down here for just a few days. Farnar just arrived today. Orazio thinks that Farnar isn’t going to live, even though he’s also being protected. The woman is dead even after she came here when she was rude to Arsene. Messages being sent by an unknown being that says things will die. Orazio claims to be thousands of years old - before Calimshan was founded. Orazio hasn’t been awake this whole time, but is not a vampire. He medidates over the years.

Hugh heals Farnar a bit. Farnar has a bulging, bruised belly - distended with heavy internal bleeding.

Kira asks why Orazio is still alive? Because I am the property of the Duchess of Auttencourt family. Killing him would anger them.

Farnar is unconscious.