October 25th

After being accused of murder and meeting with the druids on the 11th day of Flamerule, the party set about a merry adventure. They first went to Saltwater Square to Ardenil Tipfin's shop, called Tipfin's Fine Fabrics, and investigated things there. What they found appeared to be a perfectly ordinary merchant. Ardenil is a member of the Green Hat Trading and Holding Syndicate. They also found out that arcane spellcasting is "frowned upon," though it does not appear to be outright illegal.

The party then set off for Tipfins home on Tar street. It was a lovely two story townhome. The wizard stole some particularly striking clothing, and they may have made off with some gold. They met his neighbors, Glaven Shaw and his wife. They told him that Ardenil was clearly innocent. He was a friendly fellow that would never harm anyone. They did mention that a man wearing a black cloak sometimes came by his house before the incident. The man only came at night, but they did notice he had a ring on each finger of his right hand, which he used to knock on the door. The rings each had large stones, a ruby, an emerald, a sapphire, and a topaz.

At this point, the party went out drinking and searching for information. In the Malt Shovel they found someone who thought that guy might be hanging out at Dyfryn Spirits and Cheer on Edenvale road. It was a nice, quiet establishment. Not many people were there given its size, but still about twenty men were there. Nothing was apparent from the outside that anything might be different about this bar. And it must be assumed that some people there were not aware of what may happen there. But when someone walks in wearing a rainbow cloak with a fellow who is looking for something stiff, they'll quickly discover that gay men may come here looking for companionship. Tormey Mannion was sitting at the end of the bar, sad and alone. And drunk. It didn't take much work for the party to get him to talk. He let them to the Green Hat warehouse and into the secret room below it. That's when they discovered that the room was being watched by several guardsmen. They were hiding. A man demanded their surrender. The party immediately attacked these noble keepers of the peace. They killed four of them and left another alive and locked in the secret room.

Ardenil told them his tale. He had gone to meet the prince on the day of the attack. They were discussing some new clothes. As Ardenil left, there was a great commotion. Guardsmen were running every which was in confusion. Ardenil was just trying to stay out of the way. He heard a man he believed to be the steward speak to another "Go this way, I'll divert the guards!" Ardenil quickly ran, and he was afraid the steward had seen him, so he went into hiding here. He had Tormey fetch him a few things, but he mainly didn't want to risk being discovered. He was wanted and, until his name could be cleared (which at the time he doubted would ever happen), he was loathed by almost all the citizens. He was hiding until a captain of a Greet Hat ship he knew pulled into port and he could sneak aboard.

The party then hit the road around midnight. They claim they did not announce by which gate they left, but merely stated they were going east. Without any other information, it was assumed they left by the east gate. When the morning shift came to watch the warehouse, they found disaster. By noon, heavily armed riders went out on each of the three roads leaving Caer Corwell, but the strongest force was sent to on the East Road. The party was spotted, and they ran for the forest. A druidly spell of Entangle gave them a two minute head start on about half the riders, but the remaining half was more than enough. The party surrendered. A few snide comments about savages and their method of law enforcement were made. The noble guardsmen ignored them.

The party, along with Ardenil, were brought into the dungeon. The dungeon wasn't really all that bad. There wasn't a lot of room, but it was a reasonable temperature and dry. They were fed well. In the morning they were brought before the Steward of Corwell, Colwyn Malone.

It appeared justice would not be served. It seemed the party would not endure. It seemed character generation was upon us. But it turns out that even savages can only be pushed but so far. A beast that could take the appearance of Colwyn's wife threatned to kill his wife and daughter if he did not obey instructions he sent him. He did not know where they were being held. He somehow felt that justifying one man's death, even if he is noble, is perhaps worth the life of two of his family. But at least five soldiers of Corwell were already dead. He was looking at executing seven more. This he could not stand. He had helped the assassin on orders. He had sent everyone away on a fool's quest hoping time would finish off the prince, or at least give him a chance to get in the room alone with him (General Oran Robinson was very particular). Things had gotten worse, and it ended here. He confessed him crimes and allowed the party to heal the prince. He said he had no idea where this Liam fellow was, he just said he had a witness hoping the party would be scared off. He was also hoping Ardenil was already gone.

Colwyn had managed to figure out that a guard named Brynmor was passing messages. He also made certain this guardsman was not around this day. While the party rested and drank in excess with Owain the chamberlain, Brynmor was apprehended. Torture can be effective, but it is nothing compared to a charm person. He met a man named Klarven several months ago in The Malt Shovel. They became friends, and he sometimes asked Brymor to let him know what was going on. Eventually it became a great way to make money. Every 10 days or so Brymor would meet him off the East road by a big tree. His next meeting will be in 6 days at dusk, on the 24th of Flamerule. Someone checking the calendar might note that the day after the 30th of this month is Midsummer, so no one wants to miss that. Klarven had long black hair and is a little heavy. He is usually waiting for Brynmor, hiding behind the big tree.

There has been a hint or two that the party may not be entirely off the hook for killing four guardsmen. Righteous cause or not, these men were lawfully acting on the authority of the crown.