17th of Flamerule of the year 1492
With the battle behind them, the group began the grim task of gathering themselves. Dancer and Vladimir lay unconscious, Angelica was dead, and the rest of the party teetered on the edge of collapse. With the few healing potions they had, they managed to rouse the fallen—except for Angelica. She was beyond their reach, and without any magic capable of resurrection, they knew their only hope was to seek out Whisper Autumn, the head priest of the local temple. Time was of the essence.
Desperate to salvage anything they could, the group scoured the complex, searching for treasure and, more importantly, clues about the cultists’ plans. For an hour, they rummaged through rooms, all the while fearing that more soldiers might be waiting for them upstairs, lurking on the ground floor. As time wore on, Ace, feeling a little stronger, decided to venture up alone to scout.
Moving with deliberate silence, Ace reached the top of the stairs. The warehouse had changed. The soldiers had rearranged the crates, creating barriers—perfect cover for an ambush with their heavy crossbows. Yet, to his surprise, the area was eerily empty. Ace cautiously tossed an empty healing potion vial into a distant corner, shattering it on the floor. He strained to hear, and just on the edge of his perception, he caught it: the soft click of a door closing, the one that led to what they believed was the soldiers’ barracks.
Knowing someone was still there, Ace slipped back down the stairs to inform the others. A wave of tension swept through the party. Angelica’s body had already been prepared—her gear removed, her form wrapped and placed in a bag of holding. Meanwhile, Vladimir had taken the fallen knight’s armor, replacing his own with the intricately carved plate mail adorned with sea motifs, an oddly striking look for the brooding warrior.
They ascended the stairs as stealthily as their battered forms allowed. Out of magic, potions, and nearly out of hope, they moved slowly, cautious of any hidden threats. But when they reached the warehouse floor, it was as Ace had found it: empty. Dancer pressed his ear against two doors—one leading to the barracks, the other to an unknown room. While the others scoured the warehouse, Fwoosh and Dancer opened the barracks door. Inside, six triple-decker beds stood empty, the room a chaotic mess, as if its occupants had fled in a hurry.
In the other room, Fwoosh and Dancer discovered an office. They quickly swept any paperwork and books into Dancer’s bag for later examination. Meanwhile, Vladimir and Yllanys found several locked chests near the luxury wagon parked in the warehouse. Yllanys, having retrieved the key earlier, opened the chests, each containing magically charged objects shaped like sea creatures. Strangely, each time a chest was opened, the items floated into the air, circled Vladimir, then shattered into fragments of rock, clay, and porcelain. Though Yllanys suggested they stop, Vladimir, intrigued by the strange phenomena, insisted they open all the chests, leaving him surrounded by a ring of debris.
After ransacking the rooms, Fwoosh turned his attention to the luxury wagon, finding a few hidden compartments but unable to perform a thorough search. As the group worked, they began to hear the sounds of morning—fishermen and warehouse workers gathering outside. Knowing they couldn’t risk being seen, they fled into the nearby woods, moving quickly through the dark for about an hour before setting up a cold camp. ISAC used cantrips to clean them up, transforming their appearance from bloodied brigands to weary mercenaries who had barely survived a battle.
While they rested, Vladimir sifted through the papers they had collected. It was a confusing tangle of information—ledgers, letters, and documents all mixed together without clear origin, sparking his desire to map out the connections like a conspiracy board. Among the papers, they found one sealed letter, a potential clue that stood out from the rest.
Letters Found
And one letter that had still been sealed in an envelope.
Dancer and Fwoosh stepped away to have a conversation with their Red Larch task master, Jepos.
“Hey, Jay. We ransacked the warehouse. Found a whole bunch of cultists. We grabbed every paper, ledger, whatever that we could. Found a corpse with an eyepatch, probably barge ride. He was definitely eyeballs deep with these guys.”
“It shouldn’t be possible. I heard from Nalaskur yesterday that Bargewright is still in town. How old’s the body?”
“Fresh. They murdered him. As a reaction to us being there.”
“I’ll have to check with Nalaskur.”
“So anyway, there might be two witnesses. Can’t be sure. Guards, they took off. There’s a big old wagon that we didn’t have a chance to go through very well. I think we need to send some extra muscle down here if you want to consolidate.”
“I could probably contract Whisper to clean up for us.”
“That’d be great. What else do you want me to do?”
“Finish investigating Barge Right. Something’s still funky happening there and Nalaskur is freaking out.”
“Do you trust him or not?”
“Nalaskur is trustworthy. He’s been there 50 years.”
“Okay, let him know we’re coming.”
Meanwhile, Yllanys attuned himself to a magical necklace, allowing him to speak with the dead—a grim skill that would be useful for interrogating the heads of the slain cult leaders they had stashed in a bag. After a brief rest, they set their sights on Womford, where Whisper Autumn might have the power to resurrect Angelica. Upon reaching the temple, they presented Whisper with their request.
Whisper Autumn
“One of our number has had a mishap. We were wondering if you might be able to help us with it.”
“How much of a mishap are we talking about?”
“The terminal kind of mishap.”
“That’s unfortunate. How terminal was it? What are we talking about, rolling down a hill, drowning, or like a full body available terminal mishap.”
“As if she attempted to pet a bear and the bear did not like her. Like she was struck by a sudden tremendous force of thunder.”
“So, the body’s in rough condition.”
“It’s intact. Well, none of the pieces are missing.”
“Yes. Oh, I see. And it’s been relatively recent.”
“It hasn’t been too long.”
Whisper had her acolytes move a partition in front of the vestibule to give some privacy for the ritual. Making sure that she was paid up front including a small pile of diamonds for the ritual, she started it. During the ritual, she told the group that the spirit was already traveling away, and if they wanted to give encouraging words, maybe it might help bring Angelica back.
ISAC’s voice comes first, filled with a mix of sorrow and resolve. “I would like to express how close I have become to her, and how much I wish for her to return.”
Then Dancer, quietly but sincerely, “I place a bearclaw in her hands.”
Yllanys follows, his tone gruff but laden with emotion. “I know she’d do the same for me, and say, get the fuck back here.”
Ace’s voice comes next, hesitant but earnest. “Sorry I couldn’t get to heal her in time, I guess? I don’t know. Well, she better get here because she can’t yell at… She can’t reprimand me for it if she stays over there.”
Fwoosh’s words are more mystical yet filled with hope. “I pulled the Six of Wands, which is a card that represents triumphant success and recognition of hard work and achievements. And I say… Fate literally says that you have to come back, so do it.”
Finally, Vladimir speaks, his voice steady and commanding. “I will… Think back to my vision when I was stabilizing with Benny. And using the same phrasing, say… We’re not done here. There’s more to do.”
After about an hour, the ritual was nearly complete when Fwoosh’s gaze fixed on something unseen above Whisper, his eyes locked on a sight that only he could perceive. Suddenly, Angelica awoke with a sharp gasp, her face twisted in pain. Whisper, sensing the urgency, quickly ushered everyone out of the temple. The party, exhausted and battered, made their way to the Stick and the Lizard inn to secure rooms and finally get a much-needed full rest, as fatigue weighed heavily on them and their wounds left them in poor condition.
Over ten hours later, they reconvened in the inn’s dining room for a meal, taking the opportunity to catch up and discuss their plans. They strategized on how to obtain the luxurious wagon, hoping it would provide cover from what they suspected were Feathergale Knights conducting aerial surveillance on them. To conceal their movements, they left town again, intending to bide their time until the early morning, when they would make another attempt to infiltrate Warehouse #3.
18th of Flamerule of the year 1492
Several hours before dawn, the group quietly slipped back through the same door they had used to leave earlier. To their astonishment, the barracks had been completely cleared out. In fact, the entire warehouse, from what they could see, was now eerily empty. Everything had been taken, except for the wagon, which still stood there with a dented wheel where Vladimir had struck it with his maul.
With a creak, they swung open the large double doors and led in the four horses they had purchased from Whisper. One by one, they secured the tack and harnesses to the horses, preparing for their departure. Once ready, they opened the doors wide again and rode out of the town, making their way to the bridge across the River Dessarin. From there, they headed toward Bargewright Inn.
Arriving before dawn, they joined a small group of merchants in a waiting area just outside the gates, which would open at sunrise.
And this is where the session ended.
