Post by hubertbartels on Feb 15, 2020 13:32:18 GMT -5
Having dealt with Inga Ravencloak, Thelma Ironhand and their bandits and dogs, we took a short rest. Then we were free to explore the rest of the farmhouse. In the kitchen, we find a narrow stairway leading down into the basement. In the stone-walled basement, we found an long empty room with a single wooden door. Wolfram detected signs of a trap – I (Aerwyn) broke it with my magic.
Opening the door, we are immediately faced with a well-constructed altar to Iuz. With grunting and laughing noises, a group of dretches came running at us out of the darkness, followed by an incorporeal demon. We killed them all – then set a fire on the wooden surface of the altar. As the farmhouse began to billow forth smoke, we left the house and headed for the barn.
The house burned through the night. In the morning, we collected the bandit corpses and the 41-odd horses and and began to return to Midmeadow. Behind us, we left the cooling ashes of the farmhouse and its hidden temple.
Back in Midmeadow, we began making inquiries about Inga Ravencloak’s distinctive ring. Wolfram learned the most – members that wore that ring were members of a charitable group known as the ‘Gilded Society’. The ‘Gilded Society’ was composed of society types, mostly mercantile people, that gathered at a club in Silver Street. Their goal was to further enrich themselves while doing good things for those that needed it. The Gilded Society ran an orphanage and a soup kitchen in Midmeadow among other things. They included most of the wealthier merchants in town, Jasper Smooth – well known bard, and Rudgar Goldfingers, the Master of Coin, at the temple of Zilchus.
First, we decided to case the place. The ‘Gilded Society’ had their social club at #12 Silver Street, one in a long string of row townhouses. Across the street was a taproom, the ‘Silver Chalice Taproom’ where servants dined and waited for their employers to finish. Wolfram gathered more information including that a known West Side gang member was a member of the society and that there were supposed to be tunnels leading all over the city. After watching the place for a while. We decided to approach the Master of Coin at the temple in the morning. Of all the people mentioned, he would be the least likely to be a worshiper of Iuz.
In the morning, we went to the temple of Zilchus. Thanks to Duncan, we were able to get a quick appointment to see Rudgar Goldfingers around mid-afternoon. Once there, Duncan quickly brought the Master of Coin up to date on our hunt for hidden temples and Iuz worshipers. Rudgar was shocked that someone in the Gilded Society would dare to worship Iuz and agreed to help us. For a start, he would allow us entry into the social club after hours and look for the rumored tunnels.
After midnight, he and a companion opened the doors of the Gilded Society and let us in. We spread out and began searching the ground floor for hidden entrances. After turning up nothing in the cloak room and the ball room, we discovered a secret staircase in the dining room. This led down to a warded meeting room in the basement with a sliding door to the wine cellar.
Again, searching the meeting room carefully, we opened a sliding panel to another stairway leading further down. Rudger Goldfinger and his companion stayed in the meeting room while we descended into the darkness.
Opening the door, we are immediately faced with a well-constructed altar to Iuz. With grunting and laughing noises, a group of dretches came running at us out of the darkness, followed by an incorporeal demon. We killed them all – then set a fire on the wooden surface of the altar. As the farmhouse began to billow forth smoke, we left the house and headed for the barn.
The house burned through the night. In the morning, we collected the bandit corpses and the 41-odd horses and and began to return to Midmeadow. Behind us, we left the cooling ashes of the farmhouse and its hidden temple.
Back in Midmeadow, we began making inquiries about Inga Ravencloak’s distinctive ring. Wolfram learned the most – members that wore that ring were members of a charitable group known as the ‘Gilded Society’. The ‘Gilded Society’ was composed of society types, mostly mercantile people, that gathered at a club in Silver Street. Their goal was to further enrich themselves while doing good things for those that needed it. The Gilded Society ran an orphanage and a soup kitchen in Midmeadow among other things. They included most of the wealthier merchants in town, Jasper Smooth – well known bard, and Rudgar Goldfingers, the Master of Coin, at the temple of Zilchus.
First, we decided to case the place. The ‘Gilded Society’ had their social club at #12 Silver Street, one in a long string of row townhouses. Across the street was a taproom, the ‘Silver Chalice Taproom’ where servants dined and waited for their employers to finish. Wolfram gathered more information including that a known West Side gang member was a member of the society and that there were supposed to be tunnels leading all over the city. After watching the place for a while. We decided to approach the Master of Coin at the temple in the morning. Of all the people mentioned, he would be the least likely to be a worshiper of Iuz.
In the morning, we went to the temple of Zilchus. Thanks to Duncan, we were able to get a quick appointment to see Rudgar Goldfingers around mid-afternoon. Once there, Duncan quickly brought the Master of Coin up to date on our hunt for hidden temples and Iuz worshipers. Rudgar was shocked that someone in the Gilded Society would dare to worship Iuz and agreed to help us. For a start, he would allow us entry into the social club after hours and look for the rumored tunnels.
After midnight, he and a companion opened the doors of the Gilded Society and let us in. We spread out and began searching the ground floor for hidden entrances. After turning up nothing in the cloak room and the ball room, we discovered a secret staircase in the dining room. This led down to a warded meeting room in the basement with a sliding door to the wine cellar.
Again, searching the meeting room carefully, we opened a sliding panel to another stairway leading further down. Rudger Goldfinger and his companion stayed in the meeting room while we descended into the darkness.