Session Twenty-Three - April 2, 2005

[Matt]

The Last of Evil Erol

Larane 20, 730 TR

We begin our day as usual, discussing matters in the common room of the Bridgetower Inn in the not so fair city of Golotha. While we are discussing the day’s activities, one of Boraga the embalmer’s journeymen enters the room. He bears yet another message for Ewen to come and visit him in his place of work. As before Ewen and Imarë go to him, and Boraga greets us cordially when we arrive. He takes us to another table where lies a younger man, in his early twenties, with brown hair. He is bearded and of medium height and build and seems well nourished Boraga tells us that he had been pulled from the canal early this morning near the pool. He then shows us that his throat had been slit (from the evidence we think from behind) and the seemingly ever-present mascles had been carved into his chest. We check his mouth and find a modern silver penny lodged in his throat. While we are checking his body, Ewen notices a smell coming from the young man’s hands (different from the normal smells which are associated with the Golothan canals). We determine that the smell is one a hideworker usually has. Querying Boraga, we find that there is a hideworker nearby, one Idorah of Otorsa. Discovering all that we can from the body, we return to the rest of the group.

After we make the decision to inform Sir Tovar that the Baron of Quste had been murdered and that his body was at the workshop of the embalmer we proceed to investigate the latest victim. We go to the shop of Idorah and talk with him, and from the description we give him he identifies the young man as Elpar of Bastan, one of his journeymen. The last known movements of Elpar known were from the prior evening when he evidently had plans to go out to the Trident Inn with a friend for a night out. We were also told that he lived in the shop (part of his compensation) and that he had behaved as he always had in the past few days. Nobody knew who the friend he was meeting might have been. We were also informed that he came from north of Golotha, perhaps Shostim. Finding that nobody here knew any more, either about him or his activities, we decide to pay the Trident a visit.

When we arrive at the Trident we find the innkeeper, one Kardis of Ernaldin, a balding, middle-aged man. He knows Elpar and saw him in the inn last night, but does not remember him with anybody. We are told that Elpar was deeply in his cups last night and that he ran out of money during the evening. His usual practice was to drink and then visit one of the prostitutes who work the Trident but did not do so last night due to lack of finances. His favorite is Kurla, who is not working right now. Also in attendance last night were members of the Cohort of Gashang, the Agrikan fighting order. They are different from the Warriors of Mameka, the group that patrols the city. The two groups do not get along together. Being early in the day, not many people who were there last night are present and we decide that further questioning will have to wait for later, in the evening. Once again we return to the Bridgetower Inn.

While we are resting from our labors in the common room, a good looking, well-dressed man enters the inn. He is wearing a nice signet ring on his hand and speaks with an accent reminiscent of Melderyn but stronger. He asks for brandy and comes to talk with Bevan (he knows her and is a friend of Theron). He introduces himself to the rest of the party as Jahmis Keir. He states that he has a fondness for Harn but is from Emelrene himself. Talking about himself, we discover that his brother is the Baron of Ivay and they are cousins to an Earl. Unless his brother has a son he is the next in line to be the Baron of Ivay. He knows Theron who was kind enough to teach him the ways of Fyvrian magic. He himself is an Savoryan but is making his way towards becoming a gray mage (all the convocations). He is returning the favor for Theron with the Odivshe branch of magic. He brings Bevan a note of response from Theron about a message sent a couple of days earlier. The answers are of little import now as we found most of the information we asked about.

After this, we decide to approach Jarop, the guildmaster of the Lia-Kavair, and a note is dispatched by urchin. While we wait for an answer, Ewen and Sir Baris (using the nom de guerre “Karl”) decide that they will go bar crawling this evening to visit all the low places of entertainment that we have missed during our visit (we get the names and locations from Orsa). After they leave, a man comes to escort Bevan and Imarë to Jarop. Dascomb, to his discomfort, is not invited.

The guide takes us back through the city to a building we know is a brothel near a place known as the Blood Raven Tavern. Bevan enters and is shown to a quiet corner table. Imarë has a table close by. Jarop joins Bevan at her table and they discuss business. We find that Slakka and Evil Erol were not “his people,” by implication Jeremiz and Mogger are/were. He has no idea who is murdering people and seems genuinely surprised that the Baron has been killed also. He is very interested in what the home of Rahel of Aerth is like and is willing to trade information for this knowledge. While talking about the number of troops Rahel has (Bevan mentioning only four), he casually says as he was pondering that at least a dozen rode out of the city in a hurry about eight or nine days previously. Jarop does not know when or by who the Baron of Quste was taken and does not seem to connect the departure of Rahel’s troops to his capture. He is willing to sell out Evil Erol for £2 and informs Bevan that his home is guarded by an Agrikan guard provided by Sir Zaurial (whose uncle will not permit him to kill Erol, whom he hates, because of an old favor). The Agrikan knight will know where Erol lives and the layout of the house. When the discussion turns to Slakka and his problems, he says that Borana is being protected by him but does not know anything about Jelesa except that her father was supposed to be a journeyman that Borana’s father murdered. The interview ends with Jarop giving Bevan five days to pay for the looking the other way about Erol. Bevan and Imarë decide to stay here to wait for Ewen and “Karl.”

While all of this is happening, Ewen and “Karl” go to the Trident to see if there is any further information that can be gleaned. They talk to Kurla and find out she is indeed the favorite of Elpar but they did not get together last night due to a shortage of funds. She confirms he has many acquaintances but can recall nobody he was here with last night. They decide to continue their interrogation of Kurla in a more ‘hands on’ fashion.

The duo then proceed to the Hand & Fist, one of the entertainment establishments we had not previously visited. On the way they pass through Arren Square. They notice a man in the shadows near the bridge canal and decide to make a drunken lurch in that area, thinking this is a Lia-Kavair man watching the house of Borana. When they do this they both get a strong feeling of fear about going anywhere near this man and leave the square very quickly (they almost ran without willing it). Ewen resisted flight for a time, but found he could proceed no nearer. This is not a man they really want to meet after all. They reach the Hand & Fist, a three and a half story structure (the back half has a fourth floor), which has the usual entertainments available in such places. The common room is dark and dank (befitting the genre) and is packed. Here the twosome play games of chance, a chess-like game called chifourni where they proceed to lose money gambling. The barmaid does, however, know Jeremiz although she allows that she is “not his type” and calls him a “slimy little toad.” The last time she had seen Jeremiz he was with Slakka about a week ago. She allows how Slakka had a reputation “as good as his grandfather’s.” She also tells them that Slakka is the best assassin in town. After these tidbits Ewen and “Karl” decide to go to the next establishment on their list, the “Brothel.”

When they arrive at what is euphemistically called the Lia-Kavair guildhall, they find Bevan and Imarë waiting there for them. The common room is a two-story affair with a balcony running around the second floor level. The ladies here are under the iron grip of the Madame, one Erlyn, who has a fondness for an unusual, wavy bladed dagger. At Bevan’s suggestion, Ewen decides to engage a girl, a very happy one called Lissa. She tells Ewen that she really does not have to work for a while; she had a customer last night who left her a 120d tip. Lissa thought the older man (with blue eyes) was almost glowing. With prompting she fills in the description, tall (in all ways) and blonde. She got the feeling that he looked right through her. When asked for a name she seems a little confused and notices for the first time that she never got a name. She did notice, however, that he did not have a local accent and thought his was from Melderyn. This description does not fit Jahmis Keir.

Leaving, the party goes to the last place on the list, the Blood Raven Tavern. The locals here don’t seem friendly, and the décor is shabby. Maybe of more import, we find that the ale and brandy here is the best we have found in all of Golotha and is reasonably priced. Surprisingly, in the middle of all this we notice our quarry – Evil Erol and his friend Jeremiz are ensconced at a table in the center of the room. The group holds a hurried conference in low tones at their table and decides that an ambush in the street would be the best way to dispatch Evil Erol.

Accordingly we set a trap in the alleys leading to the Kalphor Wharf and Kalphor Street. Before long Erol and Jeremiz come out of the tavern alone and walk down the alley. Bevan and Imarë each loose an arrow at Erol, who is struck in the face and goes right down. Ewen and “Karl” go in to attack Jeremiz. Imarë’s second shot unfortunately catches the hand of Sir Baris and causes a nasty wound. After the second dagger of Jeremiz is broken in the fight with Ewen, the harper manages to land a solid blow and the quarry goes down. Both are then finished off and searched. On searching the bodies we find a purse with keys in it on Erol and a gold ring on his finger. He carries only 8d and a broadsword. We quickly remove the heads of the two apparent mugging victims and beat a hasty retreat. The head of Jeremiz we dump into The Pool. The head of Erol is taken as a gift for Sir Zaurial, who is reported to hate this man as much as he hated Mogger. The only reason that he did nothing to him is that his uncle, Sir Klyrdes owed Erol a favor and gave him protection, and a Mameka guard for Erol’s home.

When Ewen arrives at Sir Zaurial’s and presents his gift, Sir Zaurial say that Ewen is a dangerous man , but thanks him for “ridding me of a vile thorn in my side.” As thanks Sir Zaurial provides Ewen with the location of Evil Erol’s house, a large house in Nemiran Square of two full stories and a partial third.

We go and investigate. The house has two doors, a single (with a keyhole), and a double (without). Having secured four keys from our target, we proceed to open the single door. With little fanfare we take over the establishment, being careful to warn the Agikan soldier that his services will no longer be required. He leaves quietly, apparently happy with the course of events. We round the staff up (five individuals) and cement our position by giving them a large amount of coin of the realm to switch their loyalty to us (60d each). There seems to be no loyalty for their former employer; the man seemed truly unpopular. The décor is a combination of nice items (seemingly from the time the house had belonged to the prior Earls of Techen) and homoerotic art such as a statue of an erection (we have been informed that his preference was young boys and involved pain and death). There is a good-sized great hall which shows lack of use (it contains five dusty stacks of firewood). On the upper level of the house, reached through the great hall, are two large bedrooms, an unused one with a double and single beds, and Erol’s, which has interesting items. We find chests containing silk and velvet clothing, a bag that jingles (which contains thousands of pennies and three gold rings). We find the double doors lead to a stable for six horses, of which three are present. We find a cell in the basement along with a rack and various implements (tongs, knives, pokers, and clamps) near what seems to be chair designed for torture. This is where we ended our busy day but are planning to search much more carefully and try to locate the homes of Slakka and Jeremiz (who each had a share in the £11 divided up among the four who robbed Sir Felkar). Imarë anticipates a busy day.