Storming the Castle, Chapter 3, Book II

 From the Chronology:

A close watch was kept on the castle over night.

20 Coldeven (March), 590 CY Höss and Rickus arrive in the morning. The party assaults the castle, slaying Arness, the mayor, and most of her henchmen. Tellish the Assassin escapes however. Garrotten is cleansed of its assassin's guild. 

Book II is a play through of Len Lakofka's L2 The Assassin's Knot (1983).

The Narrative:

In the afternoon of 19 Coldeven, having escaped the dungeons of the castle with Abraham, the party returned to the inn, where they regrouped and called for the other prominent members of the town to come for a council. 

While some members kept a close watch on the castle, Abraham, Corvus, and Sir Percy informed the party what happened, and that the Lord Mayor and Tellish were behind the Castellan's murder. The town was willing to offer some help, but not to assault the castle. The party sent a message with all they discovered to Ranger Lord Olaf Snowfalcon back at the Keep.

While they awaited word from Olaf and the Keep, Corvus (priest of Pholtus), Olga (Dwarven Scout),  Sir Percy Cleghorn Stanley Hobar (noble artificer), Ambiguity (Rakasta druid), Morbor (dwarven fighter), and Fandal (halfling rogue/wizard) set a close watch on the mayor's castle over night. They exchanged a few arrows and spells with the gate guards, slaying a few, before settling in for the night.

Castle of the Lord Mayor

Battle in the
castle courtyard!


In the morning Rickus (human wizard) and Höss (human gunslinger) arrived to reinforce the party and lead the assault on the castle. After consulting with the party and the town's leading citizens they made their plans. 

As the castle was small, the party determined on a frontal assault under the cover of spells and missile fire. they forced their way over and through the main gate, slaying guards before getting caught in an ambush just inside the main gate when the remaining defenders attacked while the party was in between the barn, the guardhouse, and the inner keep. They party set fire to the guardhouse, killed the mastiffs that emerged snarling from the kennel, and proceeded to burst through into the keep. 

Arness
Inside they killed acolytes, wizard apprentices, the guard captain Ascue, zombie guards, and finally Arness herself. 

Despite a thorough search, they could not discover Tellish, who seems to ahve fled the previous day and left Arness holding the bag alone. But they discovered some magic, some treasure, and a cache of letters that showed Tellish, and the guild's role in the giant's war on Keoland. The papers had their own mysteries as well. 

The letters showed that the giant's goal was ultimately the city of Cryllor, and that one of the leaders signed letters with an "S". The other letter showed that tellish was an agent of the Scarlett Brotherhood whose superior was Sister Ingrid, who led the pirate attack on Saltmarsh at the end of the Secrets of Saltmarsh campaign. 


The party returned Garrotten to the towns people, who organized a council to run things until the Duke of Cryllor appointed a new Lord Mayor. 

The next day the party rode for the Keep on the Borderlands to rejoin Ranger Lord Olaf and the war against the giants.

This played out in one session - 9 July 2023.

Disclaimer: This blog recounts the fictional events of a game of Dungeons & Dragons. Views expressed by characters within the blog are those of the characters, not the players, dungeon master, nor the blog's author. All other views in this blog are my own and represent the views of no other person, organization, or institution.

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