The Package

Sar, Eyre 21, 993 YK

After spending quite a bit of time under the influence of the eyepiece, Ixen collapsed and fell unconscious. Rohagar managed to get into his room and recover both his body and the lens. Meanwhile, Brom woke up, having healed his wounds. He found himself spiked to the table, being dragged topside with the bodies of his fallen comrades. When the party questioned him, he refused to give them the information they needed unless they could deal in Shamukaar. Reluctantly, they agreed, and began heading back toward the tavern. Along the way, they encountered Rohagar with Ixen slung over her shoulder. Upon seeing Brom, Ixen snatched up his crossbow and fired a bolt into the dwarf. This only served to further antagonize the prisoner.

They soon reached Shamukaar, but were not permitted to bring dead bodies in. Hohenheim, Siegfried, and Gin went inside while the others waited outside with the bodies. Brom stayed at Shamukaar, confident that the Tarkanans would be around to pick him up. The party then confirmed that the monocle allows them to see special, hidden, writing that the Daelkyr used to use thousands of years ago during the Daelkyr War. The downside is that using the monocle affects the wearer’s mind, causing vivid hallucinations. After some examination, they realized that the monocle was made from an actual creature’s eye. Using it, they began searching for the symbol they had recovered from the dead dolgaunt. On the way, Ixen attempted to sell the corpses of the aberrant individuals and found a potential buyer, but some of the party objected and they continued on.

It wasn’t long before they found the symbol written on the entrance to a cave tunnel. A plan was devised. Gin took the form of Raven, the dead Tarkanan boy, while Hohenheim disguised himself as Fileon, the leader of the Tarkanan cell they had fought. The Gentlemen are waiting for Tarkanans and the party intended to give them just that. They decided that they needed a code word in the event that things went south; “package” was chosen. The others waited in the wings while Hohenheim and Gin prepared for the meeting. When the Gentlemen showed up, they came with a retinue of dolgrim bodyguards, some of which were guarding Kaziim, who was being held in chains. Hohenheim, as Fileon, approached the Gentlemen and asked: “Do you have the package?”, unintentionally uttering the code word. Ixen, overhearing it, fired his crossbow, striking one of the Gentlemen. The injured dolgaunt doesn’t get hostile, instead he beckons toward Ixen and the others in the back. Slowly, cautiously, they approach. Each of the Gentlemen pulls a glass flask from their vest pocket, opens it, closes it, then returns it to the pocket.

That’s when the party realizes they can’t speak anymore. And the dolgrims attack.