Chapter Three: Saragost (arrival/ambush)

After Seebo had been in the city for a few days the Council of Saragost summoned him to their meeting hall and ordered (requested strongly?) him to go find his fellow heroes and present them to the Council at the first opportunity.

Seebo set out north towards the Tump immediately. Conveniently, he arrived in Hockton Barrow on the same afternoon that his companions arrived. Even more fortuitous was the arrival of Casey and Alev who had been out among the minor hamlets and villages spreading the word of the coming Duergar army.

The heroes spent some time catching everyone up on one another's doings. The party determined to destroy the ogre and goblin band that had killed Rygorh. The Knife and Casey scouted the enemy camp some two or three miles from the main road and discovered only three goblins there. Apparently the rest of the group was out raiding. Neil used a locate object spell to find a large-sized greatclub in the area and confirmed that the ogre's weapon was not about.

The heroes then set an ambush for the raiding party near the road. A sound burst spell did for most of the goblins, several ranged attacks and a strike from Tilk's deadfall trap killed the ogre and the Knife helped finish off some of the remaining goblins. The group returned to the encampment and quickly dispatched the three goblins there. The heroes gathered gold and left the pitiful goblin and ogre gear behind.

The party then traveled on to Saragost. Outside the walls of the great city the heroes found hundreds of refugees waiting to enter. The Knife explained that the entry requirements: a useful craft, martial skill or fifty gold coins to spend. Rygorh became quite distraught, grumbling about nobles mistreating the people.

As the heroes approached the city a mounted soldier, Captain Hugh Severin of the Saragost City Watch, found them and led them into the city via a side gate. He explained that the Council was most anxious to meet them. Somewhat suspicious the party followed him . . . into an ambush in a cramped alleyway.

The Knife noticed a couple of guys with crossbows drawing down on the party and called out a warning. He prepared himself for defense while Hugh Severin "ran for help." As it turned out there were five skulking cut throats in the alley and Hugh Severin helped the bandits. Rygorh fell to a poisoned crossbow bolt, but most everyone else escaped mostly umharmed. Tilk took a charge from Hugh, but he returned the favor and then some. Within moments the assassins were dead, dying or fleeing. The group gathered up the corpses and tended to the wounds of Hugh Severin to keep him alive for questioning. They also looted their fallen enemies and found very nice weapons and strange haematite discs on each of them. These discs have a spider symbol on one side and either a dagger or a hand on the reverse. They later discovered that the discs were marked with an Arcane Mark which cannot be forged.

Moving on to the Council chambers in the Tower of Undying Light, the heroes were admitted to a private meeting with the Council. They told their story about the ambush. The Council assured them there would be a trial and the miscreants would be executed if they were found guilty. The heroes were to make themselves available for the trial. Furthermore the Council awarded each of them 1,000 gold pieces and announced that they would each receive an honor badge, Freeman of Saragost, in a ceremony on the morrow. In the meantime they should make themselves comfortable in the city and prepare for more adventure as the Council needs their help . . . there are three largish towns that have been eerily silent of late. The Council would like for the party to check out the situation in each of these towns and returns with news and armed soldiers if possible.

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