Date: Sunday, March 4th and Sunday, June 17th 2012
Players: Andrew, Bretton, David, Henk, Peet, Rich
Level: 8+

Recent missions have indicated that someone with the moniker “A” is behind the nefarious events in both Esten Town and Lodren's Gate. The Irregulars' representative on the mainland town has commissioned an investigation into this mysterious person.

Guild members participating in this mission will be expected to travel to Lodren's Gate and investigate recent events. The goal is to find out more about this mysterious “A”, and establish why he/she/it is working with the undead besieging the town. Any connection between “A” and the illithid recently encountered in town should be clarified, and above all, the mission must ensure that “A” does not do anything to make the situation any worse than it already is.

Given that this mission starts by traveling to a town under siege by an undead army, it has a generous 5000 gp purse associated with it.

Case number: 210/01/117

Irregulars participating: Clunk (4671), Rockwood (808), Zarra (9191), Zulak (69), Stoella (1069), Farzel (2223), Eckhardt (127) (Special note: Eckhardt replaced Zarra midway through the mission.)

Leader: Rockwood

Summary: Although this was clearly a taxing mission, the group was eventually successful in tracking down the mysterious “A”. Their investigation also uncovered a link between a cult leader named Merklaw Kes and the undead besieging Lodren's Gate. Dispatching Kes has struck a blow against the undead forces, and Rissel Tapp's forces now seem likely to overcome the town's attackers.

Fatalities: Zarra and Stoella both died. Seren Tantol filed a report that this mission had had a fatality (Zarra) just a few hours after it started. Eckhardt was assigned to the group as a replacement for Zarra, but even with his assistance, the group suffered a further fatality shortly later. This apparently involved Stoella, a roof, some falling and an unexpected beholder.

Notes:

• Seren's report noted that they had made a potential ally of Rissel Tapp, by saving him from an enchanted bodyguard.
• However, they were apparently overwhelmed by the ferocity of some stone sentinels encounters in one of the warehouses.
• There was a reported “incident” in the Rowdy Dolphin. Mention was made of a werewolf, possibly in jest. (The group later confirmed that this wasn't a joke and there was a real werewolf staying at the Inn.)
• The trail of the mysterious “A” lead the group back to the Rowdy Dolphin, where they were unexpectedly forced to deal with an angry beholder, named Axebraxis.
• It appears that there was a woman – possibly the mysterious “A” – named Alindra Shadowmantle – working with the beholder, and possibly even with Merklaw Kes. The group were less than forthcoming about this individual during the mission debriefing.
• Later, while infiltrating Merklaw Kes's compound, the group reported fighting another illithid, a pack of ferocious maw demons and a pair of “big one-eyed monsters that make you vomit”.

Declarations: A number of valuable items were recovered from enemies in Lodren's Gate: two enshrouding candles, a pearl of power, a vagabond's die, a bowl of purity, a stonewall belt, an amulet of psychic interference and a pair of winger bracers. The group sold the die and the bowl to the Guild, but elected to keep the other items. Also, during the debriefing, the group provided a small scrap of burnt paper with a few words on, and indicated that this was “important evidence”. Rockwood asked for a receipt but I really hope he's forgotten about that since I seem to have misplaced that document.

Commendations: Farzel was commended for his acting and his “switcheroo”, as well as for setting the demon maws alight.

Leadership: Rockwood's leadership was rated as “7/10”, “adequate” and “meets expectations” by his companions.

Further investigations:

• Was the mysterious “A” the beholder (Axebraxis), or the woman (Alindra), or someone else entirely? The group seemed unsure about this.

Accounting notes:

• 5000 gp purse [source: Seren Tantol]
• 680 gp used for a linked portal scroll
• 1200 gp spent on a scroll (and components) to hastily raise Stoella from the dead

Immediately after Thunderbane was done with the debriefing, Zulak requested a private audience with me to discuss this mission. Apparently, this group made contact with a source who had inside information about the lich Vedroth's plans. According to Zulak, the attacks on the towns on the mainland and even the invasion of Comack Island are merely a test of our readiness; Vedroth has no immediate intention of attacking Lockenport itself. Zulak expressed some concern that the elves of the Great Forest are Vedroth's primary target, which is consistent with other information recently made available to the Congress.

Zulak refused to disclose the source of this intelligence, but reviewing the mission report, the woman “Alindra Shadowmantle” seems the most likely person to have shared this intelligence. In any case, we must attempt to verify Vedroth's intentions as soon as possible.

During our discussion, I decided to take Zulak into my confidence regarding my concern that the guild has been infiltrated by outside forces. I did not go into any detail on this matter, but Zulak is not one of those Guild members we suspect to be involved in this matter, and his insights might prove useful.

/=========================================================\
| XP notes: Part 1                                        |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Thallys, the enchanted gladiator            =  2,000 XP |
| Grenadier                                   =    600 XP |
| Cutthroat                                   =    200 XP |
| Archers (4 x 200)                           =    800 XP |
| Mercenaries (6 x 150)                       =    900 XP |
| Sylish the Werewolf                         =    500 XP |
| Rock Hurler Gargoyles (2 x 600)             =  1,200 XP |
| Gargoyle Leader                             =      0 XP |
| Quest: Stop the Frenzied Gladiator          =    600 XP |
| Quest: Trace the Medallion                  =  2,000 XP |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Total                                       =  8,800 XP |
| Per person                              ÷ 6 =  1,467 XP |
\=========================================================/

/=========================================================\
| XP notes: Part 2                                        |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Axebraxis, the beholder                     =  2,000 XP |
| Alindra Shadowmantle                        =    800 XP |
| Mercenary Archers (8 x 200)                 =  1,600 XP |
| Nothic Plaguegazers (2 x 250)               =    500 XP |
| Cult Berserkers (4 x 175)                   =    700 XP |
| Human Ambusher                              =    300 XP |
| Maw Demons (10 x 125)                       =  1,250 XP |
| Tloptilic, Mind Flayer                      =  1,000 XP |
| Merklaw Kes, Cult Leader                    =    800 XP |
| Quest: Stop the Mysterious "A"              =  2,400 XP |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Total                                       = 11,350 XP |
| Per person                              ÷ 6 =  1,892 XP |
\=========================================================/