Date: Sunday, April 8th
Players: Andrew, Bretton, Craig, David, Henk, Rich
Level: 8+

Following the unexpected death of his wife two days ago, Mayor Tullen Roon of Esten Town has resigned, and nobody seems to be in charge of Lockenport's neighbor at a critical time.

This assignment was commissioned by an Esten Town merchant, concerned about the fate of his home town, but it is being underwritten by Lockenport's powerful Congress of Guild Leaders. The safety of Esten Town is of strategic importance given that it lies between Lockenport and an encroaching horde of undead.

Traditionally, the office of the outgoing Mayor of Esten Town is responsible for managing the election process used by the town to choose its subsequent leader. Although not without flaws and complexities, there is an established voting process supported by Esten Town's citizens. Unfortunately, the process seems to have fallen apart this time around, and the town leaders are unable to agree who should be in charge. Faced with the added stress of bands of zombies and packs of ghouls terrorising the nearby farmlands, a leadership crisis is not something that the town can afford right now.

Lockenport has a long and careful history of interfering as little as possible into the affairs of its neighbor, and is generally seen as neutral. A tiefling merchant named Jahendris has managed to convince some of the most significant factions in Esten Town to agree to mediation by a team appointed by Lockenport's Congress of Guild Leaders.

Officially, the goal of this mission is to politely resolve the leadership dispute paralysing Esten Town. Unofficially, the Congress of Guild Leaders needs a strong Mayor at the helm as soon as possible, and one who will be able to protect the town from the undead.

Funding for this mission consists of a 1000 gp purse due upon the successful election of a new mayor of Esten Town and a 1000 gp bonus for getting him, her or it elected before nightfall tomorrow. There is also a “support fund” of 2000 gp, provided in a selection of chattel notes and small gem stones, which would be… easy to dispose of in Esten Town, should that become necessary for the success of the assignment. (Irregulars are expected to keep track of how the support fund is used.)

Case number: 210/01/119

Irregulars participating: Ash (1618), Luusi (9999), Lark (777), Sha'kar (321), Zimmijon (5765), Frost (2510)

Leader: Zimmijon

Summary: The primary mission of resolving the leadership dispute in Esten Town was completed successfully and in good time. Ex-mayor Roon's assistant, Ilor Grask was chosen to become the new mayor. Somehow, the group managed to achieve this whilst also defending Esten Town from the beginnings of a undead invasion.

Fatalities: None. Even the horses were all returned safely to Alcor's Stables!

Notes:

• They claimed to have battled a bone dragon, rubber(?) zombies, water zombies and cyclops skeletons. None of them have ever seen a live cyclops either – I'm sure that all the cyclopes must be dead, they only show up as skeletons.
• Some of the zombies were encountered on the shore road on the way to Esten Town, meaning that this route is no longer safe.
• Apparently there is more than one use for an aqueduct. As well as providing clean drinking water, it can also be used to flush zombies.
• Both Tommy “One Thumb” of the Free Citizens Association, and High Town Delegate Philas Twick supported Ilor Grask's election. (I'm guessing that they were probably drugged or enchanted in order to pull that off, but I decided not to ask the group too many questions about that.)
• The electoral process was certified by Leanora Tasp of the Esten Town Scrivener's Guild.

Declarations: They did not declare any treasure from this mission. Based on the grumbling and moaning, I'm pretty sure they were telling the truth about this.

Commendations: The group agreed that they worked well together, despite no previous experience as a team.

Leadership: There were no complaints about Zimmijon's leadership, although some of his companions seemed rather concerned about the strangely tentacle spirit which he frequently whispers to.

Further investigations:

• There is an urgent need to send support troops to Esten's Town's assistance. Dunstead Riley, who heads up the Esten Town guard is reportedly trustworthy, but somewhat talkative never, ever stops talking.
• There may be some resistance to Grask's election from some of the wealthier families in Esten Town. This should be monitored carefully.

Accounting notes:

• 1,000 gp award for this mission [source: Jahendris]
• 1,000 gp bonus for completing the mission before the deadline [source: Congress of Guild Leaders]
• 260 gp of the support fund used, balance returned to the Guild

/=========================================================\
| XP notes                                                |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Lacedon (6 x 300)                           =  1,800 XP |
| Howling Ghoul                               =    350 XP |
| Skeletal Cyclops (2 x 700)                  =  1,400 XP |
| Plague Fogger                               =    400 XP |
| Flayed Crawler (5 x 400)                    =  2,000 XP |
| Stoneborn Dracolich                         =  3,000 XP |
| Quest: A New Mayor                          =  2,100 XP |
| Quest: Aqueduct Improvisation               =    900 XP |
| Quest: Protect the Citizens                 =    900 XP |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| Total                                       = 14,650 XP |
| Per person                              ÷ 6 =  2,442 XP |
\=========================================================/