Session Summaries; Vol. 22: Falisci @ 24 Sep 2007 06:18 pm by Kevyspice
Rewards Earned
- Experience Points: Some
- Treasure: None to speak of
Ivan reported back that the fire giant was apparently an emissary from the new ruler of a fire giant kingdom to the south, seeking to open trade between the giants and the dwarves. Intrigued, the party asked about the possibility of meeting with emissary. Ivan expressed his doubts, but offered to talk to some people he knew. As a result, the party shared dinner and stories with the leader of the Tanners Guild, Hort Steelhide, at the Roc’s Nest, a nice restaurant overlooking Fairhaven Bay. The fellow mentioned a few particular items and commodities the city and his guild could use, and promised to keep the Four Gulls trading concern in mind in the future.
With their trading mission in Fairhaven amicably concluded, the captains of the Sea Wind and the Primrose ordered the vessels manned and loaded for the next leg of the Grand Tour. Four days’ quiet sail brought the small fleet to the next city up the coast, the Vodaccean port of Falisci, formerly home to Carmina Dell’orto’s family. Carmina informed the party that the port city was famous for its wineries and glassworks, the latter of which was also the Dell’orto family trade in Freeport, and that her great aunt Auraluna and great uncle Angelo still lived at the ancestral home on Swan Street.
After docking the ships and settling up with the harbormaster, the group set off to look up their trade contacts in Falisci. Upon hitting the streets, they became aware of a city guard presence that seemed a bit excessive given the town’s freewheeling reputation. They also noticed that Kumar, Richard’s halfling associate, seemed to be receiving an inordinate number of suspicious glances and muttered comments. Asking around, the party discovered that the town had recently endured a rash of mysterious killings and kidnappings, and that the killer, a “feral” halfling dubbed the Swan Street Slicer, had escaped his sentenced execution when the horses pulling his cart spooked and toppled the conveyance. The halfling was still at large, so all of his kith and kin were currently viewed with a higher than normal degree of suspicion. Talking the matter over with the guards, the party suggested to Kumar that he stay aboard the Sea Wind for the duration of the trip, to which condition the fellow readily agreed. Upon learning of Carmina’s lineage, one of the guards suggested that she should go and check in with her relations. Somewhat alarmed by the guard’s demeanor, the group headed to the Dell’orto house on Swan Street after seeing Kumar on his way back to the ship.
Dell’orto Manor turned out to be a dilapidated three-story house painted in a dismal brown-and-green swamp motif, with an overgrown hedge and unkempt garden framing the structure. All of the visible windows were either boarded up or heavily curtained, offering no view and probably no sunlight into the house.
Carmina and Spike knocked on the door and introduced themselves to the ancient halfling who answered. The nearly silent fellow ushered them and the rest of the party into the manor’s dining room. Lady Auraluna Dell’orto and her daughter Ceseli introduced themselves and the Lady’s two dogs, Baron and Sachi, to the group.
After some further initial pleasantries, the conversation turned to the guard’s veiled intimations regarding the Dell’orto family. The party discovered that Ceseli’s husband Mikael had been one of the Slicer’s first victims, and that the murderer had been trying to sneak into the Dell’orto house when the city guard caught him. After her husband’s murder, Ceseli had moved back into the family manor, both to get herself out of the house that she and Mikael had shared and to help take care of her mother during her father’s unfortunately-timed hunting expedition.
Perhaps trying to take her daughter’s mind off her recent loss, Lady Auraluna changed the subject and mentioned a small dinner party the Dell’Ortos were hosting later that evening. She invited Carmina and Spike, along with some of their friends and “help,” to attend the party and to come by for another visit the following evening, if they were still in town. The couple agreed and excused themselves to go procure appropriate dress for the soiree.