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Session Four: Enter the Halfling


Morning dawned in Woodbend, greeting Wynn-frid as she rose from her trance with bright sunbeams promising a clear and beautiful day. The Druid gathered her things and, remembering the events of the night before, checked underneath the door to her room. Lying upon the floor was an envelope, sealed with the crest of the local guard. Wynn opened the seal and read the contents of the letter.

What was written was a brief description of the previous day's battle, and Wynn-frid's part in it. The writing ended with a recommendation that Wynn-frid be treated with respect among the Cobalt Guard in the city of Telim and, as of the word of the Captain of Woodbend's city guard, be given lodging for as long as she remains a friend to the city. Gratefully, Wynn sought out the local captain and thanked him for his generosity. He, in kind, thanked her for her aid, and proclaimed that the Writ of Valor she had received was the least he could do.

Having secured lodging and a guide in Telim, Wynn-frid felt it was time to complete her journey to the city. She set back out upon the road with purpose, orienting herself towards the ruby tower in the distance. The next leg of her journey passed uneventfully, and Wynn-frid found herself entering Telim's gates within the next couple of days. As she passed through the gates, she could feel the slight resistance of the magical barrier holding any threats at bay; she passed through unharmed and unhindered, and made her way towards the Bluebill Inn that Elena had recommended to her before her departure, wanting to grab a room before nightfall, which was approaching quickly.

Inside the well-kept common area, Wynn scanned the room and was met with a familiar face. Sitting at a table, hood up to ward off conversation and nursing a tankard of ale, she spied a Halfling that she had met a little over a year ago in the village of Clement. Remembering that his name was Gamma, Wynn recalled her fast friendship with his wife, Myrna, and their shared love of gardening and nature. She approached the Halfling, who looked up as she approached. He, in turn, recognized her, and the two greeted each other as close acquaintances would.

The two were just starting to catch up with one another on the events of the past year when Wynn-frid was startled by a voice in her head. Elena Wraists's raspy voice rang out, urgent and frantic, directing Wynn-frid to destroy the Vestige letter she carried immediately! As Wynn quickly turned to her Bag of Holding, she saw the sides of the bag begin to bulge and undulate. She reached into the opening and pulled forth the letter, which had begun to glow a faint blue, and threw it towards the open area between two tables. As she did so, a dark flash of energy engulfed the scroll, vaporizing it, and out of the shadow-like cloud of energy stepped a tall, lanky dark-robed figure, its hood up to obscure its face.

As the figure appeared, Gamma Rays, the Halfling Wynn-frid had met, rushed towards the stairs, attempting to get a higher vantage point and taking a defensive position with his crossbow. Wynn attempted to communicate with the figure, but as soon as she began to speak, she watched as the creature, with bandaged arms and hands outstretched towards two other bar patrons, released a yellow-green cloud of energy from its palms. The blasts struck each of the bar patrons and they fell forward in their chairs, apparently dead immediately.

As Wynn stared, horrified, the creature hissed, uttering some sort of spell, and she saw the two dead bar patrons begin to stir, their bodies jerking and twisting unnaturally. They stood and shambled to the side of the robed figure, now revealed to be a necromancer of some kind. Wynn and Gamma felt they had no choice at this point but to engage and try to stop this creature. The two of them began to attack, Gamma from afar and Wynn closer to the assailants.

Gamma quickly dispatched one of the undead patrons, and scored a hit on the necromancer, as Wynn used her Thorn Whip to destroy the second undead. The necromancer, seemingly unfazed by the loss of its minions, hissed at the two of them that it had no time for these games, and made for the doorway. It had just made it outside the door when Wynn's last-ditch Thunderwave spell scattered it into dust.

As Wynn moved to investigate where the creature had once stood, she called for guards in the street outside the tavern. Hearing no response, she moved back inside after determining that the necromancer's remains were completely gone. Gamma and Wynn waited for the guards to arrive, hoping that someone had heard Wynn's shout, and during this time, Wynn wrote to Elena using the Telescription Paper she had been given. She explained what had just happened, and received a startling message back. The message from Elena conveyed that Elena may have missed something important, that she may have, unwittingly, placed the city of Telim-perhaps the world-in great jeopardy. Her message ended with the phrase, "The Vestige remains" and her promise that she would arrive in Telim in one day's time.

Two town guards finally arrived to investigate what had happened, and they found the bartender shaken and still in shock over what he had just witnessed. Gamma and Wynn both told the guards that it had been a bar fight gone wrong, and they were simply defending themselves. The guards believed them, seeing no real evidence to the contrary, and removed the two bodies from the inn.

Wynn and Gamma, exhausted but wary, stayed up late into the evening, recounting their respective tales about their past year. Wynn told Gamma that she had been tasked with finding her wayward Druidic kin, those that had shrugged off the teachings of the Balance in favor of a single element. It was her job, she explained, to assess whether these misguided individuals were causing harm to the Balance, and if so, stop them. Similarly, Gamma relayed to Wynn that, for almost a year, he had been beholden to a bandit-turned-Baron named Jezrim Wain, the current Lord of Clement. Wain had usurped the title expertly, and as far as anyone else was concerned, was the legitimate ruler of Clement. Gamma had fought against Wain, killing quite a number of his men before being caught. Instead of having him executed, however, Baron Wain had taken Gamma's family as collateral, ensuring that the assassin would take care of any political enemies of Clement.

As the two talked, both of them couldn't help but wonder: What had they gotten into? Who was the Vestige? What did they want? These questions and more, it seemed, would have to wait for the arrival of Elena Wraist.

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