The Veiled Society, Part II

Original story concept taken from The Veiled Society by David Cook, ©1987 TSR, Inc. No challenge is intended to that copyright.

11 Riag, 1508TH

Bearclaw and Brighton came to see me. (It was, incidentally, the first time I had met Brighton -M). They wanted to know more about the wine they had found at the crime scene. I was only happy to oblige . The wine they had found was a particularly foul vintage from near the city of Travar -- the influence of the Badlands nearby makes the soil very acidic, and consequently the wine as well. There was certainly not much demand for it in Bartertown.

Brighton asked where it could be obtained. I knew of only one vintner in town who imported the stuff, and he only sold it to five or six places. I told them I would send word to the Griffin when I found out more.

The others reported to Clystone with their progress. The signet ring that Tomas had recovered from the scene of the crime belonged to the merchant Sarkov. This individual had been trying to weasel his way into the Council for several months, and had been courting Luca Tanley, the murdered girl. In fact, rumor had it that she had strongly rebuffed his advances at a party held just two weeks earlier, calling him a lout (among other less savory things) and generally embarrassing him in front of the other guests.

By the time they had returned to the Griffin, I had sent a list along of the establishments (and individuals) that bought that nasty Travarian swill from the vintner that supplied it. At one of the cheap drinking holes that served the stuff (an unsavory locale called the Rusty Tankard) they met a t'skrang who went by the name "Bucky." This constant drunk and veteran of the war with Thera, spoke as freely as he drank, but nowhere could the investigators find any trace of the missing Lowill.

That afternoon at the Griffin, the four discussed their plans. Bearclaw wanted to stake out Sarkov's warehouse. Brighton and Mica returned to the Rusty Tankard to try and find out more about the wine, the Veiled Society, and Lowill. While speaking with Bucky, they saw two red-haired people at the Hall. There was a red-headed dwarf laborer, and a red-haired elf. The elf left through a back door, and vanished quickly when Brighton tried to follow him.

That evening while wandering the streets alone, Tomas was ambushed by a masked crossbowman, apparently from the Veiled Society. He narrowly escaped, and returned to the Griffin shaken, but unharmed.

12 Riag 1508 TH

The four spent the morning trying to get help against the Veiled Society, but had no luck tracking down anybody who was willing (or able) to help them.

Tomas and Mica explored the site of the ambush, discovering an abandoned warehouse. Exploring it, they had a very curious encounter -- a young elf boy carrying a basset hound puppy. The child left no tracks, didn't speak, and vanished mysteriously after they played a game of "follow the leader" with him. Tomas theorized that the child was a spirit of some sort, but admitted that it was beyond his area of expertise.

Brighton spent the afternoon staking out the Rusty Tankard. The others explored Lowill's house some more, and discovered that Lowill was the red-haired elf from the previous night. As they tried to track down the elf, the mysterious elf child appeared again. Bassett (as he was dubbed) led them to the Rusty Tankard, where they met up with Brighton.

Poking around at the Rusty Tankard, they discovered a secret panel in the back hallway which led to a series of tunnels and rooms dug beneath the Hall. Exploring these rooms, they witnessed the death of Lowill at the hands of the Society.

The four followed the apparent leader of the Veiled Society -- a tall human wearing a red robe and a large wooden mask. They broke through the door to his office and came face to face with his guards -- two large, insect-like humanoids. As they fought these creatures, the leader escaped through another secret passage.

After the fight, they searched the leader's chamber and came across papers that described the plot to blackmail Lowill and a plot to seize control of the Merchant's Council. With these, the four were able to clear themselves of the charges hanging over them. They also found papers in an unknown language, which Tomas translated. He found that they described experiments involving spirit creatures called Invae, and how they used Name-givers as hosts to enter the material world.

Also found among the papers was a letter to "Liridum Arkayz of Yistane" from "Kodik Wolftamer."

The group returned to the Griffin, satisfied that the current threat was past. They decided to stay at the Griffin for a week or so to rest and recuperate, and then travel into the Kingdom of Throal to try and find the Wizard Arkayz and deliver the letter.

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