The Spider Wasp Chronicles Chapter 2: The masquerade
The adventurers find themselves in Stonebridge, the region’s capital, a couple of days’ ride away from Madrigal. Lord Eruku hired them for an additional 3 days in order to get him safely back within city walls. Vanya and her lynx, shying away from such an urban environment, went off to commune with nature before reaching the city. Thus, the party temporarily loses much of its muscle as Kobo (the Halfling rogue), Oshanda (the half-elven sorceress), and Kyle (the human bard) cross the stone bridge after which the city is named.
Stonebridge is buzzing with activity. The Festival of the Moon, the city’s largest festival of the year, is only 3 days away and everyone is preparing for it: floats are being built, costumes are being sown, and pockets are being picked. Standing around in the crowded marketplace looking lost makes for a great target. However, Oshanda’s keen eyes quickly spot the three young men trying to lighten the adventurer’s pouches. The three thieves, discovered, attempt to disappear into the crowd. Kyle chases after one of them, but is unable to use his whip to bring him down. It takes Oshanda’s sleep spell to halt the running man. Meanwhile, Kobo is pursuing one of the other thieves, but is unable to catch up. Out of nowhere, a large elf grabs the thief by the legs and brings him down in a move normally reserved for the NFL. With the thief down, Kobo tries to deliver poetic justice by picking the thief’s pocket, but he is spotted by the large elf, who proceeds to speechify on the virtues of honesty and justice by law. He introduces himself as Arnor, a traveling paladin.
The city guard arrives and arrests the thieves after identifying them as part of the SunCatcher gang, given the sun tattoos drawn on their arms. Upon hearing the identity of the adventurers, he informs them that Lord Nobu, chief advisor to King Roland of Iro (the country where this adventure is set), is in Stonebridge and has summoned them for an audience.
Lord Nobu, a black-skinned man with short yellow hair in a green robe warmly greets the adventurers and thanks them for protecting Lord Eruku throughout the spa incident. After getting a detailed report of their adventures in the Steam Mountains, Lord Nobu reveals that although officially he is here as the King’s representative for the Festival of the Moon, he is really here to personally oversee the investigation of the destruction of Shallowshore. Although the elven princess responsible for it has been apprehended, it seems that she may have had an accomplice. Lord Nobu has reason to believe that this accomplice may be hiding in Stonebridge and may decide to act again during the Festival, where the streets will be full of people and many high-ranking lords congregated in one place. As this is unofficial business and as he does not want to spare any guards who are in charge of security, he asks the adventurers to find and capture this accomplice at any cost, dead or alive, and to report to him regularly. In addition, he invites them to the masquerade ball during the festival, where Stonebridge’s most influential people will gather and where Kyle is expected to perform.
The adventurers spend the day running around the city. Arnor and Oshanda take to the merchants on the streets, while Kyle and Kobo approach the criminal underground of Stonebridge to see what information they can gather. They meet for dinner at the Bottle and Blade inn, a once respected establishment that has grown seedier with the passing of time. They’ve found that most people are mostly preoccupied with preparing for the festival in more or less legal ways, and no one has really seen or heard anything that people don’t already know about the Shallowshore tragedy.
The men go downstairs to check out what all the noise is, while Oshanda stays to enjoy the music, and they find a gambling saloon in one corner while in the other men beat each other up as people surrounding them place bets. The room becomes silent as Arnor’s clunky, shiny armor draws the suspicious looks of the 30 or so dirty, sweaty men. A heated discussion ensues, where a man claims he may know something about Shallowshore, but will not say anything while the paladin has the armor on, a condition to which Arnor will not acquiesce. The adventurers retreat before the discussion can escalate to something else and they send the sorceress to work her other type of magic on the man. As she attempts to seduce him, the other adventurers decide that a good way to break into that circle of ruffians, and maybe make a little cash, would be to participate in the Rage Cage. They sign Arnor up, and after stripping him of his full plate and putting on some of Kyle’s performance make up, a barbarian-looking Arnor enters as the next contestant. His opponent is Little Jimmy, a monolith of a man who looks like he eats halflings like Kobo for breakfast. A rowdy brawl ensues, in which Arnor’s speed cannot compensate for Little Jimmy’s size and strength. It’s not looking good for the paladin, who remains calm, even as he invokes the grace of the gods to heal him with his ability to lay on hands. Even so, the fight seems to be going Little Jimmy’s way. On the brink of a knockout, Arnor realizes that Little Jimmy is in fact evil and, invoking once again the grace of the gods, delivers a roundhouse kick to Little Jimmy’s face designed to smite the evil out of him, a move which is enough to bring the man to his knees in surrender.
If anything, this fight serves as a good distraction, because by this point Oshanda has been able to gather some potentially valuable information: Little Jimmy’s brother, John, who runs another inn, has been acting really strangely for the last few days, a lot more cheery and upbeat, which contrasts with how devastated he had looked when he heard about Shallowshore. Oshanda goes home with the man to give him his just reward for sharing that information :)
The following day the adventurers report their findings to Lord Nobu, who in return offers to give a magical necklace to Oshanda and a magical whip to Kyle (as well as money for Kobo and information for Arnor) once they catch the accomplice — now believed to be a terrorist. Then, they stake out the inn until after closing, when John furtively walks out of the inn and into the city’s alleys. Unspotted, Kobo and Kyle tail him. John meets a hooded figure, with whom he exchanges hurried whispers. At the sound of Arnor’s armor around the corner John draws his dagger, but is quickly brought down by Kyle’s sleep spell. The hooded figure, immune to such spell, attempts to flee but is caught by the paladin. The hooded figure turns out to be an elven maiden who works in the house of Master Greenleaf, a famous elven merchant in the city. The adventurers question John and learn that Master Greenleaf is hiding and protecting Maron, a survivor of Shallowshore, and John’s former lover. Shallowshore was said to have had no survivors, so for now it is imperative that they keep a secret the fact that she is alive as her life is believed to be in peril. Confused and without a clear plan of action, Kobo successfully infiltrates the Greenleaf house, but after a cursory check he returns with the party as they decide to speak to Master Greenlead the following morning.
It is a new day in Stonebridge. The Festival of the Moon will commence this evening. The adventurers report to Lord Nobu what they have found, and Lord Nobu gives them a letter with his seal allowing them to see Master Greenleaf immediately. The old elf, who has made his fortune by selling carbonated water, is a friendly old creature. Under pressure he reveals he knows about Maron, but will not reveal her whereabouts. A maid comes in and whispers to Master Greenleaf that the masquerade dress is ready, a message which Kobo’s sharp ears intercept. This is odd, since Master Greenlead has just assured them that his wife will not be attending the ball due to illness.
The adventurers prepare for the masquerade ball, which is held in a reconstructed cathedral. Kyle, on the stage, and the others, on the ground, scan the party for anything suspicious, and set eyes on a masked woman standing alone in a corner. Oshanda, using her feminine touch, identifies Maron and assures her that she is safe. Meanwhile, Kyle overhears from the other performers that there’s been an incident at the Greenleaf house. He comes off the stage to rejoin the party and informs them of the news. Sensing that something has gone very wrong, Maron asks the adventurers to escort her out of the ball and protect her.
This is not as easy as it sounds. Their plans of escape seem to have been discovered, and as they try and move through the dancing crowds at the masquerade, masked assassins hidden within the dancers attempt to bring them down. The adventurers can only so much as attempt to dodge the blades that dart out at them from hidden hands, but are unable to pinpoint their attackers from among the crowd. Desperately, Oshanda casts sleep on a group of people, hoping to catch at least one of the assassins. As the adventurers reach the entrance they turn to face their attackers. Arnor and Kobo go at them with their long sword and dagger, respectively. Oshanda pulls out her crossbow and misfires so badly the bolt hits a guest in the leg, who screams out in pain. Meanwhile, Kyle guards Maron as he sings supporting words to the fighters. The masquerade comes to a halt as the guests watch the unfolding carnage in horror, and in the heat of battle some unwitting civilians go down. Lord Nobu, from the other side of the room, calls the guards on then. The adventurers, unable to make sense of the confusion, flee the masquerade ball and dive into the rowdy crowds in the streets of Stonebridge.
