Chasin’ Drug Dealers

The heroes pursue the Dreammaster into the basement but Nidalru can’t disarm the traps and they spring; downing legion with 2 bolts. (2.8% chance AND he was last in a line of 6 on a narrow staircase… can’t catch a break 🙁 )

The Dreammaster is waiting for the heroes again and has a drake pet with him this time

INITIATIVE!

• Bong & Idris kill drake in 2 hits (crits)
• just as heroes about to defeat the Dreammaster and get some answers, Paulos (killed in prev battle) drops through a trapdoor and rips the throat out of the Dreammaster “no mentioning the Master’s plans!  The One-Eyed Lord will control you all soon enough…”

Their quarry defeated, the heroes collect what they can from the battlefield. Torsar himself has:

• 2x silver rings
• small silver necklace with a silver bear’s claw on the end
  • Legion realizes the necklace is magical!
    • +1 to saves when they have 10 or fewer hp
    • Power: When hit w/melee while Staggered you gain 10 temp hp… Recharge 11+

In a nearby storeroom:

• 6x strands of dreamleaf (~50gp each on the black market or half that if turned over to The Archmage’s people)
• ink
• quills
• pouch of 30gp
• small book
  • one section: lists debts & other info from Dreammaster’s customers
  • another section called “Other profits”: has 3 dates over the last month that show payments made to Torsar for ‘selfies & body deliveries’ paid by Paulos and a note that says
    • “Follow up on a rumor about someone named Aerto in the Docks paying well for destitutes, no questions asked. Might be able to leverage another buyer against Paulos and his boss to increase profits. Unless they’re working together?”

Legion figures out that there’s probably some sort of thing that raises the followers of The Lich King with that branding into undeath after their mortal demise.

Suddenly some members of the Silvershields burst into the Dream theatre above, responding to the commotion described by passers-by outside.  Idris debriefs them with what we know.

Puki states that all the Dreamleaf was ‘moved out’ before the heroes arrived… to cover that we are making off with some.

Silvershield lieutenant inquires about the correlation between Dreamleaf and Zombies.  Idris says we’re not sure yet… but some of those procuring dead bodies were working with the Dreammaster… all we know for sure for now.

Idris tells Silvershield lieutenant to keep an eye on the theatre so that when another shipment arrives, they can make arrests and confiscations to shut them down permanently.  Lieutenant says he’ll take care of the bodies and deliver them to Odessa at The Dead Vaults immediately.

As the heroes make their way back to the inn, the hustle and bustle of Eldolan seems to wane as the night closes in.  The lamps lighting the streets all of a sudden wink out.  Then the next closest, and the next, moving away from the heroes one at a time!  A robed figure wearing a skeletal face mask and robes strides towards the heroes, and says “Oh, we have grown tired of your incursions and so useless as you are we shall make you an example, well your dead bodies at least!”

He tosses bones into the street that animate and become skeletal warriors.

INITIATIVE!

Nightshade says at one point, “I’m not getting paid enough for this….”

But Puki & Bong killed her; no opportunity to ask “Who” that was…

Looking for clues on the bodies of their would-be-murders:

• Nightshade has:
  • stiletto with a cats eye gem in pommel
• Samuel has:
  • pouch with 10gp
  • various spell components
  • 20gp silver medallion showing one-eyed skull which he was wearing around his neck

Bong claws the Lich King brand from Samuel‘s chest against Legion‘s objection